News / National by Stephen Jakes An MDC official Discent C Bajila has said the announcement of cabinet ministers by President Emmerson Mnangagwa closes the chapter of debate as to whether there would be a multiparty government in Zimbabwe.This was after Mnangagwa produced a statement with a list of cabinet ministers most of them those who have been thee in former President Robert Mugabe's cabinet spelling doom for the nation as citizens start losing hope on ED."As I said it from day one, it doesn't make sense for anyone with 70% of Parliament and 100% military backing to form a multiparty government. This also means that Patrick Chinamasa was right and Christopher Mutsvangwa was wrong. EDM is allowed by law to appoint 5 people from outside Parliament to become Ministers," he said."If I am not mistaken there are 9 namely July Moyo, Prof Amon Murwira, Perence Shiri, Sibusiso Moyo, Chris Mutsvangwa, Lazarus Dokora, Prof Clever Nyathi,Winston Chitando and Victor Matemadanda. All male. All old. EDM has 90 days to find a seat in Parliament for at least three of these. Otherwise he must do another reshuffle or face court challenges for violation of the constitution."He said the argument on whether or not EDM supports a small government has also been resolved."A 22 Member Cabinet is not by any chance small. Retaining Chris Mushowe as Minister of Scholarships comes as icing on the cake. The inclusion of such people as Lazarus Dokora also resolves the argument of whether or not EDM wants people who deliver around him. The debate on whether EDM is supportive of affirmative action or not has also been resolved. 2/22 Ministers in the EDM Cabinet are Women. 0/22 are youths," he said."With EDM as President while his wife is Chirumanzi MP and now Chris Mutsvangwa as Information Minister while his wife is Minister of State for Manicaland Province, the days of dynasties are far from over." The bellicose relationship between US President Donald Trump and North Koreas leader, Kim Jong-un, has US states looking to Cold War civil defence plans, as fears of war between the two increase. The bellicose relationship between US President Donald Trump and North Koreas leader, Kim Jong-un, has US states looking to Cold War civil defence plans, as fears of war between the two increase. In the wake of North Koreas latest missile test, Hawaii has tested its nuclear warning sirens. The US is updating old civil defence plans and systems that date back to the Cold War. The threats and bluster between Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un have many worried about a revived nuclear threat. Al Jazeeras Rob Reynolds reports from Los Angeles. German anti-migrant AfD party elects its new leadership as protesters march against its existence. Thousands of people have rallied in the German city of Hanover against the far-right Alternative for (AfD) party, which elected its new leadership in the city. The demonstrators on Saturday shouted slogans and carried placards reading Hanover against Nazis and Stand up to racism. Some of the protesters staged sit-ins to block access to the venue holding the congress of the anti-Islam, anti-migrant party, delaying its start by nearly an hour. We are ashamed that the AfD was voted [in Germanys last election], and we dont want them to be in our town and our congress hall, a female protester told Al Jazeera. There is a fight in Germany against racism and Nazis too, another demonstrator added. After some minor scuffles with protesters, police deployed water cannon in frigid weather to remove some of the blockades. At least one demonstrator and several police officers were injured. AfD won almost 100 seats in parliament in Germanys Septembers election, but two senior members quit in protest against what they saw as an unstoppable populist streak. It could now become the countrys official opposition party if Chancellor Angela Merkel enters into a coalition with the Social Democrats. Al Jazeeras Aela Callan, reporting from the congress in Hanover, said there was a split in the party. A more moderate camp supports grooming the AfD for participation in more mainstream politics, while the hardline faction is resisting that, she said. Joerg Meuthen, a hardliner, was re-elected as co-leader with an overwhelming 72 percent of the vote. But when the relatively moderate Berlin AfD chief Georg Pazderski failed in two ballots to win the vacant seat of ex-co chair Frauke Party, both he and his rival, Doris von Sayn-Wittgenstein, withdrew. The partys powerful parliamentary group chief Alexander Gauland was then recruited to run alone and won the co-chair post. Saturdays leadership vote should have united the party, but its members failed to do so, according to analyst Timo Lochocki. The fundamentalists and moderates in the party showed today that they are incapable of uniting behind one candidate, he told Al Jazeera from the congress. It means that it will be a very long time until this party is capable to offer a coherent platform, until they are capable to distance themselves from radical, anti-constitutional elements, and until they are ready to pose a serious threat for the main parties. AfDs rise Founded in 2013 as a vehicle to promote a eurosceptic agenda, the AfD has since shifted its focus to immigration and Islam. Bernd Lucke, the AfDs first leader, resigned in 2015, citing concerns the party had become Islamophobic and xenophobic. The move was fueled by the onset of Europes refugee crisis which, having reached its peak by 2015, provided fertile ground for the AfD to sow their scepticism of multiculturalism. At the time, the party polled at around three percent nationally. Under Merkels leadership, Germany opened its doors to more than one million refugees and migrants, prompting fierce criticism from the AfD leadership. Polls suggest the party will win seats in elections next year in the southern state of Bavaria and the western region of Hesse, which would give it a foothold in all of Germanys state parliaments. Advocates warn proposed cuts to HIV/Aids prevention programmes and strategy shift could stall progress against epidemic. While US officials celebrate the work that has been done for HIV prevention, global advocacy groups and activists warn that US President Donald Trumps policies and approach may stall any future progress. We honour those who have lost their lives to Aids, we celebrate the remarkable progress we have made in combatting this disease, and we reaffirm our ongoing commitment to end Aids as a public health threat, Trump said in a proclamation, which did not mention the LGBT community, marking World Aids Day. But 38 advocacy organisations submitted a letter to congressional leaders on Friday voicing a profound concern about the direction the executive branch appears to be taking in the global response to the HIV/Aids epidemic. The letter referred to Trumps proposed budget, which would have cut $800m for programmes like the Presidents Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. The organisations expressed their profound concern, saying recent actions by the Trump administration have caused them to doubt the White Houses commitment to fighting the epidemic. {articleGUID} A report released this week by ONE, a global advocacy organisation, said that the presidents proposed budget cut could have led to more than four million deaths and 26 million new infections in sub-Saharan Africa over the next 15 years if it had been enacted. Slowing US efforts to fight HIV/AIDS for three years could set the global response back nine years and squander much of the $64bn that the US has invested over that time, the report said. Funding from the US has been critical to combatting HIV/Aids globally, health experts and activists say. Started in 2003 under former President George W Bush, PEPFAR currently provides treatment to more than 13 million people globally. The US is also the biggest donor to the Global Fund, and has contributed more than $13bn over the past 15 years. Reductions in US foreign aid for these programmes, advocates say, could do irreparable damage to stemming the tide of new infections. New strategy: Risk is enormous While the proposed cuts were ultimately rejected by Congress, which is yet to pass its final budget, health experts and advocates say the administrations shift in strategy on HIV/Aids prevention may still have dire effects for the 36.7 million people living with HIV. {articleGUID} The PEPFAR Strategy for Accelerating HIV/AIDS Epidemic Control (2017-2020), announced in September by the US Department of State, named 13 priority countries where the US will focus its HIV/Aids funding. These countries are those closest to bringing the epidemic under control, but are not necessarily the ones with the highest rates of infection, advocates say. South Africa, the country with the highest percentage of the population infected with HIV, was left off the list. Advocates like Brian Honermann of amFAR, the Foundation for AIDS Research, worry that with these shifting priorities and possible budget cuts, the epidemic could resurge. The thing that keeps me up at night is population growth, he told Al Jazeera, referring to the massive boom in the youth population in sub-Saharan Africa, or the youth bulge. The UN estimates that by 2030, there will be more than 300 million young people in Africa. Even if weve been successful at reducing the rate of infection, if we dont stay ahead of the epidemic, the risk having HIV entrenched in a whole new generation is enormous, Honermann said. Although the number of deaths each year due to HIV/AIDS has declined significantly over the last decade, the number of cumulative infections continues to rise. Honermann said he also worries about the expansion of the Mexico City Policy, or the Global Gag Rule, which prohibits foreign NGOs from utilising other donors money for the provision of or advocacy for abortion. While the policy previously only applied to programmes funded through USAID, the Trump administration has expanded it to apply to programmes funded by PEPFAR. {articleGUID} Historically, weve seen this mean that health centres lose funding and shut down, Honermann said. And when that happens, we could see HIV rates going up again as people lose access to services, he added. Deborah Birx, the US global Aids coordinator and special representative for global health diplomacy, said in a press conference on Thursday that efficiency and effectiveness led to dramatically increased results despite no increase in funding in 2017. But Ian Koski, director of communications for ONE, pointed out that, in the future, the cheapest programmes may not always be the most effective. Theres only so much you can do with efficiency, he said. You cant grow the number of people added to treatment simply through efficiencies Both Koski and Honermann agreed that increasing the number of people on treatment is the most effective way to keep the virus from spreading. And while the proposed congressional budget has kept the funding for now, Koski said, thats no guarantee. Alliance between ousted president and Houthi rebels appears to crumble as Saleh says he wants talks with Saudi Arabia. Yemens Ali Abdullah Saleh has said he is open to talks with a Saudi-led coalition fighting Houthi rebels, in what the fighters called a coup against their fragile alliance with the ousted president. Saleh made the comments on Saturday, as deadly infighting between forces loyal to him and Houthi rebels continued for a fourth day. The former allies have been fighting the Saudi-led coalition for control of the country since March 2015, when Riyadh and several other Arab Sunni states intervened to reinstate the government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi. In October, the Saudi-led coalition bombing Yemen imposed a total blockade on the impoverished country after a rebel missile was shot down near Riyadh. Last week, amid international pressure over the suffering of millions of Yemenis, some humanitarian aid was allowed to enter Yemen. I call on our brothers in neighbouring countries to stop their aggression and lift the blockade and we will turn the page, Saleh said in a televised speech on Saturday. We vow to our brothers and neighbours that, after a ceasefire is in place and the blockade is lifted we will hold dialogue directly through the legitimate authority represented by our parliament, added Saleh. A Houthi spokesman was quick to denounce Salehs comments, accusing the former president of staging a coup. Salehs speech is a coup against our alliance and partnership and exposed the deception of those who claim to stand against aggression, the spokesman said in a statement, carried by the rebels Al Masirah TV. Also responding to Salehs speech, Houthi leader Abdel-Malek al-Houthi stressed the need for dialogue and called on the former president to be more mature. However, in a statement, Salehs General Peoples Congress (GPC) ordered their supporters to defend their homeland, their revolution, and their unity. Sanaa infighting The Houthi rebels, who are believed to be backed by Iran, stormed Yemens capital, Sanaa, in September 2014. They seized control of the city and eventually led Hadi to flee. In May 2015, following Saudi-led coalition air raids on his home in Sanaa, Saleh officially announced for the first time the establishment of his alliance with the Houthis. A year later, the GPC and Ansar Allah, the political arm of the Houthis, signed an agreement to form a political council to run the country. {articleGUID} But the tactical alliance between Saleh, who was deposed five years ago, and the Houthis has often appeared fragile, with both groups suspicious of each others ultimate motives and sharing little ideological ground. In recent days, Sanaa has been shaken by escalating violence between Salehs supporters and Houthi rebels. At least 40 people have reportedly been killed since Wednesday, with residents now fearing a new front in an already devastating war. On Saturday, Sanaa residents told Al Jazeera that armed men from the GPC attacked Houthi-held government institutions, as clashes continued. What we are hearing is that Houthi gunmen have been pushed out of key positions in Sanaa, Peter Salisbury, a senior research fellow in the Middle East and North Africa Programme at Chatham House, told Al Jazeera. They are now regrouping and massing forces on the outskirts of the capital. There are also the various tribal groups around Sanaa getting ready to fight with them, so it looks like things are going to get pretty serious in and around the capital in the coming days. Salisbury also said that Salehs comments were in effect an announcement of the end of his alliance with the Houthis. Both sides have been pretty harsh in their rhetoric over the last couple of days, said Salisbuty. It seems there is no going back in terms of the splitting of that coalition. Political analyst Ibrahim Qatabi agreed, saying that the Houthis and Saleh had only become allies to overthrow Hadis government. We all knew all along that this day will have to come and that fighting between the Houthis and Saleh will have to break, so it is happening right now, he told Al Jazeera. Saleh called on his supporters, loyalists and the professional army to declare war against the Houthis, he added. Qatabi said it was very likely that Salehs statement had the support of the Saudi-led coalition. I think its very clear that maybe he wants to put one of his family members to share power with the current legitimate government, he said, referring to Hadis administration. It seems to me there might be some collaboration between regional powers and Saleh, and maybe the legitimate government, to somehow overthrow the Houthis first and then have a serious political talk. Saudi response In a statement on Saturday, the Saudi-led coalition praised Saleh for taking the lead in the conflict. The decision by GPC to take the lead and their choice to side with their people will free Yemen of militias loyal to Iran, the statement carried by the official Saudi Press Agency said. Salisbury said there are reports that Salehs position has been worked out through back channels over the past pew days, adding that there is a deal in principle that people are willing to partake in. The question becomes how will the Saudi-led coaltion respond, and how will their allies on the ground respond, he added. The war in Yemen is one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world, killing at least 10,000 people and leading to widespread hunger and disease. The announcement of Zimbabwes new presidents cabinet includes a number of former members of Robert Mugabes government. The announcement of Zimbabwes new presidents cabinet includes a number of former members of Robert Mugabes government. Zimbabwes new president, Emmerson Mnangagwa, has disappointed many by filling his first cabinet with senior military figures and ruling party loyalists but no opposition politicians. A number of ministers and military leaders who served under former President Robert Mugabe are back in power. Al Jazeeras Haru Mutasa reports from Chinhoyi, Zimbabwe. The price of crude and reducing output are topics that OPEC and its allies had to discuss again this week in Vienna. Since agreeing on global production cuts of about 1.8 million barrels a day, the group of oil-producing countries has succeeded in boosting the oil price by almost a third, back to above $60 a barrel. And, although they agreed to maintain global oil production cuts until the end of 2018, the goldilocks debate continues, with an oil price thats just right for some being too high or too low for others. Paul Brennan reports from Vienna, and Manouchehr Takin, a global oil and energy consultant, joins Counting the Cost from London. Takin explains that OPEC, and the oil industry, in general, have always tried to find the right balance. He believes that output curbs were having the desired effect on the market and the oil price. If the price is too high the producers will lose market share. If the price is too low, there will be too much demand and there will be a shortage of supply. And this cycle has been repeated so many times, Takin says. But since the beginning of this year, the producers joined forces and they reduced the supply and although observers were sceptical and negative in the beginning, they all agree now that this group of OPEC and non-OPEC producers have been relatively disciplined so prices have improved. Asked about the effect on consumers, he says that there are two important aspects. One is the price of crude in the international market, but another factor is the taxation on petroleum products. So we are talking about consumers taking their cars to the petrol station to fill their tanks, they are paying in some cases 70 or 80 percent tax to their own governments. so I think the consumers would benefit when the price of crude comes down. But not to the extent that the price has fallen from 115 to about $50-60. No, they are paying more taxes. So, as far as the consumer is concerned, in London, for example, the price hasnt gone down that much. Financial bubbles and bitcoin Its been a rollercoaster week for bitcoin, which saw values soar past an all-time high of $11,000. But then they dramatically reversed. Bitcoin and bubble are now two words that most people use when describing the cryptocurrency. Skeptics say its value bears no relation to the real financial market or the economy, while bitcoin believers say its the future of finance. We look at the psychology behind things like tulip mania, and ask if the current bitcoin craze is indeed a bubble waiting to burst. Digital analyst and blogger Matthew Knight discusses bitcoin and explains how phones and tech are being used to drive the cryptocurrency craze. Also on this weeks show: At the EU-Africa Summit, African and European Union leaders have condemned the refugee slave trade in Libya. But there are still no details on how to stop the people smugglers. Natacha Butler reports from Abidjan. Former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn pleads guilty to lying to the FBI. Michael Flynn is the first person who served in US President Donald Trumps administration to be charged in an investigation, headed by Special Counsel Robert Mueller, into Russias alleged meddling in the 2016 presidential election. The former national security adviser says a senior member of Trumps transition team asked him to reach out to Russias ambassador to the US before the president took office. Flynns guilty plea indicates that he is likely cooperating with the Mueller investigation, and could be an important source of information for investigators. Trump says there was absolutely no collusion between his presidential campaign and Russia. As the investigation intensifies, who is likely to be implicated next? Presenter: Peter Dobbie Guests: Thomas Pickering Former US ambassador to Russia Bruce Fein Former US associate deputy attorney general and author of Constitutional Peril: The Life and Death Struggle for Our Constitution and Democracy Joel Rubin President of Washington Strategy Group and former deputy assistant secretary of state. In the wake of the Sinai attack, is Egypts media taking cues from Sisis government? Plus, Mugabes media legacy. On The Listening Post this week: In the wake of the Sinai attack, is Egypts media taking their cues directly from President el-Sisis government? Plus, a look back through Robert Mugabes media legacy. Sisis narrative on Sinai The bombing of a mosque in Egypts Sinai Peninsula marked the deadliest attack in the countrys modern history. President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has promised to avenge the dead through the use of what he calls brute force. He has reiterated that only he can guarantee Egypts security and stability. However, independent journalists have virtually no access to the region and an anti-terror law restricts reporters from publishing anything that contradicts the governments account. There is only going to be one source, and that is the military source thats going to be provided through these very popular TV personalities, says Maha Azzam from the Egyptian Revolutionary Council. Its a matter of propagating a particular narrative a narrative that says that the regime is pursuing a successful fight against terrorism. Despite the reality that we know that the escalation of violence has increased four-fold, or maybe even five-fold, since the military coup. And I doubt very much whether this kind of regime is going to allow for any access to independent journalism, whether in Sinai, or anywhere else in Egypt for that matter, she says. We look at the coverage of the attack a story that the Egyptian government of President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi wants told its own way. Contributors: Mohannad Sabry, journalist and Sinai researcher and author of Sinai: Egypts Linchpin, Gazas Lifeline, Israels Nightmare Amr Khalifa, analyst and political columnist Maha Azzam, head, Egyptian Revolutionary Council Hannah Elsisi, researcher, University of Oxford On our radar Russian president Vladimir Putin has signed into law a new legislation allowing the Kremlin to list media outlets that receive funds from outside Russia as foreign agents. US president Donald Trump takes to Twitter to accuse US broadcaster CNN International of producing fake news providing convenient cover for the government in Libya. Zimbabwe: A look back through Mugabes media legacy A little more than a week ago, Robert Mugabe was forced to announce his resignation as president after keeping Zimbabwe and the media there under tight control for 37 years. The media landscape he inherited when he took office was tightly controlled by his predecessor, Ian Smith, and it reflected the interests of the countrys white minority. Mugabe did not reverse Smiths media policies but he adopted many of them, ending hopes of a free press. Journalists covering protests, corruption and other stories challenging the government faced harassment, imprisonment and even assault by the authorities. How will Zimbabwes new president shape the media landscape? We look back at Mugabes media legacy and the state of journalism in the country. Contributors: Ibbo Mandaza, political analyst George Nyrota, former editor, Daily News Wendy Willems, assistant professor, London School of Economics We follow ousted President Marc Ravalomanana as he tries to win back power amid political intrigue and foreign interest. Editors note: This film is no longer available to view online. Madagascar is an island and I thought we dont have any enemy from abroad. The result is this coup. In 2009, Marc Ravalomanana, the democratically elected president of Madagascar, was deposed from power and forced into exile, following violent clashes and a coup detat that left more than 100 people dead and the African island nation in turmoil. Coup leader Andry Rajoelina, a former radio DJ and business magnate, became president of Madagascars High Transitional Authority. Since then, income inequality, poverty and malnutrition have increased in Madagascar. From his exile in South Africa, Ravalomanana is determined to regain power by peaceful means and to return to his country. But the road back to his country and to democracy is a minefield of political intrigue and international economic interests. And there are more than political ideals at stake. The French are widely believed to have backed the coup. The former colonial power is just one of the countries that has socio-economic interests in the African island nation, and which seems to secretly but actively support the new regime. According to Peter Mann, one of Ravalomananas advisers, the former president challenged Frances hold on Madagascar in a number of ways: He began to open the economy to non-French interests. He changed the constitution so that Malagasy children should learn to speak English as a third language. He joined the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and began to open the economy to global participation. All of these were signals to France that the party was over. So what we know is that the coup was French-inspired and the non-negotiable French position is that Ravalomanana will not return to Madagascar. Danish filmmaker Lotte Mik-Meyer has documented Ravalomananas struggle for democracy over the course of five years, with unique access to the diplomatic power play and to Ravalomanana himself. Return of a President tells the inside story of the coup detat that ousted a popularly elected president and his commitment to peacefully restore democracy in Madagascar. The most important thing for me is the aspiration of democracy. Democracy burns in my heart, Ravalomanana says. The most important thing for me is the aspiration of democracy. Democracy burns in my heart. by Marc Ravalomanana, ousted president of Madagascar Since the coup, Ravalomanana has taken part in international negotiations mediated by the Southern African Development Community. With the coup leaders, SADC drafted a roadmap for restoring political order in Madagascar. But, between drafts, the camp of Andry Rajoelina had removed a key clause of the roadmap Ravalomananas right to return. We cannot sign it if they dont allow us to go back to Madagascar, Ravalomanana tells his advisers. In 2011, the Rajoelina government had successfully blocked Ravalomananas initial attempt to return he and his entourage were turned away at the airport in Johannesburg. In 2012, after relentless lobbying, Ravalomanana is granted the right to return; but once over Madagascan airspace, passengers are informed that all airports in the country have been closed. The plane is forced to turn back to South Africa. During a ramp-up to the 2013 presidential elections in Madagascar, SADC attempted to ease tensions and requested that both Ravalomanana and Rajoelina both abstain from running. On December 10, 2012, Ravalomanana announced he would not participate and encouraged Rajoelina to follow suit. Rajoelina complied, but when Ravalomananas wife, Lalao, submitted her candidacy several months later, he resubmitted his, declaring that Marc Ravalomanana had been looking to govern by proxy, through his wife. In August 2013, a special electoral court invalidated the candidacy of Lalao Ravalomanana, as well as her chief competitors Rajoelina and former president Didier Ratsiraka. TGV candidate Hery Rajaonarimampianina was elected president in January 2014, defeating Jean-Louis Robinson, the candidate aligned with Marc Ravalomananas camp. TIMELINE: MADAGASCAR CRISIS In October 2014, Ravalomanana secretly returned to Madagascar. He was arrested and sentenced to lifelong hard labour for abuse of power. Ravalomananas sentence was lifted and he was freed from six months of house arrest in May 2015. He quickly reinstated broadcasts at his MBS radio station, announced the re-opening of the TIKO business group and was re-elected president of the TIM political party (Tiako I Madagasikara), or I Love Madagascar. Marc Ravalomanana is preparing to run for president again in 2018. He is working on improving relations with France. Meanwhile, his wife, Lalao, was elected as first female mayor of the capital, Antananarivo. Dr Marc Lamont Hill is an award-winning journalist and author and is the Steve Charles Professor of Media, Cities, and Solutions at Temple University. Hill is known for his work addressing the intersections of race, justice, politics and culture. His latest best-selling book is We Still Here: Pandemics, Policing, Protest and Possibility which follows on the success of Nobody: Casualties of Americas War on the Vulnerable from Flint to Ferguson. Hill has received numerous prestigious awards from the US National Association of Black Journalists, GLAAD, and the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences. News / National by Simbarashe Sithole Mt Pleasant independent candidate for 2018 elections Advocate Fadzai Mahere has urged people to give the new Zimbabwean president Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa time to revive the economy after many responded angrily to his cabinet.Mahere took her advice to Twitter where she said "Its too early to judge ED. However, the removal of Mugabe has changed the atmosphere in Zim."There's a sense of hope, change & possibility. This hasn't been felt in years."We work hard in any environment, no matter how dire. Imagine what can be achieved in decent circumstances?"However, Twitter users had no soft words for Mnangagwa's cabinet."It is too late to judge ED. He was supposed to be judged in 1987.And then be discarded.When people marched they should have looked ahead and seen writing on the wall.Zanu PF is the real problem.Everything else is a bucket with holes nightmare," twitted Fungai Chiposi.MacMupfu tweeted, "New cabinet is betrayal of the people.""the cabinet has brought us back to reality.... this is ZANU PF," twitted Rudebwoy. 150 leaders of local and regional governments from African and European Union met in Abidjan, Cote dIvoire on 27 November 2017 in the framework of AU-EU Summit where the theme was investing in youth for a sustainable future. The meeting was organized under the patronage of the Prime Minister of Cote dIvoire. It was addressed []Source : http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Appa-sourceTheAfric... English News USA and Pakistan may strike a secret deal about Kashmir Alwihda Info | Par Hem Raj Jain - 2 Decembre 2017 Dear Editor Sub:- If India does not give-up its blind faith in USA, then India may face another dismemberment -----When President Trump instigated [in the backdrop of military alliance of ~ 40 Sunni Muslim countries sponsored by Saudi Arabia (SaAr) and headed by former army chief of Pakistan General Sharif] about 50 Sunni Muslim countries on May 21, 2017 at Riyadh the capital of SaAr to bring-about regime change in Iran and to eliminate terrorism from Sunni majority NAME region (including Syria) allegedly perpetrated by militant-Jihadis supported by Shia Iran then it is bound to be done because Emperor (USA / Prez Trump) wants it. This is easy said than done because USA knows that when SaAr and its allies from Gulf counties could not defeat Shia Houthis, the Iran supported Jihadis in Yemen then how these Sunni countries of Middle-East can succeed in such a gigantic program against Iran. It is precisely here that the military alliance of Sunni countries (Sunni-NATO as popularly known) comes into picture especially the Sunni countries East of Shia Iran including militarily powerful nuclear Pakistan. USA knows that this Sunni-NATO is a precursor to Sunni-Caliphate sponsored by SaAr which is quite feasible because Turkey (the old caliphate) is a member of US led European NATO which Turkey will not like to leave in order to lead a new Sunni-Caliphate. Hence rich SaAr [which has two most sacred places of Sunni-Muslims (Mecca and Medina) on its soil (hence command immense respect from entire Sunni-Muslim world) and which has already invested huge resources in spreading Wahhabi Islam all across Sunni-Muslim countries / societies] is the natural choice for entire Sunni-Muslim world if Sunni-NATO supports SaAr in its ambition to become Sunni-Caliphate (of course with the major military support from Pakistan). Though this connivance of USA in Sunni-NATO (and ultimately Sunni-Caliphate) will be dangerous for the safety and peace of the remaining world but when Emperor wants it (out of enmity against Iran) then nothing else matters. But Pakistan is not a naive country and it will assist USA and SaAr in realizing their said objective only when Pakistan is supported by them in snatching at least Muslim Kashmir (if not Hindu Jammu and Buddhist Ladakh of J&K) from Hindu majority India. USA has no choice than to accept this condition of Pakistan (USA without Pakistan cant achieve what it publicly committed itself against Iran on May 21, 2017 at Riyadh) because otherwise USA will lose its credibility and clout in the world which Emperor cannot tolerate or afford to. Otherwise also it will not be difficult for USA to give Kashmir to Pakistan (through militarily operation by Sunni-NATO) because India has neglected / avoided Kashmir solution (which is nothing but unification of Kashmir / J&K) because Hindu India does not want to shed its blood for Muslim PoK. Hence USA can always tell the world (may not be directly to its newfound friend India) that in the interest of human rights it had to support the military solution (through Sunni-NATO) to gory and chronic Kashmir problem which has already claimed the lives of over one hundred thousand and has caused immense sufferings to the people of J&K (especially Kashmir) Of-course India is again grossly underestimating Islam and its militant-Jihadis. India is still not realizing that it faces existential threat if doesnt retrieve PoK before consolidation of Sunni-NATO. The people of Hindu majority India are traditionally naive & gullible hence they grossly underestimate blood thirsty militant-Jihadis of Islam (though Muslims at-large remain peaceful). Even up to first week of August 1947 Indians did not believe that India could be partitioned. With the result on August 14/15, 1947 India was trifurcated into India, West Pakistan and East Pakistan (Now Bangladesh) when during partition ~ 1 million people were butchered in communal violence and ~ 10 million were displaced in most gory situation. Now again India is facing serious threat of dismemberment (likely in J&K and North East) if India does not retrieve PoK before the consolidation of Sunni-NATO as mentioned at:- http://www.pakistanchristianpost.com/detail.php?articleid=3045 OR http://www.alwihdainfo.com/India-faces-existential-threat-if-doesn-t-retrieve-PoK-before-consolidation-of-Sunni-NATO_a59673.html Demography & political situation of and around undivided India has changed drastically hence this time destruction will be much more because (i)- Islam and its militant-Jihadis will be much more powerful due to Sunni-NATO (ii)-. Before partition population of Muslims compared to Others (Hindus, S.C, S.T, Sikhs, Christians, Jains, Buddhists, Parsees, Jews and Misc.) in undivided India was 24 % (93.58 million Muslims in total of 390 million) but now in 2017 the Muslim population (including, as per media, 40 million illegal immigrants out of which as per government 20 million are in Assam State of India alone) is 33 % (189+204+149+40 = 582 million Muslims in total 1339+197+165+40 = 1741 million population of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh) and (iii)- In addition to it the militant-Jihadis are in geographically continuous Afghanistan. And about 4.5 times (1741 / 390 million) increase in population of undivided India will further exacerbate the situation. It will be educative to Indians and for rest of the world to watch whether new friendship of India with USA will bring rich dividends for India or for Pakistan (pining for taking revenge against India for the dismemberment of Pakistan in 1971 by India in the separation of Bangladesh from Pakistan). Regards Hem Raj Jain (Author of Betrayal of Americanism) Bengaluru, India Dans la meme rubrique : < > Small county in NW China scores big with soccer China sees prosperous development of offshore wind power generation China speeds up efforts to expand, renovate expressways Pour toute information, contactez-nous au : +(235) 99267667 ; 62883277 ; 66267667 (Bureau N'Djamena) What's wrong with fighting fascism? Ever see a movie in which the sallet helmet wasn't a symbol of evil? Not even Star Wars could resist. FDR also used some pretty strong-arm tactics. However, if fascism is really evil, then there really is nothing anyone can do about it, unless the Creator of the Universe is such a bumbler that He needed FDR, Churchill, and Stalin (an atheist, of all people) to correct His mistakes. No, the answer is that fascism is European and that America's Constitution of 1787 achieved everything for which Europe would struggle for the next century and a half. The French Revolution of 1789 failed when Napoleon Bonaparte returned from his Egyptian-Syrian campaign as a French Caesar in 1799 and then plunged into wars until his defeat and first exile in 1814. Europe rejoiced with the return of peace and the Ancien Regime. After 23 years of revolution, genocides, and war, "Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity" were despised. The Allied powers (Russia, Prussia, England, and Austria) assembled under Prince Metternich in the Congress of Vienna, determined that this would never happen again. Within a few years, however, ancient problems returned. The Ancien Regime was a hierarchical class system based upon inequality. The king, hereditary aristocracy, and high clergy legislated privileges and restrictions for each class according to its function. It was so intrusive that a peasant could not marry without permission of his craft guild or seigniorial lord. Bourgeois businessmen enjoyed greater liberty but chafed under trade restrictions. Aristocrats were prohibited from many occupations even if impoverished. All functions accrued power to the state, viewed as encompassing the good of all, in a predatory contest with other states doing the same thing. Additionally, the sale of offices and tax-farming invited corruption, since the buyer expected personal profit from dispensing government services. Napoleon's return of "The 100 Days" in 1815 convinced the Congress that liberals or nationalists, as they became known, remained a threat so much so that Metternich obstructed assistance to the Greek War of Independence against Ottoman rule. However, working-class revolts in the 1830s and 1848 forced the nobility to ally with bourgeois bankers and businessmen who only proved more efficient exploiters of the workers than aristocrats. Liberals split into nationalist and socialist camps. Both found inspiration in nostalgic tales of Napoleon, who became the mythical liberator of both classes and nations from monarchs. To an extent, he was. Napoleon had hit upon a formula of harnessing mass politics for military conquest. He abolished feudal privileges, installed a professional bureaucracy, and imposed his Civic Code equally upon all. When his conquests stalled at the English Channel, he turned east into Russia and a defeat in 1812. His continental empire suffered more from his own embargo on English trade than Britain's empire overseas. Bankruptcy added to his burdens of war taxes and conscription. His secular liberation antagonized deeply Catholic Spain into unremitting guerrilla war. Baron von Stein turned Napoleon's formula into a German war of liberation from the French. The Italian Republic, Napoleon's consolidation of feudal states, stood with Napoleon. Under Metternich, however, both returned to Imperial Austrian rule, which regarded their national aspirations as a threat. In Spain, Ferdinand VII restored a regime so reactionary that a French army had to rescue him in 1823. This, however, was Metternich's system. Austrian Emperor Francis I summed it up: "My people are strange to each other and that is all right[.] ... I send the Hungarians into Italy, the Italians into Hungary. Every people watches its neighbor[.] ... From their antipathy will be born order and from their mutual hatred, general peace" (1). Socialists posed the greater threat. They elevated Robespierre's idea of virtue and terror into a cult of ideological purity, the possibly 80,000 victims of his Reign of Terror and genocide in the Vendee offered as proof. Gracchus Babeuf had added the idea of abolishing private property and "equality of results," ideas for which he was executed in 1797. Karl Marx consolidated all this into a secular religion after the revolutions of 1848. His "dictator of the proletariat" would be a second Bonaparte. The nobility leaned on the nationalist cult of tradition and religion. They proposed modernizing the hierarchy of class, pedigree, and money into one of merit rather than destroying it all for a Marxist utopia. Between 1860 and 1871, the kings of Piedmont and Prussia turned Napoleon's formula into wars of national liberation and united their feudal principalities into the Kingdom of Italy and the German Empire, respectively. Both were constitutional monarchies and adopted a Charter of 1814, which Metternich accepted as a concession to Napoleon's reforms, which he could not reverse. It provided a representative body that ratified budgets and legislation that only the king could propose. Liberals tried to expand its authority while monarchs ignored it. Additionally, Germany crushed the Second Empire of Napoleon III and relieved Europe of another Bonaparte scourge. WWI destroyed the ancient Hapsburg, Romanov, and Hohenzollern dynasties, while Bolsheviks, now in tenuous possession of Russia, incited global class war and revolution. Civil wars broke out from Spain to Finland and east into Russia. Not even the Middle East was spared. But only in Russia did the "Reds" succeed. Nationalists dominated "White" coalitions while adopting Red methods and branding their corporatist economics as "socialist" for mass appeal. Derived from 1 Corinthians, corporatism recreated the craft guild system on an industrialized, capitalist basis under government planning. By 1939, most continental regimes were White and authoritarian. Mussolini's National Fascist Party was one of them, the only significant party to use the term at the time. Red propaganda transformed it into a pejorative to smear most of these regimes, at one time or another, effectively transferring the Reds' own subversive stigma in order to acquire allies for the next war. Mussolini served as prime minister under King Emanuel III, who remained until 1946. Hitler and his aristocrat generals overran the continent and then followed Napoleon's path from the English Channel into Russia and defeat. For Franco's Nationalists, the Spanish Third Republic was another Napoleonic regime with Bolshevik advisers. On 8 May of 1945, the White Nationalists were done, forever. The USSR was poised for another war. Almost two hundred years prior, by 1776, the American colonies had already become a nation without feudal classes. After the Seven Years War, 1756-1763, there was no foreign power on the American continent to seriously contend with. Establishing a liberal republic went as stated in the Declaration of Independence and nothing more: "When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one People to dissolve the Political Bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the Powers of the earth, the separate and equal Station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them[.]" Antifa is fighting something that never did and never can exist in America, or anywhere else in the Western world, at this point in time. Even worse, they're fighting for identity politics and American elites who are creating a feudal class system of their own. (1) Frederick Artz, Reaction and Revolution, 1814-1832, Harper and Rowe, New York, 1934, pg. 238. British Labor Party: We Banned Pamela Geller; Now Let's Ban Trump, Too The Guardian reported Thursday that "Chris Bryant, a senior Labour backbencher," has written to British prime minister Theresa May, urging her to "issue an official ban on Donald Trump from entering the UK on the grounds he is condoning fascism and his presence is 'not conducive to the public good.'" When Western historians look back at the 21st century, the Geller-Spencer ban in the U.K. will be viewed as one of that once great nation's darkest moments and a low point for freedom. It was the victory of Islamic law over Western law, sharia over freedom. This because Trump retweeted three videos showing Muslims being violent. Bryant, a former Foreign Office minister, supported this madness by pointing to...me. He cited the cases of two U.S. far-right bloggers, Pamela Geller and Robert Spencer, who were banned by May in 2013 from entering the U.K. I was going to be among a group of freedom-fighters a true rainbow coalition of human rights activists from all over the world (a Hindu princess had been set to join us) to honor the memory of Lee Rigby, the British soldier who had been murdered on a London street in broad daylight by an Islamic jihadist on May 22, 2013. We planned to pay our respects to Lee Rigby by placing a wreath at his memorial, in his memory and in memory of his service. We planned to bring the Stars and Stripes, as well as British and Danish flags, and participate in Armed Forces Day memorial commemorations at the Royal Artillery Barracks in Woolwich, where Rigby served. For this we were banned. When Prime Minister Theresa May, who was the head of the Home Office when she banned us and was thus directly responsible for the ban, threw us under the bus in order to satiate savages who threatened violence, did she really think she or anyone would be safe? Safe by surrender? When did they ever work in the history of humankind? The uber-left pol citing the Geller-Spencer ban in the U.K. to ban Trump was inevitable. It's like the Geller ban on ads on buses and subways in every major American city: the Catholic Church just tried to run ads on buses in Washington, D.C., and discovered that it couldn't because of the ban on all political ads that was enacted in order to prevent my ads from running. Once you sanction the silencing and persecution of one, inevitably, you've sanctioned it for all. It's open season on the opposition. Who decides what's good and what's forbidden in a totalitarian society? The totalitarians. The worldwide howl at Trump's retweets of videos tweeted out by a British politician is further proof of the Islamization of the West. It speaks to how deeply and far and widely sharia has been normed and accepted by Western elites. The videos in the retweets are authentic and have circulated for years. They're neither "far-right" nor "Islamophobic"; they're just factual. Once again the media are blaming the messenger instead of dealing with Islamic violence. Trump didn't add any rhetoric to his tweets. He retweeted authentic videos. (The Dutch media now claim that one of them doesn't depict Muslim migrants being violent, as was claimed. Even if this is true, Muslim migrant violence is a grim and increasingly common reality in Europe.) If Muslims sincerely condemn jihad terror and sharia oppression, they shouldn't oppose him. In a letter to May, Bryant wrote: "I am writing to you to ask you and the home secretary to take immediate action to ban the president of the United States, Donald Trump, from entering the United Kingdom, due to his apparent support for far-right groups in this country. In retweeting Jayda Fransen's posts, it is absolutely clear to me that President Trump is supporting and condoning fascism and far-right activity. This activity has frequently taken the form of violence on our streets. Ms Fransen herself has a long history of racism and Islamophobia, some of it criminal. Many of the people you have rightly banned from entering the UK were guilty of less than this." "Fascism." By that Bryant means "defending British values." While admitting numerous jihad preachers, Britain is keeping out the voices of sanity that would call that nation back to a path that would secure freedom for her children and her children's children instead of a path to national suicide. And now a call to ban the president of the nation that saved their nation from extinction not 70 years ago. The full story of my being banned from the UK for standing against jihad, and much more, is in my new book, FATWA: Hunted in America. Get the book. Buy it for friends. Educate those around you. Pamela Geller is the president of the American Freedom Defense Initiative (AFDI), publisher of the Geller Report, and author of the already bestselling book FATWA: Hunted in America as well as The Post-American Presidency: The Obama Administration's War on America and Stop the Islamization of America: A Practical Guide to the Resistance. Follow her on Twitter here. Like her on Facebook here. The suspect's lawyers said outside court that their client's immigration status was unfairly exploited for political purposes and had nothing to do with the criminal case. Almost as disgusting as the jury verdict in the Kate Steinle murder trial was -- not even finding career criminal and illegal alien Jose Ines Garcia Zarate, also known as Juan Francisco Lopez Sanchez, guilty of manslaughter -- was the victory dance his attorney, Francisco Ugarte, performed on Kate Steinles grave when he said : "From Day 1 this case was used as a means to foment hate, to foment division and to foment a program of mass deportation. It was used to catapult a presidency along that philosophy of hate of others," defense attorney Francisco Ugarte said after the verdict. "I believe today is a day of vindication for the rest of immigrants." Jose Ines Garcia Zarate had been deported five times and was wanted for a sixth deportation when Steinle was fatally shot in the back while walking with her father on the pier. A day of vindication? Illegal immigration had everything to do with this case, the operative word here being illegal. If Garcia Zarate had not been in this country, Kate Steinle would be alive today. Defenders of open borders like to conflate illegal and legal immigration, but we do not hate legal immigrants. We dont even hate illegal immigrants, just those who come here to commit crimes including murder. Open border advocates say immigrants come here to do jobs Americans wont do. Well, excuse me, but we have Americans all too willing to kill their brethren. Murder is a job American criminals are quite willing to do and to those who say immigrants commit crime at a lower rate than American citizens, I say that all that proves is that we have enough criminals -- we dont need to import more. Garcia Zarate may serve a few tears for felony possession of a firearm but it is hard to envision an American citizen getting to say oops! and walking away from a murder essentially without punishment. Kate Steinles blood is on the hands of open border advocates and the sanctuary city loons who provide no sanctuary for the American citizen victims of illegal alien criminals. Perhaps this will accelerate funding for and construction of the promised border wall the various sections of which should be named after the victims of illegal alien predators such as the murderer of Kate Steinle. President Trump indicated as much when he commented on the verdict: The Kate Steinle killer came back and back over the weakly protected Obama border, always committing crimes and being violent, and yet this info was not used in court. His exoneration is a complete travesty of justice. BUILD THE WALL! he tweeted Friday. Perhaps it will also get Kates Law, passed by the House, to the floor of the Senate for a vote, something former Fox News host Bill OReilly championed. Though an accused predator and arch-villain in the lefts cause celebre, the war on women, OReilly should also be remembered as the greatest advocate on behalf of Kate Steinle. He was a fierce advocate for Kates Law, blocked by former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a law to punish those illegals who prey on American citizens. Reids objections to Kates Law mirrored the despicable analysis offered by Garcia Zarates attorney: Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid (R-NV) blocked legislation Wednesday increasing the penalty for illegal immigrants who return to the U.S. after a deportation, also known as Kates Law. Reids obstruction of Kates Law -- named in honor of Kathryn Steinle -- occurred Wednesday afternoon when Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) asked for unanimous consent to proceed to Kates law. Reid objected, saying the legislation represents an attack on the immigrant community. All weve seen from Republican leaders and their caucus is bills that attack immigrants and tear families apart. So I object. the Democratic leader said. OReilly underscored the need for Kates Law in in his July 7, 2015 Talking Points Memo: As The Factor reported last night, 32-year-old Kate Steinle was murdered walking with her father in San Francisco, allegedly by a criminal alien who had been deported five times and had seven felony convictions in the USA. That man, 45-year-old Juan Francisco Lopez-Sanchez, is now charged with murder. He was arraigned today in a San Francisco courtroom. Talking Points said last night that the mayor of San Francisco, Ed Lee, and the eleven city supervisors are directly responsible for Kate's death. That's because San Francisco is a sanctuary city that does not cooperate with the federal government, even on holding and identifying criminal aliens. Sanchez was in custody in San Francisco and the sheriff -- Ross Mirkarimi -- let him out, defying ICE officials. OReilly persisted in his defense of this American womans right to live and not be murdered by an illegal alien predator under a policy supported by many of OReillys current accusers. As OReilly noted in his June 1, 2016 Talking Points Memo: You may remember last July 32-year-old Kate Steinle was murdered in San Francisco. She was out for a walk with her father when an illegal alien felon convicted in the U.S.A. seven times deported five times shot her in the back. The man Mexican national Juan Francisco Lopez Sanchez had been released from jail by the San Francisco Sheriff's Department. That despite the fact that ICE, Homeland Security, had asked San Francisco authorities to keep Sanchez incarcerated until they could pick him up. The Sheriff's Department said no. Backed by the San Francisco board of supervisors, which actually voted not to cooperate with the Feds on illegal alien crime. So, I proposed Kate's law whereby any convicted aggravated felon who defies deportation, that means comes back, could be immediately taken into custody by authorities and then sentenced by a judge to a mandatory five years in a Federal penitentiary. First offense, ten years second. That would give law enforcement a powerful tool to sweep dangerous foreign nationals here illegally off the streets of America. Yet, Congress would not pass Kate's law. The despicable Harry Reid blocked it in the Senate. Being a sanctuary city is illegal, as OReilly pointed out many times. State and local authorities cannot refuse to enforce federal law. Of course, who is going to call sanctuary cities to account when the President of the United States refused to enforce our immigration laws? As Investors Business Daily has noted, President Obama himself ordered those in charge of border security to obey his executive orders on amnesty and not our immigration laws: If President Obama, who has warned ICE agents of consequences if they do their job, had a son, he might look like Jamiel Shaw Jr., a young African-American killed by an illegal alien who shouldn't have been here. Shaw was a Los Angeles high school star dreaming of a good life ahead when he was gunned down on March 2, 2008, while walking home. He was picked at random, police said, possibly as part of a gang loyalty test for the illegal alien who shot him. The sanctuary policies that led to the murder of Shaw are now full-blown federal policies under Obama. "We're not in the business of deporting millions of people or of breaking up families," he says. We're also not in the business of deporting criminal illegal aliens President Obama was telling employees at Immigration and Customs Enforcement that they had better enforce his executive amnesty orders or else. Speaking at a Miami town hall meeting sponsored by MSNBC and Telemundo, Obama said "there may be (an) ICE official or Border Patrol agent not paying attention to our new directives. If somebody's working for ICE . . . and they don't follow the policy, there's going to be consequences to it." OReillys championing Kate Steinles case undoubtedly contributed to Donald Trumps victory based on the flood of illegal immigrants and the perils of an unsecured border and sanctuary cities. If Kates Law is passed, American women in the future will be able to walk the streets of major cities feeling a little bit safer. If Kates Law is passed, Kate Steinle will not have died in vain Daniel John Sobieski is a freelance writer whose pieces have appeared in Investors Business Daily, Human Events, Reason Magazine and the Chicago Sun-Times among other publications. News / National by Staff Reporter HARARE - Former Higher and Tertiary Education minister Jonathan Moyo has lashed out at President Emmerson Mnangagwa, claiming the incumbent was under a false sense of victory that would soon come to an end.Currently in the sanctuary of self-imposed exile, Moyo warned Mnangagwa that if he thought he has succeeded in taking over power, he has not seen anything yet."Only an idiot would think it is smart for a genocidal junta to violently shoot itself into power to install a fellow genocidal 'gukurahundist' under the mantra of stockholder entitlement," he wrote on microblogging site, Twitter."If you and your lot think that will last, then you ain't seen nothing yet; come rain or shine!" he continued on Thursday.Mnangagwa was State Security minister during the Gukurahundi massacres and has been alleged to have been the chief architect of the operation that claimed more than 20 000 lives in Matabeleland and the Midlands regions between 1983 and 1987.Moyo's father was allegedly killed in the decade-long crackdown on dissidents in the southern provinces described by former president Robert Mugabe as a "moment of madness".He has never forgiven Mnangagwa, who denies any wrongdoing.The former Tsholotsho Member of Parliament also did not have any kind words for the recently-appointed Cabinet, referring to it as a "Coup Cabinet"."So General S.B Moyo who announced the 'intervention' on ZTV & misled the world by claiming it wasn't a coup, is one of the commanders in the #CoupCabinet as minister of Foreign Affairs & International Trade. Even #Nigeria didn't have so many commanders in Cabinet in its coup days!" he opined.Zanu PF spokesperson Simon Khaya Moyo rubbished Moyo's claims, saying no one takes him seriously.In September this year, Mugabe revealed that the tiff between Mnangagwa and Moyo could be traced as far back as 2004 when the former Cabinet minister was expelled from the ruling party.This was the period when several Zanu PF provincial chairmen were suspended for their role in a plot that became known as the "Tsholotsho Declaration".Moyo had been the mastermind of the plot whose objective was to push for Mnangagwa to replace former vice president Simon Muzenda, who had died a year earlier.Mnangagwa, who was the party's secretary for administration, survived that purge but was demoted to the post of Zanu PF secretary for legal affairs.Since then, Moyo has been working against Mnangagwa's presidential bid under the banner of Generation 40 (G40), a faction that drew its support from the young Turks in Zanu PF.G40 suffered a major setback when the huge strides it had made were reversed last month when the military intervened on behalf of the rival Team Lacoste faction to pluck out "criminals" around Mugabe.Moyo was one of the alleged "criminals" who skipped the country to escape the full wrath of his pursuers.As the G40 alliance crumbled like a deck of cards last month, their rivals regrouped and ensured Mnangagwa who had been fired from Zanu PF before making good his escape on fears that his life was in danger, ascends to the highest office in the land.Earlier in the week, Moyo came out swinging on micro-blogging site twitter.While congratulating Mnangagwa for going after individuals and corporates that externalised foreign currency, he made disparaging statements claiming the president should come clean on what happened in the controversial Marange diamond fields.Mugabe in February last year claimed government had not received meaningful returns from the diamond fields and that the State could have been prejudiced of $15 billion. As a result of that report, Twitter exploded. Ross's story was retweeted 25,000 times as everyone realized the implication: if Trump asked Flynn to contact the Russians during the campaign, it strongly suggests collusion. Yesterday morning, reporter Brian Ross of ABC News issued a bombshell report on the Michael Flynn guilty plea. Ross said Flynn had been asked by Trump to contact the Russians during his campaign for president. The stock market tanked, losing 350 points in a matter of minutes. The sharp slide in the stock market came within minutes of an ABC News report that Flynn is prepared to testify that Trump directed him to make contact with Russians. https://t.co/0Muyz3cZfZ pic.twitter.com/PtBgdLY3CC CNNMoney (@CNNMoney) December 1, 2017 There was only one tiny problem with the story: it wasn't true. CORRECTION of ABC News Special Report: Flynn prepared to testify that President-elect Donald Trump directed him to make contact with the Russians *during the transition* initially as a way to work together to fight ISIS in Syria, confidant now says. https://t.co/ewrkVZTu2K pic.twitter.com/URLiHf3uSm ABC News (@ABC) December 2, 2017 Later, on ABC World News Tonight, Ross "clarified" his reporting: "[A] clarification tonight on something one of Flynn's confidants told us and we reported earlier today," Ross said on the program. "He said the president had asked Flynn to contact Russia during the campaign. He's now clarifying that saying, according to Flynn, candidate Trump asked him during the campaign to find ways to repair relations with Russia and other world hot spots. And then after the election, the president-elect asked him to contact Russia on issues including working together to fight ISIS." A tweet published by ABC News containing Ross' initial report had been retweeted more than 25,000 times and embedded in various news stories online before it was deleted. ABC posted a "clarification" on Twitter around 8 p.m. An ABC spokesperson said the network learned its initial reporting was incorrect at about 6 p.m. The network spokesperson declined to say if any disciplinary action would occur. Why should any disciplinary action be taken? It wasn't taken the first time Ross circulated a false story. After the shooting at a Colorado movie theater in 2012, Ross made another massive error in his live report: Here is the exchange between ABC News chief investigator Brian Ross and host George Stephanopoulos about apparent suspect James Holmes: Stephanopoulos: I'm going to go to Brian Ross. You've been investigating the background of Jim Holmes here. You found something that might be significant. Ross: There's a Jim Holmes of Aurora, Colorado, page on the Colorado Tea party site as well, talking about him joining the Tea Party last year. Now, we don't know if this is the same Jim Holmes. But it's Jim Holmes of Aurora, Colorado. Stephanopoulos: Okay, we'll keep looking at that. Brian Ross, thanks very much. Needless to say, the poor Tea Party guy named James Holmes was not the James Holmes who shot up the theater. But the angle was just too juicy for Ross not to blurt it out on live TV; the mass murderer was a Tea Party supporter. I wrote this at the time: There used to be a time when journalists had a rough integrity about what they said over the air and took pride in striving for accuracy. Who could ever forget ABC's Frank Reynolds, ABC News anchorman, who, after receiving and announcing word that James Brady had been killed in the Reagan assassination attempt only to discover the press secretary was still alive, got visibly angry and to no one in particular barked on air, "Let's get this right. Let's nail this down." Today, Stephanopoulos thanked Brian Ross for smearing the Tea Party by reporting a lie. Ross should be suspended or lose his job for this attempt to inject politics into a national tragedy. That's twice that Ross's false reporting has severely damaged a target of the left. Coincidence? Incompetence? I said it then, and I'll say it now. Ross should be fired. Christmas came early for regulation demagogues on September 7, when Equifax, a credit-reporting agency, announced that it had suffered a catastrophic data breach. People panicked up to 145 million Americans had their identity data compromised. Nobody can blame Americans for reacting this way to being exposed to identity theft. But not so blameless are Senators Elizabeth Warrior (D-Mass.) and Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), who introduced the FREE Act. It's regulation of an increasingly common kind: thoughtless, opportunistic legislation with bad solutions. It's a point that's been made to death: U.S. politics have never been polarized as much as it is polarized today. Rhetoric has become more heated in what seems like an arms race to stoke and capitalize on the most outrage. The FREE Act and other bills inspired by it would mandate that companies provide credit freezes to consumers for free. The rhetoric behind it follows the same rubric as all demagoguery: approach complex issues with 1.outrage-mongering and Lot of people are outraged about the @Equifax data breach. I am too. Heres what Ive been doing about it this week. Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) September 15, 2017 2.simplistic solutions. The idea behind our bill is simple: @Equifax doesn't pay you when they sell your data. You shouldn't have to pay them to stop selling it. Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) September 15, 2017 It goes without saying that the government can't just mandate prices of services to become zero without any negatives. The result will be less efficiency in the credit industry, and average Americans will be the ones hurt the most due to the constraint in the availability of credit. Credit ratings exist as a metric to rationally evaluate credit risk, and preventing resources from being used in this evaluation will just make credit harder to come by. And shrinking the credit availability of an entire sector of the economy has serious consequences. Regulating credit freezes would also serve to empower the notoriously lawless Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the brainchild of Senator Warren before she took office. The rhetoric supporting her pet agency should be familiar in its hyperbolic slant: Warren characterizes any criticism of the CFPB as a conspiracy between banks and "their Republican friends in Congress." That's ridiculous and should immediately raise a red flag. Serious people seeking the common good do not characterize their critics as Saturday-morning cartoon villains. And perhaps more worrying is the intersection of this overblown rhetoric with its stated goals. Warren thinks the whole credit-reporting industry "should be completely transformed." That's a big goal, and far-reaching legislation can't be motivated by hyperbolic black-and-white thinking. That's how the worst kind of policy finds its legs. Senator Warren should prove that she is committed to a sober pursuit of rational policy. Here's how she can do it: 1. Offer an evidence-based, non-emotional explanation for why the FREE Act won't lead to new costs for consumers and businesses. Economic theory indicates that credit freezes and unfreezes are a service that requires resources, and mandating that such a service be provided for free will lead to market disruptions. Argue convincingly that this will not happen. 2. Offer evidence that Equifax's blunders indicate that the credit industry in general is broken and in need of transformational reforms. 3. Honestly engage with the discussions of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's lack of accountability. Arguments that Republicans are wicked henchmen of a conspiracy to hurt consumers are not an honest engagement of these ideas. 4. Paint what is, in your mind, the most realistic picture of how the credit industry works. Then compare this to the models that are the consensus of non-partisan economists. 5. Demonstrate how better oversight and enforcement with on-the-books regulations would not suffice. 6. Demonstrate that you understand the actual arguments of the critics of the FREE Act and not your own emotionally laden caricature of those arguments. This can be done through what's known as an ideological Turing test. Point number five is perhaps the most important. Senator Warren expects hyperventilating words and absurd misrepresentations of her opponents to do the work for her. But that isn't how good policy is crafted. Good policy comes from sober and evenhanded analyses of the facts. Until proponents of the FREE Act can demonstrate their commitment to such analyses, they can't be taken seriously as crusaders for the common good. The two sides of this argument couldn't be more different. One sees apocalypse and conspiracy in every instance of opposition to the latest regulatory power-grab. The other calls for scrutiny and moderation. It's not going to be the end of the world if the FREE Act passes. That's an absurd thing to believe. Elizabeth Warren isn't evil. That's also absurd. The FREE Act is a well intentioned but badly reasoned piece of legislation the precise type that tends to further bloat the morass of the federal bureaucracy. Not much has changed since then, as this report in The College Fix shows. When last we visited Evergreen State College, the campus was roiled by protests against racism and white supremacy when a white professor refused to leave campus on a "Day of Absence" demanded by black students and faculty. The student newspaper at Evergreen State College has a section in its opinion pages described as "for people of color by people of color." "This should be a place where we can be us without it being overshadowed by the dark cloud that is living under white supremacy and having to see things from a white perspective. This is why when we do cover these issues it will be in the context and from the perspective of POC and POC only," according to the section's editors as they reintroduced it to readers in September. The anonymous column, known as "POC Talk," debuted in the bi-weekly Cooper Point Journal last year and returned this fall to the newspaper's pages following racial unrest that erupted at the public university this past spring. "Dear White people, please take a step back, this isn't brown-people-answer-white-people's-questions-hour, we're asking specifically for submissions from POC," the section's editors added in their September intro. "As being told no seems to be a difficult concept for some of y'all I await your emails about the Irish, how the term white fragility is mean (great example of white fragility) and how we need to view people through a color-blind lens (just lol). You will 100% not get a response!!!" Published in the Journal's Letters & Opinion section, POC Talk says it provides "no-holds-barred commentary on local happenings." In the inaugural POC Talk column, it was suggested that a subject touched on in the column could possibly include "how do I rid myself of white-dread [sic] roommate's numerous micro-agressions." Topics the column has discussed include student activism, self care, the local comedy scene as well as the turmoil that upended the college after students in May accused a white biology professor, Bret Weinstein, and the university of perpetuating racism. Freedom of the press takes on a whole new meaning at Evergreen State these days. It does no good to imagine a world where white kids started a "whites only" section of the op-ed pages of a student newspaper, because you and I both know the result: hysteria. The toxic, illogical thinking required to reach a conclusion that it is fair to exclude people's opinions based on their race can happen only in an atmosphere where reality has been replaced by fantasy. This "false consciousness" is deliberately promoted by radical leftists because by striking terror in the hearts of minority students, they can more easily control them, shape their minds and opinions, and eventually send them off into the real world to spread the chaos. Meanwhile, in their tyrannical war against "white supremacy," the very concept of individual liberty is lost. It isn't enough to teach the evils of Western civilization, or the mortal sins of America, or the insidious plots of white people to oppress "POC's." Those lessons must be internalized to create their own reality, where hate lurks in the heart of every white person and there is danger wherever more than one white person gathers. In this reality, "safe spaces," perceived physical threats against minorities, and op-ed pages reserved exclusively for POCs become a rational way to look at the world. This makes it extremely difficult to overcome, to bring students and others back to reason and logic both of which would tell them their hysteria is unfounded. Evergreen State is only an extreme example of this phenomenon. Seth Grossman used to be the chief of staff for Janet Napolitano, staying with her when she moved from secretary of homeland security to president of the University of California system. In that position, he became a fall guy after getting fired for corrupting a state audit of the various campuses of that sprawling public university. I have written about that corruption several times and will here cite the explanation offered two days ago by Dan Walter, the Sacramento Bee columnist, widely regarded as the premier journalist covering California state government. The rot in higher education is spreading, thanks to solidarity among former sisters in the Obama Cabinet, both of whom have landed cushy, high-paying jobs as university presidents. Let's say you are the CEO of a Fortune 500 company that's under scrutiny by the Securities and Exchange Commission for accounting irregularities. And let's say that when the SEC's investigators sought information from other executives at your company, you insisted that their responses be funneled through your office and altered to reflect more favorably on your leadership. Finally, let's say that your manipulations were exposed. You probably would be fired by your board of directors for exposing the company to legal penalties and quite possibly prosecuted for interfering in an official investigation. That brings us to the University of California and its president, Janet Napolitano, whose top aides [Grossman and his direct subordinate T.L.] intervened when the state's auditor confidentially asked leaders of individual UC campuses about how she was handling certain finances. As State Auditor Elaine Howle said in a report revealing that Napolitano's office had $175 million in undisclosed reserves: "We found it particularly troublesome that the office of the president intentionally interfered in our efforts to assess the types and quality of services it provides to campuses. Correspondence between the office of the president and the campuses shows that the office of the president inappropriately reviewed campuses' survey responses, which resulted in campuses making changes to those responses prior to submitting them to us campus statements that were critical of the office of the president had been removed or substantially revised, and negative ratings had been changed to be more positive." Howle's bombshell generated a torrent of criticism from the Legislature, which had ordered the audit, and was eventually reflected in legislation making it an offense to interfere in a state audit. Grossman was a perp whose behavior was so egregious that his conduct was made a crime after it was discovered. This move was taken by the Democrat-dominated state legislature and signed into law by Governor Jerry Brown. No vast right-wing conspiracy involved at all. Even progressive Democrats were outraged. In the corporate world, Napolitano and her two stooges would be radioactive, even if they escaped prison. But in higher education, a little hanky-panky with hiding $175 million from the board of directors (the regents of the University of California) and intervening in an audit to prevent bad news from reaching them seems to be a job qualification, at least when it comes to another Obama Cabinet member who leads a university. Grossman is a stand-up guy, after all, and he's made his bones by taking the heat off his boss. His new boss, who found such a hatchet man an attractive proposition, is Sylvia Burwell, former secretary of health and human services in the Obama Cabinet and now president of American University in Washington, D.C. This should be a major scandal, and questions need to be asked to Burwell about the propriety of her latest executive hire. At a minimum, the trustees of American University should be asked how they allowed this to happen. What makes them think Grossman won't short-circuit reports on Burwell's performance or hide a slush fund from the trustees, as he did for Napolitano? Some of them, like Gina F. Adams, are senior officials of public companies like FedEx. Among them is Thomas Gottschalk, a lawyer at D.C. powerhouse law firm Kirkland & Ellis. How does an officer of the court allow such a hire? Breaking the story is the campus newspaper at A.U., not the Washington Post or any of the national media that congregate in D.C. Haley Samsel writes in The Eagle at A.U.: University President Sylvia Burwell is standing behind her choice for chief of staff, Seth Grossman, after he and a colleague were found to have interfered with a California state audit into the office of his previous boss, University of California President Janet Napolitano. Grossman is set to start at AU on Dec. 4. Burwell originally announced the hire on Oct. 30 [well after Grossman's firing T.L.] , citing Grossman's experience as a top official in the Department of Homeland Security during the Obama administration and then as chief of staff to Napolitano. Napolitano oversees the UC system, which includes 10 campuses and nearly 240,000 students. Were I an alumnus, I would not donate a penny to an institution run by someone who recruits a corrupt chief of staff. Corporate donors must be aware of this situation before they commit any funds to American University. A.U. is a private university but still benefits from many forms of public funding, starting with tax exemptions and research funding and also including Pell Grants and many other sources of money. It is travesty to hear of former Obama Cabinet members cum employees scratching each other's backs and making sure a fall guy doesn't remain bitterly unemployed, perhaps tempted to spill the beans on whatever else he has witnessed. The pretensions of nobility in higher education mask an enormous, greedy industry that has pushed up its prices to the point where its customers are incurring ruinous debt in order to obtain products (diplomas) that they feel required to own in order to have a satisfying career. The industry is run for the benefit of its insiders, not shareholders, but the nature of the greed underlying it is exactly the same. Reform is long overdue. This is it. Send the paddy wagon for Trump, his entire family, his White House Staff, the works. Turn Mar-a-Lago into a federal prison. Joy Behar and her fellow magpies were giddy with delight. The rest of the media followed suit, happily not having to talk about their fellow travelers who have been outed as sexual predators. Or the Senate passing a tax bill. Or Kate Steinle's illegal alien killer being given a pass, facing far less punishment than Mike Flynn, who gave false statements to the FBI. Christmas came early for ABC's Brian Ross on Friday. He breathlessly reported what the left has been wishing for under its tree on Christmas morning: "[Michael Flynn] is prepared to testify ... against President Trump, against members of the Trump family, and others in the White House." Trump-haters in the media became hysterical, with Brian Ross of ABC embarrassing himself and his network by falsely reporting the contact as having taken place during the campaign, as Rick Moran reports. So? What is an incoming administration supposed to be doing? The transition period is over two months long not simply to interview and vet candidates for myriad administration posts, but to begin building relationships with foreign governments, friends and foes alike. It's also for discussing policies and future plans. There is lots going on in the world that a new president must contend with. It's hard to begin from scratch on inauguration day which is why there is a transition period. Trump would have rightly been criticized for not being well prepared to lead the country when he took the oath of office. Brian Ross and the Washington Post also have short memories especially when the previous president did the same thing, and before, not after the election. As the WaPo buried toward the end of a recent story: Michael McFaul, who served as U.S. ambassador to Russia during the Obama administration, said that he was in Moscow meeting with officials in the weeks leading up to Obama's 2008 election win. In the "weeks leading up to the election," Obama was still a private citizen, not the president-elect. Where was the outrage? Where was the special counsel? Where was Brian Ross? If anything, this is a violation of the Logan Act, an old law that the fake news media are throwing around, specifically a "federal statute making it a crime for a citizen to confer with foreign governments against the interests of the United States." Did candidate Obama have authorization from President Bush to meet with Moscow? That was quite unlike President-Elect Trump, no longer just a citizen or a candidate, but a future president preparing to take office. Or Ted Kennedy, who "made secret overtures to the Soviet Union's spy agency during the Cold War to thwart then-President Ronald Reagan's re-election." And who cares who directed Flynn, as incoming national security adviser, to contact Russia or any other country? Was it Trump himself? Or one of his surrogates, including his son-in-law, Jared? All standard and expected for an incoming administration. Where's the crime? Other than Flynn making false statements to the FBI? What is Mueller charged with investigating? "Coordination between the Russian government and individuals associated with the campaign of President Donald Trump." That would be the campaign, not the incoming administration. Coordination means collusion, which thus far there is no evidence of. Nothingburger. The problem is that Flynn's communications with Russia were after the campaign, when Trump was the president-elect. Instead, Flynn got caught up in "the special counsel is authorized to prosecute federal crimes arising from the investigation of these matters." This includes matters like contradicting himself when speaking to the FBI, just as Scooter Libby did. It's a process crime only a false statement about something irrelevant to the investigation and certainly not illegal. A nothingburger for Mueller. Mueller was appointed over six months ago. Is this all he has after all the investigating, assisted with a bunch of Democrat lawyers, looking for anything to nail Donald Trump? A process crime? False statement to the FBI and nothing on his mandate of collusion with Russia to influence the election? If Trump committed a crime, we would know about it after half a year of investigation by Mueller and his horde of investigators and the intrepid investigators of every major news organization who would like nothing better than to nail Trump. Who's happy over this, besides the left-wing media finally getting a bit of holiday cheer after months of horrible news exposing their "women's rights" icons as predators? I'll bet Vladimir Putin is enjoying this immensely. Mueller is accomplishing what the Russians could only dream of: sowing doubt and discord into the U.S. electoral process and the duly elected president. Propaganda at its best. Meanwhile, the special counsel marches along, looking for scalps, convictions, and pleas to justify the time and effort chasing windmills. Forget In-N-Out Burger. Mueller, when this all winds down, can join forces with James Comey and Brian Ross, opening a new burger chain, Nothingburger. A fat bun with nothing in between. Brian C Joondeph, M.D., MPS is a Denver-based physician and writer. Follow him on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. The Senate handed Donald Trump a significant victory early this morning, voting 51-49 along party lines to pass a massive overhaul of the tax system that Republicans hope will jump-start the economy and create millions of jobs. The legislation would bring the first overhaul of the U.S. tax code in 31 years. It would slash the corporate tax rate, offer more modest cuts for families and individuals, and eliminate several popular deductions. Trump hailed the bill's passage on Twitter, thanking Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch, R-Utah. "Look forward to signing a final bill before Christmas!" the president wrote. Democrats derided the reforms as a GOP gift to the party's wealthy and corporate backers at the expense of lower-earning people. The bill is "removed from the reality of what the American people need," said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. Republicans achieved success by making several last-minute changes to the legislation to assuage the fears of deficit hawks and address some other issues like property tax deductions and pass through provisions for small business. In the end, only one Republican Senator Bob Corker refused to back the bill. The bill now goes to a House-Senate conference committee that will have to deal with the differences between the two bills. While Trump hailed the passage of the bill in the Senate and said he hopes he can sign a bill "by Christmas," the dissimilarity in approaches to tax reform by the two houses of Congress makes coming to an agreement on a final measure by Christmas iffy. Regardless, it is the spending cuts mandated by the bill that will likely become the next battleground as massive cuts in federal benefit programs like Social Security, Medicare, and welfare become the next political hot potato. Politico: With so much attention focused on the tax bill itself, neither lawmakers nor many of the advocacy groups had paid as much attention to the depth and breadth of the cuts that will ensue unless the House and Senate come up with a bipartisan deal to stop them. Some groups had run Medicare ads, but they were largely overshadowed by the tax debate itself. The tax bill hit snags in the Senate late Thursday, as Republicans worked on ways to ease the concerns of deficit hawks. Leaders were still scrambling for votes. But within the GOP, leaders are confident that once the tax bill is passed, they can strike a quick deal to waive the federally mandated cuts. But Democrats deeply opposed to the tax bill aren't making any promises they'll agree to bail out their rivals raising the risk of a historic gutting of government programs. "This would be unprecedented," said William Hoagland, a senior vice president at the Bipartisan Policy Center and a former GOP Senate staffer with expertise on the budget. "The law never envisioned that we'd eliminate programs." GOP leaders are asking moderates like Susan Collins (R-Maine) to back the tax package with the mere promise that lawmakers can find a bipartisan solution during an already divisive year-end crunch that could lead to a government shutdown. One senior House GOP source was confident a deal on spending would go through. "A statutory PAYGO sequester has never happened, and we will prevent one from being triggered," the source said, adding that Congress has until the end of the year to work it out. The far reach of the Republican tax plan is the consequence of limitations placed on Congress under the "pay-as-you-go" rule. The decades-old law, revamped during the Obama presidency, requires Congress to offset the cost of each piece of legislation or risk spending cuts painful to both parties. Lawmakers have repeatedly voted to waive this rule, a total of 16 times, for major bills like the Obama-era stimulus and multiple tax cut packages under George W. Bush. The GOP's $1.5 trillion tax plan would trigger $150 billion in cuts to domestic programs every year for a decade if Congress doesn't step in, according to the CBO. That would include $25 billion from the money Medicare pays health care providers. It should be understood that both parties in the past have used this cynical ploy to include spending cuts in legislation they never intend to go through with. This is not to say that these programs shouldn't be cut, or their growth controlled. But what is required to cut them responsibly is a scalpel. The tax plan would take a meat ax to those programs a deliberate ploy to get lawmakers to waive the paygo rule later. Democrats are making noises about not going along with the ploy this time. They may vote against a waiver of the paygo rule in order to put the onus for the draconian cuts on Republicans. Aside from raising doubts about whether it's smart politics for the Democrats to go to the mattress on the paygo waiver, it's going to be difficult enough to come up with a spending bill in the next ten days to keep the government from shutting down. This is a political sideshow compared to the historic nature of the tax cuts. In one stroke, Republicans have cut corporate taxes cuts that could keep more businesses in the U.S., create more U.S. jobs, and perhaps even convince some companies that have moved overseas to come back. I don't think too many of us thought Mitch McConnell had it in him to ramrod this bill through the Senate. But there is little doubt that he and his lieutenants deserve the lion's share of the credit for getting the bill to the finish line. Borders? We don' need no stinkin' borders! Once again, but for "sanctuary" flouting of federal law enforcement, the two victims and their families would have been spared: A week before the attacks, Martinez was freed from jail in Portland where he had served time for interfering with police and providing a false birth date. He was let go despite a request from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office to hold him so the agency could take him into custody. Oregon became America's first sanctuary state when it adopted a law in 1987 preventing law enforcement from detaining people who are in the United States illegally but have not broken other laws. Sheriff Michael Reese said he could not legally continue to hold Martinez on the federal agency's "immigration detainer" request. Reese said that if ICE had sent a criminal detention warrant signed by a judge, he could have been held longer. Powerful names in Venezuela's oil industry, people who've been in and out of the picture for years, went down like bowling pins in Venezuela this week. Nelson Martinez, Venezuela's chief of the state oil company, Petroleos de Venezuela S.A. (PDVSA), was one. Eulogio del Pino, the country's oil minister, was another. Whoever was acting director of Venezuela's U.S. refiner and distributor, CITGO, isn't there, either. A press release from Nov. 29 says Asdrubal Chavez is now running the U.S. operation, and many of the CITGO officials are now detained in Caracas. Chavez is a cousin of Venezuela's late president, Hugo Chavez. Even the press contacts' names are now different. In a purge as dramatic as that of Saudi Arabia or the Hollywood-media industrial complex, Venezuela has booted the most powerful names in its oil industry, with 65 officials arrested for corruption. Unlike the other purges, this one isn't about change or lawbreaking just gang warfare to consolidate President Nicolas Maduro's socialist grip on power. It's tempting to see this move as a bold measure by the government of Nicolas Maduro to be doing something to improve things, given the parlous state of Venezuela's oil industry, whose inability to pump its OPEC quota has been described as a "gift to OPEC" (most of the other OPEC members cheat and pump more than they are allowed) and whose bonds are in default. Venezuelan oil output has dropped precipitously, falling below the 2-million barrel-a-day mark for the first time in 29 years. An for sure, it's an oil industry plagued with corruption. But Maduro's men, the people doing the busting, are, if anything, more corrupt than the miscreants under arrest. Maduro's guys are the ones under U.S. sanctions for activities such as drug-dealing. The oil officials, rich and corpulent as they are, haven't been accused of that. Alek Boyd, a Venezuelan investigative reporter and blogger in London, has been watching these people for years and sums it up probably the best way: Venezuela's criminal gangs power struggle continues: attorney @TarekWiliamSaab has @RRamirezVE first cousin Diego Salazar arrested. Salazar was key in theft / laundering billions in @RCIERCO & bro bank in #Andorra https://t.co/MkBLr2WnMA alek boyd (@alekboyd) December 2, 2017 Not exactly as classy as Lenin, Stalin, and Trotsky, the blood-soaked three who created the Russian Revolution and then went on to fight one another for power. The Chavistas' version of such a socialist struggle for power is quite a bit lower on the fanatical principles scale than what animated the Russian group, and quite a bit higher on the venal money front. But it's no less turbulent. Oil production in the country has collapsed meaning that the government is out of money. Maduro hopes that by replacing this group of Chavistas who have badly mismanaged the oil industry and driven it to bankruptcy, he can get the oil industry back on course and bring the money back. It's a clown's proposition. The general Maduro named to replace the state oil company chief is even less knowledgeable than the one who was thrown out. Even if he weren't corrupt as the people he replaces were, he's not going to turn that problem around. It's a faulty decision premised on the idea that all of Venezuela's oil production woes are the result of corruption. Actually, the problem in the Venezuelan oil industry is the primacy of politics over know-how. There are people who know how to properly run Venezuela's vast oil enterprise (Venezuela has the world's highest oil reserves) but they were removed years ago on political grounds. Back in 2003, Chavez fired thousands of these workers in a disastrous oil strike over who would control the company by reading their names off on the radio to shame them and those knowledgeable workers, having no place else to go, given that Venezuela's oil industry is a state monopoly, went on to help develop the oil industries of Canada (tar sands), the U.S. (fracking), Colombia, Peru, and Morocco. Perhaps other places, too. Incompetents put in place for their socialist loyalties replaced them, and now more socialist incompetents are replacing the current incompetents. The new group are generally linked to former oil minister and Venezuela's current United Nations ambassador Rafael Ramirez, the latter of whom is holed up in his luxury digs in Manhattan. Ramirez was never as fanatical and nutty as Chavez but he was bad enough to ruin Venezuela's oil industry, which leads us to the current power struggle triggered by a ruined oil industry. Is there any room for maybe asking why the failure happened in the first place? The problem is socialism and the people who profess socialism, which is why the last two groups were put into power at all. A few months back, there was intense debate on whether the U.S. should completely cut off Venezuelan oil imports based on the socialist government's failures to respect human rights and human needs. The universal verdict was that an invasion was a non-starter (loads of criticism for President Trump for suggesting that it was on the table) and an oil cutoff would trigger a famine. Sanctions were seen as crippling by oil industry experts and political bloggers. Francisco Toro writes: One alternative would be imposing sanctions on Venezuela's oil industry, which accounts for 95 percent of the country's export earnings. But if imposing sanctions on individuals isn't nearly tough enough, going after the oil industry is entirely too tough. In a country where food and medicine are in short supply as it is, putting a hard stop to oil sales could set off a famine. It would also cause a politically untenable spike in gas prices in the United States. The reality is, they've got a famine and a ruined oil industry to boot. The U.S. didn't do a thing to cause it. Changing personnel as in this Chavista purge won't change the immutable laws of economics. Only getting rid of the socialist model will make any difference. Maduro's purge shows he still isn't buying it. So expect the gang warfare between socialist factions to continue. News / National by Staff reporter Zimbabwe's main opposition, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party youths have called on long-time leader Morgan Tsvangirai to step aside in order to allow new leaders to take the party forward, says a report.According to NewsDay, an MDC Matabeleland South youth leader Archibald Nyamayaro said that the party needed to "shift its mind set and its approach" in order to win the forthcoming election.Nyamayaro said that the party could be relegated to irrelevance as the country's new President Emmerson Mnangagwa was making inroads with his promise for change.He said that the party's only leader since its formation in 1999 was not in good health and therefore, it was time for young blood to take over constitutionally.Nyamayaro said the party couldn't talk about electoral reforms when the MDC-T itself could not reform as a political grouping."Although there is need of supporting and engaging on transitional issues, we owe the party an identity. We need to be visible; we need a new face to rejuvenate us not by disrespecting our party president. This is food for thought, which should be digested and acted upon in good time," Nyamayaro was quoted saying.This came as Tsvangirai's long time rival Robert Mugabe was forced out of office last week.Mugabe resigned on November 21 after 37 years in power. Daily Mail reported Mugabes demise 2 days before he went As Robert Mugabe spends time with his money, its worth noting how the Mail knew he was going well before anyone else. On November 19 at 5:08 pm, the Mail thundered: Robert Mugabe STEPS DOWN to end 37 years in power. The was wrong, of course, Mugabe resigned two days later. How did the Mail know? And what were those people celebrating Mugabes staying and going? The Mails Facebook page published this update: Follow the link and the Mail story now reads: Robert Mugabe now faces impeachment after REFUSING to resign. Indeed, the papers Twitter link is confused. Having stated that Mugabe was gone, the updated teaser was picked up and tells readers: Robert Mugabe REFUSES to step down. Such are the facts. Anorak Posted: 2nd, December 2017 | In: News, Politicians, Tabloids Comment | TrackBack | Permalink Opinion / Columnist This article is taken from The ConversationFormer Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe's forced resignation invites a re-examination of the military's role in political affairs. While a professional military is typically expected to refrain from politics, the interface between security and politics can sometimes be blurred.In Kenya for example, the military Chiefs of Staff usually come from the president's ethnic community making them partisan to the head of state and the party he represents. Most recently, there have been allegations of the military's involvement in a poll rigging scheme with President Uhuru Kenyatta's government.Other countries such as Uganda, Egypt and Thailand have experienced more flagrant examples of the military's involvement in politics.Recent events in Zimbabwe need to be understood within this context. The Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF) latest stunt must be read as political subterfuge. The military has been enmeshed in Zimbabwe's politics since the liberation struggle. While it has occasionally flexed its muscle to support Mugabe's grip on power, this time around it has intervened to shore up the ruling party's fledgling support after years of the former president's unpopular rule.Officers who call the tuneThe ZDF have been an invisible actor in the country's protracted crisis. The intervention that resulted in Mugabe's resignation was the result of a slow brewing coup that has been occasioned by the military's involvement in the country's politics since independence in 1980.The military has been accused of violence and intimidation, as well as participation in electoral malpractices. ZDF's human rights violations, economic plunder and entanglement in politics have been widely documented. And its professional misconduct has fomented poor civil-military relations.The military takeover is therefore a manifestation of undercurrents that have been present for years.According to the latest research, Zimbabwe is ranked 81 out of 133 countries in terms of military strength, just after the Middle Eastern nation of Kuwait, and one rank above Georgia, which is a former Russian territory. It has a total of 52,000 military personnel, 30,000 active personnel and 22,000 reserves.ZDF prides itself as having been the liberator in the country's struggle for independence. During the fight for independence political figures were deployed in the military rank and file to motivate the fighters. At the time, the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) was the political wing of the Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army (ZANLA). This close relationship between the military and political wings persisted after independence.Mugabe has regularly gifted the military through the allocation of exploited resources. He has also rewarded military men with high positions in the civil service to retain their loyalty, for example the late Mike Karakadzai and Samuel Muvuti. These dynamics have progressively obscured the separation between the army, state and party.Open support for the ZANU Patriotic FrontThe military has been openly partisan in its support for ZANU-PF. The politics of patronage and wealth accumulation has characterised the relationship on both sides. In suppressing the opposition, ZDF has created an uneven political playing field through intimidation and election rigging. The Joint Operations Command which coordinates the military, police and intelligence has been central to ZANU-PF's security policy.The military has also taken an openly antagonistic stance towards the opposition. An example of this was Brigadier Douglas Nyikayaramba's description of Morgan Tsvangirai, the leader of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), as a national security threat.By engineering Mugabe's ouster the military has reasserted its position as an important player in Zimbabwean politics. It may not hesitate to intervene in the event of another "national crisis".Factors in the Mugabe ousterIn their clamour to oust an oppressive ruler and his ambitious wife the Zimbabwean people have placed their hopes in a devious military.It is hard to tell whether Mugabe's Achilles's heel was his wife, Grace, or an equally scheming military, which lured him into a false sense of security and then double-crossed him when he failed to indulge their political whims.The current political crisis could in fact be the climax of an unwitting convergence of machinations from both sides. By casting Grace as the villain, and taking on the role of saviour, the military is attempting to erase the part it has played in Zimbabwe's fractious politics.By joining in the calls for the installation of former Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa, the people seem to have momentarily discounted his dark past in the country's politics. Examples of his misdeeds include his role as chief architect in the Gukurahundi massacres which was carried out between 1983 and 1987. Approximately 20,000 Ndebele's were murdered by the military and security forces.Another dark cloud that hangs over him includes his special relationship with the military. They were jointly involved in the economic plunder of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.The former vice president has also been known to persecute his opponents.While he has the support of ZANU-PF and the top military brass when he becomes president he will face the challenge of de-linking himself from his murky past.What next for Zimbabwe?The military takeover strongly suggests that the men in uniform are intent on determining the country's political trajectory. As such, there are limited leadership choices open to Zimbabweans. With the military's support, Mnangagwa will take over in the interim and potentially win a future election. But he has a blemished past, which the ZDF cannot sanitise. And his installation could plunge the country into further uncertainty.For Zimbabwe to take a different route, two things need to happen: the radical security sector reforms that have stalled since 2008 need to be revived. These reforms should be targeted towards professionalising the sector by addressing past misconduct, mainstreaming human rights, and introducing community policing. This should go in tandem with depoliticising the sector, and demilitarising the state and some civilian populations.The ConversationIn addition, the people of Zimbabwe need to agree on a framework for a viable transitional justice process.Yvonne Rowa, PhD Candidate in Politics and International Studies, University of Adelaide If youre considering a subscription to the Disney Plus streaming service, you may be wondering how much it costs. The service is available on both United States Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit. ALEXANDER WILLIAMS, by and through his Guardian, Conservator, and Next Friends, Douglas Williams and Lisa Williams, DOUGLAS WILLIAMS, LISA WILLIAMS, Plaintiffs - Appellants, v. FULTON COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT, FRANCES BOYD, PAULA MERRITT, VICKI DENMARK, RALPH LYNCH, et al., Defendants - Appellees. No. 17-11896 Decided: November 30, 2017 Before TJOFLAT, WILSON, and JORDAN, Circuit Judges. This appeal involves the award of attorneys' fees in an Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA) lawsuit. Under the IDEA, a district court may award reasonable attorneys' fees to a prevailing party. 20 U.S.C. 1415(i)(3)(B). The Appellants argue that another IDEA provision, 1415(i)(3)(G), prevents the District Court from exercising any discretion in determining a reasonable amount of attorneys' fees in this case. This interpretation is contradicted by the plain language of the IDEA and has no precedential support. Accordingly, we affirm. I. From 1996 through 2011, Alex Williams attended school in the Fulton County School District (FCSD) and was eligible for special education services. Alex was born with hydrocephalus, a mid-brain abnormality that prevents spinal fluid from draining away from the brain, and has cerebral palsy, a history of seizures, and other significant developmental issues. Alex suffered severe mistreatment and abuse at the hands of his classroom teacher when he was a student at Hopewell Middle School during the 200607 school year. FCSD knew of this abuse but did not disclose it to Alex's parents. Once his parents discovered the abuse, they filed a due process complaint pursuant to the IDEA in June 2011. An administrative law judge (ALJ) conducted a due process hearing over the course of five and a half days in November 2011. The ALJ found that FCSD violated Alex's right to a free and appropriate public education and awarded five years of integrated home and community-based instruction from private providers as well as necessary therapy expenses and reimbursements. The ALJ further found that FCSD denied Alex's parents access to his education records in a timely fashion. This denial was a procedural violation that had a demonstrable impact on the due process proceeding, according to the ALJ. Under the IDEA, a district court may award reasonable attorneys' fees to a prevailing party who is the parent of a child with a disability. 20 U.S.C. 1415(i)(3)(B). If the court finds that the parent unreasonably protracted the litigation, the parent's attorney's hourly rate exceeds the prevailing rate of the community, or the attorney spent excessive time working on the proceeding or did not provide necessary information to the school district, it shall reduce the amount of attorneys' fees that it awards. Id. 1415(i)(3)(F). But if the district court finds that the school district unreasonably protracted the litigation or violated 1415 of the IDEA, the provisions of subparagraph (F) shall not apply. Id. 1415(i)(3)(G). The IDEA therefore includes a reasonable attorneys' fees provision in subparagraph (B), a mandatory fee reduction provision in subparagraph (F), and an exception to the mandatory fee reduction in subparagraph (G). After prevailing in the due process hearing, the Appellants moved in the District Court for more than $420,000 of attorneys' fees under subparagraph (B). They argued the District Court lacked any discretion to reduce the award because the ALJ found that FCSD denied them access to Alex's educational records. This, they claimed, was both an unreasonable protraction of the litigation and a violation of 1415. Therefore, subparagraph (G) would control, and subparagraph (F)'s fee reduction provision shall not apply. Without (F), the Appellants claim, the District Court has no basis to reduce the attorneys' fees award and must award all of the expenses claimed by their attorneys. The District Court rejected this argument. It determined that subparagraph (F)'s mandatory fee reduction provision could be neutered when (G) applied, but even if that were the case here, subparagraph (B) still permitted it to award only reasonable attorneys' fees in its discretion. It then examined the billing records and supporting affidavits, determined some billing rates and recorded hours were unreasonable, and reduced the award to $283,372.86. The Appellants timely appealed. II. We review a district court's award of attorneys' fees for abuse of discretion. Atlanta Journal & Constitution v. City of Atlanta Dep't of Aviation, 442 F.3d 1283, 1287 (11th Cir. 2006). An abuse of discretion occurs when the district court fails to apply the proper legal standard or to follow the proper procedures in making the determination or when the court bases an award upon findings of fact that are clearly erroneous. In re Red Carpet Corp. of Panama City Beach, 902 F.2d 883, 890 (11th Cir. 1990). III. The Appellants argue the District Court erred in three ways: (1) it violated the plain language of the IDEAspecifically, the exception to the mandatory fee reduction in subparagraph (G)by reducing the attorneys' fees award; (2) it erred by declining to award prejudgment interest; and (3) it erred in its factual findings that it relied upon to determine the reasonableness of the attorneys' fees award. We discuss each argument in turn. A. Section 1415(i)(3)(B) of the IDEA provides that the court, in its discretion, may award reasonable attorneys' fees as part of the costs to a prevailing party who is the parent of a child with a disability. This reasonable attorneys' fees provision is the basis for the District Court's award in this case. The Court reviewed the requested attorneys' fees, reduced them for reasonableness, and then made its award. The Appellants argue that the plain language of two other IDEA subparagraphs should have prevented the District Court from making any reductions in the attorneys' fees award. Subparagraph (F) provides that whenever the court finds that one of four defined circumstances exist, the court shall reduce, accordingly, the amount of the attorneys' fees awarded under this section. 20 U.S.C. 1415(i)(3)(F). Subparagraph (F)'s mandatory fee reduction provision has an exception. If the district court finds that the State or local educational agency unreasonably protracted the final resolution of the action or proceeding or there was a violation of this section, then [t]he provisions of subparagraph (F) shall not apply. Id. 1415(i)(3)(G). The Appellants argue that subparagraph (G) applies in this case because FCSD unreasonably protracted the litigation and violated 1415 by not providing Alex's education records to his parents. Because of this, they claim, (G) not only prevents the mandatory fee reductions in (F) from occurring, but it prevents any fee reduction, of any kind whatsoever, by the District Court. Not so. This interpretation is unsupported by the language of the statute and has no precedential support. Subparagraph (B) permits a district court to award reasonable attorneys' fees. If a party submits an unreasonably large bill for the award, a court has the power to reduce it to a reasonable amount. Subparagraph (F) provides that, in certain circumstances, the district court must reduce the award to an amount lower than it otherwise would. But if (G)'s exception also applies, the court is not required to reduce the award. Subparagraph (G) has no bearing on the court's determination of which fees are or are not reasonable. It merely excuses the court from having to reduce the award if a circumstance in (F) also applies. The plain language of the IDEA contradicts the Appellants' argument. The Appellants provide no case law to support their interpretation of this provision. Instead, they rely on one unpublished case that, after review, supports FCSD's position. In Cobb County School District v. D.B., 670 F. App'x 684 (11th Cir. 2016), this Court reversed a district court's reduction of attorneys' fees under the IDEA. There, the district court did not make precise calculations regarding the reduction but instead relied on its own experience with litigation. It examined a request for $271,527.50 of attorneys' fees and flatly reduced it to $75,000. We construed this as a required reduction under subparagraph (F) because the district court found that one of the four circumstances that trigger (F)'s mandatory reduction provision applied. But because the district court also found that the school district had unreasonably protracted the litigation, we reversed and held that the district court should have applied subparagraph (G)'s exception to (F). Thus, we remanded for the district court to recalculate reasonable attorneys' fees pursuant to subparagraph (B). Cobb County does not provide support for the Appellants' position. Rather, it illustrates how the IDEA operates when subparagraph (G) applies. If (G)'s exception applies, a district court errs if it acts as though it is required to reduce the award under (F). But the district court retains the discretion to determine what qualifies as reasonable attorneys' fees under (B). In Cobb County, we remanded for the district court to perform that reasonableness analysis even though subparagraph (G)'s exception applied. In the instant case, this is precisely what the District Court did. Its reductions to the award were due to reasonableness, not because it erred in believing that (F) required it to reduce the award. Cobb County is of no help to the Appellants. Because their interpretation has no precedential support and is contradicted by the plain language of the statute, the District Court did not abuse its discretion in applying subparagraph (B)'s reasonableness analysis to reduce the attorneys' fees award. B. The Appellants also argue that the District Court erred in declining to award prejudgment interest. The IDEA allows reasonable attorneys' fees to be awarded as part of the costs. 20 U.S.C. 1415(i)(3)(B)(i). Prejudgment interest is not part of the costs; rather, it is considered as damages. Library of Cong. v. Shaw, 478 U.S. 310, 321, 106 S. Ct. 2957, 2965 (1986) (superseded by statute). The term costs has never been understood to include any interest component. Id. Accordingly, the District Court did not abuse its discretion in declining to award prejudgment interest. C. Finally, the Appellants argue that the District Court erred in its factual findings that it relied upon to perform its reasonableness analysis. The Appellants take issue with some of the substantive reductions, such as lowering one attorney's hourly rate from $650 to $500 and finding that eight days of preparation for a one-day preliminary hearing was excessive. The Appellants do not, however, identify any fact that the District Court relied upon in its analysis that was objectively incorrect. The District Court performed an intensive and thorough analysis of the billing records and affidavits offered by both parties to support and oppose the attorneys' fees request. The Appellants did not show that it relied upon a clearly erroneous fact in doing so, and the District Court did not otherwise abuse its discretion in making substantial but reasonable reductions to the fee request. Accordingly, the Appellants' argument must fail. IV. The District Court did not abuse its discretion in reducing the attorneys' fees award to a reasonable amount. We affirm the judgment. AFFIRMED. FOOTNOTES . 20 U.S.C. 1400 et. seq. . The ALJ's findings of fact related to this abuse are truly horrific. Alex's classroom teacher slammed him into a locker or concrete floor when he moved too slowly for her. Alex was in a class with three other disabled students during this school year, and the teacher would scream at each of them daily, burp and pass gas in their faces, and press her breasts against them. Alex was also restrained to a chair and left alone in a dark, windowless room by the teacher. We note that, while the present appeal is limited only to the District Court's decision on the attorneys' fees award, these appalling facts are relevant as the basis for the underlying claim and why the Appellants succeeded as a prevailing party to merit attorneys' fees under the IDEA. . Section 1415(b)(1) provides that parents shall have [a]n opportunity to examine all records relating to the identification, evaluation, and educational placement of their child in an IDEA lawsuit. . Subparagraph (F), the mandatory reduction provision, states that[e]xcept as provided in subparagraph (G), whenever the court finds that(i) the parent, or the parent's attorney, during the course of the action or proceeding, unreasonably protracted the final resolution of the controversy;(ii) the amount of the attorneys' fees otherwise authorized to be awarded unreasonably exceeds the hourly rate prevailing in the community for similar services by attorneys of reasonably comparable skill, reputation, and experience;(iii) the time spent and legal services furnished were excessive considering the nature of the action or proceeding; or(iv) the attorney representing the parent did not provide to the local educational agency the appropriate information in the notice of the complaint described in subsection (b)(7)(A),the court shall reduce, accordingly, the amount of the attorneys' fees awarded under this section. . This interpretation appears to be rarely argued. In Platt v. District of Columbia, the court noted that it was a curious argument before determining, as we do, that subparagraph (G) does not affect the court's discretionary authority to award reasonable attorneys' fees. 168 F. Supp. 3d 253, 263 n.8 (D.D.C. 2016). . A district court does not err if it uses subparagraph (F)'s enumerated causes for mandatory reduction to inform its reasonableness analysis, as the District Court did here, so long as it does not reduce the award because it acts as though (F) is binding. PER CURIAM: The acquisition provides an opportunity to Tata Steel to meet growing power demand. Tata Steel, together with its 100 per cent subsidiary T S Alloys Ltd (T S Alloys), is the holding company of BPPL. New Delhi: Tata Steel will acquire 74 per cent stake in Bhubaneshwar Power Private Ltd (BPPL) from JL Power Ventures Private Ltd for Rs 255 crore to ramp up its captive source of power. The acquisition provides an opportunity to Tata Steel to meet growing power demand, it added. Tata Steel, together with its 100 per cent subsidiary T S Alloys Ltd (T S Alloys), is the holding company of BPPL, a company statement said. "Tata Steel on November 30, 2017, executed definitive agreements to acquire 74 per cent equity shares of BPPL from JL Power Ventures Private Ltd (JL Power)," Tata Steel said in the statement. Tata Steel further said the acquisition will require an approval from the Odisha Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation, apart from a few other clearances, and the indicative period for completion of the acquisition is two months. Incorporated in 2006, Bhubaneshwar Power Private Ltd (BPPL) is into the business of power generation and a JV among Tata Steel, T S Alloys and JL Power, a subsidiary of Jasper Industries Pvt Ltd. Chief minister K. Palaniswami announced a solatium of Rs 4 lakh to the kin of each of the victims, an official release said. Chennai/Thiruvananthapuram: Heavy rains continued to batter coastal areas of Kerala and south Tamil Nadu on Friday, crippling normal life, even as Cyclone Ockhi lay centered about 80km north-northeast of Minicoy in Lakshadweep. The death toll in the two states in rain-related incidents rose to 12 on Friday. As the toll due to Cyclone Ockhi in Kanyakumari district mounted to five on Friday, a low pressure system over the South Andaman Sea is expected to turn into a depression in the next 48 hours, which may bring more rain to Tamil Nadu. Chief minister K. Palaniswami announced a solatium of Rs 4 lakh to the kin of each of the victims, an official release said. A report from Thiruvanathapuram said as many as 218 fishermen from Kerala, stranded in the sea off the coast due to inclement weather conditions, were brought safely to the shore on Friday even as the death toll rose to seven in the state. In Chennai, Mr Palaniswami took stock of the situation. An official release said over 1,200 persons affected by the heavy rain in Kanyakumari and Tirunelveli districts, have been lodged in relief camps. To expedite relief works in the worst hit Kanyakumari, two teams of National Disaster Response Force and seven teams of state disaster response agency have been deputed. In Kanyakumari, Tirunelveli and Tuticorin districts, heavy rains and gusty winds uprooted 579 trees, it said, adding, efforts are on to remove them. A well marked low pressure is lying over South Andaman Sea and its neighbourhood. It is expected to concentrate into a depression in the next 48 hours, regional meteorological centre director S. Balachandran said. This will be the first time when he is not partnering with The Weinstein Company, facing uncertainty in the wake of the Weinstein scandal. Los Angeles: Director Quentin Tarantino's untitled film about Manson Family murders has got a release date. The film will release on August 19, 2019, reported Variety. The date carries a symbolic importance, as it marks the 50th anniversary of Sharon Tate/Manson Family murders. The project will be distributed by Sony Pictures. The ace director has met several A-listers of Hollywood about the project. This will be the first time when Tarantino is not partnering with The Weinstein Company, which is facing uncertainty in the wake of Harvey Weinstein scandal. The project will be produced by David Heyman, Tarantino and Shannon McIntosh, with Georgia Kacandes as executive producer. The shooting will start next year. The raids are in connection with the ED probe into the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) clearance given to the Aircel-Maxis deal in 2006. New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday conducted searches at several places in Chennai and Kolkata, including the premises of an alleged close associate of former finance minister P. Chidambaram, in connection with its money laundering probe in the Aircel-Maxis deal case. Sources said four locations in Chennai and two in Kolkata were searched by the agency sleuths since early Friday morning. Documents, computer hardware, like CDs and disk drives, have been recovered during the searches. Searches were conducted at the premises of an alleged close associate of Karti Chidambaram, son of the former finance minister P. Chidambaram, agency sleuths claimed. The former finance minister, in the past, had dismissed the allegations against him, saying the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) clearance pertaining to the Aircel-Maxis deal case was granted in due course. The ED suspects these people of having financial links in the Aircel-Maxis case, they said. The raids are in connection with the ED probe into the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) clearance given to the Aircel-Maxis deal in 2006. The agency had said it is investigating the circumstances of the said FIPB approval was granted by the then finance minister (P Chidambaram). In September, it had attached assets worth Rs 1.16 crore of Karti and a firm allegedly linked to him, in this case. The ED also alleged that Karti had disposed of a property in Gurugram, which he had allegedly rented out to a multinational company to whom foreign direct investment (FDI) approval had been granted in 2013. It charged that Karti had also closed certain bank accounts and attempted to close other bank accounts in order to frustrate the process of attachment under the PMLA. The Congress bettered its performance by ranking number two in Varanasi, Moradabad and Mathura. Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to Twitter to congratulate Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and thank the people of the state. (Photo: @Narendramodi_PM/Twitter) Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh was painted saffron on Friday when BJP swept the municipal elections establishing its complete hold on the three-tier system of the government. The BJP won 14 out of 16 posts in mayoral polls while the BSP made a comeback by winning two mayoral posts. Chief minister Yogi Adityanath attributed the BJPs victory to the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the strategy of party president Amit Shah. He said that rival Congress was humbled even in the Gandhi family bastion of Amethi and the BJP will now aim for hundred per cent success in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. Deputy chief minister Keshav Maurya said, The wind which began blowing in 2014 has turned into a storm. We thank the people for reposing faith in us and we will work twice as hard to serve them. The Congress bettered its performance by ranking number two in Varanasi, Moradabad and Mathura. The Congress won the Nagar Palika president post in Rae Bareli. Surprisingly, Asaduddin Owaisis AIMIM made its presence felt in the election. Its candidate Mashrur Fatima came second in Ferozabad. The Samajwadi Partys performance was, however, grossly disappointing. The party could not win even a single mayoral seat. The party lost in its bastion, Ferozabad, where the BJP won. This was the first time that SP had contested on its election symbol. The municipal election results are a personal victory for UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath who had addressed around 33 rallies in the state after the Opposition had claimed that the results would be a referendum of sorts on the performance of the eight-month old Yogi government. The Opposition, meanwhile, had already given a psychological edge to the ruling BJP as SP president Akhilesh Yadav and BSP president Mayawati did not campaign even on a single day for the municipal elections. UPCC president Raj Babbar, however, campaigned vigorously for his party candidates. The BJP, which had won 10 out of 12 mayoral seats in 2012, won the newly-created Nagar Nigams in Mathura and Ayodhya. Both these municipal corporations were recently created by the Yogi Adityanath government. Yogi Adityanath has started his election campaign form Ayodhya a clear indication of his priority. In Mathura, BJP candidate Mukesh Aryabandhu became the first mayor of the municipal corporation while in Ayodhya, BJPs Hrishikesh Upadhyaya was elected the first mayor of the nagar nigam. He defeated transgender Gulshan Bindu (SP) with a margin of 4,600 votes. SP leaders created a ruckus at the Faizabad district collectorate after the announcement of results, alleging malpractices by the local administration. Gulshan Bindu alleged that the power supply had been switched off during the counting of votes. The BJP also won, apart from Ayodhya and Mathura, Moradabad, Agra, Saharanpur, Ghaziabad, Bareilly, Kanpur, Jhansi, Allahabad, Lucknow, Gorakhpur, Varanasi and Ferozabad. The Bahujan Samaj Party won the Meerut and Aligarh seats. Meerut, considered a BJP bastion, has also been the home of aggressive Hindutva. Meanwhile, elections were also held for 198 Nagar Palika Parishad (municipal councils) and 428 nagar panchayats or notified area councils. Reports suggest that the BJP has won more than 50 per cent of the seats though the final picture is expected to be known late on Friday night or on Saturday. Independents, mostly rebel candidates, have won a large number of seats. In Mathura (ward no 56) a piquant situation arose when the Congress and BJP candidate ended up with exactly the same number of votes. The BJP candidate won when a child was made to elect the candidate through lottery. A similar situation took place in Mahoba where the winner was decided by tossing a coin. Highlight points: The BJP claimed that the Congress had lost the nagar panchayat seat in Amethi to BJP, but Congress MLC Deepak Singh clarified that the Congress had not even contested the Amethi Nagar Panchayat seat. The BJP won the newly-created Nagar Nigams in Mathura and Ayodhya. Both these municipal corporations were recently created by the Yogi Adityanath government. SP could not win even a single mayoral seat and lost in the party bastion Ferozabad. Yogi Adityanath who had addressed around 33 rallies in the state. Akhilesh and Mayawati did not campaign even on a single day. Delhi govt orders inquiry, Arvind Kejriwal promises action on hospital, if guilty. The incident is of Max Hospital in Shalimar Bagh where a woman gave birth to pre-mature twins on Thursday evening. New Delhi: In a case of alleged medical negligence, one of the newly born twins, who was declared dead by an upscale private hospital in Delhi, was later found to be alive when the parents were on their way to perform the last rites. The police has registered a case under Section 308 of the IPC which governs cases related to attempt to commit culpable homicide and is punishable by upto seven years in jail. The incident is of Max Hospital in Shalimar Bagh where a woman gave birth to pre-mature twins (a boy and a girl) on Thursday evening. While the girl was stillborn, the baby boy was declared dead later. The hospital wrapped the two bodies in two separate paper bags and handed over the same to the family in a polythene bag. While the family was on its way to perform the last rites, they felt some movement and squirming coming from inside the bag. To their utter shock, one of the babies, which was declared dead, was found alive. We were near Madhuban Chowk when we felt some movement in the bag. Upon finding it alive, we took the baby to a hospital in Pitampura where he is being currently treated, said the babys maternal grandfather, Praveen Malik. Reacting to the incident, Union health minister J.P. Nadda said he had directed the Delhi government to look into the matter and take necessary action. It is very unfortunate. I have directed the Delhi government to look into the matter and take necessary action, Mr Nadda told reporters. The Delhi government has ordered a probe into the incident with chief minister Arvind Kejriwal promising strict action against the hospital, if found guilty. Delhi health minister Satyendar Jain has ordered an inquiry by the health department. The family of the twins said that the doctors in Max Hospital, before declaring the baby dead, had said that his condition was serious. The police in a statement said, Yesterday, we received a call at Shalimar Bagh police station. The callers said one Varsha, wife of Ashish, was referred to the Max Hospital from a nursing home in Paschim Vihar on account of possibility of premature delivery. She was admitted there on November 28. The doctors had told the family that she was serious and the chances of survival of the twins were slim, as she was six months pregnant, they said. Varsha had given birth to a boy and a girl. The family was later informed that the twins were stillborn and handed over to the family, the police said. The hospital, in a statement, has said that it is shaken and concerned at this rare incident and it too has initiated an enquiry. It has been brought to our attention that a pre-mature (22 weeks) new-born baby, who is reported to be on life support at a nursing home, was unfortunately handed over without any sign of life by Max Hospital, Shalimar Bagh. This baby was one of the twins delivered on the morning of Nov 30th. The other baby was stillborn. We are shaken and concerned at the rare incident. We have initiated a detailed inquiry, pending which, the concerned doctor has been asked to proceed on leave immediately. We are in constant touch with the parents and are providing all the needed support, it said. The Navy Chief also declined to answer any queries on INS Arihant, Indias first indigenous nuclear-powered submarine. The project will boost the Navys overall strike capabilities in the face of Chinas growing military manoeuvring in the Indo- Pacific region. (Photo: Representative image/AFP) New Delhi: The Chief of Naval Staff, Adm. Sunil Lanba, said here on Friday that India had already embarked on a process of building six nuclear-powered attack submarines which he said would add enormous power and reach to the countrys naval prowess and enhance the Navys overall strike capabilities in the face of Chinas growing military manoeuvring in the Indo-Pacific region. It has kicked off and I will leave it at that. It is a classified project. The process has started, Adm. Lanba said in reply to a question after his customary address ahead of Navy Day on December 4. The Navy Chief also declined to answer any queries on INS Arihant, Indias first indigenous nuclear-powered submarine. The Navy Chief said if China plans to use the Pakistani port of Gwadar in Balochistan as a base for its Peoples Liberation Army Navy (PLAN), India will have to reassess the threat assessment and devise ways to deal with it. Chinese private companies have acquired a majority stake in Gwadar. Nor is there any information on whether Gwadar is going to be a naval base or a commercial harbour... If in future there are PLA Navy warships stationed in Gwadar, it will be a matter of concern, and we will have to look at that and mitigate. Underscoring the fact that PLAN activity in the Indian Ocean region was being closely monitored and that there had been no unusual pattern in their deployment since 2013, Adm. Lanba said at any given point of time there were eight PLAN ships in the IOR, of which three are part of anti-piracy operations while a submarine comes with escort ships twice a year. In the month of August, there was a unique situation as there were 14 ships in the area, he added. The Navy Chief also remarked that the use of submarines by China for anti-piracy operations in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) was rather odd as a submarine was not the ideal platform for anti-piracy. On expanding the Indian Navys footprint in the IOR and even beyond, Adm. Lanba said it was gradually raising its deployment in Andaman Sea, Malacca Strait, Gulf of Oman, Persian Gulf, and North Arabian and Sunda and Lumbok seas. In short, our ships and aircraft are deployed from the Gulf of Aden to the Western Pacific on an almost 24x7 basis, Adm. Lanba added. The admiral said the Navys aviation arm was being augmented by the induction of new fighters, surveillance aircraft and ship-borne helicopters. Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Sunil Lanba addresses the media on Navy Day in New Delhi. (Photo: G.N. Jha) New Delhi: Clearing the air on a controversy that a team of American technical personnel was allowed access to the damaged INS Chakra, a Russian nuclear submarine that is on lease to India, Indian Navy Chief Admiral Sunil Lanba has said that no Americans were given access of the submarine that is being docked at a naval base in Vizag. No US personnel had seen the submarine from nearby, Admiral Lanba told reporters in response to a query. The Navy Chief confirmed that two panels of the submarines sonar dome, its eyes, and ears in the water, had been damaged and a court of inquiry had been instituted to determine the cause of the accident. The accident is believed to have taken place in October. A Russian newspaper Kommersant had, on its website on November 11, reported that the Indian Navy had allowed a US team to visit INS Chakra,. A sub-surface nuclear vessel, the lease of the INS Chakra ends in 2022. A nuclear-powered submarine is not nuclear-armed and uses conventional missiles and torpedoes. On the process of ongoing modernisation of the Navy, Admiral Lanba said 34 ships are under construction and projects worth `40,000 crore have been identified for participation of the private shipyards while 23 Indian private sector shipyards have qualified for participation in indigenous shipbuilding projects on the basis of their capacity, capability and infrastructure. Work on Indigenous Aircraft Carrier, IAC 1, is progressing well, the Navy Chief said, adding he was hopeful that the ship would join the Navy by 2020. The admiral said the Navys aviation arm was being augmented by the induction of new fighters, surveillance aircraft and ship-borne helicopters. The Navy is at the threshold of joining a select league of navies capable of providing submarine search and rescue in the Indian Ocean region with two deep submergence rescue vessel systems scheduled for induction next year, he said. Modi addressed several issues, including Kutchs handicrafts to increasing womens voting percentage. New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday asserted that Gujarats social fabric cannot be vitiated on caste or sectoral lines for electoral benefit. Mr Modi, who interacted with the BJPs women workers in Gujarat through the NaMo app, also hailed the partys stunning performance in the Uttar Pradesh civic polls and said it has brought about a wave of positivity and excitement across the country. He will address a spate of rallies across Gujarat on Sunday and Monday, in a flurry of campaigning in the state. Mr Modi said the UP electorate had rejected the negative impression and atmosphere of pessimism created by certain elements during the Assembly as well as civic polls and said that similar winds of a rejection of negativity are also blowing over Gujarat. Gujarat goes to the polls on December 9 and 14 and the results will be out on December 18. Mr Modi, who has so far addressed eight election rallies in his home state of Gujarat, interacted with 7,500 brave BJP women workers through the NaMo app on Friday. While remembering how the women of Gujarat used to fast for his safety and well-being, Mr Modi addressed several issues, including Kutchs handicrafts to increasing womens voting percentage. Mr Modi is scheduled to address seven more rallies on December 3 and 4 in Saurashtra and South Gujarat, which will go to the polls in the first phase. While the PM will address rallies in Bharuch, Surendranagar and Rajkot on December 3, he will visit Ahmedabad in the evening to attend a function at Shree Swaminarayan Gurukul Vishwavidya Pratisthanam (SGVP). On December 4, Mr Modi will address rallies in Dharampur in Valsad, Bhavnagar, Junagadh and Jamnagar. During his interaction with the women cadre, Mr Modi hailed the Indian voter as being very mature and said they have immense faith in democracy. He further said that this faith has shown through during elections even at the most difficult times in the nations history. The PM said the Indian voter can rise above all negative influences such as casteism and ilicit money power. Referring to the UP Assembly polls held earlier in 2017 when the BJP had its government after 15 years in the state and the civic polls whose results were declared on Friday, Mr Modi said both results proved beyond doubt that the electorate has rejected the negativity created over bold structural reforms such as demonetisation and GSTand said similar winds of a rejection of negativity are also blowing over Gujarat. While asserting that Gujarats social fabric cannot be vitiated on caste or sectoral lines for electoral benefit, Mr Modi also said the recent favourable assessments by rating agencies, and the GDP numbers that were announced yesterday, bring good tidings on the economic front. The CJI asked the counsel whether the court could restrain someone from propagating his political views though his party. New Delhi: With a view to decriminalising politics, the Supreme Court on Friday issued notice to the Centre and the Election Commission on a PIL seeking a ban on convicted persons from forming a political party and becoming its office-bearer. A three-judge Bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices A.M. Kanwilkar and D.Y. Chandrachud initially told senior counsel Siddharth Luthra appearing for petitioner Ashwini Kumar Upadhyaya, BJP spokesperson, We cant impose a law on Parliament when such a prohibition is not there in the law. The bench, however, said it would examine whether could court empower the Election Commission to de-register political parties which are headed by convicted persons. At present, the Election Commission has the power only to recognise a political party but not to de-recognise it for various reasons. The petitioner cited the instance of Lalu Prasad Yadav, O.P. Chautala and Sasikala who have been convicted for major scams but still holding highest political post. Similarly, charges have been framed by the Court in serious cases against Suresh Kalmadi, A. Raja, Jagan Mohan Reddy, Madhu Koda, Ashok Chavan, Akabaruddin Owaisi, Kanimozhi, Mayawati and many others who are holding top posts in the parties. The bench, while seeking response, said it would examine Section 29 (A) of the Representation of the People Act (RPA) as to whether the ECI is empowered to derecognise the political party formed by a convicted person. Appearing for the petitioner, senior advocate Sidharth Luthra submitted that if a convicted person in a criminal case gets disqualified to contest election, he should not be allowed to head a political party. The CJI asked the counsel whether the court could restrain someone from propagating his political views though his party. United States Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff - Appellee, v. CALVIN COLEMAN, Defendant - Appellant. No. 17-10233 Decided: November 30, 2017 Before HULL, JULIE CARNES and JILL PRYOR, Circuit Judges. Calvin Coleman appeals his 36-month sentence, which the district court imposed after revoking his supervised release. He argues that his sentence is procedurally and substantively unreasonable. For the reasons set forth below, we affirm. Coleman completed a term of incarceration for a drug crime and began a four year term of supervised release. Among other conditions of his supervised release, Coleman was prohibited from using or possessing a controlled substance. Within the next five years, Coleman's supervised release was revoked three times for drug-related violations. The instant violationhis thirdoccurred when he was arrested for unlawful distribution of a controlled substance after he was caught selling Xanax pills to a confidential informant. The district court conducted a hearing and, after hearing from Coleman, his probation officer, and the deputy who investigated the drug transaction, adjudicated Coleman in violation of the terms of his supervised release. Because Coleman had possessed a controlled substance, revocation of his supervised release was mandatory. 18 U.S.C. 3583(g)(1). At sentencing, the government noted that Coleman's guidelines range was 33 to 41 months' imprisonment but requested a 36-month sentence, the statutory maximum, citing the fact that Coleman was repeatedly caught selling drugs while serving terms of supervised release. Coleman requested a sentence of 20 months, explaining that he had a job and family ties and was trying to get along with his life. Doc. 85 at 63. The district court imposed a sentence of 36 months' imprisonment, stating: The appropriate sentence in your case is the statutory maximum. It's a sentence within the guidelines, and I find that that is the sentence that is sufficient but not more than necessary to accomplish the sentencing objectives set forth in the statute. Id. at 68. Coleman appealed. On appeal, Coleman contends that his sentence was procedurally and substantively unreasonable because the district court failed to consider any of the 18 U.S.C. 3553(a) factors when determining his sentence. We cannot agree. A district court must impose a sentence that is reasonable, including upon revocation of supervised release. United States v. Gonzalez, 550 F.3d 1319, 1323 (11th Cir. 2008); United States v. Sweeting, 437 F.3d 1105, 1106-07 (11th Cir. 2006). To determine whether a sentence is reasonable, we first ensure that the district court committed no significant procedural error. Gall v. United States, 552 U.S. 38, 51 (2007). Where, as here, the procedural reasonableness of a sentence is raised for the first time on appeal, we review only for plain error. United States v. Vandergrift, 754 F.3d 1303, 1307 (11th Cir. 2014). Second, we consider the substantive reasonableness of the sentence imposed under an abuse-of-discretion standard. Gall, 552 U.S. at 51. In most cases, a sentence may be procedurally unreasonable if a district court fails to consider the 3553(a) factors or substantively unreasonable if the court unjustifiably relies on any particular factor listed in 3553(a). Gall, 552 U.S. at 51; United States v. Sarras, 575 F.3d 1191, 1219 (11th Cir. 2009). But, as Coleman acknowledges, this Court has held that, when revocation of supervised release is mandatory under 18 U.S.C. 3583(g), the statute does not require consideration of the 3553(a) factors. United States v. Brown, 224 F.3d 1237, 1241 (11th Cir. 2000) (internal quotation marks omitted). We are bound to follow Brown unless and until it is overruled or undermined to the point of abrogation by this Court sitting en banc or by the Supreme Court. See United States v. Archer, 531 F.3d 1347, 1352 (11th Cir. 2008). Because under Brown the district court is not required to consider the 3553(a) factors, Coleman's challenge must fail. We therefore affirm his 36-month sentence. AFFIRMED. FOOTNOTES . Doc. refers to the numbered entry on the district court's docket in this case. . These factors include the nature and circumstances of the offense and history and characteristics of the defendant; the need for the sentence imposed to afford adequate deterrence to criminal conduct, to protect the public from further crimes by the defendant, and to provide the defendant with needed educational or vocational training; and the kinds of sentences available and established sentencing ranges. See 18 U.S.C. 3553(a)(1)-(5). . Under plain error review, we may reverse only if we conclude that there is error; the error is plain; the error affected the defendant's substantial rights; and the error seriously affects the fairness, integrity or public reputation of judicial proceedings. Molina-Martinez v. United States, 136 S. Ct. 1338, 1343 (2016) (internal quotation marks omitted). . Thus we cannot, as Coleman urges, follow the reasoning of the Third Circuit, which has held that district courts must consider the 3553(a) factors even when revocation of supervised release is mandatory. See United States v. Thornhill, 759 F.3d 299, 309 (3d Cir. 2014). . The government asserts that, even if the reasoning of Thornhill applied, the record in this case makes clear that the district court adequately considered the 3553(a) factors. The government also argues that Coleman cannot show that any error would have affected his substantial rights, citing a statement by the district court that it would have sentenced Coleman to a longer term of imprisonment in the absence of the statutory maximum sentence. Because we conclude that Brown governs this case, we do not address these alternative reasons for affirming Coleman's sentence. PER CURIAM: Naidu also clarified that India did not view a terrorist from a religion perspective and they were only enemies of humanity. New Delhi: In an obvious reference to Pakistan, vice-president M. Venkaiah Naidu launched a scathing attack on it saying one of Indias neighbours was using terrorism as a state policy and was combining terror with religion thus creating division among the people. Without naming Pakistan, Mr Naidu said the same neighbour was providing training, funds and helping terrorists to infiltrate into India from across the border. The vice-president was addressing troops at Raising Day of Border Security Force on Friday. Mr Naidu also clarified that India did not view a terrorist from a religion perspective and they were only enemies of humanity. While we have taken many initiatives to maintain good relations with our neighbours, some of them were constantly trying to foment trouble by even resorting to intrusions into our country. This is unfortunate and condemnable that one of our neighbours had made terrorism as a state policy and constantly trying to aid, abet, fund and train terrorists and send them here, he added. Vice-president M. Venkaiah Naidu gives away gallantry awards at the BSFs 52nd Raising Day Ceremony in New Delhi. (Photo: PTI) Mr Naidu complimented the security forces saying they have regularly foiled attacks and other activities of terrorist organisation while the countrys enemy remained unrepentant about its nefarious conduct. Mr Naidu said the BSF was doing a commendable work in guarding the sensitive borders with Pakistan and Bangladesh even as threat and evil consequences of terror were being felt globally. It is unfortunate that our neighbour continues to work on that track by combining terrorism with religion and bringing divisions among the people, he claimed. Since we have a tradition of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam or world is one family, we never cast an evil eye on any nation or neighbour and have always favoured peace. Our motto is welfare of all human beings. This is our philosophy and dharma. This is what we believe and practice. We have no problem with anybody but they create problems for us, the vice-president said. Mr Naidu urged the UN to initiate strong action against groups and people indulging in acts of terror. India is getting stronger and it is rapidly taking strides in the world. Development and good governance is the only solution and peace is very essential for this, he added. He said the 2.5 lakh-strong BSF has been doing exceptional work for the last 52 years and that country was proud of them. I assure that while you keep doing your duty with full devotion, the country will perform its duty towards you, Mr Naidu assured the BSF personnel. Rabri Devis appearance before the probe agency comes after she skipped similar summonses at least six times. New Delhi: Former Bihar chief minister Rabri Devi on Saturday appeared before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with a railway hotels allotment corruption case. Rabri Devi, the wife of RJD chief Lalu Prasad, reached the ED zonal office in Patna. Sources said a special team of the ED from Delhi questioned the former Bihar CM and recorded her statement under the provisions of the Preven-tion of Money Launder-ing Act (PMLA). Lalu Prasad was the railway minister in the UPA-I government. A special team of the agency from Delhi recorded her statement under the PMLA. She was questioned for seven hours, sources said. Rabri Devis appearance before the probe agency comes after she skipped similar summonses at least six times. It is understood that the agency allowed her request to be questioned in Patna and not in Delhi, where the criminal case has been registered. The ED has earlier questioned Rabri Devis son Tejashwi Yad-av, former deputy chief minister of Bihar, twice in this case. In July, the agency had registered a case against Lalu Prasad, his family members and others under various provisions of the PMLA. RJD sources said that Misha Bharti and others were made to sit in a separate room during the questioning but were allowed to meet with the former chief minister during lunch break. RJD chief Lalu Yadav had earlier dubbed cases and CBI raids against his family a political conspiracy by the BJP. According to the RJD chief, repeated summon notices were sent to Rabri Devi to harass the family out of vendetta politics. He told this newspaper on Saturday, We have always cooperated with the investigating agency but one summon notice after another was being sent on the instructions of the BJP who wants to stop us from raising our voices against their failures. Nothing will stop me. Before that, the CBI had registered a first information report and conducted multiple searches on the properties of Lalu Prasad and others. The CBI FIR alleged that Lalu Prasad, during his tenure as the railway minister in the UPA-I government, handed over the maintenance of two Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) hotels to a company in 2004 after receiving bribe in the form of a prime land in Patna through a benami company owned by Sarla Gupta, wife of Prem Chand Gupta, a former Union minister. The ED registered the criminal case against his family members and others under the PMLA, based on the CBI FIR. The CBI has already recorded the statements of Tejashwi and Lalu Prasad in this case. The ED is investigating the alleged proceeds of crime generated by the accused, purportedly through shell companies, according to the officials. Others named in the CBI FIR include Vijay Kochhar, Vinay Kochhar (both directors of Sujata Hotels), Delight Marketing company, now known as Lara Projects, and then IRCTC managing director P K Goel. The CBI FIR was registered on July 5 in connection with favours allegedly extended to Sujata Hotels in awarding a contract for the upkeep of the hotels in Ranchi and Puri and receiving premium land as quid pro quo. Singh strongly denied Modis allegation that the Congress and Congress-led governments hated Gujaratis. New Delhi: During campaigning in Gujarat, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday steered clear of touching upon the issue of Prime Minister Narendra Modis much-hyped humble background of a tea seller. When asked at a press conference in Surat as to why he does not talk about his own background like Mr Modi, Dr Singh said, I dont want the country to take pity on the basis of my humble background. I do not think I want to enter into any competition with Prime Minister Modiji on this particular matter. The issue about the background of Mr Modi has been occupying the political discourse since early 2014 when Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyer had referred to Mr. Modi as a chaiwala or tea seller. The matter again came into prominence last month after a Youth Congress meme on Mr Modis chaiwala past. Though the Congress immediately issued an apology and distanced itself from the Youth Congress meme, the issue became a part of the electoral discourse in poll-bound Gujarat. In one of the recent election rallies, Mr Modi said that he may have sold tea but would not sell the country a reference to the alleged scams that took place during the Congress-led UPA government. On Saturday, Dr Singh chided Mr Modi for comparing the countrys first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru with the first home minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. Nothing is gained, as often attempted by Modiji, to pit the two great leaders of power (against each other), he said. Dr Singh strongly denied Mr Modis allegation that the Congress and Congress-led governments hated Gujaratis. Nothing can be farther from the truth. I realise that many things are said in election times. But when they are gross distortions, they need to be rebutted, he said. The former Prime Minister accused Mr Modi of denigrating the country by claiming that Congress did nothing in 70 years. I wish the Prime Minister would find more dignified ways of impressing upon the crowds and seeking their votes without resorting to statements which denigrate our country, he said. This was the second visit of Dr. Singh to Gujarat for campaigning in the upcoming Assembly elections. The Congress has sent a battery of its leaders to the state for campaign ahead of the two-phase polling on December 9 and 14. The result of the elections will be out on December 18. Principal S Nath vouched for the accused teachers by adding that the victim did not have any PT class on Thursday. Parents of the students staged a dharna in front of the school for around 15 hours demanding immediate suspension of the accused teacher and action against the principal for alleged inaction. (Photo: Asian Age) Kolkata: Teachers of a Kolkata school, where a 4-year-old girl was allegedly sexually abused on Thursday, made attempts to lighten the situation after police arrested two physical training (PT) instructors in connection with the case. One of the teachers called the alleged crime a mischief. The incident took place at GD Birla Centre for Education on Thursday. Abhishek and Mafizuddin lured the four-year-old girl with chocolates during the school hours and took her to the schools toilet, where they committed the crime, according to preliminary investigation. The teachers made the insensitive remarks on Friday when the parents of others students were protesting against the incident outside the school. One teacher laughed and said that there is nothing to do if someone is being mischievous, according to media reports. Later, school principal Sharmila Nath issued a statement, where she tried to justify the incident, claiming that the vice-principal and other teachers were present at the school till 6 pm and no such occurrence took place during that time. She added that the victim's parents have not formally complained to the school. The principal also vouched for the accused instructors by adding that the victim did not have any PT class on Thursday and the teachers in question have been with the school for five to six years. The alleged incident of sexual assault came to light when the minor girls mother spotted blood on her clothes. The child was also crying and complained of severe pain. The girl told her mother that the physical training teacher had taken her to the washroom but could not narrate what happened thereafter. Her parents then took her to a paediatrician, who advised her to take the girl to the police, Garg said. The girl was admitted to the state-run SSKM Hospital late Thursday night and tests were performed to confirm the alleged sexual assault on her, hospital sources said. Main accused Avishek Roy. (Photo: Facebook) Her condition was now stable and she was released, the sources said, adding that the investigation report has been submitted to the police. The parents of the girl child lodged a complaint at the Jadavpur Police station, a senior Kolkata Police officer said. On Thursday night, Abhishek, in his early thirties, was detained for questioning by the police after the victim identified him as dustu sir (naughty teacher) when she was shown the photos. He was arrested on Friday. Following the incident, parents of the students staged a dharna in front of the school for around 15 hours demanding immediate suspension of the accused teacher and action against the principal for alleged inaction. The representatives of the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education were apprised of the matter. West Bengal Education Minister Partha Chatterjee said he is looking into the incident with "utmost seriousness". "I have no words to condemn the incident. Strongest punishment should be given to those responsible for the incident," he said. Chatterjee said that he had heard that such an incident had also taken place in that school three years ago and the school authorities should ensure security of the students. Women and Child Development and Social Welfare Minister Sasi Panja said the child welfare committee has been asked to visit the school and the hospital where the girl was admitted. "I just cannot think of what has happened in that school. The authorities of the school had assured three years ago that they will ensure safety in the school premises," she said. West Bengal Commission for the Protection of Child Rights, Chairperson, Ananya Chakraborty said, "I have asked the school authorities why CCTVs were not installed there in the last three years, but they have no answer." "They said it will be done this month. I am not satisfied with their answer," she said. The most important part of the conversation is taking the time to hear what a patient has to say. Our systems are not designed to allow for meaningful conversations that may take some time. (Photo: Pixabay) Though most people suffering from chronic respiratory diseases want to discuss their preferences for end-of-life care with medical providers, they seldom do, a new review of past research suggests. Its easier to avoid the conversation, which is rarely a brief one, said Dr. Cari Levy, a professor at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora. Our systems are not designed to allow for meaningful conversations that may take some time. Levy, a palliative-care physician who routinely discusses end-of-life questions with her patients, believes that confronting death can be empowering. We should not fool ourselves that protecting them from these discussions is in their best interest because we dont want them to lose hope, Levy, who was not involved with the study, said in an email. Its hard to have hope when youre mired in a cloud of anxiety. Clarity comes with control, and patients report feeling more control when they talk about dying and death. Lea Jabbarian, a public health researcher at Erasmus University Medical Centre in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, led a team that searched electronic databases for research on advanced-care planning in adults with chronic respiratory diseases. Ultimately, the researchers looked at data from 21 earlier studies involving nearly 2,000 patients with chronic lung diseases. In one of the studies, 99 percent reported being interested in discussing end-of-life care preferences, Jabbarian and colleagues report in the journal Thorax. In another study, focusing on chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, 68 percent of people reported being interested in engaging in conversations about the subject. But when investigators asked chronic respiratory patients if they could recall discussions about end-of-life care with their healthcare providers, only 12 to 32 percent said they could. Similarly, when researchers asked healthcare professionals if they had engaged patients in such discussions, only 20 to 33 percent reported doing so. We see that both patients and healthcare professionals want to have these conversations, but they only happen quite rarely, Jabbarian said in a Skype interview. We need to provide the right training, the right environment to allow these conversations to happen. Its really not that easy, and thats why the healthcare professionals need all the support to engage in these discussions. We do have to acknowledge that life is going to end at some point, she said. Healthcare professionals identified time constraints and fear of taking away patients hope as barriers to engaging in conversations with patients about their end-of-life care preferences. Other barriers included a cure-at-all-costs ethos, a lack of training for communicating about end-of-life care options and a failure to identify whose role it was to initiate a conversation. Whos the captain on the ship? Jabbarian asked. Its difficult to take the responsibility. As a palliative-care doctor, Levy routinely opens discussions about end-of-life care. Because she knows there is never a perfect time to start the conversation, she advises healthcare professionals to begin a dialogue as soon as possible. Do as your mother did and rip off the Band-Aid the anticipation is the hardest part, she said. She listens for openings in conversations, like when patients say things like, Im so tired of being sick, or I didnt know if I would ever get well again after that last time. The most important part of the conversation is taking the time to hear what a patient has to say, she said. But the most productive and revealing conversations about end-of-life wishes often take place outside of hospitals and clinics and around dinner tables, Levy said. I do think we place too much emphasis on making healthcare environments the place for these conversations, she said. Communities are a lovely place to talk about what matters most in the event of illness. At the Thanksgiving dinner, the holiday festivities when everyone is together, these are times to discuss what matters to you. The school district is cooperating fully with police. The teacher was arrested and charged with four misdemeanor counts of endangering the welfare of a child. (Photo: Pixabay) Police in New Hampshire have charged a former substitute teacher who they say encouraged middle school students to smoke pot and gave one student a vaping device. Twenty-year-old Elisha Mahar, of Rochester, was arrested Thursday and charged with four misdemeanor counts of endangering the welfare of a child. It wasnt immediately known if she had a lawyer, and a phone number for her couldnt be found. Authorities say a school resource officer at Somersworth Middle School spoke with Somersworth police on Oct. 13 after he learned Mahar had invited students to smoke and had given a student a vaping device while she was a substitute teacher. Interim Superintendent Connie Brown says the school district is cooperating fully with police. A hearing is scheduled for December 26. Prakash, who succeeds M M Kuty, will have to strike a fine balance between the AAP government and the office of the Lieutenant Governor. A 1986-batch IAS officer of the Arunachal Pradesh-Goa-Mizoram and Union Territory (AGMUT) cadre, Mr Prakash has been "prematurely repatriated" to his parent cadre from the Union rural development ministry. (Photo: Screen grab from YouTube) New Delhi: Senior IAS officer Anshu Prakash was appointed the chief secretary of the Delhi government on Friday, according to an order by the Ministry of Home Affairs. A 1986-batch IAS officer of the Arunachal Pradesh-Goa-Mizoram and Union Territory (AGMUT) cadre, Mr Prakash has been "prematurely repatriated" to his parent cadre from the Union rural development ministry. He served as an additional secretary and financial advisor in the ministry. Anshu Prakash, who succeeds M M Kuty, will have to strike a fine balance between the AAP government and the office of the Lieutenant Governor. There have been differences in the past between the AAP government and the bureaucracy over a range of issues. "The competent authority in the Ministry of Home Affairs has approved the appointment of Anshu Prakash, IAS as Chief Secretary, Government of NCT of Delhi," said the order signed by TVSN Prasad, the additional secretary in the MHA. Mr Prakash has the experience of working in the Delhi government as a principle secretary (health) and also in the municipal corporation of the city. He also served as the health secretary in his previous postings in Arunachal Pradesh and Andaman and Nicobar Islands administration. A 1985-batch IAS officer, Mr Kutty, who was sent to the Union finance ministry as an additional secretary last month, had been at loggerheads with Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his cabinet over various issues. During his one-year term, Mr Kutty and the AAP government were not on the same page on issues such as Delhi Metro fare hike. Last month too, Arvind Kejriwal sought an explanation from Mr Kutty over his absence from Lal Bahadur Shastri's birth anniversary event organised by the AAP government. A frequent complaint of the Kejriwal government has been that the files pertaining to their work is not shown to the ministers concerned by the bureaucrats. The raid was conducted on Thursday by teams of the State Tobacco Control Cell in collaboration with the Delhi Police. New Delhi: In a drive against smoking at public places and illicit sale of tobacco, Delhis health department raided around 100 shops in Saket area and issued challans worth Rs 21,700 to vendors and individuals. The raid was conducted on Thursday by teams of the State Tobacco Control Cell in collaboration with the Delhi Police to crack down on direct and indirect advertisement and illicit trade of tobacco products. the area in Saket outside the PVR Cinema is considered to be the biggest hub of tobacco vendors in Delhi, where nearly 100 shops of tobacco sellers are situated to attract the youngsters visiting this area. Therefore, we decided to conduct raid in this area to assess the situation of tobacco advertisements and illicit trade practices. The aim was also to create awareness among youths about the ill-effects of tobacco, cigarette and hookah smoking, said Dr S K Arora, Additional Director (Health), the Delhi government. Arora said the youths, especially school students, get attracted to tobacco because of direct and indirect advertisements of tobacco products. He said, apart from brand promotion, tobacco industry targets youths by misleading advertisements by using terms such as slim, ultra slim, safe cigarettes, ISO-certified nicotine and tar, flavoured, sweet cigarette and e-cigarette as cessation devices, etc. All these are myths. It is important to sensitise the youth about the ill-effects of tobacco and check such practices of promotion of tobacco industry. Around 100 shops were raided and challans worth Rs 21, 700 were issued to vendors and individuals, he said. Accused maid Tulsi, demanded RS 5 lakh from her employer. When refused, the maid stabbed her. The victim also managed to reach near the gate of her house but the maid brought another knife and slit her throat. (Representational Image) In yet another case of aggression by domestic help, a 73-year-old woman was attacked by her maid who tried to slit her throat in South Delhis posh Greater Kailash on Thursday morning. A senior police official said that the accused maid, identified as Tulsi, demanded Rs 5 lakh from her employer Neeraj Gupta. When refused, the maid stabbed Gupta. She was arrested. Tulsi was employed at the house about six months ago. On Thursday, at around 2 pm she went to Guptas house and cooked food for the victim. Gupta asked her to have food with her, but Tulsi refused. Gupta also told her that she could leave if she wanted. However, later when Gupta was taking rest on a sofa while talking to her friend over the phone, Tulsi came from behind and choked her with a dupatta, the police said. The official further said that Gupta could not shout. However, she managed to free herself from the clutches of the accused and wanted to know why she was being attacked. At this, Tulsi demanded Rs 5 lakh from her. She told the victim that she needed the money for the treatment of her ailing mother. Gupta told Tulsi that she would arrange the money only if she could speak to her husband. But Tulsi brought a knife from the kitchen and stabbed her saying she needed the money instantly, the police said, quoting the victim. The police further said that the victim again tried to convince Tulsi that she only had `15,000 cash and that she could arrange the full amount if she was allowed to talk to her husband. The victim also managed to reach near the gate of her house but the maid brought another knife and slit her throat. Gupta requested her to spare her life and asked for a glass of water. She then managed to call her husband with the help of one of her neighbours. The police was also informed. The family members of the victim reached to her rescue. Meanwhile, the maid fled from there, the police said. The victim was rushed to AIIMS where she was discharged after treatment. Nine persons, including teaching and non-teaching staff, were questioned. Parents protest at G.D. Birla Centre for Education at Ranikuthi, Kolkata, on Friday after the sexual assault case came to light on Friday morning. (Photo: Asian Age) Kolkata: A kindergarten student became the victim of sexual assault by two teachers at the premier academic institution, G.D. Birla Centre for Education, in south Kolkata, triggering a wave of angry protests by the students guardians on Friday. The two accused, Abhishek Roy and Mohammed Mafizuddin, were arrested by the police. Both are physical education teachers. Booked under Sections 4 (penetrative sexual assault) and 6 (aggravated sexual assault) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, they will be produced in the court on Saturday. While Abhishek, a native of Garia, was working in the school for the last six years, Mafizuddin, from Beniapukur, was working there for the last two years. The school had come under the scanner in November 2014 too when a student was sexually assaulted. On Thursday afternoon, Abhishek and Mafizuddin lured the four-year-old girl with chocolates during the school hours and took her to the schools toilet, where they committed the crime, according to preliminary investigation. The toddler complained of pain to her parents after returning home. When they checked her, they found blood in her private parts. Her parents rushed her to a local doctor who indicated of sexual assault before referring her to SSKM Hospital in the evening. Medical test confirmed of sexual assault, following which a complaint was filed at the Jadavpur police station. On Thursday night, Abhishek, in his early thirties, was detained for questioning by the police after the victim identified him as dustu sir (naughty teacher) when she was shown the photos. He was arrested on Friday. The victim has been admitted at the gyaenocology department and is being treated. Her condition is stable. Meanwhile, angry guardians demonstrated in front of the school. Deputy commissioner of police (south suburban) Rupesh Kumar visited the school to take stock of the situation. The police had a tough time pacifying the guardians, who had an altercation with school principal Sharmila Nath and teachers who were at a spot. The victims father alleged, The school principal and class teacher denied the crime totally. They floated a false theory to cover up the incident. The school principal first argued it was urine and not blood coming out of my daughters private parts. The father of the minor girl talks to mediapersons. He added, She later tried to say the crime did not happen in the school premises. She knew the truth and which was why she was trying to hush it up. She should be arrested also. No CCTV has been installed in the school despite a similar incident three years ago. Nine persons, including teaching and non-teaching staff, were questioned. Their statements revealed the role of Mafizuddin who was arrested Friday afternoon. The angry guardians held a meeting with the school authorities on five issues related to security. It has been decided to set up a guardians forum of 15 members. The victims lawyer threatened to file a case against the school authorities in the court. On Friday evening, Nabarun De, general secretary of West Bengal chapter of association of heads at ICSE schools, said, Its is a painful and shameful incident. But I am not aware whether the school where the crime happened has the ICSE affiliation or not. Waking up to the incident, education minister Partha Chatterjee said, It is a barbaric incident. I have no words to condemn it. I want severe punishment for the accused. He added, Those who are perverted like this should not be associated with the academics. I will talk to the school authorities. The school is not under our government or its board. Still we have our responsibility. I have ordered the board to look into it. Providing security is the schools responsibility. Three years ago a similar incident happened. Still they have not learnt the lesson. We will always be with the family. United States Court of Appeals, Second Circuit. AFAM UZOUKWU, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. CITY OF NEW YORK, MICHELE KRAWIECKI, CARL MILUSO, Defendants-Appellees. 16-3882-cv Decided: December 01, 2017 Present: ROSEMARY S. POOLER, RICHARD C. WESLEY, PETER W. HALL, Circuit Judges. Appearing for Appellant: Gregory Antollino (Daniela Nanau, on the brief), New York, N.Y. Appearing for Appellees: Daniel Matza-Brown, Assistant Corporation Counsel (Richard Dearing, Fay Ng, Assistant Corporation Counsels, on the brief), for Zachary W. Carter, Corporation Counsel of the City of New York, New York, N.Y. ON CONSIDERATION WHEREOF, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED, ADJUDGED, AND DECREED that the order of said District Court be and it hereby is AFFIRMED. Appellant Afam Uzoukwu appeals from the May 12, 2016 judgment entered by the District Court for the Southern District of New York (Abrams, J.) dismissing his claims following a jury trial. Uzoukwu brought a Section 1983 suit, alleging false arrest. We assume the parties' familiarity with the underlying facts, procedural history, and specification of issues for review. We review a denial of a Rule 50(b) motion de novo and the denial of a Rule 59 motion for abuse of discretion. Hicks v. Tug PATRIOT, 783 F.3d 939, 942 (2d Cir. 2015), cert. denied sub nom. Vane Line Bunkering, Inc. v. Hicks, 136 S. Ct. 211 (2015) (citing Fabri v. United Techs. Int'l, Inc., 387 F.3d 109, 119 (2d Cir. 2004)). Judgment as a matter of law should be granted only if there is such a complete absence of evidence supporting the verdict that the jury's findings could only have been the result of sheer surmise and conjecture, or such an overwhelming amount of evidence in favor of the movant that reasonable and fair minded men could not arrive at a verdict against the moving party. Yurman Design, Inc. v. PAJ, Inc., 262 F.3d 101, 108 (2d Cir. 2001) (quoting Diesel v. Town of Lewisboro, 232 F.3d 92, 103 (2d Cir. 2000)) (internal punctuation omitted). We will reverse the judgment of the district court if a party has been fully heard on an issue during a jury trial and the court finds that a reasonable jury would not have a legally sufficient evidentiary basis to find for the party on that issue. Harris v. O'Hare, 770 F.3d 224, 231 (2d Cir. 2014), as amended (Nov. 24, 2014) (quoting Fed. R. Civ. P. 50(a)(1)) (internal punctuation omitted). Uzoukwu primarily argues that the district court erred by declining to find as a matter of law that the officers lacked probable cause. The existence of probable cause to arresteven for a crime other than the one identified by the arresting officerwill defeat a claim of false arrest under the Fourth Amendment. Figueroa v. Mazza, 825 F.3d 89, 99 (2d Cir. 2016) (citing Devenpeck v. Alford, 543 U.S. 146, 15254 (2004)). Probable cause to arrest exists when the arresting officer has knowledge or reasonably trustworthy information of facts and circumstances that are sufficient to warrant a person of reasonable caution in the belief that the person to be arrested has committed or is committing a crime. Escalera v. Lunn, 361 F.3d 737, 743 (2d Cir. 2004) (internal quotation marks omitted). We see no error. New York City Rules Tit. 56, 1-03(c)(3) provides that [n]o person shall fail to comply with or obey any instruction, direction, regulation, warning, or prohibition, written or printed, displayed or appearing on any park sign. The officers' testimony, which the jury was entitled to credit, established that Uzoukwu appeared to be in the park without children, in contravention of the rules displayed on signs posted at the park entrances. According to the officers, they observed that Uzoukwu was focused on eating Jell-O, was not interacting with children and did not appear to be supervising any. The officers further testified that Uzoukwu did not have any items that might indicate he was with children. When he was asked whether he was with children, Uzoukwu began yelling, but never identified or otherwise signaled a relationship with a child in the park. Finally, the officers did not observe any children approach over the course of the officers' interaction with Uzoukwu and his ensuing outburst. On these facts, the officers had every reason to believe there was a fair probability that Uzoukwu was in the park without children. Florida v. Harris, 568 U.S. 237, 244 (2013). Having determined that the officers adequately established probable cause for the violation of the park rule, we need not examine the other asserted grounds for probable causenamely, disorderly conduct and obstruction of governmental administration. See Dickerson v. Napolitano, 604 F.3d 732, 752 (2d Cir. 2010) ([P]robable cause is based on the facts warranting arrest and not the statute pursuant to which a plaintiff was charged.). Uzoukwu also challenges the admission of testimony from a Customs and Border Control agent as unduly prejudicial. We review the district court's evidentiary rulings for abuse of discretion. Crawford v. Tribeca Lending Corp., 815 F.3d 121, 124 (2d Cir. 2016). The agent testified to the fact that there was no immigration record of Uzoukwu's children entering the country in or around the years he had claimed they entered. Uzoukwu asserts that this evidence inflamed anti-immigrant bias. While there may be a risk that members of the jury harbored such sentiments, Uzoukwu fails to grapple with the clear evidentiary value of the immigration records. Uzoukwu's theory of the case was that his children had entered the country a few months prior to the incident, and they were with him in the park at the time of the officers' approach, making him fully compliant with the park rules. The immigration evidence tended to undercut Uzoukwu's claims, by showing both that he may have provided inaccurate information about the children's entry into the U.S., and that the children likely were not in the country at the time of the incidentmuch less in the park. As a result, the evidence was not unduly prejudicial, and the district court did not err by admitting it. See Leopold v. Baccarat, Inc., 174 F.3d 261, 269-70 (2d Cir. 1999) (evidence that easily might have created feelings of antagonism and even disgust admissible for probative value). We have considered the remainder of appellant's arguments and find them to be without merit. Accordingly, the order of the district court hereby is AFFIRMED. FOR THE COURT: Catherine O'Hagan Wolfe, Clerk The thieves had used a 25-foot tunnel connecting the locker room with an adjacent farsan shop that they had rented last month. Mumbai: A key accused wanted for his role in planning the Rs 3 crore heist at the Juinagar-based branch of the Bank of Baroda died of brain tumour before the crime was committed, in Rajasthan, according to the police. The thieves had used a 25-foot tunnel connecting the locker room with an adjacent farsan shop that they had rented last month. The man, Bhawar Singh Rathod aka Gena Prasad, who submitted fake identity particulars to hire on rent the shop six months before the burglary was effected and also opened a bank account at the branch to get access to its office, died of brain tumour in October, according to revelations made by nine accused arrested in the case by the police last week. He was 44 years old. On November 13, the Navi Mumbai police identified four persons as part of the group that burgled a Bank of Baroda branch. The gang, said to be from Jharkhand, decamped with cash and jewellery from 30 bank lockers. Two days ago, four accused were arrested. Rathod had opened an account in a bank under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (scheme for the poor), and used to visit the bank often. Feud between Sanjay Nirupam and Raj Thackerays party over hawkers issue worsens. Mumbai: Differences between MNS and Congress over North Indians have intensified further on Friday, as MNS workers attacked Mumbai Congress office near CST. Three MNS workers went inside the Congress office in the morning and broke the glass doors of cabins when only a couple of people were present. The MNS termed it as revenge against Congress and its Mumbai Chief Sanjay Nirupam who have been supporting North Indians against the MNSs agitation. Boasting about the attack, MNS leader Sandeep Deshpande immediately tweeted The MNS has carried out a surgical strike on Nirupams office. (It is) tit for tat. This is the third time that MNS and Congress had clashed. In November, Congress and MNS workers clashed at Dadar station when the former was protesting against forceful eviction of hawkers by MNS. Last week an MNS worker made a failed attempt to disrupt Nirupams rally in suburban Ghatkopar. Interestingly, MNS attack came after the party chief informally permitted its workers to beat instead of getting beaten up. Condemning the act, Nirupam termed it as cowardly attack. Their attack on our office is a cowardly act. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis must act fast or a befitting reply will be given for sure. I also tell MNS that what you did was not politics, Nirupam who is in Guajarat said. Nirupam had come out in support of hawkers against whom the MNS had launched an agitation follwing a stampede at the Elphinstone railway station on September 29. A day after the stampede that claimed 22 lives, Thackeray had said such stampedes would continue to occur in Mumbai till hordes of migrants keep pouring into the city. After the Congress office was vandalized Azad Maidan police have registered a case against eight MNS Workers and arrested them. Sandeep Deshpande was one of them. According to police officers, soon after the security staff opened the office, at around 10.15am, several MNS workers barged in and smashed all the glasses in the offices reception area. They also smashed the windows of a car that was parked outside the office which belongs to the partys minority cell. Azad Maidan police officer immediately went to the spot but by the time they reached all workers had vanished. Senior PI Vasant D. Wakhare said, We have registered an FIR against the workers. The police have recovered footage from CCTVs installed in the premises. No one was hurt in the incident. For him, no object is too small - from fig seeds to bottle caps, lentils to fishbone. Following his morning stroll around Istanbuls medieval Galata tower, Hasan Kale walks into a bulk food market to examine the goods that will make up his next canvas. These are the ones I was looking for, Kale says excitedly, as he scoops up a handful of pumpkin seeds. The 57-year-olds morning routine may not stand out at first glance, but his motive does. At home, once Kale pours his freshly bought pumpkin seeds on his table, the adventure begins. A micro-artist renowned as Turkeys Microangelo, a pun on Italian Renaissance master Michelangelo, Kale paints scenes from Istanbul on miniature objects or even food particles. For him, no object is too small - from fig seeds to bottle caps, lentils to fishbone, Kale finds any object or food big enough to paint a scene from his hometown of Istanbul. Of course the only hindrance here is that you cant hang it on your wall and (look at it) while you sip your coffee. You have to submerge in it, Kale said. Celebrating his 22nd year as a micro-artist, Kale said he has so far painted on 350 different objects, but that one of the biggest challenges of using food as a canvas is that his micropieces may not always last for long. Nowadays, Kale said he was working on opening the worlds first micro objects museum to exhibit his tiny oeuvre. I fight to make them last forever ... I try to take them to the highest level and I want to display them in the worlds first and only museum of micro-objects that I want to open. Religion has become a means to deflect attention from what should really matter in a mature democracy, which is governance. As the nation waits to see the results of the Gujarat and the Himachal Pradesh Assembly elections, and for the transition to a new president of the Congress Party, it is time to ruminate on a few things, perhaps less important in the immediate term, but far more significant for our Republic in the long term. Democracy is, by definition, about competitive politics. But, even so, must winnability acquire so much primacy that all links with ideology and principles are severed? As legatees of Chanakya, have we finally distilled his philosophy of sama, dama, danda, bheda, which was meant to be exercised against an enemy, not a democratic opponent, as the only factor that matters? Or, perhaps, for those less familiar with the overall philosophy of Chanakya, is the English saying all is fair in love and war the only guiding tenet in the working of the worlds largest democracy? In a globalised world, where instantaneous and relentless information flows enable the world to observe in detail how Indian democracy plays out, are religion, caste and money power the only issues that animate the political class? For days now, the prime time debate on TV is about whether Rahul Gandhi is a Hindu or not. Registers are being pulled out to see whether he signed on the one meant for non-Hindus or for Hindus. His assertion that he is a Hindu, and a Shiva bhakt, has become grist for a kind of politics in which the selective use of religious exclusion is far more important than issues about the performance of a government. It would appear to any foreign observer that in India elections are not about such vital issues as the state of the economy, and the fulfilment of promises that touch the lives of ordinary Indians roads, hospitals, schools, jobs, agricultural productivity but about who, among Hindus, is a real Hindu. The simulated furore this issue has created is amusing, to say the least. Buddhism began by negating the basic tenets of Hinduism, including the sanctity of the Vedas, and yet many Hindus consider Lord Buddha to be an avatar of Vishnu. For a religion so tenaciously accommodative to deviations because of the inherent beliefs in its own strengths to be reduced in the hands of cynical politicians to such an abysmal level of illiterate rejection is an insult to Hinduism. And yet, the juvenile debate goes on, even as the citizens of the country wonder when real issues that directly affect the quality of their lives will be discussed. Religion has become a means to deflect attention from what should really matter in a mature democracy, which is governance. A peculiar form of ultra-nationalism is being whipped up for precisely the same reason. Certain leaders from the great pantheon of our founding fathers are being cynically invoked to show which party has neglected whom, when the people want to actually know which party has neglected their legitimate expectations in the present. Caste loyalties are being manipulated to conjure a winning electoral formula, when citizens want to know what is being done for them beyond merely seeing them as part of a statistical calculation of communities. Cynicism has seeped into our electoral politics like a poison. The anger of a community against a particular film is allowed to go berserk because the votes of that community are important. If in this process, Hindus begin to resemble some abhorrent Talibani hybrid, no matter. Threats to cut off the nose of an actor, or the announcement of large bounties to behead her, or to chop off the hands of the director, are bandied about as though this is not India but some ISIS ruled territory. Action against those who besmear Indian democracy, the rule of law, the Constitution, Hinduism, and all the civilisational values that are such a vital part of our culture, is deliberately muted. These matter far less than the imperative of winning elections. What is worrying is that in this atmosphere, serious concerns are rising about the integrity of national institutions. It is, at least for me, still not clear why the Election Commission delayed the notification of the model code of conduct for the Gujarat elections even while imposing them on Himachal Pradesh. It is also not acceptable that the dates for Parliament were so casually postponed to suit the BJPs single-minded focus to win the Gujarat elections, where as many as two dozen and more Union ministers have been deployed for party work. It also seems a trifle incredulous that agencies like the CBI, the Enforcement Directorate, and the Income Tax department, seem to find skeletons in the cupboard of only the leaders of Opposition parties, and nothing is done about allegations against leaders of the BJP. Media reporting, in particular in the electronic media, has also become highly polarised, with the majority of channels quite reconciled to becoming the voice of the ruling party with a blatancy that is often quite startling. The disquieting news about the malfunctioning of EVMs is another cause of worry. What is worrisome is not that occasionally they do malfunction, but that whenever they do, only the BJP button lights up irrespective of which party you have pressed the button for. In the fitness of things, the EC must redouble its efforts to reassure voters of the impartiality of the electoral process, or we should seriously consider reverting to the system of paper ballots. Our democracy is in the grip of a malaise that politicians and political parties, in the race to win elections, refuse to recognise. Any party that reduces itself to just a relentless electoral machine must understand that it will then relentlessly erode the ethical foundations on which a democracy must run. This will have long-term deleterious consequences that will go far beyond the transient euphoria of winning an election or two. NASAs JPL are using the TCM thrusters to adjust the directions of the antenna in interstellar space. The Voyager 1 has been an important spacecraft for NASA and the world since it left the Earth in 1977. The spacecraft has helped eager eyes look at different worlds of the solar system and even has pushed the human race into interstellar space. However, as with all spacecraft, Voyager 1 needs to correct its course while being adrift in space and NASA has discovered a new way to keep its antenna pointing the right direction. The Voyager 1s propulsion system has two kinds of thrusters to help it steer through space Altitude Control Thrusters (ACT) and Trajectory Correction Manoeuvre thrusters (TCM). The ACT is responsible for keeping the antenna aligned towards Earth so as to let Voyager 1 talk to NASA scientists. These thrusters use tiny puffs of energy to adjust the alignment of the spacecraft. Since 2014, NASA has observed that the ACT has been degrading, i.e. they are running out of energy. This could have shortened the life of the spacecraft, letting it out of reach of us earthlings. However, NASA eggheads never like to give on their space equipment so soon and they figured out a way to save these dying thrusters use the TCM thrusters situated at the back of the spacecraft. The TCM thrusters were responsible for giving the Voyager 1 a grand tour of some of our biggest planets in the solar system. These thrusters fired in continuous firing mode and allowed NASA to adjust the trajectory to get a perfect flyby of Jupiter, Saturn and its moons in 1980s, after which they didnt need it anymore and therefore shut it down. The controllers have now figured out a way to use these thrusters to adjust the alignment using brief bursts of the TCM thrusters. On November 28, 2017, they fired up the four TCM thrusters in short 37 milliseconds bursts after a period 37 years. After a long waiting period of 19 hours and 35 minutes (thats time it takes a message to reach from the outer space to us), the controllers in California got positive news of the thrusters working the way they wanted it to. However, theres a major limitation to these thrusters they need the power to operate the heater and power is something thats getting scarce day by day on the ageing Voyager 1. The TCM will be fired in January to make the course correction and once theres not enough power to use them, scientists will switch back to the ACT. NASA suggests that Voyager 1 should keep on running for another 2-3 years before it runs out of fuel in the interstellar space. Not bad for a 40-years old spacecraft working constantly. Its younger sibling, the Voyager 2, is in a good shape though and will follow it to interstellar space within a few years. (source) The Arbitration panel has ruled in favor of Nokia, saying that it was owed $137 million by Blackberry. It is to be noted that the dispute between both firms was not related to any claims of patent infringement, although BlackBerry is still accusing Nokia of using some of its intellectual property without permission. International Chamber of Commerce's International Court of Arbitration has ordered BlackBerry to pay $137 million to Nokia in relation to a settlement of a contract dispute between two of the earliest smartphone manufacturers. The dispute centered around certain payments that Nokia claims that Blackberry owed it under the terms of a patent license contract. The Arbitration panel has ruled in favor of Nokia, saying that it was owed $137 million by Blackberry. It is to be noted that the dispute between both firms was not related to any claims of patent infringement, although BlackBerry is still accusing Nokia of using some of its intellectual property without permission. BlackBerry has filed a couple of lawsuits against Nokia in the U.S. and in Germany. "BlackBerry is disappointed that the Court of Arbitration did not agree with our arguments in the case but we accept their decision. This ruling does not change BlackBerry's assertion that Nokia is infringing on our intellectual property and we are continuing to vigorously pursue legal remedies in both the U.S. and Germany." This means that Blackberry will go along with the announced ruling. Back in the day before the arrival of iOS and Android, Nokia and Blackberry used to rule the mobile space. Now both have licensed their names to manufacturers who are having success reviving the old brands. In May 2016, HMD Global licensed from Nokia the use of the Nokia name and certain intellectual property for the production of smartphones and tablets. In December 2016, BlackBerry licensed its name and software to China's TCL. Kasperskys anti-virus software was banned from US government networks earlier this year on concerns the company has close ties to Moscow. Kaspersky, is ranked as one of the worlds top cyber security vendors for consumers by Gartner. Britains main cyber security agency on Friday warned British government agencies to avoid using anti-virus software from Russian companies, the latest in a series of moves targeting Moscow-based security software maker Kaspersky Lab. In a letter to departmental permanent secretaries, the director of the UK National Cyber Security Centre, Ciaran Martin, said Russian-made anti-virus software should not be used in systems containing information that would harm national security if it was accessed by the Russian government. He said his agency is in talks with Kaspersky Lab to develop a system for reviewing its products for use in Britain. Kasperskys anti-virus software was banned from US government networks earlier this year on concerns the company has close ties to intelligence agencies in Moscow and that its software could be used to enable Russian spying. We are in discussions with Kaspersky Lab ... about whether we can develop a framework that we and others can independently verify, Martin said in the letter, which was publicly released. Kaspersky Lab said in a statement that it looked forward to working with the NCSC on the issue. Kaspersky has strongly denied allegations about the safety of its products or ties to the Russian government, saying it has become a scapegoat in the midst of rising tensions between Washington and Moscow. The next hearing is scheduled for May 8. He faces a maximum penalty of death or life in prison. Federal prosecutors allege that Purinton targeted Kuchibhotla and another Indian man, Alok Madasani, because of their race or ethnicity. The third man was shot when tried to help the two victims. (Photo: AP) Washington: A US Navy veteran charged with killing an Indian techie and injuring two others in a racially motivated hate crime at a bar in Kansas City early in 2017 has pleaded not guilty. Adam Purinton, 52, was charged with first-degree murder in the February shooting in Olathe that killed 32-year-old Srinivas Kuchibhotla. He also faces two counts of attempted first-degree murder for wounding two other men. During a preliminary hearing Friday, Purinton pleaded "not guilty". He waived his preliminary hearing and the not guilty plea was entered on his behalf. The next hearing is scheduled for May 8. He faces a maximum penalty of death or life in prison. Read: With spike in hate crimes in US, Indian-Americans fear for their lives Federal prosecutors allege that Purinton targeted Kuchibhotla and another Indian man, Alok Madasani, because of their race or ethnicity. The third man was shot when tried to help the two victims. Witnesses said Purinton yelled at the two Indian men to "get out of my country" before pulling the trigger. After the shooting, Purinton drove 70 miles east to an Applebee's restaurant in Clinton, Missouri, where he told a bartender what he'd done. Kuchibhotla was working at Garmin International. Federal prosecutors alleged that Purinton committed the offences after substantial planning and premeditation, attempted to kill more than one person in a single criminal episode, and knowingly created a grave risk of death to others on the scene. Hours after the attack, the Pakistani Taliban sent video footage shot during the assault to journalists. Pakistani volunteers move the body of a student from an Agriculture Training Institute after an attack by Taliban militants in Peshawar. (Photo: AFP) Peshawar: Twelve people were killed and dozens injured Friday when burqa-clad Taliban militants stormed a training institute in the northwestern city of Peshawar as Pakistan marked the birthday of the Prophet Mohammed, officials said. Police said that at least three militants opened fire at security near the gates of the Agriculture Training Institute, killing one guard and injuring another before making their way inside and targeting the student accommodation. Authorities said the gunmen had been killed and security forces had cleared the area after searching for remaining militants. Blood smeared the corridor of the dormitory where the gunmen fired at cornered students and lobbed hand grenades, with several victims said to be teenagers, according to an AFP reporter at the scene. Some students got out to watch the gun-battle and they were shot by the militants, student Zahid Ullah, 16, told AFP. Police said six students, a security guard and two civilians were killed in the attack by the militants. All of them were wearing suicide vests but they were killed before they could blow themselves up, said Salahuddin Khan Mehsud, police chief of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. All three terrorists are dead while we are trying to identify a fourth body, he added, following earlier reports there had been an additional gunmen. Spokeswomen from two hospitals in the city said they had received a total of 12 bodies and were treating some 38 injured, including several in critical condition. During the onslaught on the training centre, a spokesman for the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, Muhammad Khurasani, claimed responsibility for the attack in a telephone call to AFP. Our mujahids have attacked the building because it was used as office for ISI, God willing our fighters will fight till the last drop of blood, he said, referring to Pakistans Inter Services Intelligence agency. Hours after the attack, the Pakistani Taliban sent video footage shot during the assault to journalists. In the two-minute video, Taliban gunmen in white shalwar kameez (traditional Pakistani dress) are seen storming the building and shouting Allahu akbar (God is greatest) as they walk through a corridor. Is this the ISI office? one of them asks as they enter a room and start shooting, at which point the video ends. A photograph of the attackers sitting with their leader Mullah Fazlullah was also sent to the media along with the video clip. Noor Wali, a 19-year-old student at the institute, described a terrifying ordeal that began when he was woken by gunshots. I rushed to the door and saw a fountain of blood pumping out of the shoulder of my roommate who was standing outside the room, he told AFP. He and another student rushed to his aid, and hid from the gunmen for almost an hour before they were rescued by security forces. The other student was pressing the wound with his hands to stop the blood and I had to put my hand on his mouth so that he cannot scream, he said. We took shelter inside the bedroom and were begging the injured student not to make any sound as the terrorists might hear it and kill us. The US in response warned that Kim Jong-Un's regime would be utterly destroyed in North Korea it provokes a military clash. North Korea on Wednesday successfully tested a new intercontinental ballistic missile, with leader Kim Jong-Un declaring his country had now achieved full nuclear statehood. (Photo: AFP) Seoul: North Korea held mass celebrations for its latest successful long-range missile test, Pyongyang's state media said Saturday, with a propaganda-filled display of fireworks and dancing in public squares. The ruling Workers Party official daily Rodong Sinmun covered its front page with colour photographs showing thousands of tightly packed soldiers and people applauding in Pyongyang's Kim Il-Sung square, which was decorated with large portraits of the North's late leaders. "We heartily celebrate the successful test launch of the Hwasong-15 which showed Chosun (North Korea)'s power and greatness to the whole world", read one banner held up by the crowd, referring to the missile. North Korea on Wednesday successfully tested a new intercontinental ballistic missile, with leader Kim Jong-Un declaring his country had now achieved full nuclear statehood. Read: US pushes China to cut off oil supply to North Korea after its missile testing The US in response warned that Kim Jong-Un's regime would be "utterly destroyed" if its pursuit of a long-range nuclear missile arsenal provokes a military clash, and has battled to maintain international solidarity in the face of North Korea's nuclear threat. Kim himself was absent from the celebrations - he usually stays away from such events - but Friday's gathering drew key military, party and government leaders. "Long Live the General Kim Jong-Un who has brought us the great historic cause of nuclear statehood", another banner read. Vice Chairman Pak Kwang-Ho of the party's decision-making Central Committee told the crowd that, after Wednesday's test launch, "now no one can infringe our sovereignty and rights to survive and develop", according to the daily. He said that the United States had been "jolted" at the strengthening of North Korea's nuclear force and could attempt to commit "robber-like" provocative acts. He repeated Kim's warning that the North would respond with the "highest level of hard-line countermeasure in history". Kim first made the threat in September in response to US President Donald Trump's UN speech threatening to destroy the North and mocking him as "Little Rocket Man". The ICBM Hwasong-15 type weaponry system used in Wednesday's test is an intercontinental ballistic rocket tipped with super-large heavy warhead capable of striking the whole mainland of the US, the North said. But analysts remain unconvinced that the North has mastered the technology required to launch and direct a missile, and ensure it survives the difficult re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere. Tensions are expected to rise further in the coming week as South Korea and the United States launch a massive air force drill mobilising some 230 aircraft including six US F-22 Raptor stealth jet fighters. United States Court of Appeals, Second Circuit. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Appellee, v. JOSE RIOS, Defendant-Appellant. No. 16-2882 Decided: December 01, 2017 PRESENT: ROBERT A. KATZMANN, Chief Judge, RAYMOND J. LOHIER, JR., CHRISTOPHER F. DRONEY, Circuit Judges. For Defendant-Appellant: Donald DuBoulay, Law Office of Donald DuBoulay, New York, NY. For Appellee: Emily Berger, Melody Wells, Assistant United States Attorneys, for Bridget M. Rohde, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Brooklyn, NY. UPON DUE CONSIDERATION, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED, ADJUDGED, AND DECREED that the amended judgment of the district court is AFFIRMED. Defendant-Appellant Jose Rios appeals from a sentence and final judgment of conviction entered on August 18, 2016, by the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York (Amon, J.). We assume the parties' familiarity with the underlying facts, procedural history, and issues on appeal. Rios was convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm in violation of 18 U.S.C. 922(g) on September 3, 2009. At sentencing on December 10, 2010, the district court found that Rios' three prior convictions under New York law (second degree assault, attempted second degree burglary, and attempted third degree burglary) constituted violent felonies under the residual clause of the Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA), 18 U.S.C. 924(e), and sentenced Rios to the mandatory minimum of 15 years' incarceration. As relevant to the instant appeal, Rios' conviction for second degree assault under N.Y. Penal Law 120.05(2) required a showing that [w]ith intent to cause physical injury to another person, he cause[d] such injury to such person or to a third person by means of a deadly weapon or a dangerous instrument. Rios filed a petition for post-conviction relief pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 2255, alleging various errors not relevant to this appeal. See Motion, Rios v. United States, No. 13-cv-5577, ECF No. 1 (E.D.N.Y. Oct. 7, 2013). While Rios' petition was pending, the Supreme Court held the ACCA's residual clause void for vagueness in United States v. Johnson, 135 S. Ct. 2551, 2563 (2015) (Johnson 2015). The district court thereafter sua sponte ordered Rios to be resentenced because, as the Government conceded, Rios' conviction for attempted third-degree burglary no longer qualified as a violent felony. The Probation Office prepared two addenda to its previously issued Presentence Investigation Report (PSR) recalculating Rios' base offense level. In particular, Probation determined that Rios' conviction for second degree assault constitutes a crime of violence under 2K2.1(a)(4)(A) of the Guidelines, which define the term separately as any offense under federal or state law that has as an element the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force against the person of another. U.S.S.G. 4B1.2(a)(1). Probation accordingly calculated his base offense level as 20. Rios objected to Probation's calculation of his base offense level in his sentencing memorandum and at sentencing, arguing that the Supreme Court held in Johnson v. United States, 559 U.S. 133 (2010) (Johnson 2010) that a crime of violence requires the use of violent physical force, and that the relevant second degree assault statute requires no such showing. Instead, Rios contended that he could bump into the individual, push him, shove him, not violently, he could fall on a dangerous instrument, and he could be convicted of that offense. The district court held that Rios' argument was foreclosed by this Court's decision in United States v. Walker, 442 F.3d 787, 787-89 (2d Cir. 2006) (per curiam), where we held that second degree assault under N.Y. Penal Law 120.05(2) constitutes a violent felony under 924(e)(2)(b)(i) of the ACCA. Since the definition of a violent felony is materially identical to that of a crime of violence, the district court concluded that the calculation of Rios' base offense level under 2K2.1(a)(4)(A) was proper. The district court accordingly held that Rios' total offense level was 24 and his Guidelines range was 100 to 120 months. After considering the sentencing factors enumerated at 18 U.S.C. 3553(a), the district court re-sentenced Rios to 110 months. The amended judgment was entered on August 18, 2016, and Rios timely filed his notice of appeal that same day. Rios argues on appeal that the district court erred in finding that our decision in Walker controls the outcome of this dispute. Specifically, Rios asserts that there is circumstantial evidence that the Walker court applied a definition of physical force that does not require the use of violence, and that the Supreme Court rejected such a definition in Johnson 2010. Rios thus contends that Walker was effectively overturned and this Court can reach the issue of whether second degree assault constitutes a crime of violence under 2K2.1(a)(4)(A) and 4B1.2(a)(1) of the Guidelines. Rios urges that we should rule that it does not, pursuant to the categorical approach, because in his view even a minimal use of force is sufficient to cause the physical injury necessary for a second degree assault because the physical injury element is satisfied where a victim suffered a subjective physical injury and a dangerous weapon was tangentially involved. In reviewing Guidelines calculations, we apply a de novo standard to legal conclusions and we accept the sentencing court's factual findings unless they are clearly erroneous. United States v. Walker, 595 F.3d 441, 443 (2d Cir. 2010) (citing United States v. Sero, 520 F.3d 187, 189 (2d Cir. 2008); United States v. Guang, 511 F.3d 110, 122 (2d Cir. 2007)). Whether a prior conviction qualifies as a predicate offense warranting a sentencing enhancement is a matter of law that we review de novo. Id. (citing United States v. Savage, 542 F.3d 959, 964 (2d Cir. 2008)). Given that the parties do not dispute the issue, we assume without deciding that this Court's two-step modified categorical approach applies to determine whether a conviction under N.Y. Penal Law 120.05(2) constitutes a crime of violence under the Sentencing Guidelines. Under the first step of this approach, we determine whether the statute of the prior conviction criminalizes conduct that falls exclusively within the federal definition of a predicate offense. Id. If the statute of conviction criminalizes certain conduct that does not fall within the Guidelines' definition of a crime of violence, we proceed to the second step, under which the government must demonstrate that the conviction necessarily rested on facts identifying the conviction as one for a crime of violence. United States v. Reyes, 691 F.3d 453, 458 (2d Cir. 2012) (quoting Walker, 595 F.3d at 444)). We agree with the district court that Walker continues to control the outcome of this dispute. Rios' speculation about the definition of physical force employed by the Walker court is belied by the plain text of the decision, which states that [t]o cause physical injury by means of a deadly weapon or dangerous instrument is necessarily to use physical force, on any reasonable interpretation of that term. 442 F.3d at 788 (emphasis added). We therefore conclude that Walker remains controlling law and dictates that a conviction under N.Y. Penal Law 120.05(2) constitutes a crime of violence under 2K2.1(a)(4)(A) of the Guidelines. We have considered all of Rios' contentions on appeal and have found in them no basis to vacate the district court's amended judgment and remand for re-sentencing. For the reasons stated herein, the amended judgment of the district court is AFFIRMED. FOR THE COURT: Catherine O'Hagan Wolfe, Clerk Pope Francis is known for championing the rights of refugees and has repeatedly expressed his support for the Rohingya. Dhaka: Pope Francis referred to refugees who have fled Myanmar for Bangladesh as Rohingya on Friday, using the politically sensitive name for the persecuted minority for the first time on an Asia tour dominated by their plight after meeting some of them in Dhaka. In a brief but strongly worded speech that followed an emotional encounter with a small group of the refugees who have fled to Bangladesh, he asked for forgiveness for all that the Rohingya have suffered in the face of the worlds indifference. Today the presence of God is also called Rohingya, the Pope said on the sidelines of a gathering with the leaders of different faiths in Dhaka. Your tragedy is very hard, very great, but it has a place in our hearts. In the name of all those who have persecuted you, who have harmed you, in the face of the worlds indifference, I ask for your forgiveness. More than 620,000 Rohingya have flooded into Bangladesh in the last three months, fleeing a violent military crackdown in mainly Buddhist Myanmar that the United Nations has described as ethnic cleansing. Among those the pope met was Shawkat Ara, a 12-year-old Rohingya orphan who broke down in tears shortly after the pope spoke to her and gently touched her head. My parents were killed. I dont have any joy, she told AFP, saying she had lost her entire family in an attack by the military in Myanmar. Pope Francis is known for championing the rights of refugees and has repeatedly expressed his support for the Rohingya, a persecuted Muslim minority whom he has described as his brothers and sisters. But the usually forthright pontiff walked a diplomatic tightrope during his four days in Myanmar the first ever papal visit to the country -- avoiding any direct reference to the ethnic cleansing allegations in public while appealing to Buddhist leaders to overcome prejudice and hatred. Hours after arriving in Bangladesh he addressed the issue head-on, calling for decisive international measures to address the grave crisis. But as in Myanmar, he avoided using the term Rohingya, drawing criticism from some rights activists and refugees. India was re-elected to the body under Category B at an assembly of the organisation at its headquarters Friday. Union Shipping and Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari had assured the organisation during his UK visit that India would rededicate itself with renewed commitment towards the development of the objectives of IMO, if re-elected. (Photo: PTI) London: India has been re-elected to the Council of the International Maritime Organisation under a category that represents nations with the largest interests in international sea borne trade. India was re-elected to the body under Category B at an assembly of the organisation at its headquarters Friday. Indian High Commissioner to the UK Y K Sinha represented India at the assembly where India secured the second-highest number of votes (144) from member countries, just after Germany's 146 and ahead of Australia's 143. The other countries to make the cut included France (140), Canada (138), Spain (137), Brazil (131), Sweden (129), The Netherlands (124) and the UAE (115). "India is hereby putting forward its candidature for a re-election to the Council of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) in Category B, representing the developing countries and those with the largest interests in international sea borne trade," Union Shipping and Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari had said in his address to the IMO in London earlier this week. He had assured the organisation during his UK visit that India would rededicate itself with renewed commitment towards the development of the objectives of IMO, if re-elected, and leverage the opportunity for the accelerated and sustained growth of the global maritime community. India has been one of the earliest members of the IMO, having ratified its convention and joined it as a member-state in the year 1959. India has been elected to the Council of the IMO ever since it started functioning, except for a two-year hiatus during 1983-1984. The IMO Council plays a crucial role in deciding various important matters within the mandate of the IMO, in relation to the global shipping industry and its work strategy and budget. The arrests were made after police and security forces carried out raids in Badhber, Telaband and other areas. The heavily-armed militants, who arrived in an auto rickshaw, attacked the students' hostel of the Directorate of Agriculture Extension on the University Road. (AFP/ Representational) Peshawar: Nine persons were arrested Saturday in Pakistan in connection with the Taliban attack on a Peshawar agriculture training institute in which at least 12 people, including students were killed and 35 others injured. Three burqa-clad Taliban militants stormed the institute and opened indiscriminate fire, killing at least 12 people, half of them students, before being shot dead by security forces Friday. The arrests were made after police and security forces carried out raids in Badhber, Telaband and other areas. "Nine suspects were nabbed and were being probed for their role in the attack," a senior police officer said. A huge cache of weapons was also recovered, he said. Earlier, the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) lodged an FIR in connection with the pre-dawn attack against unknown persons. Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), a banned terror outfit, claimed responsibility for the attack. Army said that the attack was planned and handled from Afghanistan where TTP militants are hiding. Meanwhile, bodies of victims were shifted to their native areas where funeral rituals were performed before their burial. The heavily-armed militants, who arrived in an auto rickshaw, attacked the students' hostel of the Directorate of Agriculture Extension on the University Road in the city, the capital of the restive Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province. Read: Pak Taliban militants disguised in burqa attack college; kill 9 The institute was closed for the Eid-e-Milad holiday, but about 70 students were present in the hostel. The militants stormed the building by firing automatic weapons, creating panic, officials said. Aerial surveillance of the operation was carried out by the army aviation division whereas armoured vehicles of security forces were also called on site. Three terrorists were killed by security forces after a gunfight which lasted for an hour. Bullets holes in building walls, broken glass scattered and blood stains could be seen on TV footage. A police officer and two army troops were among the injured. An eyewitness said he and his colleagues were sleeping when the firing started, media reports said. The students present at the premises are undertaking their diplomas in Agriculture Sciences and Veterinary Sciences. Peshawar, close to the Afghan border, has seen some of the worst violence incidents during the Taliban insurgency in recent years. In 2014, a total of 147 people, including 132 school children, were massacred in one of the deadliest terrorist attacks in the country's history when terrorists stormed the Army Public School in Peshawar Cantonment and opened indiscriminate fire. At the meeting with priests and consecrated people, Pope Francis spoke without notes in Spanish, expanding on the topics touched in his written speech. The Rosary highlights Mary's attentiveness, Christs compassion, and the joy of the Church, the pillars of religious dedication. "You confirm me in faith and bring me great joy", he said. Dhaka (AsiaNews) Pope Francis met today with priests, religious, consecrated men and women, and seminarians at the Holy Rosary Church in Dhaka. In his address, he told them that The Catholic community in Bangladesh is small. But you are like the mustard seed that God brings to fruition in his own time. I rejoice to see how this seed is growing and to witness first-hand the deep faith which God has given you. "Mustard seed" is a fitting definition for a Church that represents 0.2 per cent of the population, but is now a well-structured community, with lots of vocations and missionaries who offer their service to the rest of the universal Church. With this background, they also confirm me in faith and bring me great joy, the pope said. Several of ordained and consecrated people offered their testimony to the pontiff and about 1,500 people present: a priest, Abel D'Rozario, from Dhaka; a missionary, Fr Franco Cagnasso, PIME; a nun, Sr Mary Chandra, of the Order of Mary Queen of the Apostles; a religious, Fr Lawrence Dias of the Holy Cross; and a seminarian, Marcelius Tirkey. When it came time to speak, Pope Francis put aside his written speech, and spoke without notes in Spanish, going beyond what was in his prepared text. He said that vocations were seeds to be nurtured and tenderly cared for, with an eye on the devil who sows discord, whilst praying to distinguish the good seeds from the bad ones. With this in mind, Francis called on bishops, priests, men and women religious, and seminarians to pay attention to the divisions caused by gossip, which is the enemy of harmony. He ended by inviting them not to have "sad faces when they encounter pain and hardships. Seek peace and find joy, he said. The decision to hold the meeting at the Holy Rosary Church was not accidental. The original building dates back to the 17th century, and is one of the oldest churches in Bangladesh. The name of the church inspired the popes speech dedicated to the Rosary. The latter is a beautiful meditation on the mysteries of faith that are the lifeblood of the Church and a prayer that shapes our spiritual lives and our apostolic service. Whether we are priests, religious, consecrated men or women, seminarians or novices, the prayer of the rosary inspires us, in union with Mary, to give our lives completely to Christ. It invites us to share in Marys attentiveness to God at the annunciation, Christs compassion for all humanity as he hangs upon the cross, and the Churchs rejoicing as she receives the Risen Lords gift of the Holy Spirit. Turning to Marys attentiveness, Francis said, I know that your pastoral work and your apostolates demand much of you, and that your days are often long and leave you tired. But we cannot bear Christs name, or share in his mission, unless we remain first and foremost men and women rooted in love, fired by love, through a personal encounter with Jesus in the Eucharist and the words of sacred Scripture. Father Abel, you reminded us of this when you spoke of the importance of fostering an intimate relationship with Jesus, for there we experience his mercy and find renewed strength for our service to others. As for the Christs compassion in the painful mysteries of the Rosary, the pontiff noted that Priesthood and religious life are not a career. They are not a vehicle for personal advancement. They are a service, a share in Christs own sacrificial love for his flock. Citing the testimony of Fr Cagnasso, he added, each of us is called to be a missionary, bringing Christs mercy and love to all, especially those on the peripheries of our society. I am especially grateful for the many ways in which so many of you are engaged in the areas of social outreach, health care and education, serving the needs of your local communities and of the many migrants and refugees coming to your country. Your service to the wider community, in particular to those most in need, is a precious service to the building of a culture of encounter and solidarity. Lastly, the rosary fills us with joy in Christs triumph over death, his ascension to the right hand of the Father and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon our world. The whole of our ministry is directed to proclaiming the joy of the Gospel. In our lives and apostolates, we are all too aware of the problems of the world and the sufferings of humanity, but we never lose confidence in the power of Christs love to prevail over evil and the Prince of Lies who tries to deceive us. Never be discouraged by your own failures or by the challenges of ministry. If you remain attentive to the Lord in prayer and persevere in offering Christs compassion to your brothers and sisters, then the Lord will surely fill your hearts with the comforting joy of his Holy Spirit. At the end of the meeting the pope along with those present recited a prayer to Our Lady written for the occasion. Earlier in the day, Francis visited the community of the Sisters of Mother Teresa, near the church of the Holy Rosary. Madame Heng, is an all-natural facial wonder that has been around for more than half a century. The popular Thai brand takes pride in their soaps, which are made from pure and natural ingredients, with different variants specializing in various skin needs. The meticulous attention to detail and passion for creating a natural and effective product has paved the way for the success of Madame Hengs soaps, which started from humble beginnings. CLEAR SPOTS SOAP ORIGINAL FORMULA Enriched with active ingredients that carry out a specific action of preventing black spots, and reducing the existing ones caused by sun damage. I gave this soap to Mr. AMW because he has oily skin and have pimples ever so often. At first use, he said that he liked the feel of the soap, his skin isn't as oily yet it is non-drying! After less than a week's usage, we can't tell if this is effective in keeping the skin pimple-free but the soap didn't break his skin out for sure! COLLAGEN SOAP With the Original formula of Madamn Heng, this soap helps preventing wrinkle, it also helps refreshing, firming and caring of the skin. NATURAL BALANCE VITAMIN C SOAP Php520.00 for 3pcs. This comes in a cute square-ish shape and I also like the scent! There are other variants to try and all you need to do is read the description to know which ones are meant for your skin type/condition. Other variants --- NATURAL BALANCE COLOGNE SOAP - An herbal soap perfect for all skin types. It removes impurities and dead skin cells while deeply cleansing the skin. It also has anti-oxidants and Vitamin C combine to enhance the growth of new skin cells, revealing a more even skin tone and younger natural glow. NATURAL SPA CARE SOAP - Combines the properties of Japonica Herbs to provide a natural pH balance of your skin and retain its natural softness and radiance. OZZY ACNE CLEAR UP SOAP ORIGINAL FORMULA - Enriched with magical OZZY herbs that effectively deeply cleanse your skin while prevent growing bacteria. Also contains green tea extracts that protects and nourishes your skin, naturally derived glycolic acid and Willow Bark that extract reduces scarring from acne and helps unclog your pores, and nano vitamin C & E that helps making skin become smooth, shiny, and moist. NATURAL BALANCE VITAMIN E SOAP - Fortified with natural Vitamin E, chamomile, and natural herbs added to develop an extremely gentle formulation. HYALOE HYDROPOWER SOAP - A facial soap formulated with 2 key ingredients Hyaluronic Acid, which protects your skin against the damaging effects of dehydration by maintaining a healthy moisture level and Aloe Vera, which helps revive, stimulate, and return your facial skin to smooth glowing health. Madame Heng is available at www.seektheuniq.com Have you heard about this brand? What's your skin condition? Which particular Madame Heng soap would you like to try? Keep smilin' Stay happy! A lot of people shop whenever they go to Thailand. I, on the other hand, prefer to immerse myself into their culture and actually like to talk to locals and do what locals do! That includes trying out their bestselling products and even dine in non-touristy restaurants!Thai women are known to a more natural approach when it comes to skincare and I like that! One brand that pops whenever I do research is called Madame Heng.Made by Heng Shui Hiu for the family's use, she later gave samples to her neighbors and the rest was history! I'm glad I get to finally try these and feel like I am one of the lucky neighbor of Ms. Heng!I used this soap once or twice a week as to prepare my skin for some changes in the regimen. I used this midday after driving my son back from school and I like to "freshen up" and this does a job in keeping my skin smooth and hydrated without irritation.What I like about this soap is how emollient and smooth it is and I like how it smells really good!Fortified with natural Vitamin C and delicately selected natural herbs to make skin bright and supple.I am honestly excited to try this soap but I have to use the Collagen first before trying out another one. I have a feeling this variant is more perfect for my skin type because I have very dry skin and at times, I have dry and flaky patches! United States Court of Appeals, Second Circuit. ANTHONY JOHN RUSSO, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. CITY OF NEW YORK, NEW YORK STATE, Defendants-Appellees. 17-233-cv Decided: December 01, 2017 Present: ROSEMARY S. POOLER, RICHARD C. WESLEY, PETER W. HALL, Circuit Judges. Appearing for Appellant: Anthony John Russo, pro se, East Elmhurst, N.Y. Appearing for Appellee: No appearance. ON CONSIDERATION WHEREOF, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED, ADJUDGED, AND DECREED that the judgment of said District Court be and it hereby is AFFIRMED. Anthony John Russo, proceeding pro se, appeals from the July 19, 2016 judgment of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York (Mauskopf, J.), dismissing Russo's claims brought under 42 U.S.C. 1983. Russo was a tenured teacher with the New York City Board of Education who was terminated as the result of an arbitration conducted pursuant to New York Education Law 3020-a. Russo initiated an Article 75 proceeding in the Supreme Court of New York County to appeal the termination decision. The termination was ultimately affirmed by the New York State Court of Appeals in 2015. Russo v. New York City Dep't of Educ., 25 N.Y.3d 946, 948 (N.Y. 2015). Russo filed his federal complaint against New York City and New York State on February 4, 2016. On July 19, 2016, the district court sua sponte dismissed Russo's complaint pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 1915(e)(2)(B) and the doctrine of res judicata. The district court also determined that amendment to the pleadings would be futile and any appeal taken of that order would not be taken in good faith and thus denied in forma pauperis status to Russo for the appeal. Russo subsequently filed a motion for reconsideration, which was denied by the district court on January 4, 2017. The district court determined that appeal of that order would not be taken in good faith and denied in forma pauperis status to any appeal of the denial of the motion for reconsideration, as well. We assume the parties' familiarity with the remaining underlying facts, procedural history, and specification of issues for review. It is well established that the submissions of a pro se litigant must be construed liberally and interpreted to raise the strongest arguments they suggest. Triestman v. Fed. Bureau of Prisons, 470 F.3d 471, 474 (2d Cir. 2006) (quoting Pabon v. Wright, 459 F.3d 241, 248 (2d Cir. 2006)). We review de novo a district court's sua sponte dismissal under 28 U.S.C. 1915(e)(2). Giano v. Goord, 250 F.3d 146, 149-50 (2d Cir. 2001), abrogated on other grounds by Porter v. Nussle, 534 U.S. 516 (2002). Our review of a district court's denial of leave to amend based on futility is reviewed de novo. Smith v. Hogan, 794 F.3d 249, 253 (2d Cir. 2015). The district court's denial of Russo's motion for reconsideration is reviewed for abuse of discretion. Id. Finally, the district court's application of the principles of res judicata is reviewed de novo. EDP Med. Computer Sys., Inc. v. United States, 480 F.3d 621, 624 (2d Cir. 2007). We may affirm on any ground supported by the record. Sudler v. City of New York, 689 F.3d 159, 168 (2d Cir. 2012). We affirm the decisions of the district court to dismiss Russo's complaint and deny his motion for reconsideration on the ground that Russo's claims are barred by the doctrine of claim preclusion. We note at the outset that the failure of a defendant to raise res judicata does not deprive a court of the power to dismiss a claim on that ground in large part because of the strong public policy in economizing the use of judicial resources by avoiding relitigation. Doe v. Pfrommer, 148 F.3d 73, 80 (2d Cir. 1998). We find that dismissal on the basis of res judicata is appropriate in this case because Russo raises claims that are premised entirely on the same set of facts and alleged misconduct as the facts and misconduct alleged in his state court action, and because the initial state forum had the power to award the full measure of relief sought in this Section 1983 action. See Davidson v. Capuano, 792 F.2d 275 (1986). Cf. Davis v. Halpern, 813 F.2d 37, 39 (2d Cir. 1987) (explaining that Section 1983 plaintiffs may seek damages despite prior Article 78 Proceedings requesting injunctive or affirmative relief). In Migra v. Warren City School District Board of Education, the Supreme Court held that the settled rule that a federal court must give to a state-court judgment the same preclusive effect as would be given that judgment under the law of the State in which the judgment was rendered applied to federal claims brought under 42 U.S.C. 1983. 465 U.S. 75, 81 (1984). Russo argues that he cannot be barred from raising his federal claims because he never raised them in the state court actions, but Migra demonstrates that the doctrine of claim preclusion does not function in such a manner. Pursuant to the instruction of the Supreme Court, we apply the doctrine of res judicata under the law of the State in which the judgment was rendered when evaluating the preclusive effects of a state court judgment. Id. at 81. This Court has noted that New York law has adopted a transactional approach to claim preclusion. McKithen v. Brown, 481 F.3d 89, 104 (2d Cir. 2007) (citing Gargiul v. Tompkins, 790 F.2d 265, 269 (2d Cir. 1986)). A transactional approach dictates that [o]nce a claim is brought to a final conclusion, all other claims arising out of the same transaction or series of transaction are barred. Id. at 104 (quoting O'Brien v. City of Syracuse, 54 N.Y.2d 353, 357 (N.Y. 1981)). Russo's complaint in the federal district court alleged that he suffered constitutional violations involving his termination, including the legal standards applied to his termination decision and the actual decision to terminate. Each of these constitutional violations was alleged to have occurred during the arbitration process and related procedures that were the subject of the state court judgment. Accordingly, even though Russo's federal claims were not raised and litigated in his state action, there was no error in the district court's decision to dismiss these claims on the grounds that they were barred by the state court judgment. We have considered the remainder of Russo's arguments and find them to be without merit. Accordingly, the judgment of the district court hereby is AFFIRMED. Each side to bear its own costs. FOR THE COURT: Catherine O'Hagan Wolfe, Clerk Photo of 2019 QX50 courtesy of Infiniti. Infiniti debuted its 2019 QX50 luxury crossover ahead of the Los Angeles Auto Show as the brand's first vehicle to incorporate Nissan's ProPilot semi-autonomous driver assist system. The new QX50 is powered by a 2.0-liter inline-four VC-Turbo engine that makes 268 horsepower and 280 pound-feet of torque. The mid-size crossover should provide 27 miles to the gallon combined and 26 mpg if equipped with all-wheel drive. The engine is able to adjust the length of each cylinder's piston stroke to switch to a more fuel efficient mode. Nissan has rolled out its ProPilot technology that operates as enhanced cruise control on the 2018 Rogue and Leaf models. Photo courtesy of Mercedes-Benz. Mercedes-Benz USA is recalling 9,379 2017-2018 GLC300, GLC300 4Matic and GLC43 AMG vehicles because the sunroof panels might detach and create a safety hazard, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The fixed panoramic sun roof frontal and side plastic panels may have insufficient bonding, allowing the panels to separate during vehicle operation, NHTSA warned on its website. MBUSA dealers will inspect and fix if needed the bonding on the sunroof panels. There will be no charge for this service. The recall is expected to begin Dec. 8. Vehicle owners can reach MBUSA customer service at (800) 367-6372. Thank you for reading! Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading. United States Court of Appeals, Third Circuit. KLEVER ARMANDO PILATAXI TENEMAZA, Petitioner v. ATTORNEY GENERAL UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Respondent No. 17-1502 Decided: November 30, 2017 BEFORE: GREENAWAY, JR., COWEN, Circuit Judges and PADOVA, District Judge * OPINION** Klever Armando Pilataxi Tenemaza petitions for review of a decision by the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA), which dismissed his appeal from an order of the Immigration Judge (IJ) denying his motion for a continuance as well as his application for cancellation of removal. We will dismiss the petition in part and deny it in part. I. Pilataxi Tenemaza, a native and citizen of Ecuador, entered the United States without admission or inspection. Pilataxi Tenemaza (who was represented by counsel) conceded the charge of removability. He also filed an application for cancellation of removal, claiming that his United States citizen son would suffer exceptional and extremely unusual hardship should his father be removed to Ecuador. On March 2, 2012, the merits hearing was scheduled for March 3, 2014. The IJ told counsel to make every effort to get the majority of the evidence filed, say, a year ahead of time and then if you need to supplement, no problem. (AR86.) At the merits hearing, Pilataxi Tenemaza asked for an adjournment in order to obtain evidence. The IJ denied the motion in an interlocutory oral decision as well as her subsequent written disposition. The IJ also denied the underlying application for cancellation of removal. The BIA dismissed Pilataxi Tenemaza's administrative appeal. It specifically agreed with the IJ that Pilataxi Tenemaza failed to demonstrate the good cause required for a continuance. See, e.g., 8 C.F.R. 1003.29, 1240.6. The BIA also affirmed the IJ's finding that Pilataxi Tenemaza did not show that his removal would result in exceptional and extremely unusual hardship to his son. Pilataxi Tenemaza submitted a Petition for Review and Complaint for Injunctive Relief and Declaratory Relief (JA3 (emphasis omitted)) as well as a motion for a stay of removal. The government moved to dismiss on jurisdictional grounds. This Court denied the stay motion and referred the dismissal motion to the merits panel. II. We must dismiss the petition for review insofar as Pilataxi Tenemaza challenges the agency's disposition of his application for cancellation of removal. We lack jurisdiction to review discretionary decisions made pursuant to 8 U.S.C. 1229b, including exceptional and extremely unusual hardship determinations. Patel v. Attorney General, 619 F.3d 230, 232 (3d Cir. 2010) (citing 8 U.S.C. 1252(a)(2)(B)(i); Mendez-Moranchel v. Ashcroft, 338 F.3d 176, 179 (3d Cir. 2003)). While we retain jurisdiction over constitutional claims and questions of law, see, e.g., 8 U.S.C. 1252(a)(2)(D); Patel, 619 F.3d at 232, Pilataxi Tenemaza does not articulate any legal or constitutional claims with respect to the application for cancellation of removal. Instead, he contends that the agency abused its discretion and incorrectly found that his son would not suffer exceptional and extremely unusual hardship. However, it is well established that arguments that an IJ or the BIA incorrectly weighed or failed to consider the evidence do not present constitutional claims or legal questions. See, e.g., Jarbough v. Attorney General, 483 F.3d 184, 189 (3d Cir. 2007). We next turn to Piltataxi Tenemaza's challenge concerning the motion for continuance. According to Pilataxi Tenemaza, the BIA abused its discretion and infringed his due process rights by not allowing him a continuance to obtain evidence in support of his cancellation application. As the BIA recognized, [t]o establish good cause based upon a request for an opportunity to obtain and present additional evidence, the respondent must make a reasonable showing that the lack of preparation occurred despite a diligent good faith effort to be ready to proceed and that the additional evidence is probative, noncumulative, and significantly favorable to him. (AR3 (quoting Sibrun, 18 I. & N. Dec. 354, 356 (BIA 1983)).) Aliens are entitled to a full and fair hearing of [their] claims and a reasonable opportunity to present evidence, but, in order to prevail on a due process claim, the alien must establish substantial prejudice. See, e.g., Singh v. Gonzales, 432 F.3d 533, 541 (3d Cir. 2006) (quoting Chong v. Dist. Dir., INS, 264 F.3d 378, 386 (3d Cir. 2001)). We conclude that the agency neither abused its discretion nor violated the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment. The BIA properly upheld the IJ's finding of a lack of due diligence. Pilataxi Tenemaza had more than 2 years to submit evidence in support of his application and was specifically instructed on March 2, 2012, to submit the majority of the evidence in support of his case 1 year in advance of his March 3, 2014, hearing. (AR3 (citing AR65-AR66, AR86, AR89-AR90).) Pilataxi Tenemaza contends that he was unable to obtain documents from his house because he was under a restraining order 6 months prior to his March 3, 2014 hearing, from August until December 2012 and his wife would not cooperate. (Petitioner's Brief at 9 (citing AR3, AR119).) However, he did not ask for a continuance at that time, even though he was represented by counsel. Instead, he waited months until the merits hearing itself to ask for more time. Pilataxi Tenemaza acknowledges that Petitioner could have requested the continuance ahead of time, and, in turn, he provides no real explanation for why unspecified communication issues with his attorney (which purportedly may have prevented him from knowing that a request could have been made in advance) indicated that he nevertheless exercised due diligence in this matter or established that he was thereby deprived a fair hearing or a reasonable opportunity to present evidence. (Id. at 10 (citing AR96).) In any event, the BIA went on to state that Pilataxi Tenemaza has not articulated on appeal how the additional evidence he sought to present is probative, noncumulative, and significantly favorable to him or how the denial of his request for a continuance caused him actual prejudice and harm and materially affected the outcome of his case ( [AR12-AR14] ). (AR4 (citing Sibrun, 18 I. & N. Dec. at 356-57).) In fact, Pilataxi Tenemaza does not identify the actual evidence that he would have presented if his motion for a continuance had been granted. Accordingly, he cannot establish the evidence's probative value or prejudice. III. For the foregoing reasons, we will dismiss Pilataxi Tenemaza's petition for review insofar as we lack jurisdiction to review the agency's hardship determination. Otherwise, we will deny his petition for review. FOOTNOTES . Likewise, we must dismiss the putative Complaint for Injunctive Relief and Declaratory Relief. . Pilataxi Tenemaza indicates that the denial of his continuance motion constituted a discretionary decision that this Court generally lacks the jurisdiction to review. He then goes on to proffer a constitutional due process challenge to this disposition. However, we do have jurisdiction to review this ruling in this context. See, e.g., Khan v. AttorneyGeneral, 448 F.3d 226, 229-33 (3d Cir. 2006) (concluding that 8 U.S.C. 1252(a)(2)(B)(ii) does not deprive court of appeals of jurisdiction over decision on continuance motion). The government states that we arguably lack jurisdiction, but (contrary to the government's characterization) this is not a case where the BIA provides two alternative grounds for denying relief. (Respondent's Brief at 17 n.1 (quoting Rodas-Leon v. Attorney General, 475 F. App'x 430, 432 (3d Cir. 2012) (per curiam)).)The parties agree that we review the BIA's decision affirming the IJ's denial of the continuance motion for abuse of discretion. See, e.g., Syblis v. Attorney General, 763 F.3d 348, 352 (3d Cir. 2014); Ponce-Leiva v. Ashcroft, 331 F.3d 369, 374-77 (3d Cir. 2003). . Purportedly, it would have been judicially prudent to grant a short continuance because Pilataxi Tenemaza's wife appeared for his final hearing and they were again on speaking terms. (Petitioner's Brief at 10 (At the very least, once testimony was taken, in order to afford Petitioner the benefit of the doubt, the IJ could have requested specific documents limited to the hardship Petitioner had testified to.).) However, the absence of so-called judicial prudence does not rise to the level of either an abuse of discretion or a constitutional violation. . We accordingly grant the motion to dismiss with respect to the hardship determination (as well as the Complaint for Injunctive Relief and Declaratory Relief). Otherwise, we deny the motion. COWEN, Circuit Judge. The recent release of Corporate Profiles from Sosland Publishing Company offers an important annual opportunity for a high-level insights into the health of the baking business measured against other sectors of the packaged foods industry. The special edition offers a look at several food processing industry sectors together with profiles of companies in the midst of growth or change. Dollar sales of bread were flat in the year ended July 7, according to data from Information Resources, Inc., a Chicago-based market research firm. Sales edged up a modest four-tenths of a per cent the previous year. While no one in grain-based foods will be satisfied unless product sales are growing at a pace in line with or faster than population growth, measuring retail sales trends against those of other leading categories is critical for executives seeking a more comprehensive picture of the industrys health. When measured against overall supermarket sales, flat bread sales may be viewed as less disappointing. Overall supermarket sales across all departments totaled $836 billion in the year ended July 1, versus $835 billion the year before, according to Nielsen Answers. A sustained lack of growth has been even more apparent in unit sales. Aggregate unit sales of all tracked products have been within a tight range between 253 billion and 255 billion each of the past five years (unit sales of bread during this period have been eroding from one year to the next), according to Nielsen. Among 37 food and beverage categories tracked by I.R.I., breads performance over the past year fell at about the middle of the pack. A number of grain-based categories, mostly indulgent, did better than bread, including bakery snacks, pies and cakes, pastry and donuts, snack bars and granola bars, cookies and salty snacks. Measured against other staples, bread looks more impressive. Sales of luncheon meats fell 3.22 per cent; ready-to-eat and hot cereal, down 2.2 per cent; yogurt, down 2; salad dressings, down 1.8; milk, down 1.7; pasta, down 1.6 per cent; and soup, down 0.6. Tortillas were an exception, up 2.8 per cent. While the fastest growing category over the past year was refrigerated tea/coffee, up 11.3 per cent, snack categories vied with beverages for the top growth positions, including ready-to-eat popcorn, up 11.3 per cent; dried meat snacks, up 7.4 per cent; and salty snacks, up 2.9. Nicely simplifying the position of commercial bakery within the supermarket overall was Todd R. Hale, a former Nielsen executive and currently principal, Todd Hale, L.L.C. Mr. Hale tapped Nielsen data looking at how each supermarket department has been growing over the last several years and assigned index numbers to each, with 100 representing overall store growth. The commercial bakery, at 114, was 14 per cent greater than would be expected, measured by sales gained between 2013 and 2017. The 114 index number for the commercial bakery segment compares with 90 for grocery, the catchall category encompassing most of the center of the store. Its a challenge for bakery, Mr. Hale said. The growth in the perimeter of the store, demand for fresh gotta have it now in terms of meals and snacks is a major factor. Prepared meals and snacks are in greater demand than ever before. See-through packaging gives the impression that it is fresher, whether or not that is the case. It isnt necessarily better for you, but it is convenient and tastes good. It is no surprise bakers have responded to these trends by making a play toward the faster growing perimeter, particularly near the deli section. While certain companies have enjoyed considerable success in these efforts, others, including some ranking bakers, have found the perimeter a tough nut to crack. In an environment in which snacks, indulgent products and beverages seem to have a near monopoly on growth, realistic expectations are a must. Still, finding ways to take advantage of how bread is a great complement to certain faster growing categories remains an avenue that beckons with considerable promise. Unfortunately, our website is currently unavailable in your country. We are engaged on the issue and committed to looking at options that support our full range of digital offerings to your market. We continue to identify technical compliance solutions that will provide all readers with our award-winning journalism. United States Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff - Appellee, v. TOBORIS TANTON BUIE, Defendant - Appellant. No. 16-4238 Decided: November 30, 2017 Before WILKINSON, NIEMEYER, and MOTZ, Circuit Judges. Louis C. Allen, Federal Public Defender, Gregory Davis, Assistant Federal Public Defender, OFFICE OF THE FEDERAL PUBLIC DEFENDER, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, for Appellant. Sandra Jane Hairston, Acting United States Attorney, OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY, Greensboro, North Carolina, for Appellee. Toboris Tanton Buie appeals from the district court's judgment and commitment order revoking his supervised release and imposing a 20-month sentence. Counsel has filed a brief pursuant to Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738 (1967), stating that there are no meritorious issues for appeal, but questioning whether Buie's sentence was plainly unreasonable. Buie filed a pro se supplemental brief raising two issues. The Government has declined to file a brief. We affirm. We will affirm a sentence imposed after revocation of supervised release if it is within the prescribed statutory range and is not plainly unreasonable. United States v. Crudup, 461 F.3d 433, 438-40 (4th Cir. 2006). While a district court must consider the Chapter Seven policy statements, U.S. Sentencing Guidelines Manual Ch. 7, Pt. B (2016), and the statutory requirements and factors applicable to revocation sentences under 18 U.S.C. 3553(a), 3583(e) (2012), the district court ultimately has broad discretion to revoke supervised release and impose a term of imprisonment up to the statutory maximum. Crudup, 461 F.3d at 438-39. A supervised release revocation sentence is procedurally reasonable if the district court considered the Chapter 7 advisory policy statements and the 3553(a) factors it is permitted to consider in a supervised release revocation case. See 18 U.S.C. 3583(e); Crudup, 461 F.3d at 439-40. A revocation sentence is substantively reasonable if the district court stated a proper basis for concluding the defendant should receive the sentence imposed, up to the statutory maximum. Crudup, 461 F.3d at 440. Only if a sentence is found procedurally or substantively unreasonable will we then decide whether the sentence is plainly unreasonable. Id. at 439 (emphasis omitted). We discern no error in the district court's decision to impose a 20-month sentence and terminate supervision thereafter. The court adequately stated permissible reasons for the sentence, including Buie's pattern of continuing criminal conduct that necessitated a sentence deterring Buie from future criminal conduct and protecting the public. We have carefully reviewed the record and Anders brief and conclude that Buie's sentence is not plainly unreasonable. We find no merit in the claims Buie raises in his informal brief. In accordance with Anders, we have reviewed the entire record in this case and have found no meritorious issues for appeal. We therefore affirm the judgment. This court requires that counsel inform Buie in writing, of the right to petition the Supreme Court of the United States for further review. If Buie requests that a petition be filed, but counsel believes that such a petition would be frivolous, then counsel may move in this court for leave to withdraw from representation. Counsel's motion must state that a copy thereof was served on Buie. We dispense with oral argument because the facts and legal contentions are adequately presented in the materials before this court and argument would not aid the decisional process. AFFIRMED PER CURIAM: United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit. BUFORD RANDLE, Petitioner-Appellant v. LORIE DAVIS, DIRECTOR, TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE, CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTIONS DIVISION, Respondent-Appellee No. 17-40293 Decided: November 30, 2017 Before SMITH, WIENER, and HAYNES, Circuit Judges. Petitioner-Appellant Buford Randle, Texas prisoner # 1970284, filed a motion in this court seeking a certificate of appealability (COA) to appeal the district court's denial of his 28 U.S.C. 2254 application in which he challenges his convictions for evading arrest and possession of cocaine. Randle raised claims in the district court that his counsel had rendered ineffective assistance in numerous respects, mainly related to (1) his mental health or (2) his claim that his guilty plea was involuntary because he was heavily medicated when he pleaded. To obtain a COA, Randle must make a substantial showing of the denial of a constitutional right. 28 U.S.C. 2253(c)(2). This court must examine the basis of its jurisdiction, sua sponte if necessary. Hernandez v. Thaler, 630 F.3d 420, 424 & n.1 (5th Cir. 2011). Randle's notice of appeal was filed more than 30 days after the entry of the final judgment denying his 2254 petition. That made his notice of appeal untimely. See FED. R. APP. P. 4(a)(1)(A), (c)(1). A federal habeas proceeding is civil in nature. When the time in which to file a notice of appeal in a civil case is set by statute, it is jurisdictional. Hamer v. Neighborhood Hous. Serv. of Chicago, ___ S. Ct. ___, No. 16-658, 2017 WL 5160782, *6-7 (U.S. Nov. 8, 2017); Bowles v. Russell, 551 U.S. 205, 214 (2007). We therefore lack jurisdiction in this case because Randle's notice of appeal was untimely. Randle's appeal is DISMISSED for lack of jurisdiction, and his request for a COA is DENIED as MOOT. PER CURIAM:* This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate A Daisy Dukes contest with $400 up for grabs summoned a wild, fun crowd to San Antonio's Wild West on Thursday night. Ten competitive women rocking denim cut-offs took to the stage and strutted their best Southern gal sass. RELATED: 24 fun things to see and do this weekend in San Antonio Throughout the night the crowd twirled the dance floor to honor the Stone Oak-area's venue's "two-steppin' & long-neckin'" slogan. Check out the fun scene in the slideshow above. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 3 1 of 3 Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Show More Show Less 3 of 3 Two people have been identified in connection with a home burglary from Wednesday morning, according to a statement from the Jefferson County Sheriff's office. The burglary occurred at a home in the 2600 block of Twin City Hwy around 10 a.m. Surveillance footage from the Jake's Fireworks stand next door caught the suspects on video, according to the statement. A Louisiana man was shot in his left thigh at an apartment complex in Orange early Tuesday morning, police said. Police were dispatched to the Sunset Grove apartment complex in the 2800 block of Sunset Drive at 6:14 a.m. Tuesday for a disturbance. United States Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit. DURONE JAMAL SANDERS, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. OAKLAND COUNTY, MICHIGAN; MICHAEL J. BOUCHARD; MARK A. FERGUSON, Defendants-Appellees. No. 17-1467 Decided: November 30, 2017 Before: GRIFFIN, KETHLEDGE, and BUSH, Circuit Judges. Durone Sanders appeals the district court's grant of summary judgment to the defendants on his 42 U.S.C. 1983 claims, arguing that the court improperly weighed the credibility of his testimony. We reject his arguments and affirm. In 2012, Mark Ferguson, then an Oakland County Sheriff's deputy, was investigating a drug dealer known as Flip. Ferguson believed that Flip was actually Sanders. As part of the investigation, Ferguson and other officers searched Sanders twice. The first search happened after Ferguson directed an informant to buy cocaine from Flip in Sanders's apartment (a controlled buy). The informant then told Ferguson that he and Flip would be driving to Detroit to buy more drugs. Two days later, Ferguson and other officers stopped the informant's van while he was returning with Sanders from Detroit. Officers searched the van and found eight grams of marijuana on another passenger, whom they arrested. The second search happened after another informant made a controlled buy of heroin in Sanders's apartment. Ferguson then obtained a search warrant for the apartment, where officers found $334 in cash and 1.4 grams of marijuana. The informant later made a controlled buy of cocaine in Sanders's car and another, of heroin, at the back door of Sanders's apartment. Ferguson then obtained an arrest warrant for Sanders. The next day, the informant called Flip to set up another buy. The buy never happened, but after watching Sanders drive around for about an hour officers arrested him and found marijuana in his sock. Oakland County prosecutors charged Sanders with felony distribution of cocaine and heroin, and misdemeanor possession of marijuana. While Sanders was awaiting trial, the Oakland County Sheriff's Department fired Ferguson for lying on a search-warrant affidavit in an unrelated case. As a result, prosecutors dropped the charges against Sanders and in other cases where Ferguson would have testified. Sanders thereafter brought a 42 U.S.C. 1983 suit against Ferguson, Oakland County, and the Oakland County Sheriff, Michael Bouchard, claiming that Ferguson violated his Fourth and Fifth Amendment rights during the Flip investigation and that Oakland County and Bouchard were liable for Ferguson's actions. The defendants moved for summary judgment, arguing that Sanders lacked evidence that Ferguson violated his constitutional rights. The district court granted the defendants' motion. This appeal followed. We review the district court's grant of summary judgment de novo. See Miller v. Maddox, 866 F.3d 386, 389 (6th Cir. 2017). Sanders first argues that Ferguson lacked reasonable suspicion to stop the van in which Sanders was returning from Detroit. Ferguson had reasonable suspicion for the stop if he was aware of specific and articulable facts that suggested people in the van were engaging in criminal activity. United States v. Young, 707 F.3d 598, 603 (6th Cir. 2012). Here, the informant told Ferguson that he and Flip would be driving to Detroit that day to buy drugs. Sanders offers no evidence that this conversation did not happen, and Ferguson tracked the van's location on its way to Detroit. Thus Ferguson had reasonable suspicion for the stop. Sanders next argues that Ferguson lacked probable cause for the warrant to search Sanders's apartment and for Sanders's arrest warrant. Ferguson had probable cause if he had enough facts to establish a fair probability that officers would find drugs at Sanders's home (for the search warrant) and that Sanders had engaged in criminal conduct (for the arrest warrant). See United States v. Abernathy, 843 F.3d 243, 249 (6th Cir. 2016); Criss v. City of Kent, 867 F.2d 259, 262-63 (6th Cir. 1988). Here, Ferguson put all of the drugs that the informants bought from Flip in the Sheriff's Department's evidence room. Ferguson also prepared reports for each of those controlled buys in which he marked the location of the buys as 18 Jefferson, which Sanders admits was where he lived at that time. And three other witnessesthe two informants and another officer involved in the investigationtestified that the buys occurred as described in the reports. In light of this evidence, Ferguson had probable cause for both of the warrants. Sanders contends, however, that he did not deal drugs in 2012 and does not go by the name Flip. But that contention has nothing to do with whether Ferguson had probable cause at the time he obtained the warrants. Sanders offers no evidence that the controlled buys did not happen as described or that Ferguson should have known that Sanders was not Flip. And that Ferguson lied on the affidavit for an unrelated search warrant does not show that he lied on the affidavits for Sanders's warrants. Sanders has therefore failed to provide enough evidence for a reasonable jury to conclude that Ferguson violated his constitutional rights. The district court's judgment is affirmed. KETHLEDGE, Circuit Judge. United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. HUGO ISRAEL CAHUEC, Petitioner-Appellant, v. GREGORY SMITH; ATTORNEY GENERAL FOR THE STATE OF NEVADA, Respondents-Appellees. No. 14-15593 Decided: December 01, 2017 Before: SCHROEDER, D.W. NELSON, and CHRISTEN, Circuit Judges. MEMORANDUM* Hugo Cahuec, a Nevada state prisoner, appealed the district court's dismissal of his habeas petition on grounds of failure to exhaust and untimeliness. We granted Petitioner's motion to stay appellate proceedings because his threshold actual innocence claim was then pending before the Nevada state courts. The Nevada Supreme Court has now held that the evidence he presented was not reliable and affirmed the trial court's denial of relief. We have requested, received, and reviewed supplemental briefing from the parties as to the current status of the appeal. The actual innocence claim is now exhausted and the district court has not yet considered it in light of the record developed in state court while this appeal has been pending. We have therefore ordered this appeal submitted on the briefs. We vacate the district court's order denying Petitioner's motion for reconsideration, and remand for the district court to consider the petitioner's claims in the first instance. We also GRANT the pending motion to file the final volume VI of the joint supplemental excerpts of record under seal. This panel shall retain jurisdiction of any further appeal. VACATED and REMANDED. United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. VANESSA RIVERA, as an individual and on behalf of all employees similarly situated, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. UHS OF DELAWARE, INC., DBA Universal Health Services of Delaware, Inc., Defendant-Appellant. No. 15-56972 Decided: December 01, 2017 Before: NGUYEN and HURWITZ, Circuit Judges, and SEEBORG,*** District Judge. MEMORANDUM* UHS of Delaware, Inc. appeals the district court's order finding unenforceable a provision in an arbitration agreement that waives representative claims under California's Private Attorney General Act (PAGA). Reviewing the order de novo, see Kilgore v. KeyBank, Nat'l Ass'n, 718 F.3d 1052, 1057 (9th Cir. 2013) (en banc) (citation omitted), we affirm. UHS argues that DirecTV, Inc. v. Imburgia, 136 S. Ct. 463 (2015), abrogated Sakkab v. Luxottica Retail North America, Inc., 803 F.3d 425 (9th Cir. 2015), and Iskanian v. CLS Transportation Los Angeles, LLC, 59 Cal. 4th 348 (2014), and therefore the district court's reliance on Sakkab and Iskanian was erroneous. We disagree and conclude that Imburgia is not clearly irreconcilable with Sakkab or Iskanian. See Miller v. Gammie, 335 F.3d 889, 900 (9th Cir. 2003) (en banc). Imburgia simply held that a California court failed to place arbitration contracts on equal footing with all other contracts when it interpreted a choice-of-law provision in an arbitration agreement. 136 S. Ct. at 46871 (quoting Buckeye Check Cashing, Inc. v. Cardegna, 546 U.S. 440, 443 (2006)). Sakkab and Iskanian, in contrast, directly addressed the validity of PAGA waivers in arbitration agreements under state and federal law. Sakkab, 803 F.3d at 43140; Iskanian, 59 Cal. 4th at 37889. Therefore, neither case is undermined by Imburgia. AFFIRMED. FOOTNOTES . Because we affirm, we deny Appellee Vanessa Rivera's motion for summary affirmance as moot. PR Newswire BIRMINGHAM, Ala., Dec. 1, 2017 BIRMINGHAM, Ala., Dec. 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The eyes of the nation are upon you. December 12th vote will be a crucial test of honor, morality, justice and wisdom. As is often the case in politics, nothing will be black or white. There will be no "right" answer, no unequivocal fact, and no pundit, politician or personality who holds the moral high ground. Myself included. However, our MAGA Coalition made the call on this race months ago when we endorsed Judge Roy Moore for US Senate. It would be a shameful abdication of our duties to shy away from clarifying that endorsement in a time of trial and tribulation. In fact, there is no greater test of one's mettle than to weigh in on matters such as the election facing Alabama voters. This is the new and obscene American political landscape a place where the lowest common denominator reigns, and charges of depravity rule the day. Are we so desensitized that we don't flinch at 40-year-old charges, lobbed like a hand grenade, 30 days before an election? The methods deployed by the Washington Post in printing their latest bit of "organic" journalism, is almost as repugnant as the charges alleged within. As we watch the establishment powers that be in Washington D.C., trying to wrestle away the autonomy and integrity of elections for all Alabamians, we can only offer our contempt for the manner in which their charges against Judge Roy Moore have been staged. To be clear: the campaign of Doug Jones, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, and the mainstream media, have turned a US Senate election into a binary choice on individual morality. The implication being, if you don't vote a certain way, we will paint your entire state as moral degenerates. Not too dissimilar from the efforts of those who sought to define Donald Trump by surreptitious recordings from an Access Hollywood show. This playbook is well-worn and dog-eared by now, yet the masters of political war in Washington plow forward. They see themselves as the sole moral arbiters and purveyors of truth, and voters as simple tools to advance their agenda. Their hypocrisy knows no bounds. Alabama is now the tip of the spear. Each man and woman of voting age will be transformed into an agent of justice on December 12th. Every voting booth will be transformed into a jury box; not for the guilt or innocence of Judge Roy Moore, per se, but for the whole political system. A vote for Roy Moore is not a vote on what may or may not have happened in 1979. The moral equivalency game is not a winnable one. If the biblical parable of Solomon's wisdom is to hold true: who in this scenario is prepared to split the child? One side is willing to sacrifice this election rather than allow the grassroots another win. That much is clear. It feels to us like there are unseen forces at work, seeking to replace our hope with hostility, our faith with fear, and our judgment with theirs. On November 8th, 2016, the world watched as we made our choice. Now, on December 12th, the nation looks to you, Alabama. There, in the solitude of the voting booth, you will have your say. Nothing, and no one, can take that moment from you. May you all be blessed, even if only in that moment, with the Wisdom of Solomon. God bless Alabama and God bless America. Adam Gingrich President - MAGA Coalition, Inc. Interview Requests Contact:1 (866) 776-MAGA (6242) ext. [email protected] MAGA COALITION 1 (866) 776-MAGA [email protected] View original content with multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/roy-moore-vs-the-washington-dc-establishment-an-open-letter-to-alabama-voters-from-the-maga-coalition-300565555.html SOURCE MAGA Coalition The town of Eagle Point has not yet signed an agreement to close 95th Avenue as railroad company Progressive Rail requested, town chairman Dennis Ferstenou confirmed at a meeting Thursday. Instead, the town will continue to pursue a traffic study before agreeing to shutter the road. The matter is ultimately in the hands of the states Commissioner of Railroads. The town has until Dec. 11 to submit its rebuttal, and eventually a public hearing will be held. Progressive Rail wants to close 95th Avenue so workers will have a stretch of land long enough to assemble mile-long trains, the railroads director of public affairs, Jason Culotta, told the Herald Monday. But closing 95th Avenue would route much more traffic to 105th Avenue, which is dangerous for pedestrians, Ferstenou said 105th is roughly a mile north and provides access to an entrance to ONeil Creek Campground and several residential driveways. With the campground there and so many people walking along 105th, I think there would be quite an impact on safety, said Roxy Kuss, an Eagle Point resident who owns land near 95th Avenue. I think, wheres the haste to close this when it hasnt stood the test of time? Ferstenou said. Culotta said the company believes the road can be safely closed, but that the railroad is hesitant to pay for a traffic study without knowing it would benefit the company. The railroad would have to eat the costs (of closing the road), he said. Wed have to create a cul-de-sac on either side, pave it and finish it off. (The traffic study) is just a tough thing for us to say well pay Id like to actually get a cost. Culotta said he has reached out to engineers for the cost of a traffic study, but estimates the study could cost up to $40,000. In addition to the cost of a traffic study, town residents and officials are worried the sand business will take a dive and the railroad will abandon plans. Progressive Rail initially agreed to conduct a traffic study in 2015, when it had proposed a ten-track railyard over 95th Avenue, but abandoned the construction plans when its business slowed. I dont think its fair to the town of Eagle Point and our neighbors, the city and county ... all of a sudden to close this road when theres so much uncertainty about whether the sand business will hold up, Ferstenou said. Culotta doesnt think the railroads business will see another dip. With the maturing of the sand industry, I think its much more stable in 2017-2018 it was a younger business back then, he said. Several town residents expressed concern at Thursdays meeting that the railroad might pursue closing 105th Avenue if its original petition is denied. Culotta dismissed the possibility; closing 105th would not give the railroad a long enough stretch of land to assemble the trains, he said. Eagle Point town clerk Laurie Hebert expressed concern the railroad might eventually attempt to build the multi-track railyard it proposed in 2015. The public will have an opportunity to comment before the final hearing. Ferstenou encouraged Chippewa County residents to contact the town with their comments. Although a final hearing may be imminent, Culotta said the railroad is looking for other options. We would like to continue to keep communication open (with) the town, he said. There may be other solutions that make sense. Town of Eagle Point attorney Ben Lane also said compromise may be the final word. With any court case both parties may not get what they want. If theres something in the middle of what we both want, we can prepare for that too, he said at Thursdays meeting. To submit public comment on the potential road closure, contact the town of Eagle Point at 715-288-6770 or at townofeaglepoint@centurytel.net. Its not enough to give money to rich people. Apparently, Republicans want to kick the poor and middle class in the face, too. I used to think the Republican Partys obsession with top-heavy tax cuts was about pleasing wealthy donors and maybe also fulfilling some misguided Randian fantasy. If the poor and middle class happened to be collateral damage, so be it. But its starting to look like shafting the little guy has become a feature, not a bug, of the GOPs budget-busting tax plan. In years past, when Republicans wished to pass huge tax cuts for the wealthy, they at least offered a few goodies to so-called regular Americans. Take the George W. Bush tax cuts: They were also extremely weighted toward the rich, but some of the provisions helped the middle class and poor. The 2001 legislation made the Child Tax Credit partially refundable, for instance, which for the first time allowed many poor families to receive it. More important, the Bush tax cuts didnt actually raise taxes on any households, according to estimates from the Tax Policy Center. This time around, Republicans have taken a different approach. Theyre offsetting their tax cuts for corporations and the wealthy by hiking them further down the income distribution. Yes, its true that lower- and middle-income households would get a tax cut initially. But according to Congress own official nonpartisan scorekeepers, by 2027 the Senate tax bill would actually raise taxes on households making less than $75,000. Thats the case even if you strip out the controversial effects of repealing the individual mandate. No wonder this bill is less popular than any major change in federal tax policy since at least 1981. But wait, it gets worse. Higher taxes arent the only way in which Republicans plan to punish the poor and middle class. They also plan to gut the government services these populations depend on. This tax bill is merely a prelude to, or perhaps an excuse for, shredding the social safety net. Despite all those fanciful promises about how tax cuts will pay for themselves, Republican politicians know their legislation will blow a major hole in the deficit. According to lawmakers own official scorekeepers, the Senate bill would cost $1 trillion over the coming decade, even after accounting for additional economic growth. And in recent days and weeks, prominent Republicans have pledged to patch over this budget hole by cutting programs that millions of Americans need to get by. At an event on Wednesday, for example, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., linked tax cuts to coming entitlement cuts. Many argue that you cant cut taxes because it will drive up the deficit, he said. But we have to do two things. We have to generate economic growth which generates revenue, while reducing spending. That will mean instituting structural changes to Social Security and Medicare for the future. House Speaker Paul D. Ryan, R-Wis., of course has been trying to block-grant Medicaid and other safety-net programs for years. At a recent town hall, when asked why the tax bill wasnt paid for through spending cuts, he assured the audience that spending cuts would be coming quite soon. Even President Trump, supposed defender of the downtrodden, remarked at a recent Cabinet meeting: Were looking very strongly at welfare reform, and that will all take place right after taxes, very soon, very shortly after taxes. He added that such a policy was desperately needed in our country. You might question these pledges because cutting entitlements and other safety-net programs is easier said than done. Republicans learned this when they tried and failed to roll back Medicaid earlier this year. But its worth noting that if Trump signs tax cuts into law in December, some spending cuts would be triggered automatically in January without lawmakers having to lift a single finger or herd a single cat. Medicare alone would be slashed by $25 billion between January and September. Such cuts would be triggered by a law known as statutory PAYGO, which was designed to promote fiscal responsibility. Overriding the law requires 60 Senate votes. Even if Democrats get on board with cleaning up the GOPs budget mess, recent comments suggest not all Senate or House Republicans may choose to join them. Income inequality is near record highs, and yet Republicans regressive tax and spending plans forge forward. Its time for voters to ask their elected officials: How much upward distribution of wealth will ever be enough? The car crash of Brexit is the most scary economic prospect of our lifetime but people, including Irelands political leadership, still do not realise just how serious it is, the founder of Irish regional airline CityJet has said. Pat Byrne, who was speaking at a business conference in Pairc Ui Chaoimh in Cork, said: It almost seems that the Brexit car crash must be allowed to happen before the people of the UK see the folly of it. His comments at the inaugural Harmonia Corporate Advisors conference were echoed by UCC economics lecturer Declan Jordan, who agreed with Mr Byrnes description. There is no appetite in the UK for a second referendum so that scenario is unlikely. I agree we may have to have that car crash to see how bad Brexit really is, Mr Jordan said. The economist said the most dominant strategy for Ireland and Irish business was to expect the worst outcome. He criticised UK political leaders who were advocating the position that no deal is better than a bad deal, saying such political posturing was unthinkably bad for the UK. Going behind a World Trade Organisation (WTO) tariff wall would be the result of a no deal scenario, he said. Anything less than a hard Brexit at this point would be a bonus for Ireland, said Mr Jordan. Mr Byrne said that with Brexit happening, Ireland was going to be very lonely, saying he expected challenges to the 12.5% corporation tax rate and labour laws by fellow EU members in the coming years. It is after seeing how it works in Europe that you realise how sensible the trade union movement in Ireland really is. In the EU, there are some tremendously challenging places to do business, with the employer vilified in many cases, he said. CityJet revamped itself to become a wet leasing airline where an aircraft and crew owned by one airline is leased to another airline to complete certain routes and Mr Byrne said that the new model of business had taken the firm to Russia for aircraft. He said that Irish businesses would have plenty to offer their Russian counterparts as they sought new markets after Brexit. Once you learn that sometimes you have to roar at the Russian bear to get through to them, they are very open. They are masterful engineers but they do not have processing, logistics and other elements we take for granted. There is a lot of business to be done between the two countries, Mr Byrne said. The UK government-owned Royal Bank of Scotland, the parent of Ulster Bank, said it will close 259 branches in Britain and cut 680 jobs as it reduces costs and encourages customers to use online and mobile services. The latest round of closures at the Edinburgh-based bank follow 180 announced in March, putting 1,000 jobs at risk, and a similar move by Lloyds Banking Group which said this week it would close 49 branches. British banks are set to close a record 762 branches this year, drawing criticism for depriving customers of access to in-person services, particularly in poorer parts of the country. The latest closures will affect the banks RBS and Natwest brands in England, Wales and Scotland, leaving it with around 744 branches. In Ireland, the Financial Services Union said Ulster Bank has announced this year the closure of 22 branches in the Republic and 20 branches in the North. First Trust said earlier this year it planned to close 15 branches, while Bank of Ireland and Danske announced last year the closure of eight and two branches in the North, according to the union. It said that Permanent TSB and AIB had announced substantial closures and changes at their branches in 2012, while Bank of Ireland is currently reviewing the availability of some services at counters. Union secretary general Larry Broderick said that often bank branches were closed in a short-sighted way to reduce overheads. Jane Howard, RBSs managing director of branch banking, said customers were increasingly using online channels rather than branches, and RBS had to react to that. Given what we know, weve got the right shape of network, said Ms Howard. Unite, a trade union that represents staff at RBS, said the bank was decimating its branch network. RBS hopes to post its first profit since 2007 in 2018, but that depends on when it reaches a multi-billion settlement with the US over the mis-selling of toxic mortgage-backed securities in the US. Bailed out in a 45bn (51bn) bailout, the British government said it plans to start selling 15bn of shares in RBS next year. Branch closures are accelerating in Sweden too. Nordea has just said it intends to cut 4,000 full-time employees and 2,000 consultants. Armed robbers made off with cash from a shop in Belfast this morning. Two men, one armed with a knife, demanded money from staff at around 10.25am in a city centre shop. The suspects are described as being in their late teens or early twenties and of slim build. Both of them were wearing grey tracksuit bottoms, black coats and monkey hats. Detectives in Belfast are appealing for anyone with information to contact them. WASHINGTON I am not in the ignore President Trumps tweets because they are a distraction from important things camp. His most recent micro-harangues accusing (without evidence) a news executive of wrongdoing, hinting that a television host may have been involved in murder and embracing the debunked anti-Muslim rantings of Britains alt-right indicate some type of degeneration. The president seems to be in a downward spiral of anger, compulsion, conspiracy thinking and prejudice that is alternately offensive and frightening. But the thing is, Trumps tweets are also distracting from other important matters of governance. And here is one that cant get lost in the general madness: The Trump administration is proposing a reduction in funding and a shift in strategy in the fight against global AIDS that together would increase infections, cost lives and threaten the extraordinary progress of the last 15 years. A little history. In January of 2003 as a cresting wave of death from AIDS swept across sub-Saharan Africa George W. Bush proposed the Presidents Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the largest initiative to fight a single disease in history. (I was one advocate for the plan within the Bush administration.) The legislation passed rapidly, with bipartisan support. The effort including mass treatment, prevention and compassionate care was continued and expanded under President Obama. On this World AIDS Day, the results are truly remarkable. PEPFAR supports 13 million people on life-saving treatment. Thanks to PEPFAR, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and the increasing contributions of countries themselves, more than half of people in the world needing AIDS treatment are getting it. But there is a predictable challenge ahead. Africa is experiencing a historic youth bulge and will have more than 800 million young people by 2050. How fast and far the AIDS virus spreads among them will determine much about the future of the epidemic. And the extent of that spread will be determined (in addition to direct outreach to young people) by the level of AIDS treatment. This is true for two non-obvious reasons. First, the availability of treatment helps determine the level of AIDS testing. Significantly fewer men and women want to be tested for a disease that is a death sentence. And when people dont know their status, they are more likely to transmit the virus. Second, when people living with AIDS are put on treatment, their viral load is dramatically reduced, making them less infectious to others. Treatment is an essential form of prevention. The sooner you treat someone, the more new infections you prevent. During the Bush and Obama administrations, the strategy on AIDS was pretty consistent: Put as many people on treatment as possible. Use economies within the program, and falling drug prices, to increase that number even further. Focus on the places and groups where transmission is highest, but act broadly enough to block transmission routes across the continent. For the first time since early in the American AIDS response, a fundamental change in approach is being debated. In its 2018 budget, the Trump administration proposes an $800 million cut in Americas bilateral HIV/AIDS programs (along with a $225 million cut for the Global Fund). The State Department, in turn, has written a new AIDS strategy to reflect this lower level of funding. Resources would be concentrated on 13 priority countries, while current levels of treatment would be maintained in other places. Neither South Africa nor Nigeria which together have about a quarter of AIDS cases in the world would be in the priority category. The results? According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, more than 800,000 fewer people (compared to the current trajectory) would be placed on treatment in the first year of the new strategy, and 2.7 million fewer by 2020. One recent study estimates 26 million additional AIDS infections and 4 million more preventable deaths over the next 15 years. When you are not moving forward against an epidemic, you end up moving backward, and rapidly. All of which raises a few questions. Are Republicans in Congress prepared to squander a legacy of GOP leadership that has won America considerable goodwill around the world? Does President Trump really want to be known for undermining an effort he praised during his campaign, as well as in his recent United Nations General Assembly speech? Among evangelicals, what definition of being pro-life does not include saving millions of lives from preventable disease and death? There is only one AIDS strategy adequate to controlling this disease: Full funding, and full speed ahead. A demonstration will be held outside the Church of Scientology's National Affairs Office at Dublin's Merrion Square today. The organisation expanded its operation in Ireland by opening a new church in Firhouse last month. Sinn Fein will elect a new leader of the party in the Spring of next year. They have revealed a special Ard Fheis will take place at the end of February following a meeting of the party's Ard Comhairle in Dublin this morning. About a hundred activists occupied an Apple store in Paris - demanding the US technology giant pay billions of euros the EU says it owes in back taxes. Apple, pay your taxes! @attac_fr activists is actually blocking @Apple Store #Paris Opera on tax optimization claims ! #ApplePayeTesImpots #TaxHavens pic.twitter.com/m9tX6xvZ3V The activist group claim that demonstrations were held in Apple stores in more than 30 cities across France today. The members from Attac only left the store near the Paris Opera after they were assured of a meeting with management. Activist group #Attac block @Apple store Paris Opera on claims the company doesnt pay its taxes in France pic.twitter.com/OJoNFlSSPK Stephane Pedrazzi (@StephPedrazzi) December 2, 2017 Ireland was ordered to collect over 13bn from the tech giant by the European Commission but the government is appealing the ruling. Apple insists it follows the law in each country in which it operates. The leak of allegations that UK police found pornographic images on the work computer of British Cabinet minister Damian Green should never have happened, the UK chief inspector of constabulary has said. Amid the growing political furore over the way two retired officers passed details to the media, Thomas Winsor said police had an "enduring" duty of confidentiality, even after they had left the service. In a statement, he said if a serving officer had breached that duty they would face disciplinary action potentially leading to dismissal and, in certain circumstances, criminal charges. "The special powers which citizens confer on police officers are inseparable from the obligations of special trust placed in police officers to enable them to do their duty," Mr Winsor said. "That trust requires every police officer to respect and keep confidential information which they obtain in the course of their duties and which is irrelevant to their inquiries and discloses no criminal conduct. "The obligation of confidentiality, and the duty not to break trust, is an enduring one. It does not end when a police officer retires." Chief Inspector of Constabulary Thomas Winsor. Pic: Joe Giddens/PA Wire Yesterday, ex-Scotland Yard detective Neil Lewis told the BBC he was "shocked" at the volume of material found in a 2008 police raid on Mr Greens Westminster office and had "no doubt whatsoever" it had been amassed by the Tory MP. The allegations echoed claims made by former Metropolitan Police assistant commissioner Bob Quick, who went public last month with his account of the material discovered during an investigation into Home Office leaks. The claims by the two ex-officers added to the pressure on embattled Mr Green - Theresas Mays closest political ally and effective deputy prime minister. The minister, who is the subject of a Cabinet Office inquiry into alleged inappropriate behaviour towards a young female activist, has vehemently denied looking at or downloading porn on the work computer. As Tory MPs rallied round in support, former British attorney general Dominic Grieve said the leaks had "the smack of the police state". Former Greater Manchester chief constable Peter Fahy also entered the row, saying the retired officers were entering "dangerous territory" and that the police should stay out of politics. Former Greater Manchester chief constable Peter Fahy. Pic: Anna Gowthorpe/PA Wire In his statement, Mr Winsor said that if the police could not be trusted with confidential information, public confidence would be damaged. "The public need to know that when information about their private lives comes into the possession of the police, and that information is irrelevant to the work of the police, its confidential and private nature will be respected in perpetuity," he said. "If public confidence in this respect is damaged, and people do not believe they can trust the police in such circumstances, great harm may be done to the relationship between the police and the citizen, and the efficiency and effectiveness of the police will be impaired. "Such violations may have a chilling effect on the willingness of victims and witnesses to co-operate with the police, and that will be at the expense of public safety and justice. They should never occur." The Metropolitan Police has already said it is launching its own inquiry about how information gathered during an investigation was made public. Damian Green's response today pic.twitter.com/02ImPFqrIH Daniel Sandford (@BBCDanielS) December 1, 2017 Mr Lewis told the BBC that he was involved in analysing the then-opposition immigration spokesmans computer during the 2008 investigation into Home Office leaks. He stressed that none of the images he saw were "extreme", but said analysis of the computer suggested they had been viewed "extensively" over a three-month period, sometimes for hours at a time. Speaking to reporters at his home yesterday, Mr Green said: "I have maintained all along and I still maintain - it is the truth - that I did not download or look at pornography on my computer, but obviously while the investigation is going on I cant say any more." A US judge has refused to quash the convictions of the wife and father-in-law of Jason Corbett. Molly Martens and her father Thomas were found guilty of the Limerick man's murder in a North Carolina court in August. Christian Activists to Protest DC Metro Transit Authority Ban on Catholic Ads During the Christmas Season -- DC News Conference Sunday Contact: Rev. Patrick Mahoney, Christian Defense Coalition & Church on the Hill, 540-538-4741 WASHINGTON, Dec. 2, 2017 / Christian Newswire / -- Christian activists plan to protest DC Metro Transit Authority's ban on Catholic ads during the Christmas Season. DC Metro has prohibited the "Find the Perfect Gift," campaign because they say the ads, "seek to promote religion." The activists will have a news conference on Sunday, December 3, at 2:00 PM to discuss their protest and future plans. News Conference Details--- When: Sunday, December 3, 2:00 PM Where: Washington, DC, Union Station, in front of the statue of Christopher Columbus They will be meeting in front of the statue of Christopher Columbus at Union Station. Here is a link to their Facebook Event Page: www.facebook.com/events/133622294003008 Rev. Patrick Mahoney is a Presbyterian minister and pastor of Church on the Hill and Director of the Christian Defense Coalition both based in Washington, D.C., states: "First of all, I applaud the Catholic Church for launching 'The Perfect Gift' campaign and reminding people all across our nation's capital of what Christmas is really about. It is not consumerism or materialism but rather the powerful message that the Christ child gave us on Christmas Day: peace on earth and goodwill toward men. "I also stand with the Catholic Church in not being silent in responding to this outrageous trampling of a public expression of faith and the First Amendment and pursuing legal action against the transit authority. When I became aware of this, I knew that the evangelical community could not be silent on this matter and we had to make a strong public witness. We are also embracing the opportunity to share the beautiful, timeless message of our Lord's birth at Christmas. "If the Transit Authority continues to ban these beautiful ads, we will encourage the faith community, people of good will and those who cherish the First Amendment to join with us in carrying hundreds of these ads on buses throughout the Christmas Season." For more information or interviews contact: Rev. Patrick Mahoney at: 540.538.4741 Unlock 30+ premium stories daily hand-picked by our editors, across devices on browser and app. Full access to our intuitive epaper - clip, save, share articles from any device; newspaper archives from 2006. Curated newsletters on markets, personal finance, policy & politics, start-ups, technology, and more. Pick your 5 favourite companies, get a daily email with all news updates on them. 26 years of website archives. Infosys co-founder NR Narayana Murthy on Saturday expressed satisfaction at the appointment of Salil S Parekh as the new CEO and MD of the company. He welcomed Parekh's appointment and wished him well for the new role. Murthy had a protracted stand off with the previous Infosys management over issues of corporate governance and compensation to former executives, leading to the abrupt resignation of the then CEO, Vishal Sikka. "I am happy that Infosys has appointed Salil Parekh as the CEO. My best wishes to him," Murthy said in a brief statement. He, however, did not answer detailed queries on the development. Infosys today appointed Parekh as its CEO and Managing Director, concluding the 3-month high-profile executive search at the country's second largest IT firm. UB Pravin Rao, who was filling in the CEO role on interim basis, will now continue as Chief Operating Officer and a whole-time Director of the company, Infosys has said in a statement. Parekh, who will take over on January 2, 2018 for a period of five years, was a member of the Group Executive Board at French firm Capgemini. This is the second time Infosys is bringing in an outsider for the top job. Sikka, who was brought in from SAP in 2014, was the first non-founder CEO at the over USD 10 billion company. In August this year, he resigned from the company following months of acrimony with high-profile founders, led Murthy, citing "malicious" and "personal attacks" on him. Nandan Nilekani, one of the co-founders of Infosys, was brought in as Non-executive Chairman to restore order at the embattled company. Infosys, India's number two IT services company, said on Saturday it had named Salil S Parekh, an executive at consultancy firm Capgemini, as its next chief executive officer and managing director. In October this year, Infosys Non-executive Chairman Nandan Nilekani defended former chief executive officer Vishal Sikkas philosophy: Strategy is not a PowerPoint presentation. It is about how you translate it on the ground, with scale and speed. Over 300 private engineering colleges may be asked not to undertake admission process for the academic session of 2018-2019. According to HRD sources, the institutes would be asked to close operations as engineering colleges. 'Amazon Obhijaan', a sequel to Bengali blockbuster 'Chander Pahar', will be the first Bengali film to be released in five other languages. Directed by Kamaleswar Mukherjee, the film - based on popular Bengali writer Bibhutibhusan Bandyopadhyay's classic adventure fiction - will release on December 22 in Bengali, Hindi, Odia, Assamese, Tamil and Telugu. "'Amazon Obhijaan' will be the only Bengali movie to be released in five other languages," SVF co-founder Mahendra Soni said. The two-minute trailer of the film, starring Dev in lead role, was released yesterday in all six languages. Director Mukherjee said, "Two years after fictional Italian adventurer Marco Florian failed in his mission, his daughter Anna approaches the well-known Bengali explorer Shankar Choudhury, requesting him to join her for an expedition. Shankar readily accepts Anna's request and a journey begins to the heart of Amazon, to discover the hidden city of gold, El Dorado." Mukherjee had earlier directed 'Chander Pahar', where the intrepid adventurer Shankar went to South Africa in search of gold and diamond mines. In 'Amazon Obhijaan', Shankar goes to the dense rainforests of South America and encounters hurdles in the wildnerness. Through your own enterprise, entrepreneurship, and hard work, the people of India have lifted more than 130 million citizens out of poverty a remarkable improvement, and one I know will continue to grow under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi. Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani on Saturday said that 'Padamavati' film is banned from being released in the state because of the way it represents women, adding women are to be respected. Speaking at the 'Mahila Sammelan', the Chief Minister said, "We have banned 'Padmavati' film because the way it represents women and we respect women in Gujarat. Women are to be respected". He added that people from several communities had expressed apprehension about the release of the film. "Such issues spoil the environment. The threat of violence can spoil the environment during elections, keeping law and order issues in mind," Rupani asserted. Last week, the Supreme Court rejected the petition filed against the release of 'Padmavati,' saying the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) has not yet issued a certificate to the film. Bhansali's magnum opus, starring Deepika Padukone, Ranveer Singh and Shahid Kapoor, has been facing protests from various groups, especially from Shri Rajput Karni Sena, for allegedly tampering with the historical facts. The Karni Sena, which demolished the sets of the movie in Jaipur and thrashed Bhansali, had warned the director of dire consequences for misrepresenting Rajput queen Padmavati in the film. A total of 195 job offers have been made on the first day of the placement season at the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras with a majority from the analytics, finance and consulting sectors. Some of the companies that participated in the placement season that commenced yesterday, included Goldman Sachs, Microsoft and Samsung Research Institute, Bengaluru, a IIT Madras release said. The number of international offers that were given to prospective candidates also increased this year to 11 from last year's three, it said. Of the total 195 job offers, 41 per cent of them were from Analytics, finance and consulting, 32 per cent from research and development, 25 per cent Information Technology, and two per cent from firms engaged in the fast moving consumer goods segment, the release said. Considering the stress factor faced by students during the interviews, IIT Madras said the "graveyard slot which is normally conducted between 12 am and 6 am has been done away with." As per the release, the pre-placement offers are considered as a reward for the students during the internships that were normally provided by top companies including Microsoft and Qualcomm. Negating possibility of a criminal negligence on Delhi's Max Hospital's part, the President of the Indian Medical Association (IMA), Dr K K Aggarwal, said no doctor would willfully declare a baby dead, adding the doctor concerned might have made a mistake. "There is definitely a mistake. The difference between a mistake and negligence is deliberate action. I don't think any doctor will do it willfully. But let the inquiry committee find out," Aggarwal said. He considered the possibility of a mistake by the doctor as was made by Delhi's Safdurjung Hospital in June, where the doctor had mistakenly declared a baby dead after its heartbeat stops amidst hypothermia. Aggarwal has asked the chairman of the IMA Grievance Cell and former Delhi Medical Council (DMC) president, Dr AK Aggarwal, to look into the matter and also informed the DMC had announced a suo motu inquiry into the case. "We have asked the inquiry committee to check if the doctor was competent, if the baby was really premature and what his weight was. Was the baby in hypothermia and did he have a cardiac arrest? Was the counselling given to the relatives and what were his chances of revival? Was the World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines followed and did the relations sign for the resuscitation?" the IMA head said. He also asked the committee to check if there was a dispute over money between the family and the hospital and if the case was referred to a government hospital after the family couldn't afford the expense. Issuing an advisory, Aggarwal has asked all hospitals across the country to not declare a person dead if its body temperature is low since the patient can be revived even after an hour. The Shalimar Bagh Max Hospital on Friday handed over the twins, thinking both to be dead, to the family in plastic bags. When the twins were brought to the burial ground, the parents just before performing the last rites realised that one of them showed movements inside the bag. They immediately rushed to a nearby hospital where the doctors informed one of them to be alive. As a debate rages over growing intolerance in the country, former US President Barack Obama on Friday disclosed that he had privately told Prime Minister that India must not split on sectarian lines and that it must cherish the fact that Muslims here identify themselves as Indians. The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) on Saturday said that it had seized foreign-made worth Rs 6.33 crore allegedly being smuggled into the country. A DRI release said that, based on a specific tip-off, a Hyderabad-verified container was checked last night at an Inland Container Depot (ICD) in neighbouring Ranga Reddy district leading to the seizure of the . "On verification of the container and its documents, it was found that the container was stated to contain self-adhesive tapes. The goods were imported from United Arab Emirates. De-stuffing of the container revealed 176 packages containing of foreign make," the release added. The DRI release put the value of the cigarettes at Rs 6.33 crore and the 242 packages of self-adhesive tapes recovered at Rs 2.75 lakh. "As the said foreign made cigarettes are attempted to be smuggled into India in contravention of provisions of the Customs Act 1962 and Foreign Trade Policy, 2015-20, they were seized under the Customs Act 1962," the release stated. The release said that further investigations were on for more details. The government is set to float more expressions of interest (EoIs) for strategic sale, where full ownership and management could be handed over to private players, an official said on Saturday. Already, EoIs for eight companies have been floated for strategic sale, he said. "EoIs for three to four companies will be floated in four to six weeks," Neeraj Gupta, secretary, Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) said. In this context, he said the strategic divestment of Air India was progressing without any hiccups and the government would float an EoI, but did not divulge the time-frame of it. Speaking at the Merchants Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Gupta said that DIPAM would make its best endeavour to meet the divestment target of Rs 72,500 crore this financial year. So far, the government has been able to realise an amount of Rs 52,500 crore through the stake sale process, he said. Gupta said the Centre was committed to retain majority in certain PSUs, while state-owned monopolies cannot be given to private hands. To a query, Gupta said the offer for sale (OFS) route was the best way for the government to divest, adding all permissible instruments allowed by SEBI were also in use. Gupta said the government philosophy behind divestment was not to keep the cash idle and not to conduct business only with equity. Former Prime Minister on Saturday launched a scathing attack against government, saying none of the objectives of have been met. Former Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit on Saturday asked if the claim of the ruling BJP in Gujarat of having undertaken a lot of development is correct then why was Prime Minister Narendra Modi rushing off to the state practically every other day to campaign. Addressing the media in Gandhinagar, the former three-time Delhi Chief Minister said that the saffron party has realised that people are in a mood to change the government and that's why Modi is paying frequent visits to the state. She said after 22 years of BJP rule the people of Gujarat have now realised that they haven't experienced real development. Dikshit said that the Congress is pretty confident of forming the government in Gujarat. "Why does a so-busy Prime Minister Narendra Modi have to visit Gujarat every other day when they have carried out so many development works in the state as they are claiming?" she said The senior Congress leader continued, "Look at the prices of commodities that have risen so sharply during the three-and-a half years of NDA rule. There has been a sudden and steep hike in onion, tomato prices. When I was in Delhi, the Congress procured these commodities and availed it to the people at affordable prices." Lambasting the BJP government for dilly-dallying on the Metro train project in the state, she said, "When I visited Gujarat 12 years ago, I had heard about the Metro project which was announced some years ago with much fanfare. What has happened to that? Is it running now? It is still more on paper than reality. We completed the Delhi Metro project as we had promised in due time. The Congress accomplished all of their promised tasks and that too in time during my 16 years of reign in Delhi." Asked about the BJP alleging that the Congress was playing the caste card for the elections, she said, "Congress has never fought the elections on the basis of caste, it has been always development issues that the party has fought on -- real development, not false and so-called development, taking along every section of the society." Asked about the loss in the local body elections in Uttar Pradesh, Dikshit said, "We have not had a major loss as is being projected by some. Wait and watch, the full and entire results have not yet come out and until then we will just wait. It is also wrong that Congress has lost major elections after 2014." To questions about apprehensions over the Electronic Voting Machines (EVM), the former Chief Minister said, "Lots of people have raised their doubts about the EVMs. Now it is the onus of the Election Commission of India (ECI) to win the trust of the people, which has recently faltered." She said that people of Gujarat have realised that the standard and quality of education in the state has "gone down the drain" since 22 years and they want it back. Asked if the BJP has carried out development in the state as they claim, Dikshit told IANS, "I don't think so. I think that there is so much potential in the state which could have been carried out if real development had happened. But our government if formed will do that, I am fully confident of that." India has been re-elected to the Council of the International Maritime Organization [IMO] under Category B" at the 30th session of the Assembly of the IMO held in London on 01 December, 2017. The IMO Council consists of 40 member countries. In Categories A" and B" there are 10 members each and in Cateogary C" 20 members, who are elected by the IMO Assembly. IMO Council plays a crucial role to play in deciding various important matters within the mandate of the IMO, in relation to the global shipping industry, including its work programme strategy and budget. . . Unlike in the past where India was re-elected to the IMO Council un-opposed, this time, for the 10 seats under Category B" two new entrants, i.e. UAE, a non-member of the IMO Council so far and Australia, presently a member of the IMO Council under Category C" had filed their nomination and this had necessitated holding of the election. India, however, emerged a winner in the keenly contested election. . . The 30th Session of the IMO Assembly is being held at IMO Headquarters London from 27 November to 06 December, 2017. The Assembly session is being attended by a high level Indian delegation led by Shri Nitin Gadkari, Minister of Shipping, Road Transport & Highways, Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, Shri Gopal Krishna, Secretary (Shipping), Shri Amitabh Kumar, Additional Director General of Shipping, Capt. Jayakumar, Deputy Nautical Advisor, Directorate General of Shipping and representative of the Indian Register of Shipping. . . India has a large merchant marine fleet of 1359 vessels, both on foreign going and coastal operations, with a combined Gross Tonnage of 12.2 million. Nearly 90% of Indias overseas trade by volume is carried through maritime transport. Nearly 92% of these goods are carried through foreign flag vessels. With the Indian economy poised to grow at a faster pace, there exist more opportunities for both the Indian and foreign flag vessels, to carry large volumes of goods, to and from the Indian coasts. India has a strong contingent of more than 145,000 active seafarers who continue to be the preferred choice for specialized vessels. . . India has been one of the earliest members of the IMO, having ratified its Convention and joined it as a member-state in the year 1959. India has had the privilege of being elected to and serving the Council of the IMO, ever since it started functioning, and till date, except for two years for the period 1983-1984. . . India is a party to 34 IMO Conventions and protocols and is currently in the advanced stage of ratifying Ballast Water Convention and Bunker Convention. India has already deposited with the ILO, instrument of ratification of the Seafarers Identity Documents Convention (revised), 2003 and Maritime Labour Convention, 2006. . . India continues to provide services of its expert manpower to the IMO, as and when required. The IMOs panel of auditors for the Voluntary IMO Member State Audit Scheme (VIMSAS) and Goal Based Standards (CBS) has a number of auditors from India. A number of domain experts also participate in the meetings of working groups constituted by IMO Committees. . . With re-election in IMO, India will continue to engage with the international maritime community to further her maritime interests and promote the welfare of her citizens. . . Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) Programme is being implemented by the Government of India to promote the use of alternative and environment friendly fuels. This intervention is also sought to reduce import dependency for energy requirements and provide necessary boost to the agriculture sector. . . To support the aforesaid programme, Oil PSUs have decided to set up 12 Second Generation (2G) Ethanol bio-refineries in 11 States of the Country as an effective tool for development of rural economy. One such plant is being set up by Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd. (BPCL) in village Baulsingha, Tehsil- Bhatli, District Bargarh (Odisha) with a proposed investment of Rs. 750 crores. BPCL has already appointed Project Management Consultant for early commencement of developmental activities at the site. . . BPCL has requested the State Government of Odisha through Industrial Promotion & Investment Corporation of Odisha (IPICOL) for allocation of land during November, 2016. Even after elapse of almost of one year, land allotment for the project has not been done. This is adversely affecting the project which is being pursued in the interest of the people of Odisha. In this regard, Shri Dharmendra Pradhan, Minister of Petroleum & Natural gas; Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, Government of India has written a letter to Shri Naveen Patnaik, Chief Minister of Odisha, seeking his intervention for immediate handing over of the land so that work on the project could be started at the earliest. . . With the setting up of this bio-refinery, there will be an increase in the overall economic activity in the surrounding area. This bio-refinery will also necessitate setting up of around 10 decentralized biomass collection depots in a radius of 50km. There will be quantum jump in the labour and transportation activities from the agricultural fields to the biomass collection depots to the bio-refinery and movement of finished product. The demand for equipment such as bailers, compacters, loaders, tractor trolleys will also rise. During the construction of the bio-refinery, employment opportunities will also be created for the locals. . . Feedstock for the plant will be agricultural waste, crop, residues from the adjoining area which will be converted into ethanol and bio-manure. While ethanol produced from this bio-refinery will supplement the EBP Programme promoted by Government of India, bio-manure will get consumed in the nearby areas thereby improving the soil fertility. The estimated feedstock consumption for this plant is 1,30,000 MT per annum. This is expected to generate a value of Rs. 8 crore per annum for the adjoining farmers for their agricultural waste which otherwise requires spending by the farmer for its disposal. Additionally, this venture will provide opportunity for rural entrepreneurs to generate direct and indirect employment for 800- 1000 persons thereby generating additional income of Rs. 10- 12 crores per annum. . . The Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science and Technology, has implemented Biodesign programme with the aimto develop innovative and affordable medical devices as per unmet clinical needs of India and to train the next generation of medical technology innovators in India for bringing such impactful devices to the real world. This Program is implemented by Department of Biotechnology jointly at AIIMS and IIT Delhi in collaboration with International partners. The Department has authorized Biotech Consortium India Limited for management of its Intellectual Property and other techno-legal activities. Under this programme, XIth Annual MedTech Summit was organised today in New Delhi. . . Minister of Science & Technology, Earth Sciences and Environment, Forests & Climate Change, Dr. Harsh Vardhan, while inaugurating the Summit, emphasized upon the need and relevance of need based, socially relevant inventions for public good. He appreciated the efforts made by the stakeholders for developing innovative medical devices under this program. Prof. K. VijayRaghavan, Secretary, DBT and other dignitaries also shared their views regarding developments in Science &Technology and policy frameworks for promoting Medtech innovations in India. . . This event was attended by leaders of Government organisations, academia, medical device industry, start-ups, hospitals, design, business and engineering institutes from Australia, Canada, Finland, Germany, India, Japan, Singapore, UK and USA. . . Prof. R.Guleria, Director, AIIMS, emphasized on creating and embracing appropriate technologies and making affordable health care facilities, and more importantly, making them available and accessible to women in rural areas. . . Prof. Marie Lall, Pro-vice, Provost, South Asia, University College of London, UK, spoke on forging international collaborations in health education and engineering. . . During the event, Dr. Harsh Vardhan formally launched Noxeno- a nasal foreign body removal device developed by start-up InnAccel Technologies Private Limited, Bangalore, created by the Fellow trained under the Biodesign program. Noxeno is the first dedicated tool for anterior nasal foreign body (NFB) removal that allows doctors in any setting to quickly and safely remove objects that people (mostly children aged 2-10) put into their noses. . . Noxeno has been 100% invented, designed, engineered and manufactured in India. Noxeno has an ergonomic handle along with a built-in light source and a hinge. This allows the user to slip behind the NFB and remove it in a matter of seconds by simply squeezing the trigger and pulling the device. The modular nature of the system allows for sterilization of the hinge through autoclaving it. This reusable device has a target price of around INR 5000, making it both easy to use and cost-effective. The start-up hopes to deploy this device across primary health care centers, community health care centers, clinics and smaller hospitals nationwide by 2020. . . Princesses fictional and real, from Cinderella to Sleeping Beauty to Princess Diana, all have in common skin as pure white as the driven snow. The Trump administration is focused on denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and anything beyond that is not a priority at this point, the White House said on Friday. "This administration is focused on one big thing when it comes to North Korea. And that's denuclearization of the Korean peninsula. That's our number one priority. That's what we're focused on. Anything beyond that is not the priority at this point," White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders told reporters. Sanders was responding to a question if this administration now advocates regime change in North Korea. According to Sanders, US President Donald Trump has spoken several times this week to his administration officials and world leaders, specifically about North Korea. "And he's going to continue to do that, and continue to talk to all of the relevant stakeholders," she said in response to another question. The State Department welcomed Germany's decision to downsize its diplomatic mission in Pyongyang and require North Korea to reduce its presence in Berlin. "That is something that is a part of our maximum pressure campaign to take money out of North Korea, to try to choke off the money that goes into North Korea, that goes into its ballistic and nuclear programs," State Department Spokesperson Heather Nauert told reporters at her news conference. The world, she said, recognises what a regional and global threat North Korea is. "So many countries in the world are on board with this campaign, on board with the maximum pressure campaign.But countries have to make their own decisions about what will work best for them," the spokesperson said. "We ask countries to choke off the money supply that goes into North Korea.We know for a fact that North Korea doesn't use the money that comes in to its government or to its people for the benefit of its people.They don't feed their people; they have people starving, malnourished.We've all seen that. You've seen the intestinal problems that the soldier who just escaped from North Korea has certainly had," Nauert said in response to a question. The US has called on countries across the world to join it in the maximum pressure campaign in reducing the size of their missions in North Korea. "If they would be willing to close their missions in North Korea altogether, I think that is something we would be supportive of.We've also called on nations to kick out North Korean guest workers, to reduce the size of North Korean missions in their own countries.It's a broad pressure campaign," Nauert said. The US has urged nations to step up maximum pressure against North Korea after the reclusive state fired an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) on Tuesday. The former national security adviser and a close confidant of Donald Trump, Michael Flynn, is ready to testify that he made contact with Russia under the direction of the United States President. The Telegraph said that Flynn is reportedly prepared to testify against Trump as part of a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) investigation into Russian interference in the presidential election. Earlier, Flynn pleaded guilty for lying to the FBI about conversations with the Russian ambassador in January. The former national security adviser acknowledged that he was cooperating with the investigation by the special counsel, Robert Mueller, into the Russian meddling in the 2016 United States presidential election campaign, reported CNN. In a statement, Flynn said he acknowledged that his actions "were wrong, and, through my faith in God, I am working to set things right. "My guilty plea and agreement to cooperate with the Special Counsel's Office reflect a decision I made in the best interests of my family and of our country. I accept full responsibility for my actions," he said. His plea agreement is suggesting that Flynn provided information to prosecutors, which may help advance the inquiry. Flynn's only comments were to answer yes and no to questions from the judge in the court. He also stated that he has not been coerced to plead guilty. According to the reports, in a deal with prosecutors, Flynn offered testimony about conversations inside the Trump campaign about contacts with Russian operatives. Flynn is the first person inside President Trump's administration to be reached by special counsel Robert Mueller's probe. Michael Flynn was charged with "willfully and knowingly" making "false, fictitious and fraudulent statements." Previous reports have purported that Flynn spoke with then-Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak shortly after President Barack Obama imposed sanctions on Russia. Flynn is accused of falsely telling the FBI that he did not ask Kislyak to "refrain from escalating the situation in response to [the] sanctions." He was forced to resign in February after misleading the White House about meeting the Russian ambassador before Trump took office. Flynn is at the centre of a broader investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller into the Russian meddling in the 2016 US Presidential election campaign. Apparently, Mueller's team was seeking a deal of some kind to win Flynn's cooperation in that investigation. Israel fired several surface-to-surface missiles at a military post near the Syrian capital of early today, causing material damage but no casualties, Syria's state-run news agency reported. The airstrike came as violence resumed in the suburbs after days of calm while the government and opposition delegations attended peace talks in Geneva. The Israeli military did not comment on the missile attack, which occurred shortly after midnight yesterday, targeting a military area near the southern suburb of Kiswah. SANA, the state news agency, said the missile attack caused material damage but gave no details. The report also said that Syrian air defenses shot down two of the Israeli missiles. Israel has carried out a number of airstrikes against suspected arms shipments believed to be bound for Lebanon's Hezbollah militant group, which is fighting alongside Syrian government forces in the civil war. Israel has also struck several Syrian military facilities since the conflict began, mostly near the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. In September, Israeli warplanes hit a military position near the Mediterranean coast in western Syria, killing two soldiers and causing material damage. Rami Abdurrahman who heads the opposition's Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the missile attack targeted an arms depot near Kiswah where the Syrian army's 1st Division is based. He added that there is Iranian and Hezbollah presence in the area but added that it was not clear if they were targeted. Also in the suburbs of Damascus, government forces resumed their airstrikes and bombing of rebel-held areas on Saturday, killing and wounding several people, according to the Observatory and a Syrian Civil Defense search-and-rescue group, also known as the White Helmets. Syrian state TV also said that the rebels shelled several Damascus neighborhoods, wounding at least three people. It said one of the shells exploded near Al-Mariamiyah Cathedral in the central Bab Touma neighborhood. The government and opposition resumed peace talks in Geneva on Tuesday. The UN-hosted negotiations paused for the weekend but are scheduled to resume on Tuesday. The Observatory said six people were killed in Saturday's government airstrike on Arbeen while the White Helmets said airstrikes on the suburb of Harasta killed one person and wounded others, including women and children. Harasta and Arbeen are in the Eastern Ghouta region, one of the hubs in the uprising against President Bashar Assad in 2011. The area, long besieged by government forces, is now facing the highest recorded malnutrition rate in the country since the outbreak of the war more than six years ago, according to a U.N. report released Wednesday. A US Navy veteran charged with killing an Indian techie and injuring two in a racially motivated hate crime at a bar in Kansas City early this year has pleaded not guilty. Adam Purinton, 52, was charged with first-degree murder in the February shooting in Olathe that killed 32-year-old . He also faces two counts of attempted first-degree murder for wounding two other men. During a preliminary hearing yesterday, Purinton pleaded "not guilty". He waived his preliminary hearing and the not guilty plea was entered on his behalf. The next hearing is scheduled for May 8. He faces a maximum penalty of death or life in prison. Federal prosecutors allege that Purinton targeted Kuchibhotla and another Indian man, Alok Madasani, because of their race or ethnicity. The third man was shot when tried to help the two victims. Witnesses said Purinton yelled at the two Indian men to "get out of my country" before pulling the trigger. After the shooting, Purinton drove 70 miles east to an Applebee's restaurant in Clinton, Missouri, where he told a bartender what he'd done. Kuchibhotla was working at Garmin . Federal prosecutors alleged that Purinton committed the offences after substantial planning and premeditation, attempted to kill more than one person in a single criminal episode, and knowingly created a grave risk of death to on the scene. The Philippines will open up its telecommunications sector to more foreign investors, and an invitation by President Rodrigo Duterte isnt just for Chinese companies, Economic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia said. US President Donald Trump today rejected as "fake news" the media reports of ouster of his Secretary of State but acknowledged his disagreements with his top diplomat. For the past two days, US media has been reporting that the White House has planned to replace Tillerson with the CIA Director Mike Pompeo as the new Secretary of State. Both the White House and the State Department have refuted the reports. The media has been speculating that I fired or that he would be leaving soon - FAKE NEWS! Hes not leaving and while we disagree on certain subjects, (I call the final shots) we work well together and America is highly respected again!https://t.co/FrqiPLFJ1E Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 1, 2017 "He's not leaving and while we disagree on certain subjects, (I call the final shots) we work well together and America is highly respected again!" Trump said as he linked the tweet to the swearing-in of Tillerson in his Oval Office early this year. Tillerson would be leaving Monday on a three-nation European tour. He would be travelling to Brussels, Vienna and Paris from December 4 to 8. On December 4, he will arrive in Brussels, where he will meet with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and attend the NATO Foreign Ministers Meeting on December 5 and 6. While in Brussels, he will also meet with senior Belgian officials, as well as EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini and the foreign ministers of the 28 European Union member states to discuss US-EU cooperation on major global issues, the State Department Spokesperson Heather Nauert said. On December 7 in Vienna, he will attend the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Ministerial Council, hosted by the OSCE Chairman-in Office, Austrian Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz. There he will attend the opening and first plenary sessions, together with ministers from the 57 OSCE participating states. He will also meet separately with Foreign Minister Kurz to discuss combatting violent extremism, curbing nuclear proliferation, promoting democratic and economic reform in the Western Balkans, and deepening bilateral trade ties. Finally, Tillerson will travel to Paris to meet with senior French leaders to discuss our deep cooperation on issues of mutual concern around the world, including in Syria, Iran, Lebanon, Libya, the DPRK, and the Sahel, in addition to other areas of bilateral interest, Nauert said. Pope Francis urged Bangladeshi priests and nuns to resist the "terrorism of gossip" that can tear religious communities apart, delivering one of his trademark, zinger-filled spontaneous speeches to the country's Catholic leadership today at the close of an otherwise tense and diplomatically fraught Asian tour. As he has done in similar encounters, Francis told the priests and nuns gathered in Chittagong's Holy Rosary Church that he was ditching the eight-page speech that he had prepared and would instead speak to them from his heart. "I don't know if it will be better or worse, but I promise it will be less boring," he quipped. And then for the next 15 minutes, Francis had the crowd in stitches, mixing paternal advice on how to tend to religious vocations ("with tenderness") with gentle warnings about the havoc that gossip "bombs" can wreak when lobbed in closed religious life. "How many religious communities have been destroyed because of a spirit of gossip?" said Francis, adding that he was speaking from personal experience. "Please, bite your tongue." History's first Jesuit pope has frequently lamented the damage gossip can do within the church, where vows of obedience, strict hierarchies and closed communities can breed jealousies and resentment. It's a message Francis has brought to ordinary parishes riven by divisions and to the top of the Catholic Church leadership. His most famous iteration came in his 2014 Christmas greetings to the Vatican bureaucracy, when he listed the "terrorism of gossip" as one of the 15 maladies his closest collaborators were suffering (alongside "spiritual Alzheimer's" and a "pathology of power.") The Bangladeshi edition was far more jovial in tone, and many in the pews nodded along as Francis made one zinger after another to make his point. It was a humour-filled end to a tense diplomatic trip that saw Francis maintain public silence over the Rohingya refugee crisis while in Myanmar, only to address it head on in Bangladesh with an emotional encounter with refugees themselves. "The presence of God today is also called 'Rohingya,'" he told a group of 16 refugees who travelled to Dhaka from Cox's Bazar, the district bordering Myanmar where refugee camps are overflowing with more than 620,000 Rohingya who have fled what the UN says is a campaign of ethnic cleansing by Myanmar's military. Francis' final event in Bangladesh was a youth rally before boarding the plane for the flight home to Rome and his traditional airborne press conference. This summer, Twitter Inc.s new diversity chief met employees to discuss whether they felt welcome at work. Among those who said they sometimes felt excluded, according to people familiar with the matter, were conservatives. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is increasingly alarmed by what he sees as secret talks between Jared Kushner, President Donald Trumps son-in-law and senior adviser, and Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman fearful that the discussions could backfire and tip the region into chaos, according to three people familiar with Tillersons concerns. At least 12 militants belonging to the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group were killed and eight others were injured in two airstrikes conducted by foreign forces in the Nangarhar province of Afghanistan. The Tolo News quoted local officials on Saturday, as saying, that two separate airstrikes in the Wazir Tangi area in Khogyani and Achin district were carried out by the forces on IS hideouts. No groups have commented on the incident so far. Further details are awaited. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Cutting across party lines, politicians in Arunachal Pradesh have strongly condemned last month's attack on an Arunachal Pradesh college student in Shimla, Himachal Pradesh. According to reports, four engineering students -- Lucky Dorje (22), Kin Jog Tinley (25) and Chopel (21) from Bhutan, and Tashi alias Sonu (26) attacked Govin Niji alias Munna, a student pursuing a course in architecture at the A P Goel Shimla University. The attack was so severe, that Niji, a resident of Khatrijo village near Daporijo had to be rushed to the PGIMER, Chandigarh for emergency treatment. He is now recuperating, but still is in critical condition, his parents Mago Niji and Yamen Niji and sister Gona Niji told this correspondent over telephone. Arunachal Pradesh Education Minister Honchun Ngandam has briefed Chief Minister Pema Khandu about the attack on Niji that took place in Shimla on November 26. The incident evoked strong criticism from all state leaders and their respective parties. State Home Minister Kumar Waii spoke to the state home secretary and director general of police, and got an FIR lodged. The four engineering students have been arrested. "Our students studying outside should remain careful to protect themselves as they are our state's living assets," Waii said. Rajya Sabha member Mukut Mithi, Lok Sabha member Ninong Ering, state's opposition leader Takam Pario, former CM Nabam Tuki, party presidents Tapir Gao (ruling BJP), Takam Sanjoy (Congress) and Kahfa Bengia (PPA) also reacted strongly to the incident. They were all unanimous in their view that such an inhuman attack on a student in a higher educational institution is not expected, and that all possible steps should be taken by the state government to prevent such incidents in the future. Expressing deep concern over repeated acts of racial discrimination, APCC president Takam Sanjoy spoke to Himachal Pradesh PCC president Sukhbinder Singh over telephone and urged him to take all possible steps to ensure the safety and security of all north east people either working or studying in the state. "They fall prey to such atrocities because of their simplicity and straight forwardness, their inborn qualities, I, therefore, request you to extend all possible help, including medical aid to the victim, so that he can recover and resume his studies," he said. Pointing out that the attack on Niji was against the secular spirit of India, PPA president Bengia called on the Centre to take precautionary steps to integrate the nation and prevent such incidents. Secularism would have no meaning until the entire population of the nation is mentally integrated, he reasoned. People's Party president Kakabk Tacho and general secretary Nima Sange said it is high time for mainland Indians to treat Arunachlees with respect and love as they are the sentinels of Indo-China frontier. Arunachal Pradesh Literary Society president Y D Thongchi pitched decried the attack as unforgiveable and advocated that those guilty should be taken to task to send out a louder message to society. "India is one nation, one people," he added. A visibly upset Gona, who is a traditional fashion designer, helplessly asked: Why was my brother attacked? Is not racial discrimination? The state's Education Secretary Bidol Tayeng has written a letter to the Himachal Pradesh government and demanded the strictest action possible for the erring students. The discrimination against north east students is such that about 3.5 lakh people and students have returned back to their native places. . (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Australia on the opening day in the second Test at Adelaide fetched a fair show to reach 209-4 at stumps. Winning the toss, England skipper Joe Root asked Australia to bat first under the outcast skies on the historic first day-night Test of Ashes. David Warner and Cameron Bancroft came to spearhead the innings. However, Bancroft was suspended on a cheap 10 after he was ran out by Chris Woakes as England were beginning to despair of breaking the opening partnership. Waokes also claimed Warner at 47 to help Root defend his decision of bowling first. Coming to bat on number 3, Usman Khawaja was the only player for who managed a half century on the Day 1. But James Anderson uprooted the settled Khawaja (53), thanks to an exceptional James Vince catch. However, the big moment of the day came when debutant Craig Overton took the wicket of the world no. 1 Steve Smith for 40 to claim his first ever international wicket. England when steps in the ground on new day will look to not let go in vain the early and precious wicket of Smith. Australia will resume the day with new ball on Sunday afternoon with Peter Handscomb and Shaun Marsh batting at 35 and 19 respectively. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Saturday said the Central Government's approval was needed to push the initiative of providing 5 per cent quota to the Kapu community in the education and employment sectors. Speaking in the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly, the chief minister said, "As 5 per cent of reservation to the Kapus makes the total reservation exceed 50 per cent, the Central Government's nod is compulsory. The state government will give 5 per cent quota to the community in the education and employment sectors. We will send this bill to the Centre and will ask them to include this reservation in schedule 9, so that it becomes legitimate". He added that the Kapu community had BC reservation even before the Independence, but later the Congress Government removed their reservations and kept on assuring, but practically did nothing to add the Kapus in BCs. The chief minister said, "When I was going on a 'Pad yatra' before elections, I came to know about the suffering of the Kapus. Then itself I understood the need of BC reservation that was peeled off by the previous Congress Government. Now we have created a sub category, BC-F, for Kapu, Balija, Telaga and Ontari communities, providing 5 per cent reservation to them. Our party held discussions with the leaders of these communities and they said they don't need political reservation, but only education and employment reservation is enough. Therefore, we proceeded with that." He added that Kapu, Telaga, Balija and Ontari have a total population of 11.65 per cent in the entire state. "There are a big number of school dropouts, uneducated, marginal farmers and construction labour in these four communities. Not many of these communities could complete even graduation. However, they are better in political reservation. Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar is an inspiration to us and we want reservations to be provided for attaining social justice. At the same time, we do not want to reduce reservations for existing BCs, so that there will be no injustice to them," Naidu said. He further said the state government had been sympathetic with these communities. "That's why we have set up the Kapu welfare and development corporation with a fund of Rs 1,000 crore. We want to uplift those BPL people. There are many poor people even in upper castes and their upliftment alone can bring social equilibrium. The Government of India should include this bill in schedule 9, so we appeal to the Central Government to do the needful," Naidu added. The powerful Kapu community, with 27 per cent population in Andhra Pradesh, has been demanding reservations for decades. Before the 2014 elections, Naidu promised to give quota to the community if elected to power. However, it was only in February 2016 that Naidu set up the Manjunatha Commission to recommend quota for Kapus. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Indian Coast Guard on Saturday informed that the cyclone Ockhi, which has originated from Kanyakumari on November 29, has moved towards Lakshadweep islands and has intensified into 'severe cyclonic storm' with wind reaching up to speed of 60 to 70 km. "The cyclone has wrecked havoc on South Kerala with severe damage to coastal areas and has endangered lives of fishermen operating at sea," the Coast Guard informed in a press release. It further read that on November 30, the Coast Guard District Headquarters in Kerala was informed that around 70-80 fishermen were stranded at sea due to the storm. The Coast Guard immediately sailed as many as nine ships towards Search and Rescue (SAR) efforts. Further, ships based at New Mangalore were also sailed towards Kerala coast to undertake the rescue of stranded fishermen. "As the cyclone intensified, coordinated search by Coast Guard ships and aircraft continued in extremely rough weather with wind speed gusting up to 150 kmph. Ships at Mumbai and Goa were also placed on maximum alert to augment efforts as required," the press release read. As per the last report, a total of 79 stranded fishermen have been saved by the Coast Guard in coordination with other agencies. Also, the fisheries department has intimated that about 25 boats with 250 personnel are still in distress at sea. "The Coast Guard is continuing non-stop deployment of ships and aircraft in Cyclone affected areas for the search of missing fishermen. A regular coordination is being maintained with state administration including police and fisheries for swift exchange of information towards the rescue," the press release further read. Advisories have been issued to all coastal states, including Karnataka, Goa and Maharashtra, for adequate preparedness against the effects of the cyclone whose trajectory is likely to curve northwards from Kerala coast. The move came after cyclone Ockhi lashed the coastal areas of Tamil Nadu and Kerala with torrential rainfall and gusty winds. The India Meteorological Department had already warned of heavy rains, and disruption in sea conditions, when a deep depression over the South-West Bay of Bengal snowballed cyclone 'Ockhi' on Thursday morning. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) For any business, international expansion is the best way to boost sales and profits, amplify the brand's reach and presence in both domestic and global markets. But global expansion brings with it several challenges like new markets, laws, consumers, culture, environment, etc. Hence, no matter how ready you may be as an organisational force, or how successful your product may have been in the home market, there's always some obstacles that may surface when you venture into a foreign market. So here are five essential points indicated by CEO and co-founder Mettl, Ketan Kapoor that companies must consider before undertaking international expansion: Make your research tangible and tenable Conduct a detailed market research of the country or geography you plan to venture into. Analyse the various market segments to identify the potential demand for your product. A product gap analysis of existing local products can help determine a gap in the market which your product can effectively fill. Perform a SWOT analysis to determine where you stand in comparison to the competition. This can help the overcome challenges like pricing and distribution, and eventually, get ahead of the competition. Analyse the market opportunity and size to help the management prepare a timeline and strategy to achieve targeted sales. The scaling strategy Developing a plan with a localised strategy is important to gain a foothold in the local market. Decide on the short-term and long-term strategies. Then set measurable goals, like increasing cost benefit, for instance, to quantify the progress and success of the strategy. Define the metrics for success. Establish a business model and organisational structure. Create a top-down annual budget. Create a market-ready product Ensure that your product is ready for the market by applying the findings from the product gap analysis. This will help you effectively differentiate your product from the other offerings in the market. Assess your product and localise it to meet specific demands of the market. Also, check if your product name and key specifications translate properly into the local language. Review and renew your product's patent or trademark to protect the company's intellectual property. Conduct quality checks and tests on the product to make sure that it meets local standards. Create a local distribution network by working with local logistics providers. Evaluate government regulations and laws pertaining to the industry and ensure your product complies with them and has all the necessary certifications. Create a bridge team Assemble a provisional team of executives to implement the launch plans. Bring on board senior executives with domain expertise. A financial infrastructure must be in place before you launch the product. You can outsource this function to a local company for better compliance with local laws and regulations. Hire a stable leadership team before going to market. Ensure organizational readiness Local employees can be engaged in a better manner when organisational policies and procedures take into consideration the local culture, language, etc. Identify an organisational structure best suited for the efficient execution of the business strategy. Create policies and procedures that are compliant to the parent company's policies and meet local requirements. Offer competitive benefits programs to attract top local talent. Offer employees competitive compensation packages that meet local standards. Develop an IT infrastructure which is compatible to the home infrastructure. Establish payroll and human resource functions, another area where outsourcing can help the company. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Mocking Congress for alleging that Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) had been tempered with, Union DoNER Minster Dr Jitendra Singh said on Saturday that EVMs would continue to remain in "disorder" in the future too, benefitting Bharatiya Janata Party. "It is very interesting that when they lose they find fault with the EVMs and if they happen to win then they don't have any problems with the EVM, like in Punjab assembly election," Singh, who is also the Minister of State in Prime Minister's Office, told ANI. "Be it 2019, 2024, the EVM machines are going to be in 'disorder' because (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi's popularity graph is rising with each passing day and therefore the EVM machines are not going to favour them," Dr. Singh added. Talking about Gujarat election, he said it was going to be a one-sided contest and the BJP would emerge as a clear-cut winner in the state assembly polls. "The Congress leaders have somewhere grossly misjudged the ground reality in Gujarat. Therefore the more they use this unsavory references or unrespectable references to Prime Minister Narendra Modi the more Modi gets endured to the people of India and Gujarat. Therefore the Congress is making our task easier," Dr. Singh said. Singh also criticised Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi's visit to Somnath Temple in Gujarat. "This artificiality and hypocrisy which goes about with these frequent temple visits in Gujarat also not going down well with the people of Gujarat and India," he added. Gujarat has a total number of 182 assembly seats and the polling will be held in two phases. Voting in 89 constituencies of Saurashtra and South Gujarat region will be held in the first phase while the remaining 93 constituencies in central and northern regions will be held in the second phase. The votes will be counted on December 18. The Congress is eyeing to dethrone the ruling BJP in Gujarat. The last Congress government in Gujarat was led by Chhabildas Mehta from February 17, 1994 to March 13, 1995. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) One person was killed on Saturday when a high-tension wire fell on a bus here in Gangrar. Twenty four other passengers were also injured in the incident. As soon as the news spread, the police reached the spot and rushed the injured to nearby government hospital. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Armed men on Saturday hurled a grenade at a police station in Baramulla district of Jammu and Kashmir. No casualty has been reported so far. The attack comes two days after a soldier sustained injuries in an encounter between security forces and terrorists in the Sopore area of Baramulla district. On Thursday, the security forces launched a cordon and search operation in Sagipora village after receiving information about a terrorists' hideout in the area. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) They ended the protest on the city's Mall Road after the government convinced them to withdraw their main demand -- the resignation of Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah from his post. "The Lahore sit-in had been launched by the Jalali-led faction of the political party following reports of a police operation against the participants of the Faizabad sit-in on the morning of November 25," Dawn reported. The agitators demanded the Law Minister's resignation as they alleged that the government had "dumped" the bodies of the party's supporters "killed" in the Islamabad operation. They also demanded blood money for those affected. Both the protestors and government agreed to publish the report compiled by the Raja Zafarul Haq committee by December 20. The committee will also decide on the number of loudspeakers in each mosque in the province. The two sides agreed that the Muttahida Ulema Board, Punjab will review the educational curriculum of the province in connection with the religious views propagated through it, said Dawn. When Jalali was asked on Sanaullah's resignation, he said the "court of Pir Hameeduddin Sialvi" will decide the matter. However, the protestors still demanded action be taken against the minister. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Senior Congress leader Manmohan Singh on Saturday hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for pitting two great leaders, Jawaharlal Nehru and Sardar Patel, against each other. Manmohan's remark comes days after Prime Minister Modi hit out at Congress over its treatment of Sardar Patel, who helped built the Somnath Temple. "Nothing is gained as often attempted by Modi to pit the two great leaders (Pandit Nehru and Sardar Patel) of power (against each other)," Manmohan Singh said while addressing media here in the wake of the upcoming Gujarat elections. The former prime minister even went on advising his successor to find more dignified ways of impressing the crowd while seeking their votes. Earlier on November 29, Modi said, "Had Sardar Patel not been there, there would not have been a grand temple in Somnath." "So, people who have visited the Somnath Temple recently, I want to ask them: Do you know history? Your family members, our first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru was not happy with the idea of a temple being built there," he said while taking a jibe at Congress' Rahul Gandhi's visit to the temple. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A seven-year-old child was killed and two adults were injured in an explosion in Balochistan on Friday evening. According to the Dawn, the blast took place outside the Christian Colony in Chaman. The injured were taken to the Chaman Hospital for medical assistance. "The blast smashed the windows in nearby houses," SHO Gul Mohammad said, adding the explosion was caused by a hand grenade lobbed near the colony's gates. The police are further investigating the motive and nature of the explosion. This is reportedly the third deadly terrorist attack in the country amidst celebrations of Eid Miladun Nabi. Yesterday, while an improvised explosive device (IED) blast killed five in South Waziristan, at least 11 people were killed and several others injured after terrorists stormed the student hostel inside the Directorate of Agriculture Extension on University Road, Peshawar. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A team of researchers has suggested that encouraging patients to write their own medical records might help them feel more involved with their care and improve relationships with their doctors. According to doctors from the University Of California - Los Angeles Sciences and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, the patients can benefit if they are invited to co-produce medical notes, called "OurNotes," with their doctors, rather than merely reading them. 'OurNotes' has a potential to improve relationships with doctors, and cut documentation demands on clinicians. This initiative allows doctors to share visit notes with patients, who may then contribute to their own medical records via OurNotes -- adding material such as symptoms or medical issues they experienced since their last visit, along with goals for upcoming visits. Lead author Dr John Mafi from the UCLA said if executed thoughtfully, OurNotes has the potential to reduce documentation demands on clinicians, while having both the patient and clinician focussing on what's most important to the patient. "Piloting OurNotes will start at four centers in 2018," he added. The team conducted in-depth telephone interviews with 29 care experts. There were 11 primary care physicians, two specialist physicians, three nurse practitioners, four information technology professionals, eight patient advocates and one policy expert. The results suggested the participants overall believed that OurNotes could promote patient engagement, improve patient-centered care and patient-provider collaboration and possibly take some of the documentation burden off busy providers. The research is published in the Annals of Internal Medicine journal. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Pope Francis has wrapped up his three-day trip to Asia by visiting a Bangladeshi orphanage and home for the disabled run by Mother Teresa's order. The Pope also went to a meeting with Bangladeshi priests and nuns, reported Fox news. Speaking to the congregation at the Chittagong's Holy Rosary Church, Francis said that he was dumping the eight-page speech he had prepared and would speak to them from the heart instead. According to the reports, the Pope also attended a youth rally before boarding the plane for the flight back to Rome The trip also saw the pontiff, who maintained public silence over the Rohingya refugee crisis while in Myanmar, address the issue head-on in Bangladesh with an emotional encounter with refugees themselves. The Pope told a group of 16 refugees, "The presence of God today is also called Rohingya." He also sought for "forgiveness" from them. "In the name of all of those who have persecuted you, hurt you, I ask forgiveness. I appeal to your large hearts to give us the forgiveness that we are asking," he said. The Pope returns to Rome on Saturday having led well-attended open-air masses in Bangladesh and Myanmar, which both have small Christian populations. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama met former United States President Barack Obama in New Delhi and called their meeting "a reunion of old, trusted friends". Soon after meeting the former US President, the Dalai Lama returned back to Dharamshala. Speaking to media, Dalai Lama said, "It's a reunion of two old, I think trusted friends. Since my physical condition won't permit me to fly to America so I felt the I should visit him now and pay my tribute." The Dalai Lama said that during the meeting with Obama he discussed the need to promote the sense of oneness among the people. "I mentioned to him that now time has come for us to promote the sense of oneness among seven billion human beings. It is sad to see there are so much differences among people," the Tibetan leader said. This is the two Nobel Peace Prize laureates' sixth meeting and first after Obama left office in January. Obama, who is on a World tour, recently met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping. On Friday, the former US president addressed a gathering of young leaders from various parts of the country in New Delhi. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Olga Savastyanova, head of the Duma's lower chamber's committee on regulations and control, said that she was "examining" a proposal to ban American journalists from Duma, said the Independent. The parliament will consider the resolution next week, she informed. "It will need to go through several steps, including being passed by committee, the upper house and the lower house before the resolution becomes official," said CNN. Dmitry Peskov, government spokesperson, said that the plan has the Kremlin's "full understanding." "Russian officials said the move is a direct response to the American arm of Russian television network RT losing its Congressional press credentials," reported CNN. "Such blatant attacks against foreign media, particularly Russian ones -- which are in violation of the practice of freedom of speech -- they, unfortunately, are blossoming in the US," Peskov said. Russia has been escalating restrictions on American media in response to the United States scrutiny on Russian state-funded outlets RT and Sputnik. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Telangana Police have refuted reports of an alleged security breach, reported in the media, during United States President Donald Trump's daughter and advisor Ivanka's visit to Hyderabad. The above-mentioned security breach was related to a few important details, not meant for public viewing, but telecast from the Taj Falaknuma Palace during Ivanka's visit. "The visuals from the video wall were shot by a few TV channels from the Command and Control Centre and were later telecast as part of disseminating information to public in normal course as a part of a usual practice," said Director General of Police (DGP) M Mahendar Reddy clarified. He further said no live streaming of CCTV Footage from Command and Control Centre had taken place. "Once noticed, the TV Channels were advised to remove the content which they did immediately," DGP Reddy added. He also said a new Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) was being put in place on sharing the visuals from the Command and Control Centre so as to ensure that only permitted visuals were shared on a "need to share basis now onwards." The clarification added, "It is made clear that no action shall be taken against any TV channels as being rumoured on the social media. In fact, the Telangana Police have exhibited immaculate professionalism and competence in providing the highest standards of safety and security to the GES/Metro Rail Launching, including all VVIP/VIP visits to the full satisfaction of all concerned." Ivanka Trump visited India to attend the Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES), and had dinner with the international delegates on the 101 dining table, one of the world's largest dining tables, at the Taj Falaknuma Palace. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) At least four people were killed in an ambush by Taliban militants in the Poshtrod district in Farah province of Afghanistan. The Tolo News quoted local officials on Saturday, as saying, that the incident took place on Friday night, in which three police personnel and one contractor were killed. The spokesman for Farah governor, Nasir Mehri, said the Taliban attacked when the police force members were on their way to the centre of the province. The Taliban has, however, not commented over the incident so far. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) United States President Donald Trump spoke with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and expressed his satisfaction over the recently-concluded Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES) 2017. The White House, in a statement, said, "President Donald J Trump spoke today with Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India. The leaders expressed satisfaction with the recent Global Entrepreneurship Summit, co-hosted by the US and India which brought together entrepreneurs and investors from around the world, including 38 US states, the District of Colombia, and Puerto Rico." The summit was held in Hyderabad from November 28 to 30, centered on the theme, "Women First, Prosperity for All". GES 2017 brought together emerging innovators and 1600 delegates from 160 countries and empowered women entrepreneurs in particular to take their ideas forward, and create new jobs and technologies that will benefit the United States and the globe. Trump's daughter and advisor Ivanka was personally invited by Prime Minister Modi in June earlier this year to spearhead the US delegation. In preparation for the 2017 GES, cities around America had also held thematic events to promote entrepreneurship and innovation. These included - Technologies for the Smart City in Pittsburgh, Investment in Energy and Infrastructure in Houston, MSME Value in Global Supply Chain in Milwaukee, and Entrepreneurship Policy in Washington DC. Earlier on Thursday, the Spokesperson for the United States Department of State, Heather Nauert, said the GES was a "tremendous success". "I am so proud that the US and India held the global entrepreneurship summit in Hyderabad... I think it's a tremendous success when we bring in 1500 entrepreneurs from around the world," she said. Ivanka concluded her three-day trip to India by visiting the iconic Golconda Fort in Hyderabad on Wednesday. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) United States Defence Secretary James Mattis will visit Pakistan on December 4 to discuss the South Asian Strategy. The US Defence Secretary is likely to meet the Prime Minister Abassi and Chief of Army Staff General Bajwaand during his visit to Pakistan. Yesterday, Mattis embarked on a journey to re-affirm the enduring US commitment to partnerships in the Middle East, West Africa and South Asia. The US Department of Defense, in a statement, said, "Secretary Mattis will begin his engagements with a visit to Egypt on December 2, where he will meet with President el-Sisi and Minister of Defense Sobhy and then travel to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, where he will participate in the Aqaba Process, a meeting on countering violent extremism in West Africa, hosted by His Majesty King Abdallah II of Jordan December 3." "Secretary Mattis will then visit Pakistan Dec 4, where he is planning to meet with Prime Minister Abassi and Chief of Army Staff General Bajwaand and conclude his trip with a visit to Kuwait December 5, where he will meet with Emir Sabah Ahmad al-Sabah and other Kuwaiti leaders," it added. Mattis' visit comes days after the release of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) leader Hafiz Saeed from house arrest in Pakistan following which the United States had strongly condemned Islamabad and called for his immediate re-arrest and prosecution. The White House, in a statement, had said: "The United States strongly condemns the release of Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LeT) leader Haft Saeed from house arrest in Pakistan and calls for his immediate re-arrest and prosecution." "A clear international consensus exists regarding Saeed's culpability-he was designated by the United Nations under UN Security Council Resolution 1267 in December 2008. The Department of the Treasury has designated Saeed as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist, and the United States, since 2012, has offered a $10 million reward for information that brings Saeed to justice," it added. The statement also said the Pakistan Government had an opportunity to demonstrate its seriousness in confronting all forms of terrorism, without distinction, by arresting and charging Saeed for his crimes. Saeed, accused of masterminding the 2008 attacks in Mumbai that killed 166 people, was released on November 24 after a Pakistan judicial body ordered his release from house arrest, rejecting a request from the government of Punjab to extend his detention by three months. The decision to put Saeed under house arrest in January was seen as a response to actions by US President Donald Trump's White House against nations deemed linked to terrorism. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Republicans secured a much-needed victory as the United States Senate passed a legislation to overhaul a nearly USD-1.5 trillion tax reform bill. According to The Hill, after days of debates, the Senators finally voted 51-49 to pass the bill. Going against the party leadership, Republican Senator Bob Corker (R-Tenn) voted against the bill. Also, no Senator of the Democratic Party supported the legislation and quickly left after voting. The House broke into applause after Vice President Mike Pence announced the bill had passed. "I wanted to get to yes. But at the end of the day, I am not able to cast aside my fiscal concerns and vote for legislation that I believe, based on the information I currently have, could deepen the debt burden on future generations," Corker, who is retiring after 2018, said, in a statement. The new bill would repeal the ObamaCare health scheme started by former president Barack Obama in 2010. US President Donald Trump has criticised the policy time and again and vowed to repeal and replace it after the Republican tax cut bill is signed into law. The bill would also lower tax rates for individuals through 2025 and permanently cut the corporate tax rate from 35 per cent to 20 per cent. The bill's tax cuts for individuals are temporary in order to comply with budget rules that the measure can't add to the deficit after 10 years. Last week, the US House of Representatives passed a bill to cut taxes on businesses and individuals as part of the Republicans effort to overhaul the American tax system. The most sweeping tax overhaul in three decades that slashes corporate rates was approved with 227 votes in favour and 205 against. No Democrats voted for the bill, while 13 Republicans broke ranks to oppose it, The Hill reported. "Passing this bill is the single biggest thing we can do to grow the economy, to restore opportunity and help these middle-income families who are struggling," The Hill quoted Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), as saying, ahead of the vote. Trump hailed the efforts of Republicans in passing the bill in the lower chamber of the United States Congress. "Congratulations to the House of Representatives for passing the #TaxCutsandJobsAct - a big step toward fulfilling our promise to deliver historic TAX CUTS for the American people by the end of the year!" Trump tweeted. According to US media reports, the bill will reduce the number of individual tax brackets, slash the corporate tax rate from 35 per cent to 20 per cent and eliminate a number of tax breaks and deductions. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The National Council for Teacher (NCTE) has issued a showcause notice to 1,000 B.Ed and D.Ed colleges for failing to submit requisite data through affidavits, a senior Union Human Resource Development Ministry official said here on Saturday. "NCTE has already issued 1,000 showcause notices to stop affiliation with NCTE and thereafter, these colleges will not be able to admit students for B.Ed and D.Ed courses. 3,000 more showcause notices will be issued soon," said Anil Swarup, Secretary, School and Literacy, in the ministry. The NCTE had asked 16,000 B.Ed and D.Ed colleges in India to submit affidavit in respect to all the data, but only 12,000 of them did so, he said. "I think the biggest mafia in the sector are some B.Ed and D.Ed colleges ... some of them exist in name only. We took them on," he said at an interactive session organised by the Merchants' Chamber of Commerce. He said the NCTE engaged the Quality Council of India for quality assessment of these colleges, so that they could be "star rated". "The system will likely be in place within this financial year and the rating will happen thereafter," he added. He said the Centre had not yet thought about pre-school. "It is too premature to make any comment on what should happen to pre-schools because there are other ministries involved in it." "That is the area which we have to look into," Swarup said. Speaking on the incident of a four-year-old girl being assaulted sexually during the school hours, he said: "It is very unfortunate. We have been pressing upon the states and the schools to have surveillance system. "Elaborate instructions have been issued by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) to (its affiliated) schools. The rest is in the state's domain." Citing legal provisions, Swarup said the registrations of schools were to be determined by state governments. --IANS bdc/nir/vm (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Saturday said that it will conrest the municipal elections in Punjab later this month on the party symbol and also released its first list of 29 candidates. Punjab AAP president and Sangrur MP Bhagwant Mann said that the party has decided to contest the municipal elections on the party symbols so that the local problems of the people of various municipal areas could be highlighted. AAP is the main opposition party in the Punjab assembly. The party, in its first assembly electoral outing in the state, won 20 seats in the 117-member assembly in March this year. Elections to Punjab's three Municipal Corporations of Amritsar, Jalandhar and Patiala and 32 Nagar Councils and Nagar Panchayats will be held on December 17, State Election Commissioner Jagpal Singh Sandhu had announced on Thursday. The ruling Congress and the Shiromani Akali Dal and its alliance partner Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are also geared up to fight the municipal polls in the state. The model code of conduct has come into force immediately in the areas falling within the jurisdiction of corporations, nagar councils and nagar panchayats concerned. 50 per cent seats will be reserved for the women in corporations, municipal councils and nagar panchayats. The municipal polls were to be held in September but were postponed as the electoral rolls were not updated. The election to the Ludhiana municipal corporation is not being held with the rest of the state as the electoral rolls revision has not been completed. Ludhiana, with a population of 3.5 million, is the largest city in Punjab and the biggest industrial hub in north India. Lok Insaf Party leader and legislator Simarjeet Singh Bains told media on Saturday that a petition was being filed before the Punjab and Haryana High Court to get the Ludhiana municipal corporation election held with the rest of the state. The municipal elections are crucial for Punjab as these are being held nearly nine months after the Congress won the assembly polls in March, securing 77 seats in the assembly. --IANS js/vd (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Andhra Pradesh assembly on Saturday unanimously passed a legislation to provide five per cent reservation for the Kapu community in government jobs and educational institutions. Meeting a long-pending demand of Kapus, the government has included the community in the backward classes by creating a separate category 'F'. In the absence of only opposition party YSR Congress, which is boycotting the session, leaders of ruling Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and its coalition partner Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) participated in the debate on the bill. Backward Classes Welfare Minister K. Atchan Naidu tabled the bill. Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and other members spoke on the bill. It was later passed unanimously with a voice vote. Naidu said his government had fulfilled a promise made to Kapus in 2014 elections. He assured the House that steps will be taken to ensure that the benefits of development and welfare schemes reached Kapus. The state cabinet had earlier accepted recommendations of the Manjunatha Committee, which examined the demand of Kapus and suggested earmarking five per cent for them. Set up by the government last year, the committee studied the socio-economic conditions of Kapus across the state and submitted its report to the government. As this legislation will take the overall quantum of reservation in the state to over 50 per cent, the cap fixed by the Supreme Court, the state government will request the Centre to amend the Constitution and include the legislation in Schedule IX to insulate it from any court ruling. The existing reservation for various castes is 50 per cent. It is 25 per cent for backward classes, 15 per cent for Scheduled Castes, six per cent for Scheduled Tribes and four per cent for minorities. The bill was passed at a time when YSR Congress Party is boycotting the legislature session to protest lack of action by the speaker to disqualify its legislators who crossed over to TDP during last three years. Political observers say the move by the TDP will effectively counter YSR Congress chief Y. S. Jaganmohan Reddy, who is currently on a state-wide 'padyatra' and criticising the ruling party for failing to fulfil its poll promise. This is also expected to silence Kapu Sangham leader Mudragada Padmanabham, who was on warpath over the issue. The protest called by the organisation early this year had led to large-scale violence in Tuni town with protestors setting afire a train, several vehicles and two police stations. The TDP has also denied actor Pawan Kalyan's Jana Sena from making Kapu reservation a major issue in the run up to the elections. Pawan Kalyan belongs to Kapu community. --IANS ms/vd (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.) The rise in the growth rate to the moderately satisfactory 6.3 per cent from the depressingly low 5.7 per cent is good news for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at a time when the Prime Minister reminded the audience at a function organised by a media house about former President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam's observation about the negativism which generally marked newspapers and magazines. Narendra Modi's case for a more positive outlook in the media and the country will seem more credible in the context of the latest growth figures if only because they highlight the mistake of those like former Finance Minister Yashwant Singh of the BJP, who have been lamenting (perhaps with a touch of schadenfreude) about the economy's free fall. As Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has said, the country's emergence from the recent slump means that it has got over the twin blows of demonetisation and the Goods and Services Tax (GST), which were expected by Modi's critics to spell his doom. The turn for the better in the economy has come at the right time for the BJP when its frenetic campaigning in Gujarat with Modi addressing 30 meetings in a fortnight and with as many as 40 cabinet ministers camping in the state, pointed to a measure of uneasiness in the party about its prospects in what is widely regarded as its bailiwick. However, considering that the BJP's success in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh is almost a foregone conclusion, one can say that the rise in the growth rate will not make much of a difference to the outcome. All that it can do is to dampen some of the ardour of the ruling party's opponents. Even then, the point remains that the BJP will face its real challenge not in Gujarat or Himachal Pradesh this month, but in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh next year. It is in those elections, where the BJP will encounter the anti-incumbency factor, that it will become clear whether the rise in the growth rate has helped the party or is of little consequence. The reason for the doubts is that it is not clear to what extent the unemployment problem will be mitigated by the climbing growth rate in these days of automation and artificial intelligence. Equally uncertain is the quantum of the impact on the BJP's hopes as a result of the prevailing tension and uncertainty caused by the crime rate -- and especially the safety of women and even children. The effect of the rampaging hardliners declaring bounties on the heads of actors and directors is another unknown factor whose effect will be known only after the votes are counted. Up till now the BJP has been sitting pretty because its "vikas" (development) plank still has many takers even if it hasn't made a perceptible dent on the unemployment scene. In addition, Modi's personal popularity remains high because of his oratorical skills and the impression he conveys about the seriousness of his intent to take the country forward. In contrast, his opponents lack an agenda which can have an inspiring effect and are bereft of leaders capable of drawing enthusiastic crowds although Rahul Gandhi is showing signs of the old Nehruvian appeal. The opposition depends therefore on, first, the economy continuing to be sluggish and, secondly, on the hotheads creating a ruckus. But such an approach is obviously a negative one, as is also banking on the anti-incumbency factor to undermine the BJP-run state governments. There is little hope, therefore, for the opposition if it cannot adopt a positive attitude with a clear projection of the kind of India which it envisages. For the BJP, on the other hand, it is a tug-of-war between vikas and the hotheads. As long as the economy shows signs of buoyancy, it can expect to be home and dry. It is of the utmost importance for it, therefore, to ensure that the recovery doesn't flag and that the country regains its status as the fastest-growing economy in the world. At the same time, the party cannot allow the loonies in its ranks, who include ministers, to run amok. It does not reflect well on a government when the apex court has to direct the states to check cow vigilantes or tell senior politicians in the ruling dispensation to keep their mouths shut on yet-to-be released films lest they influence the censor board. As it is, the impression persists that the government is not too comfortable with the autonomy of established institutions as could be seen from the official directive to the University Grants Commission (UGC) to ensure that students and teachers did not miss Modi's "life changing" speech on the occasion of Deen Dayal Upadhyay's centenary celebrations and Swami Vivekananda's 125th birth anniversary last September. If the government does not want the UGC, the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) and other autonomous bodies to become "caged parrots", as the Supreme Court once called the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), then it has to desist from enforcing regimentation and stopping the saffron extremists from targeting artistes and all those who are not with the BJP. Otherwise, growth rate alone will not prevent the erosion of its popularity. On a bright, sunny afternoon here in the old world milieu of Chandni Chowk, veteran actor Rishi Kapoor took a moment from shooting for his new movie "Rajma Chawal", to talk about how "blessed" he feels to be getting a chance to essay meaty and lovely roles that suit his age. "I am blessed that I am still getting lovely work. I am really enjoying my work," Rishi told IANS amidst the hustle bustle on the set here. "Being an actor, I should take any challenge, any role or any kind of work. Sometimes, the films work... Sometimes, they don't work. That doesn't worry me. But I am happy to do any kind of role which comes to me. Even at this age, getting good roles is a great news for me. Any role which challenges me as an actor, I like to do it," added the 65-year-old. Son of late legendary actor-filmmaker Raj Kapoor, Rishi had his big breakthrough in Bollywood with 1973 film "Bobby". Since then, he went on to play a mixed bag of positive and negative characters in movies like "Amar Akbar Anthony", "Karz", "Prem Rog", "Chandni", "Bol Radha Bol", "Do Dooni Chaar", "Agneepath" and "Kapoor & Sons". Tracing his journey, Rishi said: "I am not typecast (as an actor). I am ready for everything. I have done negative, positive and even funny roles. That's what every actor needs to do to bring variety. Then only he will be called a good actor -- he should be able to tackle any kind of role." His new film "Rajma Chawal", being shot in the interiors of Chandni Chowk -- even with few locals as the extras -- is on a father-son relationship and shines the spotlight on generation gap-related conflicts. Directed by "Parched" fame Leena Yadav, the film will feature Rishi as the father and debutant Anirudh Tanwar as his son. It will also have actress Amyra Dastur. As he went gaga over the warmth and hospitality of the local residents here, Rishi spoke about what tempted him to take up "Rajma Chawal". "I wanted to work with Leena. I liked the ambience and where the story was being told -- the whole beauty of Chandni Chowk. I did it once with 'Delhi-6'... The triumph of this project is that we are shooting the whole film in Chandni Chowk." Going down the memory lane, he said: "As a kid, I remember going to Jama Masjid and eating lots of food here. If you ask me, I would dare (any actor) to come in here with these kind of people -- if any actor will come here, he will be mobbed. "But here, the arrangements are terrific and the people of Chandni Chowk have been really cooperative. They have been very nice and lovely. They are also helping us in shooting and are even working as extras. We have shot a lot outside too on streets," he added. Being the foodie that he is, he has also been relishing the yummy delights that old Delhi is famous for. "I have been having food from every restaurant. By the way, today I have ordered Rajma Chawal from a shop. Everyday there is something new - chaat, samosa, jalebi, and I don't remember what all. I have been having all kinds of food from different places," he said. Apart from this film, Rishi will next be seen in "102 Not Out" with megastar Amitabh Bachchan. (Sandeep Sharma can be contacted at sandeep.s@ians.in) --IANS sas/rb/vm (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The British government has issued a fresh warning about the security risks of using Russian anti-virus software. The National Cyber Security Centre is to write to all government departments warning against using the products for systems related to national security, BBC reported on Friday. The UK cyber-security agency will say the software could be exploited by the Russian government. Security firm Kaspersky Labs, accused in the US of being used by the Russian state for espionage, denied wrongdoing. Kaspersky Labs is widely used by consumers and businesses across the globe, as well as by some parts of the UK government. Around the world, 400 million people use Kaspersky products. For it to work, anti-virus software like that sold by Kaspersky Labs requires extensive access to files on computers and networks to scan for malicious code. It also requires the ability to communicate back to the company in order to receive updates and share data on what it finds. However, the concern is that this could be used by the Russian state for espionage. Officials say the National Cyber Security Centre's (NSCS) decision is based on a risk-analysis rather than evidence that such espionage has already taken place. In the new government guidance, Ian Levy, NCSC's technical director, said: "Given we assess the Russians do cyber-attacks against the UK for reasons of state, we believe some UK government and critical national systems are at increased risk." The NCSC is understood to have been in dialogue with Kaspersky Labs and says it will explore ways of mitigating the risks to see if a system can be developed to independently verify the security of its products. It comes amid heightened concern about Russian activity against the UK. Last month, Prime Minister Theresa May warned the Russian state was acting against the UK's national interest in cyberspace. Following her warning, Ciaran Martin, chief executive of the NCSC, said Russia had targeted British infrastructure, including power and telecoms. Officials stress they are not recommending members of the public or companies stop using Kaspersky software. "Beyond this relatively small number of systems we see no compelling case at present to extend that advice to the wider public sector, more general enterprises, or individuals," Levy added. "Whatever you do, don't panic. For example, we really don't want people doing things like ripping out Kaspersky software at large as it makes little sense." --IANS pgh/ (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The rescue operations jointly launched by the Indian Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard after Cyclone Ockhi hit the southern districts of Kerala and Tamil Nadu, resumed on Saturday with 102 Kerala fishermen yet to return home, a top state official said. Thiruvananthapuram district Collector S. Vasuki told the media that the 102 fishermen from here cannot be termed as "missing". "These fishermen had gone into the sea. They are yet to reach home or they have not been able to contact their relatives here." "The search operations now are aimed towards the Alappuzha area, as the boats would have run out of fuel. They would be drifting according to the wind direction. Hence the search operations are focusing towards Alappuzha," said Vasuki. She also added that strict instructions have been given that "none should venture into the sea for fishing". "We have also directed teams of fishermen who have started their own rescue operations that only fishing boats more than 20 metres long are allowed and should not go beyond two nautical miles into the sea. "They have been asked to inform the Coastal Police of the registration number of their boats going out," said Vasuki. Angry fishermen at Poonthura, a coastal hamlet near the capital city blocked traffic as about a dozen fishermen from their village were yet to be traced. A special Mass was held at the Poonthura St Thomas Church for the suffering. "There has been no word from my husband Gerald for the past three days. We have got no information from any one at all," said his grieving wife. The families of the missing have now started to exhibit pictures of their loved ones to the media so as to send message to other parts of the state in case they were sighted. On Saturday morning, the intensity of the rains and winds in the deep sea was reported to have come down. However, the meteorological office predicts rains are in the offing. Among those rescued on Friday night, 40 are under medical observation at the Medical College hospital and another 28 at the General Hospital here. The Kerala government has already announced free ration to be supplied to the affected fishing villages. --IANS sg/in/vm (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Program open house at CCH COLUMBUS -- Columbus Community Hospital will host an open house to celebrate its Healthy Families Program and 15 years of service to children and families in the community. The open house will be held from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Tuesday at the Healthy Families Office, 3005 19th St., Suite 800. The community is invited to stop by for hot cider, coffee and appetizers. While there, everyone is encouraged to learn more about the program. The Healthy Families Program serves Platte, Colfax, Boone and Nance counties and is offered to the community at no charge to the families. For more information about the program or open house, contact Theresa Hilton at 402-562-4489. Campus visit day at Central COLUMBUS -- Prospective students who want to see Central Community College are invited to attend Campus Visit Day from 9 a.m.-noon Tuesday at its locations in Columbus, Grand Island, Hastings and Kearney. Attendees will have a chance to tour the campus, meet faculty and learn about financial aid and scholarships. For more information or to register for Campus Visit Day in Columbus, contact Erica Leffler at 402-562-1257; toll-free at 1-877-222-0780, ext. 1257; or email eleffler@cccneb.edu. To register online, go to www.cccneb.edu/CampusVisits. Individual and group tours also are available by appointment Mondays through Fridays. The bodies of four Kerala fishermen were recovered on Saturday, taking the toll to six so far in the aftermath of Cyclone Ockhi, while there is no word about 102 fishermen from the state who ventured to the deep sea. The bodies were found as part of rescue operations launched by the Indian Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard after Cyclone Ockhi hit the southern districts of Kerala and Tamil Nadu. While the identity of one of the dead has been found, the other three bodies brought to the shores on Saturday were in a decomposed stage and identification became difficult. According to official figures, 37 fishermen from Kerala were rescued in the joint operations, while some others returned on their own. By Saturday evening, the total number of fishermen who had returned stood at 450, while there is no word about 102 from the state who continue to be missing. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan told the media that Rs 10 lakh each would be given to the families of the dead fishermen and Rs 20,000 each to those injured, while those who have lost their fishing gear and other equipment would be compensated. Asked about the missing fishermen, Vijayan was unable to give a figure, but said that information has been received that some Kerala fishermen have been located in Lakshadweep. Thiruvananthapuram district Collector S. Vasuki told the media that the 102 fishermen from Kerala cannot be termed as "missing". "These fishermen had gone to the sea. They are yet to reach home or they have not been able to contact their relatives here." "The search operations now are aimed towards the Alappuzha area, as the boats would have run out of fuel. They would be drifting according to the wind direction. Hence the search operations are focusing on Alappuzha," said Vasuki. She added that strict instructions have been given that "none should venture into the sea for fishing". "We have directed teams of fishermen who have started their own rescue operations that only fishing boats more than 20 metres long are allowed and should not go beyond two nautical miles into the sea. "They have been asked to inform the Coastal Police of the registration number of their boats going out," said Vasuki. Angry fishermen at two places in the capital city and at one place in Alappuzha blocked the highway protesting the "poor" rescue operations being carried out, with the Kerala government coming under heavy fire for not informing the fishermen of the impending cyclone. "When the Tamil Nadu government issued a warning to the fishermen, what happened to our government, where were they?" asked an angry group of anxious relatives waiting to hear about their near ones at Vizhinjam near here. A special Mass was held at the Poonthura St Thomas Church for the suffering. "There has been no word from my husband Gerald for the past three days. We have got no information from any one at all," said his grieving wife. The families of the missing have now started to exhibit pictures of their loved ones to the media so as to send message to other parts of the state in case they are sighted. On Saturday morning, the intensity of the rains and winds in the deep sea was reported to have come down. However, the meteorological office has predicted more rains. Among those rescued on Friday night, 52 are under medical observation at the Medical College hospital and another 39 at the General Hospital here. The state government has directed the medical authorities to see that all are kept under observation for a minimum 72 hours, even if they have no health issues. "I was hanging on in the deep sea unable to move for two nights and three days, and only today help came from a passing boat and I was saved. It was a nightmare," said a rescued fisherman currently at a hospital in Kollam. State Congress president M.M. Hassan told the media that the Vijayan government has made a mess of everything. "The warning of the cyclone had come to the Chief Secretary here on November 29, which was handed over to Vijayan's office, but no action was taken. But State Tourism Minister K. Surendran says that the tragedy took place as fishermen ignored the warning. We wish to know who gave what warning. There was no warning given at all as Vijayan said they came to know of the cyclone only on November 30 afternoon. This is a massive lapse on the part of the Kerala government," said Hassan. The Kerala government has already announced free ration to be supplied to the affected fishing villages. --IANS sg/rn (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Former Prime Minister on Saturday said it was too early to conclude that the economic slowdown has reversed as the 6.3 per cent growth rate in the July-September quarter did not take into account the small and medium sector which suffered huge losses in the aftermath of and hasty implementation of . He welcomed the 6.3 per cent growth rate in the July-September quarter but cautioned that it was too early to conclude that the economy has recovered. "(It) is too early to conclude that this represents a reversal of the declining trend observed in the previous five quarters. Some economists believe that the CSO which released the figures has not adequately captured the impact of and on the informal sector that accounts for about 30 per cent of the economy," Singh said addressing professionals and businessmen here in the election-bound state. He quoted renowned economist Govinda Rao identifying a "problem" with the calculation of manufacturing growth based on corporate results. "This doesn't take into account the small and medium sector which suffered the most after and the launch of . A couple of big worries remain. Farm sector growth fell to 1.7 per cent from 2.3 per cent in the previous quarter and 4.1 per cent in the same quarter last year," Singh said, citing Rao. He said that after farming, job losses have been the most in the construction sector. Singh criticised the BJP government's economic policies, particularly the "coercive steps" of note ban and the Goods and Services Tax (GST) that cost the nation hugely and "broke the back of businesses". "We saw the impact of demonetisation on the economy when the GDP growth dropped to 5.7 per cent in the first quarter of 2017-18 under the new calculations. Even this is bound to be a gross underestimate as the pain of the informal sector is not adequately captured in the GDP calculation. "Every one per cent loss of our GDP growth rate annually costs our nation Rs 1.5 lakh crore. Think of the human impact from the lost growth -- the lost jobs, the youth whose opportunities have vanished, the businesses who had to shut down and the entrepreneurs whose drive to succeed has turned into discouraged disappointment." Singh said that the decline in farming and construction sectors was despite the fact that the government had front loaded its spending on projects, "forcing up our fiscal deficit to a high of 96.1 per cent of the Rs 546,432 crore target set for the full year". "This means that private spending on construction has been very dismal... Thus there is still considerable uncertainty about the growth of GDP. The RBI forecasts that growth in 2017-19 will pick up to 6.7 per cent. However, even if growth reaches 6.7 per cent in 2017-18, Modiji's four year average growth rate will be only 7.1 per cent. "To equal the UPA's 10 year average, the economy will have to grow at 10.6 per cent in the fifth year. I would be happy if this were to happen, but frankly I do not think it will." The former Prime Minister said while Modi claimed to understand Gujarat and the poor "more than anybody else", how was it that "he never understood the pain his decisions unleashed". He hailed the people of Surat city, renowned world over for the diamond and the textile industries, and said it was one of the worst sufferers of note ban and GST. "It is no wonder that Surat voiced the biggest protests in India against this injustice by the NDA government. You after all come from the land of two great souls -- Mahatma Gandhi and Sardar Patel. When the Mahatma decided to protest against the unjust British tax on salt, he did it from your backyard in Dandi. Standing up for injustice is in your blood and you raised your voice against the shoddy implementation of GST," he said. Six American F-22 Raptor stealth fighters arrived in South Korea on Saturday for a joint flying exercise - in a show of strength following North Korea's missile test earlier this week. The fifth-generation, single-seat, twin-engine, all-weather stealth tactical fighter aircraft will take part in the 'Vigilant ace' exercise with the South Korean air force from December 4 to 8. The US also plans to deploy F-35 and F-16 fighters and the B-1B strategic bombers. This is the first time that the US has deployed six F-22 at one time in the Korean peninsula, which serves as another warning to Pyongyang after the latter launched a Hwasong-15 intercontinental ballistic missile - its most sophisticated missile to date - on Wednesday. This deployment, as well as the three US nuclear aircraft carriers deployed last month near the North Korean waters, falls under the agreement in October between Seoul and Washington to increase rotational deployment of strategic assets of the US in the Korean peninsula. South Korea and the US seek to pressurize North Korea to return to the negotiating table to abandon its nuclear programme. --IANS ksk/rn (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Global software major Infosys on Saturday announced the appointment of Salil S Parekh from Capgemini as its new CEO and Managing Director with effect from January 2. "Parekh, 53, joins Infosys from Capgemini where he was a member of the Group Executive Board," said the IT major in a statement here. Capgemini is a global consulting, technology and IT outsourcing firm headquartered in Paris. Parekh, a veteran in the global IT industry, will be the second non-promoter executive of the $10.3 billion firm after Vishal Sikka, who resigned on August 18 following boardroom battles over corporate governance issues with its co-founders, especially N.R. Narayana Murthy. "I am happy that Infosys has appointed Parekh as the CEO. My best wishes to him," said Murthy in a separate statement. Co-founder and Board Chairman Nandan Nilekani said: "We are delighted to have Salil joining as the CEO & MD. He has nearly three decades of global experience in the IT services industry." Nilekani, who returned to the company as non-executive Chairman on August 18, also said as Parekh had a strong track record of executing business turnarounds and managing very successful acquisitions, the Board believed that he was the right person to lead the company at a transformative time in the industry. "The Board is also grateful to (interim CEO and MD U.B.) Pravin Rao for his leadership during this period of transition," he added. As Parekh takes over, Pravin Rao will revert to his post as Chief Operating Officer from January 2 but continue as Director on the Board. Infosys Independent Director and Nomination and Remuneration Committee Chairperson Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw said Parekh was the top choice from a pool of highly qualified candidates for the post and "with his (strong track record and extensive experience, we believe, we have the right person to lead Infosys". Shaw is chairperson of India's biotech major Biocon Ltd in this tech hub. The full-time CEO post has been vacant since Sikka had quit, stating that he could not continue to work amid "malicious personal attacks". The company's previous Board blamed Murthy for Sikka's dramatic resignation three years after he joined the outsourcing firm in August 2014 from global software major SAP AG of Germany. In a related development, Capgemini announced in Paris that Parekh would leave the group on January 1, 2018. "Capgemini has agreed on Parekh's departure. He has relinquished his responsibilities within the group and his managerial transition is already in place," said the French company. Parekh, who has Masters degrees in computer science and mechanical engineering from Cornell University in the US and a B. Tech degree in aeronautical engineering from IIT-Bombay, joined Capgemini in 2000 when it acquired the consulting division of Ernst & Young (E&Y), the London-based global accounting firm, and occupied leadership positions in the group during his 17-year-long stint. "I would like to thank Parekh for his involvement in the Capgemini journey and contribution to the development of the group in India and the US," said Capgemini Chairman and Chief Executive Paul Hermelin in the statement. The Euro 12.5-billion ($14.9 billion) Capgemini is a 50-year-old firm with about 200,000 employees in 40 countries the world over. Former Infosys Director and Manipal Global Education Chairman T.V Mohandas Pai hoped that Parekh's appointment would work out better, as there was a similar business background in both the companies. Indian IT industry's apex body Nasscom President R. Chandrasekhar said Parekh's appointment was a positive from multiple perspectives. "He (Parekh) is well known in the industry and well rooted here. He also has multinational experience and global exposure, which will put Infosys in good stead," the former Telecom Secretary told a business news channel. Tech Mahindra's Chief Executive C.P. Gurnani said as Parekh handled global services for Capgemini and knows how to manage people, he would be able to adopt to Infosys culture. British-based Aston Business School research scholar Sanjoy Sen said Parekh's appointment would be viewed positively in Infosys' journey to rebuild its business positioning. "It will also be seen by stakeholders as Nilekani's ability to align rhetoric with reality by delivering to his promise, amid speculation that Infosys may not find the right candidate for months," Sen said in an e-mail to IANS. As India remains the heart of IT and Business Process Management service delivery, Sen said Parekh's grooming in India would be an advantage to establish the right "face to the Infosys brand" in addition to his experience of working across global cultures". --IANS ag/bha/fb/vd (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Delhi Health Minister Satyendra Jain on Saturday said that strict action will be taken against city-based private Max Hospital and its licence would be cancelled if required after the hospital declared dead a live baby, who still remained in a critical condition two days after the incident. "When we came to know about negligence on the part of the hospital, we ordered an inquiry into the same. And I want to assure all that if they don't work properly, we will cancel the licence of the hospital," Jain said. He said the inquiry report will come by Monday. Jain also said that a show cause notice was served to the hospital on November 22 for not treating poor patients. In a clear case of medical negligence, doctors at Shalimar Bagh-located Max Super Specialty Hospital here on Thursday declared a baby dead, along with his stillborn twin, and handed the bodies over to family members in a polythene bag. The baby was found alive just moments before being buried. This case prompted the Health Minister to order a probe on Friday. A day after the incident, the baby was shifted to Aggarwal nursing home in Pitampura. "The baby is in a critical condition now. It is supposed to be under observation for 72 hours after it got admitted to our nursing home on Friday," a doctor, who didn't want to be named, told IANS. According to the aggrieved family, the twins were born prematurely. While one baby was stillborn, the other was declared dead hours later after his condition was stated to be "critical" and "unable to survive". Max Hospital, in a statement, said: "It has been brought to our notice that a 22-week premature newborn, who is said to be on life support at a nursing home, was unfortunately handed over (as dead) ... by Max Hospital, Shalimar Bagh. "This baby was one of the twins delivered on the morning of November 30. The other baby was stillborn. "We are shaken and concerned at this rare incident. We have initiated a detailed inquiry, pending which the doctors concerned have been asked to proceed on leave immediately." The hospital said it was in constant touch with the parents and ready to extend all support. A similar incident was reported from Safdarjung Hospital in June when a newborn was found alive after doctors had declared the baby dead. Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati on Saturday paid floral tribute to Buddhist monk Bhante Pragyanand, one of the seven monks who initiated Dalit icon Babasahed Bhim Rao Ambedkar into Buddhism. Pragyanand died at the age of 90 two days back at a city hospital here. Mayawati spent some time at the Risaldar park residence of Pragyanand and spoke to Pragyanand's close associates and attendants. His cremation was scheduled for Friday in Shrawasti district but did not take place as his relatives and family members were yet to arrive from Sri Lanka. Pragyanand had left Sri Lanka in 1942 and settled in India. He was the last surviving monks helped Ambedkar embrace Buddhism on April 14, 1956 in Nagpur. --IANS md/in/sar (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Prime Minister Narendra Modi is once again visiting his home state Gujarat on Sunday, three days after he addressed four campaign meetings for the BJP in the poll-bound state. For his two-day sojourn, the BJP has organized seven public gatherings named as 'Vikas Rallies', to stress on the ruling BJP's development plank. On Sunday Modi will be addressing three public meetings, at Bharuch in the morning, and later at Surendranagar. Modi will be visiting the capital of Saurashtra, Rajkot, before his visit to Ahmedabad where he will inaugurate a hospital at the Swaminarayan Gurukul Vishwavidya Pratisthanam (SGVP). The BJP wants to make this meeting a grand event and is planning a huge rally comprising more than one lakh people. The administration and police have geared up for the event. On Monday, the Prime Minister will be holding public meetings at Dharampur in Valsad district and later at Bhavnagar. From there he will visit other Saurashtra places, Junagadh and Jamnagar. He will also be visiting the state in three phases after December 6 where he will be addressing more than 24 meetings and rallies. Modi was in Gujarat on Wednesday, to campaign in Saurashtra region and south Gujarat. The BJP has been in power in the state since more than 22 years with the major share of that under the tenure of Modi as Chief Minister. But after having ruled for more than two decades, the saffron party is feeling a strong wave of opposition in the form of various agitations from different sections of the society. A majority of these forces have joined hands with the opposition Congress party and the more than two-decades reign seems to be on the downslide. That's the reason why Narendra Modi, despite his very busy schedule, has made Gujarat virtually his home since the last couple of months and has been visiting the state every other day. Lately the saffron party has felt that the young Patidar leader Hardik Patel has been gathering more people in his rallies and that even their star campaigner Modi is not garnering the crowds he used to do in the state. According to sources, the BJP is taking the Rajkot rally as a prestige issue and wants to make it a huge success. It can also be because the Saurashtra region has been opposing the BJP more than any other region of Gujarat and from where the Patidar agitations have had immense support and success. --IANS amc/rn (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a phone conversation, "expressed satisfaction" over the Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES) the countries co-hosted in Hyderabad late last month, according to the White House. The US delegation to the three-day event with the theme, "Women, First Priority for All", was headed by the President's daughter and senior advisor, Ivanka Trump, and included representatives from 38 states. Her participation in the summit was announced during Modi's visit to the White House in June. Modi attended the inauguration of the summit with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitaraman on November 28. About 1,500 delegates including entrepreneurs, investors and eco-system supporters from 150 nations participated in the event, more than half of them women. On Thursday, State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert told reporters the summit was "a tremendous success when we bring in 1500 entrepreneurs from around the world". Christopher Brancato, the showrunner and co-creator of the hit American crime-drama series "Narcos", will conduct a masterclass here. As part of its plans to create ground-breaking content for the Jio platform, Siddharth Roy Kapur's Roy Kapur Films (RKF) has invited Brancato to India to conduct a special masterclass on creating, writing and directing original series. Brancato is being accompanied by Carole Kirschner, the Director of the Writers Guild of America's showrunner training program. The masterclass session will start from Monday in Mumbai and will be attended by an invited select group of writers, filmmakers, producers and show-runners. The workshop will focus on creative development for high quality series, and sharing best practices in implementing the showrunner and writer empowered model. This is Kapur's step towards building a strong foundation for a robust creative writing system in India for the Jio Originals platform set to launch next year. "It is always good to learn from the best in the business and benefit from their experiences, especially when one is trying to forge new paths and break established norms. "That is what we are aiming to do at RKF, and we couldn't have asked for better guides than Chris and Carole as we work towards producing world class content for tens of millions of Jio subscribers. I am very excited about this initiative and eager to experience the interaction between Chris and Carole and some of the best creative minds in our country," Kapur said in a statement. --IANS rb/vm (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Fashion designer Nikhil Thampi created a look for actor Esha Gupta inspired by Azzedine Alaia's body of work as a homage to the late designer. The actress wore he look at the Filmfare Glamour and Style Awards on Friday night. Tunisian-born designer Alaia dressed famous women from Hollywood to the White House. The French Haute Couture Federation announced his death on November 18 without providing details. Thampi says that Alaia has always been a huge inspiration for him. "When the news splashed about the demise of Azzedine Alaia, the world went in a frenzy posting pictures and expressing their feelings. But no one really spoke of how revolutionary and forward he was as a designer. He has always been an inspiration to me from the very beginning of my career," Thampi told IANS. "I relate a lot to his design philosophy and the mere fact that he understood and celebrated a woman's body which was pathbreaking and revolutionary back then and so in trend currently which took my attention and what better way to say bye and thank him by giving an homage at a prestigious red-carpet," he added. --IANS nv/rb/vm (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) ORD When the Petska Fur truck pulls into a town, people show up with deer hides, raccoons, antlers and skunk. What the company really likes to see, though, is coyote. "Right now the only thing that we can sell without much trouble is a coyote," said Greg Petska, who heads the Ord-based fur company. The fur from coyotes trapped in this area will wind up on coats produced by a company called Canada Goose. That company, based in Toronto, "spearheaded this whole coyote craze five or six years ago," Petska said. Strips of coyote are used on the coat's collars and hoods. The company sells high-end coats, popular with young urban residents who don't have a problem with fur. Canada Goose had the market to itself for two or three years. A couple of other companies have now joined the field. "So you've got three companies basically competing against each other for this raw material that we're gathering out here in the country," Petska said. Canada Goose charges a handsome price for its apparel, which is sold in 37 countries. A child's jumper, featuring a fur collar or hood, goes for $700 or $800. Some coats are priced at $1,500 to $1,800. "I've seen them as high as $2,000," Petska said. To bring in fur, Petska covers a very big area. The company sends its trucks to eight or nine states, including the Dakotas, Montana, Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, Arizona and New Mexico. One of the routes hits central Nebraska hard. In Nebraska, the company is very busy in November and December. "We're as available as we can possibly be, because that's just when the fur is coming into prime, as your days get shorter," Petska said. Five or six of the vehicles are based in Ord. Petska Fur also has drivers who live in Alliance and Wyoming. Each of those vehicles puts on 30,000 to 35,000 miles per season. Running each truck costs $300 a day. This week, Petska operated five trucks, so the company has $1,500 in fixed costs per day. In order to recoup those costs, Petska collects many types of fur. Deer is a good, stable part of the business. The company makes only $2 or $3 per deer hide, but they help cover expenses. "We buy 20,000 or so deer hides a year," he said. The hides are sold to a glove wholesaler in Wisconsin, who works with a highly regarded Chinese tannery and glove maker. The Wisconsin man buys a million deer hides from fur buyers like Petska. Hunters who bring deer hides to Petska are compensated with deer or cash, whichever they prefer. Petska competes directly against ranch fur. Ranches haven't figured out how to produce coyote, but they're doing very well with mink and fox, Petska said. The larger ranches might have 20,000 to 30,000 breeding pairs of mink, he said. China entered the ranch mink business four or five years ago. The world went from producing 30 or 40 million mink annually in 2012-2013 to 800 million mink per year. China now has a big middle class, as well as an upper-middle class. The country is like the U.S. was in the 1950s, Petska said. People want their own homes and have money to spend. "And one of the things they want first is a fur coat," Petska said. That yearning is filled with ranch mink. A good mink coat now costs only $600 to $800. In the 1970s, the pricetag was $3,000 to $5,000. Petska doesn't want to criticize mink. "It's a timeless item. It's a product that everybody wants to buy for their first coat," he said. But in so many industries, China makes the world go around. "They want the raw materials. They know they can build it cheaper than anybody, and they're darn sure doing it." At this point, China is even being undercut by other countries, such as Pakistan and India. Petska has been buying fur in Nebraska since 1972 or '73. That's when Greg's father, Ken, started the company. Ken, now 77, is doing his best to get out of the business. Greg, 56, is now in charge. He is assisted by his sons. The company will buy any fur-bearing animal that's legal to take in Nebraska, he said. Raccoon is a staple fur in Nebraska. In the mountain states, the company buys mountain lions and bear. Petska Fur also buys elk and deer antlers, which are mostly used to produce dog chews. Pet stores will charge $12, $15 or $20 for a small piece of antler, Petska said. Many dog owners like to buy natural or organic chews for their pets. It's probably also true in the bigger cities in Nebraska. "But you get on the east coast or the west cost and you put organic or natural in front of anything, and they will buy it, no matter what it costs," he said. The company also buys people's fur coats. "A year or two ago, we donated one to our local high school rodeo queen." She sold the coat at her fundraiser auction. "And the darn thing brought crazy money," But in old coats, the leather has deteriorated because it's so old. He's trying to work with people who do leather work. But the company is much more interested in fresh fur. "We'll even buy jackrabbits, for crying out loud," Petska said. Not so much in Nebraska, but in other states it's legal to hunt and resell them. What fur isn't the company crazy about? Possums have almost no value, he said. Petska also doesn't want "smelly skunk." "Skunks are a cool fur, but our business is in town," he said. "The neighbors just don't take too kindly to a skunk odor wafting across the neighborhood. We try our darnedest not to buy smelly ones." Petska is continuing to expand because, he says, "you've just got to get big to survive." This year, the company will visit the panhandle of Oklahoma and Texas for the first time. The company that deals with hunters and trappers is hunting for new revenue streams. The internet has opened up new possibilities for selling fur, he said. The company, for instance, supplies good skunks to a dozen different taxidermists, who create smaller mounts. Visiting so many towns, Petska drivers might as well pick up whatever's in demand, because they're already there. Petska knows many Americans now shy away from fur. But, he said, "It's a natural resource that goes to waste if we don't utilize it." The US was warned by Palestinian officials on Saturday against moving its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Member of Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) Executive Committee Hanan Ashrawi said that "such a step would destabilise the whole region, destroy the peace process, disqualify the US from its role in the region and generate a new wave of extremism". "I hope that nobody would take such a step. This would be an extremely irresponsible and dangerous," said Ashrawi, who is also the head of Information and Culture Department. She called the move "very dangerous and would transform into a religious issue", Xinhua news agency reported. On Friday, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' spokesperson Nabil Abu Rudeinah said that the US recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel or moving its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem is "equal dangerous to the future of the peace process and would take the region into the square of instability". Rudeinha stressed that any just solution of the Palestinian Israeli conflict should guarantee that East Jerusalem is the capital of the independent state of Palestine, cautioning that "failing to reach a solution to the Palestinian cause will prolong tensions, chaos and violence". Media reports said that US President Donald Trump was considering recognizing Jerusalem as a capital of Israel and may announce that next Wednesday. Trump issued the decision to keep the US embassy in Tel Aviv last June, which is expected to expire this month, but it is not clear yet if he will renew his decision or not. The issue of moving the US embassy to Jerusalem is considered by Palestinians as a provocation and deconstruction of the peace talks. The peace talks between Palestine and Israel have been stalled since April 2014. The US-sponsored talks that lasted for nine months achieved no tangible results. --IANS soni/vm (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) At least nine suspects were arrested during a pre-dawn search operation here on Saturday as police launched an investigation into a terror attack on the Agricultural Training Institute (ATI) here that claimed nine lives. The anti-terrorism department closed the institute for an indefinite period and registered a case. The first information report included sections related to murder, terrorism and the possession of explosives, the Express news reported. A large number of police and other security forces took part in the raids conducted early Saturday in Badhber, Telaband and other areas outside the provincial capital, according to police sources. Various types of arms were recovered from the arrested suspects including three pistols, 8mm rifles, 12-bore rifles, sub-machine guns (SMG) and a large quantity of ammos. Security forces searched at least 45 houses during the operation. The ATI released a list of eight students and staff member who lost their lives in the attack. They were identified as: Bilal Ahmad, Amin Jan, Sarzamin, Muhammad Wasim, Abdus Sadiq, Qasim Ali Shah, Bilal Khairul Bashar, Bilal Mohammad Arif and Malik Abdul Waheed. Most of the slain students belonged to far-flung areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Fata and remained in the hostel despite it being a holiday on Friday. The province mourned the deaths of the students and staff member, as the slain victims were laid to rest, Dawn online reported. At least nine people were killed on Friday when three militants attacked the institute. The dead include six students, a security guard and two civilians. Thirty-seven people -- among them a police sub-inspector and two soldiers -- were also wounded in the assault claimed by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). Both police and military officials said the attackers had been coordinating with handlers based in Afghanistan. The bodies of the militants still languish in the mortuary. DNA samples from their bodies have been collected for their identification. The US also condemned the attack and offered its deepest condolences to the families of the victims. "We stand with the people and the government of Pakistan, and we will continue to work with our partners in Pakistan and across the region to combat the threat of terrorism," said a statement issued by the US Embassy in Pakistan. --IANS soni/vm (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Police on Saturday said they have solved a dacoity committed at a doctor's residence here on November 28 and arrested all the accused, along with the looted valuables. "On the basis of CCTV footage, the police cracked the case and arrested the five robbers involved in the case," Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) H.N. Singh told media persons. The police also recovered the looted articles, including gold jewellery and cash, along with the weapons used in the crime. The SSP said on getting clues from the CCTV footage, the police picked up suspects who confessed their crime during interrogation and led the police to recover the items looted from the victim's house. The robbers have been identified as Gaurav Thakur of Bareilly, Yogendra Pal of Meerut, and Sonu, Deepak and Billu -- all residents of Bulandshahr. The police recovered Rs 2.60 lakh cash, eight silver coins, a gold coin, an Apple iPhone, four silver glasses, two pistols, a knife and two motorcycles, among other articles. Screening of their crime record revealed that they were involved in 22 criminal cases in Ghaziabad and surrounding areas. They were also involved in several cases of dacoity in various cities, including Jaipur, Meerut, Muzaffarnagar and Bulandshahr, between 2006 and 2017. On November 28 morning, these robbers had looted cash, jewellery and other valuables worth lakhs from a doctor's house in Vasundhara residential locality under Indirapuram Police Station of Ghaziabad. The robbers posing as patients barged into the residence-cum-clinic of neurologist Dr Neeraj Agrawal. Using staircase, they reached the first floor of the house where the doctor, his wife and mother live. They overpowered the doctor and looted the cash and valuables on gunpoint. --IANS sps/nir/vm (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi on Saturday questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the "extraction" of high fees from students by government educational institutes in Gujarat. Keeping up at his questions in the countdown to the Gujarat Assembly polls, as promised, Gandhi said: "22 salon ka hisaab, Gujarat mange jawaab. Pradhanmantriji--chautha sawaal (as he directed his fourth query at Modi on Gujarat's condition). Gandhi accused Modi of turning the noble profession of imparting education into a business of sorts in Gujarat's government-run schools and colleges. "Expensive fees are becoming burden on students. How will the dream of New India come true?," Rahul asked. "Why is Gujarat at the 26th position when it comes to investing money on education? What wrong have the youths done?" Gandhi's question comes in the wake of the party's strategy to pose one question to Modi everyday till the polls kick off in Gujarat. Gandhi on Friday accused Modi of reducing the power generation capacity of government-owned power firms between 2012-16, while buying electricity from private players at a much higher rate. On Thursday, Gandhi hit out at the Prime Minister for Gujarat's rising debt of "Rs 2,41,000 crore", which he said was due to Modi's "mismanagement and publicity". He asked why the people of the state should be punished for it. On Wednesday, the Congress scion asked about Modi's 2012 promise of providing 50 lakh new homes to the people of the state. Gujarat has been under the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-rule for over two decades. Polling for the 182-member Gujarat assembly will be held in two phases on December 9 and 14. The counting of votes will take place on December 18. --IANS akk-gt/in/vm (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) External Affairs Sushma Swaraj on Saturday paid an unscheduled visit to Iran on her way back from Russia's Sochi, and had a luncheon meeting with her Iranian counterpart Javad Zarif in Tehran. The visit comes a day before inauguration of the first phase of the Chabahar port development project. External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said in a tweet that the two ministers discussed issues of mutual interest. "Reinforcing our traditionally close and civilizational linkages, EAM @SushmaSwaraj had a luncheon meeting with the Foreign Minister of Iran Dr. Javad Zarif in #Tehran. Both sides discussed issues of mutual interest," he said. Sushma Swaraj was in Sochi to attend the 16th Meeting of the Council of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Heads of Government. Saturday's Tehran meeting assumes significance in the wake of media reports that Iran might hand over the management control of the first phase of the Chabahar port to India on Sunday, a year-and-a-half ahead of schedule. Iran's President Hassan Rouhani will inaugurate the first phase of the port on Sunday. Though Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Shipping and Water Resources Nitin Gadkari is scheduled to attend Sunday's inauguration ceremony, the External Affairs Ministry did not officially confirm till late Saturday evening whether Sushma Swaraj would also be attending the event. The first consignment of wheat from India to Afghanistan, that was flagged off by Sushma Swaraj and her Afghan counterpart Salahuddin Rabbani, had reached the Afghan city of Zaranj near the Iran-Afghanistan border last month via Chabahar, thereby bypassing Pakistan. It was the first shipment to go to Afghanistan through Chabahar after the trilateral agreement to develop the port as a transport and transit corridor between India, Iran and Afghanistan was signed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Iranian and Afghan Presidents Hassan Rouhani and Ashraf Ghani, respectively, in May last year to enhance connectivity between Central Asia and South Asia. In her address at the SCO meeting in Sochi on Friday, Sushma Swaraj, while stating that connectivity with Afghanistan was an important priority sector for India, said that this has improved with the operationalisation of an air freight corridor between Kabul, Kandahar and New Delhi in June this year. --IANS ab/vd (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) On the eve of the inauguration of the first phase of the strategic Chabahar port in Iran, a critical part of a trade route to connect to landlocked Afghanistan and beyond to Central Asia bypassing Pakistan, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Saturday paid a visit to Tehran and met her Iranian counterpart Javad Zarif in Tehran. According to a statement issued by the External Affairs Ministry, Sushma Swaraj landed in Tehran on her way back from Russia's Sochi. Both she and Zarif discussed various aspects of bilateral relations and ways to strengthen it. The port is to be inaugurated by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Sunday. "Both sides positively reviewed the initiatives undertaken since the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Iran in May 2016, including cooperation in Chabahar Port which will be inaugurated by the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran Hassan Rouhani tomorrow in the presence of Ministers from India, Afghanistan and the region," the statement said. It said that Sushma Swaraj and Zarif also exchanged views on regional and global developments of mutual interest. According to Iranian media, during his meeting with the Indian Minister, Zarif said inauguration of the first phase, called Shahid Beheshti port, "indicates significant role of the port in boosting contacts and cooperation between countries in Central Asia with other countries in the world via the Sea of Oman and Indian Ocean". Zarif also hailed Tehran-New Delhi relations as good and growing. It is learnt that the Tehran meeting was held in the course of a "technical stopover" on Sushma Swaraj's way back to New Delhi from Russia. Sushma Swaraj was in Sochi to attend the 16th Meeting of the Council of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Heads of Government. Saturday's Tehran meeting assumes significance in the wake of media reports that Iran might hand over the management control of the first phase of the Chabahar port to India on Sunday, a year-and-a-half ahead of schedule. Indian Road Transport and Highways, Shipping and Water Resources Minister Nitin Gadkari is scheduled to attend Sunday's inauguration ceremony. The inauguration comes more than a month after the first consignment of wheat from India to Afghanistan was sent via Chabahar. It was the first shipment to go to Afghanistan through Chabahar after the trilateral agreement to develop the port as a transport and transit corridor between India, Iran and Afghanistan was signed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Iranian and Afghan Presidents Rouhani and Ashraf Ghani, respectively, in May last year to enhance connectivity between Central Asia and South Asia. In her address at the SCO meeting in Sochi on Friday, Sushma Swaraj, while stating that connectivity with Afghanistan was an important priority sector for India, said that this has improved with the operationalisation of an air freight corridor between Kabul, Kandahar and New Delhi in June this year. --IANS ab/rn/vd (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) US Defence Secretary James Mattis, who has said that Washington needs "to try one more time" to get Islamabad to act against terrorists, is visiting Pakistan on Monday, the Pentagon has announced. He is planning to meet Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa, the statement said. Terrorism is expected to be the centre piece during their discussions. The visit comes at a crucial time in the 16-year war in Afghanistan when the US is ramping up operations with its military personnel expected to go to the front lines as advisers to the Afghan military. Preventing terrorist attacks on the US troops assumes higher priority. Mattis will also be visiting Egypt, Jordan and Kuwait during the trip which seeks "to re-affirm the enduring US commitment to partnerships in the Middle East, West Africa and South Asia, the Pentagon said. He visited India in September and held talks with Defence Minister Nirmala Sitaraman on strengthening security cooperation between their countries and together with Afghanistan. Speaking to the House Armed Services Committee in October about the problem of terrorism emanating from Pakistan, Mattis said: "We need to try one more time to make this strategy work with them, by, with and through the Pakistanis, and if our best efforts fail, President Trump is prepared to take whatever steps are necessary." Asked at the meeting if demoting Pakistan from the status of a major non-Nato ally could be an action Washington could take, he said, "Sure, it'll be." President Donald Trump unveiling his Afghanistan strategy said Pakistan has "much to lose" if it continued harbouring terrorists. According to reports, there are about 14,000 US service personnel now in Afghanistan. The commander of US and NATO forces in Afghanistan, General John Nicholson has said that over 1,000 US soldiers will be deployed on the front lines acting as advisers to Afghan troops. (Arul Louis can be reached at arul.l@ians.in) --IANS abl/in/vm (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Binging on organic food is good to get rid of toxins in our bodies but it is also important to pay attention on what you apply on your body. Cleansers, toners, moisturisers, oils and serums are part of the larger skincare regime, hence right ingredients in these products play an equally important role, suggest experts. Experts at SkinYoga and Shaivya Gupta, R&D Manager at Organic Harvest, listed few inputs: * Regular exfoliation helps get rid of dead skin, which in turn helps your skin breathe and absorb other nutrients. Exfoliated skin looks fresh and healthy. For a 100 percent natural skin exfoliator you can use an almond orange face scrub. Exfoliating also promotes a radiant appearance by helping your skin unclog pores and remove tanning. Olive seed oil is considered to be great ingredient for it. It deeply moisturises the skin and improves hydration level of the skin. It helps in eliminating dead skin cells and refines the texture of the skin. * In winters, apply malai in the morning and wash your face with luke warm water. You can add a pinch of organic turmeric for the extra glow. * Having a spoon of cow ghee or cold pressed coconut oil every morning moisturises the entire body including your skin. It is a habit you can develop over time but this will definitely show result with softer and even skin tone in the long run. * Essential oils are more than just the concentrated fragrant essence of botanicals. Their aromatic scents, natural healing and cleansing properties make them a perfect supplement for your beauty routine. No matter what type of skin you have, there is an essential oil that can enhance and balance your complexion. * If you have dry skin, apply few drops of old pressed coconut oil over your face and neck before going to bed. You can indulge yourself with facial treatment oil. * Shea butter is a skin super food that comes from the seeds of the fruit of shea. The concentration of natural vitamins and fatty acids in shea butter makes it incredibly nourishing and moisturising for the skin. * Drink loads of water. * A toner can help unclog pores as well. It is a great addition to your beauty regime. Neem is an excellent skin toner that helps to reduce wrinkles and fine lines. It also lightens dark spots making your skin look soft and glowing. * Eating fat rich fruit like avacado and Omega 3 rich food like flax seed. In short increase collagen content from inside. * Adding a serum to your skincare routine is crucial to healthier skin and can make a big difference, especially if to keep your skin bright and plump. With daily use of serums you will have fewer or no breakouts. Serums offer the ultimate protection against environmental pollution, as well as providing your skin with instant nourishment. * Do not forget the skin on your lips. The skin is very sensitive and thin and requires equal care if not more than our face. Remember to exfoliate, moisturize and apply sunscreen on your lips. --IANS ks/ (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), in its maiden foray into the civil polls in Uttar Pradesh, made an impressive entry and won 19 Nagar Panchayat member seats, two Nagar Panchayat chairman seats and 15 Nagar Palika Parishad members. On December 6, 1992, a large crowd of Hindu 'Kar Sevaks' demolished the 16th-century Babri Mosque in Ayodhya, which is considered to be the birthplace of Lord Rama. The demolition occurred after a political rally at the site led by the VHP and the BJP involving 150,000 'kar sevaks' turned violent. In the past month Columbus Public Schools had the opportunity to host state Sens. Patty Pansing-Brooks of Lincoln, Lou Ann Linehan of Elkhorn and Paul Schumacher of Columbus at Emerson Elementary School to see and hear the great things happening with reading instruction at CPS. The three senators visited a first-grade classroom and reading intervention room as part of a statewide tour of eight different school districts. We were able to showcase our staff and the great things they are doing as well as how we monitor students and their reading skills. This visit was part of LR222, an interim study to examine dyslexia and reading literacy in Nebraska. Academic success and building a brighter future is our STEM education program. All students at Columbus Middle School are required to take a 12-week STEM course in fifth and sixth grades. In seventh and eighth grades, all students take STEM for one semester. These courses introduce all of our students to skill sets they otherwise would not be exposed to. These skills are in direct relation to the great jobs available to them right here in Columbus. Our STEM program has also gathered some notoriety from across the state. The Nebraska Loves Public Schools organization spent a day at CHS with their film crew, documenting the power of STEM and how it will impact our state workforce. We have given tours to school districts, chamber of commerce organizations, state senators, superintendents from across the state and even school board members from other districts. What we are doing here with the help of business and industry in Columbus is becoming a model for others to follow. Since 2013 and each year since, Columbus High School has taken part in the Nebraska Department of Education's ACT pilot project. This project allowed all juniors at CHS to take the ACT one time at the cost of the state. This pilot project was the beginning of the eventual adoption of the ACT as the state test for high school students. So when we say all students, we mean all. These would include students with learning disabilities, students with English as a second language, and those who would not have ever been afforded the opportunity to take the college placement test. A breakdown of how our students are doing on the ACT: 100 percent of all juniors (1,019 students) since 2013 have taken the ACT test. The statewide percentage is 84 percent. 19.2, the average composite score for all students since 2013. 22.0, the average composite score for CHS students compared to the state average of 21.7 for students who plan on attending a four-year college and have taken the core requirements (core means taking four or more years of English and three or more years of mathematics, social studies and natural sciences). 87 percent of CHS juniors since 2013 indicated they would be attending a two- or four-year college. Our hope in volunteering CHS to be part of the pilot was to provide an opportunity for our students to experience great success and let them know a postsecondary education at a two- or four-year college is a goal they can achieve. Many scholarships are available to those who do well on these exams. We are very proud of the efforts of our students. Of the eight schools that took part in the pilot, CHS has the highest percentage of students attending postsecondary schools. There are a lot of reasons to be proud of the job our students and staff are doing. It is a reason to celebrate! BJP chief Amit Shah on Friday said his party's victory in the Uttar Pradesh mayoral polls was nothing compared to what was going to happen in Gujarat on December 18, when the state Assembly election results would be declared. Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati on Saturday alleged the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) tampered with the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) in the Uttar Pradesh civil body polls. "The BJP has tampered with the EVMs in the assembly elections of 2017, as they did back in 2014. Even in these civil body elections, they tampered the electoral process, otherwise our mayors would have won. Overall they were unable to make us lose, as the BSP came second in position," Mayawati, who visited here to pay a tribute to Buddhist monk Pragyaji, said. Mayawati further said it was not just the Dalits, but other communities like the Backward Classes and the Muslims also supported them in the polls. "We are taking with us people from all communities because BSP believes in 'Sarvjan hitae, Sarvjan Sukhaye' (everybody's interest and everybody's happiness). When we won in Uttar Pradesh, we ran our government on this slogan. What is good for us is that along with Dalits, the upper class, and the Backward Classes and the minority sections," she added. She further challenged the BJP to remove the EVMs and start using ballot papers. "I challenge the BJP today. If they are honest and believe in the Constitution, then they should remove the EVMs and start using ballot papers. If they claim that the nation is with them, they should keep aside the EVMs and put up ballot papers. If they hold elections with ballot papers, they will not win," she said. The BJP secured a massive victory in the civic polls in Uttar Pradesh on Friday. The BSP won the mayoral posts in Aligarh and Meerut. Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party failed to win a single mayoral seat. A day after the civic polls results were announced and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) claimed yet another 'saffron tsunami' in its favour, questions being asked now are whether this muscle flexing, chest thumping and drum beating was justified? The party should, at least, hold the ladoos for a while. While there is no doubt that the BJP had fared very well in the 16 municipal corporations and has succeeded in getting 14 of its mayoral candidates elected, a closer look at the Nagar Palika Parishad and Nagar Panchayat polls paints the picture which is not too comfortable for the rulings dispensation. While in most places the BJP may have won, the margins, as compared to the February-March 2017 state assembly polls, have dwindled. Also, the BJP is not the number one seat winner -- the independents are. But what is noticeable is the fact that both the Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) seem to have done impressively at the hustings. This is in stark contrast to the drubbing they got at the hands of the BJP in the state assembly polls just eight months back. Of the total corporators -- 1300, for which elections were held in the three-phased urban body polls in November, BJP managed to win 596 while the SP, which is not an urban voter based party has managed to get 202 seats and the BSP got 147 seats in its first outing in the civic polls. The Congress, which the BJP leaders seldom choose to spare, has also got 110 seats. Of the 198 Chairmen of the Nagar Palika Parishad seats, BJP has won 69 (or 34%) while 45 have been won by the SP, 29 by the BSP and 9 by the Congress. In the polls for the 5,261 seats in the members of the Nagar Palika Parishad, BJP has won 917 seats (or only 17.5%) followed by the SP (476), BSP (260) and Congress (154). Of the 438 seats of Nagar Panchayat heads BJP has won 100 (or 22.8%) while the SP has got 83, BSP 45 and 17 have been won by the Congress. This is a victory of sorts, but not something to tom-tom about. The independents have fared very well, but this had largely been ignored by the regional and media in the first flush. Forty three Nagar Palika chairmen, 182 Nagar Panchayat heads, and 222 corporators are independents and so are 7,229 ward members. Even the first time entrant into civic polls, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has made inroads into the polity. AAP won 19 Nagar Panchayat member seats, two Nagar Panchayat chairmen seats and 15 Nagar Palika Parishad memberships. According to the state election commission, the AAP has also managed to win three corporator seats in the urban body polls as well. The Nagar Panchayat head of AAP have been elected in Tendwari (Banda) and Sahaspur (Bijnore). In the nagar Palika Parishad polls, AAP has won two seats in Jhansi and one in Moradabad. AAP's Vibhu Tripathi has won as a corporator in ward 6 in Lalganj. Haseen Jehan has become corporate from ward 51 in Moradabad.A Vaibhav Maheshwari, state spokesman of the party told IANS that the "humble beginning with so little resources and cadre is more than heartening". He added that the BJP should definitely be worried about its prospects in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections as the urban body polls have not been "exactly in their favor" as they are tom-tomming. What could worry the BJP is also the fact that these results have come after a 50-rally campaign by chief minister Yogi Adityanath, while on the other side no one equal to his stature like Mayawati or Akhilesh Yadav campaigned. The victory has also been rendered bitter by serious allegations of bungling in voter lists and manipulation of EVM's. At many places -- like Meerut, Kanpur, Lucknow -- there have been reports where a candidate who voted for himself, ended up with zero votes, raising questions about the fairness of the poll process. Mayawati on Saturday made similar accusations and demanded that the 2019 general elections take place on the basis of old, traditional ballot papers. She went on to say that if this happened, the BJP will never return to power ever. Political observers also feel that at many places BJP scraped through by default, as there was no opposition candidate worth the salt. Another point that the BJP needs to take note of is the fact that it had lost in ward number 68 in Gorakhpur, the ward where the Gorakshnath Peeth, is located. Adityanath is the priest of the Gorakhshnath temple and is said to have considerable clout there. Nadira Khatoon, an independent candidate here defeated BJP's Maya Tripathi by 483 votes. Overall, in Gorakhpur, BJP won 27 wards, SP 18, BSP 2 and Congress 2. Independents won in 18 seats. BJP's embarrassment does not end here. The party candidate Prashant Kesari also lost in the home town panchayat of Sirathu. This is the home town panchayat of deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya. It's not a clean sweep for the BJP, as the party spokespersons my like others to think. What came as a relief for it was that the opposition was in disarray. If the diverse oppposition parties could get their act together, the BJP leaders would be forced to spend sleepless nights ahead of the next polls. Derek OBrien, leader of the Trinamool Congress in the and the national spokesperson of his party, tells Archis Mohan that West Bengal Chief Minister will have a big role to play in New Delhi in the next Lok Sabha Four lab technicians working in a state-run hospital were arrested today for allegedly sexually harassing trainees, police said. The victims were deputed for lab training at the government-run medical facility in Secunderabad, they said. "The trainees submitted a representation to the superintendent of the hospital in the month of August 2017 levelling allegations of sexual harassment by the lab technicians," police said in a release. An inquiry committee was set up to look into the allegations, it said. "...Accordingly, they (the probe panel) submitted a report in the month of September finding the harassment allegations to be true," the police said. On a specific complaint made by a trainee yesterday, a case was registered in the Chilkalaguda police station and investigation taken up, it said. "During the investigation, the police examined as many as 14 witnesses and established prima facie case against the (four) accused employees of the hospital. All the accused persons were arrested on 02.12.2017," the release added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) As many as 531 fishermen, stranded in the choppy waters off the Kerala and the Lakshadweep coasts due to Cyclone Ockhi, have been rescued, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said today. So far 393 people from Kerala have been rescued, Vijayan said, as the state government announced a compensation of Rs 10 lakh to the family of those who died in the storm. Of the rescued, 132 fishermen were from the state capital Thiruvananthapuram, 66 from Kozhikode, 55 from Kollam, 40 from Thrissur, and 100 from Kanyakumari, Vijayan told reporters. Besides, 138 fishermen have been rescued from the Lakshadweep islands, he said. Vijayan said the Rs 10-lakh compensation would be in addition to the financial assistance of Rs four lakh being given by the fisheries department. Assistance will also be provided to those who had lost their boat and equipment, he added. In Lakshadweep, 31 relief camps have been opened in the 10 inhabited islands. So far, 1,047 people have been evacuated to the relief camps, official sources said. No casualties have been reported, with the worst-affected islands being Minicoy and Kalpeni. Seven people have lost their lives in Kerala in rain- related incidents over the past two days, official sources said. The state government has opened 29 relief camps in various places. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Nine persons were arrested today in Pakistan in connection with the Taliban attack on a Peshawar agriculture training institute in which at least 12 people, including students, were killed and 35 others injured. Three burqa-clad Taliban militants stormed the institute and opened indiscriminate fire, killing at least 12 people, half of them students, before being shot dead by security forces yesterday. The arrests were made after police and security forces carried out raids in Badhber, Telaband and other areas. "Nine suspects were nabbed and were being probed for their role in the attack," a senior police officer said. A huge cache of weapons was also recovered, he said. Earlier, the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) lodged an FIR in connection with the pre-dawn attack against unknown persons. Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), a banned terror outfit, claimed responsibility for the attack. Army said that the attack was planned and handled from Afghanistan where TTP militants are hiding. Meanwhile, bodies of victims were shifted to their native areas where funeral rituals were performed before their burial. The heavily-armed militants, who arrived in an auto rickshaw, attacked the students' hostel of the Directorate of Agriculture Extension on the University Road in the city, the capital of the restive Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province. The institute was closed for the Eid-e-Milad holiday, but about 70 students were present in the hostel. The militants stormed the building by firing automatic weapons, creating panic, officials said. Aerial surveillance of the operation was carried out by the army aviation division whereas armoured vehicles of security forces were also called on site. Three terrorists were killed by security forces after a gunfight which lasted for an hour. Bullets holes in building walls, broken glass scattered and blood stains could be seen on TV footage. A police officer and two army troops were among the injured. An eyewitness said he and his colleagues were sleeping when the firing started, media reports said. The students present at the premises are undertaking their diplomas in Agriculture Sciences and Veterinary Sciences. Peshawar, close to the Afghan border, has seen some of the worst violence incidents during the Taliban insurgency in recent years. In 2014, a total of 147 people, including 132 schoolchildren, were massacred in one of the deadliest terrorist attacks in the country's history when terrorists stormed the Army Public School in Peshawar Cantonment and opened indiscriminate fire. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The central government today decided to set up two examination centres in Kashmir Valley for the 2018 post-graduate National Eligibility Entrance Test (NEET), an official spokesman said. He said the central government's decision to set up the centres in Srinagar and Baramulla is in response to the plea made by Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti. The spokesman said the Union Health Ministry has informed the board of professional examination authorities of the state to redirect the candidates belonging to Kashmir in this connection. In a letter to Union Health Minister J P Nadda on November 10, Mufti had said that around 2,000 aspirants from the Kashmir province, who would take the test on January 7, would have to face huge inconvenience due to unavailability of a centre in Srinagar. Requests from various groups of students had come to the chief minister for setting up an examination centre in Srinagar for the upcoming NEET in view of the large number of candidates taking the examination from Kashmir. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) In a drive against smoking at public places and illicit sale of tobacco, Delhi's health department raided around 100 shops in Saket area and issued challans worth Rs 21,700 to vendors and individuals. The raid was conducted on Thursday by teams of the State Tobacco Control Cell in collaboration with the Delhi Police to crack down on direct and indirect advertisement and illicit trade of tobacco products. "...the area in Saket outside the PVR Cinema is considered to be the biggest hub of tobacco vendors in Delhi, where nearly 100 shops of tobacco sellers are situated to attract the youngsters visiting this area. "Therefore, we decided to conduct raid in this area to assess the situation of tobacco advertisements and illicit trade practices. The aim was also to create awareness among youths about the ill-effects of tobacco, cigarette and hookah smoking," said Dr S K Arora, Additional Director (Health), the Delhi government. Arora said the youths, especially school students, get attracted to tobacco because of direct and indirect advertisements of tobacco products. He said, apart from brand promotion, tobacco industry targets youths by misleading advertisements by using terms such as slim, ultra slim, safe cigarettes, ISO-certified nicotine and tar, flavoured, sweet cigarette and e-cigarette as cessation devices, etc. "All these are myths. It is important to sensitise the youth about the ill-effects of tobacco and check such practices of promotion of tobacco industry. "Around 100 shops were raided and challans worth Rs 21, 700 were issued to vendors and individuals," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Last year, I expressed serious reservations about the proposed AT&T-Time Warner merger. I argued, at the time, that allowing this merger will have important implications for a free press and American democracy for many years to come. I reasoned that by approving the merger, more media concentration would follow and the liberal media would gain an even bigger foothold on what Americans see and hear on television. I still believe that is true, but over the last 12 months, many more concerning deals have been announced and Donald Trump's own FCC Chairman, Ajit Pai, has all but eliminated the last remaining regulatory hurdles protecting us from a liberal media monopoly. Donald Trump had campaigned against this "concentration of media power." Today, the Department of Justice is the only federal agency left protecting conservative viewpoints. So while I still believe the AT&T-Time Warner merger has some serious concerns, I am now more troubled by what may happen to CNN and Time Warner if AT&T fails to buy them. AT&T over the years has proven itself as a fair-minded company. It is not known as liberal. It's CEO Randall Stephenson is national president of the Boy Scouts. There is talk that if AT&T either divests itself of CNN to make a deal possible, or drops the deal altogether, CNN could end up in the hands of Disney, CBS or another liberal media group. What's from stopping George Soros from buying them? I am also concerned the Justice Department's relentless pursuit of AT&T is allowing other mergers to perhaps sail through -- deals that will most certainly be calamitous for conservatives and the Republican party. Take, for example, the proposed merger of Sinclair Broadcasting with Tribune Media. This merger, announced roughly six months after the AT&T deal, attempts to combine two giant television broadcasters. If consummated, this deal would give Sinclair control over 233 stations reaching 72 percent of all U.S. households under the control of one company. Sinclair leans conservative, and that looks good at first. But the approval of the Sinclair deal will permit ABC, CBS and NBC to gobble up all those little TV stations in red states and even in swing states. Instead of local, independent owners delivering the local news, the big networks like NBC will control and dictate it from New York. Back in the 1980s my father's FCC limited television broadcasters to owning just 12 stations reaching only 25 percent of the national television market. My dad completely understood the danger posed by the big liberal networks. Frankly, President Trump won because my dad imposed that TV ownership cap. One of the reasons that Sinclair became a big player in local news is that my dad created the ownership cap to prevent NBC, ABC and CBS from owning all the local television stations around the country. If President Trump allows this runaway consolidation in TV, liberal media networks like ABC, NBC and CBS will soon control both the national and local information flow into our homes. Interesting, the approval of the AT&T will not add at all to AT&T's media power. It currently owns little media. If its gets control of outlets like CNN, this may turn out to be a good thing for President Trump and the American people. But the real danger facing us now is the Sinclair Tribune deal. It will not only lead to a massive concentration of power, but give TV networks incredible leverage over smaller, independent stations, advertisers and cable operators -- reducing competition and forcing consumer prices up. You don't need to be an economist to know if three companies own 80 percent of the gas stations in your town, you are going to pay a higher price. I would encourage the Justice Department to look at ways to approve the AT&T with protections for viewers and consumers. At the same time it should focus on the transaction that really matters and take steps to stop the massive consolidation that is set to be ignited by the Sinclair deal. The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) North Bengal has urged the Centre to upgrade Bagdogra airport with an overhauled infrastructure and night-landing facility for an improved air connectivity between North Bengal and the rest of the country. Placing the confederation's demands before the Union Minister for Civil Aviation Ashok Gajapathi Raju Pusapati here, the vice chairman of CII-North Bengal, Anand Mittal, also sought introduction of morning return flights from Bagdogra to Delhi and Kolkata, besides flights between Bagdogra and Kathmandu. A five-member CII team met the Union minister yesterday at Bagdogra airport lounge on his way back to New Delhi from Gangtok. The minister, accompanied by Joint Secretary of Ministry of Civil Aviation Usha Padhee, had come to Gangtok to inspect infrastructure and facilities at the newly built Pakyong airport. "Siliguri, close to Bagdogra airport, is not just the gateway to the North East, it also shares boundaries with Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan. It is the second largest city in West Bengal and its importance as a major trading centre is growing every day," Mittal said. The town also attracts countless domestic as well as foreign tourists, said Mittal. "It is high time that Bagdogra airport should grow in size to cater to the growing needs of Siliguri and North Bengal as a whole. The upgraded Bagdogra airport will certainly serve as a fillip to businesses in the region which in turn will boost the local economy," the former chairman of CII-North Bengal, Ratan Kumar Bihani, said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) National Conference (NC) president Farooq Abdullah today alleged that the claims of normalcy in Kashmir made by the central and state governments were "contrary" to the ground situation in the region. The former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister also claimed that there was a "growing sense of alienation" among the people, especially the youth. "Those claiming things have improved in Kashmir after the mayhem, bloodshed and misery of 2016, are contradicting the ground reality in an effort to escape their own culpability and responsibility. "The fact remains that our youth today are more isolated and alienated than ever before, and feel hopeless and dismayed," he said at a public meeting in Khan Sahib assembly constituency's Hardpanzoo area in Budgam district. The NC president claimed that the youth were "disillusioned and disenchanted" by the system as several initiatives were left mid-way. "The lack of political will to engage with the aspirations of the people of Kashmir with a sense of seriousness and honesty has created an enormous trust deficit. This has been further increased by recent betrayals and U- turns," he said. The Srinagar MP said that India and Pakistan initiate dialogue on outstanding issues, especially on that of Kashmir, in a sincere effort to usher the sub-continent into a corrective era of stability, mutual cooperation and harmony. "Both India and Pakistan are nuclear powers and should acknowledge the fact that a nuclear war is out of question and hence, engagement and innovative conflict resolution is the only option. "Those advocating violence and war are living in a fool's paradise and their rhetoric is aimed at their own local constituencies. There is no other alternative but to talk and take into account the practical limitations of both sides," he said. "Conflicts are resolved with innovation and imagination, not by shrill slogans and stentorian and moralistic press statements," the NC leader said. The former chief minister said that the conflict has inflicted enormous human, economic and political costs on the people of Kashmir, and they deserve a resolution now. "We cannot sacrifice the dreams and aspirations of another generation in Kashmir. The time has come for India and Pakistan to understand that they "owe it to the people of Jammu and Kashmir" to resolve this issue once for all, he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Senior Congress leader Pradeep Mathur has alleged "tampering" of electronic voting machines (EVMs) in the Uttar Pradesh civic polls, leading to the victory of the ruling BJP in 14 of the 16 mayoral seats. "It's a clear case of EVM tampering," Mathur, the former leader of the Congress Legislature Party in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly, told reporters today. The BJP swept the Uttar Pradesh civic polls bagging 14 mayoral seats, while Mayawati-led BSP won the mayoral posts in Aligarh and Meerut towns in western Uttar Pradesh. The Congress leader alleged that the reliability of the Election Commission has become "a thing of the past". "I foresee similar results in the Gujarat assembly election even though the people there are against the BJP rule and anti-incumbency factor is visible in every area," Mathur said. Former chairman of Mathura Nagar Palika Shyam Sundare Upadhyay said that it was the "murder of democracy". If there was a wave of support in favour of the BJP, why the results of majority of Nagar Panchayats and Nagar Palika Parishads in Mathura went against the saffron party, he asked. The BJP could manage to win only three of the 13 Nagar Panchayats in Mathura district. While the mayoral poll was held through EVMs, ballot papers were used for elections to Nagar Palika Parishads and Nagar Panchayats. Polling was held for 16 Nagar Nigams, 198 Nagar Palika Parishads and 438 Nagar Panchayats in Uttar Pradesh in three phases on November 22, 26 and 29. The results were announced yesterday. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Tamil Nadu government has said it will soon seek central funds for the damage caused by in the southern parts of the state, with Kanyakumari and Tirunelveli districts being the worst hit. This was conveyed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi by Chief Minister K Palaniswami during a telephone conversation between the two leaders last night, a state government release said. "The prime minister assured to immediately give the required assistance," the release issued last night said. Modi dialled Palaniswami and enquired about the damage caused by the cyclone, which also battered parts of Kerala, it said. The chief minister apprised him of the various relief works going on in "full swing" in seven districts of the state and told Modi that Kanyakumari and Tirunelveli were the worst affected. He listed out various steps being taken, besides deputing senior ministers and IAS officials to oversee the relief work, the release added. Efforts were being undertaken on a "war footing" while power supply was being restored. The Coast Guard's help was being used to rescue 30 fishermen stranded in the sea even as 76 of them had been already rescued, Palaniswami said. The state will send a report to the Centre seeking funds after carrying out a detailed assessment of the damage caused by the cyclone, which has crippled life in Kanyakumari district, he told the Prime Minister. Cyclone Ockhi, which in Bengali means 'eye', had yesterday intensified into a severe cyclonic storm and moved to the Arabian Sea. The state government yesterday said that over 1,200 people affected by the cyclone in Kanniyakumari and Tirunelveli districts have been lodged in relief camps. Former Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit today criticised the BJP government in Gujarat over delay in completion of the metro rail between Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar, saying promises made to the people here have not been fulfilled. Dikshit said under the BJP, development in Gujarat has been "skewed", but the saffron outfit has been "shying away" from answering questions posed by the opposition party over the issue. "When I visited Gujarat 10-12 years back, the metro rail project appeared near completion. But the project has not been completed yet. We started the metro rail project in Delhi and launched it in one year. Today, 299-km long metro rail is running across Delhi," the veteran Congress leader told reporters. Work on the first phase of the Rs 10,700-crore Metrolink Express for Gandhinagar and Ahmedabad (MEGA) is expected to be completed by 2019. "It is the duty of the government to fulfil promises made before the elections, and we get to see that the BJP does not fulfil the pomises made to people," she said. Dikshit was Delhi's chief minister when the metro rail project started in the national capital in December 2002. The 79-year-old veteran politician also attacked the BJP over its "silence" on questions posed by Congress vice- president Rahul Gandhi during his Gujarat campaign tours. The three-time Delhi chief minister said the BJP did not have answers to the questions on "skewed" development in the state. "Rahul Gandhi has made several visits (to Gujarat) and raised a number of issues and asked questions. However, neither the BJP government nor the party has responded to these questions, raising doubts if they at all have answers to these questions," she said. She said the Congress did a lot of things in Gujarat during its rule like facilitating Amul cooperative model by bringing in father of the white revolution Verghese Kurien and setting up of institutions like the IIM, ISRO (which has Space Applications Centre in Ahmedabad) and NID, among others. The government recently gave a go-ahead to the second phase of the metro rail project. Officials of the Metrolink Express for Gandhinagar and Ahmedabad (MEGA) reportedly said the first phase, connecting Thaltej to Motera, will be completed by the end of 2019. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) today said that it had seized foreign-made cigarettes worth Rs 6.33 crore allegedly being smuggled into the country. A DRI release said that, based on a specific tip-off, a Hyderabad-verified container was checked last night at an Inland Container Depot (ICD) in neighbouring Ranga Reddy district leading to the seizure of the cigarettes. "On verification of the container and its documents, it was found that the container was stated to contain self-adhesive tapes. The goods were imported from United Arab Emirates. De-stuffing of the container revealed 176 packages containing cigarettes of foreign make," the release added. The DRI release put the value of the cigarettes at Rs6.33 crore and the 242 packages of self-adhesive tapes recovered at Rs 2.75 lakh. "As the said foreign made cigarettes are attempted to be smuggled into India in contravention of provisions of the Customs Act 1962 and Foreign Trade Policy, 2015-20, they were seized under the Customs Act 1962," the release stated. The release said that further investigations were on for more details. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A retired CIA analyst has dismissed Turkish accusations that he was involved in last year's failed coup, saying he was a "choice target" following a warrant for his detention. Graham Fuller, an ex-vice chairman of the CIA's National Intelligence Council, told The Associated Press he was accused of being the "CIA handler" of a US-based Muslim cleric. Turkey blames Fethullah Gulen for the 2016 coup attempt, but the cleric denies the allegations. In an emailed statement late yesterday, Fuller dismissed claims he was in Turkey "directing the coup attempt." He said he was speaking to a group of 100 people in Canada that night. Turkey's official agency said yesterday prosecutors suspect Fuller of being in contact with people who have been accused of participating in the coup attempt. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The first phase of Chabahar port will be inaugurated tomorrow which will open up a new strategic transit route among Iran, India and Afghanistan, bypassing Pakistan. The port, located in Irans southeastern Sistan- Baluchestan Province, is scheduled to be inaugurated by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani in presence of representatives from India, Afghanistan and several other countries of the region. The first phase of the Chabahar port project is known as the Shahid Beheshti port. Ahead of the inauguration, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and her Iranian counterpart Javed Zarif held a meeting today in Tehran and discussed about the Chabahar port project among other issues. Iranian Foreign Ministry said Zarif referred to the Shahid Beheshti Port and said it reinforces Iran-India mutual and regional cooperation. "It also shows the importance of the port in the development of the region and the routes that connect Central Asian states to other countries in the world through the Sea of Oman and the Indian Ocean," he said, according to the Iranian Foreign Ministry. Swaraj made a stopover at Tehran on her return from Russian city of Sochi where she had attended the annual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). The port is likely to ramp up trade among India, Afghanistan and Iran in the wake of Pakistan denying transit access to New Delhi for trade with the two countries. Over a month ago, India had sent its first consignment of wheat to Afghanistan by sea through the Chabahar port, marking opening of the new strategic transit route. A minister from India is attending tomorrow's event. The Iranian president's office said the Shahid Beheshti harbour will be opened tomorrow. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) German police said today that it was "unlikely" a Christmas market in Potsdam was the target of a package found nearby that was initially believed to contain an explosive device. The device was discovered late yesterday at a pharmacy just off the market in central Potsdam, a picturesque city near Berlin, reviving fears of a repeat of last year's deadly terror attack at a Christmas market in the German capital. "Investigations are continuing in all directions," Brandenburg state police said on Twitter. But "according to the first element of the investigation," it appears "unlikely" that the Christmas market was the target, the police said. A pharmacist sounded the alert after finding a canister with wires inside the package. After initial reports that it was an explosive device, local authorities said the cylindrical canister was filled with nails, powder, batteries and wires -- as well as a powerful firework of a type not allowed in Germany -- but there was no sign of a detonator. Investigators are now attempting to identify the sender of the package. The market was only partially evacuated yesterday and will reopen as normal today with a stronger police presence, a local police spokesman told AFP. Germany has been on high alert for possible jihadist attacks after last December's deadly assault at a Christmas market in central Berlin. The attacker, Tunisian asylum seeker Anis Amri, hijacked a truck and murdered its Polish driver before ploughing the heavy vehicle through the market, killing another 11 people and wounding dozens more. Four days later, while on the run, he was shot dead by Italian police in Milan. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack, as well as several others on German soil over the last two years. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) An area commander of the outlawed Garo National Liberation Army (GNLA) today surrendered before the BSF in Meghalaya's West Garo Hills district, BSF officials said. David Ch Marak, who was in charge of West Khasi Hills district, also deposited a China-made sniper rifle and ammunition. He surrendered before the 58 Battalion Commandant N Ganguli during a simple ceremony at Tura. Hailing from Williamnagar in East Garo Hills district, Marak joined the outfit in 2015, they said. The BSF officials expressed hope that its skill development programmes at the border would help youths shun the path of violence. "Several pre-recruitment training programmes have been conducted to help unemployed youths at the border to compete successfully during recruitments," Meghalaya BSF IG P K Dubey said. Such events have started yielding results now, he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Scientists, including one of Indian origin, have developed tiny electronic "tweezers" using graphene that can efficiently grab biomolecules floating in water, an advance that may lead to a handheld disease detecting system. Graphene, a material made of a single layer of carbon atoms, was discovered more than a decade ago and has enthralled researchers with its range of amazing properties that have found uses in many new applications from microelectronics to solar cells. The graphene tweezers developed at the University of Minnesota in the US are vastly more effective at trapping particles compared to other techniques used in the past due to the fact that graphene is a single atom thick, less than one billionth of a metre. The physical principle of tweezing or trapping nanometre-scale objects, known as dielectrophoresis, has been known for a long time and is typically practiced by using a pair of metal electrodes. From the viewpoint of grabbing molecules, however, metal electrodes are very blunt. They simply lack the "sharpness" to pick up and control nanometre-scale objects. "Graphene is the thinnest material ever discovered, and it is this property that allows us to make these tweezers so efficient. No other material can come close," said Sang-Hyun Oh, professor at the University of Minnesota. "To build efficient electronic tweezers to grab biomolecules, basically we need to create miniaturised lightning rods and concentrate huge amount of electrical flux on the sharp tip. The edges of graphene are the sharpest lightning rods," said Oh. The team also showed that the graphene tweezers could be used for a wide range of physical and biological applications by trapping semiconductor nanocrystals, nanodiamond particles, and even DNA molecules. Normally this type of trapping would require high voltages, restricting it to a laboratory environment, but graphene tweezers can trap small DNA molecules at around one Volt, meaning that this could work on portable devices such as mobile phones. Researchers made the graphene tweezers by creating a sandwich structure where a thin insulating material call hafnium dioxide is sandwiched between a metal electrode on one side and graphene on the other. Hafnium dioxide is a material that is commonly used in today's advanced microchips. "One of the great things about graphene is it is compatible with standard processing tools in the semiconductor industry, which will make it much easier to commercialise these devices in the future," said Koester, who led the effort to fabricate the graphene devices. "Since we are the first to demonstrate such low-power trapping of biomolecules using graphene tweezers, more work still needs to be done to determine the theoretical limits for a fully optimised device," said Avijit Barik, graduate student at University of Minnesota. "For this initial demonstration, we have used sophisticated laboratory tools such as a fluorescence microscope and electronic instruments," said Barik, lead author of the study published in Nature Communications. "Our ultimate goal is to miniaturise the entire apparatus into a single microchip that is operated by a mobile phone," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Greece said it had reached a preliminary agreement with international creditors that it was meeting its commitments to unblock the latest tranche of a third bailout programme. "We achieved the agreement with the institutions on a staff level on all issues,", Greek Finance Minister, Euclid Tsakalotos told journalists yesterday. "We are satisfied," he said. Greece was expected to fulfil 95 commitments by December, including reforms to the civil service and social benefits as well as measures to free the energy market and speed up privatisation. "The European institutions have reached a staff level agreement with the Greek authorities... This will be presented to the Eurogroup next Monday 4 December 2017. The Greek authorities plan to implement the prior actions necessary to conclude the third review as soon as possible', the team of creditors in Athens said separately in a statement. The final agreement is expected to be ratified at the meeting of Eurozone finance ministers on January 22 provided the Greek parliament legislates the reforms. "I welcome the staff level agreement reached ahead of Eurogroup. Good for Greece and Europe. Now focus on implementation of the reforms," European Commission Vice- President, Valdis Dombrovskis tweeted. Greece has received three multi-billion euro bailouts since 2010. The third rescue programme, currently financially supported by EU states but not the International Monetary Fund, runs to August 2018 and Athens then hopes to fully return to market financing. By the end of September, Greece had received over 221 billion euros from European institutions and a further 11.5 billion from the IMF, the ministry said. In July, Greece made a symbolic return to debt markets after a three-year hiatus, selling three billion euros worth of five-year bonds at 4.625 per cent, lower than its previous outing in 2014. Athens tested the market again earlier this month, offering to exchange some 30 billion euros in maturities originally issued in 2012. According to the Greek finance ministry more fixed-rate bond sales will follow. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Chief Election Commissioner A K Joti and around 10 senior officials of the Commission today held a meeting with representatives of main political parties to understand their concerns ahead of the first phase of Assembly polls in Gujarat, to be held on December 9. The EC delegation, led by Joti, also held another meeting with various government officials, district collectors as well as senior police officials to review the preparations for conducting free and fair election, said Chief Electoral Officer for Gujarat B B Swain. Representatives of the BJP, Congress, BSP and NCP attended the meeting with the EC delegation, he said. During the meeting, Congress leaders urged the EC to deploy adequate security personnel in sensitive constituencies. The Congress also demanded that jammers should installed at strong-rooms where EVMs will be stored after the polling, said a release by the Gujarat Congress. The EC officials will hold a meeting with senior state government officials tomorrow too, officials said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Congress in Gujarat is banking on its star campaigner Rahul Gandhi and support from a clutch of caste leaders to bridge the around 9 per cent vote share gap that led the BJP to retain power in 2012. However, the saffron party, which is in power in Gujarat for over two decades, is not only confident of retaining its 2012 base, but also expanding the vote share. Gujarat will vote in two phases -- on December 9 and 14 -- to elect a new 182-member Assembly. The counting of votes will take place on December 18. The Congress is hoping attendance at Gandhi's rallies will translate into votes and it will get an extra push from new-found local allies -- Patidar quota spearhead Hardik Patel, OBC leader Alpesh Thakor and Dalit activist Jignesh Mevani. While Thakor has joined the Congress, Hardik Patel, who heads the Patidar Anamat Aandolan Samiti, has pledged his support to the main opposition party. Mevani, who has positioned himself as the face of Dalit agitation in Gujarat, is contesting from Vadgam in North Gujarat as an independent. The Congress is supporting him by not fielding a candidate of its own. On the other hand, the BJP is focussing on holding together its votes from the trading community and tribals. According to the Election Commission of India's data on the 2012 Gujarat polls, the BJP had received 47.85 per cent of the valid votes, while the Congress garnered 38.93 per cent votes, a difference of 8.92 per cent between the two parties. Though there was a difference of 9 per cent votes, the BJP won 115 seats and the Congress 61. The NCP and Keshubhai Patel's Gujarat Parivartan Party bagged two seats each. The Janata Dal (U) won one seat and an independent, too, emerged victorious. In 2012, Gujarat had over 3.8 crore voters, spread over 26 districts. The turnout was 72.02 per cent, the highest-ever in Gujarat's history, according to an EC report released after the 2012 polls. As per the latest electoral roll, Gujarat has over 4.35 crore voters. According to Kuwarjibhai Bavaliya, working president of the Gujarat Congress Pradesh Committee, this time the party is posing a stiff challenge to the BJP. "Our own campaign, Hardik Patel's appeal among the Patidar community and Alpesh and Jignesh's acceptance within the OBCs and Dalits will make a significant dent (in the BJP vote share)," Bavaliya told PTI. "The Congress was on its own in 2012 and there was no Hardik, Alpesh or Jignesh. If the Congress alone could secure 38.93 per cent, then with these three new factors, we will certainly gain further," the Congress leader claimed. But, the BJP is not willing to buy this logic. Harshad Patel, the Gujarat BJP spokesperson, said, "After 2012, there was 2014 general elections where the BJP made huge gains in most of the Assembly constituencies. "The Congress led in just 17 Assembly constituencies in 2014 elections. Given this kind of support just three years ago, the BJP's performance in this election would be much better than 2012," Harshad Patel said. "It is true that the BJP is just 9 per cent ahead of the Congress in vote share, but look at the number of MLAs we have. "And going by the mandate in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls (the BJP had won all the 26 LS seats in Gujarat), we are likely to get a similar response from voters this time too. With this, we will win more seats than in 2012," he claimed. BJP president Amit Shah has set a target of winning 150-plus seats in his home state. However, Harshad Patel's claims do not find support among the political pundits. Jayesh Thakrar, a veteran journalist from Rajkot, said, "The Congress contested 176 seats (in 2012), whereas the BJP fielded candidates on all the seats (182). Despite this, the Congress is just 9 per cent behind the BJP in vote share. This is a plus point for the Congress." In 2012, there were 28 assembly seats where the winning margin was less than 4,000 votes. This means, both the parties had almost an equal chance to win all these seats. Out of these seats, the Congress bagged 17, the BJP seven and other parties won the rest. Thakrar said, "Though the Congress had faced stiff competition in 2012, this time Patidar, OBC and Dalit leaders are campaigning for the Congress candidates as well. It means, the BJP candidates in these seats will have to make extra efforts to swing votes in their favour." Thakrar is editor of 'Sandesh', a prominent newspaper in Saurashtra, founded in 1923. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A gun battle broke out between Assam Rifles (AR) troopers and militants at Kongkan village in Kamjong district in the wee hours today. The troopers of 31 AR were ambushed at Kongkan village near Myanmar border by suspected Revolutionary Peoples' Front (RPF) militants around 3.30am, a senior police officer said. "The jawans retaliated and a gun battle ensued between the two sides. The militants, however, escaped taking advantage of the darkness and rugged terrains. No casualty was reported during the gunfight which lasted for a few minutes," he said. Additional forces comprising army officials, AR troopers and state police officers have been rushed to the site to nab the militants, the officer added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The US Consulate General, Chennai,with three Kerala-based institutions, today announced the launch of 'Blockathon For Change', a hackathon to address the societal issues of migrant labour using blockchain technology. Migrant labourers are often a disadvantaged and vulnerable group because of social, economic and cultural issues associated with migration, Maker Village, one of the partners in the programme, said in a release here. In India, massive inter-state migration of labourers warrants immediate attention, both at the ground level and policy level, it said. The proposed hackathon is designed to beneficially employ the Blockchain technology for offering comprehensive solutions to mitigate problems related to migrant labour. This is the first time in India that such a bold attempt is made to leverage high-end technology to address one of the most critical social issues of our times, the release said. Besides Maker Village, Kerala-based Centre for Public Policy Research (CPPR) and Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM) are the other partners of the US consulate in the mission. Noting that migrant workers encounter various problems in their daily life, the release said their contribution to the country's economy is enormous, but little is done for their well-being. "Therefore with this hackathon,we want to find technology driven solutions to address the challenges." The organisers invited applications from ideators, inventors, software developers, programmers, designers, engineers, entrepreneurs and start-ups to participate in the finals of hackathon atMaker Village here during December 21-22, 2017. As part of the event mentoring sessions, talks on Block chain technology and Migrant Labour issues shall be held at Maker Village. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) allegedly put up a hoarding near the residence of Mumbai Congress chief Sanjay Nirupam here making derogatory remarks against him, police said. A senior police officer of the Versova Police Station said the hoarding was put up five hundred feet away from Nirupam's residence in Lokhandwala and it was removed in the early hours today after the police noticed it. "The hoarding had the MNS party's name and symbol on it. We suspect the hoarding was put by MNS party workers. We are probing the fact," the officer added. In an another incident some unidentified persons yesterday threw ink on Congress banners which were put up outside the Zakeria hall Congress office in Bandra East. Condemning it, the Mumbai Congress tweeted, "Strongly condemn another cowardly act yesterday late night of throwing ink at Zakaria Hall Congress office, Kherwadi, Bandra East. CM Devendra Fadnavis needs to take quick action and not be a mute spectator." Yesterday, the office of the Mumbai Regional Congress Committee office in south Mumbai was vandalised and the MNS had claimed responsibility for it on social media. The tussle between the MNS and Nirupam began after the latter came out in support of hawkers against whom the MNS had launched an agitation following a stampede at the Elphinstone Road railway station on September 29. The stampede had claimed 23 lives. A day after the stampede, MNS chief Raj Thackeray had said such stampedes would continue to occur in Mumbai till hordes of migrants kept pouring into the city. The MNS leader said that the migrant influx was causing a collapse of infrastructure facilities in the city. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Veteran actor Geoffrey Rush has resigned as the president of the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA), after allegations of "inappropriate behaviour" were levelled against him. Rush, 66, was accused of misconduct in a now deleted report in Australia's Daily Telegraph which stated that Sydney Theatre Company received a complaint against the Oscar-winner, who starred in the company's adaptation of 'King Lear' in 2015. The "Pirates of the Caribbean" actor has denied the allegations saying his conduct has always been beyond reproach. The Australian Academy also announced that the veteran actor had resigned but did not elaborate any further. "AACTA acknowledges the decision today of Geoffrey Rush to voluntarily step aside as President of AACTA and accepts and respects his decision to do so. "We have been deeply concerned about the situation and support a course of action that both respects Geoffrey's rights to the presumption of innocence and due process, but also acknowledges good corporate governance in these circumstances," the statement posted on AACTA website read. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) An eminent Indian-American philanthropist has described immigrants as "the future of the United States", which he said, is a nation of inclusion, openness, opportunity, democracy and freedom. Frank Islam made these remarks during a ceremony where some 200 foreign nationals took the oath of citizenship. Islam borrowed a quote from Former President John F. Kennedy: In a democracy, every citizen regardless of his interest in politics or holds office, every one of us is in a position of responsibility. The kind of government we get depends on how we fulfill those responsibilities. "I ask you to fulfill those responsibilities by being a 21st Century Citizen," he said during his speech at the John F Kennedy Presidential Library in Boston on Thursday. At the age of 16, Frank Islam left his family and friends in India with just USD 35 to pursue his life-long dream of owning a business. He went on to become founder and CEO of a company worth more than USD 300 million. Islam became a citizen in 1980, but he never attended a naturalization ceremony, said a media release issued by the presidential library. "... My story reaffirms the notion that America is a land of opportunity. It also shows that America is a nation of inclusion, openness, opportunity, democracy, and freedom. All of us can proudly and truly embrace these values and qualities of America," he said. "As immigrants and the future of America, I know that you will make great contributions to ensure that dream is even stronger and better for the citizens of this immigrant nation...I am extremely positive about the future of America because of the courage, tenacity and indomitable spirit of my fellow immigrants," Islam said. Noting that over the past few years, there have been a lot of complaints regarding the country's politicians, and the government, he said some of that criticism is "warranted". "On the other hand, we must remember that the United States is a representative democracy. At the end of the day, we get the politicians and the government we deserve," he said. "If we don't like things in this great democracy of ours, we can change them. That is our right and responsibility as citizens," Islam said. An Indian Amercian woman has announced that she will run for the next year's election to the seat of US House of Representative from a Chicago suburb. Vandana Jhingan, who is a journalist, will challenge Democrat Indian American Raja Krishnamoorthi, 44, who was elected to the US Congress for the first time in the last year's Congressional elections. She is the second Indian American from the Republican party to challenge Krishnamoorthi. Last month Jitender "JD" Diganvker had announced to enter the race from the party. Pledging to bring jobs, fiscal responsibility, family values and firm foreign policy, Jhingan announced to run from 8th Congressional District of Illinois. Both Diganvker and Jhingan would have to win the Republican primary scheduled for March 8 for the 8th Congressional District, which has a significant Indian American population. The seat is traditionally considered to be a Democratic stronghold. In a statement, Jhingan said it is her years of community service and experience working with business and government has motivated her to take on challenges facing the residents of the 8th district of Illinois. She has been Midwest bureau chief of TV ASIA for more than 15 years. "I have demonstrated my commitment by serving the community for more than 20 years. I immigrated to United States and got an opportunity to live the 'American Dream' now I am looking to fight for you to bring back the same," she said. In addition to Krishnamoorthi, the House of Representative currently has three other Indian Americans the three-term Dr Ami Bera and Ro Khanna from California, and Pramila Jayapal from Washington State. Kamala Harris, whose parents are from India and Jamaica, was the first Indian American to be elected to the US Senate. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Infosys today said it has appointed Salil S Parekh as its CEO and Managing Director, concluding the 3-month high-profile executive search at the country's second largest IT firm. The Bengaluru-based firm had initiated the search after CEO Vishal Sikka resigned in August following a protracted acrimony between the management and the founders. UB Pravin Rao, who was filling in the CEO role on interim basis, will now continue as Chief Operating Officer and a whole-time Director of the company, Infosys said in a statement. Parekh, who will take over on January 2, 2018 for a period of five years, was a member of the Group Executive Board at French firm Capgemini, Infosys added. "He (Parekh) has nearly three decades of global experience in the IT services industry. He has a strong track record of executing business turnarounds and managing very successful acquisitions," said Nandan Nilekani, Chairman of Infosys Board. The Board believes that Parekh is the right person to lead Infosys at this "transformative time in the industry", he added. This is the second time the company is bringing in an outsider for the top job. Sikka, who was brought in from SAP in 2014, was the first non-founder CEO at the over USD 10 billion company. The year-long spat between the high-profile founders like NR Narayana Murthy and the Infosys management, saw Sikka quitting in August. Over the next few days, the then Chairman R Seshasayee and two others also relinquished their positions. Murthy, along with some former Infosys executives, had alleged serious corporate governance lapses and questioned the high severance packages paid to ex-CFO and others. Another major contention was the Panaya acquisition by Infosys. The founders citing whistleblower reports had raised concerns about the buyout. It was then that Nilekani -- one of the Infosys co- founders and Aadhaar architect -- was brought in as Non- executive Chairman to restore order at the embattled company. He was also tasked with finding Sikka's successor as the shareholder sentiment was hit by the developments at the firm. Interestingly, the new Board, under Nilekani, has given a clean chit to the USD 200 million Panaya deal saying there was no merit in the allegations of wrongdoing related to the deal. For the executive search, Infosys cast a wide net to include alumni, internal and external candidates in the global search for the lead role. It had also hired consultancy firm Egon Zehnder to search for Sikka's successor. According to reports, Infosys executives like UB Pravin Rao, CFO Ranganath D Mavinakere as well as Ashok Vemuri (former Americas Head and Board member at Infosys) and B G Srinivas (former Infosys President) were considered for the top job. Infosys' statement today noted that the selection of Parekh was done based on the recommendation of Nomination and Renumeration Committee. Parekh had joined Capgemini in 2000 as a result of the acquisition of the consulting division of Ernst and Young, and occupied various leadership positions in the Group. He holds a Masters degree in Computer Science and Mechanical Engineering from Cornell University as well as a Bachelors degree in Aeronautical Engineering from the IIT, Bombay. According to industry watchers, Parekh will face multiple challenges in the new role. A major one would involve maintaining peace between the founders and the management, they said, adding that Parekh's performance would also depend on the how much independence he gets in decision making. Besides, he will have to push further the innovation agenda in areas like cloud, blockchain and analytics given the increasing automation across industries, rapid pace of technology change and increasing visa scrutiny in key markets, they said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) India's second largest IT firm Infosys said today that it has appointed Salil S Parekh as its CEO and Managing Director. Parekh, who is joining the company from Capgemini, will take over on January 2, 2018, Infosys said in a statement. "He (Parekh) has nearly three decades of global experience in the IT services industry. He has a strong track record of executing business turnarounds and managing very successful acquisitions," said Nandan Nilekani, Chairman of Infosys Board. The board believes that Parekh is the right person to lead Infosys at this transformative time in the industry, he added. Previously, Parekh was associated with Capgemini where he was a member of the Group Executive Board. He has Master of Engineering degrees in Computer Science and Mechanical Engineering from Cornell University, and a Bachelor of Technology degree in Aeronautical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay. U B Pravin Rao will step down as the interim CEO and Managing Director effective January 2, 2018 and will continue as Chief Operating Officer and a whole-time Director of the company, Infosys said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Board of Directors of Infosys today announced the appointment of Salil S Parekh as Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, effective from January 2 next year. "We are delighted to have Salil joining as the CEO and MD of Infosys. He has nearly three decades of global experience in the IT services industry," Chairman of the Board Nandan Nilekani said. U B Pravin Rao will step down as interim CEO and Managing Director effective January 2, 2018 and will continue as Chief Operating Officer and a whole-time Director of the Company. "The Board is grateful to Pravin for his leadership during this period of transition," Nilekani said in a company statement. Parekh joins Infosys from Capgemini, where he was a member of the Group Executive Board, the statement said. Parekh has Master of Engineering degrees in Computer Science and Mechanical Engineering from Cornell University, and a Bachelor of Technology degree in Aeronautical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay. "Parekh has a strong track record of executing business turnarounds and managing very successful acquisitions. The Board believes that he is the right person to lead Infosys at this transformative time in our industry," Nilekani said. Chairperson of the Nomination and Remuneration Committee Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw said that with his strong track record and extensive experience, the company believes it has the right person to lead. "After a comprehensive global search effort, we are pleased to appoint Salil as the CEO & MD.He was the top choice from a pool of highly qualified candidates. With his strong track record and extensive experience, we believe we have the right person to lead Infosys," she said. Earlier, some names, including that of former Infosys executive Ashok Vemuri, cropped up in the media, but he reportedly expressed his unwillingness to accept the job. Vemuri had quit Infosys in 2014 after Vishal Sikka was brought in as the company's CEO and managing director. Sikka quit amid turmoil in Infosys after a prolonged battle between the Board and the company founders, leading to the return of Nilekani, a company co-founder, at the helm in August. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The JNU Teachers Association today claimed that for the first time the JNU's academic council in its meeting did not allow discussions on the number of students admitted to the varsity from the SC, ST and OBC categories. The 144th academic council that met yesterday also ruled that no discussion on the university's admission policy could be taken up as the matter was "sub judice", the JNUTA said in a statement. "The notion does not inexplicably bar the JNU (Jawaharlal Nehru University) admistration from continuing to pursue a policy that has resulted in the worst violations of the reservation policy and the JNU Act. This is a general failure in fulfilment of intake," JNUTA president Ayesha Kidwai said. The teachers' body alleged that not even one objection to the minutes of the 143rd academic council meeting was brought on record. "The fact is that only 2 SCs, 1 ST and 13 OBCs have joined the university in the research degree admissions. M.Phil/Ph.D admissions are just 50 per cent of the intake announced and direct PhD admissions are just 35 per cent," the statement read. The all India character of JNU admissions for these degrees have been seriously compromised, the JNUTA alleged in the statement. The academic council also accepted a proposal for the creation of the School of Engineering and a programme in management. The JNUTA said that comments on this was not placed as part of the agenda for discussion. "Attempts by faculty and students to discuss the proposal of the Engineering and Management School were also more or less brushed aside, even though majority have actually opposed it," the statement said. The JNU administration was not available for comments. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Usman Khawaja was back in the runs and Steve Smith threatened another big score as Australia recovered from losing both openers on the first day of the second Ashes Test against England in Adelaide on Saturday. Khawaja stepped up from his scratchy batting in Brisbane with a half-century as the tourists claimed the wickets of Cameron Bancroft and David Warner after surprisingly sending the Australians into the bat after winning the toss. At the dinner break in the first-ever Ashes day-night Test, Australia were 138 for two with Khawaja on 53 and skipper Steve Smith unbeaten on 25. Smith, the bane of England's bowlers at the Gabba with his match-defining unbeaten 141, was soon engaged in a war of words with Stuart Broad as the tourists looked for a way to unsettle the imperious Australian skipper. Khawaja, searching for a confidence-restoring innings after an uncertain 11 in Brisbane, showed improved technique against the spin of Moeen Ali and grew in confidence the longer he was at the wicket. Khawaja had faced 26 balls and was settled in by the time Ali came on to bowl. But he had a life on 44 when he top-edged a Chris Woakes bouncer to deep backward square where Mark Stoneman put down a two-handed chance. Khawaja reached his ninth half-century in his 26th Test with a cut shot off Ali to the boundary. Joe Root, who became the first England captain since Bob Willis in 1982 to bowl after winning the toss in Adelaide, failed to gain any reward until the 15th over after two rain stoppages. England got the initial breakthrough in the over after tea through a run out. Warner played Broad into the covers where Ali fumbled the ball as Bancroft set off for a run from the non-striker's end. Woakes picked up the ball and hit the stumps from mid-off as Bancroft scrambled to make his ground and was run out in the mix-up for 10. Woakes captured the prized wicket of David Warner for 47 in the 34th over. Warner edged an outswinger to Jonny Bairstow and left the home side 86 for two as Smith came to the crease. Fast bowlers James Anderson and Broad wasted the new pink ball by bowling short of a length in the important first hour. Only 13.5 overs were possible in the first session as showers interrupted play and forced the players from the field up to the tea interval. Ashes holders England cannot afford another defeat after their 10-wicket first Test mauling at the Gabba. The first-ever Ashes Test under lights has long been earmarked as England's best chance of a win in Australia given the extra swing and movement of the pink ball in twilight conditions. Australia have beaten New Zealand and South Africa in the two day-night Tests played at the Adelaide Oval. The hosts named the same team that won the first Test, while England gave Somerset seamer Craig Overton his Test debut in place of Jake Ball in their only change from Brisbane. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Lok Sabha MP P P Mohammed Faizal today alleged that the Indian Navy and the Coast Guard failed to respond promptly in tackling the crisis due to cyclone Ockhi, which left a trail of destruction in the Lakshadweep islands. The Lakshadweep MP said he would write to Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in this regard. "We have not got adequate help from the Navy and the Coast Guard. They failed to respond promptly in the adverse situation," Faizal told PTI. He also said that he had spoken to Home Minister Rajnath Singh, who assured him that a team of officials would be sent to the island. A defence spokesman, however, refused to comment on the allegations. Minicoy and Kalpeni islands were the worst hit by the cyclone and several houses there were severely damaged, Faizal said, adding no casualties have been reported so far. Meanwhile, a defence release said tonight, INS Shardul from Kochi is heading towards Minicoy island with humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR) "bricks", which include water and dry provisions. It also consists of medical equipment, blankets, generators, salvage equipment, desalination and decontamination kits. The relief material would sustain 2,000 people for over a period of seven days, the release said. INS Sharda is heading towards Kavaratti island with HADR material sufficient for 500 people to last more than seven days. The ship, while proceeding to the island, saved nine persons from a boat, it said. Naval ships from Mumbai, INS Chennai, Kolkata and Trikand have also sailed out for Lakshadweep and Minicoy islands (LAM) with HADR material sufficient for approximately 5,000 people and would last for more than seven days, the release said. Androth and Kavaratti are reported to be experiencing strong winds of 40-60 knots coupled with high swells of three to four metres with a "sea state of 5-6," it said, adding all the ships are expected to reach LAM by tomorrow morning. According to the defence release, in addition to aircraft from Kochi, a P8I aircraft from Arakkonam with greater reach is being used to maintain a close vigil over the sailing ships and provide inputs, if any. Areas close to the coast would be continuously monitored using Dornier aircraft from Kochi, it said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) London mayor will be arriving in Mumbai tomorrow as part of his first official tour to three Indian cities to promote the British capital's resilience and strengths post-Brexit. Apart from Mumbai, Khan would be visiting Delhi and Amritsar in India and then fly to Lahore, Islamabad and Karachi in Pakistan on his six-day tour to six cities. As part of the Indian leg of the trade mission aimed at promoting new business links between India and London, the London mayor has a series of meetings planned with senior politicians, business leaders, regional leaders as well as Bollywood personalities. His central message will be that the British capital remains open to Indian talent post-Brexit. "Following last year's EU referendum, it is far more important to get the message of London is open out far and wide and I will be taking that message to India and Pakistan," he said on the eve of his visit. Khan would be taking the Jet Airways' recently launched third direct London-Mumbai flight. "Jet Airways is doing their bit to ensure that the London-India relationship really takes off. The new flight comes as a major boost for the relationship between our two countries and an opportunity to not only deepen and expand our economic ties but to forge even closer social and cultural ties too," he said. Mumbai-headquartered Jet Airways recently added a third direct flight between London and Mumbai, taking the total number of direct flights between London and India to four with two existing direct routes to Mumbai and one to Delhi. Jet Airways's CEO, Vinay Dube, said it reflects the confidence the company has in the robustness of the UK market. "Whenever people in India think about travelling abroad, the very first city that comes to mind is London. At Jet Airways, we try and follow our customers, and want to play our part in bringing India and the UK closer together," he said. "The UK is very important to us. The mayor is going on a trade mission and there is a wide spectrum of travellers on this circuit who are flying Jet. Every aspect is growing," he said. The mayor of Londonwill be accompanied by his Deputy Mayor for Business, Rajesh Agrawal. Their packed itinerary in India will include discussions on business and investment, infrastructure and the environment as well as visas and other opportunities to work together more closely. In a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, his predecessor Manmohan Singh today said Modi failed to understand the "pains" of his note ban and GST decisions were going to unleash on the people of his own home state. Calling demonetisation an "uninformed, half-baked crusade" and GST a "badly designed and hastily implemented" measure, Singh also lamented the "low-level rhetoric" used by the ruling party. "I wish the prime minister would find more dignified ways of impressing upon the crowds and seeking their votes...," he said. "Just as you were recovering from one blow (of demonetisation), came the GST. Nobody consulted you or tried to understand how your dhandha (business) works," he told a gathering of members of the local business community here. "The prime minister is from Gujarat, and he claims to understand Gujarat and the poor more than anyone else. How is it that he never understood the pains his decisions will unleash on you?" Singh asked. "Your business works on trust and relationships. Without trust in each other, Surat will collapse. You extended this trust to the prime minister and his promise of 'acchhe din' (good days). The hope symbolised in those dreams now lies shattered," he said. In Surat alone, 89,000 powerlooms were sold as scrap and it led to a loss of 31,000 jobs, Singh said. "There are countless such examples from industrial clusters and big mandis (markets) from across the country." China benefited from this situation, he claimed. "In FY 2016-17, India's imports from China stood at Rs 1.96 lakh crore. During the same period in FY 2017-18, the imports from China increased to Rs 2.41 lakh crore. This unprecedented increase in imports by more than Rs 45,000 crore, a 23 per cent increase in a year, can be attributed largely to demonetisation and GST. "These twin blows damaged India's MSME sector and our businesses had to turn to Chinese imports at the cost of India jobs," the senior Congress leader said. On demonetisation, Singh said, "This is an uninformed, half-baked crusade on black money where he (Modi) painted everyone as a thief, while real culprits have gotten away." The Goods and Services Tax was "badly designed and hastily implemented", the economist-turned-politician said. Maintaining that demonetisation was not the solution to the problem of black money and tax evasion, Singh said the costs of demonetisation substantially exceeded its benefits, and the decision "proved to be mere bluster to reap political dividends while the real offenders have escaped". Demonetisation and GST have also "sown a deep-rooted fear of tax terrorism among the business community", he said. "At a time when the economy has slowed down considerably, despite favourable global macro-economic conditions, the fear of tax terrorism has eroded the confidence of the businesses to invest," he said. "This attitude of suspecting everyone to be a thief or anti-national, the low-level rhetoric is damaging the democratic discourse and has real consequences for how we relate to one another as citizens. Political leaders must stick to the high road," he said. Singh said on every social indicator, from infant and maternal mortality rates to female literacy, Gujarat has fallen behind the best performing states, including Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu,. He said the recent agitations by the youth cutting across different sections of the society was an indication of the deep dissatisfaction with the performance of successive BJP governments. The former prime minister said a Congress government in the state will hear the voice of every Gujarati regardless of caste, creed, gender or class. Later, talking to reporters, Singh strongly denied Modi's allegation that the Congress and Congress-led governments hated Gujaratis. "Nothing can be farther from the truth. I realise that many things are said in election times. But when they are gross distortions, they need to be rebutted," he said, adding that Jawaharlal Nehru, the country's first prime minister, and the "most famous Gujarati" Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel worked hand-in-hand, and "nothing is gained, as is often attempted by Modi, by pitting the two great leaders apart." Modi was "denigrating the country" when claiming that Congress party did nothing in 70 years, the former PM said. "I wish the prime minister would find more dignified ways of impressing upon the crowds and seeking their votes without resorting to statements which denigrate our country," he said. "...While denigrating the past, the prime minister also tends to exaggerate what he will do in future. He was recently quoted in the press as saying that India will become a developed country by 2022," Singh said, adding that to achieve that, India needed to grow at the rate of 35 per cent per year. The government should get out of the "culture of constant self-praise", Singh said. "In the ten years of UPA-I and II, when I was the prime minister, we produced 7.8 per cent GDP growth on average. This includes the slow-down in the last two years of our government. When the present government took over, they said they would take growth to 8 to 10 per cent. Modi so far has produced an average of only 7.3 per cent in the first three years," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis will visit Pakistan next week as part of a four-nation tour during which he is expected to pressure Islamabad to do more against militant groups. During the tour, Mattis will visit Egypt, Jordan, Pakistan and Kuwait to re-affirm the enduring US' commitment to partnerships in the Middle East, West Africa and South Asia, the Pentagon said. Mattis would reach Pakistan on December 4, the second such trip after US President Donald Trump announced his South Asia strategy on August 21. Trump while announcing the strategy had criticised Pakistan for providing safe havens to terrorists. Pakistan denies sheltering the militants, and the issue has emerged as a major irritant to bilateral ties. In October, Mattis had said the US would try "one more time" to work with Pakistan before taking "whatever steps are necessary" to address its alleged support for the militants. During his Pakistan visit, Mattis is expected to meet Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and Army Chief Qamar Javed Bajwa. Early this week, Gen John Nicholson, the commander of the US-led NATO forces in Afghanistan, rued that Pakistan has not been able to carry out the counterterrorism actions which it promised to the Trump administration after the announcement of the new South Asia Strategy. The US is also outraged at the release of JuD chief Hafiz Saeed from house arrest in Pakistan. The Trump Administration had said his release belies Pakistan's claim that it is not a sanctuary for terrorists. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) has fired up the thrusters aboard the Voyager 1 spacecraft - the only human-made object in interstellar space - for the first time in 37 years. The spacecraft which has been flying for 40 years, relies on small devices called thrusters to orient itself so it can communicate with Earth. These thrusters fire in tiny pulses, or "puffs," lasting mere milliseconds, to subtly rotate the spacecraft so that its antenna points at our planet. Scientists were able to use a set of four backup thrusters, dormant since 1980. "With these thrusters that are still functional after 37 years without use, we will be able to extend the life of the Voyager 1 spacecraft by two to three years," said Suzanne Dodd, project manager for Voyager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in the US. Since 2014, engineers have noticed that the thrusters Voyager 1 has been using to orient the spacecraft, called "attitude control thrusters," have been degrading. Over time, the thrusters require more puffs to give off the same amount of energy. At 13 billion miles from Earth, there's no mechanic shop nearby to get a tune-up. Scientists analysed options and predicted how the spacecraft would respond in different scenarios. They agreed on an unusual solution: Try giving the job of orientation to a set of thrusters that had been asleep for 37 years. "The Voyager flight team dug up decades-old data and examined the software that was coded in an outdated assembler language, to make sure we could safely test the thrusters," said Jones, chief engineer at JPL. In the early days of the mission, Voyager 1 flew by Jupiter, Saturn, and important moons of each. To accurately fly by and point the spacecraft's instruments at a smorgasbord of targets, engineers used trajectory correction manoeuvre (TCM) thrusters that are identical in size and functionality to the attitude control thrusters, and are located on the back side of the spacecraft. However, since Voyager 1's last planetary encounter was Saturn, the Voyager team had not needed to use the TCM thrusters since November 8, 1980. Back then, the TCM thrusters were used in a more continuous firing mode; they had never been used in the brief bursts necessary to orient the spacecraft. On November 28, Voyager engineers fired up the four TCM thrusters for the first time in 37 years and tested their ability to orient the spacecraft using 10-millisecond pulses. The team waited eagerly as the test results travelled through space, taking 19 hours and 35 minutes to reach an antenna in the US that is part of NASA's Deep Space Network. On November 29, they learned the TCM thrusters worked perfectly and just as well as the attitude control thrusters. The plan going forward is to switch to the TCM thrusters in January. To make the change, Voyager has to turn on one heater per thruster, which requires power - a limited resource for the ageing mission. When there is no longer enough power to operate the heaters, the team will switch back to the attitude control thrusters. According to the District Attorneys Office, three officers in two cruisers stopped a minivan at a red light at 19th and Derry streets around 3:30 a.m. Friday. The DA's office said that when the officers approached the minivan, the driver backed the van into the police car behind him, then drove toward an officer. An officer fired his service weapon and one shot went through the windshield. The driver was shot in the shoulder and fled the scene. Indian Navy's search and rescue operations continued for the third day today over Southeast Arabian Sea and Lakshadweep and Minicoy islands in the aftermath of the 'very severe cyclonic storm 'OCKHI', a defence release said tonight. The ships deployed by the Southern Naval Command include IN Ships Sagardhwani, Jamuna, Nireekshak, Kabra and Kalpeni off the Kerala coast and Sharda, Shardul towards Lakshadweep islands. Besides this, three aircraft-- Dornier (Do) fixed wing aircraft, Seaking Helicopter (SK) and Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH)-- were also deployed throughout the day. "A total of 84 personnel have been rescued over the last two days which includes 62 by aircraft and 22 by ships," it said. Additionally, transfer of two bodies was also effected through ALH to Thiruvananthapuram after being picked up by INS Sagardhwani. Of the 62 people rescued by naval aircraft, eight persons were transferred to Kochi in batches of four after being picked up 20 Nautical miles southwest and 80 nautical miles west of Kochi respectively, the release said. Those evacuated to Kochi were given preliminary first aid at the naval clinic at INS Garuda before being handed over to the civil administration. The rest of the rescued persons have been transferred to Thiruvananthapuram, it added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Thane police arrested Nationalist Congress Party corporator Mahesh Salvi for trespass and issuing threats to a woman. Thane police spokesperson Sukhada Narkar said that an offence had been registered against Salvi at the Kalwa police station. The officer said that Salvi had been booked under sections 452,427,504 and 506 read with 34 of the Indian Penal Code. According to police, the victim had registered a complaint that Salvi and a few other men had come to her construction site and demanded money from her. Police said that the complainant also said that when she refused to pay the money, the corporator and his men started pulling down the structure under construction. Salvi is also Kalwa Ward committee chairman, police said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Actors avoid missing out on film's shooting despite ill health as not appearing on the set leads to a loss, says Kajol. The actor, best known for her commercial potboilers such as "Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge", "Kuch Kuch Hota Hai", "Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham", says she never cancelled a shoot in her 25-year-long career as she respects commitment. In an interview with PTI, Kajol says, "You are working in an industry where if you fall sick or cancel a shoot, lakhs of rupees go out of somebody else's pocket. So that's a huge responsibility on your head. "In my 25 years, I don't think I have ever cancelled a day's shoot. With (utmost) honesty I can say that, I have not missed a flight or cancelled a shoot till date." Kajol says health is always an issue in an actors life as even after having erratic working hours, irregular food and sleeping habits, there is a pressure to look good all the time. The 43-year-old actor remembers taking a day off from work only when her daughter Nysa was unwell. "One day my daughter was not well, she had 104 degree temperature, that's the only time I remember telling the producers that I can't come. But for my own illness, I have shot even when I had high fever." Kajol, who is the brand ambassador of Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL's) health soap brand Lifebuoy, recently announced a new initiative to empower young girls to make a difference in their communities through a partnership with the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS). (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Ahead of the December 17 civic elections in Punjab, opposition Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) today said it has taken up with the state election commissioner the matter of "non availability" of voters list in different municipalities. The party's senior vice president and spokesperson Daljit Singh Cheema, in a statement, said, "The process of filing of nominations has begun, but it is ridiculous that still in many municipal committees voters lists are not available". He said the matter of "non-availability" of voters list in Baghapurna, Dharamkot and Fatehgarh Panjtoor civic bodies in Moga district has been brought to the notice of the state election commissioner. Similarly, voters lists were not available in Patiala and Amritsar Municipal Corporations too, Cheema claimed, and asked, "How can one file his nomination papers without a voters list?" "This has exposed the preparedness of the local government department and people of the state want an explanation from the Local Government Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu on this issue," he said. Elections to three municipal corporations -- Amritsar, Jalandhar and Patiala, and 32 municipal councils and Nagar Panchayats in Punjab would be held on December 17 and results would be declared the same day. Nominations can be filed till December 6 and scrutiny of those would take place the next day. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) More than 500 fishermen stranded in the rough sea off Kerala and Lakshadweep coasts have been rescued even as cyclone 'Ockhi' today lay centered over the South East Arabian Sea and about 250 km near Amini Divi in the Lakshadweep Islands. The death toll in rain-related incidents in Kerala rose to nine with the recovery of two more bodies, officials said. The state government decided to urge the Centre to declare Cyclone Ockhi, which left a trail of destruction in the state, a national calamity. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan entrusted chief secretary K M Abraham with the task of preparing a memorandum in this regard, chief minister office (CMO) sources said. Fresh spell of rain in TN ........................ Meanwhile, a fresh spell of heavy rain is in store in some areas of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Puducherry with a low pressure area forming over south Andaman sea, which is "very likely" to become a depression over the Bay of Bengal. The system is likely to move towards Tamil Nadu and south Andhra Pradesh in the next three to four days, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said. With 'Ockhi' wreaking havoc in South Tamil Nadu, the Tamil Nadu government said it will soon seek central funds for the damage caused by the cyclone. This was conveyed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi by Chief Minister K Palaniswami during a telephone conversation between the two leaders last night, a state government release said. Palaniswami also discussed the situation with Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh. He told Singh that Kanyakumari and Tirunelveli had suffered the worst damage, and detailed the relief work being carried out in "full swing" there, a release said. The state government requested the Centre to deploy helicopters of the Indian Navy and Coast Guard to search and rescue missing fishermen, mostly from Kanyakumari. In Kanyakumari, power supply had been restored even as efforts are on to resume power supply in neighbouring areas like Nagercoil and Kuzhithurai. Palaniswami has announced Rs 25 crore for expediting relief and restoration work in the district. Kanyakumari, besides Tirunelveli, had borne the brunt of Ochki cyclone, which uprooted hundreds of trees and crippled normal life. The Coast Guard rescued 198 fishermen and 18 fishing boats of Tamil Nadu off the Western coast. According to an official release, 18 fishing boats and 198 fishermen from Tamil Nadu have taken shelter in the Lakshadweep and Minicoy Group of Islands (western coast). In Kanyakumari, family members of missing fishermen staged a sit-in before state ministers R B Udhaya Kumar and P Thangamani for a while. Vijayan said as many as 531 fishermen, stranded in the choppy waters off the Kerala and Lakshadweep coasts due to Cyclone Ockhi, have been rescued. The Kerala government has announced a compensation of Rs 10 lakh to the next of kin of those who lost their lives in the cyclonic storm. Twentynine relief camps have been set up to accommodate those marooned in coastal areas. Strong winds touching 60-70 kmph today pounded the Union Territory of Lakshadweep where 1,047 people have been shifted to 31 relief camps. "It is cloudy and strong winds touching 60-70 kmph is blowing with the worst-affected islands being Minicoy and Kalpeni," an official said. Minicoy island received 14cm of rain in the last 24 hours ending at 0830 this morning, Met department sources said. Coconut trees have been uprooted at various places and houses damaged in eastern Kalpeni and Minicoy, sources said, adding the extent of the damage was being assessed. The breakwater jetty, embarkation and disembarkation point of ships have been damaged at Kalpeni from where at least 200 people have been shifted to safer places. Vijayan said so far 393 people from Kerala have been rescued. Besides, 138 fishermen have been rescued from the Lakshadweep islands, he said. Strong winds with speed touching 100-110 kmph and 45-55 kmph are likely to batter the Lakshadweep and Kerala coasts respectively during the next 24 hours under the influence of cyclonic storm 'Ockhi', a MeT bulletin said. Squally wind with speed reaching 45-55 kmph, gusting to 65 kmph, is very likely along the Kerala coast during the next 24 hours. Stepping up their efforts, the Indian Navy and the Coast Guard continued search for missing fishermen using ships, dornier aircraft and helicopters in the sea off Kerala and Lakshadweep. While INS Nireekshak, INS Jamuna and INS Sagardhwani are continuing search and rescue operations in their designated areas along the coast off Vizhinjam in Thiruvananthapuram and Kollam, INS Shardul and INS Sharda are heading towards Lakshadweep. INS Sagardhwani recovered one body, 30 km off the Thiruvananthapuram coast. The ship had earlier found another body, a defence spokesperson said. Fifteen fishermen rescued by the Coast Guard are being brought to the Thiruvananthapuram coast, the official said. Four fishermen were rescued by a Navy chopper this morning, 20 miles off Kochi. A report from Thiruvanathapuram said families of fishermen, who are yet to return, expressed their anguish and protested by blocking roads at various places. The women said they were waiting with prayers and tears for their beloved ones to return. The state chief minister met some injured fishermen, who were rescued from the choppy waters, at the medical college hospital in Thiruvanathapuram and enquired about their well- being. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Punjab Documentation and Advocacy Project (PDAP), an NGO, today claimed that they have found over 8,000 people going "disappeared" during 1980 till 1995 in Punjab and demanded an independent judicial commission to probe the matter. Satnam Singh Bains, representing PDAP, claimed that they have identified and documented hundreds of victims who were allegedly "cremated as unclaimed unidentified" and killed in "fake encounters". "In our seven-year long investigation, we have identified 8,257 persons from different sources who disappeared from 1980 to 1995 in Punjab," he claimed. Bains said the records pertaining to "disappeared" people were collected by visiting villages, meeting victims' family members and also from media reports. "The latest report is a further step in the long struggle by people of Punjab for justice and accountability for victims and for their kin," Bains said. Retired Bombay High Court judge Justice Suresh, who was also present, said, "people disappeared. They (their families) have the right to know why they disappeared. They have the right to know why human right violations took place." People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) national convener Kavita Srivastava, while speaking on the occasion, sought formation of a judicial commission under retired sitting judge of the Supreme Court to probe the "disappearance" of the people. Bains said they will soon move to the Supreme Court with the findings of their report and demand detailed investigation in the matter. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) All-India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi today alleged that the Congress and BJP were indulging in "sectarian" politics in poll-bound Gujarat by "ignoring" the interests of Muslims. "All are going to temples. All are writing that I am Hindu, I am Brahmin. But if there is anybody who is most backward, after adivasis, it is Muslim. "But, there is no voice. Patels have got their leader, OBCs have got their leader. Dalits have got their leader. If there is any community without no leader, it is us," the Hyderabad MP said. Owaisi, addressing a meeting here on the occasion of Milad-un-Nabi, found fault with the BJP and Congress for not giving tickets to Muslim candidates in adequate numbers. "(It is) 182 assembly in Gujarat. Do you know how many Muslim MLAs are there? Two. Who is responsible for this? Me? Did I cut votes there? "Congress gave tickets to seven Muslims in the last elections. Now they have given it to only six. Patels are 13 per cent in Gujarat. BJP gave tickets to 49 Patels and Congress to 45. We are 11 per cent in Gujarat. The difference is only two per cent. If this is not sectarianism, what is? We are fighting against this sectarianism," Owaisi said. Patels are given reservation in Gujarat, but Muslims are not, he claimed, asking people to pray for BJP's defeat in Gujarat. The home state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi will go to polls on December 9 and December 14. Talking about the results of civic body polls in Uttar Pradesh, Owaisi said his party was successful on 32 seats, whereas the Congress could only win 19. "Uttar Pradesh's civic election result has come out. The AIMIM has won 32 seats. How many did 100-year-old Congress win? Only 19," he said. Taking exception to criticism against him of cutting into the votes (of non-BJP parties), Owaisi said the Congress was not successful even in Amethi, a party stronghold and Rahul Gandhi's Lok Sabha constituency. "(We) won 32 and you 19. Whose votes were cut now?" he asked. "You do not have the strength to take on Modi. You do not have the political thought to take on Modi. You do not have stamina, you do not have strategy," he said in a reference to the Congress. The BJP swept the Uttar Pradesh civic polls yesterday pocketing 14 of the 16 mayoral seats. The Congress faced the embarrassment of losing in its bastion Amethi, the Lok Sabha constituency of its vice president Rahul Gandhi, who is expected to be soon elevated as party chief. Claiming that there were 20 lakh abandoned Hindu women, Owaisi wanted to know whether the central government would come to their rescue. Referring to former US president Barack Obama's remarks that minorities in India must be "nourished", the AIMIM leader said his party had been saying the same thing for decades. On the reported comments of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath that Taj Mahal did not represent India's culture, Owaisi said that he wanted to ask the BJP why did Modi attend the dinner along with US President Donald Trump's adviser Ivanka Trump and others at Hyderabad's Falaknuma Palace during their recent visit to the city. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley today dismissed Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi's temple visits amid Gujarat poll campaign, saying when the original Hindutva party was available, people would reject its "clone". The Union Finance minister also launched an attack on the previous UPA government, which was led by Manmohan Singh. The former prime minister was also present in Surat today. "We (BJP) are linked to Hinduism, if people imitate us then what can we do. But the basic principle is, if the original is available, why would people go for a clone?" Jaitley said while replying to questions about Gandhi's temple visits. He alleged that the Singh-led government which ruled for 10 years was the "most corrupt government". "It was a leaderless government. It was said that the then prime minister is in office, but not in power. Policy paralysis was the order of the day," the BJP leader said. "In 1980, Gujarat had seen that when politics of social polarisation was practised, the agenda of the state changed. But when the BJP government came to power, the state left the politics of social polarisation," he said. "Gujarat paid a huge political cost in 1980s. The Congress is today attempting to bring back the same old politics. This social polarisation results in division on the basis of caste. It will be a policy diversion from development," Jaitley said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Police detained three Congress workers tonight outside the residence of Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani here when a mob of opposition party workers rushed there, after brother of Congress candidate Indranil Rajyaguru was injured in scuffle with BJP workers. Those detained include Rajkot West Congress candidate Rajyaguru, Rajkot East Congress candidate Mitul Donga and another party worker, police said. Police also indulged in baton charge to disperse the mob. Rupani is contesting polls from his Rajkot West seat against Rajyaguru. Elections will be held in Rajkot on December 9. "Scuffle broke out between Congress and BJP workers over the issue of tearing of posters. Brother of Rajyaguru, Deep was injured in the the scuffle," Joint Commissioner of police Dipak Bhatt told reporters. Injured Congress workers were taken to City private hospital. "Rajyaguru with a large group of Congress workers rushed to the residence of Rupani. We tried to reason it out with him but they wanted to take law in their hand," Bhatt said. "We have detained three people so far", he said adding that they used necessary force to control the situation. Rupani was at his residence when the incident took place. Heavy police security has been put in place at the residence of the chief minister. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A 27-year-old property dealer was allegedly shot dead by miscreants in a village here, police said today. Vinod Kumar was killed last evening in Buada Khurd village. Kumar's body and his two-wheeler were found in a forest area, they said. The police suspect old enmity as the reason behind his killing. The body has been sent for an autopsy and a probe was on. In another incident, a 25-year-old man was allegedly poisoned to death by his two friends at Jaibhagwanpur village under Chapar police station in the district yesterday. The police was investigating the matter. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The steady drum beat of people dying from overdoses plays on, and the pace is quickening. A person died from an overdose roughly once every two weeks in Cumberland County in 2013. A person has died from an overdose once every four days so far in the county in 2017. Last year, 66 people died of drug overdoses in Cumberland County, according to Coroner Charley Hall. As of Nov. 8, that number sits at 74 and climbing for the county this year. Current policies have not stemmed the rising tide of deaths attributed to opiates and, to some degree, may have contributed to it. In February, former Pennsylvania Physician General Dr. Carrie DeLone told The Sentinel that an increase in deaths from heroin overdoses was expected with the implementation of the states prescription drug monitoring program and efforts to restrict over-prescribing painkillers like OxyContin. If current policy has not solved the overdose crisis, is there a different approach? Harm reduction Harm reduction is basically the idea of understanding where people are and to move them away from more risk to less risk, said Leo Beletsky, associate professor of law and health sciences at Northeastern University School of Law. Youre trying to move people away from more risk and more harm towards less risk and less harm. Harm reduction policies are not exclusive to drug use. Easy access to condoms, which has been shown to reduce sexually transmitted diseases, is an example of non-drug-use harm reduction response to a public health issue, Beletsky said. These policies aim to reduce the risk and harm of drug use through things like the proliferation of the overdose reversing drug Naloxone, implementation of safe consumption facilities and easy access to medication-assisted treatment like methadone and Suboxone. Weve often had a little bit of puritanical approach to things where we assume that just by wishing that something didnt exist that can make it go away, Beletsky said. Like the fact that teens have sex or the fact that people use illegal drugs, these kinds of simple facts of life, we can just acknowledge they exist. Once we acknowledge that they exist, we can help people figure out how to make healthier choices. Naloxone One of the only harm-reduction policies that has gained widespread use in Pennsylvania is the proliferation of naloxone, sometimes referred to by the brand name Narcan. Naloxone is a drug that is administered to a person in the midst of an overdose to reverse the effects of opiates. Policymakers have made access to naloxone easier as the overdose crisis has worsened. Recently, lawmakers made it easier for law enforcement officers to carry the overdose-reversing drug, and Gov. Tom Wolf announced efforts to allow residents to buy the drug at most pharmacies. We need to be the Band-Aid with naloxone so the other pieces work too. Recovery is a multistep, long-term process, Cumberland Goodwill EMS Assistant Chief Nathan Harig said. I understand that many people are looking for the quick fix, but the quick fix of pain relief through opioids caused this crisis. Cumberland Goodwill EMS has administered more than 170 doses of naloxone so far this year to nearly 100 patients, according to Harig. Even as naloxone is being lauded for saving lives across the state and the country, some residents have grown weary after hearing stories about people being revived multiple times. A let-them-die attitude has cropped up in some circles with claims that the proliferation of naloxone makes people more willing to use illicit drugs. However, there is little evidence that this happens, according to the National Institute of Drug Abuse. The human condition is imperfect, which is why we have health care at all, Harig said. If people want to take this approach that they did this to themselves as justification for sentencing someone to death, then there is a long line of call types that we should stop responding to. The moment Im told Im no longer to show mercy, to no longer be a patient advocate for all patients no matter what their history, to let people die because I feel superior to them, thats when I turn in my certification as a paramedic, he said. Safe injection sites Illicit drug supplies are, by their very nature, not subject to any of the quality controls that prescription and legal drug sales go through. This means the contents and potency of a bag of heroin can be drastically different from one sale to the next. With the introduction of drugs like fentanyl into illicit drug markets, the consequences can be deadly. But beyond those concerns, illicit drug use, including intravenous drug use, is inherently risky. One possible solution is the implementation of safe consumption facilities, which are clinical settings where people can use illicit drugs with support from medical personnel. We know they help reduce overdose, Beletsky said. We know they help reduce the spread of infectious disease. We know they help reduce street-based drug use. There is some evidence that they help reduce crime as well. The first government-sanctioned safe consumption facility in North America was opened in Vancouver in 2003. Again, Beletsky said one of the main pushbacks against safe consumption facilities is the argument that they will encourage more people to use drugs, something he said is not supported by empirical evidence. Its problematic to base your policies and programs on flawed understanding of what are the drivers of human behavior, Beletsky said. In the case of safe consumption facilities there is no evidence that these kinds of facilities encourage people to use drugs. According to an article published in the peer-reviewed journal Substance Abuse Treatment, Prevention, and Policy in 2006, the safe injection facility in Vancouver did not lead to an increase in drug trafficking or traditionally drug-related crimes. However, following the implementation, other crimes like vehicle break-ins declined, according to the report. Other research has found safe consumption facilities may help reduce drug use by assisting people with substance-use disorder treatment access. There are no safe consumption facilities in the United States. But a few cities, including Seattle, Washington, have expressed interest. During the campaign, Philadelphia District Attorney-elect Larry Krasner expressed support for safe consumption facilities in his jurisdiction. Raipur police arrested 2343panchayat teachers from different parts of Chhattisgarhs capital as they arrived to participate in an agitation to put forward their demands to the state government. The teachers were held from the outskirts of the city, railway stations, bus stands since midnight and were housed in 12 makeshift jails set up at different grounds in the city, police said. The demands include the merger of the panchayat teachers with those of the state education department and salary parity with the latter. The Raipur district administration had alreadyimposed Section 144 of CrPc restrictingany sort of rally, meeting, ceremony or protest at the place of protest and its vicinity. As many as 2343 teachers, including their leaders - Virendra Dubey and Kedar Jain- were held from separate places under preventive measures, Raipur Additional Superintendent of Police Vijay Agrawal toldPTI. Almost all the teachers were released by the evening except their leaders, he added. The teachers have been protesting since November 20 across the state and today's protest was supposed to be a state-level one for which teachers from across the state were asked to come to Raipur. Despite the arrests, thousands of teachers still managed to reach the Idgah Bhata grounds for the protests. Protesting teachers told reporters that they would continue the strike and would decide further plans if their talk with the government fails. Earlier today, statespanchayat and rural development minister Ajay Chandrakar said that government was ready to talk on all the demands of teachers except merging them in regular posts with education department. The minister also said that a group of teachers is expected to meet himon Sundayfor discussion. Meanwhile, the main opposition Congress has come out in support of striking teachers. State Congress chief Bhupesh Baghel who met the striking teachers said that the state government's use of the police to supress the protests was "inappropriate" in a democracy. He said that the Congress party will observe a day long bandh on December 5 in support of demands of panchayat teachers. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Congress vice-president on Saturday took to Twitter to question Prime Minister Narendra Modi over low government spending on education in the BJP-ruled Gujarat. Posing the fourth question in the series "a question a day", Gandhi asked, "Why is Gujarat on the 26th position with regard to spending on government education? What wrong has the youth of the state done?" The Congress leader, who is leading his party's poll campaign in the western state, accused the prime minister of "commercialising education at the cost of government schools and institutions and hitting students hard with fee hikes". "How will the dream of a 'New India' be realised this way," Gandhi asked Modi, who has been canvassing for votes for his party for the assembly polls. The tagline of his posers to the prime minister is "22 salon ka hisaab, Gujarat mange jawaab (Gujarat demands answers for 22 years of BJP rule". Gandhi earlier asked Modi why public money was "squandered" in purchasing power at higher rates from private companies in Gujarat. He also asked why the people of Gujarat should pay up for the "financial mismanagement" and publicity by him. He asked whether it will take 45 more years to provide new houses to Gujaratis as the incumbent BJP government in the state has provided only 4.72 lakh houses in the last five years against the promised 50 lakh. Gujarat, the home state of Modi and BJP president Amit Shah goes to polls in two phases on December 9 and December 14. The upcoming Goa Arts and Literature Festival (GALF) will seeeminent historian Ramchandra Guha delivering the keynote address at the inauguration ceremony here on December 7. "The inaugural function will also see unveiling of the official artwork of GALF 2017 prepared by well-known Goan artist Hanuman Kambli," a press release from the organisers said. GALF 2017 is organised by The International Centre Goa in association with Goa Writers, with support from the North Eastern Council, Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region and Directorate of Art and Culture, Government of Goa. Writers and artists from Brazil, Canada, Ireland, Singapore, the UK and USA, among other countries, would be attending the festival. Illustrious writers from India who would be participating include Sahitya Akademi Award winners Ganesh Devy, Ramchandra Guha, Jerry Pinto and Ranjit Hoskote. Also, the North Eastern Council would be sending several writers from that region, the organisers said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Two organisations working for survivors of the Bhopal Gas Tragedy have written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi requesting him to get the toxic waste lying in the defunct Union Carbide factory here removed under the 'Swachh Bharat Abhiyan' (SBA). Bhopal Gas Peedith Mahila Udyog Sanghathan (BGPMUS) and Bhopal Gas Peedith Sangharsh Sahayog Samiti (BGPSSS) have made the request in a letter sent to Modi on November 30. "It is inexplicable as to why the issue of the urgent need for cleaning up the highly toxic spots in and around the former pesticide factory of Union Carbide India Ltd (UCIL) at Bhopal is not a vital part of that (SBA) campaign," they said in the letter. Toxic gas spewed from the Carbide factory on the intervening night of December 2-3, 1984, killing thousands of people and gravely affecting about 5,50,000 others. "Kindly direct the officials concerned to take requisite steps to re-mediate the polluted environment (including 1,10,000 tons of contaminated soil alone) by seeking necessary technical help from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)," stated the letter. Abdul Jabbar Khan, convener of BGPMUS and N D Jayaprakash, co-convener of BGPSSS, wrote the letter. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Powerful storms with heavy rains have killed at least 13 people in Sri Lanka, as a strong cyclone, which has wreaked havoc in southern India and posed threat to it, moved away from the island nation today. The severe weather conditions started on Wednesday night as gusty winds and rains battered parts of the country, and have so far affected more than 77,000 people, officials said. Power supply, essential services and air traffic was disrupted in the stormy weather that left several buildings damaged and trees uprooted in its wake. Five people have been reported "missing" and at least 13 people killed since Wednesday night due to rains and storm, the police said. The Ambalangoda region in southern Sri Lanka has recorded the maximum number of these deaths at four, they said. According to the police, around 4,000 people were being housed in temporary relief camps in Ambalangoda. The high winds and persistent rains which hit the island nation on Wednesday later developed into cyclone 'Ockhi', which has affected parts in southern Indian states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala and caused loss to life and property. Sri Lanka's department of meteorology today announced that 'Ockhi' is now located some 850-km to the west of the island and is moving further away. "Hence its effect for the country is expected to be lessen gradually," it said in a statement. The department said "fairly heavy rains" or thundershowers were expected later today in Western, Sabaragamuwa and Central provinces, while "strong gusty winds" in Ratnapura, Kaluthara and Galle districts. Addressing Parliament on Thursday, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe had said that he had directed officials to pay each family affected by bad weather rupees 10,000 as emergency assistance. The military was also deployed to assist in the rescue and recovery operations in the wake of the severe weather conditions. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Union School Education Secretary Anil Swarup today termed the sexual assault of a four-year-old girl at the G D Birla Centre for Education as "unfortunate" but said the Centre had no role to play in matters related to private schools in the states. The state government would have to look into the incident as the the Centre had no control over the matters of private schools, Swarup told reporters here. "The incident is really unfortunate. The state governments give registration to these private schools and the Centre has no role here," he said. There were a handful of government schools across the country over which the Centre had control, he said. The four-year-old girl was sexually assaulted in a toilet of the premier private school here and two physical training teachers were arrested following protests by parents. Swarup said there was a need to look at the pre-school system of education which has so far not developed in the country. He was impressed by a city pre-school and Swarup said there was need to look into its model. He also stressed on the need to weed out mafias in education. "When I was the coal secretary I saw the mines were underground and the mafias above. In education, I find the mafias are underground in the form of B.Ed and D.Ed colleges", he said. Recently, the National Council of Teachers Education (NCTE) was asked to seek affidavits from 16,000 B.Ed colleges across the country but only 12,000 of them responded, he said. Swarup said bogus colleges were giving away degrees by taking money but they carried no value. "We show-caused 1000 of them", he said. Teachers are the pivot in the education system, he said and favoured a central examination for ranking them in terms of performance. This is in the discussion process, he said. There was also need for a total change in the induction curriculum, Swarup said adding that the NCERT and CBSE were working on it. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia has written to BJP president Amit Shah, seeking a survey by an independent agency to compare the work done in the education sector by the AAP government in Delhi and BJP- ruled states. Leader of Opposition in the Delhi Assembly Vijender Gupta had recently alleged the AAP government's "tall claims" of working "wonders" in the area of school education in Delhi were "hollow". The deputy CM, who also holds the education portfolio, said he was "happy" that the BJP, which raised "divisive" issues such as "gau raksha and mandir-masjid", had been "forced" to talk about education. "This is good for politics in the country," he wrote. Only Delhi spent one-fourth of its budget on education, held elections for school management committees and sent teachers and principals to Singapore and Cambridge, Sisosdia claimed. He asked Shah to select a state ruled by the BJP for the past 10-15 years so that the work done by it in the field of education could be compared with the achievements of the AAP government in Delhi. He sought an independent survey of the schools run by the BJP-ruled municipal corporations in Delhi. "Your party has been ruling the municipal corporations for the past 15 years. A survey by an independent agency will tell where they stand," he wrote. This "healthy competition" will not only benefit children but other states and political parties will also learn from it and the political discourse will shift from "non issues" to areas like health and education, he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Saturday said the government is planning to curb the imports of petroleum coke, also known as 'pet coke', which is believed to be a major polluter. The statement follows reports that US-based oil refineries are exporting pet coke -- a carbon-rich solid material derived from oil refining -- to India as there aren't many takers for it in their country. "Recently the Supreme Court banned the use of pet coke in three states surrounding the Delhi-NCR. Consumption of pet coke is around 25 million tonnes in our country. Of this, around 13 million tonnes is produced by Indian refineries (rest is imported)," said Pradhan at a press conference in Ahmedabad. Asked about his plans for reducing the imports as well as the use of pet coke, Pradhan said a policy is being framed by various stakeholder ministries to put curbs on its imports. Pet coke does not cause pollution if it is used as fuel in certain industries such as cement production, the minister said. "At present, the ministry of petroleum along with ministries of environment, commerce and some other ministries are framing a policy to increase restrictions on imports of pet coke. We are planning to implement a system to stop imports and use home-produced pet coke for non-polluting sectors, such as cement production," he said. Giving details of ongoing work by ONGC in Kutch Offshore Basin, Pradhan said the basin, near the Gujarat coast, would produce nearly three million metric standard cubic meter per day of gas for the next 15 years. "It is a significant discovery. ONGC is carrying out exploratory work in the basin for the last one year. This is a Rs 2,500 crore project, which would produce 3 MMCM per day for the next 15 years," he said. Lakshmi Mittal, the head of global steel giant ArcelorMittal, today called on West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at her residence here. Mittal's visit is believed to be in response to Banerjee meeting him in London last month. During her half-an-hour-long meeting with the chairman and CEO of the world's biggest steelmaker, the CM is believed to have invited the billionaire industrialist to invest in Bengal. Although no comments were available from either side, it is believed that Mittal, who was accompanied by his wife, was invited to attend the Global Bengal Business Summit in Kolkata in January, besides discussion on possible investment plans in the state. The Luxembourg-based ArcelorMittal has a design and engineering centre at Salt Lake-Sector V in the city, which provides consultancy services to steel firms. Mittal, 67, graduated from St Xavier's College in Kolkata in 1969. The style tycoon had last visited the city on July 7 this year to inaugurate the Lakshmi and Usha Mittal Foundation Building at New Town, Rajarhat. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A large number of Bhopal Gas Tragedy survivors today marched, holding burning torches in hand, to a memorial of the world's worst industrial disaster on its 33rd anniversary this evening here. They paid homage to those who died in the tragedy at the memorial statue in front of the now-defunct Union Carbide factory. Residents of Old City area, which is next to the factory, where the groundwater is said to be contaminated by hazardous chemical waste lying on the factory premises, were also part of the march. Leaders of five survivors' organisations, Rashida Bi, Nawab Khan, Balkrishna Namdeo, Satinath Sarange, Rachna Dhingra and Sarit Malviya, addressed the gathering, and demanded adequate compensation, clean-up of hazardous waste lying in the factory premises, rehabilitation of survivors and exemplary punishment for Union Carbide and Dow Chemical (which later took over Union Carbide). The two-km march from Sindhi Colony to the factory was organised by five NGOs -- Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Stationery Karmachari Sangh, Bhopal Gas Peedit Nirashrit Pensionbhogee Sangharsh Morcha, Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Purush Sangharsh Morcha, Bhopal Group for Information and Action and Children Against Dow /Carbide. Toxic gas which leaked from Union Carbide's pesticide factory in Bhopal on the intervening night of December 2-3, 1984 killed over 3,000 people and maimed thousands of others. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Rotary Club of Carlisle and the Rotary Club of Carlisle-Sunrise will host their annual holiday dinner and fundraising event Dec. 8 at the Comfort Suites in Carlisle. Proceeds from the auction will benefit the Cumberland County Historical Societys pocket park adjacent to its building at 21 N. Pitt St. The new park includes benches, trees, a walking path and landmark lines pointing in the direction of historical attractions throughout the county. It is designed to both enhance the Historical Societys visibility and create an outdoor location for people to rest in the downtown. It also will be a setting for outdoor lectures, concerts and history programs, said Jason Illari, executive director of the Cumberland County Historical Society. Funds raised at the Rotary auction will support their themed project called Rest and Refresh. The rest aspect of the project is the purchase of four hardwood benches that will provide a place to sit and relax. The refresh aspect will be Rotary labeled bottles of water providing facts about water around the world. Signs in the park will direct visitors inside the Historical Societys building for free water compliments of the Rotary Clubs. Signs near the refrigerator will provide facts about Rotarys clean water focus internationally. Carlisles two Rotary clubs have each been engaged in separate international projects for years, bringing clean water to those in need, said Rena Geesaman, president of the Carlisle Sunrise Club. Amazingly, over the past 15 years the clubs have raised over $270,000 to support international water projects in both Africa and Central America. Now we are teaming up to provide a local solution right here at home, to encourage proper hydration and create a restful atmosphere in which to enjoy a drink of pure water. The Rest and Refresh project allows us to share our story regarding one of Rotarys six areas of focus, which is providing clean water, sanitation and hygiene, said Kathleen Stoup, president of the Carlisle Rotary Club. Rotary International has set a goal to provide everyone with safe water, sanitation and hygiene by 2030. Much work still needs to be done and the Rest and Refresh brochures provided through this project will inform the community of the ongoing efforts of Carlisle Rotarians to achieve this goal. Rotarians Larenda Twigg and Marv Salsman have taken the lead in soliciting support from the community, said Bill Blankmeyer, the fundraising chair for the auction. Tax-deductible donations can be made to Carlisle Rotary Club Foundation. Checks to support the project should be made out to Carlisle Rotary Club Foundation and mailed to Carlisle Rotary Club, P.O. Box 301, Carlisle, Pa. 17013. Questions regarding the auction should be directed to Blankmeyer at (717) 590-7229. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj today made a stopover at Tehran on her way back from Russia, and held a luncheon meeting with her Iranian counterpart Javed Zarif during which issues of mutual interests were discussed. Swaraj was returning from the Russian city of Sochi where she attended the annual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). "Reinforcing our traditionally close and civilizational linkages, EAM @SushmaSwaraj had a luncheon meeting with the Foreign Minister of Iran Dr. Javad Zarif in #Tehran. Both sides discussed issues of mutual interest," External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted. The two ministers are understood to have reviewed the implementation of the Chabahar port project in which India is a key partner. Over a month ago, India had sent its first consignment of wheat to Afghanistan by sea through the Chabahar port in Iran, which was seen as a "landmark" move to operationalise a new strategic transit route among the three countries bypassing Pakistan. The port is likely to ramp up trade between India, Afghanistan and Iran in the wake of Pakistan denying transit access to New Delhi for trade with the two countries. Besides bilateral issues, Swaraj and Zarif are understood to have deliberated on regional situation and political developments in the Gulf region. India is looking to increase engagement with Iran by raising oil imports and possible shipments of natural gas and the issue is believed to have figured in the meeting. Swaraj had paid a bilateral visit to Iran in April last year during which both sides had decided to significantly expand engagement in their overall ties, particularly in boosting Indian investment in joint ventures in oil and gas sectors. On her stopover, MEA officials said it was a technical stopover and not an unscheduled one. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj today made a previously unannounced stopover at Tehran on her way back from Russia and held a luncheon meeting with her Iranian counterpart Javed Zarif, a day before inauguration of the strategically-important Chabahar port. Swaraj was returning from the Russian city of Sochi where she attended the annual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). The external affairs ministry said Swaraj and Zarif discussed various aspects of India-Iran relations and ways to strengthen these during the meeting, besides exchanging views on regional and global developments of mutual interest. The meeting came a day before the inauguration of the Chabahar port in Iran by the country's President Hassan Rouhani. The port will operationalise a new strategic transit route among India, Afghanistan and Iran, bypassing Pakistan. "Both sides positively reviewed the initiatives undertaken since the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Iran in May 2016 including cooperation in Chabahar Port which will be inaugurated by the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran Hassan Rouhani tomorrow at presence of ministers from India, Afghanistan and the region," said the ministry. The two ministers are understood to have reviewed the implementation of the Chabahar port project in which India is a key partner. Over a month ago, India had sent its first consignment of wheat to Afghanistan by sea through the Chabahar port in Iran. The port is likely to ramp up trade among India, Afghanistan and Iran in the wake of Pakistan denying transit access to New Delhi for trade with the two countries. Besides bilateral issues, Swaraj and Zarif are understood to have deliberated on political developments in the Gulf region. "Both ministers also exchanged views on regional and global developments of mutual interest," the external affairs ministry said. India is looking to increase engagement with Iran by raising oil imports and possible shipments of natural gas and the issue is believed to have figured in the meeting. Swaraj had paid a bilateral visit to Iran in April last year during which both sides had decided to significantly expand engagement in their overall ties, particularly in boosting Indian investment in joint ventures in oil and gas sectors. MEA officials said it was a technical stopover and not an unscheduled one. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Syrian air defences intercepted and destroyed at least two Israeli missiles fired at a government "military position" in Damascus province, the state SANA agency reported today. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitor of the war, said the missiles, presumably Israeli, targeted "positions of the Syrian regime and its allies" southwest of Damascus. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A fleet of 50 buses of Tata Motors today joined the Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation. Tata Motors said the new delivery of 50 buses is a part of the larger order of 1,385 buses bagged by Tata Motors earlier this year, comprising 350 Ultra 6/9 BS IV Midi and1035 LPO 1512/55 BS IV buses. Transport Minister H M Revanna, Health and Familywelfare Minister K R Ramesh Kumar, along with officials fromBMTC and Tata Motors were present at the handover ceremony, the company said in a release here. Sandeep Kumar, Head-sales and Marketing -Passenger, Commercial Vehicle Business Unit, Tata Motors said, "With the successful delivery of 50 new buses, we at Tata Motors take great pride in our continued association with BMTC." "We will continue to partner with STUs across the country to enhance end user needs, which will further help boost our efforts towards innovations in the public transport space," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Telangana government today entered into an agreement with a private company to set up an information technology facility which would work for creating employment opportunities for persons with disabilities. A state government release said that the Telangana government had entered into an agreement with the Vindhya E-Infomedia Private Limited to set up an Information Technology (IT) campus focussed on creating employment opportunity for persons with disabilities. The release added that the proposed IT campus would be spread over 10 acres and would come up at the IT Park near the Hyderabad international airport. The proposed campus would have amenities for training and as well as residential facilities and delivery centres, it said. State IT Principal Secretary Jayesh Ranjan urged persons with disabilities to make the most of the opportunity, the release added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Three Greater Noida police personnel were suspended today for allegedly misbehaving with an employee of a multinational company. The MNC employee was returning home after work late last night when the policemen, who were in an inebriated condition, stopped him and misbehaved with him. A crowd gathered at the spot and senior police officials were informed. SSP Love Kumar said, "During initial investigation, the policemen were found prima facie guilty. The circle officer concerned has been directed to conduct an inquiry and submit report. Constables Mahinder Singh, Sundar Lal and Dhananjay Singh have been suspended. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The two physical training instructors, who were arrested in connection with the sexual assault of a four-year-old student in G D Birla Centre for Education, were today remanded in police custody for two days by a Kolkata court. Guardians of the schools' students had held a 16-hour protest yesterday till past midnight demanding the arrest of the two teachers and steps against the Principal, S Nath for alleged inaction. The teachers and the principal were escorted out of the school by the police. The gaurdians today organised a rally outside the school, where a similar incident had taken place three years ago, demanding justice for the victim, enhanced security for students and a meeting with the principal. The two physical training instructors were produced before a city court during the day, a senior officer of the Kolkata Police said. "Both the accused have been booked under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act which is non- bailable. The court gave a two-day remand till Monday when the two will be produced before a special court," the officer said. Noting that the police were looking for certain answers in connection with the case, he said, "We need to find out whether this was the first child that these two accused have abused or they had done so earlier also. We also need to find out whether there were other teachers involved in the case," a senior officer said. The West Bengal Board of Secondary Education (WBBSE), in its report to the education department on its findings, has highlighted "drawbacks of the infrastructure". A three-member team of the WBBSE was formed yesterday after the education department ordered a probe into the incident that took place on Thursday in the school toilet and came to light yesterday. It had visited the school yesterday evening, its administrator Kalyanmoy Ganguly said. Union School Education Secretary Anil Swarup termed the incident as "unfortunate" and said the Centre has no role to play in matters relating to private schools in the states. The state government would have to look into the incident, he told newsmen. "The incident is really unfortunate. The state governments give registration to these private schools and the Centre has no role here," he said, adding there were a handful of government schools across the country over which the Centre has control. Krishnendu Mukherjee, one of the protesting guardians, said, "We want immediate resignation of the principal and the teacher who had described the accused as 'naughty boys' before the media yesterday." A guardians' forum will be set up by tomorrow and all grievances will be channelised through that platform, he said adding, "If our demands are not met, we will intensify our protests from Monday." The G D Birla Centre for Education had said in a statement yesterday that the school's management was fully cooperating with the police in their investigation. "The school management will take necessary and proper action after the investigations are over," it said, adding the WBBSE has also been apprised of the matter. West Bengal Education Minister Partha Chatterjee had said he was looking into the incident with "utmost seriousness". "I have no words to condemn the incident. Strongest punishment should be given to those responsible for the incident," he added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) UAE officials today took former Egyptian premier and presidential hopeful Ahmed Shafiq from his Abu Dhabi home to be deported back to Egypt, two of his aides told AFP. The move comes days after Shafiq, in exile in the UAE since 2012, announced his candidacy in next year's election and then said he was being prevented from leaving the country, angering his Emirati hosts. Shafiq, a former army general appointed as prime minister by Hosni Mubarak, had narrowly lost an election to Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in 2012, a year after Mubarak's overthrow. He was placed on trial after the polls on corruption charges and acquitted, and one of Shafiq's lawyers said last year that he was free to return to Egypt. One aide said she witnessed officials arriving at the house and was told that Shafiq, seen as a main challenger to President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, would be deported to Egypt on board a private plane. "They took him from the house and put him on a private plane. They said he would go back to Cairo, because they can deport him only to his home country," she said. Another aide confirmed to AFP that he would be deported to Cairo, and his lawyer Dina Adly wrote on Facebook that Shafiq had been "arrested" to be sent home. An aide had previously said Shafiq would leave the UAE over the weekend for France and other European countries before returning to Egypt. After he announced his candidacy on Wednesday, pro- government media and some officials assailed Shafiq, who is seen as the only challenger to Sisi with even a remote chance of winning a large number of votes. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A court here today sent UK citizen Jagtar Singh Johal, arrested in connection with targeted killing cases in Punjab, to police remand for two days in the case of firing at an RSS Shakha in Kidwai Nagar. On January 18 last year, two persons had opened fire outside an RSS shakha in Kidwai Nagar. RSS worker Naresh Chauhan had a close shave and two the suspects had fled from the spot. He was sent to the police remand for two days in the case of firing at an RSS Shakha in Kidwai Nagar, the police said. Johal alias Jaggi was among five accused arrested in connection with the targeted killings, including that of RSS leader Jagdish Gagneja. Johal was apprehended from Jalandhar. The police had last month claimed to have solved the mystery behind the attacks on RSS Shakhas and the firing on Amit Arora, a Ludhiana based Hindu leader. Five incidents of targeted killings had taken place between April 2016 and February 2017. Punjab police has accused the UK citizen of conspiracy, coordination, funding and arranging of weapons for members of the Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF) module busted in connection with the targeted killings. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Britain's cybersecurity agency has told government departments not to use antivirus software from Moscow-based firm Kaspersky Lab amid concerns about Russian snooping. Ciaran Martin, head of the National Cyber Security Centre, said "Russia is acting against the UK's national interest in cyberspace." In a letter dated today to civil service chiefs, he said Russia seeks "to target UK central government and the UK's critical national infrastructure." He advised that "a Russia-based provider should never be used" for systems that deal with issues related to national security. The agency said it's not advising the public at large against using Kaspersky's popular antivirus products. Martin said British authorities are holding talks with Kaspersky about developing checks to prevent the "transfer of UK data to the Russian state." Kaspersky has denied wrongdoing and says it doesn't assist Russian cyberespionage efforts. In September, the US government barred federal agencies from using Kaspersky products because of concerns about the company's ties to the Kremlin and Russian spy operations. reports have since linked Kaspersky software to an alleged theft of cybersecurity information from the US National Security Agency. Britain has issued increasingly strong warnings about Russia's online activity. Martin said last month that Russian hackers had targeted the UK's media, telecommunications and energy sectors in the past year. US authorities are investigating alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election, and some British lawmakers have called for a similar probe into the UK's European Union membership referendum. Prime Minister Theresa May said last month that Russia was "weaponizing information" and meddling in elections to undermine the international order. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Fredericktown Police Department is investigating an incident which occurred Thanksgiving morning at the Battle of Fredericktown Civil War Museum. According to a post on the museum's Facebook page, a few individuals entered the museum and took several items valued in excess of $6,000. Site Administrator for the Battle of Fredericktown Museum Scott Bales said among the items taken were several guns, swords, a computer and printer and miscellaneous smaller items. "We have strived to provide the community with an accurate interpretation of the events that took place during the Civil War as it pertains to the Battle of Fredericktown," Bales said. "Unfortunately, the break-in that occurred on Thanksgiving has hindered that service and has affected more than just the museum. It has affected our entire community." Many people have expressed their anger on Facebook and the post has been shared 162 times. "The incident is currently under investigation," Fredericktown Police Chief Eric Hovis said. Bales has started a fundraiser on Facebook to raise money for a security system for the facility. "Due to the recent tragedy on Thanksgiving, we are in dire need of revamping the Museum's security system," Bales said on the fundraiser page. "We are clearly in need of video surveillance and display alarms." Bales went on to say, "As we seek to recover these items, the security of these and any new artifacts are of the utmost importance. The duty of the preservation of our history belongs to all of us. We will do the work, we simply ask for your financial support." He said any money raised through the fundraiser will be applied toward video surveillance equipment and the security of artifacts on display. All information concerning donations can be coordinated through Bates at 573-705-0422 or fhphistory@gmail.com If you have any information contact the Fredericktown Police Department at 573-783-3660. A day after the BJP swept the Uttar Pradesh civic polls, opposition parties today demanded that all elections in the future be held through ballot papers instead of electronic voting machines (EVMs). BSP chief Mayawati, who had in March raised doubts over EVMs after the assembly elections, threw an open challenge to the BJP to hold the 2019 Lok Sabha polls using ballot papers. Samajwadi Party (SP) spokesperson Rajendra Chaudhary alleged that the BJP again misused EVMs to win 14 mayoral contests and reiterated the demand that ballot paper be used in the future elections. SP national president Akhilesh Yadav tweeted: "BJP has only won 15 per cent seats in Ballot paper areas and 46 per cent in EVM areas." Though the BSP managed to bag two mayoral seats - Aligarh and Meerut, the SP and the Congress drew a blank. The BJP won 14 of the total 16 mayoral seats. Earlier in the morning, Mayawati said "with full confidence" that the saffron party would be defeated in the general elections due in 2019 if ballot papers were used in place of EVMs. "If the BJP claims that they enjoy the mandate of the people and the entire country is with them, then they should set aside EVMs and hold elections through ballot paper. And, I can say with full confidence that if the 2019 Lok Sabha polls are held using ballot paper, they (the BJP) will not come to power," Mayawati claimed. "We fought the urban local body polls in Uttar Pradesh on party symbol and I am happy to say that along with the Dalits, people belonging to backward castes, upper castes and minorities, especially Muslims, also voted for us in large numbers," she claimed. Mayawati alleged that the government machinery was "misused" in the urban local body polls. "Otherwise, more of our candidates would have become mayors in the state...and we would have won more seats," she said. Rajendra Chaudhary also slammed the BJP for "misusing official machinery" and alleged the party misinformed the masses about its victory in the elections. "The BJP claimed that it had won the civic polls when actually it had lost it," Chaudhary said, adding that of the total 654 candidates for mayoral seats and chairpersons of nagar palika and nagar panchayats, the BJP lost in 470 places. Of the total 11,994 BJP candidates for elections to municipal wards in the three-tier civic polls, 9,812 lost, he said. The Congress which once again failed to make a mark also compared the performance of the ruling party where elections were held through EVMs with those where ballot papers were used. Senior Congress leader Deepak Singh said, "The BJP won 14 out of the 16 mayoral seats in which elections were held using EVMs. But, it lost most of the seats where election was held using ballot paper." "The BJP (and its allies), which had won 73 out of the 80 Lok Sabha seats and 325 out of 403 assembly seats in UP, could manage to win only 184 out of 652 seats in the UP urban local body polls. This is barely 28 per cent, which is less than the passing percentage of 33. Then why there is so much of halla (noise) about this?" Singh said in a statement. Singh also said the results itself explain that the BJP's mandate in the urban local body elections had decreased, while the vote share of the Congress had gone up. The BJP, however, termed "baseless" the allegations of opposition parties pertaining to the misuse of official machinery. UP BJP chief Mahendra Nath Pandey said opposition parties were indulging in propaganda only to hide their disappointment following the electoral losses. In a statement issued by the UP BJP today, Pandey said, "The BSP mayoral candidates won in Aligarh and Meerut, where EVMs were used. And it was because of the EVMs that Mayawati came to power in 2007 in UP, while Akhilesh emerged victorious in 2012." "Misusing the official government machinery is actually part of the SP, BSP and Congress culture. The voters have given a befitting reply to the baseless allegations levelled by them. The three parties are indulging in this propaganda to hide their disappointment following the electoral losses," he added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) US Secretary of Defence Jim Mattis met Saturday with Egyptian officials to discuss cooperation between the two countries, the first stop on a trip that will also take him to Jordan, Pakistan and Kuwait. Mattis' visit came just over a week after the worst-ever Islamic militant attack in Egypt's modern history took place in the troubled northern Sinai where over two dozen extremists descended on a mosque and killed more than 300 worshippers. The attackers first opened fire and tossed hand grenades into the mosque during Friday prayers, then gunned down anyone who tried to escape. On Wednesday, the state-run Al-Ahram newspaper said the death toll from the attack had risen to 311. President Donald Trump called Egyptian President Abdel- Fattah el-Sissi shortly after the attack and said in a tweet that "the world cannot tolerate terrorism; we must defeat them militarily and discredit the extremist ideology." According to a Department of Defence statement, Mattis' visit was part of a five-day trip "to re-affirm the enduring US commitment to partnership in the Middle East, West Africa and South Asia." Mattis was scheduled to meet with el-Sissi and Defence Minister Sedki Sobhi. Mattis later departed for Jordan, where he was scheduled to attend a meeting on countering violent extremism in West Africa, hosted by Jordan's King Abdallah II. On Monday, Mattis will be visiting Pakistan where plans to meet with Prime Minister Abassi before concluding his trip with a visit to Kuwait the following day. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The US wants Pakistan to act in "its best interest" and take action against terror safe havens, James Mattis said today, ahead of his first visit to Islamabad as America's Defence Secretary. Mattis embarked on a four-nation tour yesterday which will take him to Egypt, Jordan, Pakistan and Kuwait. During the tour, he will re-affirm the US' enduring commitment to partnerships in the Middle East, West Africa and South Asia. "In Afghanistan, we have heard from Pakistan leaders that they do not support terrorism. So I expect to see that sort of action reflected in their policies," Mattis told reporters travelling with him to Egypt. "They have said that they do not support havens for any terrorists, and Pakistan has taken significant casualties - both innocent people and their army - significant casualties from them. So we expect them to act in their own best interest, and in support of peace and regional stability," he said. Mattis will visit Pakistan on Monday where he is expected to meet Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and Army Chief Qamar Javed Bajwa, the Pentagon said. "I'm making my first trip to Pakistan as secretary of defense...The US remains committed to a pragmatic relationship that expands cooperation on shared interests while reinforcing President Trump's call for action against terrorist safe havens," he said. Responding to a question on Pakistan's failure to take actions against terrorists, Mattis said Pakistan has to act in its own best interest. "They know this. In many cases, they are. But what we're looking for is to broaden the common ground and make certain that no terrorist organisation is seen as able to operate from a haven there," he said. Observing that 39 nations have troops on the ground in Afghanistan fighting terrorism, Mattis said the US was looking to make a common cause with them. "There's plenty of collaborative areas, right now, still in effect. There's been some areas that we have lost over the years, because of disagreements about what we need to do," he said. "So this is an effort by the new American administration, to go in and set the conditions for future collaboration that leads to reconciliation in Afghanistan and a denial of safe havens for any terrorist group that would attack anyone in the region or elsewhere in the world, which a number of countries have suffered from," Mattis said. On August 21, US President Donald Trump announced his South Asia strategy in which he had criticised Pakistan for providing safe havens to terrorists. Delhi's revenue department has issued vacation orders to 875 alleged illegal occupants settled on a Waqf Board property located at Darya Ganj in central Delhi. The order, dated November 28, issued by the Kotwali sub divisional magistrate (SDM) has given 15 days time to the alleged encroachers to leave the land occupied by them at the graveyard Taqia Kale Khan on Meer Dard Road. The order was issued under Section 55 of the Delhi Waqf Act, 1955, a revenue department official said. After the lapse of 15 days time, eviction drive will be started, he said. The Waqf Board chief executive officer has already passed requite orders in this regard under Section 54(3) of the Waqf Act, 1995. The vacation orders have been issued to 457 persons encroaching on the Waqf property in Kotwali sub division, while the rest were from Darya Ganj sub division. A list of 288 encorahcers against whom eviction orders have been issued under Section 55 of the Waqf Act, 1955, has been sent to the sub divisional magistrate of Daryaganj, the official said. Under the Delhi Wakf Act 1995, the SDM of the area concerned is in charge of carrying out an order of eviction. According to Waqf Board officials, it owns about 2,000 properties in Delhi and nearly 30 per cent of it is under illegal encroachment including graveyard land, buildings, shops and land parcels. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A cousin of former Venezuelan oil czar Rafael Ramirez was arrested in an investigation into a series of accounts in an Andorran bank suspected of being used to launder about USD 1.6 billion in corrupt funds, the chief prosecutor has announced. The arrest of Diego Salazar comes amid a widening corruption probe into Venezuela's state-run oil industry that some see as an attempt by President Nicolas Maduro to consolidate power within his socialist party ahead of next year's presidential elections. Many proteges of Ramirez have been detained, including former Oil Minister Eulogio del Pino and Nestor Martinez, ex- president of state oil company PDVSA. Ramirez himself has not been arrested though there are unconfirmed reports he has been dismissed from his current post as Venezuela's ambassador to the United Nations. Some observers see him as the ultimate target of the purge. In a telephone interview broadcast on state-run television, Attorney General Tarek William Saab said Salazar is accused of money laundering and association to commit a crime. Salazar and others would be linked to a corruption scheme in the bank in Andorra, a nation of 85,000 inhabitants between Spain and France, Saab said. In 2015, Andorra intervened in the Banca Privada d'Andorra, or BPA, after the US Treasury Department accused it of laundering money from groups in China, Russia and Venezuela. Saab said that documentation obtained by Venezuela's Public Ministry includes contracts between the parties and bank transfers that suggest attempts to defraud state companies and agencies, and launder about USD 1.6 billion in funds. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi today greeted people on the occasion of Milad-un-Nabi, saying that the teachings of Prophet Mohammad will continue to spread the message of peace. "My greetings to Muslim brethren on the occasion of Milad-un-Nabi... His life and preachings will continue to inspire all to spread peace and happiness," Naidu tweeted. In his message on Twitter, Modi said "may the teachings of Prophet Mohammad further the spirit of harmony in our society". Milad-un-Nabi marks the birthday of Prophet Mohammad and is commemorated in the third month in the Islamic calendar. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A day after the father of a 16-year- old suspect in the Gurgaon schoolboy killing filed a plea against his son's CBI custody, the vicitm's father today said the petition would be challenged in the court. The father of the suspect had yesterday filed the plea against three-day custody of his son given to the Central Bureau of Investigation by the Juvenile Justice Board. The petition said the board "erroneously and illegally" granted remand to the CBI and demanded that every other action taken by the agency pursuant to the legal order be established null and void. The father is furious as the provisions of Section 10 of Juvenile Justice Act 2015 have been breached and so he moved the plea against the November 8 order to the CBI, it said. The petition said the suspect did not have a previous criminal history and mentions how he was allegedly beaten up, manhandled and forced to confess to the crime by the investigators. The section 10 of Juvenile Justice Act 2015 says that the juvenile in conflict with the law under no circumstances can be put in jail and further the JJB had no authority to grant remand of a juvenile to the investigating officials, the petition said. The next hearing in the matter will be on December 12 in the court of Additional Session Judge Rajni Yadav. Sushil Tekriwal, the lawyer for Pradhuman Thaukur's father, said he would oppose the plea of the accused's father on the next date of hearing. Tekriwal said the father wanted to save his son who was already found guilty of killing Pradhuman in a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation. Pradhuman was found with his throat slit in the school washroom in Gurgaon on September 8. School bus conductor Ashok Kumar was arrested by the Haryana Police in connection with the crime. He was recently granted bail by a lower court. The case was transferred to the CBI and the agency had apprehended the class 11 student in connection with the killing. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A 40-year-old woman was stabbed allegedly by her ex-husband and his accomplices when she was returning from a court here this afternoon, the police said. The incident took place near the Collectorate, which is adjacent to the court building. The woman, Afsana, has lodged a police complaint alleging that she was attacked by her ex-husband Aslam and three others, SHO Surajpur Girish Kotiya said. Afsana had married Aslam 18 years ago and later divorced him, and then remarried. She has a daughter from her first marriage, the officer said. The woman had moved court after Aslam refused to make arrangements for the her daughter's marriage, and she had come today to the court for a matter related to it, the SHO said. She was admitted to a hospital as she suffered stab wounds, he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A 25-year-old man died after falling off a tractor when he was caught in a confusion during a police action to stop illegal mining in Aariyawala village of Yamunanagar district, an official said. Monu's family placed his body on the Jagadhari-Poanta Sahib national highway and blocked it for several hours in protest. They alleged that he was hit by a stone thrown by the police, after which he fell off the tractor and died. The police, however, rejected the charge saying the exact reason behind the youth's death will be investigated. Following theincident, the SHO of Chhachrauli police station, who arrived at the spot to pacify the people, was allegedly thrashed by the mob that had gathered near the body, a police official said. The SHO was rushed to a hospital in an unconscious state, the police said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) By Susan Cornwell and David Morgan WASHINGTON (Reuters) - When Republicans tried to repeal and replace Obamacare over the summer, they acted like "a bunch of free range chickens", said Republican Senator John Kennedy. "Everybody was upset, tired, mad, people drawing lines in the dirt." Not this time. Republican leader Mitch McConnell and the rest of his party's Senate leadership brought party members into line this week and finally won passage of a sweeping tax overhaul early on Saturday. Late arm-twisting and deal-sweeteners for wavering lawmakers allowed them to push through legislation that aims to slash corporate taxes and cut personal taxes. Democrats complained it was a bad deal for middle-class and poor Americans and would irresponsibly raise the national debt by $1.4 trillion over the next decade. But they were outnumbered and Republicans' discipline, in short supply for much of this year, saw the bill through. The debate revealed how the Republican Party is undergoing a transformation under President Donald Trump. Republicans who fight above all for a balanced budget no longer wield the power they once had. "I feel somewhat like a dinosaur," deficit hawk Bob Corker admitted on Friday afternoon. Hours later, he was the only Republican to vote against the bill. Fear also played a role. The risk of a backlash from wealthy donors and conservative supporters if the party failed to deliver on another campaign promise ahead of mid-term elections next year helped party leaders get the legislation approved in a 51-49 vote. "I think after failing twice on healthcare, folks went back home and talked to the real people of America," said Kennedy. "And they were told, 'Look, we sent you up there to fix our problems. Fix them or we'll find somebody who will.'" McConnell needed 50 of the 52 Republicans in the Senate to back the tax bill, knowing Vice President Mike Pence was on hand to provide the tie-breaking vote if needed. McConnell could only count on 43 votes on Wednesday night. Nine other Republican members were wobbly and he had no support from Senate Democrats. McConnell and his allies went to work, offering a wide range of late concessions to holdouts to get a political victory after months of frustration. The bill still needs to be reconciled with a different version approved by the House of Representatives, but the Senate bill is expected to remain largely intact. Led by Corker and Jeff Flake, a small group of fiscal conservatives were at first upset that the Senate bill was going to increase fiscal deficits and the national debt. Early efforts to get their support went slowly. "It's been pretty hard to make them happy so far. We're going to keep working on it, as we always have, and we'll get to the finish line," Senator Orrin Hatch said on Thursday night. Flake came around when he was able to win two concessions. First, he got a commitment from Senate leadership and the Trump administration to put a time limit on allowing companies to write off the full value of new capital investments. Second, Pence assured Flake the administration would work with him on fair and permanent protections for illegal immigrants who came to the United States as children. Two other fiscal conservatives, James Lankford and Jerry Moran, also came on board. Although Corker refused to yield, the others' votes were enough to ensure victory. LEVERAGE Senator Ron Johnson demanded and won amendments to further ease the tax burden on "pass-through" businesses. "I was just kind of biding my time ... And then Senator Portman came over and said 'What can we do'?", Johnson said of a Thursday night vote. Even moderate Senator Susan Collins, who helped scuttle Obamacare repeal efforts earlier this year, agreed to vote in favor of the tax bill. Representing voters with a high state tax burden in Maine, Collins was against her party's plan to end the deduction of state and local property taxes. Under an amendment she pushed, taxpayers would be allowed to deduct up to $10,000 a year. Collins also said she was assured by Republican leaders that they would take steps soon to mitigate damage caused by the repeal of a fee linked to the Obamacare "individual mandate", which requires some Americans to buy health insurance. McConnell also got lucky in that Trump didn't make his job any harder. Unlike his conduct in the Obamacare debate, Trump largely stayed on message, proclaiming the tax bill would help the middle class and businesses. Although incorrect, he also claimed it would be the biggest tax cut ever. Trump met with Republican senators on Capitol Hill for lunch this week, a gathering described as thoughtful and positive. "Nobody called anybody names or talked about anybody's native American heritage, or anything," said Kennedy, referring to Trump's habit of picking fights with perceived enemies. Democrats were furious, saying Republicans were throwing money at the rich and that the bill was handled too fast. "If the economy grows or shrinks. If it creates jobs or loses them. Who knows? Certainly no one here. No one could know, because it hasn't even been read, let alone thoughtfully considered," said Senate Democratic leader Chuck Shumer. (Additional reporting by Amanda Becker and Richard Cowan; writing by Damon Darlin; edited by Kieran Murray and Cynthia Osterman) (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Are you ready for some Christmas goodies that will put a smile on your face and help out a good cause? For more than a decade, Team Turner Chevrolet-Cadillac has held its annual Holiday Candy and Cookie Sale for the benefit of Relay for Life of St. Francois County (RFLSFC). Now a Christmas tradition, the sale has provided the Parkland a source for high quality holiday candies, cookies and breads, while helping the fight against cancer. In the 11 years since Team Turner Chevrolet-Cadillac began holding the sale, it has become one of the area's most popular and successful holiday fundraisers. One of the main reasons for its success is that team co-chairs Glenda Straughn and Anne Strangmeier love to cook especially when its purpose is to support Relay For Life. Explaining why the American Cancer Society-sponsored event is so important to she and her family, Straughn said, My brother died of cancer, my father had prostate cancer and Ive had breast cancer. Its been a family thing and cancer is a diagnosis you never want to hear. The successful businesswoman has been a part of Relay For Life for quite a few years and over time became Team Turner Chevrolet-Cadillac's top fundraiser. The team, in turn, usually raises the most donations the local Relay For Life. Straughn, who joined the team 17 years ago, revealed the secret to her team's success in raising funds for the American Cancer Society. We started off slow trying to figure out what our niche was to be able to fundraise, she said. Youve got to know what your niche is. Ours just happens to be that we love to cook and people seem to like what we make. Weve also been lucky that I have a facility we can use. Besides the holiday cookie and bake sale, Team Turner Chevrolet-Cadillac holds several other fundraisers throughout the year. We also do a Fat Tuesday Cajun dinner, a chicken and dumplings dinner and several other things, Straughn said. Weve found out that when we cook, people come out so weve been doing a lot of dinners. She admitted, however, that its sometimes tough to raise funds in a small community even if it's going to a good cause. Theres always somebody that needs help and only so much money to go around, she said. We've always been very fortunate that weve got a community that is very caring and giving and allows us to do so much. This past year we raised $7,000. Straughn noted that cookie trays with an assortment of four dozen cookies can be ordered for $23 per tray and homemade candies are available at $12 per pound. "Orders can be placed by calling 573-431-2414 or 573-431-0342," she said. "All orders will be ready for pick up on Friday, Dec. 15, starting at 9 a.m. All of the proceeds raised from our teams holiday candy/cookie fundraiser goes to RFLSFC to help in the fight against cancer." Pickup locations will be at Belgrade State Bank in Farmington and Desloge, as well as Turner Chevrolet-Cadillac in Park Hills. Infosys Board of Directors appointed Salil S Parekh as the new chief executive officer and managing director of the second biggest IT company in India. Parekh will assume office from January 2, 2018 for a period of 5 years, a statement filed by the company to stock exchanges mentioned. The appointment is made based on the recommendation of the Nomination and Remuneration Committee which concluded its global search for a CEO and MD, the company statement mentioned. The Committee, chaired by Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, took two months to find a replacement for the previous Infosys CEO Vishal Sikka. "We are delighted to have Salil joining as the CEO and MD of Infosys. He has nearly three decades of global experience in the IT services industry. He has a strong track record of executing business turnarounds and managing very successful acquisitions. The Board believes that he is the right person to lead Infosys at this transformative time in our industry," said Infosys Chairman Nandan Nilekani on the appointment. Parekh is a Member of the Group Executive Board at the Paris-based IT services company Capgemini. He holds Master of Engineering degrees in Computer Science and Mechanical Engineering from Cornell University and a Bachelor of Technology degree in Aeronautical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay. He also will be the second outsider to be named Infosys CEO after Sikka, who stepped down citing unwarranted interference from company promoters. Meanwhile, U B Pravin Rao has been reinstated as the Chief Operating Officer and Whole Time Director of Infosys. He has been working as the Interim CEO and MD of Infosys since Sikka's resignation. He will complete his tenure as a Whole Time Director on August 17, 2022. In the company statement, Nilekani thanked Rao on behalf of the Board 'for his leadership during this period of transition'. DEAR HARRIETTE: The girl I've been calling my best friend for years has just done the worst possible thing. She made up a story about me that was horrible and then told it to everybody in our grade. We are in middle school. I am so upset. My mother told me to get over it, but how do I do that? I have to go to school with all these kids who now think I am a terrible person. I tried to talk to my friend about it, but now all of a sudden she doesn't want to talk to me. I can't imagine what I did to make her act like this. I know my mom reads your column, so I was wondering what you think I should do? -- Mean Girl Drama, Cleveland DEAR MEAN GIRL DRAMA: When your friends choose to hurt you, it can be devastating. To lie about you with the intention of turning people against you is cruel. You should go to your teacher and principal to report what you believe your friend did. Be as precise as possible and bring any backup information that can prove what you are suggesting she did. If you have emails or social media postings that point to the story, bring those. If other students have told you that your friend shared the lie with them, give their names to the teacher and principal. As scary as it may seem to report this behavior, it is important. People should not get away with slandering someone's name. This is a form of bullying. By standing up for yourself, you create space for support. You also should open your eyes to other students. It is time to make new friends. I know that isn't easy to do, especially when you are feeling sad and hurt, but this girl is no friend of yours if she is intentionally trying to hurt you. DEAR HARRIETTE: I have been on a weight-loss plan for a few months now. What is working for me is eating cottage cheese and fruit in the morning. I sometimes bring it with me to work and eat it at my desk. The people sitting nearby often eat bagels or muffins, and it has been fine. All of a sudden one woman who sits near me has started to talk about my food. She calls my cottage cheese "grandma food" and finds ways to poke fun at me whenever I am eating. She even went so far as to say she thinks it's a waste of time to eat such nasty food only to lose a couple of pounds. I was furious. I'm doing my thing, minding my business. How can I get her to back off? -- Healthy Living, Miami DEAR HEALTHY LIVING: Congratulations on your weight-loss program. It's not easy to stick to a consistent path of wellness. It takes time to develop discipline. Good for you that you are doing it. You have a couple of options with this woman. You can ignore her. Eventually she will stop if you don't react. Or you can offer to share some of Grandma's food with her! Don't let her see she is upsetting you. That will only exacerbate the situation. 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 It's one of the enduring misconceptions of the Trump-Russia affair. During the 2016 Republican convention, the story goes, the Trump campaign weakened a critical passage in the GOP platform to go easy on Russia. The Trump team acted, according to this narrative, as part of an ongoing conspiracy with Vladimir Putin to help Donald Trump win the White House. But that is not what happened. In fact, an already-tough portion of the Republican platform dealing with Russia was strengthened, not weakened, at the GOP convention. Here is what took place: The original draft of the platform -- it has never been released publicly, but an insider shared the relevant passages with me -- had strong language on Russia, and in particular on Russian aggression in Ukraine. Warning of "a resurgent Russia occupying parts of Ukraine and threatening neighbors from the Baltic to the Caucasus," the platform vowed to increase U.S. pressure on a "reckless" Russia. "We will meet the return of Russian belligerence with the same resolve that led to the collapse of the Soviet Union," the platform said. "We will not accept any territorial change in Eastern Europe imposed by force, in Ukraine or elsewhere, and will use all appropriate measures to bring to justice the practitioners of aggression and assassination." It would be hard to call that a pro-Putin statement. Every word of it stayed in the final platform. When the platform committee met before the GOP convention in Cleveland, one delegate out of the 100 on the committee, a Texas political activist named Diana Denman, proposed an amendment. Denman, who came to the convention as a Ted Cruz delegate but later switched her support to Trump, was interested because she had traveled to Ukraine as an international election observer in 1998 and has ever since "kept an eye on the emerging democracies," she told me in a conversation last March. Denman's amendment praised the Ukrainian people and said they deserved the greatest U.S. assistance. "We therefore support maintaining (and, if warranted, increasing) sanctions against Russia until Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity are fully restored," Denman's proposed amendment read. "We also support providing lethal defensive weapons to Ukraine's armed forces and greater coordination with NATO on defense planning. Simultaneously, we call for increased financial aid for Ukraine, as well as greater assistance in the economic and humanitarian spheres, including government reform and anti-corruption." Denman's amendment also contained an introductory paragraph filled with a lot of generic rhetoric. When she proposed the amendment, a Trump national security aide named J.D. Gordon, who was in the room with the platform committee, wanted to edit it. According to Denman, Gordon got on the phone, saying he was calling "New York" to discuss possible changes. At the behest of the Trump campaign, the platform committee took out the throat-clearing introduction and changed Denman's reference to "lethal defensive weapons" for Ukraine to a pledge to provide "appropriate assistance to the armed forces of Ukraine." They left in Denman's language on NATO and on continued and possibly tougher sanctions on Russia. The final, Trump-approved passage read: "We support maintaining and, if warranted, increasing sanctions, together with our allies, against Russia unless and until Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity are fully restored. We also support providing appropriate assistance to the armed forces of Ukraine and greater coordination with NATO defense planning." That was the amendment the committee approved. In the end, the platform was strengthened with language pledging ongoing and possibly increased sanctions. It was also made tougher with Denman's reference to "NATO defense planning," which had not been in the original draft. Finally, Denman's lethal aid suggestion was changed to "appropriate assistance to the armed forces" -- a change that put the specific promise of U.S. aid to Ukraine's armed forces in the platform where it had not been originally. "The platform ended up tougher than it started, compared from the beginning to the end," Denman told me, although she added she still believes her lethal aid provision should have been included in the final document. So how did the "Trump weakened the GOP platform" meme get started? Seizing on the Trump campaign's entirely defensible change of Denman's "lethal defensive weapons" to "appropriate assistance" -- neither of which was in the original GOP draft platform -- some Democrats, Republican NeverTrumpers and their allies in the press portrayed the platform meeting in Cleveland as Donald Trump selling out the GOP to Vladimir Putin. They were helped in their efforts by a July 18, 2016 story in the Washington Post with the headline, "Trump campaign guts GOP's anti-Russia stance on Ukraine" -- a blatantly false description of events. The narrative spread. "The same month that Trump denied Putin's role in Ukraine, his team weakened the party platform on Ukraine," Democratic Rep. Andre Carson said during a House Intelligence Committee hearing in March. "This was the same month that several individuals in the Trump orbit held secret meetings with Russian officials, some of which may have been on the topic of sanctions against Russia or their intervention in Ukraine. Now, this is no coincidence, in my opinion." In addition to being factually wrong, that storyline seems particularly out of place coming from Democrats, because the 2016 Democratic platform, while pledging to "stand up to Russian aggression," said nothing about U.S. sanctions against Russia or about U.S. aid to Ukraine's armed forces, both of which were in the Trump-approved Republican platform. Needless to say, the Democratic platform said not a word about lethal aid to Ukraine. Yet Democrats, along with GOP NeverTrumpers, press on -- and it appears the platform narrative, wrong as it is, will not die. That won't change until people begin to look at what actually happened at that Republican platform meeting in Cleveland. Byron York is chief political correspondent for The Washington Examiner. CAMEROUN :: The CL2P, Whistleblower and the media Chilling Effects in Cameroon Pr. Albert Mbidas latest intervention in the CRTV on November 28, 2017 (http://www.cameroon-info.net/article/cameroun-pr-albert-mbida-toute-la-generation-androide-doit-aller-en-prison-309174.html) was designed to send a chill down the spine of would be whistleblowers and the media in Cameroon. However, many things need to be clarified regarding Pr. Albert Mbidas media fatwas, particularly, in issues regarding free speech and issues of national securities. What constitutes Classified Information? To be clear, leaks are the transmission of the information from the public official to the person not authorized to have it. However, what constitute classified information in the first place? Not everything the government does is classified information. For example, there is such a thing as protected disclosure and that include the release of information that the employee reasonably believes demonstrates illegality, gross mismanagement and incompetence, gross waste, abuse of authority, or a substantial and specific danger to public health or safety. Moreover even if the information is indeed classified, the employee must be able to report urgent concern to the appropriate authorities without being subjected to forms of abusive retaliations. Hence, telling the president that he is incompetent is neither classified information nor a matter of outrage as Senior minister Marafa Hamidou Yaya and Maitre Harissou have been subjected to. Hence, a classified information has to be stamped classified information. Then stored in the governments secured system. Then, the government has to demonstrate that the person who disclosed these forms of classified information has acted in bad faith and that the information disclosed are damaging to the government or useful to the enemy of the country something the government has yet to prove notably in the famous case of Ahmed Abba. Second, the publication of leaked information by the press is not a leak it is the result of a leak or investigative journalism. Press publications are generally thought to be protected by the First Amendment and expressive freedoms. Although the CL2P recognizes that there is still some scholarly dispute about whether the media could be liable for receiving and publishing certain kinds of information, such as national-defense information. Nevertheless, the government should not use policies on leaks as a wicket strategy to promote media censorship and, therefore, the line between propaganda and censorship has to be clearly delinated. Most Leaks Do Not Involve Classified Information As point 1, above, makes clear, information need not be classified to be leaked. Classified leaks are generally the worst leaks, because they are manifestly criminal and their exposure portends the most harm to the country. However, they are neither the only nor the most common kind of leaks. Because of privacy laws, any non-public information collected by the government is supposed to be handled with care and not disclosed in the absence of authorization. It has to be that way: The government has the power to compel information from us that we would not otherwise surrender; thus, the privacy of that information must be protected even though only a tiny percentage of it is classified. In law enforcement, moreover, there is a category of information known as law-enforcement sensitive such as details about a pending investigation, the identities of informants, and deliberations over potential charges, etc. Who gets whistleblowers status in Cameroon Pr. Albert Mbida did not elaborate on the status of whistleblowers in Cameroon, probably, because he does not believe in it. According to the CL2Ps creative interpretation, however, ordinary people reporting information that serve the purpose of the general interest, particularly, checking the humongous power of the administrative state and the executive branch, qualify for whistleblower protections, especially because of the retaliatory power of these two entities and therefore will be recognized as a political prisoners in Cameroon. In so doing, the CL2P believes in public service. Particularly, when few ordinary Cameroonians are inclined to think that our government may not have our best interests at heart. Thus, we need to be the ones to maintain checks and balances against Biyas authoritarian regime. | BY Ricki Green | Straight 8, the APA, and Cinelab London, will hold the straight 8 industry shootout @ ADFEST 2018, where APAC/MENA companies in the advertising industry compete at straight 8 for charity. straight 8 is the global one-super-8-cartridge-no-editing film competition founded in 1999 in London. straight 8 entrants make a film on one roll of super 8mm cine film, with no second takes, no editing and no post-production. Sound must be original and is delivered blind. straight 8 takes care of processing the films so that the first time even the films makers see their work is at its premiere. Any companies working in advertising in APAC & MENA can take one of the 20 places available. They will shoot their film, send it to London, and then see it for the first time at ADFEST 2018 on Thursday 22nd March in Thailand. All films will be shown no matter how they come out. The maximum film length for this competition will be 2 minutes 30 seconds. The entrants will vote for their top three films, not including their own. The winners will donate the prize pot to a charity of their choice. straight 8 industry shootout has been entered by ad agencies, production companies, service companies, edit and post houses, music companies and more. There is no creative brief and entering companies must source all cameras, crews, props, locations and ideas. Entry is on a first come, first served basis. The first 20 companies to enter at 8am on Wednesday December 13th will be the competitors. Only registered and approved companies will receive the entry link at that time. Registration is recommended asap. One super 8 cartridge will be sent to each entered company who must film on that cartridge and send the exposed, but un-processed, film back to London by Monday February 19th. This is a great chance to have some fun, making a film in one of the hardest ways possible, raising money for charity and battling creatively with the rest of the industry. Companies entering recent straight 8 industry shootouts previously include: adam&eveDDB, BBH, Partizan, Mother, Saatchi, Droga5 (New York), Glassworks Productions, Hogarth Worldwide, Iconoclast, iris Amsterdam, iris London, iris Singapore, String and Tins, WK London, 72andSunny, The Lift (Mexico), Framestore Pictures (Los Angeles), TFC Japan, CZAR (Amsterdam), Radical Media (London) and many more. Jimmy Lam, President, ADFEST: Some of the worlds most famous agencies have participated in straight 8 industry shootouts now it is time for creative companies in the APAC and MENA regions to have their chance to participate, too. Its not often you get the opportunity to make a film with no brief, in one of the hardest ways possible, while also raising money for charity, so I encourage creative companies to get involved and show off their talents at ADFEST 2018. Steve Davies, APA Chief Executive: straight 8 is a competition of pure creativity and creates a fantastic screening because no one knows what is coming up even the film makers who have sent their films off to be developed and not seen them since. Its tense and spectacular. The APA is proud to have supported straight 8 since soon after Ed came up with it. | BY Lynchy | The bumper perfect bound Summer issue of Campaign Brief which features the annual TVC Production + Content Report is out now. The Augmented Reality front and back cover come to life with the Alt.vfx app, also released this week in the Apple App Store here and Google Play here. AGENCY PRODUCERS: Get your FREE COPY. Simply email your name, position, and agency to: michael@campaignbrief.com Subscribe Now @ only $44 per year. To get so much more than whats on the blog, make sure you are a subscriber to the print edition of Campaign Brief. CB is the only advertising creative magazine in the region, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. Subscribe online (where you can also view and read current and past issues going back to 2007). 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Ireland United States Minor Outlying Islands United States of America Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe A study by researchers at the University of Queensland is looking into how juvenile ticks, which do not cause paralysis, could be "hitchhiking" from the coast on camping gear or pets. The ticks can then mature in the Canberra environment before finding a new host, and causing paralysis. The total amount transferred from Project Lighting's accounts was more than $191,000, though the woman subsequently transferred about $30,000 to the supplier and so the company's total loss was $161,000. Only $100,000 was covered by insurance. "I think that's really generous, and that's really nice of them because obviously they know how we might feel, and it's good for us to know that people know." Residents are advised to move vehicles under cover or away from trees, secure or put away loose items around their house, yard and balcony and to keep at least eight metres away from fallen power lines or objects that may be energised, such as fences. And with some lazy, beach-time reading ahead for many Canberrans, it's good to know there are two street libraries registered on the South Coast - at South Coast Hyundai in Batemans Bay and near the IGA at Malua Bay. (We can also vouch for an unregistered one at Mossy Point near the Muffin Shop.) When the reality that Labor would likely win the next election finally dawned, the banks did what big business with a problem always does in Australia: they employed a former politician to try to solve it. We'll never know what advice former Queensland premier Anna Bligh gave the banks when she took the role of leading the Australian Bankers Association, but we do know they kept trying to hold back the tide of opinion with a broom made of lobbyists. It failed. Worse, the strategy backfired badly. In trying to avoid a royal commission, the banks copped a bunch of other inquiries, new regulations on executive remuneration and a $6 billion bank tax. Now they're getting a royal commission anyway. Ouch. This is not going away. (Or, in Pauline Hanson's ambiguous words, "we're not going anywhere".) Do not imagine that just because One Nation got zero or just one seat that its supporters will suddenly "see the light" and desert the party. To the contrary, the fact it got such a high vote with no seats will simply fuel belief in a conspiracy of the elites to deny it justice. 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. Thanks to those we found out about Hillary's incompetence and her unsecure servers. Thanks to that she is never going to be President, a great moment in history. Mueller is building nothing, there is no statute for collusion, which is what the past year plus has had you left wingers drooling over. We do have Hillary and the DNC, probably Obama as well, buying that dossier which came straight out of Russian intelligence, intelligence agencies which are controlled by Putin. The phoniness and hypocrisy of you lefties is astounding. Yes, that dossier was meant to influence the 2016 presidential election, From Russia With Love. Following a teaser last month, Fisker has unveiled the all-new Orbit. Created as part of an alliance with Chinas Hakim Unique Group, the Orbit has been designed to become the worlds most appealing autonomous shuttle for smart cities. The companies were coy on specifics but confirmed the Orbit is a fully autonomous electric vehicle and the first deliveries are slated to occur by the end of 2018. As part of the agreement between the two companies, Fisker Inc. will be responsible for designing and developing the vehicle while the Hakim Unique Group will handle its marketing and operations in Asia. In a statement, Henrik Fisker said The combination of our breakthrough automotive technology, design prowess and unique vantage point as industry revolutionaries and Jacks [Hakim Unique Group chairman Jack Wong] truly integrated vision of smart cities is powerful. I am very excited about making the impossible, possible with intelligent urban ecosystems starting with the development of one of the worlds most forward-thinking and uniquely designed electric, autonomous shuttles: The Fisker Orbit. Autocar reports the Orbit will be launched in Hangzhou, China and will have an interior that reportedly resembles a hotel lobby. Fisker has already received interest from various corporate campuses so its possible that the model will expand far beyond China in the future. Photo Gallery Hondas bold move to offer the Clarity in three distinctive versions (electric, plug-in hybrid and fuel cell) have been recognized by the Green Car Journal, which named it its 2018 Green Car of the Year. The award was handed over during the Los Angeles Auto Show, and the Claritys competition consisted of the Honda Accord, Hyundai Ioniq, Nissan Leaf and Toyota Camry. Its a nod in the right direction to receive the 2018 Green Car of the Year award for the Clarity family of vehicles. The Clarity Fuel Cell, Clarity Electric, and Clarity Plug-in Hybrid offer the power of choice to consumers, who want to step into the electrification game without being compromised, said American Hondas VP of Connected and Environmental Business, Steven Center. Last years winner was the Chevrolet Bolt, which beat the BMW 330e iPerformance, Chrysler Pacifica, Kia Optima, and Toyota Prius Prime. GM grabbed the 2016 Green Car of the Year prize as well with the second-generation Chevy Volt, while in 2015 and 2014 the winners were the BMW i3 and Honda Accord respectively. Green Car of the Year winners over the years: 2006 Mercury Mariner Hybrid 2007 Toyota Camry Hybrid 2008 Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid 2009 Volkswagen Jetta TDI 2010 Audi A3 TDI 2011 Chevrolet Volt PHEV 2012 Honda Civic GX CNG 2013 Ford Fusion EcoBoost, Hybrid, and PHEV 2014 Honda Accord Gasoline, Hybrid, and PHEV 2015 BMW i3 2016 Chevrolet Volt Electric, PHEV, Fuel Cell 2017 Chevrolet Bolt 2018 Honda Clarity PHOTO GALLERY Jeep has confirmed that it will produce a right-hand drive version of the Grand Cherokee Trackhawk and make it available in the United Kingdom. Speaking to Auto Express at the ongoing LA Auto Show, Jeep boss Mike Manley said the vehicle has been given the go-ahead. Unfortunately, he failed to divulge any other details about the right-hand drive Trackhawk, including whether or not it will be sold in other RHD markets, such as Australia. Sitting beneath the brutish bodywork of the Grand Cherokee Trackhawk is the companys 6.2-liter supercharged Hellcat V8 delivering a mighty 707 hp and 645 lb-ft of torque. Thanks to an all-wheel drive system and eight-speed automatic transmission, the super SUV accelerates to 60 mph (96 km/h) in just 3.5 seconds, covers the quarter mile in 11.6 seconds at 116 mph and can reach a top speed of 180 mph (289 km/h). Like the Grand Cherokee SRT8, the Trackhawk has an impressive 7,200 lbs towing capacity, and in the UK should comfortably undercut its rivals, such as the BMW X5 M and Porsche Cayenne Turbo, on price. PHOTO GALLERY Photo: Google Maps A woman was found dead inside her Barriere home after fire ripped through it on Thursday. RCMP and firefighters responded to the home at a trailer park on Power Road Thursday afternoon. Bystanders reported that they believed an elderly female was inside the residence. The 79-year-old woman was found deceased by firefighters. The current findings into the fire and the womans death indicate that the fire and her death are non-suspicious in nature, said Cpl. Dan Moskaluk. Next of kin has been notified, but police are not releasing the woman's identity. The investigation is ongoing. Alanna Kelly The holiday season is in full swing in Kelowna and the outdoor skating rink is now officially open. Residents laced up to enjoy the first day at Stuart Park. It has been great, crowd of about 50 kids were down here this morning, said Kevin Laflamme of Bladez. Friday night is expected to get busy and the rink is open from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. To check the conditions of the outdoor skating rink visit this link. Twenty-three lights in Waterfront Park were destroyed by a vandal, causing about $23,000 in damage, and could take until spring 2018 to fix. It was Wednesday morning, between 4 a.m. and day break when the lights along Okanagan Lake were smashed. Majority of the lenses were smashed to these little pot lights along the walk way and some of the actual molds that hold the lights in place were smashed and knocked right off, said Ted Sophonow, Operations Supervisor at City of Kelowna. It really was a disappointing thing to find for staff come Wednesday morning. The lights do have a thick glass around them that would be difficult to break. It would take a lot of force to break one of those lenses, they are very thick, obviously something with a very hard object such as a hammer or something with a tough metal component to it that would take a bit of force, said Sophonow The pot lights were custom made in Kelowna. Pretty expensive hit we took with these lights, he said. Sophonow said vandalism doesnt happen very often in the park and it is quite unusual. We dont have any leads at this point to who may have done the damage. We do have a report into RCMP, he said. Anyone who may have witnessed the incident or has any information is being encouraged to contact Kelowna RCMP. Photo: File photo Violent clashes between rival factions in Yemen's rebel-held capital continued Saturday for the fourth straight day. Violent clashes between rival factions in Yemen's rebel-held capital continued Saturday for the fourth straight day as forces loyal to a former president and Iran-backed Shiite rebels known as Houthis faced off in the streets of Sanaa, signalling disintegration in the rebel alliance at war with a Saudi-led coalition for nearly three years. Fighting since Wednesday intensified, according to accounts of local residents who said that loud explosions were heard overnight across the city and into Saturday morning. Mediation efforts by tribal elders and officials over the past few days have come to no avail. "It's been like a street war," they said adding that ambulances have been ferrying the wounded to hospitals. They spoke on condition of anonymity, fearing reprisals. There has been no official word on casualties but the International Committee of the Red Cross said that dozens were killed and hundreds were wounded in the fighting. Amid the escalating violence, ex-President Ali Abdullah Saleh announced in a televised interview on Saturday with Yemen al-Youm that he is open to dialogue and is willing to open a "new page" to deal with the Saudi coalition after ending its blockade and ceasing fire. The U.S.-backed Saudi-led coalition has been fighting to defeat the Iran-backed Houthis along with Saleh's forces in Yemen since March 2015. The coalition had also imposed a blockade on the country, allowing occasional humanitarian access, with the aim of reinstating the internationally recognized government of Saleh's successor, Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi. The U.N. urged the coalition in a statement Saturday to "fully lift" the blockade on Yemen's red sea ports saying that partial lifting only "slows the collapse toward a massive humanitarian tragedy costing millions of lives." Saleh, who led Yemen for more than 30 years, was deposed after 2011 Arab Spring uprisings that swept the Middle East. The country has since fell into chaos and Saleh later joined Houthis to drive Hadi out of the capital in 2014. In his address, he also blamed them for laying siege to the homes of several officials the General People's Congress which he leads and "storming" a mosque named after him. Shortly after, broadcasting of Yemen al-Youm was stopped under unclear circumstances. Photo: The Canadian Press Members of the delegation of the Syrian Negotiation Commission (SNC) arrive for a meeting during the Intra Syria talks in Geneva, Switzerland. Israel fired several surface-to-surface missiles at a military post near the Syrian capital of Damascus early on Saturday, causing material damage but no casualties, Syria's state-run news agency reported. The airstrike came as violence resumed in the Damascus suburbs after days of calm while the government and opposition delegations attended peace talks in Geneva. The Israeli military did not comment on the missile attack, which occurred shortly after midnight on Friday, targeting a military area near the southern Damascus suburb of Kiswah. SANA, the state news agency, said the missile attack caused material damage but gave no details. The report also said that Syrian air defences shot down two of the Israeli missiles. Israel has carried out a number of airstrikes against suspected arms shipments believed to be bound for Lebanon's Hezbollah militant group, which is fighting alongside Syrian government forces in the civil war. Israel has also struck several Syrian military facilities since the conflict began, mostly near the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. In September, Israeli warplanes hit a military position near the Mediterranean coast in western Syria, killing two soldiers and causing material damage. Rami Abdurrahman who heads the opposition's Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the missile attack targeted an arms depot near Kiswah where the Syrian army's 1st Division is based. He added that there is Iranian and Hezbollah presence in the area but added that it was not clear if they were targeted. Also in the suburbs of Damascus, government forces resumed their airstrikes and bombing of rebel-held areas on Saturday, killing and wounding several people, according to the Observatory and a Syrian Civil Defence search-and-rescue group, also known as the White Helmets. Syrian state TV also said that the rebels shelled several Damascus neighbourhoods, wounding at least three people. It said one of the shells exploded near Al-Mariamiyah Cathedral in the central Bab Touma neighbourhood. Stop putting words in my mouth....Only thing I am admitting is that the Republican Party did a damn poor job of asserting itself when Democrats were up to no good.... In Hillary's case there was a hell of a lot of reason to appoint a special Prosecutor and thew Republicans had no balls to do it..And for that reason they have lost all credibility with the right wing of the Republican Party Photo: File photo The final death toll in October's massive truck bombing in Somalia's capital is 512 people. The final death toll in October's massive truck bombing in Somalia's capital is 512 people, according to the committee tasked with looking into the country's worst-ever attack. The final toll is a dramatic increase from previous estimates of more than 350 killed. The committee's report, obtained by The Associated Press, says another 312 people were wounded in the Mogadishu bombing and 62 people remain missing. Somalia's government has blamed the al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab extremist group for the Oct. 14 attack, which struck a crowded street. Security officials said the bomb weighed between 600 kilograms and 800 kilograms as the extremist group's bomb-making capabilities grow. The attack appalled Somalis, with some calling it their "9-11." Thousands later marched in defiance against the extremist group, while the president announced a new military offensive. Al-Shabab often attacks high-profile areas in Mogadishu. Somali intelligence officials have said the massive truck bomb was meant to target the heavily guarded airport, where several countries have embassies, but instead detonated in the crowded street after soldiers opened fire and flattened one of the truck's tires. The Islamic extremist group, the deadliest in Africa, has been targeted this year by nearly 30 U.S. military drone strikes after the Trump administration approved expanded operations against it and declared the southern part of the Horn of Africa nation a zone of active hostilities. The U.S. now has more than 500 military personnel in Somalia. Photo: The Canadian Press White House senior adviser Jared Kushner listens to President Donald Trump at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, N.J. A member of Trump's transition team says Kushner is the "very senior transition official" referenced in court papers filed in the Michael Flynn case. More smoke but no smoking gun. Michael Flynn's guilty plea Friday revealed a new layer of lies unearthed by the far-reaching investigation into ties between President Donald Trump and Russia, and put heightened scrutiny on the president's son-in-law, Jared Kushner. But Flynn's admission, and all of the criminal cases thus far, have not resolved the fundamental question special counsel Robert Mueller is seeking to answer: Did Trump's campaign collude with Russia to win the election? Trump himself was eager to settle that question as he offered his first public response to Flynn's plea, saying Saturday: "What has been shown is no collusion, no collusion. There's been absolutely no collusion." But Mueller has left no doubt that his investigators have amassed a wealth of knowledge about the contacts between Trump associates and the Russians, and they're looking to gather more facts from Flynn, a new key co-operator. By forcing Flynn's assistance, Mueller gains someone who can put him in the room with Trump and his closest advisers during the campaign, transition and the early days of the administration, times when Trump associates have acknowledged communicating with people connected to Russia. In the hours after Flynn admitted lying about his contacts with a Russian government official , two names surfaced as integral players in his actions. Kushner was identified as a "very senior" transition official, who directed Flynn to contact foreign governments, including Russia, about a U.N. Security Council resolution last December. And KT McFarland, who served as Flynn's deputy national security adviser, was a "senior" transition official involved in discussions with Flynn about what to relay to Sergey Kislyak, then Russia's ambassador to the U.S., about the response to U.S. sanctions levied by the Obama administration. Kushner and McFarland weren't named in court papers. But McFarland's involvement was confirmed by two former transition officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to publicly discuss the matter. One of the officials confirmed Kushner's involvement. Flynn became the fourth person known to have been charged in Mueller's probe and the second, after former campaign policy adviser George Papadopoulos, to co-operate with investigators. For both Flynn and Papadopoulos, prosecutors employed a similar, and textbook, strategy by accepting a limited guilty plea and turning the defendants into government co-operators. Papadopoulos and Flynn both pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about their foreign contacts but not for their underlying conduct. Still, Flynn's plea to a single felony count of false statements made him the first official of the Trump White House to admit guilt so far in Mueller's criminal investigation as court papers made clear that senior Trump officials were aware of his outreach to Russian officials in the weeks before the inauguration. Photo: The Canadian Press Two men hold umbrellas to protect themselves from the rain as they stand next to a fishing boat on the Arabian Sea coast in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala state, India. Dozens of fishermen were rescued Friday from the sea which is very rough under the influence of Cyclone Ockhi. A strong cyclone over the southeast Arabian Sea triggered heavy rains and strong winds in southern India, damaging hundreds of huts, power lines and trees and killing at least 12 people, officials said Saturday. More than 2,000 people have taken shelter in relief centres in Kanyakumari and Tirunelveli districts in Tamil Nadu state and in Lakshadweep, a group of 36 islands, officials said. The India Meteorological Department said heavy rains and strong winds lashed Lakshadweep on Saturday. At least 12 people have been killed in Tamil Nadu and Kerala states since Friday, state-run All India Radio reported. Krishan Kumar, a relief agency spokesman, said the casualties were mainly caused by falling trees and power lines. The cyclone, with gusts of up to 175 kilometres (110 miles) per hour, is expected to weaken on Monday after recurving in the Arabian Sea, according to India's Meteorological Department. Television images showed parts of Kanyakumari district flooded and without electricity, with severe damage to power lines. In Kanyakumari and Thoothukudi districts, strong winds uprooted more than 500 trees, snapped power lines and damaged settlements close to the sea. More than 530 fishermen stranded in choppy waters have been rescued off Kerala state and the Lakshadweep islands, said Pinyari Viayan, Kerala's top elected official. Rescue operations were underway, with the Indian navy, air force and coast guard searching for dozens of fishermen unaccounted for in the Thiruvananthapuram-Kollam coastal area, said the New Delhi Television news channel. Photo: The Canadian Press A woman and his son leave from their flooded home after heavy rainfall in the village of Hasan, about 25 kilometres north of Tirana. Soldiers and police evacuated hundreds of residents in southern Albania on Saturday amid persistent rain in the country that has caused riverbanks to burst, flooding several villages and inundating thousands of homes. Many roads in the region have been blocked by mudslides. More than 100 families in five villages near the Vjosa River, about 120 kilometres southwest of the capital, Tirana, were evacuated overnight, the Defence Ministry said. Police and soldiers have forcefully removed people from their homes in some cases, top emergency official Shemsi Prenci said. About 2,300 troops have been deployed to the area along with six teams of emergency responders from neighbouring Kosovo, he said. At least one person has died in the last three days of heavy rainfall that has flooded many parts of Albania, temporarily paralyzing its ports and suspending flights from its only international airport. But there haven't been any fatalities in the latest spell of downpours in southern Albania. "Fortunately there has been no loss of human lives, nor of cattle so far," said Prenci, adding that warnings about the bad weather earlier this week gave residents enough time to bring their livestock to safety, and personal belongings to upper floors. Officials said Friday that 3,334 households were underwater and 3,016 hectares (7,500 acres) of agricultural land was flooded. On Saturday, authorities said that 45,000 residents were without power. Prime Minister Edi Rama has said that a total of 6,400 emergency responders, police and soldiers are dealing with "a very critical situation." Photo: Contributed A demonstrator grimaces in pain after police used pepper spray to a clear a street that is blocked by demonstrators near the congress center where the party convention of the Alternative for Germany, AfD, is held in Hannover, Germany, Saturday. Members of a rising nationalist party in Germany elected their leadership Saturday at a convention in the city of Hannover that was overshadowed by protests. Joerg Meuthen was re-elected as chairman at the first full party congress since the Alternative for Germany, known as AfD, won seats in the national parliament for the first time. Alexander Gauland, one of the party's parliamentary leaders and a power within AfD, was elected as co-chair. The position Gauland assumes had been vacant since the day after the September election. Former party co-leader Frauke Petry said AfD was flirting with far-right extremism and quit, saying she would not represent it in the Bundestag. Both Meuthen and Gauland belong to the more conservative wing of the nationalist party. Alternative for Germany received almost 13 per cent of the vote in the Sept. 24 federal election, making it the third-strongest party in the Bundestag. The party promoted an anti-grant message and campaigned aggressively against Chancellor Angela Merkel. The vote for Gauland followed a tumultuous run-off vote between Georg Pazderski, AfD's Berlin-branch leader, and Doris von Sayn-Wittgenstein, a state parliament member from Schleswig-Holstein. After the runoff didn't produce a clear majority for either candidate, both withdrew and Gauland then ran alone for the co-chair post. The convention got off to a rocky start Saturday morning when clashes between police and protesters briefly delayed its opening. Police used water cannons to disperse hundreds of protesters who tried to block access to the convention centre. Ten protesters were temporarily detained; several police officers and one protester were injured. Later in the day, about 6,500 protesters marched through Hannover chanting slogans against the party, the German news agency dpa reported. The largest ballistic missile developed and launched by North Korea, Hwasong 15 (HS-15) launched on the night of November 28, 2017 represents an impressive weapon developed by the rough state to achieve credible deterrence against the United States. According to analysts, the new Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles, (ICBM) carrying thermonuclear warheads could establish the North Korean nuclear deterrence force as early as next year. Bigger and more powerful than any other missile developed by North Korea, HS-15 utilizes a new, more powerful propulsion system, enabling the missile to fly farther and carry heavier payload. On its first flight Hwasong-15 flew a short range vertical trajectory to an altitude of 4,472 km (2,780 miles) travelling 53 minutes splashing into the Sea of Japan 950 km east of its launch point at Pyongsong, 25 km northeast of the capital Pyongyang. According to missile specialist Norbert Brugge, the missile uses the Pektusan, the first stage of the two stage missile uses an RD-250 clone liquid propulsion system developed by Pyongyang, comprising two combustors fed by common turbopump to increase takeoff thrust. According to the official statement from Pyongyang the system has speed correction and vector control, alleviating the use of steering engines used in previous models. The new propulsion is estimated to have 170 percent increase in thrust, compared to the Hwasong-14, which used four steering engines to stabilize the missile on liftoff. The HS-15 stores about 40 tons of liquid fuel, sufficient for 139 seconds of burn time. The new North Korean missile is similar to the old U.S. Titan missile from the 1960s. Pyongyang claimed that the new missile can hit anywhere in the USA, and, based on the trajectory and distance flown, the missile would exceed a range of 13,000 km (8,100 miles) when launched in a lower, maximum range trajectory. Previous North Korean missiles, such as HS-14 and HS-12 had the US Pacific bases and the west coast in range areas partly protected by the US sea and land-based missile defense system. However, the long range of the new HS-15 means it holds at risk, albeit with a reduced payload, the central and eastern parts of the USA areas that are not yet protected by anti-ballistic missiles. However impressive the performance of the North Korean missile is, it is still a developmental system. Although Pyongyang claimed the missiles powered flight as successful, Japanese sources indicated the missile or reentry vehicle may have broken up before hitting the water, a fact that could indicate a failure at the reentry phase. Previous tests of HS-14 earlier this year indicated a similar phenomenon. The HS-14 and HS-15 seem to be using different payloads. A notable change the HS-15 has from previous long-range ballistic missiles is a blunter nose cone which could carry larger payload and new reentry vehicle. Urgent Upgrades to Missile Defense Needed North Korea is likely seek to increase its production of the Hwasong-15 ICBM to overmatch the 44 Ground Based Interceptors (GBI) deployed by the USA. As a response, Washington will have to increase its capacity and production of GBIs, to stay ahead of the North Korean nuclear ICBM threat. It will now have to move forward with urgency on a third GBI site in the Eastern part of the United States to add depth of layers of ICBM defense by increasing the battle space and time to best defend the entire United States of America. It is of note that the United States GBIs are not capable, from their current deployments in California and Alaska today, to defeat and defend against lofted North Korean Hwasong-15 ICBMs targeting Guam, Japan and South Korea. Japan, South Korea, and Guam are undefended technically today against a North Korean Hwasong-15 nuclear ICBM as the currently deployed missile defense capabilities in these regions cannot intercept the speeds of an ICBM, nor have they been required, tested, or proven to do so. The Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) Block IIA, co-developed by the United States and Japan, has an inherent capability to intercept ICBMs. The interceptor is in low rate production and is scheduled next year for a final flight test against ballistic missile targets from the Aegis Ashore site in Hawaii and on the USS John Paul Jones (DDG 53), a Baseline-9 Aegis Destroyer, before being operationally deployed to Japan, Poland and the United States. It is of a national security imperative for Japan and the United States to test the SM-3 Block IIA against an ICBM target from an Aegis Baseline-9 ship as soon as feasible to enable current U.S. Baseline-9 Aegis BMD ships to defend Japan, Guam, and South Korea from the demonstrated North Korean lofted ICBM launch of the Hwasong-15. Proving this capability on U.S. Aegis BMD Baseline-9 ships would enable an additional underlayer of ICBM defense that is sea-mobile, providing more confidence and increasing the percentage of intercept for the defense of Hawaii and major cities on the west coast of the United States against the North Korean Hwasong-15. Having a underlayer of SM-3 Block IIA defense allows more efficiency of the limited number of 44 GBIs until more GBIs are produced by the United States, which is estimated at 2022 when the Redesigned Kill Vehicle begins its first deployment. To continue to provide stability to this region and this crisis, enabling flexibility in options and preventing nuclear proliferation, the United States of America must produce more ICBM interceptor capacity and capability as soon as possible. Ethics complaints against three former Jefferson City Council members have been scrapped by the state. The Oregon Government Ethics Commission met on Nov. 17 and voted to dismiss the complaints against Bob Burns, Brad Cheney and Stan Neal. The three had been accused of ethics violations connected to their actions regarding a controversial annexation. All three lived near the annexation property. I am glad the false accusation was dismissed, Neal said. Cheney and Neal said that they would not have resigned from office if the ethics investigation had been resolved prior to a recall effort. They would have based their whole recall on this ethics investigation, painting this picture that we were unethical, Cheney added. Both Neal and Cheney were frustrated by the process and the Oregon Government Ethics Commission. They said they received advice from staff members at the agency on how to proceed with the annexation, given that they were once part of a lawsuit against the city of Jefferson regarding the right to vote on annexations. It took them six months to figure out if they had given us the right advice, Neal said. Cheney and Neal resigned from office while facing the possibility of a recall. Burns resigned as he was moving to another town, but would have faced a similar effort. Former mayor Cyndie Hightower, who was elected with Burns, Cheney and Neal in November 2016, was recalled by Jefferson voters in September. Former council member Tracy Vaughan, ousted by voters in November 2016, filed the ethics complaints against the trio of councilors. The complaints alleged that the councilmembers obtained prohibited financial benefits and failed to declare conflicts of interest regarding the annexation during council votes. The Oregon Government Ethics Commission chose not to investigate another complaint against Hightower, ruling that such a step wasnt warranted. Burns did not respond to an email on Friday. The day after a three-alarm fire leveled a building at Oregon Powder Coating in Tangent, smoke still wafted from beneath sheets of corrugated metal roofing, now laying in a jumble at ground level. The roofing held pockets of smoldering material, Tangent Rural Fire District Chief Scott Casebolt said Friday, making efforts to investigate the fire's cause difficult. Still, just to the north of the destruction, the main facility remained untouched, which Casebolt said is a testament to the work of more than 50 firefighters from five agencies who worked through Thursday evening to save the building. In fact, close to the flattened structure sits a wall of wood palettes, also untouched. For company owner Steve Lewis, this is the good news. The building he lost contained the sand blasting equipment his employees use to prepare surfaces before the coating process. That work, he said, can be subcontracted until he rebuilds. Meanwhile, his 14 employees will be able to keep working, completing orders for his 200 clients. "My biggest concern is to get everybody back to work," he said. The initial fire call came in about 4:14 p.m. Thursday. When Tangent crews first arrived, employees were working to extinguish the flames. They were soon evacuated, evaluated by medics and released. Neighboring businesses were evacuated as well. A third alarm was called an hour later, summoning aid from neighboring districts. Old Highway 34 was closed between Highway 99E and Columbus Street for a time during the incident. Investigators are still working to determine the cause of the fire. Chino, CA (91710) Today Sunshine and a few clouds. High near 75F. Winds light and variable. Stronger winds in and below canyons and passes.. Tonight Some clouds this evening will give way to mainly clear skies overnight. Low 44F. Winds light and variable. That 4 and a half minute video about VEEP was kind of meta and theoretical. This 25 second one from the show gets right down to it; you kind of have to if you only have 25 seconds, right? But, by all means, watch them both; it's Friday night after all. So... you thought the corrupt Debbie Wasserman Schultz version of private prisons was bad? How about an Erik Prince version? They both President Selina Meyer look vaguely appealing-- or relatively appealing anyway. BuzzFeed reporter Adam Roston wrote yesterday about how the Trump Regime is working towards privatizing-- giving to Erik Prince-- part of the U.S. intelligence services. If you're wondering if this is supposed to sound scary... yeah, very scary, very, very scary. "The White House and CIA," he wrote, "have been considering a package of secret proposals to allow former US intelligence officers to run privatized covert actions, intelligence gathering, and propaganda missions, according to three sources whove been briefed on or have direct knowledge of the proposals." One of the proposals would involve hiring a private company, Amyntor Group, for millions of dollars to set up a large intelligence network and run counter terrorist propaganda efforts, according to the sources. Amyntors officials and employees include veterans of a variety of US covert operations, ranging from the Reagan-era IranContra affair to more recent actions in Iraq and Afghanistan. Amyntor declined to discuss the proposals, but a lawyer for the company said in a statement to BuzzFeed News that the type of contract being contemplated would be legal with direction and control by the proper government authority. Another proposal presented to US officials would allow individuals affiliated with the company to help capture wanted terrorists on behalf of the United States. In keeping with that proposal, people close to the company are tracking two specific suspects in a Middle Eastern country, the sources said, for possible rendition to the United States. A source speaking on behalf of the company stressed that while Amyntor officials are aware of and involved in the rendition plan, the company itself would not be involved. People involved in the highly unusual project have asked BuzzFeed News not to name the country or the targets because of concerns about the safety of operatives who, they say, are on the ground. They say that the people involved have the information and capabilities to snatch the two suspects and transport them to the US or a third country. The proposals sound like a convoluted movie plot, but two of the sources familiar with the project say discussions have been held recently with top national security officials. The CIA declined to comment, but a US government official downplayed the proposals' significance. The idea they are pitching is absurd on its face, he said, and it is not going anywhere. A spokesperson for the National Security Council said that Army Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster, Trump's national security adviser, and other officials were not aware of the proposals. CIA Director Mike Pompeo has publicly promised that the agency would become much more vicious and aggressive. He said in one speech that the administration is prepared to engage in activities that are different from what America has been doing these past few years. Those familiar with the proposals say one of the driving impulses for privatizing some missions is a fear by some supporters of President Donald Trump, outside government, that the CIA bureaucracy has an anti-Trump bias that would thwart efforts to fulfill the presidents objectives. The system does not work, one source who is sympathetic to the Amyntor efforts told BuzzFeed News. The people leaking this to you just want to destroy the president. ...Amyntor Group is a reclusive company headquartered in Whitefish, Montana, a town of 6,500 residents that recently gained notoriety after a company based there won, then lost, a $300 million contract to rebuild Puerto Ricos electrical grid. There is no known relationship between the two companies. Amyntors website describes its mission as providing extraordinary security solutions. It claims to maintain an experienced cadre of cleared professionals that possess Subject Matter Expertise (SME) in the areas of intelligence training, collections and analysis, risk assessment, and counterintelligence to support U.S. and friendly foreign government activities around the globe. Among the management of Amyntor is John Maguire, a former CIA case officer who reportedly led a US effort to provoke Saddam Hussein into war before the 2003 invasion of Iraq . [Yes, you read that right.] Sources say Maguire and others who run Amyntor previously worked with the late Duane Dewey Clarridge, a CIA officer known for his colorful personality. Indicted and then pardoned for his role in the so-called IranContra affair during the administration of President Ronald Reagan, Clarridge also tried in 2008, while in his seventies, to set up his own private intelligence agency to collect information about terrorists in Afghanistan. Clarridge ran the business under the name The Eclipse Group. Reportedly, his operation was, for a time, funded by the Department of Defense. Clarridge died in 2016. Among Amyntors unusual cast of characters is a cosmetic surgeon, Keith Rose, who lists himself on his Linkedin page as the medical director of Amyntor. He was involved in Clarridges Eclipse Group, according to two people who are familiar with both Clarridge and Rose. Rose did not return a phone message to his medical clinic in Corpus Christi, Texas. The pitch to the Trump administration began in the summer, according to the former intelligence official familiar with it. It involved at least three components: collecting intelligence on terrorists using a network of assets in a denied area (meaning spies in hostile countries), an online propaganda operation to counter Islamic extremism, and the rendition plan. One source saw the plan presented in a PowerPoint. He says it appeared that the pitches coincided with a widely publicized effort by Erik Prince-- the private security official, founder of Blackwater, and brother of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos-- to privatize the war in Afghanistan. But the source speaking on behalf of the company says that while Prince is close to some Amyntor officials, he has nothing to do with the rendition plan or the other proposals. As BuzzFeed News reported earlier in November, a CIA official assigned to the NSC once worked on an assassination plan at a time when the agency had contracted it to Prince. Privatizing intelligence operations and covert actions is highly controversial. Asked about Amyntors proposal and the rendition plan, one former senior intelligence official said, All the institutional structures exist to prevent things from going off the rails. Is this an attempt to circumvent oversight? Danish gin secures UK off-trade listings Kongsgaard Raw Gin has been launched into the UK off-trade, with initial listings in Harvey Nichols, The Whisky Exchange and Amazon. Danish founders, Bettina and Soren Kongsgaard, say the gin has been inspired by Nordic woods and they describe it as a New World Gin, with a centrepiece layer of Danish apples and organic juniper. The base spirit is derived from winter wheat, blended with Gensac water from Grande Champagne and distilled in small batches on open flame copper stills in Cognac. The gin is described as having crisp apple and light juniper on the nose, with a hint of citrus. The flavours include warm spiced apple pie balanced with a ginger and galangal freshness, according to the producer. The gin has a dry finish with flavours of spicy cinnamon and juniper. Co-founder, Soren Kongsgaard, said: Our family name, Kongsgaard, originates from the little town of Lejre, situated on the outskirts of Roskilde in Denmark. A unique and scenic landscape of river valleys, meadows, lakes and woodlands where Vikings once reigned. Archaeologists have excavated seven feasting halls in Lejre, the greatest being the Kongsgaard, where the ruling King would have his seat. We like to think our Viking ancestors would have enjoyed this exciting new gin. Related articles: ELKO Charles Dickens classic Christmas story is getting a fresh interpretation when Great Basin College presents A Christmas Carol. The audience will be transported through different time periods as Ebenezer Scrooge is taken on a journey to his past, present and future to learn the true meaning of Christmas. Inspired by the avant-garde Polish director Tadeusz Kantor and her mentor Bill Bowers, who studied with mime Marcel Marceu, director Amber Adeline Brown said she wanted to share some of those techniques that I learned from him with the cast. I think theater is about passing on, very ritualistic. [Bowers] taught me a lot, Brown said. One of the things that he said was that mime is a cerebral art form and can get lost if its not passed on. Brown said she was also excited to direct a different version of A Christmas Carol and review the history of the story and how its been retold for generations. The industrial revolution has continued and now its more about technology, Brown said. So I wanted to explore the different time periods in the terms of multi-media technology: the projected image, sound and then the physical body of the performer. Brown said she had the actors try some new methods to interpret their characters. We focus on ensemble work, a little bit of devising [and] creating the character based off of different things that inspired [them] about that period or that specific character, Brown said. It doesnt come from the script, but research elsewhere. John Patrick Rice, who plays Ebenezer Scrooge, said he thought Brown, who earned her masters of fine arts degree in theater, was a good fit for the theater program. She brings a wonderfully fresh perspective to the GBC theater program, he said. Caylin Meyer plays a couple of characters, including Tiny Tim and a little boy, who also narrates the story along with Rosalynn Eardley. We have two sides of the same coin working here, Meyer said. I call the narrator my partner in crime. Meyer said shes had tons of fun using mime because of the opportunity to act more expressively on stage. It allows everything to be so expressive with the body that Ive never previously had to do before, Meyer said. Zachary Montgomery, who performed in this falls Much Ado About Nothing, said he enjoyed the new version of A Christmas Carol because of its unique take on the classic. I like stories that are very self-aware, to say the least, they will purposefully break the fourth wall, Montgomery said. I really like the direction that this interpretation is taking It definitely belongs on the stage, said Montgomery, who plays several parts, including Scrooges nephew. Its really different than anything Ive done, personally. Rice said the production is a short and sweet adaptation perfect for all ages. Performances run Dec. 5-8 starting at 7 p.m. with a matinee at 2 p.m. on Saturday. Tickets are $5 per person, general admission, and advance tickets can be purchased at the Controllers Office in Berg Hall. The app MeasureKit shows the wireframe model and other face data that the iPhone X opens to developers. (Jhaan Elker / The Washington Post) Poop that mimics your facial expressions was just the beginning. It's going to hit the fan when the face-mapping tech that powers the iPhone X's cutesy "Animoji" starts being used for creepier purposes. And Apple just started sharing your face with lots of apps. Advertisement Beyond a photo, the iPhone X's front sensors scan 30,000 points to make a 3D model of your face. That's how the iPhone X unlocks and makes animations that might have once required a Hollywood studio. Now that a phone can scan your mug, what else might apps want to do with it? They could track your expressions to judge if you're depressed. They could guess your gender, race and even sexuality. They might combine your face with other data to observe you in stores or walking down the street. Advertisement Apps aren't doing most of these things, yet. But is Apple doing enough to stop it? After I pressed executives this week, Apple made at least one change retroactively requiring an app tapping into face data to publish a privacy policy. "We take privacy and security very seriously," Apple spokesman Tom Neumayr said. "This commitment is reflected in the strong protections we have built around Face ID data protecting it with the Secure Enclave in iPhone X as well as many other technical safeguards we have built into iOS." Indeed, Apple which makes most of its money from selling us hardware, not selling our data may be our best defense against a coming explosion in facial recognition. But I also think Apple rushed into sharing face maps with app makers that may not share its commitment, and it isn't being paranoid enough about the minefield it just entered. "I think we should be quite worried," said Jay Stanley, a senior policy analyst at the American Civil Liberties Union. "The chances we are going to see mischief around facial data is pretty high if not today, then soon if not on Apple then on Android." Your face is open for business Apple's face tech sets some good precedents and some bad ones. It won praise for storing the face data it uses to unlock the iPhone X securely on the phone, instead of sending it to its servers over the Internet. Less noticed was how the iPhone lets other apps now tap into two eerie views from the so-called TrueDepth camera. There's a wireframe representation of your face and a live read-out of 52 unique micro-movements in your eyelids, mouth and other features. Apps can store that data on their own computers. To see for yourself, use an iPhone X to download an app called MeasureKit. It exposes the face data Apple makes available. The app's maker, Rinat Khanov, tells me he's already planning to add a feature that lets you export a model of your face so you can 3D print a mini-me. "Holy cow, why is this data available to any developer that just agrees to a bunch of contracts?" said Fatemeh Khatibloo, an analyst at Forrester Research. Advertisement Being careful is in Apple's DNA it has been slow in opening home and health data with outsiders. But it also views the face camera as a differentiator, helping position Apple as a leader in artificial intelligence and augmented reality. Apple put some important limits on apps. It requires "that developers ask a user's permission before accessing the camera, and that apps must explain how and where this data will be used," Apple's Neumayr said. And Apple's rules say developers can't sell face data, use it to identify anonymous people or use it for advertising. They're also required to have privacy policies. "These are all very positive steps," said Clare Garvey, an associate at Georgetown University's Center on Privacy & Technology. Privacy holes Still, it wasn't hard for me to find holes in Apple's protections. The MeasureKit app's maker told me he wasn't sensing much extra scrutiny from Apple for accessing face data. Advertisement "There were no additional terms or contracts. The app review process is quite regular as well or at least it appears to be, on our end," Khanov said. When I noticed his app didn't have a privacy policy, Khanov said Apple didn't require it because he wasn't taking face data off the phone. After I asked Apple about this, it called Khanov and told him to post a privacy policy. "They said they noticed a mistake and this should be fixed immediately," Khanov said. "I wish Apple were more specific in their App Review Guidelines." The bigger concern: "How realistic is it to expect Apple to adequately police this data?" Georgetown's Garvey told me. Apple might spot violations from big apps like Facebook, but what about gazillions of smaller ones? Apple hasn't said how many apps it has kicked out of its store for privacy issues. Then there's a permission problem. Apps are supposed to make clear why they're accessing your face and seek "conspicuous consent," according to Apple's policies. But when it comes time for you to tap OK, you get a pop-up that asks to "access the camera." It doesn't say, "HEY, I'M NOW GOING TO MAP YOUR EVERY TWITCH." Advertisement The iPhone's settings don't differentiate between the back camera and all those front face-mapping sensors. Once you give it permission, an active app keeps on having access to your face until you delete it or dig into advanced settings. There's no option that says, "Just for the next five minutes." Overwhelming people with notifications and choices is a concern, but the face seems like a sufficiently new and sensitive data source that it warrants special permission. Unlike a laptop webcam, it's hard to put a privacy sticker over the front of the iPhone X without a fingerprint reader, it's the main mechanism to unlock the thing. Android phones have had face-unlock features for years, but most haven't offered 3D face mapping like the iPhone. Like iOS, Android doesn't make a distinction between front and back cameras. Google's Play Store doesn't prohibit apps from using the face camera for marketing or building databases, so long as they ask permission. The value of your face Facial detection can, of course, be used for good and for bad. Warby Parker, the online glasses purveyor, uses it to fit frames to faces, and a Snapchat demo uses it to virtually paint on your face. Companies have touted face tech as a solution to distracted driving, or a way to detect pain in children who have trouble expressing how they're feeling. It's not clear how Apple's TrueDepth data might change the kinds of conclusions software can draw about people. But from years of covering tech, I've learned this much: Given the opportunity to be creepy, someone will take it. Using artificial intelligence, face data "may tell an app developer an awful lot more than the human eye can see," said Forrester's Khatibloo. For example, she notes researchers recently used AI to more-accurately determine people's sexuality just from regular photographs. That study had limitations, but still "the tech is going to leapfrog way faster than consumers and regulators are going to realize," said Khatibloo. Advertisement Our faces are already valuable. Half of all American adults have their images stored in at least one database that police can search, typically with few restrictions. Facebook and Google use AI to identify faces in pictures we upload to their photo services. (They're being sued in Illinois, one of the few states with laws that protect biometric data.) Facebook has a patent for delivering content based on emotion, and in 2016, Apple bought a startup called Emotient that specializes in detecting emotions. Using regular cameras, companies such as Kairos make software to identify gender, ethnicity and age as well as the sentiment of people. In the last 12 months, Kairos said it has read 250 million faces for clients looking to improve commercials and products. Apple's iPhone X launch was "the primal scream of this new industry, because it democratized the idea that facial recognition exists and works," said Kairos CEO Brian Brackeen. His company gets consent from volunteers whose faces it reads, or even pays them but he said the field is wide open. "What rights do people have? Are they being somehow compensated for the valuable data they are sharing?" he said. What keeps privacy advocates up at night is that the iPhone X will make face scanning seem normal. Will makers of other phones, security cameras or drones be as careful as Apple? We don't want to build a future where we become numb to a form of surveillance that goes far beyond anything we've known before. You've only got one face, so we'd better not screw this up. The Capitol is seen at dawn as Senate Republicans work to pass their sweeping tax bill this week, in Washington, Thursday, Nov. 30, 2017. (J. Scott Applewhite / AP) U.S. business shows little sign of needing the hefty tax cut that congressional Republicans are rushing to enact into law, according to several analysts. Big business already is posting record profits while paying less than half the share of Washington's bills that it paid a half century ago. So why cut the corporate tax rate to 20 percent from 35 percent, as the Republican plans have committed to do? Advertisement "It's not a matter of trying to give the companies more money," said Alan Viard, a former Federal Reserve economist. The Senate Finance Committee version of the tax bill would hand corporations $682 billion over the next decade that they otherwise would have sent to the Internal Revenue Service, according to the Joint Committee on Taxation. Advertisement Supporters of the bill say it will unlock funds for more business investment, lower the price of capital and help the U.S. maintain its global competitive advantage. More than eight years after the end of the Great Recession, business investment - although increasing over the past year - remains anemic. Cutting the corporate tax rate will make the United States a more attractive place to invest, which will help create jobs and boost wages, Republicans say. Yet there are disputes over whether the lower rate will trigger the advertised investment surge. Edward Kleinbard, a University of Southern California tax law expert, says a provision allowing businesses to immediately deduct the full cost of equipment purchases would have a far greater impact than the rate cut. "Allowing expensing on new investments is more targeted," he said. Investment fell after the last corporate rate cut, in 1986, according to Commerce Department statistics. The bipartisan overhaul lowered the rate to 35 percent from 46 percent. Many chief executives have said they plan to return tax cut proceeds to shareholders rather than build new factories or hire more workers. Bank of America Merrill Lynch surveyed 302 companies in July and found that 65 percent said they would use the tax cut to pay down debt while 35 percent planned new capital spending. Even some proponents sound lukewarm. "I don't think there's a top tax expert in the country who thinks this is really good tax reform," said economist Laurence Kotlikoff of Boston University, whose research showing a potential $3,500 annual jump in wages for the average working household has been cited by the White House in support of the planned cuts. The White House Council of Economic Advisers says that "the primary mechanism" by which a corporate tax cut would boost output is by reducing the cost of capital. Yet capital already is cheap and plentiful. Corporations are sitting on a $2.3 trillion mountain of cash, and those with a triple-A credit rating can borrow for 20 years at just 3.5 percent interest, more than 2 percentage points less than the long-run average, according to Moody's. Most companies "are not cash-constrained," said Martin Sullivan, chief economist for the nonprofit Tax Analysts. Advertisement Companies such as JPMorgan Chase, Twitter and Eaton Corp. all touted best-ever financial results this year, and corporate profits are twice as large as they were when Ronald Reagan left office, relative to the size of the economy. "Profits are really, really high," said Steven Rosenthal, a tax law expert at the Tax Policy Center. Republicans say the United States needs to cut its corporate tax rate to keep pace with a global trend that has dropped average rates by roughly 40 percent since 1980. Taking into account the size of countries' economies, the average statutory corporate tax rate is about 29 percent. A total of 75 countries have rates of 15 percent or less, although most are small economies, according to the Tax Foundation. Over several decades, Washington has tapped corporations for a shrinking share of the federal government's bills. In 1967, as President Lyndon Johnson expanded the Great Society at home and waged war in Vietnam, corporate tax payments accounted for nearly one-quarter of government revenue. In 2016, by contrast, the corporate contribution to the federal government was less than 10 percent, according to the Congressional Budget Office. Still, the U.S. tax burden is blamed for 60 companies since 1983 shifting their tax residence to other countries in a process known as "inversion," CBO said in a September report. Vice President Mike Pence said last month that cutting corporate taxes would help U.S. companies battle foreign rivals. "American companies will be more competitive on the world stage," he wrote in a tweet. Advertisement But investors seem unconvinced that taxes are hobbling U.S. corporations. Eight of the world's 10 largest companies measured by market capitalization - including Apple, Google parent Alphabet and Microsoft - hail from the United States. U.S. dominance isn't limited to high tech. Eight of the world's 10 largest retail companies and six of the largest banks call the United States home, despite Republican concerns about an onerous tax code. The share of total U.S. taxes paid by corporate levies is equal to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's 35-nation average. As a group, U.S. corporations also pay significantly less than some of their major competitors. Japanese corporations bear twice as heavy a total tax burden, including all levels of government, while German corporations pay the same share as U.S. companies, according to the OECD. A successful Republican push to cut the U.S. corporate rate also could trigger further reductions by other nations, economists say. "If it does, it will dilute the competitive advantage we're getting from doing this," says Viard, of the American Enterprise Institute. June 3, 1940November 29, 2017 Allen Lee Mills was born in Joseph, Utah on June 3, 1940 to Eva and Melvin Mills. He was called Home in the early morning of November 29, 2017 at his home with Leola, his wife of 43 years, by his side. Allen started working at a young age to help support his family and most people knew him because he was always doing something that needed to be done; even if it was for someone else. The last days of his life were his toughest because the cancer kept him from getting up and working and enjoying the outdoors he loved so much. He was an adventurer and a story teller and he loved a good laugh. Allen grew up in many towns in Idaho, Utah, and Nevada. His late teen years found him in Wells, Nevada where he was always hunting; when he wasnt working. In Wells he started driving truck- picking up and delivering fuel for the 4 Way Truck Stop. That is when he met and married Sharon Sharp and had two sons, Clarence Lee Mills and Clinton Allen Mills. He built and opened up a service station while running the Lone Star Motel. He also was a great help to his Father and Mother in Law, Clarence and Helen Sharp, with their motel. The service station was perfect for him because daily he was helping people out with either fixing their cars, filling them up while visiting, or helping a family that needed gas to get home. Sometimes all at the same time! This also was the place he taught his oldest son Clare about work ethic. At an early age, Clare was taught to pump gas, wash windows, fix flat tires, and clean the service station. All while respecting every paying customer, and instilling kindness and charity in every interaction. Allen loved camping and bow-hunting and would take anyone with him that wanted to go. Some of his best stories were from these camping trips. He and his friends started an archery club so they could shoot all year long. Shooting archery is where his youngest son Clint learned that to get better at something, took hard work and another lesson in perseverance and humility. In 1975 Allen moved to Salt Lake City where he met and married Leola Johnson and become Dad to Susan Vigolo and Debbie Arnold and a Granddad to Jeremy and Nicole Arnold. Salt Lake City is where Allen started over and his work ethic moved him up the ladder at US Welding where he drove truck, fixed things, and did anything that was needed for the company, his customers, and co-workers. He spent most of his vacations hunting for deer on Monroe Mountain (Utah) where he loved to ride his four-wheeler. While down there, he loved to help his Mom with projects around her house. Even before retirement Allen was well known around his neighborhood for removing snow, moving the paper to the door, making sure trash was taken to the curb, and fixing anything that needed it. After retirement Allen loved spending time riding his four-wheeler with his brother Tom or best friend Butch Haney. He loved it when he had Leola and his dog riding on the back down those dirt roads. A great day was when they would ride all day and not see another person. Everyone that knew Allen will remember a story he told them, something he fixed for them, the amount and quality of work he accomplished, or just the way he made you feel comfortable in his presence. Allen was preceded in death by his Father, Mother, Brothers Jack, Tom, and Richard, Sisters Eva Dean and Kathy and Granddaughters Nicole and Athena. He left behind his Wife Leola, Sons Clarence (Patty, Athena) Mills and Clinton (Marci, Derec, Trevor) Mills, Stepdaughters Debbie (Scott, Jeremy, Nicole) Arnold and Susan (Paul) Vigolo. Services will be held at Bountiful LDS 28th Ward at 1450 S 350 W (its the Hidden Chapel near the 7-11) at 2 pm Monday December 04, 2017. Please come and celebrate the legacy Allen left behind and share your favorite story or memory or just come and be with loved ones. Luncheon afterwards provided by the caring Sisters of the Bountiful 28th Ward Relief Society. In lieu of flowers please donate to the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of Northern Utah in the name of Allen Mills. Aoihbne Alcantara, 3, of Lincolnwood, right, greets Santa in this Dec. 5, 2016 file photo at the Lincolnwood Village Promenade in Lincolnwood. The village is hosting a Breakfast with Santa event Saturday, Dec. 2, 2017 at the Lincolnwood Community Center. ( Karie Angell Luc/ Pioneer Press ) Santa Claus will join parents and children for breakfast in Lincolnwood Saturday morning, according to a village news release. Kids and their families will be able to enjoy pancakes, while children will be able to pose for a photo with Santa, according to the release. Kids will also write letters to Santa and work on a holiday craft to take home. Advertisement Children also are encouraged to bring their Christmas wish lists, according to the release, and a new, unwrapped toy for the Toys for Tots toy drive. "We are really looking forward to bringing this new holiday event to Lincolnwood" Parks and Recreation Director Laura McCarty said in the release. "We hope this will be start of an annual tradition for area families." Advertisement Tickets are $10 per person for Lincolnwood residents and $12 for non-residents. Registration is required in advance. The event is scheduled for 10 a.m. at the Lincolnwood Community Center, 4170 Morse Ave., in Lincolnwood. gbookwalter@chicagotribune.com Twitter @GenevieveBook Former national security adviser Michael Flynn, center, arrives at federal court in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 1, 2017. Court documents show Flynn, an early and vocal supporter of Donald Trump's on his campaign trail whose business dealings and foreign interactions made him a central focus of Robert Mueller's investigation, was expected to admit to lying about his conversations with Russia's ambassador to the United States during the transition period before President Trump's inauguration. (Susan Walsh / AP) If we have learned anything concrete from special counsel Robert Muellers Russia investigation, it is that Donald Trump is a magnet for liars. But even that revelation is far from shocking. Advertisement Former national security adviser Michael Flynn is the latest in what could be a long list of once sensible people who tried to cling to Trump for political gain and got stuck in his web. When the president lives in a cocoon made of filthy lies, anyone who drops by for a visit is bound to get dirty. Advertisement But while others go down wallowing in the dirt, Trump manages to brush the dust from his shoulders and walk away fresh. Its sad, but we have come to expect that anyone who works for Trump is willing to lie. Even Gen. John F. Kelly, who was considered impenetrable before he became White House chief of staff, fell under Trumps spell and told a blatant lie about Florida Congresswoman Frederica Wilson. Thats why some of us barely flinched when we heard that Flynn had pleaded guilty to lying to federal investigators looking into possible collusion between Trumps presidential campaign and the Russians. It is no secret that politicians are among the biggest liars around. But still, we are disillusioned when the people we place in Washington to work on behalf of our best interests look us straight in the eye and tell a lie. While news that Flynn was charged with lying about talking with Russians after the election was breaking on Friday, Senate Republicans were pushing through tax legislation based on some of the biggest lies ever told to the American people. The level of dishonesty in Congress is more astounding than any lie that has come out of the Russia investigation thus far. Trump and his enabling Republican cohorts claimed that the GOP tax bill they are ramming through Congress would benefit the middle class. Thats lie No. 1. Advertisement The cuts overwhelmingly would benefit corporations and wealthy Americans like Trump. A decade from now, the individual tax cuts would expire and people earning less than $75,000 a year will pay more taxes, according to multiple analysts. Republicans claim the tax cuts would eventually pay for themselves. Not only is that a lie, it would be laughable if it werent so serious. A study by the Joint Committee on Taxation on Thursday estimated that the bill would add $1 trillion to federal deficits over the next decade and grow the economy slower than Republicans claim it would. That likely means Republicans would make more cuts to programs and services, inevitably those that affect the elderly and low income. Since few people have actually seen the tax bill, other lies are slowly trickling out and were getting a look at just how devious these lawmakers are. Unable to repeal Obamacare outright when they had the chance, the GOP is trying to slip through the back door and gut the program. Advertisement To help pay for the tax cuts, Republicans would repeal the individual mandate, which requires most people to buy health insurance or pay a penalty. That would save the government more than $300 billion in funding, analysts said, but 13 million people would no longer be insured, causing premiums to rise even higher. Most of us already know that we cant believe most of what Trump says. But it would have been nice if he had meant it when he vowed during the presidential campaign that there would be no cuts to Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid. Turns out, Republicans are looking seriously at cutting those entitlement programs in order to pay for the costly tax cuts. The lies that came out of Congress on Friday were far more damaging to the American people than any lie Flynn might have told about Russia. While those of us who would like to see Trump removed from office were excited to hear that Flynn is cooperating with investigators, its way too soon to start celebrating Trumps demise. There are still lots of unconnected dots linking any of those lies directly to Trump. Advertisement That means Trump isnt going anywhere anytime soon. And he has made it clear that he has no plans to veto the tax bill when it lands on his desk, regardless of what it ends up looking like. That, most likely, isnt a lie. We cannot allow the news trickling out of the Russia investigation to take precedence over the other dirty deeds going on in Washington. There are too many lies being told by Trump and his Congressional cohorts that deserve our full attention. Lets take only a few minutes to revel in Muellers success at getting some of Trumps liars to finally tell the truth about Russia. But never forget that for every liar who is forced to come clean, theres another liar in Washington waiting for the chance to tell an even bigger lie. dglanton@chicagotribune.com Twitter @dahleeng [ RELATED: Flynn pleads guilty to lying to the FBI about Russia contacts; Kushner ID'd as official in court records ] [ Read: Documents charging Michael Flynn with lying to the FBI ] [ Analysis: Mueller crashes White House gates with Michael Flynn's guilty plea ] Kate Steinle was shot in 2015 by a Mexican man who'd been deported five times. (Paul Chinn / AP) The photograph is of a lovely young woman, with a warm smile on her face, a woman who loved and was loved in turn. Her name was Kate Steinle. Advertisement The last words she said to her father before she died were Help me, Dad. So look at that photo. See the promise in her face. Advertisement Some are calling her a symbol now of whats wrong with illegal immigration. Im not so sure. My parents were immigrants. I grew up in this country desperate to become an American. So immigration isnt some political exercise for me. Its been part of my life. But so has been my understanding of what binds us together, all of us, so many different people, with our different ethnicities and habits and foods and languages. It is the belief in the rule of law. And without that, were nothing. Making Kate Steinle a symbol doesnt do her justice. She wasnt a symbol of anything when that bullet took her. She was just a young American woman, walking with her dad. When you look at the photo, you might want to fix the light of her eyes in your mind. But do it quickly, because Kate Steinle is in the way of politics, and shes fading from view. Shes being muscled out of the news. The guilty plea of retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn in the Russia investigation of President Donald Trumps administration demands attention. The Republican tax cut demands attention. Advertisement And more allegations of sexual misconduct by political and media elites will get attention. But before she fades from the news cycle, please consider this. Kate Steinle isnt merely a casualty of a senseless act of some habitual criminal who was cleared of murder charges in San Francisco the other day. Kate Steinle is a casualty of American politics, of sanctuary city politics. And that makes her a political problem. That makes her an irritant to Democratic politicians and the open-borders types who use sanctuary city policies to bend immigration law and win Mexican-American votes. You might not like it, but thats what it is. They defy federal law to satisfy their local politics. Advertisement So yes, shes a problem, because it was sanctuary city policy that protected Jose Zarate, a career criminal who had already been deported five times and was in this country illegally. Zarate had been in local custody on a drug charge. And rather than bow to a detainer request of federal immigration authorities and hold him, Sanctuary San Francisco let Jose Zarate go. There was a stolen gun in his hand as Kate Steinle and her father walked along Pier 14. He initially told police hed been shooting at a sea lion. But if he had killed the sea lion, Zarate would have been convicted of something. The bullet killed Kate Steinle instead. And a jury acquitted him of all the serious charges, from murder to manslaughter. Advertisement A charge of murder requires proof of direct intent and there were no witnesses to intent. Ive seen it argued that local prosecutors overreached in charging murder in the first degree. I wouldnt disagree. Yet he also walked on manslaughter charges. And how a man can fire a gun and kill someone and not be convicted of manslaughter? That is beyond me. I wasnt in that courtroom. Her family was, though. And her father, Jim Steinle, told the San Francisco Chronicle that the family was shocked and saddened by the verdict. Theres no other way you can join it. Justice was rendered, but it was not served, he said. And justice still isnt being served, as long as sanctuary cities allow local political warlords to buy votes by bending federal law. The politics of this are smart, and effective, which is why so many big cities with large Mexican populations have adopted sanctuary city policies. Advertisement But under the law, immigration is the province of the federal government. And without the law, what are we? A collection of squabbling city-states? Why do we even have a federal government at all, if only to allow each state, each city and the local warlords to make their own separate immigration policy? Only the people of a sovereign nation have the right to decide what to do about their own borders. And their will is expressed by Congress. A nation without borders isnt a nation. Its just land that can be grabbed by whoever is tough enough to grab it. And releasing criminals onto the streets to satisfy your political goals isnt policy. Its dangerous. But all that wasnt on the mind of Jim Steinle or his daughter Kate when they were walking along that San Francisco pier. Advertisement Kate was beautiful, kind, happy, caring, loving and deep in faith, Jim Steinle said in testifying before Congress in 2015. Kate had a special soul, a kind and giving heart, the most contagious laugh, and a smile that would light up a room. The day she was killed, we were walking arm in arm on Pier 14 in San Francisco, enjoying a wonderful day together. Suddenly a shot rang out, Kate fell, and looked at me and said, Help me, Dad. Those are the last words I will ever hear from my daughter, he said. In America, we say that justice is blind because we know that without justice under the rule of law, were finished. What happened to Kate Steinle wasnt justice. A bullet took her life. But it was politics that killed her. Listen to "The Chicago Way" podcast with John Kass and Jeff Carlin at wgnradio.com/category/wgn-plus/thechicagoway. Advertisement jskass@chicagotribune.com Twitter @John_Kass [ Related: San Francisco defends sanctuary status as backlash mounts over acquittal in Steinle death ] [ Related: Jury: Mexican man not guilty in Kate Steinle killing that roiled immigration debate ] Chicago police investigate the scene of a shooting at Austin Avenue and Madison Street on Saturday, Dec. 2, 2017. (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune) A man was killed, and at least 10 other people, including four teenage boys, have been wounded since late Saturday morning in city shootings, Chicago police said. The fatal shooting happened shortly after 1:15 p.m. Saturday in the 2600 block of North Long Avenue in the Cragin neighborhood on the Northwest Side, Chicago police said. Advertisement A man in his 20s suffered a gunshot wound to the chest and was taken to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead, police said. Police had not been able to confirm the man's age as of about 6:30 p.m. Saturday. The man was riding a bicycle when a minivan drove up and someone inside fired shots, police said. Advertisement In a separate shooting, three teenage boys were wounded in an attack in the Austin neighborhood, just east of Oak Park, about 6:30 p.m. Saturday, according to police. A 14-year-old boy who suffered a gunshot wound to the arm and a 16-year-old boy who suffered a gunshot wound to the stomach were taken to Stroger Hospital, where their conditions were stabilized. A 16-year-old boy suffered a gunshot wound to the buttocks and was taken to Loyola University Medical Center, where his condition was stabilized, police said. The boys were standing on the sidewalk in the 5900 block of West Madison Street when a vehicle drove up and someone inside shot at them, police said. In other shootings: Most recently, a 21-year-old man was shot multiple times in the Roseland neighborhood about 3:50 a.m. Sunday, police said. Officers responding to a call of a person shot found him in the driver's side of a running vehicle in the first block of 111th Place, police said. He was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in critical condition. On the Southwest Side, a 21-year-old woman suffered a graze wound to her back in the Gage Park neighborhood about 2 a.m. Sunday, police said. She was sitting in a vehicle traveling south in the 5200 block of South Whipple Street when people on the street started shooting. One round penetrated the vehicle she was in, causing the graze wound. She declined medical treatment at the scene. On the West Side, a 25-year-old man was shot in the ankle in the East Garfield Park neighborhood about 10:30 p.m. Saturday, police said. He was shot in the 3800 block of West Huron Street and taken to Norwegian American Hospital in fair condition. On the South Side, a 20-year-old man suffered a graze wound to the foot in the Marquette Park neighborhood just before 8 p.m., police said. The man was walking in the 7100 block of South Troy Street when he heard gunshots and realized he was hit. He went in a private vehicle to Holy Cross Hospital in good condition. A man was shot in the 10500 block of South Edbrooke Avenue in the Rosemoor neighborhood a little after 7:15 p.m. Saturday, according to a police media notification. The 24-year-old man suffered a gunshot wound to the knee and was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center, where his condition was stabilized, police said. The man was walking when someone came up to him and shot him, police said. About 2:25 p.m. Saturday, a 17-year-old boy was seriously wounded in the Gresham neighborhood on the South Side. That shooting happened in the 1300 block of West 78th Street, police said. A vehicle pulled up, and someone got out and fired shots at the boy, striking him in the arms, legs and back. He was taken in serious condition to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn. Saturday morning, another person was seriously wounded in a shooting shortly after 11 a.m. in the 5800 block of South Indiana Avenue in the Washington Park neighborhood. The victim, 36, suffered a wound to the mouth and was taken to Stroger Hospital, police said. He was inside a vehicle when a van approached and someone inside fired shots, police said. The man ran into a residence, where officers found him while responding to a call of a person shot. No one was in custody. Check back for updates. Chicago police issued a community alert Friday afternoon warning of an attempted abduction of a 15-year-old in the Uptown neighborhood Monday morning. About 6:50 a.m. Nov. 27, a vehicle pulled up next to a 15-year-old girl in the 1000 block of West Montrose Avenue while she was walking on the sidewalk. The driver opened the front passenger door and asked if she needed a ride, police said. Advertisement A second person pushed the girl from behind toward the open door. The girl and the suspects then fled the scene. The offenders were described as black, with short hair and both were clean shaven. They are between the age of 20 to 35, police said. Advertisement The suspects were driving a gray or silver 4-door sedan with possible out of state plates, police said. Anyone with information about the incident should call detectives at 312-744-5983. Chicago Teachers Union Vice President Jesse Sharkey holds a news conference on the announcement of proposed school closings in the Englewood community on Nov. 30, 2017, in Chicago. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune) (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune) Chicago Public Schools on Friday moved ahead with school closing and merger proposals that would affect thousands of kids next school year. Under a previously announced plan, four South Side schools would close over the summer and the district would send hundreds of displaced students to surrounding schools. One building would be demolished to make way for a new high school, and privately operated charter schools would take over two other sites, under the districts plan. Advertisement Students at two predominantly African-American elementary schools near downtown would merge with more diverse campuses. One of those buildings, in the growing South Loop area, would gradually convert into a new high school. In addition, Hirsch, one of the citys lowest-enrolled high schools, would share space for a privately run charter school program thats backed by a local megachurch and a foundation headed by hip-hop artist Common. Advertisement The school actions announced Friday are not nearly as broad as 2013s school closings but they will affect a number of communities, and CPS Chief Education Officer Janice Jackson acknowledged the moves are obviously complicated and emotional. Its hard to make these types of decisions and completely please everybody. They require tough decisions, Jackson said. The proposals will be be the subject of public hearings in January ahead of a Chicago Board of Education vote. We do need to open this up for more public debate and discourse, Jackson said. A comprehensive school management plan is needed, and thats something that we have to keep working towards. One proposal would merge the operations of Jenner Elementary in the Cabrini Green neighborhood and the Ogden elementary and high school buildings. Kindergarten through fourth-grade students would use Ogdens building in the Near North neighborhood. Fifth- through eighth-graders would attend Jenners campus, and high schoolers would use Ogdens facility in the West Town neighborhood. CPS also moved forward with a controversial plan to convert the National Teachers Academy elementary school in the South Loop neighborhood into a high school. NTA students would move into buildings controlled by the nearby South Loop Elementary School, which will take over NTAs attendance boundary. That plan continues to face stiff opposition from a well-organized group of NTA parents and teachers. No one is going to argue integration is not a good thing. Integration is a great thing, said Elisabeth Greer, NTAs school council chair, after a protest in front of campus on Friday morning. But there is natural integration, and then there is, essentially, forced busing which brings two communities together by force. Advertisement CPS plans to spend $85,000 on a racial equity analysis of the plan, Jackson said. The proposal to close the four Englewood high schools next year Hope, Harper, Robeson and TEAM Englewood again prompted criticism of Mayor Rahm Emanuel from the Chicago Teachers Union. Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 4 Johh Hope College Preparatory High School, located in the Englewood neighborhood, on Nov. 16, 2017. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune) This is a mayor who has done nothing to address the needs of our struggling neighborhoods, or the needs of the Black and Latino students whose schools he chronically underfunds and neglects, union Vice President Jesse Sharkey said in a statement. His actions are contemptible. Jackson said the Urban Prep charter network, which already operates a school inside TEAM Englewoods campus, will take over the entire building. A KIPP Chicago Charter Schools program will also keep its current spot inside Hopes campus. Robesons building will be demolished and replaced with a new $85 million campus scheduled to open for freshmen in 2019. What to do with Harpers building has yet to be decided, Jackson said. Advertisement Daywatch Weekdays Start each day with Chicago Tribune editors' top story picks, delivered to your inbox. > Hirsch, one of the citys most underenrolled neighborhood high schools, would open its campus to the Art In Motion charter school next fall. CPS said the charter program, which is backed in part by the New Life Covenant Church and Common Ground Foundation, would first open to seventh- and eighth-graders before expanding to include a high school program. Mahalia Hines, a member of the Chicago Board of Education and mother of the hip-hop performer Common, also serves on the board of her sons foundation. Cardenas and Castellanos, two neighboring schools in the Little Village neighborhood, would consolidate under one administration but continue to operate in separate buildings. The Haugan and Henry elementary campuses on the Northwest Side would expand to include seventh- and eighth-grade classes over the coming two school years, replacing a middle school program that was recently opened inside Roosevelt High School. The Rudolph and Hope Institute programs for special education students will also combine operations. jjperez@chicagotribune.com Advertisement Twitter @PerezJr [ Tribune Special Report: Can these Chicago high schools survive? ] The Cook County sheriffs personnel board has halted all firings and suspensions, months after an appellate court ruling threw into question the legality of hundreds of crucial staffing decisions. Sheriff Tom Dart has frozen 200-plus misconduct cases pending before his merit board, which makes final decisions on a range of personnel decisions, while officials await a legislative fix to a growing legal mess over how the board has operated in recent years, officials say. Advertisement Earlier this year, a state appellate court found that all actions taken by an illegally constituted merit board between 2011 and 2015 were void. Now taxpayers are starting to feel the heat. On Friday, a Cook County judge ordered the sheriff to reinstate an officer fired in 2014 who Darts office alleged passed along a jailhouse threat to a crime victim and then lied about it. The court ordered Dart to reimburse the officer about $300,000 in back pay. Sheriffs officials said on Friday they arent yet sure how to address the growing legal and financial liability, but theyre concerned hundreds of other ousted officers could follow suit. Advertisement At this point its completely untenable, said Darts policy chief Cara Smith. The fact that these are the worst officers and we may have to take them back is obviously a problem. But attorneys for the union and fired officers say Dart created the mess by continuing to appoint board members to terms of less than six years without any legal authority to do so. Dart is not above the law, yet even when he knows he should stop operating this illegal board he keeps doing it anyway, said Christoper Cooper, an attorney for the officer who was reinstated Friday. The appellate court decision wasnt the only reason Dart put the brakes on hirings and firings. In October, the Cook County states attorneys office issued an opinion finding that, until state law is corrected, the merit board should not take any substantive actions because of the risk that those decisions will be vacated. A judges decision Friday to reverse the 2014 firing of Officer Dixie Rios may be the tip of the iceberg. In that case, Cook County Judge Diane Larson ordered Dart to give Rios her job back and write a roughly $300,000 check for back pay. Rios was fired three years ago after allegedly passing along a jailhouse threat from her brother, a high-ranking gang member, sheriffs officials said. Cooper, the officers attorney, denied those claims and said the investigation into his client was bumbling, slipshod and haphazard. The sheriffs office is considering its legal options, Smith said, and was unsure if it would allow Rios to start work Monday. Because of the broad nature of the appellate courts ruling earlier this year, Smith said she could not rule out defendants challenging their arrests by telling a judge the sheriffs officer who cuffed them was never properly appointed. She said the office is still working to figure out how to solve those issues going forward, likely with another legislative fix. Other legal challenges to the merit boards authority have surfaced. Last week a judge refused a request by attorneys for Teamsters Local 700, which represents about 3,400 correctional officers, to stop the merit board from ruling on disciplinary cases. But Judge Michael Mullen also told the attorneys the sheriff would be foolhardy to begin any merit board disciplinary proceedings. Advertisement It would be a disservice to our entire community, Mullen said, telling the attorneys he would welcome a new motion for a temporary restraining order if the merit board took any disciplinary actions. Right now youre running around with an improperly constituted board, Mullen told Darts attorneys. He was appointing people to unexpired terms without any basis to do so. A bill that would allow Dart to reappoint the entire board is awaiting Gov. Bruce Rauners signature. A Rauner spokesperson said Friday that the governor is still reviewing the bill. While the law requires that seven members sit on the board, two have recently departed. Smith, Darts policy chief, said that the sheriff is still able to file disciplinary charges and hold hearings to determine if an officer should be allowed to remain on the job while the charges are contested. Daywatch Weekdays Start each day with Chicago Tribune editors' top story picks, delivered to your inbox. > It hasnt affected our ability to obviously investigate misconduct, its just the final adjudication of what the extent of discipline will be, she said. Once the legislation passes it will clear up any ambiguity about the appointment process. Advertisement Our main goal is to have a fully empowered board that can adjudicate the most serious discipline we have. The merit board mess grew out of a 2013 lawsuit filed by fired Officer Percy Taylor. A Cook County judge reversed his dismissal and ordered the sheriff to pay back wages. The appellate court upheld that ruling, finding that the board was illegally constituted from 2011 to 2015, and in September the state Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal, meaning the lower court rulings stood. At least three new lawsuits have been filed in recent weeks, including one by a correctional officer who was fired after allegedly stealing $2 from a jail detainee, another by a jail guard who was terminated for allegedly misusing family and medical leave, and another by four officers who were suspended without pay over a year ago but have yet to receive a hearing before the merit board. The Associated Press contributed. sschmadeke@chicagotribune.com Twitter @SteveSchmadeke [ RELATED: Dart moves to fire jail guard for family leave misuse ] [ Sheriff Dart asks judge not to award back pay to fired officers ] In this photo provided by the ICTY on Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2017, Slobodan Praljak brings a bottle to his lips, during a Yugoslav War Crimes Tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands. Praljak yelled, "I am not a war criminal!" and appeared to drink from a small bottle, seconds after judges reconfirmed his 20-year prison sentence. (AP) THE HAGUE, Netherlands A former Croatian general who died after swallowing a liquid at a war crimes hearing in the Netherlands had cyanide in his system, Dutch prosecutors said after an autopsy was performed Friday. Preliminary results from a toxicological test revealed "a concentration of potassium cyanide" in Slobodan Praljak's blood, the Hague Public Prosecutor's Office said in a statement. Advertisement The cyanide caused heart failure, which investigators "pointed out" as the 72-year-old Praljak's "suspected cause of death," according to the prosecutor's statement. On Wednesday, Praljak drank from a small bottle that he said contained poison seconds after an appeals judge at the U.N.'s International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia confirmed his 20-year sentence for crimes during the 1992-95 Bosnian war. Advertisement He was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital a little while later. Meanwhile, the United Nations tribunal ordered an independent review of its "internal operations" following the dramatic event in its courtroom. The tribunal said its review was meant to complement the ongoing investigation of Praljak's death by Dutch prosecutors. The announcement came after Croatia's justice minister raised doubts about whether security and medical staff at the tribunal responded quickly enough when Praljak raised the bottle to his lips with a trembling right hand and consumed its contents. Before the toxicological test results came back, Dutch prosecutors had confirmed the bottle carried a toxic chemical. It remains unclear how Praljak, who was in custody before the hearing, obtained the substance and managed to smuggle it into the courtroom. The tribunal's review will begin next week and be led by Hassan Jallow, a former prosecutor with the U.N.'s Rwanda war crimes tribunal. It aims to file a report by Dec. 31, when the tribunal formally closes its doors, having completed all its cases. The court says Jallow "is mandated to undertake an assessment of relevant existing procedures as well as make any recommendations which may assist other courts in the future." Tribunal spokesman Nenad Golcevski said it is not the first time such a probe has been ordered by the court. "Similar internal reviews have been initiated, for example, after the death of Slobodan Milosevic," Golcevski said, referring to the former Yugoslav president who died in his tribunal cell in 2006 before judges could deliver verdicts in his trial. Advertisement Two Croatian experts observed the autopsy on Praljak's body at the tribunal's request. Late Thursday, Croatian Justice Minister Drazen Bosnjakovic said the country would ask Dutch authorities to be included in the ongoing investigation into Praljak's death. Bosnjakovic told Croatia's state TV that "much remains unclear, including how the poison was taken in, why security didn't react in time and why medical help arrived so late." He added that Croatia wants "all facts cleared about this tragic event." Praljak's defense lawyer, Nika Pinter, told Croatia's Nova TV she did not know how Praljak managed to get the bottle past security. "But that was his decision, his decision," Pinter said. "He would not want to live for one day with handcuffs on his hands, and (the) stigma of war criminal on his back." Associated Press writer Jovana Gec in Belgrade, Serbia, contributed. Reporting from Washington Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions has expanded the authority of law enforcement to seize criminal suspects' money and property, bucking a movement in Congress and many states to rein in a practice that critics said led to flagrant abuses and was unconstitutional. The Justice Department announced Wednesday it was restoring so-called adoptive forfeitures, where local or state authorities can seize valuable assets from suspects under federal law, circumventing more restrictive state laws. Advertisement Asset forfeitures are controversial because law enforcement agencies often take possession of cars, homes, jewelry and cash from suspects implicated in drug deals or other crimes without first obtaining convictions or, in some cases, indictments. Such practices have led to criticism that local and state law enforcement agencies have deliberately misused the law to seize property that could help fund their operations. Partly as a result, two dozen states have restricted asset forfeitures. Advertisement In 2015, then-Atty. Gen. Eric Holder drastically curtailed the practice amid growing concerns in Congress that police were improperly seizing valuable belongings from suspects without any convincing connection to crimes. In the previous eight years, adoptive forfeitures mostly by the Drug Enforcement Administration had garnered about $880 million, according to a March report by the Justice Department's Inspector General. The report found that many of the forfeiture cases were not linked to provable crimes. It cited a case in South Florida that led to seizures of $49 million but not one criminal indictment. Both liberal and conservative legal organizations have condemned forfeitures. In a rare bit of bipartisanship, Republicans and Democrats in Congress have joined forces to sponsor bills intended to curb the practice, although none has passed. Sessions opposed some of those reform measures as a U.S. senator from Alabama. Since he was confirmed as attorney general, the nation's highest law enforcement official, he has moved to reinstitute several aggressive drug war policies. He has instructed prosecutors to file the most severe offenses against criminal suspects, for example, ending another Obama-era policy that tried to ease long mandatory sentences for nonviolent offenders. At a news conference Wednesday, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said the Justice Department would require more stringent oversight and training to help prevent abuses by police during asset forfeitures and make sure that such seizures meet constitutional standards. "We heard loudly and clearly from local police agencies that they think this is a valuable tool," Rosenstein said. Advertisement He said the new policy will not require criminal convictions before police can take possession of a suspect's property. But, he added, "there has to be evidence of a crime." Under the new policy, local authorities must ask the Justice Department to intervene within 15 days, and demonstrate probable cause before seizing any suspected contraband. Sessions said the new rules will help protect against abuses and allow people to contest the seizures. "In the vast majority of cases, this is really not an issue," Sessions told reporters. He said that 4 out of 5 forfeiture cases are uncontested. "They're not challenging [the seizures] because this was usually drug money, and they know it was drug money," he said. Some law enforcement officials attended the announcement and applauded the policy change. Seizing ill-gotten gains breaks the backs of criminal groups, they said, adding that the criminals depend on the confiscated funds to support their budgets. Advertisement "For eight years, we felt we didn't have the support of this department, and we finally feel that we do," said Ron Brooks, speaking for the National Narcotics Officers Association Coalition. But Darpana Sheth, senior attorney for the Institute for Justice, a conservative legal group, said many forfeitures are uncontested simply because people don't have the resources to fight the government. "It's not surprising that the only defenders of this program are the ones who stand to financially benefit from it," she said of police and prosecutors. Liberal groups also have condemned forfeitures. Kanya Bennett, legislative counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union, said the new order bucks widespread public opinion that seizing assets of people who have not been convicted is "unjust and un-American." Rep. Darrell Issa, R-California, who sponsored legislation this year to more tightly regulate asset forfeiture, called the new policy "a troubling decision for the due process protections afforded to us" under the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution. "Criminals shouldn't be able to keep the proceeds of their crime but innocent Americans shouldn't lose their right to due process, or their private property rights, in order to make that happen," Issa said in a statement. Advertisement Six members of the Senate urged Sessions in a May 31 letter to revise the asset forfeiture policies in light of increasing indications that the Supreme Court views the practice as unconstitutional. "Instead of revising forfeiture practices in a manner to better protect Americans' due process rights, the [Justice Department] seems determined to lose in court before it changes its policies for the better," Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, one of the six, said in a statement Wednesday. joseph.tanfani@latimes.com @jtanfani WASHINGTON The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will not issue final regulations for financial responsibility requirements for certain hardrock mining facilities, the agency announced Dec. 1. After careful analysis of public comments, the statutory authority, and the record for this rulemaking, EPA is confident that modern industry practices, along with existing state and federal requirements address risks from operating hardrock mining facilities, said EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt. Additional financial assurance requirements are unnecessary and would impose an undue burden on this important sector of the American economy and rural America, where most of these mining jobs are based. EPA published proposed regulations under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA, or Superfund) on Jan. 11, and the public comment period closed on July 11. EPA has decided not to issue final regulations because the risks associated with these facilities operations are addressed by existing federal and state programs and industry practices. EPA was under a court-ordered deadline to take final action on this rulemaking by Dec. 1. The decision not to issue final rules under CERCLA section 108(b) will be published in the Federal Register. The success of Nevadas robust mine bonding program protects public safety and our environment and ensures our critical mining industry can operate with certainty, said Gov. Brian Sandoval in a statement. I applaud the EPA for their thoughtful approach and thorough review of the proposed rule, for seeking comments from a diverse set of stakeholders and ultimately, for making the right decision. Todays action by the Administrator recognizes the reality that the states have been capably regulating mine bonding without interference from Washington and should be allowed to continue to do so. EPA has analyzed the need for financial responsibility requirements under CERCLA section 108(b) based on the degree and duration of risk associated with the production, transportation, treatment, storage and disposal of hazardous substances from current hardrock mining operations, as well the risk of taxpayer funded cleanups at facilities operating under modern management practices and modern environmental regulations. That risk is identified by examining: the management of hazardous substances at such facilities; federal and state regulatory controls on that management and federal and state financial responsibility requirements; and, the payment experience of the fund in responding to releases. EPA concluded the degree and duration of risk associated with the modern production, transportation, treatment, storage or disposal of hazardous substances by the hardrock mining industry does not present a level of risk of taxpayer-funded response actions that warrant imposition of financial responsibility requirements under CERCLA for this sector. This determination reflects EPAs interpretation of the statute, EPAs evaluation of the record for the proposed rule, and the approximately 11,000 public comments received by EPA on this rulemaking. The American Exploration & Mining Association is pleased that EPA, under Administrator Pruitt, undertook a legitimate, science and fact based analysis. EPA has finally recognized that the robust financial assurance system in place works. said Laura Skaer, AEMA executive director. No mine approved by the Bureau of Land Management or the United States Forest Service since 1990 has been placed on the Superfund list. This undeniable fact, along with robust financial assurance requirements, stringent regulatory requirements and the industrys commitment to the highest environmental standards is what made todays decision the right one. State mining and environmental regulators, as well as other federal agencies and the regulated community and financial sectors, commented that the proposed requirements would potentially interfere with state and local mining regulations, were unnecessary, and would be difficult to implement. This decision does not in any way affect EPAs authority to take appropriate response actions under CERCLA. The National Mining Association also welcomed the decision, saying that the proposed final rules stemmed from environmental group litigation seeking to use CERCLA to impose additional, crippling financial and regulatory burdens on the mining industry. When litigation is used as a tool to attempt to force the government into unnecessary action against an industry, the result is bad policy, said Hal Quinn, NMA president and CEO. Todays action shows that reason can prevail. Modern, advanced mining practices coupled with existing state and federal environmental and financial assurance requirements comprehensively cover the same risks contemplated under the CERCLA program. Great Basin Resource Watch, a nonprofit regional environmental justice organization, was one of the plaintiffs in the years-old litigation via Earthjustice, a nonprofit environmental law firm. GBRW Executive Director John Hadder said that the group hasnt yet discussed officially what will happen next but that the fight isnt over. I guess the bottom line is that well be back in court, he said. We feel that it is needed, and well probably be back in court. Nevada Mining Association President Dana Bennett said she appreciated the EPA not tampering with Nevadas already successful bonding program. "If enacted, the proposed rule would have created an unnecessary and duplicative federal program in Nevada, which would have discouraged domestic mineral production, limited future mining investments, and devastated rural Nevada economies," she said in a statement. "The Silver State has long protected its public lands, in partnership with federal land management agencies, through continuous oversight of mining operations and vigorous enforcement of state and federal environmental laws. In addition, mining companies are required to bond for the reclamation and remediation of mining sites, and Nevada regulators currently hold nearly$3 billion in financial assurance bonds. The proposed CERCLA rule would have more than doubled the bonding costs for mines without adding any extra benefit to Nevadas environment." Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nev., also remarked on the decision. The Environmental Protection Agencys decision today is a win for Nevadas mining industry, which helps employ nearly 25,000 workers in our state alone, he said. The CERCLA rule would have discouraged investment, development, and job creation in the very communities that rely on this industry. This story has been updated to include a statement from the Nevada Mining Association. Sergio Jose Martinez, a Mexican man who has been deported from the United States at least 13 times, has been sentenced to 35 years in prison after pleading guilty to assault, kidnapping and other charges in separate attacks on two women on the same day in Oregon. (Multnomah County Sheriff's Office via AP) A Mexican man who was deported from the United States more than a dozen times was sentenced Friday in Oregon to 35 years in prison after pleading guilty to sodomy, kidnapping, sex abuse and other charges in separate attacks on two women. Sergio Jose Martinez told victims' relatives he would see them in hell after the sentence was pronounced Friday in a Portland courtroom. Advertisement Just a day earlier, another man who had also been deported multiple times for being in America illegally, Jose Ines Garcia Zarate, was found not guilty by a jury in San Francisco in the shooting death of a woman. That case touched off a national immigration debate. "Unfortunately, after Zarate got acquitted, Martinez is now the boogeyman of the face of immigration," Martinez's lawyer, Jonathan Sarre, said in a phone interview. Advertisement A week before the attacks, Martinez was freed from jail in Portland where he had served time for interfering with police and providing a false birth date. He was let go despite a request from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office to hold him so the agency could take him into custody. Oregon became America's first sanctuary state when it adopted a law in 1987 preventing law enforcement from detaining people who are in the United States illegally but have not broken other laws. Sheriff Michael Reese said he could not legally continue to hold Martinez on the federal agency's "immigration detainer" request. Reese said that if ICE had sent a criminal detention warrant signed by a judge, he could have been held longer. "He was released consistent with the orders of the court. No federal or state criminal warrants were present at the time he left our custody," the sheriff said at the time while noting that Martinez had been deported before "and has returned to commit additional crimes." "It would help our community to understand how he was held accountable by federal authorities for multiple, illegal re-entries" Reese said. U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions highlighted Martinez's case when he visited Oregon in September and urged local jurisdictions that don't cooperate with federal immigration agents to reconsider those policies. Martinez attacked the two women in Portland on July 24, one in her home and the other in a parking garage. Two relatives of one of the victims and one of the victims herself spoke during the sentencing phase Friday, in which Martinez often grinned. A brother of one victim told Martinez, "Sergio, no sentencing is enough . I rather you rot in hell," KOIN TV news reported. Advertisement Deputy District Attorney Amity Girt, the prosecutor on the case, said "we had some very powerful victim impact statements that said it all." "It was really breathtaking to hear the far-reaching consequences of violent crime, the emotional injury," Girt said in a telephone interview. Under the agreement that spared Martinez a possibly longer sentence if he had been found guilty at trial, he pleaded guilty to 10 counts, including first-degree burglary, sodomy, sex abuse, kidnapping, robbery, and second-degree assault, Girt said. When Martinez left the courtroom, he told the victims' relatives: "See all you guys in hell," KOIN reported. Sarre said Martinez, 31, "suffers from some mental illnesses; often such people may do inappropriate things in these situations." However, a doctor had declared Martinez competent to stand trial, Sarre said. Advertisement Martinez is not eligible for early release due to a 1994 ballot initiative passed by Oregon voters that establishes mandatory minimum sentences for certain crimes, Sarre said. After 35 years, ICE would be able to take him into custody if they monitor his release date, the attorney said. By then, Martinez will be 66 years old. ICE spokeswoman Lori Haley said that the agency will want Martinez transferred to its custody when he completes his sentence, so it can deport him. When Senate Republicans introduced their tax bill in mid-November, they faced competing interests: Some senators thought it wasn't generous enough for working-class families. Others thought it didn't deliver enough to business owners. As Republicans moved closer to a final vote on the bill Friday night, they made several tweaks to the tax legislation. They announced more benefits for business owners, particularly wealthy ones, but they voted down a proposal by Sens. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and Mike Lee, R-Utah, to give low-income families a bigger tax break. The disparate treatment underlined how the legislation - a massive rewrite of the individual and corporate tax code - has evolved since its first incarnation: What began as an effort that would favor wealthy individuals and corporations became, in many ways, even more tilted in their favor as the legislation made its way through the Senate. Rubio and Lee had suggested paying for their idea by lowering the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 21 percent instead of 20 percent. "We could have helped so much more," an exasperated Rubio had said earlier Friday, anticipating defeat. "With less than that one percent difference, we can make a huge difference in the lives of millions of Americans making between $20,000 and $50,000." That came after a series of other changes that took away from working-class and middle-class families benefits that had been in an earlier version of the bill. When lawmakers needed a way to limit the legislation's impact on the deficit to make it comply with Senate rules, they made the bill's tax cuts affecting individuals temporary - ending in 2025 - while leaving in place ones that benefit corporations. The move would lead to a tax hike on many Americans in the middle of the next decade. Likewise, when they needed to find additional ways to finance the corporate tax cut, leaders targeted the Affordable Care Act's individual mandate for elimination. Such a move would lead 13 million to drop health insurance, including 5 million on Medicaid, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. At the same time, changes demanded by Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., to increase benefits for companies that pay their taxes through the individual tax code - a mechanism that experts say disproportionately benefits the wealthy - made it into the final version of the legislation released late Friday. "It clearly makes inequality worse. The primary beneficiaries are the highest-income taxpayers," said Adam Looney, a senior fellow in economic studies at the Brookings Institution who served as deputy assistant secretary for tax analysis in the Obama administration. Republican leaders argue that providing deep tax cuts to corporations and wealthy business-owners will pump up the economy and deliver more jobs and higher wages to voters who, polls show, are deeply skeptical of the tax plan. "In one bill, we've taken the U.S. from being one of the least attractive places to do business into one of the most attractive places to do business," said Scott Hodge, president of the Tax Foundation, a think tank that has supported the bill. Many independent studies agree the tax plan would trigger additional economic growth, but the question remains whether working-class Americans will ultimately reap additional benefits or whether most of the gains will go to the top. "If this is our only major tax reform for another 30 years, then I think it's a great disappointment," said Alan Auerbach, a tax expert at the University of California Berkeley who has co-authored research with the head of President Donald Trump's Council of Economic Advisers. Republicans "could have done much better," said Auerbach. "Most of the benefits go to very high-income people." In interviews this week, Republican senators noted that the bill gives the middle class a direct tax cut, so it doesn't matter what the rich receive as long as ordinary Americans are getting help. "I'm not worried about the rich in this country. The rich generally take care of themselves. Out of a country of 300 million people, there aren't that many really rich, rich people," Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., said in an interview. "I do worry about the people who work every day that are paying more than their fair share." Republicans also point out they have made some changes that many liberals have advocated for years, such as scaling back the state and local tax deductions that are primarily used by upper middle class and wealthy taxpayers. But many GOP lawmakers argued it's fair for the wealthy to get the biggest tax cut since they pay the most in taxes. "It's obvious that people who make money are going to pay more in taxes than people who don't," Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., said in an interview. Other Republicans argued that it was time for a change in direction. "Income inequality increased dramatically under President Obama," said Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas. "High taxes, high regulations, and big government benefit the rich and hurt working men and women." According to the most recent analysis by the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center, the average taxpayer earning about $50,000 to $85,000 will get a tax cut of $850 in 2019. Meanwhile, the average taxpayer earning more than $1 million will get $34,130 in tax cuts. The disparity grows even wider a decade down the road after the tax cuts for individuals expire. By 2027, over half of taxpayers earning more than $500,000 a year get a tax cut of $500 or more in the Senate bill, according to Congress's Joint Committee on Taxation. By contrast, just 5 percent of taxpayers earning $50,000 to $75,000 do. President Trump has sold this bill as a win for all - a much-needed corporate tax reform and a cut for the middle class. But if helping the middle class was a core objective, there was a lot more than could have been done. For example, the 2008 tax cut pushed by the Bush administration during the financial crisis delivered, on average, $1,010 to people earning $50,000 to $75,000, but people earning above $1 million got virtually no tax cut, according to the Tax Policy Center. Auerbach says some of the pain for the middle class is not even clear in the bill, because Congress has to borrow at least $1 trillion to finance it - and that money one day may have to be paid back with spending cuts. "Someone is going to have to pay for those deficits," he said. "To the extent the deficits are addressed by cutbacks to entitlement programs, it could further exacerbate inequality." Some economists fear that the inequality created by the bill will deepen social divisions that have been on display across the United States and other Western countries in recent years. "This [bill] is the reverse of what we need at a time of populist backlash against inequitable gains from globalization in advanced economies," said economist Emmanuel Saez, a professor at the University of California at Berkeley and one of the leading experts on inequality. Even among some Republicans who favor a deep tax cut, there was agreement that it should have gone further to support the working class. "For Republicans, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to get corporate tax reform done. It will help growth, but there could have been more done for the lowest-income households," said Aparna Mathur, an economist and scholar at the right-leaning American Enterprise Institute. Indeed, Sens. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and Mike Lee, R-Utah, were pressing for a change in the plan that would have expanded a tax credit for low-income working families, offset by a slight rise in the corporate tax rate from 20 percent to just shy of 21 percent. It was expected to be rejected by the Senate late Friday. "We could have helped so much more," said an exasperated Rubio early Friday evening. "With less than that 1 percent difference, we can make a huge difference in the lives of millions of Americans making between $20,000 and $50,000." The Washington Post's Jeff Stein and Andrew Van Dam contributed to this report. A Wyoming judge ordered the state Friday to return nearly $92,000 seized from a musician during a traffic stop that resulted in no criminal charges or even an arrest, according to the man's attorney. Attorney Dan Alban said Judge Peter Arnold ordered the state to return the full amount to Phil Parhamovich, an unexpected move in a case that began more than eight months ago. The First Judicial District Court in Wyoming confirmed the judge's order. Attorney General Peter Michael said late Friday his office was preparing to return the money to Parhamovich. He noted that Parhamovich had initially denied ownership of the money and said state law required a court hearing once he changed his position. Michael also said the judge had pointed out the officers acted properly after Parhamovich denied the money was his. Parhamovich told The Associated Press that he was traveling to several performances in Western states and decided to bring his "life savings" because maintenance staff often came into his rented apartment in Madison, Wisconsin. The 50-year-old hid the money inside a speaker he was bringing along on the trip. While driving near Cheyenne on March 13, officers with the Wyoming Highway Patrol and the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigations pulled him over. Parhamovich said officers questioned him about whether any drugs or large amounts of cash were in the car and then used a police dog before physically searching through his minivan and finding the money. Parhamovich said the officers implied that carrying that much cash was illegal. He lied and said it was a friend's. Parhamovich said officers then told him that he could leave if he signed a form saying he was giving the $91,800 to the investigative agency for "narcotics law enforcement purposes." "I remember asking them a bunch of times: 'What happens if I don't sign this?'" Parhamovich said. "I couldn't get a straight answer. What I was told kind of made it seem like I would go to jail or they'd detain me for a long time." He drove away with a $25 ticket for failing to wear a seatbelt, he said. Parhamovich said he wrote to several state agencies within days claiming the money as his own, asking that it be returned and for notice of any court hearings. The state filed court documents in May asking to forfeit the money. When no one claiming to own it showed at a July 5 hearing, it became the property of the Division of Criminal Investigations. Alban, an attorney with the Washington D.C.-based Institute for Justice who represented Parhamovich, said his client was never notified of the state's steps to forfeit the money. Friday's hearing was intended to argue that point, but instead, Parhamovich learned that he'd get back the money he earned renovating and selling several historic houses and properties. He planned to use $80,000 as a down payment on a music studio. He preferred to keep his savings in cash to easily purchase guitars and other equipment when needed, according to court records. Alban said it's troubling that the officers who pulled the musician over had a printed copy of the waiver handy during the roadside encounter. The judge made the right decision, he said, but the case demonstrates a broader problem. "Phil would have lost his life savings over the fact that he didn't wear a seatbelt while driving through Wyoming," he said. "That's outrageous and needs to end." Parhamovich's claim isn't the first time asset forfeiture in Wyoming has been challenged. The state Supreme Court dismissed an appeal in 2016 filed by Robert Miller, an Illinois man, who argued that it was unconstitutional for the state to seize $470,000 in cash from him on grounds that it was drug money. He was never charged with a crime. Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead in 2016 signed a law requiring the state attorney general to review all seizures performed to decide if they were justified, a year after vetoing a stronger proposal to require a criminal conviction before the state could seize any property. The compromise Mead signed gave the attorney general 30 days to ask a judge to determine if there was probable cause that the property was involved in the drug trade, a necessary step before the state may file a civil case to forfeit the property. But it's not clear those requirements would apply in Parhamovich's case because he signed the waiver form. Former national security advisor Michael Flynn said Friday he pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI because his actions were wrong and he wanted to set things right. (Los Angeles Times) WASHINGTON After six months of work, special counsel Robert Mueller III has indicted two top advisers to President Donald Trump and accepted guilty pleas from two others in exchange for their cooperation with his probe into Russian meddling in the 2016 election - a sign of mounting legal peril for the White House. With the guilty plea Friday by former national security adviser Michael Flynn - one of Trump's closest and most valued aides - the investigation has swept up an array of figures with intimate knowledge of the campaign, the transition and the White House. Advertisement It appears to have swiftly expanded beyond Russia's interference in the campaign to encompass a range of activities, including contacts with Russian officials during the transition and alleged money laundering that took place long before Trump ran for office. And Flynn's agreement to fully cooperate with investigators suggests that Mueller is not done yet. Advertisement Both Flynn and George Papadopoulos, who served as a foreign policy adviser to Trump's campaign, acknowledged lying to the FBI about their contacts with the Russians. Now, both are cooperating with Mueller, according to prosecutors, potentially providing evidence against other Trump aides. "Mueller has proceeded with professionalism, deliberation and without delay to build a case with a wall of substance," said Richard Ben-Veniste, who was a lead member of the Watergate special prosecution team. "This plea today is another brick in that wall." Mueller has moved so swiftly that it has left Trump's team grasping for answers about how far the probe might ultimately reach. Along with Flynn and Papadopoulos, former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and his deputy, Rick Gates, have been charged with money laundering and other crimes related to political consulting they did in Ukraine prior to joining Trump's effort. They pleaded not guilty. On Friday, the news about Flynn's deal broke after the regular senior staff meeting at the White House, startling top officials and leaving many feeling helpless. "We don't know really what is going on," according to one adviser who speaks to Trump often and requested anonymity to describe private conversations. "Who's it going to implicate? What are they going to say?" Flynn's cooperation poses particular risks for the White House. Unlike Papadopoulos, who had minimal contact with top aides and met Trump just once, Flynn was a key member of Trump's inner circle, considered at one point for the vice-presidential nomination. Advertisement There have been signs for months that Trump was particularly nervous about the possibility of the investigation ensnaring his former national security adviser. Former FBI director James Comey testified in June that Trump urged him in February to back off an investigation of Flynn. Their one-on-one conversation in the Oval Office came three weeks after Flynn was interviewed by FBI agents and lied about his foreign contacts. If anyone on the campaign coordinated with the Russians in their efforts to interfere with the election, Flynn would probably have been aware. Court documents filed Friday show that Flynn did not operate independently in his contacts during the transition with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak - which he then lied about to federal agents. According to the filings, Flynn consulted with multiple senior Trump officials during the transition. One adviser, described in court documents as a "very senior member" of the transition team, directed Flynn in December to reach out to Kislyak and lobby him about a United Nations resolution on Israeli settlements. People familiar with the investigation identified the adviser as Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner. Kushner lawyer Abbe Lowell declined to comment. Advertisement Likewise, Flynn spoke to Kislyak about new U.S. sanctions imposed on Russia by President Barack Obama in late December only after discussing the matter with a senior Trump official who had accompanied him on a trip to his private Mar-a-Lago club, according to the documents. The senior official was Flynn's deputy, K.T. McFarland, according to two people familiar with the conversation. McFarland, who has been nominated to be ambassador to Singapore, did not respond to a request for comment. Mueller is now expected to explore who knew what in the White House about Flynn's interactions with the Russians - and whether any other Trump aides lied about that knowledge. Legal experts said Mueller could be looking at whether Trump's team violated a more-than-200-year-old law known as the Logan Act that prohibits private citizens from working with foreign governments against the U.S. government. Court filings show that Flynn was actively working to undercut Obama's foreign policy before formally entering government, in consultation with other Trump officials. "It sure looks like this is a Logan Act violation," said Stephen Vladeck, an expert in national security law at the University of Texas. Advertisement Still, use of the Logan Act, which has not been used to prosecute a U.S. citizen since the Civil War, would face strong legal challenges. The constitutionality of the law - particularly whether it imposes unacceptable restrictions on freedom of speech - has never been tested. Vladeck also said defense lawyers could argue that presidential transition officials act with the authority of the U.S. government and are not subject to the law. But Mueller has shown a willingness to be aggressive when it comes to using obscure federal statutes, as seen in his use of the Foreign Agents Registration Act, which is rarely prosecuted in criminal cases. Mueller charged Manafort and Gates with violating that law. Aside from the legal implications, Flynn's account could ratchet up the political pressure on the White House, which will now face more questions about why incoming Vice President Mike Pence, chief of staff Reince Priebus and then-spokesman Sean Spicer insisted that Flynn did not discuss sanctions with Kislyak when other senior officials knew otherwise. At the time of Flynn's conversations with the Russian ambassador, Obama was weighing how to respond to the U.S. intelligence community's conclusion that Russian President Vladimir Putin had ordered cyberhacking and propaganda operations to help Trump win the White House. In those same weeks, Obama's team had been discussing what to do about the failure to jump-start Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations. That question abruptly required an answer on Dec. 21, when Egypt unexpectedly introduced a U.N. Security Council resolution criticizing Israel for its West Bank settlements and called for a vote the next day. Advertisement On both issues, the policies chosen by Obama ran counter to those preferred by Trump and his team. But long-standing U.S. tradition, supported by the Logan Act, has held that a president-elect take a back seat to the serving president until after taking the oath of office. On Dec. 28, Obama announced the expulsion of 35 Russian intelligence officials from this country and the closure of two Russian diplomatic facilities as punishment for what U.S. intelligence said was Moscow's interference in the election. The next day, Dec. 29, court documents show that Flynn called Kislyak and asked that Russia avoid escalating tensions with the United States and refrain from responding in kind to Obama's actions. Just one day later, Dec. 30, Putin announced that he would take no action, prompting Trump to tweet that Putin had made a "great move." "I always knew he was very smart," Trump tweeted. In mid-February, four days after The Washington Post reported that Flynn had discussed the sanctions with Kislyak, Trump fired him. Advertisement But the new court documents show that some Trump aides had been aware of the nature of Flynn's contact with the Russian ambassador. He spoke to other aides before and after the conversation with Kislyak on Dec. 29, as well as after a conversation he had with Kislyak on Dec. 31 in which the ambassador said Putin had decided not to retaliate specifically in response to Flynn's request. Events surrounding the Dec. 23 Security Council vote condemning Israeli settlements as illegal marked the most overt interference in U.S. foreign policy by the Trump team, and Trump personally, between his election and inauguration. Egypt's abrupt introduction of the resolution on Dec. 21 - and the scheduling of a vote for the next day - took much of the council, and the Obama administration, by surprise. As Obama consulted with aides on the U.S. vote, Israeli officials mobilized to head off passage. Trump's position was the same as Israel's: The resolution should be vetoed, he tweeted before dawn on Dec. 22. According to court documents, that same day, the senior official directed Flynn to contact foreign leaders, including from Russia, and urge them to do what Obama had decided the United States would not: oppose the resolution or at least delay it. Trump himself called Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sissi to discuss the resolution, the Egyptians announced at the time. At first, Trump's gambit appeared to have worked. Just before the vote was to take place, Egypt withdrew the resolution. But by the next morning, it had been reintroduced by New Zealand and other co-sponsors, and a vote was quickly held. The United States abstained, and the resolution was adopted with the vote of all other 14 Security Council members. Advertisement Trump publicly fumed, tweeting, "We cannot continue to let Israel be treated with such total disdain and disrespect." Alice Crites, Josh Dawsey and Jenna Johnson contributed to this report Republican Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona, Sen. Susan Collins of Maine and Sen. Luther Strange of Alabama head for the Senate floor on Dec. 1, 2017. (Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images) WASHINGTON Senate Republicans passed a $1.5 trillion tax bill early Saturday morning that bestows massive benefits on corporate America and the wealthy while delivering mixed blessings to everybody else. After a frantic round of negotiations, Republicans came together in near unanimity behind the landmark legislation. The final vote was 51 to 49, with Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., the lone GOP holdout. No Democrats voted for the bill. Advertisement The measure still has to be reconciled with an earlier House-passed version before being sent to President Trump. Yet in getting the bill through the Senate, Republicans succeeded where they failed earlier this year, when their efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act collapsed in mortifying fashion. This time, urged on by donors and fearful of facing voters in next year's midterm elections without a legislative achievement to show, Republicans said time and again that failure was not an option. Advertisement "The American people wanted change," said Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo. "We were able to deliver." The centerpiece of the GOP plan is a move to lower the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 20 percent, starting in 2019. The Senate tax bill would also temporarily cut tax rates for families and individuals until 2025. But the bill would kill a number of tax benefits. It would subject fewer people to the estate tax, a levy charged on massive inheritances, but stop short of eliminating that tax altogether. The most recent review of the bill by the Joint Committee on Taxation, Congress's nonpartisan tax analysts, found that only 44 percent of taxpayers would see their burden reduced by more than $500 in 2019 but that high earners would fare much better than the poor under the bill. And the bill makes other changes that reach far beyond the tax code itself. It repeals the individual mandate from the Affordable Care Act, a major change that was added in recent weeks as part of a broader GOP effort to dismantle the Obama-era law. The individual mandate creates penalties for many Americans who don't have health insurance, but the repeal would leave 13 million more people uninsured. It authorizes oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska. And by curtailing deductions for state and local taxes, it will put pressure on some state and local spending on education, transportation and public health programs. The tax package still must clear a couple more hurdles before it can become law. There are numerous differences between the House and Senate versions, ranging from when certain tax cuts expire to how the estate tax is handled, and though none are seen as show-stoppers, complications could arise. There will be major implications for the taxes paid by families and individuals based on how those discussions go. And the negotiations over the tax bill will proceed as Congress simultaneously faces a Dec. 8 deadline for government funding to expire. Nonetheless, GOP leaders still aim to get a final bill on Trump's desk before Christmas. For Trump, a victory on the tax plan would stand as a signal triumph, in sharp contrast with the political troubles besetting the White House on other fronts, especially with the Senate action coming on the same day on the heels of the news that former national security adviser Michael Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his contacts with the Russian ambassador. Advertisement In a span of hours Friday, Senate GOP leaders secured the final few votes they needed, from Sens. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., and Susan Collins, R-Maine. The concessions made to get them on board forced GOP leaders to add more than $250 billion in tax cuts for individuals and businesses to their plan. To offset some of these costs, they had to abandon efforts to fully repeal the alternative minimum tax for individuals and companies, instead scaling it back. The AMT was put in place in the 1980s as a way to prevent wealthier Americans from using tax deductions to avoid paying taxes. Flake announced his "yes" vote after he said he had secured leadership backing for two priorities: one related to how businesses can deduct major investments like equipment purchases and the second involving a solution for immigrants brought illegally to the United States as children. "Having secured both of those objectives, I am pleased to announce I will vote in support of the tax reform bill," Flake said in a statement. Flake said his deficit concerns were allayed by a new approach to the bill's expensing deduction, which allows businesses to write off the full cost of investments in equipment and facilities. The change calls for gradually phasing out the break after five years instead of abruptly canceling it. That adds $34 billion to the cost of the bill, but Flake said it would save money in the longer term by making lawmakers less likely to extend the break in the face of pressure from business interests. Advertisement Flake also said the administration and Senate leaders had agreed to work with him toward a resolution for immigrants brought illegally to this country as children. Known as "dreamers," these immigrants were granted temporary protections under the Obama administration, which Trump has announced he will revoke in March. Flake is a longtime proponent of reforming immigration laws and wants permanent protections for dreamers. He said Vice President Pence had committed to working with him on the issue, though without offering a timeline or a specific solution. Johnson came on board after leadership sweetened the deal for certain businesses whose owners pay taxes through the individual code rather than at corporate rates. Johnson retains partial ownership in one such "pass-through" business, and the issue has been a key concern. "I appreciate the Senate leadership's willingness to work to close the gap between pass-through businesses and C corporations," Johnson said. The term C corporations refers to those businesses that file their taxes on the corporate side of the code. Senate GOP leaders had proposed allowing pass-through owners to deduct 17.4 percent of their income from their taxes and then pay taxes on the remaining income. Johnson and Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.) argued for days that this was not generous enough for these businesses, and GOP leaders reluctantly raised the deduction level to 20 percent, which added roughly $60 billion to the size of the tax cut. But Johnson continued holding out, and on Friday he said the deduction had been raised to 23 percent, securing his support. That meant that he and Daines were able to extract $114 billion in tax cuts for these firms in just a few days. Advertisement Collins said leadership had promised her the bill would protect certain deductions individuals use to lower their tax bills, including on matters related to medical expenses and tax payments to state and local governments. Collins also said leadership had agreed to support passing two bipartisan bills to help stabilize the health insurance system set up under the Affordable Care Act. Senate leaders had little margin for error, since they can lose only two GOP votes and still prevail in the closely divided chamber. Democrats were unanimously opposed to the bill, and took turns Friday delivering scorching floor speeches slamming it as a giveaway to the rich. And as evening wore into night Friday with Republicans still fine-tuning the final language of the bill, Democrats exploded in outrage when Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., said she received a list of planned changes from a lobbyist and not from Republicans in the Senate who were keeping all their decisions closely held. A few minutes later, a 479-page draft of the changes leaked out to the public. It included several pages of hand-written changes to the bill. Democrats, who were effectively powerless in trying to stop the bill's passage, tried to cast the last-second changes as boondoggles for corporations which had not been debated or explained. Some of the hand-written changes were crammed in the margin and hard to decipher. Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) posted a video of himself on Twitter acting incredulous as he slammed the bill down on a table. Advertisement "This is your government at work," he said in disgust. I was just handed a 479-page tax bill a few hours before the vote. One page literally has hand scribbled policy changes on it that cant be read. This is Washington, D.C. at its worst. Montanans deserve so much better. pic.twitter.com/q6lTpXoXS0 Senator Jon Tester (@SenatorTester) December 2, 2017 Friday's progress was a turnaround for Republicans after the bill hit snags Thursday. An unfavorable economic analysis had inflamed Corker, who was demanding assurances that the bill will not add to the deficit. Corker wanted a "trigger" added to the bill to kick in and raise rates if growth projections weren't met, but the Senate parliamentarian ruled his plan unworkable under the complex rules governing the legislation. The result was a tense standoff Thursday evening, as Johnson, Flake and Corker threatened a last-minute objection to stop the tax bill from passing. This forced GOP leaders to scramble to try to accommodate some of their concerns, before the lawmakers finally relented. Negotiations went through the night, but on Friday it emerged that Corker's demands had not been met. There will be no "trigger" in the bill, nor any other mechanism to make up for a $1 trillion deficit increase that congressional scorekeepers say will result from the bill, even when taking into account economic growth. Corker was grim-faced as the outcome became clear. "I am disappointed. I wanted to get to yes," he said in a statement. "But at the end of the day, I am not able to cast aside my fiscal concerns and vote for legislation that I believe, based on the information I currently have, could deepen the debt burden on future generations." Advertisement Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., who had also pushed to address deficit issues, said he was disappointed there would be no mechanism to do so but insisted the bill would produce more growth than most analysts have suggested. "I think it's a stronger bill with a safety net, the just-in-case piece. But that's not what we have," Lankford said. "I'm going to be 'yes' either way. It's walking the tightrope with a net or without a net. You prefer to have a net, but I think it's going to work." With the bill on the floor, senators offered amendments from both sides Friday and into Saturday, but they were largely disposed of in predictable partisan fashion. GOP leaders had feared trouble from an amendment pushed by Sens. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and Mike Lee, R-Utah, to further expand the child tax credit for low-income families. To do so, they proposed slightly increasing the corporate tax rate, moving it back up to 22 percent, a change opposed by fellow Republicans. GOP leaders were concerned Democrats would vote for the amendment and that it would pass, creating a new headache for leadership. But in the end the Rubio-Lee amendment failed by a wide margin, 71-29. Rubio and Lee had scaled their measure back in an effort to draw GOP support, but that didn't work. Instead they drove away Democrats, who were mostly not eager to add a bipartisan veneer to a bill they oppose anway. A more robust Democratic version of the amendment also failed. There was a moment of drama during amendment debate over a measure by Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, to bring the Senate bill in line with the House version by expanding the use of education savings accounts to allow them to apply to expenses for religious schools and homeschooled students. The amendment stood at a vote of 50-50 after Collins and Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, joined all Democrats in voting "no." Vice President Pence was summoned and broke the tie in favor of Cruz. Advertisement Democrats did secure one small victory in the debate. With the help of four Republicans, Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., prevailed with an amendment striking a controversial provision related to the taxation of endowments that Democrats charged was written to benefit one small but influential conservative college, Hillsdale College in Michigan. Tory Newmyer, Paul Kane and Jeffrey Stein contributed to this report U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Clarence Thomas delivers the commencement address to the Hillsdale College graduating class on May 14, 2016. (Todd McInturf / The Detroit News via AP) WASHINGTON Senate Democrats on Friday successfully blocked a provision in the Republicans' sweeping tax bill designed to give a special tax break to a conservative college in Michigan. Democrats said the tax break was designed to help just one politically-connected school: Hillsdale College in southern Michigan. Advertisement "I can't find anybody else in America who benefits from this particular provision. That doesn't strike me as right," said Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore. Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., said, "It feels like this is a very limited provision written for a very special person." Advertisement The tax package would impose a new tax on investment income earned by some private universities and colleges. Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., added a provision exempting certain colleges that don't receive federal funds. Democrats said Hillsdale was the only college that would benefit. Toomey defended Hillsdale as "a wonderful institution" and said other schools might qualify for the tax break, too. Toomey said a school that declines federal funds saves taxpayers "a tremendous amount of money." "I do understand that my colleagues on the far left do not have fond opinion of Hillsdale. But I do. I actually think it's a wonderful institution," Toomey said. Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., proposed an amendment to strip the tax break for Hillsdale and it prevailed by a 52-48 vote. Four Republicans joined all Senate Democrats in voting to adopt Merkley's amendment. They were Sens. Deb Fischer of Nebraska, Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and John Kennedy of Louisiana. The defeated levy covered private colleges whose endowments are worth more than $250,000 per full-time student, according to a Bloomberg analysis. Hillsdale's endowment cleared more than $500 million earlier this year, according to the student newspaper. It had fewer than 1,500 students last year, giving it a student-to-endowment ratio of more than $300,000. That means it would have to pay the 1.4 percent tax on its investments made in the endowment every year. Democrats complained that some well-known conservatives have connections to the school, including Trump administration Education Secretary Betsy DeVos. Advertisement Graduates include Erik Prince, who is DeVos' brother and the founder of the government contractor once known as Blackwater, and former Rep. Chris Chocola of Indiana. Chocola once headed the conservative Club for Growth, an advocacy group that Toomey also once led. Other schools do not take federal funds, including Grove City College, an influential conservative institution north of Pittsburgh, in Toomey's home state. For now, however, Grove City does not have to pay the 1.4 percent tax and therefore would not benefit from the Toomey provision. Its enrollment is 2,400 and its endowment is $104 million, according to U.S. News. So it's endowment-per-student ratio is less than $44,000, well below the required $250,000 level. The Washington Post contributed Demonstrators against the Republican tax reform bill hold a "Peoples Filibuster to Stop Tax Cuts for Billionaires," protest rally outside the US Capitol on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., Nov. 30, 2017. (Saul Loeb / AFP/Getty Images) While we agree that it is past time to reform our overly complex tax system, the current Republican proposals in the U.S. House and Senate fail to simplify the tax code or provide relief for hardworking families who need it most. The Republican proposals would have noticeable adverse effects on Illinois families in particular. Advertisement The state and local tax (SALT) deduction allows filers to deduct the taxes they pay in their communities and to the state from their federal taxes. For states such as Illinois with high local taxes, this deduction is an important source of relief for taxpayers. Based on the most recent data from the Internal Revenue Service, nearly 2 million households in Illinois claim this deduction, representing 31 percent of all filers with an average deduction of $12,524 per household. This is not a tax break for the ultra-wealthy nearly 85 percent of those claiming the SALT deduction are middle income. These are the families we should be aiming to help with tax reform, yet the bill that passed in the House on Nov. 16 would cap the deduction at only $10,000 for property taxes, while the Senate version would eliminate it completely. Advertisement Leaders in the Republican Party have inaccurately labeled this deduction as an unfair loophole. Speaker of the House Paul Ryan called the SALT deduction an undue subsidy for big government states. But if congressional Republicans want to debate who wins and who loses in our current tax code, we need to start with a larger conversation about which states benefit from our current federal tax allocation. Generally, taxpayers in states with larger populations, including Illinois, New York and California, contribute far more to the federal budget than those states receive in return. The SALT deduction is an important source of relief for families who do not receive a fair return on investment from their federal tax dollars. In Illinois, the payer state problem results in a loss of $40 billion each year. The problem dates back to the 1930s, as senators in Southern states advocated for spending reform that would push more federal dollars into their states. As a result, smaller population states receive more in federal spending than they pay in federal taxes, aggravating underinvestment in education and transportation, which play a vital role in strengthening communities and growing local economies in small and large states alike. While the payer-state problem is a larger issue that will require Congress to fix funding for these unfair budget formulas, taxpayers in Illinois deserve a tax plan that is equitable and supports our states investment in programs Illinoisans rely on to support their families and achieve the American Dream. During the recent state budget crisis in Springfield, we heard stories from across Illinois about students who were unable to pay tuition when they did not receive MAP grants, seniors who did not receive their pensions and veterans who struggled to find health care. The roads and highways that millions of us use every day to get to work are in desperate need of repair. And now, the Republican tax plan would force millions of taxpayers to pay more in federal taxes that will undoubtedly leave the state, never to return. Comprehensive tax reform would reflect a government that represents the true interests of all hardworking Americans through investments in infrastructure, education and scientific research. Republicans must stop their attacks on blue states, scrap their unsalvageable tax bills, and work with Democrats on legislation that actually simplifies the tax code, provides relief for hardworking families, and makes sure everyone pays their fair share. Bill Foster represents the 11th Congressional District of Illinois, Mike Quigley represents the 5th Congressional District, and Brad Schneider represents the 10th Congressional District. Democratic State Sen. Ira Silverstein listens to Democratic Senate President John Cullerton read an anti-sexual harassment bill previously passed by the House, on the floor of the Senate during a session Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2017, at the Illinois State Capitol in Springfield. (Erin Hooley Chicago Tribune) Yet another round of explosive allegations and admissions of sexual misconduct by powerful men in recent days inspires me to revisit the most high-profile such case of 2017 in Illinois: The claim that state Sen. Ira Silverstein, D-Chicago, sexually harassed a female political activist whose bill he was sponsoring. That allegation landed on the last day of October when victim rights advocate Denise Rotheimer appeared before a legislative panel in Springfield to amplify a formal complaint shed filed many months earlier that Silverstein had sponsored a bill on her behalf with the intent to degrade her, that he was inappropriately personal in remarks he made to her about her appearance and that he played mind games with her. Advertisement To support her claim she released to reporters a 444-page .pdf file of Facebook messages she exchanged with Silverstein over approximately 17 months ending in late 2016. The messages were unprofessionally flirty and cringe-inducing in many places. It was plain that Silverstein, 57 and married, had developed an inappropriate crush on Rotheimer, 45 and single. Advertisement Rotheimer said he never propositioned her directly or touched her inappropriately, and the document did not reveal the sort of sinister, predatory, dehumanizing behavior that finally, as a society, our culture is naming and shaming. So we waited for more shoes to drop more women to come forward to share their unpleasant experiences with Silverstein, more evidence from Rotheimer to illustrate why she says her interactions with him were so distressing for her. Experience suggests that those who practice sexual abuse or harassment are compulsive, and that when one victim goes public, other victims tend to come forward fairly quickly in a way that reinforces the original allegation (see: Al Franken, Bill OReilly, Louis C.K. and too many others to mention). But weve heard no me too voices in the Silverstein case. Even the Springfield rumor mill is quiet, according to sources far closer to it than I am. And Rotheimer hasnt released any other records such as texts or emails to support her interpretation of his behavior as threatening. The only new evidence I have involves Rotheimers reaction to my Nov. 8 column, in which I related my conclusions after having read every last Youre cute You are cuter word of the adolescent jibber-jabber Rotheimer had provided. Silverstein comes off more like a puppy dog than a wolf, I wrote. Rotheimer, who is now running for a state House seat as a Republican, seems genuinely to like him prolonging many of the online conversations with gentle teasing, inanities and personal questions that fall just short of intimacy. I wrote that I wanted more proof before putting the toxic label of sexual harassment onto Silversteins ill-advised flirtations. On Facebook, Rotheimer slammed me as a gossip columnist and wrote that Id been contacted by someone to do the false and misleading article. She wrote that Id emailed her three times over the weekend (before the column was published) demanding the smoking gun. She promised: (I) will share my email exchanges with Zorn to show how he never intended to report the truth and only wanted to exploit this situation to push his agenda. Advertisement First, no one contacted me to write a column in which every fact and every quote was correct. It was an obvious column to write, really, given Rotheimers sensational testimony, the Facebook messages shed released and the heightened public interest in the topic of sexual harassment. And second, Im not sure if or where she shared my emails to her, but for the record Ive posted the full text of all three of them online at www.chicagotribune.com/zorn where youll see that my polite requests not demands were for more information, that I never used or implied the words smoking gun and my queries revealed no agenda other than a search for clarifying evidence. On the same page Ive also published my full response to Rotheimers adult daughter, who sent me a lengthy confidential letter taking polite but firm exception to my column. My letter to her begins, Thanks for taking the time to write such a thoughtful letter, and concludes, absent more evidence, I do doubt (your mothers) harsh characterization of Silverstein's actions and intent he looks like a fool, to be sure, and a would-be adulterer, but he doesn't look like a villain. Not yet. Rotheimer complained in an email to my editors that it was unacceptable and egregious that (Zorn) saw fit to attack her in a letter to someone she twice referred to as a child. All of this raises more questions in my mind about Rotheimers reliability as an interpreter of events. But, again, as before, my mind is far from closed and Im eager to hear the full story from both sides, not to satisfy my own curiosity but to serve the public's right to know as much as possible about an important political story. Advertisement And I agree with the contentions that Rotheimer has been making on Facebook that the now-ongoing investigatory process by the new legislative inspector general is too slow, too intrusive and too shrouded in secrecy. Silverstein is running for re-election in the March primary and is likely to face several Democratic challengers, one of whom, Ram Villivalam, has been endorsed by Democratic U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky of Evanston. I dont live in the district or have a dog in that political fight, but those who do deserve to know a lot more about this situation before deciding where to throw their support. Silverstein, who is doing himself no favors by refusing to talk to reporters, is also facing questions being raised by WBEZ-FM political reporter Dave McKinney, who in a story Wednesday raised questions about the ethics of legal work that Silverstein did for Rotheimers father while he was unsuccessfully sponsoring a bill Rotheimer was pushing in the General Assembly. In an interview with NBC-5 political reporter Mary Ann Ahern that aired Thursday, Rotheimer complained that the grievance process was grossly intrusive she said shed been asked to turn over all her cellphone data and that it gives her no voice and no opportunity to be heard. I offered another opportunity for her to be heard. I wrote her to ask about a reference she made Nov. 19 on Facebook to all the evidence I have been sending to the legislative inspector general that she has asked remain confidential, and I added Id like to see it. You are not interested in reporting the truth based on facts, she replied. So it is pointless to show or share any evidence with you. Why do you want to take from me like Silverstein to fulfill your own agenda that does nothing more than exploits a person's pain to portray a narrative that some how satisfies your corrupt ego? Advertisement My agenda is simpler. Its to seek the truth about a major news story in Springfield and follow that truth where it leads. And so far its not leading much of anywhere. Cheer is here! There are still a few tickets left for Wednesdays opening night of Songs of Good Cheer, the holiday sing-along that Mary Schmich and I host at the Old Town School of Folk Music. And come on, this year in particular, you need an early shot of seasonal uplift, dont you? Tickets: oldtownschool.org Re: Tweets The winner of the Tweet of the Week reader poll that posted Nov. 22: There's a time and a place for dating teenagers. The time is when you are also a teenager and the place is Sizzler, by @matthewbaldwin. The winner of the poll that posted Nov. 29 was What's the point of making people like Paul McCartney and Elton John knights if they're not going to joust? by @WilliamAder. ericzorn@gmail.com Twitter @EricZorn Dear Tom, Have we ever had days when the temperature remained the same for the entire day? Advertisement Linda Van, Lake Forest Advertisement Dear Linda, We have. Chicago weather records date back to 1871, and in the 148 years of climate records, only one day out of nearly 54,000 has logged a steady temperature. Chicago weather historian Frank Wachowski tells us that on Feb. 6, 1942, the high and low were both 35 degrees. In fact, the mercury remained at 35 degrees for a span of 30 hours, from 9 p.m. Feb. 5 through 3 a.m. Feb. 7, 1942. It was a cloudy and rainy period with strong northeast winds. Rainfall totaled 1.98 inches, and there was also a trace of snow. Because Chicago's weather is almost always in flux and temperatures seldom remain steady for more than a few hours, this was an incredibly rare event. WASHINGTON (AP) Republicans pushed a nearly $1.5 trillion tax bill through the Senate early Saturday after a burst of eleventh-hour horse trading, as a party starved all year for a major legislative triumph took a giant step toward giving President Donald Trump one of his top priorities by Christmas. "Big bills are rarely popular. You remember how unpopular 'Obamacare' was when it passed?" Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said in an interview, shrugging off polls showing scant public enthusiasm for the measure. He said the legislation would prove to be "just what the country needs to get growing again." Presiding over the Senate, Vice President Mike Pence announced the 51-49 vote to applause from Republicans. Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., was the only lawmaker to cross party lines, joining the Democrats in opposition. The measure focuses its tax reductions on businesses and higher-earning individuals, gives more modest breaks to others and offers the boldest rewrite of the nation's tax system since 1986. Republicans touted the package as one that would benefit people of all incomes and ignite the economy. Even an official projection of a $1 trillion, 10-year flood of deeper budget deficits couldn't dissuade GOP senators from rallying behind the bill. "Obviously I'm kind of a dinosaur on the fiscal issues," said Corker, who battled to keep the bill from worsening the government's accumulated $20 trillion in IOUs. The Republican-led House approved a similar bill last month in what has been a stunningly swift trip through Congress for complex legislation that impacts the breadth of American society. The two chambers will now try crafting a final compromise to send Trump. After spending the year's first nine months futilely trying to repeal President Barack Obama's health care law, GOP leaders were determined to move the measure rapidly before opposition Democrats and lobbying groups could blow it up. The party views passage as crucial to retaining its House and Senate majorities in next year's elections. Democrats derided the bill as a GOP gift to its wealthy and business backers at the expense of lower-earning people. They contrasted the bill's permanent reduction in corporate income tax rates from 35 percent to 20 percent to smaller individual tax breaks that would end in 2026. Congress' nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation has said the bill's reductions for many families would be modest and said by 2027, families earning under $75,000 would on average face higher, not lower, taxes. The bill is "removed from the reality of what the American people need," said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. He criticized Republicans for releasing a revised, 479-page bill that no one can absorb shortly before the final vote, saying, "The Senate is descending to a new low of chicanery." "You really don't read this kind of legislation," Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., told home-state reporters, asked why the Senate was approving a bill some senators hadn't read. He said lawmakers needed to study it and get feedback from affected groups. Democrats took to the Senate floor and social media to mock one page that included changes scrawled in barely legible handwriting. Later, they won enough GOP support to kill a provision by Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., that would have bestowed a tax break on conservative Hillsdale College in Michigan. The bill hit rough waters after the Joint Taxation panel concluded it would worsen federal shortfalls by $1 trillion over a decade, even when factoring in economic growth that lower taxes would stimulate. Trump administration officials and many Republicans have insisted the bill would pay for itself by stimulating the economy. But the sour projections stiffened resistance from some deficit-averse Republicans. But after bargaining that stretched into Friday, GOP leaders nailed down the support they needed in a chamber they control 52-48. Facing unyielding Democratic opposition, Republicans could lose no more than two GOP senators and prevail with a tie-breaking vote from Vice President Mike Pence, but ended up not needing it. Leaders' changes included helping millions of companies whose owners pay individual, not corporate, taxes on their profits by allowing deductions of 23 percent, up from 17.4 percent. That helped win over Wisconsin's Johnson and Steve Daines of Montana. People would be allowed to deduct up to $10,000 in property taxes, a demand of Sen. Susan Collins of Maine. That matched a House provision that chamber's leaders included to keep some GOP votes from high-tax states like New York, New Jersey and California. The changes added nearly $300 billion to the tax bill's costs. To pay for that, leaders reduced the number of high-earners who must pay the alternative minimum tax, rather than completely erasing it. They also increased a one-time tax on profits U.S.-based corporations are holding overseas and would require firms to keep paying the business version of the alternative minimum tax. Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz. who like Corker had been a holdout and has sharply attacked Trump's capabilities as president voted for the bill. He said he'd received commitments from party leaders and the administration "to work with me" to restore protections, dismantled by Trump, for young immigrants who arrived in the U.S. illegally as children. That seemed short of a pledge to actually revive the safeguards. The Senate bill would drop the highest personal income tax rate from 39.6 percent to 38.5 percent. The estate tax levied on a few thousand of the nation's largest inheritances would be narrowed to affect even fewer. Deductions for state and local income taxes, moving expenses and other items would vanish, the standard deduction used by most Americans would nearly double to $12,000 for individuals and $24,000 for couples, and the per-child tax credit would grow. The bill would abolish the "Obamacare" requirement that most people buy health coverage or face tax penalties. Industry experts say that would weaken the law by easing pressure on healthier people to buy coverage, and the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office has said the move would push premiums higher and leave 13 million additional people uninsured. Drilling would be allowed in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Another provision, knocked out because it violated Senate budget rules, would have explicitly let parents buy tax-advantaged 529 college savings accounts for fetuses, a step they can already take but which anti-abortion forces wanted to inscribe into law. There were also breaks for the wine, beer and spirits industries, Alaska Natives and aircraft management firms. An Aurora man is accused of being in possession of a stolen vehicle that had a child's Christmas presents in the trunk. Tandre J. Felix, 18, of the 700 block of Concord, has been charged with unlawful possession of a stolen vehicle and driving on a suspended license. He's currently in the Kane County jail with bail set at $100,000. Advertisement At around 10 a.m. Nov. 26, the child's mother left her car running unattended in a parking lot in the 1800 block of Tall Oaks Drive, according to Aurora police. When the woman returned about 10 minutes later, the car was gone. Police said she was especially upset because her child's Christmas gifts were in the trunk. Advertisement About five minutes later, an Aurora police officer spotted the vehicle in the area of New York and Broadway and pulled it over. Feliz was then taken into custody, police said. WASHINGTON (AP) The chairman of the House Democrats campaign committee called on a first-term congressman from Nevada to step down after a report Friday that he allegedly sexually harassed his campaigns finance director. BuzzFeed News reported that Democratic Rep. Ruben Kihuen is alleged to have repeatedly made sexual advances toward the aide during his 2016 congressional campaign. BuzzFeed withheld her last name at her request. Rep. Ben Ray Lujan, chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, said House members and candidates should be held to the highest standard, and anyone guilty of sexual harassment or assault should not hold elected office. He added in a statement Friday, Congressman Kihuen should resign. Kihuens said in a statement that the aide was a valued member of his team. I sincerely apologize for anything that I may have said or done that made her feel uncomfortable. I take this matter seriously as it is not indicative of who I am, Kihuen said. But I want to make it clear that I dont recall any of the circumstances she described. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., called for a full, fair and expedient investigation against Congressman Kihuen and any other member of Congress who have women or men come forward with allegations of inappropriate behavior. This process must be open, transparent and have an appropriate investigatory timeline that delivers justice, she said. In the BuzzFeed report, the woman, identified only as Samantha, said Kihuen propositioned her for dates and sex despite her repeated rejections. On two occasions, she said, he touched her thighs without consent. All votes in the CO-3 election won't be counted until the end of this week More than 400 companies from 13 countries and regions 100 more than last year will attend the Light of Internet Expo at the 4th World Internet Conference from Dec 3 to 5 in Wuzhen, Zhejiang province. The companies include industry giants such as BMW, Kaspersky, Alibaba, Tencent and others, Yuan Jiajun, the governor of Zhejiang province, told reporters at the opening ceremony of the expo on Saturday. The four-day expo will also witness launch of 118 new products, host 113 project signing ceremonies and match more than 1,200 projects with potential investors double the number than last year, Yuan said. The expo features the most innovative and cutting-edge products and fields in information technology, including cloud calculation, big data, quantum communication, artificial intelligence, and shared economy, he said. "The expo has become an important platform to showcase some of the world's latest tech products and business models," Yuan said. "It has become a trendsetter for Internet development." Global Tech 17, an AI-themed technology conference, was held in Beijing on Thursday, bringing together home-grown technology giants such as Alibaba and Huawei and multinationals like Microsoft and Samsung to discuss how artificial intelligence will shape future life. Global Tech 17, an AI-themed technology conference,isheld in Beijing Thursday.[Photo/China.org.cn] Microsoft Chief Software Architect Dr. Zhou Li said the most important direction of AI is in the ability of conversation and understanding human emotions, and that is the biggest difference between AI and current human-machine interaction. "When it comes to 'smiles,' there are many different kinds of expressions such as grinning, and even bitter smiling," he explained. "We hope that through calculating human feelings, we can explore more uncharted areas and needs, unleashing the imagination of the AI industry and anticipating the earlier arrival of the era of intelligent life," he added. Speaking of the AI trend in the future of the smart city, Alibaba Vice President Hua Xiansheng commented that the "city brain" has become just as much an infrastructure facility as electricity, and it can't be accomplished only by human beings; there is an extremely large value placed on AI to deeply analyze the big data. The management consultancy McKinsey & Company estimates that as many as 60 percent of today's professions could outsource almost a third of their workload to AI. The global market of AI is expected to grow at an annual average rate of 36 percent, reaching a value of US$3 trillion by 2025 from US$126 billion in 2015. Qin Liang, a manager of Huawei Wireless Products Line, said the commercial application of 5G technologies will witness a boom in 2019. In the transport area, for example, 5G technologies would be able to meet needs from such areas as driverless vehicles, while they would also be able to gather and process enough data to build the infrastructure of a smart city. Professor Li Jinliang, a pioneer of China's mobile communications sector, also offered his ideas at the conference. He said 5G technologies had solved the issue of ultra-fast transmission of data and laid the foundation for the construction of the internet of things. Science-fiction author Hao Jingfang, the first Chinese woman to win a Hugo Award, offered a different perspective on how to apply AI to education. "AI can promote education equality and give children in poverty-stricken families access to education," she said. However, she added that AI still faces challenges such as how to coordinate student activities, how to get them to express personal feelings, and how to stimulate innovation. She advised future teachers to work harder to stimulate the interest of students in learning, encourage them to think and innovate, and organize them to cooperate. The Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP) of China released a circular Thursday, telling all procuratorates to deal severely with crimes against kindergarten children, protect their rights and prevent such crimes from happening. When dealing with crimes such as rape, indecent assault or intentional homicide against children, procuratorates must approve arrests and initiate public prosecution as soon as possible, according to the circular. Procuratorates should independently exercise their procuratorial power to guarantee the quality of case-handling. They must make decisions based on the facts and law while listening to the people's voice, the circular said. Care and help for child victims should be improved, the circular continued. For instance, personal information of the children and their guardians should not be released, and law enforcers should not go to children's homes to collect evidence in police cars or uniform, according to the SPP. Procuratorates can also ask for support from the likes of civil administrations and medical organizations, as well as professional help from judicial social workers and psychological consultants, to help the child victims recover. Moreover, procuratorates must base their work on prevention and set up a system to prevent harm to kindergarten children, the circular said. They should summarize the causes and characteristics of cases according to their experience and advise kindergartens on shortcomings in their management, the SPP added. The circular was issued following recent accusations of abuse at kindergartens around the country. After checking in to a hotel in Wuzhen in east China's Zhejiang Province, Fu Ruyi ordered a set meal by scanning the QR code on his bedside table. It was very late on Thursday night, but the food was delivered to his room within 30 minutes. On Friday morning, Fu entered one of Wuzhen's scenic spots by "swiping his face" via a facial recognition system, which streamlines the ticket-checking process to last no more than three seconds. At the pier, Fu, the president of an information technology company, scanned a QR code and all the sculling boats on the river appeared on his phone screen. He hailed one and left the boatman a message. Sitting as comfortably as he could on the boat, he tapped open the "Wuzhen Summit" app, which he used to browse the latest news and the schedule of the World Internet Conference, scheduled from Sunday to Tuesday in the picturesque river town. The introduction page for a session on Monday caught his attention. He was invited to attend the session. He made a digital note of the venue, timetable and event participants. App users who were not invited to the conference or could not visit Wuzhen are able to browse the exhibition halls and interact with exhibitors via the app. "There have always been new things to amaze me every time I have visited Wuzhen for the past four years," Fu said as he stepped ashore from the boat. He went directly to a special conference "volunteer." "How do I go to the Waterside Resort?" he asked. "Please walk along the road and turn left at the first intersection. The hotel is on your right about 100 meters down the road," a robot answered in a pleasant voice. Based on facial and phonetic recognition, the robot helpers are able to answer questions about conference schedules, locations of venues, weather and even the nearest toilets. There are several dozen robots on duty at hotels, exhibition halls, venues and streets. Fu continued exploring. At the street corner, he came across another helper -- a sturdy garbage collection robot. He said "Hey" to it and the robot moved in his direction. On its way to Fu, the robot opened its lid, saying, "Please give me your garbage. Thank you!" Fu threw the empty coffee cup into the robot. Fu arrived at his destination, the Waterside Resort, where he had a business meeting with a manager of a virtual reality (VR) rehabilitation training company. Fu said VR has proven beneficial in training patients who have had a stroke or spinal injuries by making the dull process more interesting, like playing video games at home. On his way back to the hotel, Fu passed a cashier-free mini-market, where he bought drinks, snacks and a magazine using mobile payment. His smart phone was running out of battery, and he needed to recharge it before he was cut off from all the services and information -- almost the whole world, it seemed . As he picked up the pace, he noticed a box full of shared power banks at the reception desk of a restaurant. He suddenly relaxed and walked in. You are here: World Flash A package found at a Christmas market in the German city of Potsdam has been confirmed as a nail bomb, local police said. The package contained a "cylindrical object with cables, batteries and nails", but police tweeted that "currently" no detonator had been found. The police said earlier on Twitter that "the suspicion of an improvised explosive device has been confirmed". According to the Focus Online, Brandenburg state Interior Minister Karl-Heinz Schroeter told reporters near the incident that authorities were still verifying whether that the powder in the package was explosive. The controlled defusing of the suspicious object was later successfully conducted by the special forces of the German Federal Police in Berlin and Brandenburg. According to the Potsdamer Latest News, the package, measuring 40 x 50 inches, was delivered to a pharmacy and found by an employee. The Christmas market was closed and the area has been cleared. The police have set up a blocking circuit at the market, Brandenburg police said earlier. Christmas markets in Germany are on high alert this year, with strengthened security checks and roadblocks in a bid to avoid deadly terrorist attacks from happening again. On Dec. 21 last year, a truck driven by a Tunisian Islamist rammed into a Christmas market near Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church in downtown Berlin, killing 12 people. Flash Former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn on Friday pleaded guilty to lying regarding improper contacts with Russian officials, as the White House said the charges implicated no one else in the White House. "My guilty plea and agreement to cooperate with the special counsel's office reflect a decision I made in the best interests of my family and of our country. I will accept full responsibility for my actions," Flynn told a court in Washington D.C. Former U.S. National Security Adviser Michael Flynn leaves the federal court following his plea hearing in Washington D.C., the United States, on Dec. 1, 2017. Former U.S. National Security Adviser Michael Flynn on Friday pleaded guilty to lying to the Federal Bureau of Investigation regarding his improper contacts with Russia. [Photo/Xinhua] Special Counsel Robert Mueller's office issued a statement earlier Friday specifying Flynn's charges, saying he lied to the Federal Bureau of Investigation about two contacts he's had with Russian officials prior to assuming office. Flynn had falsely stated that on or about Dec. 29, 2016, he did not ask the Russian ambassador to the United States to "refrain from escalating the situation in response to sanctions" from the United States and that he did not remember receiving a call from the Russian ambassador notifying him that Russia has decided to moderate Moscow's response at the request of Flynn, the statement concluded. The special counsel's office found that Flynn also falsely stated that he did not on Dec. 22, 2016 ask the Russian ambassador to the United States to "delay the vote on or defeat a pending United Nations Security Council resolution," and that he did not remember receiving a subsequent call from the Russian side. Ty Cobb, a White House attorney, issued a statement following the revelation saying the White House has also been a victim to Flynn's lies and downplaying the implications of Flynn's plea. "The false statements involved mirror the false statements to the White House officials which resulted in his resignation in February this year," Cobb said. "Nothing about the guilty plea of the charge implicates anyone other than Mr. Flynn," he said. Flash Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, said the CPC is willing to work with other political parties around the world to promote the building of a community with a shared future for mankind and create a better world. Xi made the remarks while delivering a keynote speech on Friday at the opening ceremony of CPC in Dialogue with World Political Parties High-Level Meeting in Beijing. Building Community with shared future for mankind Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, delivers a speech at the opening ceremony of CPC in Dialogue with World Political Parties High-Level Meeting in Beijing, capital of China, Dec. 1, 2017. [Photo/Xinhua] Xi said the initiative of building a community with a shared future for mankind is being transformed from a concept into action. "I'm delighted to see that the friendly cooperation between China and other countries is increasingly expanding and the concept of a community with a shared future for mankind is gaining support and endorsement from an increasing number of people," Xi said. The concept of building a community with a shared future for mankind was put forth by Xi in 2013. The Belt and Road Initiative is the practice of the concept, Xi said, adding the initiative has become a huge cooperation platform for countries concerned to realize their common development. Proposed by Xi in 2013, the Belt and Road Initiative aims to build trade and infrastructure networks connecting Asia with Europe and Africa via land and maritime routes. In his speech, Xi said building a community with a shared future for mankind is in essence to connect the prospects and destinies of every nation and country closely together, share weal and woe, and turn planet Earth into a harmonious family. He said efforts shall be made to build a safe world free of fear, adding a country cannot gain its security at the cost of others'. Threats facing other countries may be challenges to ourselves. "Facing increasingly complicated and integrated threats, we shall not fight alone, nor shall we worship military force," he said, adding all countries should pursue a new concept of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security. All countries should create fair, just and shared security to jointly eliminate the root cause of war and rescue people from pains brought about by war, he said. In the meantime, countries should also strive to eliminate poverty and promote common prosperity, Xi said, citing challenges such as the North-South development gap, poverty, hunger and digital gap. The old-school winner-takes-all mentality and beggar-thy-neighbor approach would not only block the doors of others, but also barricade one's own path. "They would erode a country's own roots for growth, and impair the future of whole humanity," he said. The world should push for an economic globalization that is more open and inclusive, more balanced, more equitable and beneficial to all, to bring prosperity to all countries and create comfortable lives for children worldwide, he noted. Xi went on to emphasize the significance of an open and inclusive world, urging the world to break cultural barriers and let all kinds of civilizations exist and grow in harmony. Stressing the building of a clean and beautiful world with picturesque scenery, Xi called for efforts to ensure coexistence between man and nature, cherish the environment as we cherish our own lives, respect and protect nature, and safeguard the irreplaceable planet Earth. Flash Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Friday urged the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) member countries to enhance cooperation in security, trade liberalization and inter-connectivity, so as to maintain stability and promote growth in the region. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang attends the 16th meeting of the Council of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Heads of Government (Prime Ministers) in Sochi, Russia, Dec. 1, 2017. [Photo/Xinhua] Addressing the prime ministers' meeting in Russia's coastal city of Sochi, Li proposed that the SCO member countries should approve an anti-extremism treaty at an early date to better safeguard the region. "The SCO members should speed up the process in their respective countries to have the document approved and taken effect as soon as possible," Li said. The SCO anti-extremism treaty was signed by eight member countries in June's Astana summit in Kazakhstan, but it will come into force with approvals in the member countries, namely China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, India and Pakistan. Security is the basic foundation for development, Li said, calling for further regional security cooperation under the common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security concept. In order to prevent the backflow of terror groups, the SCO members should promote security cooperative mechanism, and deepen cooperation in the fields of information exchanges, training and security protection in large-scale events, Li said. He also suggested the establishment of a regional center to address security challenges and threats, and to augment cooperation in drug control and fighting cross-border crimes. The two-day SCO meeting among heads of government is the first of its kind after the organization's membership expansion in June to include India and Pakistan. In the face of an improving world economic and global trade, Li proposed that the SCO members should further promote trade liberalization and facilitation. China "proposes to accelerate consultations on signing a SCO agreement on trade facilitation, conduct a feasibility study of the SCO Free Trade Area in due course, and gradually establish institutional arrangements for regional economic cooperation," Li said. The premier called on the SCO members to support cross-border e-commerce development and strengthen service trade among themselves. Meanwhile, Li called for better and faster strategic alignments among the SCO members, saying China is willing to jointly handle challenges and promote regional stability and prosperity with other countries. From theory and planning to practical implementations, cooperation in strategic alignments between China and other SCO members has come to a new stage, Li said. Development is regarded as an effective way to settle regional conflicts and instability, Li said, adding that the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative is a platform for practical cooperation instead of a geopolitical tool. Besides, Li called for joint efforts to accelerate the process of regional connectivity by promoting integration in planning and technical standard systems to raise efficiency in transportation industry. Chinese Christians, such as those pictured above, are often harassed and imprisoned for attending Christian services and events. (Photo: ChinaAid) ChinaAid (Heshan, GuangdongDec. 2, 2017) Betrayed by a pastor sympathetic to the Chinese government, multiple Christians were taken to a public security bureau office in Chinas southern Guangdong province and detained for hours on Nov. 19, ChinaAid learned this week. More than 10 Christians, comprised of Sunday School teachers from the state-run Shaping Church in Heshan and their children, Guangdong, gathered at Meijia Italian Tea Restaurant for a weekly worship and personal sharing event on the night of Nov. 19. As soon as the attendees began singing, police and religious affairs bureau agents interrupted them and brought those who did not have children present to the public security bureau, where they were held for hours. After they signed an affidavit, the police released them with a warning. It was later learned that a pastor from a government-run Three-Self Church had tipped off the police to the gatherings, which were founded and led by Shaping Churchs previous pastor, Deng Wenming, prior to his death in 2012. Deng established the meetings after conflicts arose between him and other Three-Self Church pastors. Following his death, his wife, the hostess of the restaurant, continued to hold the meetings there, even though they had no official leader. The pastors motivation for informing the police is unknown. ChinaAid exposes abuses, such as those suffered by the Sunday School teachers from Shaping Church, in order to stand in solidarity with persecuted Christians and promote religious freedom, human rights, and rule of law. ChinaAid Media Team Cell: +1 (432) 553-1080 | Office: +1 (432) 689-6985 | Other: +1 (888) 889-7757 Email: [email protected] For more information, click here China Telecom Bestpay, a wholly owned subsidiary of China Telecom Corp committed to mobile payment, announced Thursday plans to invest 10 billion yuan ($1.5 billion) in resources to boost its presence in the fast-growing market. The company announced its marketing plan, which is aimed to reduce marketing costs and increasing revenue for Bestpay's business partners. The plan will cover payment services, resource sharing and integrated marketing, according to Chen Yiwen, vice-general manager of the company. According to the plan, China Telecom Bestpay will promote its payment service with a cheaper service fee and provide its partners a more user-friendly experience. China Telecom Bestpay will vary its service to different partners based on itheir business sizes, brands and revenues. China Telecom Bestpay will achieve full resource sharing with its business partners in customer information, channels, risk management and big data, creating a leverage effect regarding branding and marketing. In terms of integrated marketing, China Telecom Bestpay offered online and offline users a certain amount off in transactions through its product Bestpay, a third-party payment platform. Up to January 2016, the app had attracted over 290 million users and became the third-largest payment platform operator following Alipay and Wechat. China Telecom Bestpay's business partners cover a wide range of industries including e-commerce giants like JD.Com Inc and retailers like Familymart. The company now has services covering nearly 400 major cities across the nation with over 3 million offline business partners and 150 online e-commerce platforms, according to Chen. Thailand's Kasikorn Bank is setting up its China headquarters in Shenzhen, southern Guangdong province, to further strengthen its presence in the country and seize growing business opportunities brought about by the Belt and Road Initiative. The China headquarters is an important step for Kasikorn Bank to expand its business in the Chinese market, said Banthoon Lamsam, chairman and chief executive officer of the bank. Besides traditional financial business, the Thai bank will work with Chinese financial technology enterprises to build a digital banking platform to promote digital payments and set up a regional settlement center to carry out cross-border settlement of foreign currency in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations plus China, Japan and South Korea. It will also provide investment consultancy services for enterprises in the region. "The Chinese and Thai governments are making active efforts to synergize the Belt and Road Initiative and Thailand's 4.0 strategy, especially between China's pan-Pearl River Delta region and Thailand's Eastern Economic Corridor. That will bring unprecedented opportunities for cross-border financial services," Banthoon said. The bank will further integrate its resources in China, Thailand, ASEAN and Asia to offer more services to Chinese, Thai and ASEAN enterprises in order to promote cross-border trade and investment in the region, he said. Ai Xuefeng, deputy mayor of Shenzhen, said finance is one of the pillar industries of Shenzhen and the local government has introduced a number of policies to support the development of its finance industry, hoping to attract more foreign financial institutions to set up office in the city. "With the implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative, more and more Shenzhen enterprises are entering Thailand and, more broadly, ASEAN markets. They need support from local financial institutions," Ai said. "As the only ASEAN bank with its China headquarters in Shenzhen, Kasikorn Bank will play an important role in supporting Shenzhen enterprises to go global and facilitate Thai and ASEAN enterprises to do business in Shenzhen." Founded in 1945, Kasikorn Bank is one of the four commercial banks in Thailand. BEIJING -- China's Ministry of Commerce (MOC) Saturday expressed strong dissatisfaction with the US opposition to granting it market economy status in the World Trade Organization (WTO). The Office of the US Trade Representative told Xinhua Friday that the United States had submitted a statement of opposition to the WTO as a third-party brief in support of the European Union (EU) in a case brought by China arguing the "surrogate country approach" should be dropped after the expiration date. "China is strongly dissatisfied and resolutely opposes the rejection, as the US government tried to mix the concepts of the surrogate country approach and market economy status to mislead the public," the MOC said in a statement. When China joined the WTO, members use costs of production in a third country to calculate the value of products from countries on their "non-market economy" list, which includes China. In accordance with Article 15 of the accession protocol, the surrogate country approach expires on Dec. 11, 2016. The case has nothing to do with whether China has been granted market economy status or not as there are no standards in WTO rules for the status, the MOC said, urging all members to drop the practice. When the approach expired last year, some member nations, including Japan and the United States, indicated they would not honor their commitments with no plans to change their trade policies. The MOC has warned that their refusal would put trade ties with China at risk. China to widen access to futures market for foreign investors Xinhua | Updated: 2017-12-02 21:01 SHENZHEN -- China's securities regulator said Saturday that the country will ease or lift foreign investment restrictions in its futures market. Foreign businesses will be allowed to own up to 51 percent of shares in futures companies, and the cap will be phased out over three years, Fang Xinghai, deputy head of China Securities Regulatory Commission, said at the 13th China (Shenzhen) International Derivatives Forum. An efficient futures market will play a key role in stabilizing and improving enterprises' performance, and industrial upgrading, Fang said. China has been developing its commodity derivatives market and plans to gradually open it up to foreign investors. In April, the country launched white sugar options, the second commodity options after soybean meal. In August, cotton yarn futures were traded on the Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange. Futures contracts obligate investors to buy or sell underlying assets at a predetermined price at a specified time, helping investors mitigate risks of price volatilities. Two customers enjoy the healthy cuisine on offer at a restaurant in Wuzhen, Tongxiang city, Zhejiang province. GAO ERQIANG / CHINA DAILY Located in Tongxiang city in Zhejiang province, Wuzhen is best-known for being the venue of the World Internet Conference, which has been held annually since 2014. This year's conference will take place from Sunday to Tuesday. Organized by the Zhejiang government and the Cyberspace Administration of China, the conference is a platform for discussing important issues regarding internet development and security. The latest developments by major players in the technology and innovation sectors are also showcased during the conference period. Last year, Chinese internet giant Baidu Inc flaunted its new driverless cars during the conference period and allowed delegates to experience them. Befittingly, Wuzhen has more than 2,600 Wi-Fi signal spots, allowing visitors to access the internet from nearly every corner of the town. It has also been reported to be the area with the most concentrated Wi-Fi coverage in the country. But apart from being the hosting site of this event which has been attended by President Xi Jinping and other world leaders, Wuzhen also has a reputation for being one of the most picturesque water towns in China. The town's transformation from a sleepy water village to a popular travel destination began in 1999 when hundreds of millions of yuan were invested into an ambitious project to restore the ancient buildings in the area, many of which were built as early as the Qing Dynasty (1644 - 1911). Just two years later, the water town was included among the candidates for UNESCO's World Cultural Heritage List. In 2009, the Pacific Asia Travel Association named Wuzhen as its first eco-tourism location in the Chinese mainland. Wuzhen is known to be the birthplace of a number of renowned Chinese personalities. The most iconic one is Mao Dun, one of China's most acclaimed novelists and cultural critics who authored the famous trilogy comprising Spring Silkworms, Autumn Harvest and Winter Ruin. Such was this man's fame that the Mao Dun Literature Prize was created in his honor. Today, this prize is regarded as one of the most prestigious literature awards in the country. Mao's former residence now stands as a museum exhibiting some of his personal belongings, manuscripts and photos. The town's association with art and culture is one that has endured until today. Wuzhen, since 2013, has been hosting the Wuzhen Theatre Festival, which brings together a slew of productions from home and abroad. The reception for this year's Oct 18-29 edition was a clear indication of the festival's popularity with theatre-goers: tickets to 15 of its 24 plays were sold out in just an hour after they were made available. Last year, the old water town hosted Utopias/Heterotopias, an international contemporary art exhibition, across a refurbished derelict silk factory as well as indoor and outdoor exhibition spaces. Some of the works featured included those by internationally acclaimed artists Xu Bing, Olafur Eliasson and Damien Hirst. Later that year, Wuzhen hosted the International Project of Future Visual Arts, an event related to movies, games and visual arts industries. Wuzhen, an ancient river town in Tongxiang city, Zhejiang province, has become the permanent and beautiful home of the World Internet Conference, also known as the Wuzhen Summit, since 2014. Photo by Gao Erqiang / China Daily Unlike its counterparts, the riverside tourist attraction has harmoniously interwoven the old and new and offers a tastefully curated selection of goods and services for both residents and visitors. Alywin Chew reports. I've been to a number of well-known ancient towns in China over the past two years, but the only things I remember now are the stench of stinky tofu and the overwhelming amount of tourist kitsch on display. I thought I had seen them all. I thought all ancient towns were the same. That was until this trip to Wuzhen. Make no mistake about it - Wuzhen is without doubt a tourist destination where commercialization makes no attempt to hide itself. If you're heading to this famous water town thinking it is a place that has yet to be touched by the blight of modernity, you're going to be sorely disappointed. Here, just like all the other ancient towns in China, you will find restaurants, cafes, bars and gift shops. There is even free Wi-Fi that can be accessed from almost every corner of this water town (this is, after all, the home of the World Internet Conference). But unlike its counterparts, this tourist attraction stands out because it is a supremely well-organized entity that offers a tastefully curated selection of goods and services. Almost every stall here is unique, selling items that you would not find in another part of the heritage site. I have never fully toured an old town because I was always jaded by the ubiquity of tourist kitsch. This refreshing selection of lifestyle amenities in Wuzhen, however, compelled me to explore every nook and cranny. Another thing that struck me about Wuzhen is the impeccable harmony between old and new. While some might argue that gentrification robs heritage architecture of its soul, I believe that modern elements can, to a certain extent, facilitate an appreciation of the past. Having modern comforts such as hot showers, flush toilets and plush beds don't necessarily dilute the old world experience. Rather, they can help city dwellers who are unaccustomed to the ways of the old world feel comfortable in austere living conditions, which in turn allows them to appreciate the environment better. Case in point: during a recent trip to the Himalayas, I spent one night in the town of Dugla shivering in my sleep. The temperature had dipped below zero and my room had nothing more than a hard bed and a blanket. I was desperate to get out of the place as soon as possible, not explore it. The same could perhaps be said about the gentrification of old towns. Wuzhen, an ancient river town in Tongxiang city, Zhejiang province, has become the permanent and beautiful home of the World Internet Conference, also known as the Wuzhen Summit, since 2014. Photo by Gao Erqiang / China Daily In this day and age, most people would likely be more inclined to explore a stylishly furnished shop that is clean and well-lit than a dark ramshackle space where items are displayed on dusty shelves. As such, having such shops in old towns helps draw the crowds, which in turn generates tourism dollars that could be channeled into the preservation of these historic structures. Of course, gentrification has to be implemented judiciously, else an ancient dwelling might just end up becoming a paradise of kitsch. Wuzhen, to me, has achieved this balance between old and new with a certain level of panache. I found that the contemporary Chinese style furnishings and interior decor in many of the shops dovetail perfectly with the brick facades, wooden structures and stone bridges to create a setting that makes one feel as if they are suspended in a time vacuum between old and new China. Wuzhen appeared a little unreal to me. I felt as if I was in an elaborate movie set, not an old water town. The first attraction I came across certainly magnified this feeling. As I walked into a hall where different traditional Chinese clothing was displayed, I saw five visitors dressed in nuptial costumes laughing as they took selfies on an ancient Chinese wedding bed. Watching them from behind the security barrier felt as if an old school Chinese comedy was being screened in front of me. One of the museums I visited showcased the archaic practice of foot-binding that is believed to date back to as early as the 10th century. Here, I learned that the custom, which involved using tools to break the bones so that the feet can be squeezed into tiny embroidered shoes, was driven by a number of motivations. While many women endured the pain simply as a means of showing off that they are from the upper class, men saw tiny feet as a symbol of beauty. I was told that some men even chose their wives just by looking at the size of the candidates' feet. I left the museum in awe of what I had seen, partly because it was a stimulating reminder of how subjective beauty can be, and partly because I had never seen a museum in an old town that is so well-designed. This sense of wonder endured as I stepped into places that were once patronized by world leaders during past World Internet Conference meetings. The shop where President Xi Jinping bought a gift for Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev in 2015 was packed with tourists the night I was there. Many were examining the pair of chopsticks that Xi bought for his Russian guest. Located a short walk down the street is Dan Cha Fan, a modern Chinese restaurant where world leaders dined during one of the conferences. The exquisite chinaware and table decorations used on that very day are on display in a separate room that is off-limits to diners. Again, a motion picture started rolling in my head as I imagined how the world leaders interacted with one another at these places. How did Medvedev react to the chopsticks? What did the head of states say to one another at the dining table? I was impressed by the fact that I did not find any stalls selling cheesy "I Love Wuzhen" keychains or purses with Chinglish phrases. Many of the shops featured zenminimalist interiors and sold items such as calligraphy brushes and silk clothing that were far more exquisite than banal tourist kitsch. The boisterous bars at the end of the town and the two wonton stalls I came across were perhaps the only repetitive elements I noticed. I only came across one stinky tofu shop, and the odor was almost indiscernible as it was masked by the saccharine scent of osmanthus from the snack stall across the walkway. The skies opened up as I made my way back to the entrance, and the stone pathway glistened in the rain, reflecting the brilliant colors inside a shop selling traditional handcrafted lanterns. This emulsion of vibrant hues on the ground, combined with the pitter patter of rain drops and the warm glow of the street lamps, filled the air with a sense of romance. The first thing that came to mind was the final scene in the Woody Allen film Midnight in Paris where the characters Gil and Gabrielle meet on a bridge at night as the rain comes pouring down. "Actually, Paris is the most beautiful in the rain," says Gabrielle, moments before the credits roll. I thought the same could be said of Wuzhen. I later learn that this gorgeous water town has a nickname. Quite befittingly, it is called "the Venice of the East". A surge of internet attacks across the world has highlighted the role of cybersecurity. In May, the Wannacry ransomware virus reportedly affected hundreds of thousands of computers in more than 150 countries and regions including China. The bug wreaked havoc in around 30,000 institutions, such as universities, hospitals and research centers, as well as gas stations. With threats like this on the horizon, Zhang Jian, deputy secretary-general of the Cybersecurity Association of China, has warned of the online risks. He stressed that personal computers, or PCs, and mobile operating systems on smartphones were vulnerable to cyberattacks via remote access to devices. This in turn would put at risk not only personal details but reams of company data. "A great deal of people use smartphones as electronic wallets to pay for commodities and services," Zhang said. "Open interfaces make the smartphone a leading target for hackers to obtain access to both payment transfer details and users' personal information," he added. Zhang also called for increased vigilance and preparation by government departments and business enterprises, as well as individual internet users. A better reaction mechanism was needed to contain an online virus, he pointed out. Earlier this year, China released an emergency response plan for cybersecurity incidents to prevent and reduce the damage of an attack on public services and national security. The new plan divides cybersecurity incidents into six categories, including pernicious procedural incidents, cyberattacks and information security incidents. It also defines four-levels of security warning and response systems, according to different threat conditions from "general" to "extremely serious". Getting to grips with the problem will be crucial as other countries around the world have found out to their cost. Li Tiejun, a security engineer at Cheetah Mobile Inc in Beijing, felt awareness of cybersecurity was still vague compared with mature markets in Europe and the United States. "With the boom in smartphone users, viruses, worms and cyber criminals are now targeting mobiles, which put users at the forefront of cybersecurity," Li said. A report published in May by the Internet Society of China and the National Network Emergence Response Technical Team-Coordination Center, showed that more than 2 million mobile internet malicious programs were detected last year. Nearly 99.9 percent were targeting the Android system. From left: Han Kun, CEO and founder of Yixia Tech, Cheng Wei, CEO and founder of Didi Chuxing, and Eric Jing, CEO of Ant Financial Services Group. [Photo/VCG] Editor's Note: The fourth World Internet Conference, also known as the Wuzhen Summit, starts on Sunday in Wuzhen, Zhejiang province. In the run-up to the event, China Daily reporters Ma Si, He Wei and Fan Feifei quizzed senior executives from three internet-based businesses that are at the forefront of online innovation. Here, Cheng Wei, CEO and founder of ride-sharing firm Didi Chuxing, Han Kun, CEO and founder of video-sharing app Yixia Tech, and Eric Jing, CEO of Ant Financial Services Group, an affiliate of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, discuss how the internet is reshaping innovation. How do you view China's role in the global internet arena, and what are the most innovative trends and products? Cheng Wei: In recent years, I've seen so many innovations in China's internet industry. And it has made a huge difference across the world. I believe China will become the online linchpin, leading a number of revolutionary transformations in the sharing economy, transportation and artificial intelligence. The most interesting development is how people take things online and then apply them offline again to change existing industries. The artificial intelligence technology behind ride-sharing is now being used to help taxi companies and bus operators to revolutionize the way they manage drivers, and vehicles. Traffic lights have existed for centuries but now Didi scientists are using big data analytics to manage them real time. Technology is not only about expensive gadgets but a life necessity such as affordable, on-demand mobility for everyone. The ability of technology is to bridge gaps and be a force of inclusion rather than exclusion. This is the trend that will carry China and the rest of the world toward a more interconnected and shared future. Han Kun: China's internet technology and applications have evolved alongside the rapid development of the country's economy. Our mobile internet technology and apps are currently leading the world. We are also innovators in the internet field. The most innovative products may come from the areas of artificial intelligence, or AI, and mobile video. As AI technology sweeps across the world, countries are introducing new laws and policies to secure the development of this industry. Additionally, mobile videos, especially short ones, have experienced high speed development. Eric Jing: The so-called "Copy to China" model has seen a distinct shift in recent years. In fact, in sectors like fintech, China has the scale and technology to lead innovation globally. The prevalence of mobile payments has unlocked new economic opportunities for people and small businesses. Nowadays, four Chinese consumers in five will tell you that they are comfortable going out with only their smartphones and no cash. People, including the elderly, buy groceries from street vendors by scanning a printed QR code using their mobile phones. You just don't see this in other parts of the world. In addition to bringing convenience for buyers, mobile payment has also helped street vendors address the long standing issue of fake bank notes. Another area that China is well positioned to compete globally is the application of AI to transform traditional businesses. The tangible benefit of applying AI to services has the power of dramatically increasing productivity. This in turn will give people greater access. What will be the challenges facing China as it becomes a powerful, friendly internet country? Cheng Wei: Powerful internet countries have many similar traits, but I think the most important ones are being inclusive and forward-looking. Didi's rapid growth in China proves how important these characteristics can be. For example, when the rest of the world was bickering about whether online ride-hailing and ride-sharing was legal or not, China became the first country to give it the all clear on a national basis. It was a huge step for a country with the vision to see the coming revolution in transport. With ride-sharing, electric vehicles and autonomous driving, China will lead the next wave in transportation across the world. Han Kun: As far as I am concerned, internet power should have the following characteristics, such as a large population and a well-equipped network infrastructure. It should also be strong scientifically with innovation capability and a pool of internet talent. A good capital environment is another important part. China has nearly all those characteristics. But the country still needs to grasp the coming opportunities, meet the needs of consumers and sustain innovation. Eric Jing: A country with a strong internet sector needs many ingredients. China luckily has most of them, such as good internet infrastructure and a vast talent pool for the sector. It also has a large savvy population and a high mobile internet penetration rate, as well as supportive government policies. When you have all of those ingredients, it is only natural to see cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Hangzhou become talent magnets globally. The challenge is how you make the overall environment even more attractive to innovation. We need more collaboration between academia and industry to accelerate the process from research and development to application of new technologies. That will be the key to success. Do you believe China's experiences, or practices, related to technology and the internet can be used to solve global problems? Cheng Wei: Yes, of course. China is the world's largest and probably the most complex internet market. Tech companies can gain rich insight and develop advanced technological capabilities here, which will help them go further. Take Didi as an example. The intensity of traffic congestions and mobility inefficiency in China is unparalleled. The services we have developed to deal with these problems can be used elsewhere. We have managed to introduce quite a few services, which we have created for China's market, to the wider international communities. Our minibus and hitch programs have been adopted respectively by our partners in Brazil and Southeast Asia, where they can perfectly meet local demands. Han Kun: Yes, of course. One of the most important experiences gained from China's sustained internet development has been innovation. Whether it is the portal era, the e-commerce era or the era of the shared economy, innovation has always been a driving force for development. Eric Jing: Definitely. A large percentage of people are underserved in terms of financial services, especially in developing markets. Digital payment systems can greatly reduce the cost of serving customers, especially with basic financial services, such as savings accounts, and even wealth management. Ant Financial's technology capability and experience in providing digital financial services in China have stood the test of time and scale. For example, we processed 256,000 transactions per second during the peak of the Singles Day shopping festival. By working with our global partners, we are confident that the same technological capability can be leveraged in other parts of the world to make financial services more inclusive. It will give people equal opportunities. In the past year, what changes in the internet and technology sectors have impressed you, and will they make an impact in the future? Cheng Wei: One of the greatest revolutions is the integration of the three internets. That is the internet of information, the internet of energy, and the internet of transportation. This revolution is not only the result of technological advancement, but an inevitable choice to change a centuries old unsustainable model of development. Integration will change this. Cars will not be owned but shared. Energy produced in an eco-friendly way will be connected to a web of charging stations. Transportation will be arranged and deployed on big data-powered platforms. Parking lots will make way for schools and green spaces. The entire landscape of cities will be changed for the better. Han Kun: During the past few years, China's internet industry has gone through many changes and innovations. These include online to offline, or O2O, the shared economy, mobile live broadcasts and short video. Changes will affect our future since all of them are based on meeting people's needs. Eric Jing: Mobile payments moving into more offline areas and covering more geographical regions became an important change this year. The trend will dramatically change our lives and the real economy. We are already seeing rapid growth in the shared economy sector, such as bikes and home stay. And mobile payments are helping this industry grow. How will artificial intelligence improve your business and how will you tap into the technology? Cheng Wei: Didi caters for 25 million rides a day. Every single one is arranged, deployed and completed by the power of AI. Didi is fully committed to big data, machine learning and artificial intelligence, which can continuously improve the efficiency of our platform. Every day, we process 20 billion routing requests and deal with 15 billion location points. Didi's AI capabilities are based on the enormous amount of data. By analyzing the behavior and locations of our users - both the drivers and the passengers - we are getting better at deploying capacities. Han Kun: Artificial intelligence is affecting all industries and Yixia is no exception. We have already been applying this technology on our Miaopai and Yizhibo platforms. In October, we cooperated with SenseTime and Star VC in exploring video advertisements using artificial intelligence and augmented reality in our content. The technology will also be applied to our Miaopai and Yizhibo platforms. Eric Jing: AI is one of the pillars of our BASIC strategy - namely Blockchain, AI, Security, Internet of Things and Cloud Computing. The technology has tremendous potential to increase productivity, which is something we must continue to improve, so people can access more products and service. Our AI capabilities include voice recognition, natural language processing and image recognition. We are already applying and constantly exploring new ways to use this technology in our products and services. For example, our AI powered real-time risk management platform, AlphaRisk, reduces fraud on Alipay with a loss rate of one in 1 million. Another example of an AI application is the intelligent assistant within our Alipay app. It is able to handle interactions with a user by answering questions like a human being. In the next five years, what will be the new internet and technology trends? Cheng Wei: The integration of three internets, namely the internet of information, the internet of energy and the internet of transportation, will transform the landscape of cities. Han Kun: Short video is hot within the internet industry and this trend will continue. With the development of the mobile internet, traditional image-text methods will give way to vivid, short videos. This is because video meets the needs of consumers looking for information. The trend also gives us an advantage as Miaopai is now one of China's most successful short video platforms. According to the latest data from QuestMobile, the leading big data service provider, our monthly user scale has exceeded 310 million for two consecutive months. Eric Jing: Technologies, such as the internet of things, blockchain and biometrics, are going to expand quickly with wide application. Blockchain allows an online ledger to be open to public scrutiny, creating a level of trust that was not there before. We are already piloting the application of blockchain in areas such as philanthropy and mutual insurance, so as to foster more trust-based growth. Virtual reality technology gives tourists a taste of the scenery in the Tibet autonomous region. [Photo/Xinhua] The investment volume in China's tourism market exceeded 1 trillion yuan ($151.5 billion) last year, with turnover totaling 4.69 trillion yuan. However, there was still huge room for further growth as online tourism becomes increasingly popular among consumers and investors, a report said. According to the 2016 China Tourism Investment Report, online tourism contributed 100 billion yuan to the total investment, and the combination of tourism plus the internet will create new opportunities for the market. "In four years, Alitrip's revenue grew 15-fold to 100 billion yuan in 2016, the fourth largest in online traveling sector globally. We believe the Chinese online traveling market is big enough to have companies reaching the trillion yuan mark," said Zhou Zheng, vice-president of Alitrip. Alitrip, the online travel affiliate of Alibaba Group, made the achievement with less than 1,000 employees thanks to automation and intelligent technologies. "Traditional online business operators need ten folds of employees, but we can do the same thing with less staff," said Zhou, adding that consumer experience is still their top priority. Sun Jie, CEO of Ctrip, China's largest online travel platform, reported 350 billion yuan in transaction volume in 2015. Sun made a similar projection that Ctrip's sales revenue will reach 1 trillion yuan by 2018, and further expand to 2 trillion yuan in 2021. The internet has changed the landscape of the tourism industry and made it become a global economic engine. In 2016, the tourism industry posted $7.61 trillion in revenue, accounting for 10.3 percent of the world's GDP, according to data from Pintu Insitute. In China, the online tourism market surpassed 600 billion yuan in 2016, growing 34.3 percent year-on-year. A crew member of budget carrier Spring Airlines accompanies a boy traveling himself at Dalian airport, Liaoning province. WANG HUA / VISUAL CHINA Shen Wenhao is about to pay the final installment of his air ticket that brought him from his home of Qingdao, Shandong province, during the National Day holiday in October. "I looked for an affordable air ticket before the holiday, and discovered that I can pay by installments without down payment on Spring Airlines' app," said the 25-year-old, who works for a logistics company. Like Shen, many people benefit from the new payment service launched by Shanghai-based budget carrier Spring Airlines, which aims to innovate travel consumption through its smartphone app. All registered members of Spring Airlines aged between 18 and 55 years old can apply for the installment service when they buy Spring Airlines tickets without using a credit card or third party payment, said Zhou Haiyang, marketing manager of Spring's financial division. "Consumers can either choose installments of three, six, nine and 12 with zero down payment, and the monthly service charge is as low as between 0.6 percent and 0.9 percent," said Zhou. In less than three months, the service has handled up to 50,000 customers, and the company is going to launch a similar service for its traveling products. In the past few years, Spring has started offering online services, such as the foreign currency exchange that it added in April in cooperation with Ctrip Financial Services Co. "I had very a bad experience in exchanging Chinese yuan for the destination country's currency before, but it all went smoothly this time," said Zhang Jue, who tried Spring's currency exchange service in September before her trip to the United States. According to Zhang, she booked online and collected the money without queuing on Saturday at one of Spring's counters that offer the service. 'More convenient' "This is much more convenient than going to banks that require you to go on weekdays and wait for hours. The situation becomes even more complicated if the foreign currency is not that common. So sometimes, I ask my parents to do that for me," Zhang said. For the moment, as many as 28 foreign currencies can be exchanged online through Spring's app, and the bank notes can be picked up at about 130 locations in 15 Chinese cities including Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Tianjin and Chongqing, said Zhou. "It's worth mentioning that the exchange service also provides a follow-up option where customers can change the leftover foreign currency back at the same currency exchange rate when they return to China," Zhou added. Spring said nearly 50 million yuan worth of foreign currencies were exchanged in the past six months, and there are plans to extend the service to more Chinese cities next year. Chinese tourists pose for photos near rocks at the Hon Chong scenic site in Nha Trang, Vietnam. With a total of 2.7 million tourists last year, China is Vietnam's largest source of tourists, with most Chinese mainland visitors heading to the coastal cities of Da Nang or Nha Trang, which are in the center of the country and are famed for their beaches, historical sites and seafood. Linh Pham / Getty Images Online application services offered by travel platforms are aimed at the large outbound traveling market More and more Chinese tourists are completing their visa applications using mobile terminals, and going outdoors to take visa photos has become history among the new generation of Chinese outbound tourists, said a market insider. Each year, as many as 1 million people have used the online visa application service offered by Ctrip, China's largest online travel platform, since its launch in July 2015, according to Huang Qing, head of Ctrip's visa business division. Through its online service, customers can fill in application forms online, submit ID photos, hand in scanned versions of their marriage certificate, ID card, passport and confirm all the materials are correct and accurate before they are submitted. "This has saved a lot of communication time for our clients. Before, only half of the application materials were valid during their first submission, and it took two or three times on average for offline visa applications," Huang said. The online visa service is a blessing for internet-savvy tourists, who are tired of the complex and outdated offline process. According to Huang, Ctrip decided to make a foray into online visa applications after a two-month survey among its customers in early 2015. To date, the online travel platform can help tourists apply for visas in 84 countries' embassies and consulates in China, and it also offers visa application reservations to 125 nations and regions. The internet process also shortens the time needed to complete the application as well as reducing expenses on transportation and paper printing. "More than 60 percent of Ctrip's online tourism customers applied for their visas on smartphones, and 75 percent of their visa photos are selfies," Huang said. Li Shaohua, CEO of Alitrip, demonstrates process of the company's online visa center service, on Oct 28. Through its online service, customers can fill in application forms online, submit ID photos, hand in scanned versions of their marriage certificate, ID card, passport and confirm all the materials are correct and accurate before they are submitted. Provided to China Daily Becoming a new force in overseas traveling, Chinese tourists have to spend a lot of time and energy on visa material preparations according to the different requirements of destinations. "After two years' of preparation, Alitrip, the travel unit of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, announced the launch of its online visa center service on Oct 28," said Zhou Zheng, vice-president of Alitrip. "We offer online services such as optical character recognition, online visa photographs, process tracking and material pickup," Zhou said. As many as 28 million outbound trips were made through Alitrip's platforms throughout 2016. According to Zhou, Alitrip's goal is to have material submissions, visa application, as well as embassy audits all available online. To attract Chinese tourists, many embassies and consulates are looking to simplify the visa application process and audition procedures with the support of technology companies, which can also attract customers by enhancing the overall service, Yang Yanfeng, a researcher from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, was quoted as saying by Beijing News. "Electronic visas are becoming popular. In some circumstances, a smartphone can apply for and receive the visa in seconds," said Huang. With the resources of Alibaba Group, Alitrip will be able to automatically fill in the basic information of its customers according to his or her history, and even provide financial records and documents to ease the material collecting process from a couple of days to half an hour in the future, Zhou said. Outbound market Online visa application services offered by travel platforms are aimed at the large outbound traveling market from China. As many as 122 million trips were made to overseas destinations throughout 2016, spending a total of $109.8 billion, an annual report on Chinese overseas tourism by China Tourism Academy showed. From January to June, 62 million trips were made to destinations outside China, up 5.4 percent year-on-year, and the whole year growth rate is expected to reach 6 percent, Xu Yi, an analyst from Guolian Securities, wrote. Xu expected the Chinese outbound tourism market to maintain robust growth as less than 10 percent of the Chinese population holds a passport. A modern visa service is regarded as an important step to win customers; in addition, the data collected through the service will enable platforms to come up with more tailor-made products for target customers, said analysts. More than 400 companies from 13 countries and regions 100 more than last year will attend the Light of Internet Expo at the 4th World Internet Conference from Dec 3 to 5 in Wuzhen, Zhejiang province. The companies include industry giants such as BMW, Kaspersky, Alibaba, Tencent and others, Yuan Jiajun, the governor of Zhejiang province, told reporters at the opening ceremony of the expo on Saturday. The four-day expo will also witness launch of 118 new products, host 113 project signing ceremonies and match more than 1,200 projects with potential investors double the number than last year, Yuan said. The expo features the most innovative and cutting-edge products and fields in information technology, including cloud calculation, big data, quantum communication, artificial intelligence, and shared economy, he said. "The expo has become an important platform to showcase some of the world's latest tech products and business models," Yuan said. "It has become a trendsetter for Internet development." The annual World Internet Conference will be held from Dec 3 to 5 in the river town of Wuzhen, East China's Zhejiang province. With a theme of "Developing Digital Economy for Openness and Shared Benefits - Building a Community of Common Future in Cyberspace", the conference will welcome 1,500 guests from five continents, including heads of international organizations, internet business leaders, internet celebrities, experts and scholars. This year's conference will further facilitate discussion and dialogues on the digital economy, cutting-edge technologies, internet and society, cyberspace governance, and exchanges and cooperation in 21 sessions. Let's take a closer look at the topics to be covered. World-leading internet scientific and technological achievements Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site. License for publishing multimedia online 0108263 Registration Number: 130349 Registration Number: 130349 The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology inked two agreements with Zhejiang provincial government in East China on Saturday to facilitate the growth of the internet industry in the region. The first agreement will focus on building a leading platform for internet industries, and facilitate the integration and cooperation of other internet platforms, according to the agreement. The agreement also set the leadership party that will oversee the project. Zhejiang provincial government and the ministry will hold an annual joint conference and special session to push the agenda from the agreement. The second agreement was signed between the ministry, the provincial government and the government of Hangzhou, the provincial capital. It aims to create companies worth trillions of yuan, and expand cooperation of Hangzhou's software industrial development zone to the world. In 2014, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology gave Hangzhou the title, "famed city of China's software". "The new agreement is another great support for Hangzhou's development," said Chen Xinhua, Hangzhou's deputy mayor. Zhangzhihao@chinadaily.com.cn Alibaba Chairman Jack Ma makes his pledge to combat poverty at the launch of the Alibaba Poverty Relief Fund on Friday in Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang province. [Provided to China Daily] E-commerce behemoth Alibaba Group Holding Ltd has pledged 10 billion yuan ($1.51 billion) over the next five years to combat poverty in China through a special fund established on Friday. The Alibaba Poverty Relief Fund serves the company's "strategic goal" for poverty alleviation using its technological prowess and existing ecosystems, said Chairman Jack Ma, who will personally oversee the fund. "We believe the end of poverty is a goal that can be achieved and our fund embodies our long-standing commitment to give back to society," Ma told a news conference in Hangzhou, which saw the attendance of the vast majority of its 36 partners, a rarity since its historical initial public offering in 2014. The fund primarily concentrates on education, women's empowerment, entrepreneurship and environmental protection, each led by a partner with an area of focus. For instance, CEO Daniel Zhang is dedicated to helping rural entrepreneurs sell local produce to other areas, while Lucy Peng, executive chairwoman of Ant Financial, an Alibaba-related payment firm, leads initiatives on empowering women to lift themselves out of poverty. Contributions to the fund will come from Alibaba's partners and employees, as well as a charity that takes in 0.3 percent of the company 's annual revenue to support social responsibility initiatives. "We don't want to help poor people by only offering them fish, but enable them to be self-reliant so they know how to fish for themselves," Ma said. President Xi Jinping has stressed the importance of precision in the battle against poverty as Beijing is on course to achieve its goal of poverty eradication by 2020. Targeted poverty-relief measures will increasingly rely on the adoption of technologies and Alibaba is in a good position to put that expertise into practice, said Wang Ming, head of the Institute for Philanthropy at Tsinghua University in Beijing. "The difficult part in poverty relief is to be able to target the right population in need," he said. "Alibaba's strength in mobile internet and big data analytics can be used to address that issue and take charitable causes to new heights." Internet companies have been at the forefront of social conscience issues. Tencent, which is known for its iconic messaging app WeChat, has helped pioneer high-profile fundraising by mobilizing its near-1 billion active users for an annual online charity day gala on Sept 9. Liu Qiangdong, CEO of JD.com Inc, China's second largest e-commerce player, said on a microblog post a week ago that the company would help lift a village in Hebei province out of poverty in three years and boost residents' income by 10 times in five years. Around 200 delegates from foreign political parties and organizations made a visit on Friday to the Party School of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China ahead of a high-level interparty dialogue, according to the International Department of the CPC Central Committee. It is the first time the Party school has held a large-scale communication activity with parties from different countries since 2010, when the school was opened to 120 senior diplomats stationed in China from over 110 countries and regions. The interparty dialogue, which started on Thursday and will continue through Sunday, is China's first multinational diplomatic activity since the Party's 19th National Congress in October. The dialogue includes around 600 delegates from over 300 political parties and organizations from 120 countries. During the visit, the foreign delegates visited the history museum of the Party school, viewed the main buildings and held a meeting at the school. "The first stop at the Party school before the high-end meeting is positive and significant," said Hong Daode, law professor from China University of Political Science and Law in Beijing. "Through visiting, the foreign delegates could fully understand the Party school's function and its key role at different historical periods. They will learn better about the Party's historic development and Chinese leaders' thoughts on governing the country," he said Jouni Ovaska, secretary-general of Centre Party of Finland, said, "I think it is a good way to teach people how the Party works and its research and studies, with lots of benefit for everyone, from the ministerial level to the local level," he said. He said three words to describe the Communist Party of China would be "progressive, big and well-governed". Robert Colvile, director of the Centre for Policy Studies of the United Kingdom, said, "I am so surprised and impressed by the scale of it. Looking at the model in the museum, you suddenly get a sense of just how large the operation is and how far-reaching the efforts have to be." The importance of the dialogue is that "it's not just about what's happening in China, but it's about trying to bring people together from across the world and combine and collaborate on the problems we all face," he said. The Party School of the Central Committee of the CPC is the highest institution of learning in charge of training high-and middle-ranking leaders of the Party and fostering Marxist theory among cadres. School officials said it is an important center for studying leaders' theories and thoughts, including Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, and a place for developing Party spirit. It is also a research institute on philosophy and social sciences for the CPC. Li Xueqing and Meng Zhe contributed to this story. zhangyan1@chinadaily.com.cn Delegates of parties from other countries who visited an exhibition in Beijing on Friday said they were amazed by China's technological improvements and they expect full exchanges and a closer relationship with the Communist Party of China. More than 200 of the delegates arrived at the Beijing Exhibition Center for an exhibition on China's outstanding achievements over the past five years as part of the CPC in Dialogue with World Political Parties High-Level Meeting. The meeting, organized by the International Department of the Central Committee of the CPC, is being held through Sunday. Khawla Ben Aicha, a member of the Tunisian Assembly of People's Representatives, told China Daily that everything at the exhibition was really impressive because "we saw what China did in only five years". She said technological improvements, in her eyes, are the biggest achievements of China in the past half-decade. Technology is the most important thing in today's world because it represents the future and China is "powerful" and has this "future" in its hands, she said. Cristian Priboi, a delegate of the Social Democratic Party of Romania, said he was impressed by the warmth with which they were greeted and he was glad to be present. "I'm also impressed by China's achievements and that you know how to communicate your achievements," he said, adding that he was particularly fascinated by Jiaolong, a manned submersible developed by China, which set a record by diving to a depth of more than 7,000 meters. Javier Miranda, president of the Frente Amplio in Uruguay, said he and his colleagues felt honored to be invited to attend the meeting, which he thinks is of great importance to people all over the world. He said he hopes that the meeting's outcome will be fully discussed to benefit countries, parties and people. Khawla Ben Aicha said she hopes to improve the relationship between Tunisia and China, including the relationship between political parties in Tunisia and the Communist Party of China. "The workers' political party should be in the service of citizens and today in a globalized world, we should have the same stakes and the same aims and we have to work together for a better world and better life for humanity," she said. Priboi, from Romania, said he expects to share ideas and learn from what China has done in good governance. zhaoxinying@chinadaily.com.cn The Supreme People's Procuratorate has asked prosecutors nationwide to severely punish those who commit crimes against children in kindergartens. According to a notice released by the SPP on Friday, priority should be given to crimes against children, including sexual abuse, rape, indecency and intentional injury and murder. At least three incidents have been reported in November in which children were assaulted or suspected of being abused. In the most recent case, RYB Education Kindergarten, a well-known chain of preschools, was the focus of a huge public outcry after some parents alleged that their children were pricked with needles and fed unidentified white pills at the kindergarten. Police said they had detained a teacher suspected of using knitting needles to discipline children in the kindergarten, though they added that some other claims of child abuse were unfounded. The notice from the SPP also suggested teachers who are facing charges should not be allowed to continue working with children. At a news conference on Thursday, Vice-Minister of Education Tian Xuejun said that China will push for legislation on preschool education to regulate teacher behavior and standardize the operation of such institutions. The SPP said that judgments should be based on facts, and in cases that don't meet the legal standard a fair judgment should be made without interference from public opinion, though it emphasized the importance of hearing public voices. When the allegations and police investigation were announced on Nov 23 they created an online furor in China, generating more than 76 million mentions of "RYB" on WeChat. The issue stimulated public anger on the internet, with many netizens posting fierce words and asking for severe punishments. Procuratorates will be required to explain the legal rights of child victims, after it was found that some of the children had been asked to describe more than once what they had experienced, and a short video provided by one parent showed the child's face. The statement said that repeated taking of witness statements, photos or videos will not be allowed, in order to avoid further psychological harm to any children. The support of psychological professionals from NGOs and other public sectors is welcome during the investigation. The notice also emphasized the importance of protecting the privacy of the victims, and forbid judicial officials and police from wearing uniforms or driving police cars while investigating the cases so as not to draw unwanted attention. Beijing authorities on Wednesday said three district education officials are being investigated for weak supervision of private kindergartens. yangwanli@chinadaily.com.cn Beijing authorities have banned fireworks inside the city due to their effects on air pollution and the casualties caused by fireworks in recent years. According to the regulation, passed on Friday by the standing committee of the Beijing Municipal People's Congress, fireworks are banned within the Fifth Ring Road, and district authorities outside the Fifth Ring Road can set areas where fireworks are banned or restricted. In restricted areas outside the Fifth Ring Road, fireworks are allowed only on the eve and the first day of the Lunar New Year, as well as from 7 am to midnight from the second day to the 15th day of the Lunar New Year. National and municipal celebrations and holidays that require official fireworks displays will be approved and announced by the Beijing municipal government. Previously, setting off fireworks within Beijing's Fifth Ring Road was allowed only at Lunar New Year and the Lantern Festival. "To prevent accidents, like fires and injuries, I support the ban. Although fireworks play an important role in China to celebrate weddings and festivals, there are other options, such as environmentally friendly fireworks, which contain no sulfur and produce less smoke," said Song Qi, an IT programmer in Beijing. On Sina Weibo, a netizen named "Tutu" said that some residents living inside the Fifth Ring Road may feel sad about not seeing fireworks during the Spring Festival and suggested the government hold public fireworks shows. "Policies can be put in place to make people who set off fireworks responsible for other's injuries. If people don't follow the rules, they should be harshly punished," Tutu said. According to an official with the legal affairs office of the Beijing municipal government, dozens of people were injured or killed in fireworks-related accidents during the Lunar New Year periods between 2015 and 2017. There was several days of heavy air pollution during the festival in each of the past five years, the official said. In 2011, the capital's fire department banned fireworks within 60 meters of residential buildings of more than 10 stories and commercial buildings over 24 meters high during the Lantern Festival. It was the first time Beijing had implemented a fireworks ban since the city held the 2008 Olympic Games. In 2013, firework celebrations were banned in Beijing during periods when serious air pollution was forecast. Xinhua contributed to this story. yangwanli@chinadaily.com.cn Tianjin launches new round of safety checks across the city Ten people died in a high-rise fire in Tianjin on Friday, triggering a new round of safety checks in the city. Another five people suffered slight injuries and were receiving treatment in hospital, according to the Tianjin municipal government. An investigation is under way into the cause of the fire, and some individuals are being held in custody, Sun Wenkui, vice-mayor of Tianjin, said at a news conference on Friday. "We will find the exact cause of the accident and severely punish those responsible," he said. Tianjin will conduct inspections across the city, particularly on high-rises and construction sites, to eliminate potential fire risks, he said. The fire, which broke out at 4:07 am at an apartment building in Hexi district, engulfed about 300 square meters. More than 200 firefighters and 34 fire engines were sent to the scene and the fire was put out around 6:40 am, said Jiang Bingqiang, chief of the district fire brigade. The city's emergency rescue center also dispatched six ambulances equipped with intensive care units to the site, said Wang Xudong, deputy director of the Tianjin Health and Family Planning Commission. Twenty-six people were rescued from the fire and all sent to the hospital. Ten died and five others remained hospitalized, he said. Li Xueyi, director of the Hexi district government, said all the 10 deceased are male, and authorities were still verifying their identities. The five injured, who are receiving treatment at two hospitals, were in stable condition, Wang said. Most of them suffered acute throat inflammation or carbon monoxide poisoning, he said. City Tower is a commercial complex with a high-rise office building and another high-rise for serviced apartments, according to its website. The fire was on the apartment building's 38th and 39th floors, which are under renovation, and the chief materials burned were decorative materials, said Jiang. Yang Cheng contributed to this story. wangxiaodong@chinadaily.com.cn SHENZHEN -- Four self-driving buses began trial operations Saturday in south China's Shenzhen, a city known for its high concentration of hi-tech companies. The smart buses, which are smaller than an ordinary bus, began running on a 1.2-kilometer route with three stops in the bonded zone of Futian. The buses have a designed speed of 10 to 30 kph.X Equipped with lidar censors, cameras, and GPS antenna, the buses can avoid hitting pedestrians, vehicles and barriers, safely change lanes and stop at designated sites. The buses will have a driver who can manually brake or change the vehicle from self-driving to manual mode in case of emergency. The project was jointly developed by the National Intelligent Transport Systems Center of Engineering and Technology and Shenzhen Bus Group. BEIJING - World political parties showed their willingness to join hands with the Communist Party of China (CPC) in building a community with a shared future for humanity at the ongoing high-level conference that started Friday in Beijing. Focusing on the responsibilities of political parties in building a community of shared future and a better world, the meeting is attended by leaders from nearly 300 parties and political organizations from more than 120 countries and regions. Addressing the opening ceremony of the meeting, Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, said the initiative to build a community with a shared future for humanity is being transformed from a concept into action. "I am delighted to see that the friendly cooperation between China and other countries is increasingly expanding and the concept of a community with a shared future for humanity is gaining support and endorsement from an increasing number of people," Xi said. Hun Sen, Cambodian prime minister and president of the People's Party, said that his country has actively responded to Xi's concept of building a community with a shared future for humanity and seeking benefits for the people. "In this regard, I believe President Xi has explicitly pointed out common values of all political parties participating in this meeting," he said. Julio Rios, director of the Observatory of Chinese politics (OPCh) affiliated to the Spanish think tank, the Galician Institute of Analysis and International Documentation, said that the concept provided Chinese wisdom for major issues concerning the future and destiny of humanity. With the advancement of globalization, any political party, think tank and country can not deal with global challenges alone, he said, adding that cooperation is the only way to promote development. Xi has expounded on the concept of building a community with a shared future for humanity on many occasions since it was put forth in 2013. At the 19th CPC National Congress held in October, promoting the building of a community with a shared future for humanity was given as one of the 14 fundamental principles of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, and Xi reaffirmed China's principle of shared growth through discussion, collaboration and active engagement in global governance. Observers say that the Belt and Road Initiative is this concept in practice. The initiative has become a huge cooperation platform for countries to achieve common development. Proposed by Xi in 2013, the Belt and Road Initiative aims to build trade and infrastructure networks connecting Asia with Europe and Africa via land and maritime routes. Ilyas Moussa Dawaleh, general secretary of the People's Rally for Progress of Djibouti, said the Belt and Road Initiative is an important public good that China has provided to the world, which will effectively boost connectivity among regions and countries. Dawaleh said Djibouti hopes to carry out more cooperation with China under the Belt and Road Initiative. Currently, against the backdrop of a global economic downturn and a complicated international environment, participants at the meeting said the world should push for a more open and inclusive economic globalization. Political parties from various countries around the world should bear dual responsibilities in speeding up domestic reform in light of new circumstances while shouldering more global responsibilities in creating a better world, said Rios, the OPCh director of the Spanish think tank. Evariste Ndayishimiye, secretary general of CNDD-FDD of Burundi, said his country hoped to learn from Chinese experiences, especially in promoting comprehensive development and people's welfare. Argentina will host the Eleventh World Trade Organization Ministerial Conference in Buenos Aires from Dec 10 to 13. The WTO's main decisions are made at this meeting, which takes place every two years. As the host, it is both a great honor and challenge for Argentina to preside over a conference whose rule-based systems stem not from confrontation or wielding of power, but are the fruits of careful consensus building. We frequently hearin an underlying, critical tonethat ensuring and defending free trade is the duty of the WTO. However, it is clearly written in the Marrakesh Agreement, WTO's founding document, that the organization's purpose is to facilitate the entry "into reciprocal and mutually advantageous arrangements directed to the substantial reduction of tariffs and other barriers to trade, and to the elimination of discriminatory treatment in international trade relations". This purpose is to be achieved by "raising standards of living, ensuring full employment" and "in accordance with the objective of sustainable development, seeking both to protect and preserve the environment, and to enhance the means for doing so in a manner consistent with their respective needs and concerns at different levels of economic development". Therefore, it is more appropriate to describe the WTO as a facilitator of the free flow of commerce through agreements that grant mutual and reciprocal commercial advantages. This function must be exercised in the same way the rules were adopted, through cooperation. These rules, and the related Dispute Settlement System, allow for all WTO member states to work out their differences within an established mechanism, with equal opportunities to resolve them. Today, when we face questions about the very existence of a rules-based system, we must recognize that, as any collectively created organization, the WTO should evolve in order to meet the changing realities of 21st century economics and trade, without forgetting those issues that are still pending agreement, such as in the agricultural and fisheries sectors. At this point it is more important to foster dialogue and cooperation to find common ground and build a consensus for the continuous improvement of the WTO as an institution established to serve all countries and the development of all peoples. This is the commitment of the Argentine government. We hope that, in Buenos Aires, we will achieve its collective reaffirmation. We bring this objective to our roleas the chair of the conference, we will listen to all, be sensitive to and understand the different regional perspectives, and look into the priorities member states have in order to find that common thread which provides us with the opportunity for consolidating and improving the institutions of the global trade system, as an engine of economic growth and development opportunity. In his speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos in January, President Xi Jinping said: "There was a time when China also had doubts about economic globalization, and was not sure whether it should join the WTO. But we came to the conclusion that integration into the global economy is a historical trend. Therefore, China took a brave step to embrace the global market. We have had our fair share of choking in the water and encountered whirlpools and choppy waves, but we have learned how to swim in this process. It has proved to be a right strategic choice." At the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, Xi, also general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, went a step forward and affirmed: "It will be an era that sees China moving closer to center stage and making greater contributions to mankind". Argentina counts on China's commitment to the multilateral system to achieve the objective of reaffirming and improving the WTO. The author is president of the Eleventh WTO Ministerial Conference and former minister of foreign affairs of Argentina. ZHAI HAIJUN/FOR CHINA DAILY Some second-tier cities are competing with not only each other, but also first-tier cities to attract talents. The governments of some second-tier cities are offering professionals local hukou (household registration), which is linked to all social welfare benefits, residential accommodation and cash subsidies. Thanks to the economic growth and industrial upgrading of such cities, they are now more capable and confident of competing with metropolises. Therefore, by drawing professionals these cities will help narrow the regional development gap and promote a more balanced economic growth. The governments of such cities should realize that welfare, housing and money can attract some people in a short time, but that may not necessarily be sustainable in the long run. Although the money and house offered to professionals reflect the local governments' respect for their needsespecially given the exorbitant housing prices in some citiesthat might not be enough to make them settle down in a particular city. The reason: professionals seek the right prospects for career building rather than just benefits. If the competition transforms into a contest among cities to provide better housing and more funds and bonuses to attract talents, most of the second-tier cities will stand no chance against their first-tier counterparts. Shenzhen in Guangdong province, which has developed from a fishing village into one of the most robust growth engines of China, offers the second-tier contenders valuable lessons on how to marshal talents. The southern city has created a more equitable, inclusive and efficient policy and business environment for entrepreneurs, researchers and people striving to improve the quality of life through their industriousness, knowledge, skills and innovative capacity. Shenzhen has become a synonym for opportunity and dream, attracting talents from different walks of life within a short time. Moreover, the second-tier cities trying to attract talents should not offer the benefits together with harsh terms such as requiring talents to not seek a job in another city before the end of 10 years, because that would make the benefits seem more like a bait. Imposing a 10-year minimum working period as a condition for the benefits provided is not rare. In fact, many local governments' work contracts have clauses saying that if a beneficiary leaves the city before 10 years, he or she would be required to pay a daunting amount as "liquidation" damages. Good employers don't seek eternal loyalty from their employees. Instead they seek to form a type of alliance with the employees, and create better conditions for the latter's development so that they can work to their full capacity, and in many cases maintain a harmonious relationship with the employers even after quitting their job. The governments of second-tier cities seeking to attract talents would do good to follow this rule. The flows and exchanges of talents are normal phenomena. What a city government should care about most is not lifelong loyalty from professionals, but creating the right atmosphere to allow the professionals to use their talents to the full as long as they are on the job and, in so doing, contribute to the development of the city. That's what talent hunt should be about. The author is a researcher in market and internet economy at Peking University. The article was first published in Beijing News. The legal brief the United States filed with the World Trade Organization on Thursday to oppose the designation of China as a market economy risks derailing Sino-US economic relations and reflects Washington's unwillingness to respect free trade and globalization. The US' move, as a third party in a case China has brought against the European Union, will help it impose anti-dumping duties on imported Chinese products, which could cause losses worth billions of dollars to Chinese enterprises. On Tuesday, the US Department of Commerce initiated anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duty investigations into Chinese aluminum products without requests by US companies, which is rare. Not happy with only raising the barriers to free trade, the US has now initiated a move to deny China market economy status so that it can continue using the surrogate country approach to evaluate the costs of imported Chinese products. As production cost is often much higher in a third country than in China, the US, when deciding the price of Chinese products in anti-dumping cases, will find it technically much easier to accuse China of dumping in the US market. However, according to Article 15 of the Protocol on China's Accession to the WTO, which all WTO members including the US agreed, WTO members should have stopped using the surrogate country approach to investigate anti-dumping cases against China by Dec 11, 2016. Perhaps the US is violating its own pledge in order to solve some of its economic problems, especially its colossal trade deficits. But it cannot do so by targeting Chinese products, because goods from other countries with low production costs will replace them. Worse, the US move could jeopardize bilateral trade ties. Sino-US economic relations have progressed relatively well in recent years. The two sides have also established various economic dialogue mechanisms to bridge their differences, and exports of some US products, such as beef, to China have increased thanks to the trade-rebalancing 100-day action plan. But if the US continues using its one-sided trade policies, it could derail the result-oriented bilateral economic relationship, which will serve neither side's interest. Seminar affirms the effort to build a community of common destiny A statement was adopted to further promote multilateral communication among Chinese and African political parties at the closing ceremony of the 3rd China-Africa Political Parties Theoretical Seminar in Beijing on Friday. Over 60 representatives of political parties from some 20 African countries attended the seminar, which started on Wednesday in conjunction with the CPC in Dialogue with World Political Parties High-Level Meeting, which runs through Sunday. The parties also agreed to provide a Sino-African plan to build a new type of international relations based on mutual respect, fairness and justice, and win-win cooperation, and to contribute to building a community of common destiny with Sino-African wisdom through multilateral exchange. Party representatives spoke highly of the rapid development of cooperation between China and Africa. They also said China and Africa are a united community of common destiny since they have common historical experiences, development tasks and strategic interests. "We deeply believe in the concept of the community of shared destiny proposed by China," said Mamadou Ballo, secretary of People's Assembly of Guinea. "Attending this meeting indicates our determination to build such a community with other countries." As the source of their countries' policies, the parties should further strengthen exchanges and cooperation to play a more significant role in building the community of common destiny in Africa, the representatives said. They affirmed the seminar's role in promoting collective dialogue, exchanges and learning among parties. They also said they believe that it further deepens the mutual understanding of political parties between China and Africa. Solomon Lechesa Tsenoli, central committee member of the South African Communist Party and deputy speaker of the National Assembly, said that he and his party need to learn from the Communist Party of China on how to build a program for a developing country. Representatives exchanged information on the recent economic and social development of their countries, and introduced the ideas, policies and measures of their political parties in promoting development and improving people's livelihood. They said they believed that the ruling parties of China and Africa still face challenges along with the significant achievements in governance. Parties also should continuously improve their own governance capability to achieve the goal of rapid economic and social development. Xu Lyuping, deputy head of the International Department of the CPC Central Committee, said the CPC is willing to maintain close relations with African political parties to promote advancement in Sino-African relations and also to jointly create a better future. liuxuan@chinadaily.com.cn US media speculation heats up over US secretary of state's status WASHINGTON - The White House on Thursday rejected widespread reports about a plan initiated by the Trump administration to oust Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, saying there will be no personnel changes. "There are no personnel announcements at this time. Secretary Tillerson continues to lead the State Department," said a statement from White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders. Sanders' remarks came after multiple major US news outlets reported earlier that the White House is planning to remove the current head of the State Department. Tillerson's relationship with President Donald Trump "has been strained" and perhaps he will be replaced "within the next several weeks", reported The New York Times, citing senior administration officials. Incumbent CIA Director Mike Pompeo, a former three-term Congressman and a sturdy supporter of Trump, is said to be Tillerson's successor. Trump, when asked if he wanted Tillerson to stay on the job on Thursday morning, made a simple reply. "Rex is here," he said, seemingly dodging the question. It was not the first time the Trump-Tillerson relationship has been scrutinized. In October, when asked if he still had confidence in Tillerson, Trump replied: "Yes." At Thursday's daily media briefing, Sanders, further rebutting the reports, said when Trump loses confidence in someone, "they will no longer serve in the capacity that they're in". Trump and Tillerson are "going to work together to close out what we've seen to be an incredible year", Sanders said. The US State Department also ridiculed the reports on Thursday. White House chief of staff John Kelly had called the department, saying "those reports are not true", said State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert. However, Nauert also hinted that Tillerson, former CEO of Exxon Mobile, a US multinational oil and gas corporation, seemed to feel uncomfortable about Washington which "can be a tough game of politics". "He (Tillerson) doesn't always understand and accept exactly how Washington works with anonymous sources, things of that nature. That's not who he is, that's not the world that he comes from," said the spokesperson. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, Tillerson's closest ally in the administration, brushed off the report. "There's nothing to it," he said in response to a reporter's query. Tillerson, 65, from Texas, was a civil engineer who joined the energy company in 1975 and rose to serve as CEO from 2006-16. Months after he was sworn in as state secretary, Tillerson launched a "redesign" project, which, along with staff cutting and budget trimming, drew severe criticism from bipartisan lawmakers who worried those steps might cause a brain drain in the US foreign service corps. According to the State Department, Tillerson is sticking to his schedule as state secretary, which will take him to Europe on a five-day trip next week. During the tour, Tillerson will visit Brussels, Vienna and France, meeting NATO leaders and foreign ministers of the European Union members to discuss US-EU cooperation on major global issues. Xinhua - Ap An Edinburgh nurse is believed to have become the first person from China to conquer all 282 of the highest mountains in Scotland. The mountains, all more than 914 meters, are known as Munros. Sunny He Huang, 45, from Liaoning province in northeast China, started the 70 Munros Challenge two years ago to raise money for the Christian Aid charity. It soon turned out to be something she really enjoyed, firing her determination to climb all 282 peaks. "When I heard that I was the first person from China to have officially climbed all 282 Munros, I was in tears and so emotional," she said. "It was just so exciting and I couldn't sleep the first night." Huang climbed over 100 on her own and others with friends, spending almost all her weekends and days off hiking up the mountains. Huang discovered her love for hill walking when her son went to university and feeling a bit at a loose end, she started walking on the Pentland Hills, south of Edinburgh. She climbed her first Munro, Ben Narnain, in July 2015 and completed her final one, Meall Chuaich, on Nov 18 with a large group of friends, colleagues and family. For many of them, including her 21-year-old son, Botao Zhou, it was their first Munro. "What I enjoyed the most about these walks is when you reach the summit," she said. "If you get a good view, it feels like you have cleansed your mind, you forget all the worries at work, in your life, and just don't think about anything at all. You just enjoy all this nature and mountain fresh air." Huang said she wanted to raise money for Christian Aid because she has always wanted to help impoverished people. "When we were growing up we were very poor. I am not rich now, but at least I have enough to feed myself, my family and have a roof over our heads," she said. "This is why I'm supporting Christian Aid, to make their vision - to help end poverty - become reality." Huang came to the UK in 2004 and works at the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary as a cardiac theater nurse. She said her next challenge is to walk the length of Hadrian's Wall and climb some of Scotland's lower mountains. boleung@mail.chinadailyuk.com PESHAWAR, Pakistan - Taliban militants stormed a provincial government agricultural research complex in the northwestern city of Peshawar on Friday, killing 12 people including students and wounding 35 others, police said. Police and soldiers killed three attackers during a firefight and while clearing the complex, they said. The main Taliban militant group, Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, claimed responsibility. Police chief Salahuddin Mahsud of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province said attackers opened fire on the main gate of a provincial Agricultural Department complex, initially wounding two guards and two students. Mahsud said three attackers clad in women's burqas then reached the gate in a rickshaw and opened fire to clear their way to the building. The ensuing firefight left 12 dead and dozens more injured. Mahsud said before the attackers could reach other hostels, security forces evacuated residents in armor vehicles. "Police and military troops engaged in a quick and well-coordinated firefight and evacuation efforts saved scores of lives, otherwise the death toll could have been much higher." TV footage showed bullets holes in building walls, blood stains and broken glass scattered on the floor. Some students and others were present in the normally crowded complex at the time of the attack because Friday was a holiday for Muslims to celebrate the birth of the Prophet Muhammad. "We took shelter inside the bedroom and were begging the injured student not to make any sound as the terrorists might hear it and kill us," said Noor Wali, 19, a student at the institute. The attack came over a week after a suicide bomber killed top police official Mohammad Ashraf Noor and his guard in the city. Pervez Khattak, chief minister of the province, expressed grief over the lives lost. "These terrorists have no religion as they attacked on a day which is very sacred and the nation was celebrating it." Ap - Afp - Xinhua WASHINGTON - The US Senate on Saturday approved a sweeping tax overhaul, moving Republicans and President Donald Trump a major step closer to their goal of slashing taxes for businesses and the rich while offering everyday Americans a mixed bag of changes. In what would be the largest US tax overhaul since the 1980s, Republicans want to add $1.4 trillion over 10 years to the $20 trillion national debt to finance changes that they say would further boost an already growing economy. US stock markets have rallied for months in hopes Washington would provide significant tax cuts for corporations. Following the 51-49 vote, talks will begin, likely next week, between the Senate and the House of Representatives, which has already approved its own tax bill. The two chambers must craft a single bill to send to Trump to sign into law. The president wants that to happen before the end of the year, allowing him and his Republicans to score their first major legislative achievement of 2017, despite controlling the White House, the Senate and the House since he took office in January. A tax overhaul is seen by Republicans as crucial to their prospects in the November 2018 mid-term election campaigns when they will have to defend their majorities in Congress. In a legislative battle that moved so fast a final draft of the bill was unavailable to the public until just hours before the vote, Democrats slammed the measure as a give-away to businesses and the rich financed with billions in taxpayer debt. The framework for both the Senate and House bills was developed in secret over a few months by a half-dozen Republican congressional leaders and Trump advisers, with little input from the party's rank-and-file and none from Democrats. The Senate approved their bill in the wee hours, with Democrats complaining that last-minute amendments circulated among senators were poorly drafted and vulnerable to being gamed later by lawyers and accountants in the tax avoidance industry. "The Republicans have managed to take a bad bill and make it worse," said Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer. "Under the cover of darkness and with the aid of haste, a flurry of last-minute changes will stuff even more money into the pockets of the wealthy and the biggest corporations." No Democrats voted for the bill, but they lacked the votes to block it because Republicans hold a 52-48 Senate majority. Republican Senator Bill Cassidy praised the bill and said, "Working families and middle-income families across the nation will be better off. Families who over the last eight years have not done well will begin to do better." Six Republican senators, who wanted and got last-minute amendments and whose votes had been in doubt, said on Friday they would back the bill and did so. Senator Bob Corker, one of few remaining Republican fiscal hawks who pledged early on to oppose any bill that expanded the federal deficit, stood out as the lone Republican dissenter. "I am not able to cast aside my fiscal concerns and vote for legislation that ... could deepen the debt burden on future generations," said Corker, who is not running for re-election. Britain's Prince Harry (L) and his fiancee, US actress Meghan Markle visit the Terrence Higgins Trust World AIDS Day charity fair at the Nottingham Contemporary, Britain, Dec 1, 2017. Photo/IC] LONDON Chanting "Harry, Harry!" and "Meghan, Meghan!" hundreds of people lined the streets of a central English city Friday to welcome Britain's Prince Harry and his American fiancee, actress Meghan Markle. The couple's visit to Nottingham was their first official commitment since they announced their engagement on Monday. They plan to tour Britain over the next six months to give Markle an opportunity to learn about the country before their May wedding in the chapel at Windsor Castle. Markle smiled and looked confident as she basked in the adoration of a crowd that had waited for hours in the cold to catch a passing glimpse of the couple. Dozens waved British and American flags. A few were lucky enough to see the engagement ring up close as Markle shook hands. But the ring was old news for British commentators, who instead focused on her handbag a Strathberry tri-color leather tote designed in Scotland and handcrafted in Spain. The couple traveled to the east Midlands in England to visit to a youth project and to raise AIDS awareness. Their fans followed, including Irene Hardman, 81, who brought a gift bag with fridge magnets and candy for Markle. Hardman wept with joy after handing the bag to the bride-to-be. "I cried she's wonderful, and it's fantastic," Hardman said. "They're so genuine." The trip was Prince Harry's third to Nottingham since October 2016. The prince has long championed AIDS charities, following in the footsteps of his late mother, Princess Diana. Holly Burdett, who is originally from West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, but now lives in Sydney, Australia, returned home on the "gamble" that the couple would announce their engagement while she was there. "I always thought I'd marry Harry, but you can't win them all," Burdett joked. "As long as they're happy, that's all that matters." AP Premier Li Keqiang returned to Beijing on Saturday morning after he attended the sixth Meeting of Heads of Government of China-Central and Eastern European Countries in Budapest, Hungary and the 16th Meeting of the Council of Heads of Government (prime ministers) of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in Sochi, Russia. In Budapest, Li also paid his first official visit to Hungary as a premier. High-level Russian officials and Li Hui, China's ambassador to Russia, bid farewell to the premier and saw him off at the Sochi International Airport on Friday night when the Chinese delegation left for Beijing. LIVERPOOL - The British city of Liverpool will host a festival of the best of Chinese contemporary art and culture that will last nine months in 2018 to mark the city's 10th anniversary of being named the European Capital of Culture. A sampling of a year of events was announced by City Hall officials on Thursday, with full details to come in January. The city says Year of the Dog celebrations in what is Europe's oldest Chinatown will kick-start the program called "China Dream". The 2018 Chinese New Year celebrations will not just be bigger than ever but will also signal the start of the China Dream festival. New Year festivities will run the length of Berry Street in Chinatown, while a spectacular visual show will illuminate the city's Chinese Arch - the largest outside the Chinese mainland - and surrounding buildings, accompanied by music from popular Chinese artists. There will also be a Chinese New Year fireworks display that city officials say "will blow your socks off". The launch of China Dream in February coincides with the opening of the Terracotta Warriors exhibit at World Museum Liverpool, which is destined to attract visitors from both home and abroad to enjoy the rare experience of seeing the famous ancient artifacts on British soil. "During China Dream, unique revolutionary artists and photographers will be commissioned to create one-off pieces that showcase the best of Chinese contemporary culture," a city spokeswoman said. Over the summer, Shanghai, Liverpool's twin city, takes over the famous River Mersey waterfront to showcase itself. It will feature 10 of the city's best emerging artists, along with a special offering from the Shanghai Film Festival, which will bring the latest in Chinese film to an English-speaking audience. China Dream concludes in October with a Moon Festival celebration, coinciding with China's Golden Week harvest-time holiday, where some of the biggest names from the country's pop music scene will descend on the Mersey, bringing the latest Chinese sounds to Liverpool music lovers. A city spokesman said: "We are working with some amazing performers and artists in China to present what will be an amazing festival in Liverpool." Liverpool and Shanghai became sister cities in 1999, both sharing stunning waterfronts and long-standing trade links. Liverpool Mayor Joe Anderson touted the "opportunity for us to roll out the red carpet for people to come and visit for the first time, or to rediscover what we believe is the most exciting destination in the UK. "Some of the projects we will be announcing in the New Year really do raise the bar, and it will be an incredible time for residents and visitors who will undoubtedly travel from across the world to experience how Liverpool puts on a show." Xinhua If we ourselves are in Christ we cannot fail to discern His Body in others whom he is pleased to call His own and whose Sacrament He is pleased to honour with His own real Presence and Spirit. Thomas Torrance recognized the true nature of the church as existing only in Christ and spent his life seeking the theological renewal of the church. In this process, his life and work has become known as one of the largest theological dynasties Great Britain has ever produced. Missionary Kid to Pastor From birth, he was destined for full-time ministry. He was born in Chengdu, China, on August 30, 1913, the second of six children to Rev. Thomas Torrance and Annie Elizabeth Torrance, who were missionaries with China Inland Mission. His parents began his theological training at a young age, and he fondly recalls his parents as his first and best teachers in theology. He went on to attend the universities of Edinburgh, Basel, and Oxford studying under theologians such as H. R. Mackintosh, Daniel Lamont, and Karl Barth. Mackintosh instilled in him the importance of theology as the foundation and center of every aspect of the Christian life, causing him to rethink his desire to be a missionary and instead enter into academic theology. Mackintoshs influence led Torrance to see theology as a way to participate in the Great Commission and thus, mission work, by serving the church. After serving a year as a professor at Auburn Theological Seminary in New York from 1938 to 1939, he returned to Scotland, accepting a position as the pastor of the parish in Alyth. During these first three years as a pastor, he pointed out that the church has a tendency to conform to human culture and civilization and thus lose its distinctive identity and mission. This resulted in many lectures and articles such as The Place and Function of the Church in the World which argues for the recovery of the churchs identity in Christ. From 1943 to 1945 Torrance took a leave from his parish in Alyth to be a chaplain in the military during World War II. While he was never fighting combatants himself, war and death surrounded him. At one point his platoon came under heavy German fire and only he and one other soldier made it out alive. These experiences and questions from dying soldiers, such as Is God really like Jesus? made him realize the importance of the centrality of Jesus in Christian theology. He became convinced that it is this facet of Christian theology that is the driving force behind the recovery of the churchs identity and mission. After the war ended, he returned to his church in Alyth where he continued working for the theological renewal of the churchs identity and mission. During this period of his pastorship, he founded the Scottish Church Theology Society in 1945 and then the Scottish Journal of Theology in 1948 to aid in that process. In 1946, he rekindled a relationship with Margaret Spear whom he had met at the University of Edinburgh. They were married in October 1946 and had three children: Thomas Spear, Iain Richard, and Alison Meta Elizabeth. The growth of the Torrance family made the stipend from his church in Alyth too small to care for his family. He was offered a position at Beechgrove Church in Aberdeen, and by November 1947 he accepted the position and the Torrance family moved to Aberdeen. As he continued to seek the recovery of the churchs identity, he realized that he did not have the time to research and write as he would have liked while at Beechgrove Church. So Torrance used his sermons as avenues for theology, producing When Christ Comes and Comes Again in 1957, his attempt to bring the preaching of the Church to the bar of the Word of God. Pastor to Professor T. F. Torrances long-term desire was to have an academic career in service of the church. In 1950, this began to be a reality when he accepted the position of chair of church history at the University of Edinburgh and came to full fruition when he became the chair of dogmatics by 1952. He used this position to make significant contributions to the movement to recover church unity that was taking place during this time. While interest in ecumenism emerged from the Edinburgh Missionary Movement in 1910, it gained traction after World War II ended when the World Council of Churches was formed in 1948. Torrance was appointed to represent the Church of Scotland in these conversations, but his main contribution did not lie so much in his participation in these conversations but his research into the foundational theological principles that made these conversations possible. His work for the World Council of Churches, which met in Amsterdam in 1948, and the Third World Council on Faith and Order, which met in Lund in 1952, resulted in many articles such as The Atonement and the Oneness of the Church and Where Do We Go From Lund. It also resulted in the publication of works such as Conflict and Agreement in the Church, Vol. I & II. In response to the disunity that was present in the church at the time, he wrote his volume Royal Priesthood, which argued for a biblical understanding of church leadership. For Torrance, disunity came from misunderstood identity. The church had lost its identity and was therefore vulnerable to corruption and distortion through an improper immersion in the worldand immersion which could compromise its God-given mission. He found that the church was placing its identity in the way that it did ministry, in its method for doing ministry. He argued that these old ways and habits must be set aside in order to recover the true identity of the church. If the identity of the church remains in its practice and not in its very nature as the body of Christ, then the church will remain in disunity. But if the church can recover its true identity as the body of Christ, then church unity is possible. While he addressed many issues throughout his time as a professor, his main focus was the church and ministry, always arguing that proper church practice comes from a proper understanding of identity. He argues in Conflict and Agreement in the Church that the great shame and disorder of the church is that she has collaborated with the disorder of the world and clothed herself with so many of its forms and fashions that so often she is too committed to the world and too compromised with it to be able to deliver the revolutionary Word of the Gospel with conviction and power. To fix this issue, the church must be prepared as part of her dying and rising with Christ to mortify the deeds of the body, to lay her worldly form upon the altar of the cross and in shedding of old ways and habits, in the refashioning of her order, to release the Gospel effectively to the world of today. During the 1950s and 60s, his involvement in church unity primarily focused on conversations between the Church of England and the Church of Scotland and different aspects of the World Council of Churches. Thus, he was present at the Faith and Order conference at Lund in 1952, the Faith and Order Commission from 1952 to 1962, and the World Council of Churches in Evanston, Illinois, in 1954. He also served on the ReformedRoman Catholic Study Commission on the Eucharist in the Netherlands. Because of his heavy involvement in ecumenism, it is no wonder that he was invited to become the moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 1976, a one year position. Torrance did not squander this opportunity, but used this position to influence the church toward serious theological reflection. Convinced that pastoral ministry not informed by theology will inevitably lead to the church clothing itself in worldly ways, Torrance pushed the Church of Scotland to understand that theology was meant to enable and inform biblical pastoral ministry. Retirement Torrance retired from his position as University of Edinburghs chair of dogmatics in 1979, which is arguably when his most important work with the church began. A meeting concerning the Trinity with the ecumenical patriarch and other leaders of the Greek Orthodox Church on behalf of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches led to a series of meetings between 1979 and 1983 in Istanbul, Turkey. By 19861990, these meetings had expanded to Geneva, Leuenburg, and Minsk. These meetings resulted in the document Agreed Statement on the Holy Trinity. Torrance narrated the dialogue process and sought to popularize this statement in his work Theological Dialogue Between Orthodox and Reformed Churches, vol I & II. According to theologian Alister McGrath, Torrances work in Christian theology and church unity not only established Edinburgh as one of the most significant centres in the world for the study of Christian theology, it also earned him the prestigious Templeton Prize for Progress in Religion in 1978. While retirement usually means the end of a career, for Torrance this was not the case. While he published 320 works during his time at the University of Edinburgh, he added over 260 additional publications after he retired, including two of his most significant: The Trinitarian Faith (1988) and The Christian Doctrine of God (1996). He passed away in Edinburgh in December 2007. T. F. Torrance understood that Jesus loved the church so much that he died for it and, thus, the church must be fought for. Torrance used his position in the academy to do just that. He fought for the theological renewal of the church so that its witness in the world might not be tarnished, and through that witness, the world would come to know God in Christ. Daniel J. Cameron is adjunct professor of theology at the Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, Illinois. His most recent book is entitled Flesh and Blood: A Dogmatic Sketch Concerning the Fallen Nature View of Christs Human Nature (Wipf and Stock). Christian Leader and Pastor Encourages Churches to Publicly Engage on the Issue of Sexual Assault and Abuse Contact: Rev. Patrick Mahoney, 540-538-4741 WASHINGTON, Dec. 1, 2017 /Christian Newswire/ -- Rev. Patrick Mahoney, Pastor of Church on the Hill and Director of the Christian Defense Coalition, calls for faith communities to be a leading voice on confronting sexual abuse and bring cultural transformation to society and healing to those who have been wounded and impacted. On Saturday, December 2, at 6:00 P.M., Church on the Hill will have a gathering on Capitol Hill in Washington D.C., to discuss "A Christian Response to Sexual Assault and Rape Culture." The meeting will be at 109 2nd St. NE in Washington, D.C. and shown on Facebook Live. Below is link to the event: www.facebook.com/events/2007403772861704/ Rev. Patrick Mahoney, states; "It is time for the 340,000 churches across America to pull 'their heads out of the sand,' and take the lead on addressing and confronting the issue of sexual assault in our culture. We can no longer be silent or indifferent on this matter and we also must address how we have been culpable in not being more aggressive within our own faith communities concerning abuse. "The church is uniquely positioned to speak on sexual assault and misconduct for a number of reasons. First, we offer God's eternal principles on sexuality and gender relationships. It is through the teachings of scripture and church history that we can find redemptive solutions and a way forward in dealing with sexual assault. The faith community is the only entity that can offer healing, God's love, prayer and restoration to those who have been so terribly victimized and wounded by sexual assault. "The church also offers the abuser hope in a transformed life through a personal relationship with God and meaningful and open relationships with members of the faith community which help foster a changed heart and attitudes." For more information or interviews contact: Rev. Patrick Mahoney at 540.538.4741 Share Tweet Andy Wong/STF BEIJING - The Chinese government on Friday criticized U.S. opposition to granting Beijing market economy status in the World Trade Organization as reminiscent of the Cold War. A U.S. document released Thursday in Geneva supports the European Union in opposing giving China market status, which would make it harder to win anti-dumping cases against Beijing for exporting goods at improperly low prices. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 3 1 of 3 JOSHUA TRUJILLO Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Seth Wenig/STF Show More Show Less 3 of 3 Federal prosecutors said Friday that Martin Shkreli, the former hedge fund manager notorious for raising the price of a critical drug, should forfeit more than $7 million in assets after being convicted of lying to investors. Shkreli should turn over two rap albums - the only known copy of the Wu-Tang Clan's "Once Upon a Time in Shaolin" and Lil Wayne's "Tha Carter IV" - as well as $5 million in cash, interest in a company he started, Touring Pharmaceutical, and a Picasso painting, prosecutors said. They also asked that he give up a World War II-era Enigma code-breaking machine used against Nazi Germany. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate SAN FRANCISCO - Google, which prides itself on developing simple, intuitive software that seems to know what you want almost before you do, is finding itself in a very different world when it comes to its own phones and other gadgets. Its new Pixel 2 phones, released in October, got high marks for their camera and design - at least until some users complained about "burned in" afterimages on their screens, a bluish tint, periodic clicking sounds and occasionally unresponsive touch commands Then the company's new Home Mini smart speaker was caught always listening. Finally, its wireless "Pixel Buds" headset received savage reviews for a cheap look and feel, mediocre sound quality, and being difficult to set up and confusing to use. In short, Google is relearning an old adage in the technology business: Hardware is hard. Growing pains Google quickly extended the warranty on the Pixel 2 and tweaked software on the devices and its Home Mini in an attempt to fix the troublesome issues. (It hasn't had much to say about the Pixel Buds.) Still, the problems served as a high-profile reminder of the company's inexperience in making consumer electronics - a field where Apple has a 40-year head start. But the company insists that its problems are being blown out of proportion. "I believe, quite frankly, that Google has a spotlight on it," Rick Osterloh, the executive in charge of the company's hardware division, said in an interview with the Associated Press. "Things that would normally be pretty minor issues are a bit amplified in today's environment." Of course, Google has actively courted this spotlight. In 2016, Osterloh took the stage at a product event to tout the Pixel phone as "the best of hardware and software, designed and built by Google." The company is also running a major ad campaign to draw attention to its gizmos for the holiday shopping season. "Being a software company is an entirely different animal from being a hardware company," said technology analyst Jan Dawson of Jackdaw Research. "The cultures are very different and there are more moving parts in hardware, so you have to learn along the way." Google has to realize a "fail fast" philosophy that worked well for free software products doesn't work as well for smartphones that cost hundreds of dollars, analyst Ross Rubin of Reticle Research said. Software "can be more forgiving of that development philosophy," he said. "You can't do that with atoms. You risk some backlash." Hardware full of Google Google's push into devices, which includes its own Wi-Fi routers and an older line of web-based notebook computers, has become a key strategy for the internet giant. It sees these gadgets as a way to ensure services such as search, maps, Gmail and its voice-activated assistant remain prominent as personal computing expands on mobile devices and new smart gizmos in homes. All those Google services are baked into Android, which powers more than 2 billion devices worldwide - but device makers such as Samsung that use the free software also can make adjustments to highlight their own products instead. And Apple only uses Google's search engine as a built-in service on iPhones, and that's only because Google pays billions of dollars annually for the access. The Pixel phones and Home speakers also serve as a showcase and data-collection tool for the Google Assistant, its voice-activated digital concierge. The virtual assistant is key to Google's artificial intelligence efforts, aimed at making computers that constantly learn new things and eventually seem more human than machine. Slow start The Pixels, however, got off to a slow start. Google sold only 2.8 million of the first-generation model, accounting for about 0.1 percent of the market, according to the research firm International Data Corp. Such a low sales volume makes it more difficult to acquire the highest-quality components for hardware, particularly when suppliers make it a priority to meet the demands of market leaders Apple and Samsung. Apple is expected to sell between 230 million and 250 million iPhones during the fiscal year ending in September. Like the Pixel 2s, the new iPhone X features an OLED screen to display more vibrant colors. And like the Pixel 2 XL, the iPhone X's screen may also display a bluish tint and suffer "image retention" that makes it look like something has burned into the screen, by Apple's own admission. As part of its effort to catch up to Apple and Samsung, Google recently acquired more expertise in a $1.1 billion deal with device maker HTC that included the brought in 2,000 more smartphone engineers and certain hardware technologies. But Edison Investment Research analyst Richard Windsor said he believes many consumers will balk at paying a premium price for the Pixel 2 (prices start at $650), given its troubles. "It appears that the best way to get the most value from Google services is still to use them on another device," Windsor said. Tickets went on sale earlier this week for a popular dance music festival hosted at one of Texas' top spring break destinations. The Ultimate Music Experience is slated for March 16-17 on South Padre Island, event organizers announced Nov. 27. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Harjinder Singh had always been a fan of the tiny house movement, and after his cancer diagnosis he decided it was time to leave his job as a banker in the United Kingdom and make his way to Houston for a fresh start. In 2015 Singh hit the five-year remission mark, meaning he no longer had to have regular CAT scans so he decided it was the perfect time to start his dream. Singh arrived in the Bayou City and started looking for a place to live so he could launch his business, but none of the houses appealed to him. The tiny homes he came across were not built to his liking, so he set out to build his own. "I've always lived in small spaces, so I knew I could function," Singh told Chron.com "But the tiny homes I looked at were all build out of wood or didn't seem sturdy enough, so I literally said to myself 'I can build them better, and I can build them cheaper'." And with that his tiny house company was born. SO CREATIVE: A home shaped like a cowboy boot is being constructed in Huntsville Singh knew he wanted a sturdy, affordable home made from sustainable and recycled products, so he got to work on his Houston house. With everything lined up he went back to London to apply for a visa so he could come back to Houston to launch his company, Olli Global. Now Playing: Listen up green thumbs, because we've just found the perfect tiny home for you: Meet the Elsa, a tiny home that comes with its own greenhouse and porch. Built by Olive Nest Tiny Homes, the main structure measures 323 square feet, featuring a bright and airy living room area that fits a chair and a full-size pull-out couch that can accommodate guests. Video: CountryLiving Olli Global which is an acronym for the European saying One Life Live It specializes in shipping container homes and is based out of Houston. The original home that started Singhs business is now listed for sale at $25,995 and is 160 square feet. Singh has followed the tiny house movement closely and has kept magazine clippings, some of which are a decade old, from which he draws his inspiration for layout, design and decor. The movement is not nearly as big in the United Kingdom, which is why I decided on Houston, Singh told Chron.com. There is so much space here and the market is huge so I am going to work on building a tiny home empire here before expanding into Europe once their market is bigger. Between the cancer, the finances and readjusting to a new country, the process to get where he is was a long hard road, but he wouldnt have it any other way. I genuinely love what I do now. This is so much more enjoyable than what I was doing before, Singh said. I am still getting used to how big the country is, but I havent been happier in years. Take a look through the gallery at the top to see Singh's tiny house. Daniela Sternitzky-Di Napoli is a digital producer at Chron.com. You can read more of her stories here and follow her on twitter at @Dani_DiNapoli. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Authorities continue to search for a man who attempted to strangle two children and a woman in August, according to a news release from Houston Crime Stoppers that offers up to $5,000 for information leading to an arrest. Shadrick Turner is wanted for injury to a child and assault-family violence after he allegedly strangled a 9-month-old and the child's mother around 11 a.m. Aug. 9 in the 10000 block of Hammerly, according to the release. He is also accused of attempting to strangle another child who tried to intervene, the release said. Turner became angry when he learned that the woman's car had been towed from the apartment complex, according to court records. He told his girlfriend that they were moving because this was the second time one of their vehicles had been towed. The 9-month-old baby began crying as his mother packed her stuff, prompting Turner to grab the baby "roughly" by his arm and throw him on the floor "like a rag doll," according to court records. As the baby's head hit the ground, he continued to cry. The mother began fighting with Turner as she tried to reach the upset baby. However, Turner got to the baby first and held him by his throat with his legs dangling. The baby began gasping for air and his face turned red. She punched him and tried to fight him off, but he threw the baby to the ground and began choking her, according to the records. "You love a baby more than you love me, I'll kill both of y'all," Turner said, according to court documents. Turner eventually pulled the mother and 9-month-old onto the apartment balcony and shut door. He then fled. The baby was taken to the hospital, where he suffered from bruising and scratches on his body. Turner is described as 5 feet and 8 inches tall, weighing 120 pounds with brown eyes, short black hair and a tattoo with headphones on his right shoulder. Anyone with information should contact 713-222-8477. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate After the damage caused by Hurricane Harvey, many families still are trying to repair their homes instead of shopping for Christmas presents. New Caney-based non-profit Heaven's Army is seeking to help these families during this holiday season. The organization usually has a bike giveaway during the holiday season but has chosen to do something different this year. "We're actually going to help families rebuild their homes," said LaNora Purvis, founder of Heaven's Army. The East Montgomery County Fire Department already contributed to the cause with its annual "Pack the Boots" fundraiser. Funds and other contributions are expected to go to helping families rebuild their homes from Hurricane Harvey damage. "We're going to need a lot more funding," said Purvis. "Building supplies are a lot more expensive than toys." Those who choose to donate can contribute either funds or items such as appliances, furniture or other items Harvey victims may need. "They may be in need of a stove or a refrigerator," said Purvis. Applications are available at Heaven's Army. Qualifications are dependent on how Hurricane Harvey impacted the applicants. "It's not based on income. It's based on need," said Purvis. "We know that some families lost everything." Heaven's Army is not limiting its assistance to New Caney or Montgomery County. "It's all areas that were affected by Hurricane Harvey," said Purvis. Purvis says Hurricane Harvey is teaching Heaven's Army how it can best help those in need. "How can we come together as a community?" she said. "That may be the hand they need to help rebuild." Heaven's Army is located at 19325 FM 1485 New Caney, Texas 77357. For more information on Heaven's Army or how you can help contribute, call 281-689-5864. The application process begins Monday Dec. 4. According to Heaven's Army Director Stephania Ward, applicants must bring a denial letter from FEMA, pictures of the damage to their home and proof of ownership. "We're looking at getting them gift cards to purchase building supplies or appliances," said Ward. Anyone who shops online at Amazon.com can choose to have 8 percent of their purchases donated to Heaven's Army by selecting it as their charity of choice. Checks should be made out to Heaven's Army. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Authorities said on Friday they believe two 15-year-olds boys who were involved in a spree of summer robberies killed a pregnant Beaumont woman and her daughter in June. Johnny Phifer, 15, was certified Thursday to stand trial as an adult. He is charged with capital murder and attempted capital murder for his alleged role in robberies on June 6 and July 12. Dustin Bernard, 22, who was charged this summer with attempted capital murder in the July 12 robbery, is also a suspect in the June 6 killing of Kera Teel, according to a probable cause affidavit released on Friday. Kera Teel, 19, was seven months pregnant when she was shot in the parking lot of the SiennaTrails apartment complex just before 2 a.m. on June 6 during an attempted robbery. Kyndal Teel died after her birth at a Beaumont hospital. According to the affidavit, autopsies revealed that Kera died from gunshot wounds to her upper body, and Kyndal "died as a result of her mother dying." Bernard allegedly drove Phifer and another 15-year-old, who is in police custody but has not yet been certified to stand trial as an adult, to Sienna Trails in his black BMW, planning to burglarize cars and rob people, the affidavit states. Phifer told police that the other minor, wearing a white cloth over his face, tried to open Teel's car door. When she refused to open the door, he forcibly opened it and shot her, Phifer said. He told police that he and Bernard witnessed the shooting and that all three fled in the BMW to another location, where they attempted to rob another person, according to the affidavit. All three are accused in the affidavit of capital murder charges, though Bernard and the unnamed teen have not yet been charged. Randi King, chief of the Jefferson County District Attorney's Family Law Division, said Phifer was certified to stand trial as an adult on Thursday in Judge Larry Thorne's 317th District Court. Phifer was booked at the Jefferson County jail on Thursday night after being transferred from the Minnie Rogers Juvenile Justice Center, where he was being held on lesser charges. His bond is set at $2.5 million. Phifer is also charged with attempted capital murder for his alleged involvement in a July 12 robbery on Yorktown Lane, King said. Bernard was indicted by a Jefferson County Grand Jury in July on a charge of attempted capital murder for his alleged involvement in the same robbery. According to a probable cause affidavit filed in that incident, Phifer and another minor told police that Bernard drove them to the home on Yorktown Lane around 6 a.m., gave them guns and "collected them at the end of their activities." The other teen told police that he and Phifer saw the homeowner standing about 10 feet away, thought he had a gun and fired at him through a sliding glass door. They "ran to the waiting car, driven by Bernard," he said, who allegedly fired two shots in the air before driving away. Bernard was arrested in July on an outstanding probation violation warrant and four guns were found in the house, including one that was a forensic match to the weapon used in the Yorktown Lane shooting, according to the affidavit. Jefferson County Grand Jury Attorney Cory Kneeland said Wednesday that once the second minor is certified, charges against all three will be brought before a grand jury at the same time. A certification hearing has been set for a second juvenile expected to be charged in the case, King said. She declined to say when. Last month, prosecutors dropped charges against two other people arrested in the Teel case. Jared "Bulldog" Bias, who was charged with capital murder, and Atayanna Douglas, who was charged with attempted robbery, have both been released from custody. Police said Douglas, who initially identified Bias as the shooter in the Teel case, lied about her involvement with the case. LTeitz@BeaumontEnterprise.com Twitter.com/LizTeitz This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate A controversial student column has garnered a week of intense backlash at Texas State University and the situation has now bubbled over into threats of violence made against the student-run newspaper. The University Star has received hate mail and death threats after a column titled "Your DNA is an abomination" was published Nov. 28, editorial board members said. The column, which was viewed as anti-white, has since been removed from the newspaper's website. Texas State University President Denise Trauth said the column was racist, abhorrent and "contrary to the core values of inclusion and unity that our Bobcat students, faculty and staff hold dear." Student Government President Connor Clegg said the publication should remove the column's author and editor. He called for a reevaluation of the paper's funding, as well. RELATED: Texas State officials investigating after flyers promoting white supremacy found on campus "If the Star wishes to maintain its operations without student funding, they can do so like any other paper-- by earning subscribers and selling more advertisements," Clegg said. In light of the column, a task force is being created to "review and make recommendations on the editorial practices and procedures of the University Stars," said Judy Oskam, director of the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, in an email obtained by mySA.com. "This process will afford us an opportunity to critically examine ways we can improve learning opportunities for students and support the mission and values of the university," Oskam said. She said recommendations can be expected in Spring 2018. This incident marks the latest in a tumultuous year for race relations at the university, which is located in San Marcos. Multiple banners and flyers promoting white supremacy have been found across the campus at least five times since Nov. 9, 2016. In April, university officials launched an investigation into a number of offensive tweets showing a black student being lynched and called racial epithets. The student also received messages from a student government senator who told him to "rot in hell." Kelsey Bradshaw is a digital reporter for mySA.com. Read more of her stories here.| kbradshaw@express-news.net | Twitter: @kbrad5 HONOLULU - A siren blared across Hawaii on Friday for the first time since the end of the Cold War in an effort to prepare tourists and residents for a possible nuclear attack from North Korea. The state is the first to bring back the Cold War-era warning system, Hawaii emergency management officials said. The wailing siren sounded for a minute after the usual testing of the steady alert for tsunamis and other natural disasters that Hawaii residents are used to hearing. Emergency officials, like they do after every monthly test, were gathering information about whether any sirens malfunctioned or were too soft, said Vern Miyagi, administrator of the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency. There was little reaction from people on famous Waikiki Beach. "I was out in the ocean playing around and I heard this siren," said tourist Tom Passmore from Calgary, Canada, adding that he didn't think much of it. "I think it's a good idea," he said of the test, "but judging by everyone's reaction around here, nobody moved." The possibility of a strike is remote, but it's important to be prepared, Gov. David Ige said this week. Ige said the new test will ensure the public knows what they should do in case of an imminent attack. If a missile is launched, residents and tourists would have less than 20 minutes to take shelter, officials said. The state delayed the test for a month to let people know it would be happening, Miyagi said. Hawaii turned to public service announcements on TV and radio, town hall meetings, information on agency websites and media stories. Honolulu resident Mark Valdez was taking a walk in Ala Moana Beach Park during the test. He said he's heard some information about the test, but "I wouldn't know what to do," if there was an emergency. Nearby in the park, Thomas Hanes and his wife sat in hammocks as the sirens sounded. "We heard it quite clearly, and it was effective," he said. "I just didn't know what it was for." The Los Angeles residents, who stopped in Hawaii on their way to Australia, hadn't heard any information about the test. "I assumed it was a test," Hanes said. "I thought if it is a nuclear missile attack, there's nothing I can do about it, so I'm just going to relax." The test comes the same week that North Korea fired a powerful nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missile. The weapon would have a range of more than 8,100 miles, easily reaching the U.S. mainland. WASHINGTON - Senate Republicans headed toward passage Friday of a $1.5 trillion tax bill that bestows massive benefits on corporate America and the wealthy while delivering mixed blessings to everybody else. After a frantic round of negotiations, Republicans came together in near unanimity behind the landmark legislation. The vote on final passage, expected late Friday night, was shaping up to be 51-49, with Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., the lone GOP holdout. The measure would still have to be reconciled with an earlier House-passed version before being sent to President Donald Trump. Yet in getting the bill through the Senate, Republicans would succeed where they failed earlier this year, when their efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act collapsed in mortifying fashion. This time, urged by donors and fearful of facing voters in next year's midterms without a legislative achievement to show, Republicans said time and again that failure was not an option. "The American people wanted change," said Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo. "We were able to deliver." The centerpiece of the GOP plan is a move to lower the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 20 percent, starting in 2019. The Senate tax bill would also temporarily cut tax rates for families and individuals until 2025. But the bill would kill a number of tax benefits. It would subject fewer people to the estate tax, a levy charged on massive inheritances, but stop short of eliminating that tax altogether. The most recent review of the bill by the Joint Committee on Taxation, Congress' nonpartisan tax analysts, found that only 44 percent of taxpayers would see their burden reduced by more than $500 in 2019 but that high earners would fare much better than the poor under the bill. Arctic drilling, AMT And the bill makes other changes that reach far beyond the tax code itself. It repeals the individual mandate from the Affordable Care Act, a major change that was added in recent weeks as part of a broader GOP effort to dismantle the Obama-era law. The individual mandate creates penalties for many Americans who don't have health insurance, but the repeal is projected to leave 13 million more people uninsured. It authorizes oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska. And by curtailing deductions for state and local taxes, it will put pressure on some state and local spending on education, transportation, and public health programs. The tax package still must clear a couple more hurdles before it can become law. There are numerous differences between the House and Senate versions, ranging from when certain tax cuts would expire to how the estate tax is handled. And though none are seen as showstoppers, complications could arise. There will be major implications for the taxes paid by families and individuals, based on how those discussions go. And the discussions over the tax bill will proceed as Congress simultaneously faces a Dec. 8 deadline for government funding to expire. Nonetheless, GOP leaders still aim to get a final bill on Trump's desk before Christmas. For Trump, a victory on the tax plan would stand as a signal triumph, in sharp contrast with the political troubles besetting the White House on other fronts, especially with the Senate action coming on the same day that former national security adviser Michael Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his contacts with the Russian ambassador. In a span of hours Friday, Senate GOP leaders secured the final few votes they needed, from Sens. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., and Susan Collins, R-Maine. The concessions made to get them on board forced GOP leaders to add more than $250 billion in tax cuts for individuals and businesses to their plan. To offset some of these costs, they had to abandon efforts to fully repeal the alternative minimum tax for individuals and companies, according to a brief summary of the changes that was shared with GOP members. Instead of fully repealing the AMT, they will now try to scale it back. The AMT was put in place in the 1980s as a way to prevent wealthier Americans from using tax deductions to avoid paying taxes. Flake announced his "yes" vote after he said he had secured leadership backing for two priorities: one related to how businesses can deduct major investments like equipment purchases and the second involving a solution for immigrants brought illegally to the U. S. as children. 'Pass-through' rates Johnson came on board after leadership sweetened the deal for certain businesses whose owners pay taxes through the individual code rather than at corporate rates. Johnson retains partial ownership in one such "pass-through" business, and the issue has been a key concern. "I appreciate the Senate leadership's willingness to work to close the gap between pass-through businesses and C corporations," Johnson said. The term C corporations refers to those businesses that file their taxes on the corporate side of the code. Senate GOP leaders had proposed allowing pass-through owners to deduct 17.4 percent of their income from their taxes and then pay taxes on the remaining income. Johnson and Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., argued for days that this was not generous enough for these businesses, and GOP leaders reluctantly raised the deduction level to 20 percent, which added roughly $60 billion to the size of the tax cut. But Johnson continued holding out, and on Friday he said the deduction had been raised to 23 percent, securing his support. That meant that he and Daines were able to extract $114 billion in tax cuts for these firms in just a few days. Collins said leadership had promised her the bill would protect certain deductions individuals use to lower their tax bills, including on matters related to medical expenses and tax payments to state and local governments. Collins also said leadership had agreed to support passing two bipartisan bills to help stabilize the health insurance system set up under the Affordable Care Act. Senate leaders had little margin for error, since they can lose only three GOP votes and still prevail in the closely divided chamber. Democrats are unanimously opposed to the bill, and took turns Friday delivering scorching floor speeches slamming it as a giveaway to the rich. James Nielsen/Staff A health care company CEO is the latest candidate to announce he is running to replace retiring U.S. Rep. Gene Green, D-Houston. Tahir Javed, CEO of Riceland Health Care in Winnie, late Friday released a statement saying he had officially filed papers with the Harris County Democratic Party to get into the growing Democratic primary. WASHINGTON - Former national security adviser Michael Flynn pleaded guilty Friday to lying to the FBI about his contacts with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak and, in an ominous sign for the White House, said he is cooperating in the ongoing probe of possible coordination between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin to influence the 2016 election. When Flynn was forced out of the White House in February, officials said he had misled the administration, including Vice President Mike Pence, about his contacts with Kislyak. But court records and people familiar with the contacts indicated he was acting in consultation with senior Trump transition officials, including President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, in his dealings with the diplomat. Flynn's plea revealed that he was in touch with senior Trump transition officials before and after his communications with the ambassador. The pre-inauguration communications with Kislyak involved efforts to blunt Obama administration policy decisions - on sanctions on Russia and a U.N. resolution on Israel - potential violations of a rarely enforced law. Flynn said in a statement: "It has been extraordinarily painful to endure these many months of false accusations of 'treason' and other outrageous acts. Such false accusations are contrary to everything I have ever done and stood for. But I recognize that the actions I acknowledged in court today were wrong, and, through my faith in God, I am working to set things right. "My guilty plea and agreement to cooperate with the Special Counsel's Office reflect a decision I made in the best interests of my family and of our country. I accept full responsibility for my actions." Flynn admitted in his plea that he lied to the FBI about several December conversations with Kislyak. In one, on Dec. 22, he contacted the Russian ambassador about the incoming administration's opposition to a U.N. resolution condemning Israeli settlements as illegal and requested that Russia vote against or delay it, court records say. The ambassador later called back and indicated Russia would not vote against it, the records say. In another conversation, on Dec. 29, Flynn called the ambassador to ask Russia not to escalate an ongoing feud over sanctions imposed by the Obama administration, court records say. The ambassador later called back and said Russia had chosen not to retaliate, the records say. Flynn admitted as a part of his plea that when the FBI asked him on Jan. 24 - four days after Trump was inaugurated - about his dealings with the Russians, he did not truthfully describe the interactions. But perhaps more interestingly, he said others in the transition knew he was in contact with Kislyak. Flynn admitted that before speaking with the ambassador, he called a senior transition official, whose name is not listed in court records, at the Mar-a-Lago resort on Dec. 29 "to discuss what, if anything, to communicate to the Russian ambassador about the U.S. Sanctions" and learned that transition members did not want Russia to escalate the situation. And when the ambassador later informed him Russia would not retaliate, Flynn told senior members of the transition team, court records say. The records say that a "very senior member of the Presidential Transition Team" directed Flynn to contact officials from foreign governments, including Russia, about the U.N. resolution on Israel. That official is also not named, but people familiar with the matter said it refers to Kushner. According to one transition team official, Kushner told Flynn that blocking the resolution was a top priority of the president-elect. Abbe Lowell, Kushner's attorney, declined to comment. White House response It is unclear what else Flynn might have told special counsel Robert Mueller III's team about his work for the administration and interactions with Russians - which could have significant consequences for the investigation. Flynn is the highest-profile Trump ally - and the first aide who worked in the White House - to face charges in Mueller's investigation. Trump developed a close rapport with Flynn on the campaign trail. Outside the courthouse Friday, a small group of protesters shouted "Lock him up!" at Flynn as he left the building. The Washington Post reported in February that Flynn had privately discussed U.S. sanctions against Russia with that country's ambassador before Trump took office, contrary to public assertions by Trump officials. Soon after that, acting attorney general Sally Yates warned the White House that the national security adviser might be susceptible to Russian blackmail because he had misled senior officials. Flynn was forced to resign, but after that, Trump said that his ouster might have been a mistake. Trump's request of then-FBI Director James Comey to be lenient with Flynn has also come under scrutiny by the special counsel, and Flynn's cooperation could prove important to Mueller's ongoing probe of whether the president attempted to obstruct justice. Trump has said previously that he did not direct Flynn to discuss sanctions with the Russian ambassador but that he "would have directed him because that's his job." There is a law - the Logan Act - that bars U.S. citizens from interfering in diplomatic disputes with another country. But the statute has not been used in a prosecution in modern history, and it would not be uncommon for incoming administrations to interface with foreign governments with whom they will soon have to work. In a statement on Flynn's guilty plea, White House lawyer Ty Cobb said: "The false statements involved mirror the false statements to White House officials which resulted in his resignation in February of this year. Nothing about the guilty plea or the charge implicates anyone other than Mr. Flynn. The conclusion of this phase of the Special Counsel's work demonstrates again that the Special Counsel is moving with all deliberate speed and clears the way for a prompt and reasonable conclusion." In recent weeks, Trump's attorneys have expected Flynn to plead guilty, particularly after one of Flynn's attorneys, Robert Kelner, said he could no longer communicate about the probe with Trump's lawyers. Son won't be charged Flynn's negotiations to cooperate with Mueller's team began in earnest early last month, according to two people briefed on the discussions. At some point, Mueller's investigators warned Flynn's attorneys that they planned to indict Flynn and also could charge his son, according to the two people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private deliberations. Flynn's attorneys, Kelner and Stephen Anthony, provided a proffer of what information Flynn could provide, and then Flynn met with Mueller's team. As part of Flynn's negotiations, his son, Michael G. Flynn, is not expected to be charged, according to a person with knowledge of the talks. In his agreement, Flynn acknowledged lying in his foreign-agent disclosure forms when he claimed that he did not know the extent of the Turkish government's involvement in a contract his firm had obtained and when he claimed that an op-ed he wrote encouraging the U.S. government to expel a rebel cleric and enemy of the Turkish president was at his own initiative. The maximum penalty for making a false statement is five years in prison, though both sides said Flynn would face a recommended sentence of up to six months in prison under federal guidelines. The summers final Live on the Waterfront concert was held Wednesday evening at Prince Arthurs Landing. The popular series in Thunder Bay has completed nine weekly shows that began on July 13. Wednesdays concert was unique as it was held one hour later in the evening to mesh with the 10 p. A.O. Centrul de Drept al Femeilor anunta concurs pentru selectarea expertilor nationali pentru dezvoltarea conceptului de sprijin psihosocial si a Curriculumului de instruire in acest sens AKRON, Ohio - The Sugar Plum Tour of the Akron Community Foundation's Gay Community Endowment Fund is a showcase of Akron homes beautifully decorated to reflect the holiday season. Since its inception in 2001, the fund has invested more than $475,000 in programs that positively impact the LGBT community and Greater Akron as a whole. Programs have ranged from sheltering homeless LGBT youths to bringing anti-bullying messages into Akron schools to providing counseling and social support for LGBT senior citizens. The event on Dec. 3 included self-guided tours of five homes in Bath, Copley, Firestone Park and Highland Square, and an annual patron party. You can nominate your favorite historic or contemporary home for next year's tour and see photos of homes featured in past tours. For information about the Gay Community Endowment fund, visit Akron Community Foundation's website or call 330-376-8522. Want more Akron news? Sign up for cleveland.com's Rubber City Daily, an email newsletter delivered at 5:30 a.m. Monday through Friday. PEPPER PIKE, Ohio -- Grand theft, Cedarwood Road: A Cleveland woman, 30, charged with stealing at least $200,000 worth of jewelry, purses and clothing from one of the homes where she cleaned, had her case presented to a Cuyahoga County grand jury on Dec. 1. The thefts are alleged to have occurred over the past three years, with the homeowner recently going through her belongings and noticing a significant number of items missing, including brands like Gucci and Chanel. The maid turned herself in on Nov. 13, and police have learned where she was believed to have been selling the loot to several jewelers and at least one high-end clothing exchange. Followup investigation, involuntary manslaughter, aggravated robbery, trafficking in drugs, Fairmount Boulevard: Three men were sentenced Nov. 29 in connection with the first homicide reported in Pepper Pike in over 20 years. The case involved the May 22 attempted robbery of a man who arrived at a vacant home to sell a pound of marijuana, and left one of the would-be robbers, Isaiah Lampkins, 24, of Solon, dead from two gunshot wounds. The dealer, Matthew Stecher, 40, of Niles, was initially charged with manslaughter, but successfully argued that he shot in self-defense, resulting in a one-year sentence on the marijuana trafficking charge. Kevin Mahone, 21, of Orange, received a six-year sentence and Da'Jon Carouthers, 22, of Cleveland, will serve four years after both pleaded to involuntary manslaughter and aggravated robbery. Mahone got the longest sentence because police said he set the whole thing up, arranging the midnight meeting with Stecher, whom Mahone knew as his erstwhile Uber driver, while Lampkins and Carouthers hid, waiting to jump him. Both Stecher and Carouthers had permits to carry concealed firearms, with Stecher pulling his gun out while in a scuffle on the ground as he said he felt a barrel put to his head, then firing over his shoulder three times. As the bandits fled, Lampkins collapsed about 20 feet away, and Carouthers said he noticed his gun on the ground, adding that he did not realize that Lampkins had taken it out of his (Carouthers') car. All three defendants appeared in separate sentencing hearings before Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Hollie Gallagher. Damage to property, I-271: A Seven Hills woman, 31, reported that at around 7:20 a.m. on Nov. 27, she was traveling in the northbound center lane of the highway when an unknown vehicle up ahead in the right local lane lost its muffler, which struck and damaged her front bumper. Warrant served, Turney Road: Officers in Garfield Heights reported on Nov. 27 that they were releasing from their jail a Cleveland man, 49, with an active warrant from Pepper Pike. Custody was turned over and he was booked into the Beachwood Jail. If you would like to discuss the police blotter, please visit our crime and courts comments page. CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said Friday that it completed dredging of Cleveland Harbor and the Cuyahoga River shipping channel and claims it is now working well with Ohio officials as it works toward future dredging projects. Also on Friday, the Army Corps appealed a ruling by a federal judge who said the Corps abused its discretion in its spat with the Ohio Environmental Protection Association and the Port of Cleveland when it refused to dredge in 2015. The Ohio EPA director said he is disappointed in the Corps' decision to appeal and that it threatens the progress both sides have made. An Army Corps news release says it dredged 70,000 cubic yards of sediment in the six-mile shipping channel in Cleveland and placed it all in a confined disposal facility. The Corps has already contracted to dredge in spring and will adhere to the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency's water standards, the release states. "We look forward to continuing with the positive momentum we have made with our Cleveland stakeholders," said Lt. Col. Adam Czekanski, commander of the Army Corps' district in Buffalo, New York. "Our goal is to build and strengthen relationships with Cleveland area stakeholders, while fully supporting beneficial use options for dredged material." The news release appears to be part of a concerted effort by Army Corps to forge a better working relationship with Ohio officials. Both the Ohio EPA and the Army Corps have acknowledged improved relations in the time it took the Corps to dredge Cleveland's six-mile shipping channel in 2017. In past years, the Army Corps has fought demands by the state to dispose of dredged sediment shipping channel into containment dikes, instead of in Lake Erie. At issue was the sediment dredged of the sixth mile, which serves the ArcelorMittal steel mill. While the state EPA said the sludge would pollute the lake, the Corps disagreed and refused to dredge the shipping channel in 2015 and 2016 unless the state paid to dispose of the sediment. The vitriol in the dispute was on full display in a series of emails the Ohio Attorney General's Office referenced in a motion in January, which included insults aimed at port officials. Emails from the Army Corps' Cleveland Harbor project manager suggested the Corps could reduce the amount of dredging in the shipping channel to affect navigability and "keep the heat on the local users" to approve open-lake dumping. State and federal officials criticized the Corps and said the federal budget for the dredging project included money for the proper disposal of sediment. Meanwhile, an investigation by a subcommittee led by Ohio Sen. Rob Portman over the Corps' decision to cut its own budget for the Cleveland project is pending. Senior U.S. District Judge Donald Nugent ruled in May that the Army Corps abused its discretion in 2015 when it decided the sediment was not harmful to the lake's ecosystem and refused to dredge. That ruling followed Nugent's decision in 2015 to force the Army Corps to dredge. On Friday, the Army Corps appealed Nugent's decision. The state filed a similar lawsuit in 2016, which is still pending. Ohio EPA Director Craig Butler said in a statement that he was "surprised and tremendously disappointed that the leadership at the Army Corps of Engineers has decided to sabotage the cooperative progress we made earlier this year regarding Lake Erie dredging issues. "The Corps' decision to appeal the judge's ruling is a terrible misstep, backwards," Butler said. Andy Kornacki, spokesman for the Army Corps' Buffalo district, said Friday that he could not comment on the litigation, and referred a reporter to the Justice Department. A U.S. Attorney's Office spokesman declined comment. Regardless of the litigation, Kornacki said "what we're looking forward to is the future" and to working well with the Ohio EPA and other officials. CLEVELAND, Ohio -- If a tentative three-year contract between the city of Cleveland and its rank-and-file police officers goes forward, the city may run afoul of certain provisions of its court-enforced settlement to reform its police department. Specifically, the proposed new contract calls for some tweaks with how and when officers face discipline and how long that discipline would stay in their personnel files, Cleveland Police Patrolmen's Association President Steve Loomis said Friday. At least one of those proposed changes may not conform with the consent decree city reached with the Justice Department in May 2015 to address longstanding unconstitutional policing practices. Other potential clauses could also raise questions. While the union's negotiators are tasked with trying to get the best deal for its members, the city has a duty to enter into a contract that conforms with the consent decree. When asked whether he worries about the tentative contract running afoul of the consent decree, Loomis, a longtime critic of the reform effort, said "it doesn't worry me in the least. "What worries me is being unfair to the men and women of the police department for political purposes," he said. Most interestingly, the tentative contract says an officer cannot be disciplined for misconduct if an investigation is not completed within six months of the complaint being filed, Loomis said, adding that a complaint must be filed within six months of the incident. The proposed clause, as it reads, could disenfranchise people who file complaints against officers with the Office of Professional Standards, which has come under fire from the federal monitor overseeing the reforms because it allowed cases to languish for years. Loomis, who lost a recent election for union president to Jeff Follmer and will step down in January, pointed out that wait times for these investigators are also unfair to officers. Having to wait years to find out the results of an investigation is a "huge problem," he said. The tentative contract says that any discipline imposed on an officer -- whether it resulted from an OPS investigation or otherwise -- would only stay in an officer's personnel file for three years. The current contract says the discipline only remains in there for two years, but that is still far short of what the consent decree requires the city to work toward. "(Cleveland police) will work with the unions to allow for sustained disciplinary findings to stay in an officer's record for ten years," the consent decree states. Loomis said discipline should not remain in an officer's file for a decade. The city tried for 10 years, "but we weren't budging on that," he said. The union acquiesced and allowed for blemishes to remain on an officer's record for another year because the city gave officers a pay raise in the tentative contract, he said. As for complaints against officers, the proposed contract would allow for anonymous citizen complaints against officers to be investigated and, if the officer is found to be at fault, allows the officer to face discipline. Complaints -- anonymous or otherwise -- can be made over the phone, online or in other ways. The contract would allow for this because the monitoring team flagged a provision in the current contract that says all citizen complaints must be filed in the citizen's handwriting and be signed. The monitor said the practice might run afoul of the Americans with Disabilities Act. While the union tentatively agreed to this, Loomis, in his trademark bluster, still ridiculed the provision. He said it's difficult to investigate anonymous complaints and claimed that retaliation by officers against complainants are nonexistent. When a reporter pointed out that the city and union have tentatively agreed to allowing anonymous complaints, he said "we'll see if it's allowed. We still haven't ratified this contract." There is one caveat in the tentative contract, though: if an officer is disciplined as a result of an anonymous complaint, that discipline could not be factored into any decision made by police brass if the officer seeks a promotion or transfer, Loomis said. He said the union's 1,200 members will soon vote on it. He is not sure whether it will pass, because while the tentative contract includes modest pay raises and increases in base pay, Cleveland police's pay rate is still among the lowest in Ohio, Loomis said. If the union members do not approve the tentative contract, the city and union will go to arbitration, Loomis said. The monitoring team is also expected to review the contract to make sure it aligns with the consent decree's requirements. The Justice Department may also weigh in. A city spokesman said she had no comment on the tentative contract. A phone call left for city consent decree coordinator Greg White was not immediately returned. The new contract would be the first one the city and patrolmen's association have entered into since the city signed the consent decree. The union is still operating under a 2013 contract. Loomis said the union has been negotiating with the city since last year. If approved and signed, the contract would be retroactive, with a start date in April 2016. Cleveland.com reporter Courtney Alstofi contributed to this story. If you would like to comment on this story, please visit Friday's crime and courts comments section. CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A proposed contract between the city and Cleveland's largest police union would result in a pay bump for officers and changes to the discipline, promotion and citizen-complaint process, according to the union president. The roughly 1,200 members of the Cleveland Police Patrolmen's Association may vote on the proposed contract next week or the week after, union president Steve Loomis said. "I don't know if it will pass," Loomis said. "It is a good contract and it's a step in the right direction, but it's not where we need to be." Under the tentative three-year contract, officers would receive no raises for the first year, and 2-percent raises for the next two years, Loomis said. Officers who have been with the department a decade or longer would receive a $3,000 increase in base pay in April 2018, Loomis said. Officers who have been with the department for less than a decade would receive an $1,800 increase in base pay, and then another $1,200 bump once they reach the 10-year mark, Loomis said. The proposed raises and base-pay increases would equate to an hourly increase of about $2.58 per officer over that three-year period, according to Loomis' estimates. Even with that increase, Loomis said Cleveland police officers would still receive the lowest pay in the state compared to other metro police departments. When reached for comment on the proposed contract, city spokeswoman Latoya Hunter said the city does not discuss ongoing contract negotiations. The tentative contract would also change procedures around officer discipline as it relates to consideration for promotions or transfers to other units, Loomis said. Under the current contract, a disciplinary offense remains on an officer's record for two years, but under the proposed contract, an offense would remain on the officer's record for three years, Loomis said. The proposed contract also dictates that an officer cannot be disciplined for misconduct when an internal investigation is not completed within 6 months of its filing, Loomis said. And citizens must file their complaint within 6 months of when the incident reportedly occurred. The citizen complaint process will undergo a second key change in the proposed agreement, as the department would start accepting unsigned, anonymous third party complaints against officers. Those anonymous complaints will not count against an officer who is being considered for a promotion or transfer to another unit, Loomis said. The contract proposal outlines changes to guaranteed paid time off for officers who are hurt in the line of duty, Loomis said. The current contract promises 24 full months of payment for injured officers, while the new contract would promise 18 months, with the possibility of an additional 6-month extension, Loomis said. And finally, the chief of police would have full discretion under the proposed contract to decide which detectives are placed in the city's homicide unit, Loomis said. The current union contract expired in March of 2016, but negotiations were delayed due to preparations for last year's Republican National Conventional, Loomis said. If the union decides this month to approve the proposed contract, it will retroactively cover the period between April 2016 and April 2019, Loomis said. If union members vote down the proposed contract, it will go to arbitration. Cleveland.com reporter Eric Heisig contributed to this story. To comment on this story, please visit Friday's crime and courts comments section. Congratulatory messages from General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee Nguyen Phu Trong, President Tran Dai Quang, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, and National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan were delivered to General Secretary of the Lao Peoples Revolutionary Party Central Committee and President Bounnhang Vorachith, Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith, and National Assembly Chairwoman Pany Yathotou. General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee Nguyen Phu Trong (R) and General Secretary of the Lao Peoples Revolutionary Party Central Committee and President Bounnhang Vorachith (Photo: VNA) In the messages, the Vietnamese leaders highlighted the continuous development of the great friendship, special solidarity and comprehensive cooperation between the two Parties, States, and people of Vietnam and Laos. They congratulated the Lao people on their huge achievements in the cause of national protection and construction under the leadership of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party over the past 42 years. The Vietnamese leaders also expressed their belief that the Vietnam-Laos, Laos-Vietnam Friendship and Solidarity Year 2017, which celebrates the 55th anniversary of diplomatic relations and 40 years since the signing of the Vietnam-Laos Treaty on Amity and Cooperation, will mark a milestone in the glorious development paths of both nations. The same day, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh cabled a congratulatory message to Lao Foreign Minister Saleumxay Kommasith. Head of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committees Commission for External Relations Hoang Binh Quan also extended a message of congratulations to his Lao counterpart Sunthon Xayachack./. Ngan said with a 100 million population by 2020, improved business climate and upgraded transport infrastructure, and increased purchasing power, Vietnam has drawn over USD313 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) from 128 countries and territories and has gradually become an important link of the global value chain, especially in electronics, apparel, agriculture and fishery. Vietnam is committed to creating the best business environment in accordance with standards of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries, and continuing to improve the economys competitiveness and refine legal regulations, which have been recognised by international organisations, she said, adding that the Vietnamese NA pledges to provide all possible support for Australia investors. At the Vietnam-Australia Business Dialogue (Source: VNA) While hailing huge potentials for bilateral cooperation, the top legislator said Vietnam wants Australian firms to further expand business operations in the fields of manufacturing, energy, infrastructure, agriculture, food processing, mineral resources, telecommunications, services, education and tourism. Vietnam also expected Australian businesses to participate in restructuring the financial-banking sector, equitisation of State-owned enterprises, and start-ups in the country, Ngan added. She expressed her wish that Australia and Western Australia state in particular would make it easier for Vietnamese products such as agro-aquatic products, garments, wooden furniture, rubber, electronic products and computer components to access their markets. Vietnam is willing to import wheat, mineral resources, cotton, pharmaceuticals and modern industrial equipment from Australia, the legislature leader said. In his speech, Parliamentary Secretary to the Premier of Western Australia state and Minister for Public Sector Management, State Development, Jobs and Trade John Carey MLA said Vietnam is one of the Asian countries that the state has given priority to developing ties, adding that the Vietnamese is the third most popular language in Western Australia. He said the state authorities are satisfied with Vietnams selection of Perth city for its second Consulate General and decided to establish a business advisory council between the two sides. Carey said Western Australia hopes to foster ties with Vietnam on the back of exchanges between their people and administrations, with a focus placed on education, trade and investment. Vietnam has the sixth largest number of students in Western Australia, while two-way trade neared USD1.2 billion in 2015-2016, he elaborated. Carey suggested the exchange of regular visits to discuss measures to enhance bilateral ties, thereby bringing more benefits to their two people. In the afternoon of December 1st, the Vietnamese NA leader visited several economic establishments in Western Australia./. During his reception for a visiting delegation of the Canadian House of Commons in Hanoi on December 1st, the NA Vice Chairman spoke highly of the friendship and cooperation between Vietnam and Canada over the past years, in bilateral, regional and international aspects. Hien said the Joint Statement of the Prime Ministers of Vietnam and Canada on the comprehensive partnership marks an important step forward to promote the relations between the two nations in a practical, effective, and long-term manner. NA Vice Chairman Phung Quoc Hien (R) and Chairman of the Canadian House of Commons Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development Robert Daniel Nault (Source: VNA) Vietnam is consistent in boosting its comprehensive renewal, completing the socialism-oriented market economy, restructuring the economy, developing the private sector, and improving investment climate, Hien affirmed. Chairman of the Canadian House of Commons Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development Robert Daniel Nault, who led the Canadian delegation, said Canada wants to cooperate with Vietnam in preventing and adapting to climate change. He also extended his welcome to Vietnamese NA delegations to his country to discuss measures to boost cooperation between the two legislative bodies, thus consolidating the Vietnam Canada relationship./. 3 Some Hippies Were Pro-War "Many hippies were pro-war, or at least indifferent. They had brothers, boyfriends, and even friends there. You knew at least one person over there. I'd say it was like Iraq ... Movies always show this wrong. They show it from the point of view that everyone rose against it because it was 'wrong,' but they never seem to include all those hippies who had brothers or friends in the Marines, or thought that the war was a good thing but didn't fit in with the other war supporters at the time." Continue Reading Below Advertisement Sam recalls that hippies in the Haight were about as divided on the war in Vietnam as the rest of America. "There would be conversations at one table against the war, while at another table some hippies were talking about what we needed to do next." Sam considered himself a "generally pro-war hippie." He explains: "Me and others justified it because we loved everyone, but if there was family, we wanted them back home and safe. Some of us thought the people would suffer under harsh communist rule as well. And if the war stopped that, and could bring people home, then being for the war was good. But what made me more on the pro-war side was seeing how some of my friends treated returning veterans. They would gang up on them and chase them out of bars because they didn't need more 'makers of violence' there. They just got back. They didn't need to hear that. I was lucky I was never drafted, but my brother was, and when he got back, I told him specifically to look as non-military as possible when I took him to dinner. Not because I would be embarrassed, but because I didn't want him harassed." It's a little weird that Hollywood immortalizes the "peaceful" hippies and ignores all the rest. Face Off When Apple debuted its redesigned smartphone, the iPhone X, in November, it was a landmark moment for the device series. However, for anyone who's heard about Samsung's phone releases of the past year -- such as the Galaxy S8 -- many "new" features on the iPhone X are already pretty familiar. Which of the two smartphones is the better fit for you? In the following slides, the CRN Test Center compares Samsung's Galaxy S8 vs. Apple's iPhone X on specs and price. Blood and bile splashed across a white stage had not triggered the gag reflex I was feeling, even as I watched one man pretend to drag another through what we in the United States consider enhanced interrogation but others call torture. When I left a Broadway theater where actors brought George Orwells 1984 to life and into modernity, some of the plays most gruesome visuals lingered ... how could they not? But unlike other attendees, who reportedly passed out and vomited during the show, gone are the days when witnessing violence feigned or real can make my stomach squirm. Only words can do that: Orwells revisited words that speak to our historical moment. I first read 1984 as a sophomore in high school. With the advent of social media, the surveillance state was a trending topic, and most of our in-class conversations concentrated on what it meant to live in a world where we could always be watched by our own government. But while I experienced a theatrical dystopia first-hand at the Hudson Theater in New York City, not even the eerie similarities between Airstrip Ones fictional reconnaissance and the screens that surround us today could pull my focus from another theme: alternative facts, and how we conceive them. Kellyanne Conway may have invented the term, alternative fact, only months ago, but historical distortions are a tale as old as time. In the United States, where we have an unusually strong savior complex for a nation that has so often played the villain, alternative fact has seeped into our education system, influencing our learned narratives that frame our patriotic sense of reality. If we know one thing, as Americans, it is that the United States is an arsenal of democracy. We are soldiers who fight on the right side of history, for freedom. That mythology conveniently discards covert operations from the 1950s, when the CIA undermined democratically elected governments in Iran and Guatemala to benefit our Cold War aims. It ignores genocide in Bangladesh in 1971, and again in Rwanda in 1994, when we turned a blind eye to massacre because intervention didnt suit our political needs. And it forgets hundreds of civilians who have died in drone strikes launched by our presidents in Pakistan. We see ourselves as superheroes in a democratic, utopian dream-state, eradicating injustice while serving as a role model for those around us. But if we rearrange the facts and put them together as the rest of the world sees them, we look more like Orwells OBrien a government crony who brainwashes residents of Oceania to believe that Big Brother is good and the larger political schema he represents. After seeing the Broadway rendition of 1984, which has since closed, one of OBriens monologues stuck with me. He spoke to the perpetuity of violence, war and enmity in Oceania, just as in the United States, friend and foe constantly fluctuate, but both must exist to justify the state. For Oceania, two other super-nations, Eastasia and Eurasia, are interchangeable and can take the role of villain or sidekick depending on the day. The enemy has shape-shifted far more for us: Mexico in the 1840s; Spain at the turn of the 20th century; the Germans in World War I and II; the Russians, who quickly turned from ally to rival superpower, until the fall of the Berlin Wall; and finally, the Islamic world. In the end, like any dystopia, we are a nation built on ignorance, spin and alternative fact, strengthened by our constant faith in the cruelty of an enemy, whomever that might be at the time. But the only way for us to avoid a reality like Orwells, where freedom of speech and criticism of the government are thought crimes, is to recognize that a truth fabricated from our own narratives may not be the only truth. When Conway, or President Donald Trump, or Sarah Huckabee Sanders provides misinformation, it is not enough to juxtapose their ideas with those espoused by other American politicians, such as President Barack Obama or President Ronald Reagan, who stood on podiums before them. We must instead consider and criticize these assertions within the larger pool of facts taught in Germany, and Syria, and Russia, and France, and Canada, and even North Korea to come to a conclusion that takes us further from dystopia and closer to understanding. When I left the Hudson Theater, I, like other audience members, felt physically ill hands shaking, mind swimming. My brain pounded with the storys urgency. I knew how easily we could fall into an Orwellian social structure, and how difficult it would be to dig our way out of a culture where alternative fact was normalized, and even believed. Today, America stands on a precipice, prepared to dive headfirst into that fabricated reality. 1984 is a reminder that it is our job, as patriots, to ensure that we never do. Alexandra Villarreal is a Hearst Fellow at Greenwich Time, member of Hearst Connecticut Media. While at Columbia University, she covered the New York arts scene for publications such as Huffington Post and the Ballet Review. She can be reached at avillarreal@greenwichtime.com. 01 Aralk 2017 Cuma, 17:28 CHP Deputy General Chair and Party Spokesperson Bulent Tezcan has come public with the documents revealed by CHP General Chair Kemal Klcdaroglu showing that people close to the President and AKP General Chair Recep Tayyip Erdogan transferred funds to a company established with a capital of one pound sterling on the Isle of Man. Tezcan said, We proposed that it be debated in parliament but the dominant will in parliament is uneasy over this matter being debated. We have opened the box. Our box containing the original documents is here. A SHELL COMPANY Tezcan, asserting that the company to which CHP leader Klcdaroglu indicated the fund transfers were made is a shell company, said, It is a company with a capital of one pound sterling. That is, the companys capital is five lira. If you want to go to the island, it is not enough even to ride a shared taxi. There is not enough money to get you to the airport. Our General Chair spoke about these money transfers on Tuesday with documents. On Wednesday, we said, Lets hold a parliamentary investigation. Lets investigate these transfers from top to bottom. Then, on Thursday, yesterday, our motion for a parliamentary investigation was dismissed thanks to AK Party MPs votes. Now, today, they have said, Why do you not divulge them? We said MPs should see them first. Now we are divulging them to the public. We will distribute them in full to you. This means that we know what we are doing. I explained the road map, step by step. Today, we will divulge the originals to you. TRANSACTION SLIPS DISPLAYED Tezcan, repeating that they had been told, These documents are false, commented, Ziya Ilgen: a 1.25-million-dollar transaction slip, the original slip. Ahmet Burak Erdogan: a 1.45-million-dollar transaction slip. Is this false? Mustafa Gundogan: a 1.25-million-dollar transaction slip. Is this false? Supposedly so. The sons father-in-law Osman Ketenci: a 1.25-million-dollar transaction slip. Is this false? Again, Osman Ketenci. Is this false, too? A one million transaction slip. Mustafa Erdogan: a 2.5-million-dollar transaction slip. Is this false, too? These are original documents in their entirety. Let no one be flustered. These are also documents testifying to movements of money. Money comes and goes. It is all written here. We spoke about this and they raised a stink. Because they are in a fluster. They said they were false. We call out to those who say they are false. We know nothing of fraudulent business. We do not know about it. If we set out to do it, we would come unstuck. They spoke of them being false as things unfolded and the allegation of falsehood has collapsed. The prosecution has asked for them and we will give them to the prosecution. Let them also look at them. We will supply their original versions. QUESTIONS RAISED Tezcan continued his speech by raising the questions, They must answer the following question. What company did they sell? What is its name? Who are the partners of this company, the company they sold? Where is this companys balance sheet? What is this companys assets? They say, It sold the company. Where are the deeds of transfer? Who bought and who sold it? What was the extent of its activities. How much money did it earn? How much tax did it pay? Let us see these things. THIS IS NOT A SIMPLE COMMERCIAL RELATIONSHIP Tezcan, stressing that the company was established on an island, round up his speech saying, This is not a simple commercial relationship. Who is going to believe this? There is something stomach turning here. When it was raised, all hell broke loose. It is not false. Everything is in the open. We know about our friends sensitivity over islands. We expect the same sensitivity over the Turkish islands in the Aegean, too. Now we have opened the box. Further new boxes will open. Following his speech, Tezcan handed out photocopies of the documents taking the form of three binders that he had brought with him. The main points from Bulent Tezcans speech are as follow: They say, Dont let the box be opened for fear of evil talk getting out. They get us to open the box on the holy day of Friday. We proposed that it be debated in parliament but it would appear that the dominant will in parliament is uneasy over this matter being debated. We have opened the box, and what now ensues will amount to who is uneasy over what emerges from the box. Kemal Klcdaroglu disclosed monetary flows at the group meeting through documents. There is a company called Bellway established on the Isle of Man, a shell company. Do not forget this. It is a shell company. A company with a capital of one pound sterling. I will put it in Turkish money. The companys capital is five lira. Five lira will not get you from here to the airport. Well, President Erdogans relatives are involved in dealings with this company. Our chair announced this on Tuesday and we submitted a motion into the affair, calling for it to be investigated. However, our application was dismissed with the AK Party MPs votes. Yesterday in parliament, what counted was the show of hands and not conscience. They said, Divulge, divulge and now we are divulging. We will distribute the files in my possession to you in their entirety. This means that we know what we are doing. We have moved forward step by step. What has happened in these four days? They tried to put the squeeze on us but they will not succeed. Their strength will not suffice to silence us. If you use all the means in the world and gang up on us, your strength will not suffice to silence us. First, they said that these documents were false. Then they spoke of a commercial relationship. Then, in fact, on Wednesday the AK Party General Chair Tayyip Erdogan said that this was money it received for a company sale. Let me now remind you of the affair. A company is established on the Isle of Man. The companys articles of association are here. The company was established on 2 August 2010. It has one partner: Stk Ayan. It has one partner and one share. Can they have a company like this set up in Turkey? Ayan had the company established on 2 August and supposedly held on to this share for two and a half months and then transferred it to somebody called Kazm Oztas on 15 November 2011. These are the names in the scenario. A process conducted through these names. How much was it transferred for? It was transferred for one pound sterling. One month later, that is as of 15 December 2011, those monetary flows that have been mentioned began. There was a monetary flow of 15 million dollars from 15 December 2011 until 4 January 2012. You establish a company, transfer it to somebody and one month later monetary flows start with the person you have acquired it from. We revealed this and reminded them of the affair. Now they told us that these documents were false. Mustafa Erdogan: a 1.25-million-dollar transaction slip. Is this false? It has not finished. Ziya Ilgen: a 1.25-million-dollar transaction slip. Is this false? Ahmet Burak Erdogan: a 1.45-million-dollar transaction slip. Is this false? Mustafa Erdogan: a 1.25-million-dollar transaction slip. Is this false? Supposedly so. The sons father-in-law Osman Ketenci: a 1.25-million-dollar transaction slip. Is this false? Again, Osman Ketenci: a 1-million-dollar transaction slip. Is this false, too? Mustafa Erdogan: a 2.5-million-dollar transaction slip. Is this false, too? And finally, Ziya Ilgen, the brother-in-law: a 2.5-million-dollar transaction slip. Is this false? Supposedly so. These are original documents in their entirety. We will now distribute these documents to you in their entirety. WE WILL ALSO GIVE THEM TO THE PROSECUTION We call out to those who say they are false. We know nothing of fraudulent business, but those who are capable of landing deals on offshore islands know very well how fraudulent transactions are conducted. We are passing everything on clearly and distinctly. As things have unfolded here, the allegation of falsehood has collapsed. The prosecution has asked for them and we will also give them to the prosecution. Let them also look at them. Now they said that this was given for a company sale. OK, what kind of company sale is this? This is what the AK Party General Chair Erdogan said. All well and good, with us talking about funds leaving it has turned to funds arriving. This is more serious. They must reply to the following question. Which company did they sell? A second question: Who are this companys partners? The public will be informed. Third: How much is the capital of the company they sold? What is on this companys balance sheet? What are this companys assets? What assets does this company have that make it worth fifteen million? They say they sold a company. Where are the deeds of transfer? Bring them out and let us talk about them. EITHER MONEY LAUNDERING OR TAX EVASION I now ask the citizenry. I ask citizens having a conscience. There is no need to know the minute details for this. A companys entire assets are five lira and this company pays fifteen million dollars. It pays it in twenty days. These are offshore havens. Who is Kazm Oztas? How did Kazm Oztas acquire the means to pay fifteen million dollars within twenty days of having acquired this company? We have passed from the era of one dollars over which prayers have been said to magic one pounds. They say these documents are false but they are nothing like false. Two things come to mind. Money laundering does. Or tax evasion does. In absolutely no democratic country with its head screwed on can you live so cheaply. A stomach-turning relationship is involved. We will come public with these documents. We will supply the prosecution with the originals. We have opened the box. Do not imagine we have closed it. Click for all PDF documents 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 report earlier this month exposed an underground slave trade in Libya, and limited coverage of the issue has sparked public outrage. After CNN broke ground on the issue, it was discovered by the International Organization of Migration (IOM) hundreds of North African refugees and migrants had been targeted on their voyage to Europe by these slave markets. Dennis Laumann, an African history professor at the University of Memphis, said the reason behind this is the result of many factors like environmental changes caused by climate change devastating agriculture in parts of sub-Saharan Africa (which has caused people to seek work in Europe), and the lack of a central government and the absence of law and order in Libya since the overthrow of its leader Muammar Qaddafi by the United States and its allies in 2011. aWhat is heartening, though, is the outcry across the world after the images of people being sold as slaves were reported by the media,a Laumann said. Laumann said another cause would be the "basic greed" of people who profit from the desperation of others. aWhile the reports of slave markets in Libya are particularly shocking, we should not forget that refugees and migrants across the world are facing similar kinds of violence at this very moment a Syrians fleeing war in their country, the Rohinyga escaping genocide by the government of Myanmar and Central Americans who come to our own country to labor in factories and fields for instance,a Laumann said. Tens of thousands of people cross Libyan borders on this trip, according to CNN, and of those, more than 3,000 drown yearly while crossing the Mediterranean Sea. It is estimated anywhere between 400,000 and one million refugees are trapped in Libya where they are robbed, raped, murdered or forced into slavery, according to Fortune magazine. Mohammed Abdiker, the IOMas Director of Operation and Emergencies, returned from a trip from Tripoli and said in a press release the situation is dire and the conditions in Libya are horrifying. President Donald Trump has not made any formal statements regarding the issues in Libya; however, he tweeted about CNN International spreading afake newsa the next day after the slave trade report was published. a@FoxNews is MUCH more important in the United States than CNN, but outside of the U.S., CNN International is still a major source of (Fake) news, and they represent our Nation to the WORLD very poorly,a Trump tweeted. aThe outside world does not see the truth from them!a Libyan state media took the tweet as an opportunity to discredit CNNas report about the slave trade in the country, according to Fortune. A Libyan broadcaster said it was possible CNN published the report of slavery in Libya to secure a hidden political objective and added it was striking that the presidentas comments came a day after the report. Twitter also erupted with public concern regarding the issue. aThe slave trade that is going on in Libya has to STOP NOW. Speak up and speak out. We CANNOT be silent!a tweeted rap artist Sean aDiddya Combs, now known as Brother Love. Others targeted Trumpas dismissiveness of CNN's credibility. aHuman beings are being auctioned off & enslaved in Libya but bc [sic] Trump calls CNN afake newsa the credibility of that video is questioned,a tweeted Clint Smith, a Harvard University doctoral candidate. aNext time a Republican says they donat pay attention to Trumpas twitter I hope a reporter tells them theyare complicit in human trafficking.a The University of Memphis Student Government Association (SGA) passed three bills involving campus safety Thursday night. The bills will now go to university administration and pend approval. One bill passed aimed to make sure all students complete the "haven module" before registering for classes, another was to update the sex offender registry link on the campus policeas website and the last campus safety bill passed was to put campus police's physical daily crime log online. Mitchell Koch (From left to right) SGA campus safety committee members Courtney Harrough and Samuel Morris, vice president Kevyanna Rawls, speaker Jacqueline Joose, president Drew Gilmore and chief clerk Garret Barnes discuss campus safety bills. SGA passed three bills related to campus safety Nov.30. The Haven Module Bill would hold all students who havenat completed the online haven module to do so before registering for their next semester of classes. aThe haven module is a general way of teaching people about sexual assault and sexual misconduct,a Kevyanna Rawls, SGA vice president, said. aIt isnat necessarily specific to the University of Memphis, but within the next year or so, we will be replacing it with something more focused on the U of M.a The Sexual Offender List Bill is an act that would require the state of Tennessee sex offender registry link on the U of M website to be updated by the 2018 spring semester. The Daily Crime Log Bill suggested that campus police put their crime log online and update it daily by the beginning of next year, as opposed to requiring citizens to visit the physical crime log in the Police Services office. The current log is only updated every three days. SGA also discussed working towards making the campus safer for students by holding a aLiveSafe app awareness week.a This week would promote the LiveSafe app in hopes of informing students what it is and resulting in them downloading it on their phones. Members agreed that the University Center and UC lawn should have tables set up with LiveSafe koozies, stickers and a raffle for students to enter. aI feel like for the campus safety committee, in light of recent events on campus, it is imperative we make continuous progress forward to ensure that every student is well protected and cared for,a Courtney Harrough, SGA campus safety committee member, said. Frances Abbott, 26, has opened up about her shock engagement to Olympic rower Sam Loch, 34, after just two weeks together. The bodybuilding daughter of former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott revealed to Stellar Magazine that her new beau was welcomed into the family despite concerns the young couple were moving too fast. Matching a tailored blazer with a pair of white shorts, Frances opened up about the all-important first meeting between her fiance and his famous future father-in-law. Scroll down for video Frances Abbott (pictured), 26, has opened up about her shock engagement to Olympic rower Sam Loch, 34, after just two weeks together The bodybuilding daughter (pictured) of former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott revealed to Stellar Magazine that her new beau was welcomed into the family despite concerns the young couple were moving too fast Frances first announced the whirlwind romance and subsequent engagement via Instagram with a series of couple snaps taken in a photobooth. 'Two weeks was all it took to know that forever with you was a mighty fine idea,' the fitness devotee wrote. Mr Loch confirmed the news with a selfie of the pair captioned 'With the soon to be Mrs Loch'. The 60-year-old former Prime Minister of Australia also confirmed news of his daughter's engagement on social media. Using two tweets to post his message, the Liberal MP said: 'Really thrilled at the news of Francie and Sam's engagement. 'We are very proud of her and the Abbotts are looking forward to welcoming Sam into the family.' Frances Abbott, 26, has opened up about her shock engagement to Olympic rower Sam Loch, 34, after just two weeks together Miss Abbott first announced the whirlwind romance and subsequent engagement via Instagram with a series of couple snaps taken in a photobooth Mr Abbott's enthusiasm may have been fuelled by his first impressions of the Olympic rower, formed when the two met in Melbourne. At the time the young couple were in the midst of a whirlwind romance and very much in love, but Mr Loch had yet to pop the question. 'I think meeting Tones can be quite intimidating for anyone, but that's what I love about Sam,' the 26-year-old confided. 'He's so grounded, and so settled in his own skin, it felt totally natural. There was no change in voice, no sitting upright. Dad liked him.' As for her mother Margie, she was as surprised as anyone when her middle daughter told her of Mr Loch's proposal. 'Mum was like, "Frances, you are quite impulsive",' Frances remembered, saying her family want the best for her despite the speed of her engagement. Matching a tailored blazer with a pair of white shorts, Frances (pictured) opened up about the all-important first meeting between her fiance and his famous future father-in-law As for the proposal itself, Frances said it happened while she was in the kitchen putting peas in the freezer. Mr Loch had a bottle of champagne in his hands and cleverly convinced her to ask him why. When she obliged, he replied that he had brought it to drink after he asked her to marry him. That was two weeks after they first met, and the couple waited another two weeks before telling the world. Having already moved in together, Frances and Mr Loch have ordered a ring and will walk down the aisle next year. Peppered with questions about the speed of the engagement, Frances revealed it could not have felt more natural, saying she believes in trusting her instincts. But despite Miss Abbott's ever-growing public profile and an upcoming wedding, Frances revealed exclusively to Daily Mail Australia that she will not be giving up bodybuilding anytime soon During her photo shoot with the magazine Frances admitted being moved to tears when the same-sex marriage postal survey results were announced. The difference of opinion between her and her father on the issue was well publicised, but her response was mainly framed by her own recent engagement. Planning her own wedding while same-sex couples were unable to marry themselves put the issue in perspective for her, she said. Not long afterwards, Frances took to Instagram to document a catch-up with Mr Abbott where they discussed the upcoming wedding. 'What did we just do?' she said in an Instagram video. 'We've just been on a nice walk through the backstreets of Forestville, we talked about all sorts of things, including wedding plans!' Mr Abbott shot back. Mr Abbott reposted the father-daughter moment to Twitter, captioning it 'Early morning walk in Forestville with Francie' and tagging the local newspaper. Mr Loch confirmed the news with a selfie of the pair captioned 'With the soon to be Mrs Loch' But despite Frances' ever-growing public profile and an upcoming wedding, she revealed exclusively to Daily Mail Australia that she will not be giving up bodybuilding anytime soon. In fact, she is currently in training for a bodybuilding competition in March, 2018. 'I plan to compete again in March next year,' she told FEMAIL at Crown Oaks Day at Flemington. 'I'm looking to change federations and try something a little bit different. But I need to get stronger; that's what I'm all about right now. Lifting heavy.' 'I plan to compete again in March next year,' Frances told FEMAIL - 'But I need to get stronger; that's what I'm all about right now. Lifting heavy,' she said The 26-year-old said the 'bikini' category is and will remain her focus. 'There are so many different federations, they're all kind of different and they change slightly. The look of this federation is much more of a fresh off the beach bikini girl,' she explained. 'It's not a different type of training, so much as a different approach. It's fuller in the muscles [as a look]. 'By the time I got to the second round, I was maybe a little bit too bony and I think that was probably just my body responding to how quickly I approached training. 'It's really about knowing your body. There are so many things to think about, but I love it. It's such an exciting experiment for me.' Frances recently took to the stage at the Australian ICN Victorian State Titles competition, where she wore a two-piece outfit. She competed in the 'first timer' bikini fitness model division, as well as the 'sports model' category and took home participation medals at both. She took home participation medals at both. 'I don't know much about this part of the industry, fitness is something I'm totally obsessed with and I just want to know everything so I may as well soak it all up, do it myself',' she said. Move over pimple popping addicts, there's a new and equally awesome way to get your gruesome fix online. Enter ingrown hair extraction clips, the latest stomach-churning social media trend that has seen a huge increase in popularity in recent months, with dozens of dedicated YouTube and Instagram accounts posting a series of graphic close-up clips of the hair removals in action. One video posted to YouTube showing a particularly stubborn submerged follicle, has racked up nearly 40 million views since its debut in 2012. Millionaire: Ingrown hair extraction videos have become increasingly popular online, taking over from pimple popping clips as the latest stomach-churning craze High definition: Korean Instagrammer Tweezist uses a USB microscope to create HD videos of her ingrown hair extractions In the clip, Jeremiah Bulford, posting under the name Joe Gross can be seen pulling out a long, curly black hair from his beard. 'I had this pimple that would ooze every couple of months for the last year or so,' he explained. 'The dermatologist told me it was a cyst she would have to cut out. Apparently it was just the longest ingrown hair in history.' Aside from the Rapunzel of ingrown hairs, on Instagram, an account named Tweezist posts up close and personal videos that show hair extraction in high definition. Using a USB microscope, the Instagrammer who hails from Seoul, South Korea, performs each intricate removal process on her leg. The clinical videos frequently show a sharp slanted tweezers slicing into the skin of the affected area before the hair can be removed, and Tweezist says she favors the brand Lucanus to do her dirty work. Those looking for something a little bit more squeamish can delight in an awe-inspiring removal of a long and deeply-embedded armpit hair on YouTube by account Whiteheads Skin. Showing what looks like a hole in the subject's underarm area, the video which has received over 2,000 views, explains how this particular kind of ingrown hair can happen. 'Ingrown hairs typically appear after shaving,' the video description explains. Needle point: This beard extraction video shows a needle being inserted to remove several hairs trapped in one place The pits: This armpit hair extraction video details a long hair being removed from what appears to be a circular opening 'Shaving cuts the shaft of the hair. This unevenness, coupled with the sharpness of the remaining follicle, can make the hair curl back into the skin. 'Armpits are an especially sensitive area of the body where ingrown hairs are common.' And while it usually posts videos and pictures of haircuts, Instagram account Barber Lessons has also gone viral, racking up 132,000 views on its epic ingrown beard hair removal video. The video shows multiple hairs being removed from one area by a needle after a tweezers couldn't get in deep enough. An ingrown hair forms when either a tweezed or shaved hair grows back into the skin instead of out of it, and it can result in pain, inflammation and a rash. The condition is common, and those most at risk are black men who shave their facial hair and people with tightly curled hair that has been shaved, waxed or tweezed. Ingrown hairs can develop anywhere where someone has hair follicles, but for men they are most common on the cheeks, neck and chin. For women, they are most likely to pop up in the armpit or pubic hair areas or on the legs. Symptoms of ingrown hairs include small rounded bumps around the inflamed follicle; blister-like, pus-filled lesions; a skin darkening side effect called hyperpigmentation; itching and pain. Lives of great men all remind us We can make our lives sublime And, departing, leave behind us Footprints in the sand of time Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (American poet, 1807-1882) Advertisement Dear Bel, Married for 37 years, my wife and I had normal ups and downs. We have three boys, all doing well, and a comfortable lifestyle. Three or four years ago she told me she didnt like our life and resented everything associated with being a wife: the daily chores of cooking meals and being at home (she hasnt worked since our eldest was born). At the same time she got involved with a group called The Crimson Circle which (as best I can fathom) is about finding your true self. But I reckon its like a potentially divisive (and expensive) cult. She believes this is the way forward: the focus of her life and raison detre Theres no talking to her about it. She said she must find her true self and it makes us incompatible, so we must separate. We did 12 months ago. Living apart, Im all for telling myself to get someone else and restart my life, but I do love her and miss the companionship we had. There are no other parties involved except this group. I cannot fight their indoctrination via webinars etc. And they have seminars which cost about 1,500 to 2,000 a time, that she feels obliged to attend. She thinks shes found the solution to her problems and her true friends spending hours listening to their videos. Im convinced shes become brainwashed. Her head is elsewhere and I dont know how to turn it around. Weve now talked about divorce as I cant just limp on. My heart is still with her, as I love her to bits, but my head tells me Im fighting a losing battle and should just call it a day and walk away. Tonight she called me about a future family birthday celebration and I realised that we are no longer building projects together, nor planning a retirement together. I feel sad to have come this far with her, only to be defeated by what I see as a big scam. Any advice? JONATHAN You feel you have lost a shared future, but perhaps you can teach yourself to value all the past has given you, to respect who you are now, and realise that this has to be the beginning of a new stage. I wish you courage Never having heard of the organisation you mention, I studied its website for a long time. And, used as I am to the study of philosophy and religion, I found it puzzling, to say the least. Even though Im quite fascinated by New Age philosophies, I found myself quickly exhausted by the language. The Crimson Circle is the name for a group of humans involved on a particular spiritual journey, who are also here as teachers to others on the journey but thats about as simple as it gets. Theres a glossary of strange terms which made me wonder if such mumbo-jumbo (sorry for the shorthand cliche) is designed to confuse people into believing they are dealing with all-powerful mysteries. To me the whole thing reads and sounds like a mash-up of random beliefs, old and new, about life, death and the self and feels very egocentric. But, always open to talk of the spirit and the soul, Im generous about peoples beliefs as long as they dont hurt others. The term scam is yours; Im not sufficiently informed to make that judgment. Naturally you will tell me that your wifes sudden conversion to this cultish way of thinking/feeling/ imagining has indeed hurt you very deeply, but I cant help wondering whether she was in fact looking for a way out of your marriage. And any exit would have sufficed. I doubt even you know whether your wifes dissatisfaction with her role made her search for The Crimson Circle, or whether finding this group turned her against the life she had. She says she is on a journey to find her true self, and whatever she is gaining from all these endless web talks and meetings (the site seems to go on and on) she has decided that marriage her old life does not reflect the self she is becoming. And to be honest, after a separation of one year I suspect you have no power to change her mind. This is about a serious failure of communication and sympathy between you and your wife, and if she is set on a new path away from domesticity nobody can change her mind. What matters now is how you move forward. It would have been interesting to know what your adult sons think of all this, whether there are any grandchildren, and so on. I hear the sadness within your letter and sympathise deeply, but I do believe you have to think of your own self. You feel you have lost a shared future, but perhaps you can teach yourself to value all the past has given you, to respect who you are now, and realise that this has to be the beginning of a new stage. I wish you courage. I feel so abandoned by everyone Dear Bel A few weeks ago I had to have an operation on my left breast. It turned out to be a blocked duct and nothing more serious. I told my six long-standing good friends (weve known each other for some 40 years) that Id be out of action for a few weeks. They live between 100 and 150 miles away. Whats upset me is that not one has been in touch to see how I am. When one had an accident, falling downstairs, I phoned and sent flowers. The same with another friend who had a double mastectomy. But I havent received a card, flowers, or even a phone call, and feel very let down. I dont want to ruin our friendships as I find it hard to make friends. We all used to live fairly near, got married and had families and would see each other as a group three to four times a year. Then my husband and I had to move from the South Coast to Suffolk. I hate it here. The neighbours are very unfriendly dont want to know us southerners taking all their houses and jobs etc. We cant afford to move back. If it werent for my three-day supermarket job, Id never see anyone. Even when I came out of hospital, my husband hardly helped. I know he has his own health issues (arthritis in his knees and a heart attack 12 years ago) but only once did he make dinner and get me a cup of tea. Instead of resting, Ive had to do the washing and ironing and Im unhappy. What am I supposed to do? Our children have their own families to deal with, so I havent been able to rely on them. I feel my life is not worth anything, and my thoughts for my friends are unwanted. So do I just pretend all is ok and carry on sending cards even if they are bad friends or lose them? SALLY This isnt the first time Ive had a letter about disappointing friends. Most of us have experienced that feeling of being let down and the hurtful suspicion that perhaps a certain chum means more to us than we do to him or her. Recently an old friend whod been for supper emailed her thanks with the comment that shed missed us when its me who always does the inviting! My response is a smile and a shrug because thats what shes like and Im very fond of her indeed. With all faults as the antique dealers say. And maybe we should think of old friendships as like rare old china valued even with chips and cracks. It must have been so frightening to have that health scare, and I completely understand how sad you felt that those distant friends didnt respond to you as you did to them. All I can suggest is that you try to be philosophical about it because to complain to them would be too needy and potentially destructive. Dont think of them as bad friends, just people caught up in their own lives. So yes, I think you should continue to send cards because doing so honours the shared past. Yet theres more going on within this letter. First, it bothers me that you have so readily accepted that you dont make friends easily. Have you ever asked yourself why? Do you find it hard to ask people questions about themselves? You will never make friends if you are closed off and perhaps a little incurious. But is the real problem this relocation that you so hate? Im afraid your sweeping generalisation about resentful Suffolk dwellers simply does not ring true. People often act as a mirror to who we are ourselves so that friendly folk will probably find others friendly, and so on. You may not like the fact that Im saying this, but I believe you have to help yourself. You hate where you live and dislike the people, so what kind of face do you turn to the world? Think about it. On the subject of resentment, you are unhappy at home, too. Is this the real issue here? You tell me that your scare was nothing more serious than a blocked duct, but then complain that your husband didnt treat you like a real invalid. Theres something illogical there, and it suggests you have always wished that he would help more. Like many married couples, you settled into roles. But if you are to grow older together in harmony then give and take is absolutely essential. If I were you Id cut the ironing down to the bare minimum (the younger generation never irons) and ask him to help with other chores bearing in mind that hes not in the best of health. Tell him gently that you have to take care of each other. I worry that you are locking yourself into discontentment because you dislike Suffolk and are perhaps suddenly aware that none of us lives for ever. Casting off your old friends wont help. Now you must make a conscious effort to examine the life you have and vow to make it better. Tell yourself you can and will make new friends, while keeping in touch with the old. And finally: New puppy Lily brings joy to my heart A recent Swedish study of over 3.4 million individuals investigated the potential health benefits of dog ownership. Those who took part were aged 40 to 80 and were followed for up to 12 years. Just over 13 per cent had pet dogs. The researchers found that dog ownership had a dramatic effect cutting the risk of death from cardiovascular disease by 36 per cent. Bel's new dog Lily That was with people who live alone, but in larger households, dogs still lowered deaths from heart disease by 15 per cent. Its a short step from reading that to wondering whether dogs (or maybe I should say, pets) help keep us young. Something to love, take care of, exercise, play with, say silly things to, stop you thinking of yourself, cuddle whats not to like? I use face cream to keep wrinkles at bay (I wish!) but a better bet might be a dog to keep stress on the back burner. A dog, I say or two Or three. Yes, I just made life more complicated and maybe three times as healthy, too! This is the new baby. Two years after my beloved Bonnies death, my yearning for a sweet little Maltese would not cease. Bonnie was from the RSPCA and Id made a vow I would only ever rescue a pet, as the centres are full of needy cats and dogs longing to be taken care of. But my search for a Maltese failed so this 13-week-old scrap came from a lovely family in Devon (not a commercial breeder) who were going to keep her but decided to let her go to the right home. And that means me! I love our rescue dogs, Sophie (Chihuahua cross) and Hattie (Pomeranian cross) very much, but now they have a wee sister. And why not? She is my little pure white Lily, and an early Christmas gift to myself. Just to help my heart along, you see. It seems as though Meghan Markle isn't the only American women who swoons over a British accent. While there are said to be about 7,000 languages on earth, for the majority of ladies in the US, it is the Brits, like 36-year-old Meghan's new fiance Prince Harry, who come out on top - with the Scottish accent coming in a close second. According to a recent study done by travel dating website, MissTravel.com, American women find British and Scottish accents the sexiest for men. Not just Meghan! According to a recent study done by dating website, MissTravel.com, more than 20 per cent of American women find British accents in men the sexiest - like Prince Harry Top five sexiest accents for men 1. British 2. Scottish 3. Spanish 4. Australian 5. Southern Advertisement Top five sexiest accents for women 1. Israeli 2. Colombian 3. Australian 4. French 5. Southern Advertisement Meanwhile, men prefer to fawn over Israeli and Colombian accents in women. The dating site surveyed thousands of people across the United States to find out which accent they found most attractive and it turns out that men and women disagree on which one comes out on top. Results of the survey revealed that over 20 per cent of women are most attracted to men with British accents - with just over 18 per cent voting for guys with a Scottish accents. However, as far as men are concerned, the feeling is not mutual. Instead, the majority of men in the US think that an Israeli accent in women is hottest - 19 per cent to be precise - while a Colombian accent is a very close second with 18 per cent of the vote. These findings just further prove why so many men are head-over-heels in love with two of the sexiest actresses in Hollywood, Gal Gadot, 32, and Sofia Vergara, 45. With Gal being Israeli and Sofia being Colombian, it is obvious to see why men are so attracted to the two sexy accents. Mediterranean: Results from the same study showed, Israeli and Colombian accents on women are the sexiest Brandon Wade, CEO and founder of MissTravel.com, shared the reason why accents have an effect on us. 'Accents have a tendency of taking our minds to unknown, and exotic places, adding a touch of mystery and intrigue to the speaker. 'As Americans we often associate British accents with intelligence and class, both desirable qualities for a mate. 'While Israeli accents conjure up images of the Mediterranean,' he concluded. Two things remain the same in findings from the survey of both men and women, - neither can resist a good old Aussie and Southern accent, with both genders voting for these dialects in the top five. However, it is a little strange how the number one accent for each gender doesn't appear on the other's list. While Israeli and Colombian are number one for men, they don't even pop up on the ladies list. Plus, number one for the girls, British and Scottish, doesn't appear on the men's list, which is a bit strange. Interestingly enough, out of 21 accents listed by MissTravel.com, five accents - Nigerian, Chinese, Filipino, Jamaican and Indian - failed to get one vote from both men and women. Her white 'engagement' coat sold out just minutes after she was photographed wearing the 450 garment on Monday. And it appears the Meghan Markle effect is well and truly in full swing, with admirers scrambling to emulate the future royal's latest style. A handbag, made by a small Scottish label, has now sold out after Prince Harry's future wife chose to carry the fashion item on her first royal engagement. Meghan was carrying a 455 handbag by Scottish brand Strathberry in burgundy as she met with well-wishers Meghan carried a 455 Strathberry tri-colour leather midi tote with dual top handles during the couple's visit to Nottingham on Friday. Strathberry is based in Edinburgh and was founded just four years ago by husband and wife team Guy and Leeanne Hundleby. The pair left their jobs to create the company after noticing Scotland was lacking a standout international, luxury leather goods brand. Neither had a background in fashion - Mrs Hundleby worker in the financial sector and her husband ran a production company - but they were keen to build their own brand together. After spending months travelling around Spain with their children when they were younger, they encountered families who had worked with leather over generations and whose skill was 'unparalleled'. Having chosen to work with the families, the Hundlebys also worked closely with fashion bloggers and built up an online following. They decided to expand the brand in 2015 and turned to Kickstarter - an online crowd funding platform. Strathberry would turn out to be one of the top three most funded UK fashion projects on the site, with more than 500 backers in all pledging in excess of 120,000. A Strathberry spokeswoman said: 'We are thrilled and honoured to see Meghan Markle carrying our Strathberry midi tote in tri-colour burgundy/navy/vanilla. Meghan, who has moved from Toronto to be with her future husband in London, chose Canadian brand Mackage for their first official engagement together Happy couple: But the future royal's boots - believed to be from Kurt Geiger - were a nod to the British high street The Meghan effect! The bride-to-be's navy coat has already sold out on a number of websites 'We are delighted at the news of her and Prince Harry's engagement, and wish them all the best for this exciting period. 'It was a fantastic surprise to see that Meghan selected one of our core Strathberry styles to carry on her first royal engagement. 'The Strathberry midi tote tri-colour is now sold out and will be restocking soon. People can sign up for notifications on our website.' She was seen carrying her handbag with her while meeting the crowds - something that Kate rarely does - while her engagement ring was on full display. However, the Queen is rarely seen without her signature Launer handbag, which suggests Meghan might be taking a leaf out of her book. Meghan also flew the flag for Canada, where she had lived until recently, in a navy, military-inspired number by Mackage that has previously been seen on the wife of Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Sophie. It's the second time she has worn a Canadian brand since her engagement. On Monday, Meghan opted for a white wool coat - which instantly sold out - was from Canadian brand Line The Label. Embracing her new base, the skirt is from British brand Joseph coming in at 595, while her suede boots are from that staple of the British high street, Kurt Geiger. Meghan Markle and Prince Harry appeared to be in perfect sync as they arrived in Nottingham for their first royal engagement on Friday Meghan flew the flag for Canada, where she had lived until recently, in a navy double breasted coat from the Canadian brand Mackage The actress finished her ensemble with a pair of elegant black suede heeled boots by Kurt Geiger, a change from the court shoes royal fans are used to seeing on the Duchess of Cambridge. Wearing her brunette locks down in loose waves, she showed off her natural, glowing complexion as she arrived in the city. It seems that Meghan may have also had an input when it came to Harry's wardrobe who stepped out in a tonally similar ensemble. The prince, 33, was also seen in a navy blue wool coat and his suede desert boots complimented the colour of Meghan's coat. Shunning the traditional suit which is normally favoured by male members of the royal family for public engagements, Harry instead opted for a simple open collared white shirt. She and Harry opted for complementary colours in the form of navy coats with sand-coloured accents Meghan later took off her navy coat to reveal a black polo neck top underneath He also appeared to accent the colour of Meghan's skirt wearing a scarf in a shade of sand that almost perfectly matched the 36-year-old's outfit. As the couple arrived, they walked towards a group of dignitaries with one arm around each other's backs. The couple appeared in perfect sync as they moved along the seemingly endless line of well-wishers. Members of the crowd called out Harry's name, while others held up camera phones to capture the moment, or stretched out their hands for the prince and his fiancee to shake. The visit aims to raise awareness of HIV/Aids and efforts to tackle youth crime but it also gave the prince the opportunity to showcase his partner to the nation. Harry chose Nottingham, a city he knows well, for their first walkabout, a mainstay of royal engagements. The couple, who arrived by train, began their tour with a civic welcome at the National Justice Museum in Nottingham's historic Lace Market district. Ahead of their arrival, hundreds of curious and excited onlookers had packed the streets, including avid fan Irene Hardman. The 81-year-old is well-known for handing bags of Haribo sweets to Harry, and first presented his father, the Prince of Wales, with two bags - the other for brother William - 20 years ago. She showed off her camel skirt by Joseph, which she accessorised with a black belt Meghan was seen braving the winter chill as she left Nottingham Academy without her coat, while Harry swapped his coat for a navy jacket Meghan wore her brunette tresses in loose waves for her initial engagement, and opted for a soft beauty look with a slick of berry lipstick The couple appeared in perfect sync as they moved along the seemingly endless line of well-wishers Canadian coat also worn by Justin Trudeau's wife The navy coat worn by Meghan today was previously worn by Justin Trudeau's wife. The double-breasted number by Canadian brand Mackage was donned by Sophie Trudeau, 42, during a Remembrance Day service in Ottawa last month. She teamed the navy coat with a matching trilby hat and black polo neck underneath. The Canadian prime minister's wife also added a black belt over the coat to cinch in her waist. Meghan, who lived in Toronto while filming Suits, seems to have a penchant for championing Canadian brands, having worn a white coat by Line The Label on Monday. She was also seen wearing the same Mackage coat as she wore today last December. Justin Trudeau's wife Sophie wore the same navy coat as Meghan during an engagement in Ottawa last month Advertisement Meghan displayed her glowing complexion with a natural make-up look on Friday The Suits star showed off her slender waist during her first official engagement with Harry She gave a nod to her new home with her skirt, which was by British brand Joseph Harry and Meghan posed for a group shot with the cast of a hip hop opera during their visit She said: 'It is absolutely wonderful and fantastic, and we're privileged they've chosen Nottingham to be their first official engagement.' The city and its people are close to Harry's heart, with the visit his third public trip there since October last year. It is the first official engagement by the couple in what will be a six-month tour of the UK, allowing the American former actress to get to know her new home. Holly Burdett, who is originally from West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, but now lives in Sydney, Australia, flew back to the UK earlier this month on a 'gamble' that the couple would announce their engagement. She said: 'It paid off - I knew they'd be in London, doing something, and it's been about a year since they started properly dating.' She joked: 'I always thought I'd marry Harry but you can't win them all. As long as they're happy, that's all that matters.' With NHS services stretched more than ever, some patients can wait for months or even years before they receive specialist mental-health therapy. Recent figures show that in some areas of the UK, patients are having to wait more than two years for an initial appointment with a psychotherapist the gold-standard treatment for a host of common problems including depression. No surprise, then, that online and app-based support programmes are booming. However, experts warn that the sector can be a minefield: a 2013 review in the Journal Of Medical Internet Research identified more than 1,500 commercially available depression-related apps (and more have been launched since), but only 32 featured in published research papers. Recent figures show that in some areas of the UK, patients are having to wait more than two years for an initial appointment with a psychotherapist (file photo) Despite this, there are numerous apps simple-to-use programmes that can be downloaded to a smartphone or tablet that are recommended by healthcare professionals, and some even have the NHS seal of approval. Just before news of her marriage breakdown was revealed last weekend, Davina McCall tweeted about one such app, Minds For Life, which offers online therapy for relationship issues, depression and anxiety. The TV presenter, 50, who has split with Matthew Robertson, her husband of 17 years, wrote that the app could help with a bad break-up. Costing from 85 a month, Minds For Life offers unlimited contact with a qualified counsellor. But there are any number of other mental-health apps costing less, or even free, that claim to tackle stress, track our mood and help us through the ups and downs of life. They may mean you neednt see a therapist at all. Apps can deliver self-help much more interactively than books used to, says Dr Emma Short, a reader in cyber psychology at the University of Bedfordshire. Access to quality mental-health support via your smartphone or tablet can be really useful. Here, Dr Short and psychologist Professor Jim Barnes, also from the University of Bedfordshire, give their verdict on six of the best medically backed mental-health apps Best for busting stress Headspace THEY SAY: An app that teaches users how to meditate and live mindfully. HOW IT WORKS: Mindfulness is an NHS-recommended therapy based on meditation practices and is proven to reduce symptoms of depression, stress and anxiety, with effects on a par with medication. Headspace users are talked through daily ten-minute meditations designed to help cut stress and improve focus. After youve grasped the basics of meditation, other programmes focus on specific areas such as the stress of commuting, or being motivated to set clear goals. There are two-minute SOS sessions for helping you know how to deal better with meltdown situations. EXPERT VERDICT: Dr Short says: Meditation and mindfulness can reduce stress and anxiety, and many people integrate these practices into their lives on a daily basis. Headspace teaches the techniques well and the app is slick. Very occasionally, mindfulness training may trigger old traumas, so its worth checking with your healthcare professional if youre at all unsure. COST: After a free ten-day trial, 9.99 a month or 71.88 for a year. Available from the App Store, Google Play, Amazon. Best for easing insomnia Sleepio THEY SAY: Helping adults with insomnia issues sleep better and improve energy, mood and productivity as a result. HOW IT WORKS: You fill in an in-depth sleep questionnaire (or download your sleep data from a tracking device). The information is used to create a six-week personalised sleep course, during which you are guided through techniques to tackle the negative thoughts and behaviours that keep you awake. You also get 12 months support from Sleepios online community. EXPERT VERDICT: Dr Short says: This uses cognitive behavioural therapy, or CBT, which can help to achieve a stronger connection between bed and successful sleep. Sleepio has been put through placebo control clinical trials and the results showed that the app helped about 75 per cent of those with persistent problems to improve their sleep to healthy levels. COST: 200 a year, although its possible you may be able to access the app on the NHS ask your GP. Available from the App Store, sleepio.com. Best for finding support Elefriends THEY SAY: Giving and receiving support from other people (over the age of 17) who understand what youre going through when you arent coping well. HOW IT WORKS: From UK charity Mind, Elefriends began as a Facebook page about mental health in the workplace (the elephant in the room). You sign up and can post comments about how youre feeling, or just show solidarity with others, in a safe space. The conversations are monitored from 6am to 2am and a moderator (ele handler) can step in to remove anything offensive. The elephant (voiced by TV star Stephen Fry) drops in with blogs, tips and ideas. EXPERT VERDICT: Dr Short says: Norwegian research identified that most people who use forums like this find it useful for information, social contact and support. Many also find it easier to discuss personal problems online rather than face to face. Communication difficulties can arise because of the lack of visual and aural cues, so a clear set of house rules and a human moderator which Elefriends has - are essential to minimise this. COST: Free from the App Store, Google Play. Elefriends is about giving and receiving support from other people (over the age of 17) who understand what youre going through when you arent coping well (file photo) Best for bad break-ups Minds For Life THEY SAY: One-on-one support from a qualified counsellor. HOW IT WORKS: The app gives quick access to trained therapists. Depending on the support package paid for, users can call and/or message their counsellor to explore relationship troubles, depression and anxiety. You can also get mood and sleep tracking and a moderated anonymous forum. EXPERT VERDICT: Prof Barnes says: This online counselling service is backed with academic research, and depending on use could be cheaper than face-to-face counselling. All therapists have accreditation and the advice section is ethical and responsible. It could be a good resource for individuals, but one limitation is the lack of couples counselling. Another issue with online counselling is the inability to read non-verbal cues, which could be a problem with the version of this service that does not include video sessions. COST: 85 a month for unlimited messaging with a counsellor (10am to 10pm), or 170 for this, plus two video sessions per month. Available from the App Store. Best for beating depression Catch It THEY SAY: Helping people learn how to manage feelings such as anxiety and depression. HOW IT WORKS: A joint project between the universities of Liverpool and Manchester, Catch It is a mood diary that you use to capture your emotions as they happen. The app encourages users to note down a feeling such as anxiety, depression, anger or confusion, and when and where they experienced it; take a moment to reflect on why they felt that way; and think about, and keep a note of, better ways of dealing with that emotion in the future. EXPERT VERDICT: Prof Barnes says: The app could be useful for challenging a users thought processes that contribute to their negative emotions. It does not offer therapy as such, but could help in the process of recovery if an individual was undergoing counselling or therapy. There is a limited range of emotions to choose from, though, and it would be good if the user could customise this section. COST: Free from the App Store, Google Play. Best for eating disorders Recovery Record THEY SAY: Managing your journey to recovery from eating disorders. HOW IT WORKS: You are encouraged to log your meals (using photos if you wish), along with the size of the meal, your moods, and any urges to restrict or binge in order to better understand your eating behaviour. It works with you to develop coping skills. Its American but works perfectly well for a British audience. EXPERT VERDICT: Dr Short says: This uses evidence-based clinical practice and is supported by the US National Eating Disorders Association. Importantly, it does not ask for your weight, so the focus is just on understanding your eating. Monitoring food, mood and behaviour is recognised to be beneficial for people working to overcome eating difficulties. However, its important to be watchful of how you are using this app, especially if you notice you may be becoming reliant on it to feel in control. Anorexia has the highest mortality rate of any mental-health problem and reliance on any app is not a safe substitute for professional support. COST: Free from the App Store, Google Play, Amazon. A Christmas Carol The Old Vic, London Until Jan 20 2hrs Rating: Rhys Ifans, poor man, is still fondly remembered in his underpants as Hugh Grants embarrassing flatmate in the film Notting Hill. Now wearing a shabby frock coat, Ifans takes the part of the flint-hearted miser by storm. Ive never seen a scarier Scrooge or a more heart-swelling stage version of this famous book. Better still, its home is perfect: the venerable Old Vic opened in 1818, when Charles Dickens was six. Ifanss ginger-bearded creature is not your usual grumpy old codger. In the novel he rasps. Here he bellows, spittle flying as he snarls at well-wishers and charity collectors, slamming the door bolts, closing out the world of cheer and festive spirit with furious disdain. Ifanss ginger-bearded creature is not your usual grumpy old codger. In the novel he rasps. Here he bellows, spittle flying as he snarls at well-wishers and charity collectors Scrooge may be as solitary as an oyster, but here London is positively teeming with gents in toppers, vendors passing mince pies down the stalls and, of course, kids. Matthew Warchuss production lit by a hundred lanterns is also stuffed with music. Hand bells are played by cast members and the plangent sound of piano and violins underscores the sadder scenes. And Jacob Marleys ghost comes on dragging an amazing 20ft-long tangle of chains, full of foreboding. The play is really a journey into the shaping of Scrooges withered soul, as the Ghost of Christmas Past re-spools his younger life. Its as tragic as anything in Shakespeare. His encounter with an abusive, debt-ridden father (painfully based on the authors own) is brought to the fore in Jack Thornes script. So too is young Scrooges love for Belle a melting performance from Erin Doherty whose love he disastrously shuns in favour of gold. Bob Cratchit (Scrooges threadbare assistant) and his family show Dickens at his most treacly and sentimental. At least here they seem like real people deprived of any form of social security. A crutchless Tiny Tim (young Grace Fincham is terrific) dies of sheer want in Scrooges nightmare vision, almost unwatchable in its horror. As Chrismassy as a flaming pud, this emotionally turbocharged production (forgive the liberties taken with the book) reflects the fruity theatricality of the novels prose But the real tragedy, Dickens seems to shout out, is a life devoid of fun and lifes fullness. Scrooge wakes up on Christmas Day in a scene thats almost biblical in its conversion. A carol-singing choir shakes the walls at cathedral volume; the bah humbugging Scrooge is banished and a delirious spendaholic takes over; the whole theatre becomes a tumbling cornucopia of fruit and veg, complete with a turkey of freakish proportions. Theres a seasonal weather event, too. As Chrismassy as a flaming pud, this emotionally turbocharged production (forgive the liberties taken with the book) reflects the fruity theatricality of the novels prose. It manages to be both utterly chilling and fully festive and Scrooge is just glorious. The Secret Theatre Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, London Until Dec 16, 2hrs 15mins Rating: The BBCs recent Gunpowder series depicted the horrors awaiting plotters against the state. This thriller winds back a generation before Guy Fawkes and looks at the man who invented modern espionage: Sir Francis Walsingham, the sinister Tudor spymaster. Walsingham executed his duties and Englands enemies with ruthless efficiency, notably bringing Mary, Queen of Scots to the scaffold in 1587 after exposing her part in a plot to kill Elizabeth I. Director Matthew Dunster cleverly exploits the theatres exclusive use of candlelight. Above: Cassie Layton as Mary, Queen of Scots Edmund Kingsley as Robert Pooley, Colin Ryan as Thomas Phelippes and Aidan McArdle as Francis Walsingham Tara Fitzgerald (above) is terrific as a white-faced Elizabeth imperious, catty, foul-mouthed and keen on occasional sex Although this thriller takes liberties with the historical record, the parallels with the present are exhilarating. If you substitute the word Jesuit for jihadist, the Elizabethan war on terrorism sounds all too familiar. Tara Fitzgerald is terrific as a white-faced Elizabeth imperious, catty, foul-mouthed and keen on occasional sex. The play assumes her virginal image was government spin! Aidan McArdles Walsingham is a sickly, coughing, cynical creature. Hell do anything to expand his surveillance machine and his own indispensability. He even stages a bogus assassination attempt on the Queens life in order to increase his funding. Anders Lustgartens play brings in other historical figures. Notably the statesman William Cecil (Ian Redford) and the double agent Robert Pooley (Edmund Kingsley). The panelled walls of the theatre contain drawers full of files on suspects, and director Matthew Dunster cleverly exploits the theatres exclusive use of candlelight. A gratifyingly atmospheric play of mounting dread. Best of 2017 The years best drama was Manchester By The Sea though this tale of a dissolving marriage is such a downer I dont recommend you watch it during the holidays. That said, Michelle Williams and Casey Affleck are so raw as the couple in crisis that the movie will stay with you until next Christmas. Not many actors get to be in two great films a year, but Amy Adams pulled it off with the terrifying post-modern thriller Nocturnal Animals and the moving sci-fi romance Arrival. For a gentler evening, try Six Plays by Alan Bennett, a box set of Seventies dramas starring everyone from Thora Hird to, er, Dave Allen. The years standout box set drama is a no-brainer: Peter Morgan and Stephen Daldrys The Crown: Season One is simply some of the greatest TV ever made Manchester By The Sea; Arrival Best oldies Its 40 years since the Beeb gave us a late-night movie season entitled Christmas With Bogart. And thanks to a clutch of reissues, you can recreate that treat with luminous Blu-ray revamps of The Maltese Falcon, Casablanca and The Big Sleep. More dodgy morals in Neil Jordans perpetually intriguing IRA thriller The Crying Game. For some good old-fashioned spying games, check out The Deadly Affair, Sidney Lumets take on John le Carres first novel. And in the year John Hurt left us, dont miss his star-making turn as Quentin Crisp in The Naked Civil Servant. The Deadly Affair, Sidney Lumets take on John le Carres first novel Movie box sets Roger Moore might not have been a great actor, but a good egg he emphatically was. While away an hour or two of the holidays with The Roger Moore Collection, a box set of all his Bonds. The Spy Who Loved Me is rated by some, but for my money Moonraker is Moores finest because while he smirks at the silliness of it all, the action sequences are tense. For a testier view of Blighty, try Three Films By Ken Loach if only for the hilarious sight of Ricky Jim Royle Tomlinson stepping out of a bath. Roger Moore might not have been a great actor, but a good egg he emphatically was Drama box sets The years standout box set drama is a no-brainer: Peter Morgan and Stephen Daldrys The Crown: Season One is simply some of the greatest TV ever made. As HRH (in this and the next season), Claire Foy offers a masterclass in the challenges of duty: Her Majesty spends most of the show biting her lip. But the series is more than just a biopic. Its also a perfect primer in post-war British history. Meanwhile, Breaking Bads shyster lawyer is back in season three of Better Call Saul, and the greatest dodgy geezer of all time Arthur Daley is honoured with the joyous Minder: The Complete Collection. For younger viewers, Despicable Me 3 will be as satisfying as its predecessors (adults might think it short on inspiration) Music This year isnt any real kind of anniversary for Ol Blue Eyes, but that hasnt stopped Eagle Rock from bringing out a massive Frank Sinatra Collection of filmed live concerts. There are so many to choose from that its hard to pick a winner, but I was bowled over by the disc in which we get to see Frank compete to fool the rhythm with two of the greatest beat-cheaters Ella Fitzgerald and Antonio Carlos Jobim. Elsewhere, The Whos Tommy: Live At The Albert Hall filmed this year doesnt half take you back. Soundtracklovers, meanwhile, will get a buzz from Dark Knight composer Hanz Zimmer: Live In Prague. Children Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol 2 isnt as frolicsome as the original. But Chris Pratt remains on fine mocking form, and the moment when Michael Rookers Yondu is told that he looks like Mary Poppins is priceless. The Power Rangers reboot has its charms too. Its nicely played by both a gaggle of young stars in the making and by Bryan Cranston sending up his Breaking Bad image beautifully. For younger viewers, Despicable Me 3 will be as satisfying as its predecessors (adults might think it short on inspiration). And the animated superhero story Captain Underpants is a treat whatever your age. Betjeman: The Collection, a three-disc set of films on British architecture by our most lovable Poet Laureate Family The feelgood movie of the year was La La Land, an old-fashioned Hollywood musical that brims with colour and bursts with catchy tunes. Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone play the boy and girl who fall in love, out of love, etc. Their dancing wouldnt worry Fred and Ginger but they give their numbers everything. Stella, Ruth Joness singlemum heroine, is on her sixth series and gets a full-monty box set to prove it. Though the humour has broadened over the years, this is still good company. Documentary Ken Burnss Vietnam was the best factual series of the year. There is so much to learn. How the Vietnam War began not in the mid-Sixties but in the aftermath of the Second World War. How in many ways its still going on, because America remains riven over whether the fight to prevent communism brought about the collapse of its own self-confidence. Rather cheerier is Betjeman: The Collection, a three-disc set of films on British architecture by our most lovable Poet Laureate. As for David Attenboroughs Blue Planet II, its as good as anything hes done. Micky Flanagan: An Another Fing sits proudly as the bestselling new release and, aptly, much of the show focuses on how much dosh hes raking in Stand-up In a world of Netflix comedy specials and ever-decreasing DVD sales, one man stands head and shoulders above the pack. Micky Flanagan: An Another Fing sits proudly as the bestselling new release and, aptly, much of the show focuses on how much dosh hes raking in. Keeping up at the back are Sean Lock: Keep It Light with another surreal masterclass, Adam Hills: Clown Heart (right) and his feelgood stand-up with punch, and the real joker in the pack Paul Foot: Tis A Pity Shes A Piglet, a bewildering left-field comic marvel. Comedy DVDs Steve Coogans year, I think. Start with The Trip, whose third season took him and sparring partner Rob Brydon off to Spain, there to tilt at windmills and sing songs from Man Of La Mancha. As usual, the competitive impersonations are sensational the stand-off between the two about who does the better John Hurt is worth the price alone. Not content with this, Coogan starred in (and helped produce) the kung fu-kicking cop satire Mindhorn. Treat of the year, though, is the 75th anniversary Blu-ray of The Goose Steps Out in which Will Hay is parachuted into Germany to teach young Nazis how to flick Vs at Herr Hitler. Christopher Bray BJP'S big win in the Uttar Pradesh civic polls on Friday gave party leaders and workers a reason to celebrate in poll-bound Gujarat as well. The party's leaders said the victory in UP has reaffirmed people's support for the GST, which has made doing business easier for traders. They said the party will use the UP result to attack Rahul Gandhi and the Congress in the Gujarat campaign which is targeting BJP over the issue of GST. The BJP swept the polls in UP, pocketing 14 of the 16 mayoral seats as Yogi Adityanath emerged on top in his first major electoral test after taking over as chief minister in March. Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, his deputies Dinesh Sharma and Keshav Prasad Maurya and BJP state president Mahendra Nath Pandey celebrate the victory of the party in the state civic body elections at the party office in Lucknow on Friday Rahul Gandhi It also trounced the Congress in the Gandhi family bastion of Amethi and claimed that the party will meet similar fate in the Gujarat assembly polls starting next week. Adityanath, who led the campaign, said the BJP will now aim for 100 per cent success in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. BJP's Sanyukta Bhatia created history for being elected the first woman mayor of state capital Lucknow, defeating nearest rival, Samajwadi Party's Meera Vardhan, by a huge margin of 1,31,356 votes. While in a shot in the arm for Mayawati's Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), its candidate Mohammad Furqan won elected the mayor of Aligarh, becoming the first Muslim to occupy the post after independence. Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) also made an impressive debut and ended up becoming the fifth major political player in the state. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) also made an impressive debut and ended up becoming the fifth major political player in the state AAP won two chairman posts and 33 councillor and ward Member posts in various districts. Though the Congress and the Samajwadi Party also registered victories in various parts of India's most populous state, they were nowhere in the picture in the 16 municipal corporations, all of which barring two went to the ruling BJP. Will the UP result be used to attack Rahul Gandhi? The BSP won the other two. Soon after the poll results came out, finance minister Arun Jaitley said the results reaffirmed people's support for the GST which has made doing business easier for traders. Jaitley, who is also BJP's in-charge for the Gujarat elections, also recalled his party's unprecedented win in the Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand assembly polls following the demonetisation decision and noted that it had swept trading hubs in UP to underline popular support to note ban Of the total 997 candidates contesting the first phase of the Gujarat Assembly polls, 198 nominees, belonging to different political parties as well as independents, are 'crorepatis', an analysis of election affidavits done by two NGOs has found. Sixty-five of these 'crorepati' candidates have declared assets worth over `5 crore, while 60 others have shown movable and immovable assets in the range of `2-`5 crore. While the ruling BJP has given tickets to 76 'crorepati' candidates, the opposition Congress has fielded 60 such nominees. They are followed by seven from the NCP, six from the Aam Aadmi Party and two from BSP. The report said that 25 independent candidates also came in this category. The remaining rich candidates belong to lesser known parties or outfits. Though the 977 candidates are in the fray for the 89 Assembly seats going for polls in the first phase on December 9, affidavits of 54 candidates could not be analysed as they were either badly scanned or incomplete, the report said. The analysis revealed that 21 per cent candidates, that is 198 out of 923, are crorepatis, as each one of them has declared assets worth `1 crore. A newborn baby declared dead by a top private hospital has been saved after grieving family noticed a slight movement in a body bag, while they were heading towards a funeral ground. The first motherhood experience of Varsha Bidawat, 21, turned into a nightmare when doctors declared her premature twins had died, immediately after their delivery. But one of the infants was later discovered to be alive, while the family were on the way to a funeral ground in northwest Delhi. This tragic incident was reported at Delhi's Max Healthcare in Shalimar Bagh on Thursday, where Varsha was admitted on November 28 after suffering labour pains. The Max hospital administration in Shaimar Bagh has admitted its error, and asked the doctor concerned to go on leave immediately While family members alleged medical negligence on the part of the doctors, Aashish Kumar, the woman's husband, said: 'The doctor informed me that Varsha was in a critical stage of labour pain and should be admitted to the ICU immediately.' She delivered a boy and a girl on November 30 at 7.42am. 'The doctors declared the female infant dead soon after she was born, while the male infant was in a critical condition. 'My baby boy was about 75 grams and so he was advised to undergo three months' treatment at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, which was costed at `50, 000 per day,' Aashish explained. He added: 'Doctors informed us around 1.30pm that the male infant also died on the ventilator. They packed the bodies of both infants in packets and handed them over to us.' However, the family noticed a slight movement in one of the body bags while they were heading towards the funeral ground. The boy was found to be alive when both infants were taken to the funeral ground. His family has admitted the newborn to another hospital, where he remains in a critical condition 'Both packets of the dead infants were carried by my father-in-law and he noticed some movement. We immediately stopped the car and saw that the male infant was breathing,' Aashish said. The family members then rushed to nearby Agarwal Nursing Home at Pitampura, which admitted the baby boy, who was found to be alive. According to the doctors, however, the baby had contracted an infection, as his 'body' had been placed into a plastic bag by hospital staff, and was therefore in a critical condition. 'We have lodged an FIR against Max Hospital at Shalimar Bagh Police Station for medical fault and high medical bills,' said Deepak Kumar, an uncle of the infants. Condemning the incident, union health minister J P Nadda ordered an immediate inquiry. He said the details of the case 'need to be verified' and he asked Delhi government to take the necessary action. The hospital administration has admitted its mistake in a statement The Centre has asked for a comprehensive report from the state government and hospital within two weeks. Delhi chief minister Arvind Kerjiwal tweeted: 'Enquiry ordered. Strongest action wud be taken if found guilty [sic].' Aslam Khan, DCP of north west district, said: 'In cases of medical negligence, the police generally consults the Medical Council of India for its opinion. 'They constitute a committee of expert government doctors to probe the case. Further action will be taken accordingly on the basis of the report.' Meanwhile, the hospital administration admitted the mistake in a statement: 'It has been brought to our attention that a premature (22 weeks), newborn baby who is reported to be on life support at a nursing home was unfortunately handed over without any signs of life by Max Hospital Shalimar Bagh. 'This baby was one of the twins delivered on the morning of November 30. The other baby was stillborn. We are shaken and concerned at this rare incident. 'We have initiated a detailed enquiry, pending which, the doctor concerned has been asked to take leave immediately. We are in constant touch with the parents and are providing all the needed support.' The Delhi Medical Council has taken suo motu cognisance (on its own motion) of the case, said Dr Girish Tyagi, registrar, DMC. See more news from India at www.dailymail.co.uk/indiahome Arjun Gopal, Aarav Bhandari and Zoya Rao have sought legal backing via the Supreme Court to halt firecrackers at weddings A failure by the Delhi government to crack down on polluting firecrackers is being challenged in court by three determined youngsters. If successful, the three children, Arjun Gopal, Aarav Bhandari and Zoya Rao, will see the ban on bursting crackers during wedding celebrations in Delhi-NCR strictly enforced. The trio are concerned about the impact of firecrackers upon their health, particularly their lungs. A bench of the Supreme Court, headed by Justice A K Sikri, has sought the view of the Delhi government on a plea which seeks a strict implementation of the ban on bursting crackers during weddings. Children with firecrackers on the eve of the Diwali festival, on October 18, 2017 Pollution is a problem, as a result of the crackers Boys burning firecrackers during Diwali celebrations in New Delhi Though the Delhi government issued a notification last year banning the bursting of crackers at all celebrations, including marriages except religious occasions, it was not strictly enforced. The current plea filed by the three children follows legal action they initiated last year, which resulted in less pollution when the court agreed to put a ban on the sale of crackers during Diwali. Their latest petition, filed by their lawyer Gopal Sankaranarayanan, said: 'The wedding season commences from November 1; there is going to be a substantial demand for fireworks at the worst time for the city's air. 'This will continue till January and February through Christmas and New Year, where the effects of the fireworks will remain for several days due to winter weather.' Their plea explained how children are the worst-affected by pollution, adding, 'their lungs are not fully developed, making their systems more vulnerable and prone to lung disease, asthma, coughing, bronchitis, and the retarded development of their nervous system and cognitive impairment'. Despite a ban imposed recently by the Delhi government, large-scale bursting of fire crackers is still witnessed at wedding venues in Delhi and NCR. In early October, the Supreme Court banned the sale of firecrackers around Diwali in Delhi and the adjoining area in a bid to curb the capital's deadly air pollution. Former security guard Tim Button considers how a sudden increase in his income from an unusual social experiment has changed his life in a Canadian industrial city along the shore of Lake Ontario. Sipping coffee in a Tim Horton's doughnut shop, Button says he has been unable to work because of a fall from a roof, and the financial boost from Ontario Province's new 'basic income' program has enabled him to make plans to visit distant family for Christmas for the first time in years. It has also prompted him to eat healthier, schedule a long-postponed trip to the dentist and mull taking a course to help him get back to work. 'It's making a huge difference for me,' Button said of the almost 60 percent increase in monthly benefits he started receiving in October from the Ontario government. Former security guard Tim Button poses for a portrait at the bus stop to take a local ride, a recent luxury he at one time could not afford in Hamilton, Ontario How people like Button respond over the next three years is being closely watched by social scientists, economists and policymakers in Canada and around the world. 'Does it produce better outcomes in terms of education for the kids? Does it produce better health status after three years of this kind of living? Does it produce better affinity with the workplace if there is not a total disincentive to work?' said Hugh Segal, a former Canadian senator consulted by the Ontario government for the pilot project. Those eligible for the experimental program are people aged 18 to 64 who are unemployed or with an annual income below 34,000 Canadian dollars ($26,000) - or under 48,000 Canadians (US$37,000) dollars if they are a couple living in certain test regions. Single people receive up to 17,000 dollars ($13,000) of basic income and they can keep half of what they earn from working. Canadians on welfare normally would have to subtract all of what they earn from their monthly benefit, so this is an incentive to work. Couples get 24,000 dollars ($19,000). Unemployed Dave Cherkewski sits for an interview holding a rubik's cube at the Central Library, overlooking the market in Hamilton, Ontario Technology leaders such as Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Tesla founder Elon Musk have promoted the idea as a way to address the potential loss of jobs to automation and artificial intelligence. Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne said the experiment is rooted in a fear there will be a mass dislocation of jobs not seen since the Industrial Revolution that governments will have to address. 'I see it on a daily basis. I go into a factory and the floor plant manager can tell me where there were 20 people and there is one machine,' Wynne said. 'We need to understand what it might look like if there is, in fact, the labor disruption that some economists are predicting.' Finland is conducting a similar experiment, distributing money to 2,000 randomly selected people. It hopes to learn how it might adapt its social security system to a changing workplace, incentivize people to work and simplify the bureaucracy of benefits. It also being tried on a smaller scale in Oakland, California. David Wakely, a labor lawyer, said it sounds like a great idea, but he doubts it could be rolled out on a larger scale. 'I just don't think it's affordable,' Wakely said. 'The numbers are just completely unmanageable. The expense of this thing is huge. It is monumental.' Jodi Dean helps her wheelchair-bound daughter Madison, who suffers epilepsy and severe osteoporosis, on an elevator as they leave home for a doctor's visit in Hamilton, Ontario Wakely thinks it would create a disincentive to work. Other critics say it doesn't result in any meaningful change and is only a backdoor way to eventually cut other benefits. Officials running the program in Ontario have found that some people are reluctant to participate, fearing a hidden catch or being caught short when the grant runs out. As of Friday, a total of 793 people have enrolled in the pilot project, up from 400 in October. It's too soon to gauge whether it has substantially changed their lives. But Elizabeth McGuire, who heads the Campaign for Adequate Welfare and Disability, has seen a transformation in former welfare receipts already. 'It's like they burst out of their cocoon and become people,' McGuire said. 'Moving to a compassionate system that gives you enough money where you can grocery shop, buy a winter coat and get some boots, too. That has made such a psychological difference in the mental positioning of vulnerable people.' Officials running the program in Ontario (pictured) have found that some people are reluctant to participate, fearing a hidden catch or being caught short when the grant runs out Dave Cherkewski, a 46-year-old in Hamilton, says the extra $750 a month he is receiving has eased the stress of daily life and mental illness that has kept him out of work since 2002. 'I've never been better after 14 years of living in poverty,' he said. Cherkewski dreams of returning to work in a role where he can help people with mental health challenges. 'With basic income I will be able to clarify my dream and actually make it a reality, because I can focus all my effort on that and not worry about, 'Well, I need to pay my 520-dollar rent, I need to pay my 50-dollar cellphone, I need to eat and do other things,'' he said. Jodi Dean, a 44-year-old mother of three whose 10-year-old daughter, Madison, has epilepsy and severe osteoporosis, received her first basic income check in October and said the extra money gave her family 'the breathing room to not have to stress to put food on the table.' Button acknowledges difficulties adjusting to his new windfall. 'I'm having anxiety, panic attacks since I got this. I'm not afraid to say it,' he said. But Button said that since he got his first check he is no longer sitting around his tiny apartment depressed. 'It takes me out of depression. I feel more sociable,' he said. A Swedish man has appealed his conviction for raping 27 juveniles across several countries via webcam. Bjorn Samstrom, 41, received a 10-year sentence for rape on Thursday after being found guilty of making the teens perform sex acts for him by threatening to publish nude photos of them or kill their relatives. The teens, who live in the US, Canada and Britain, were made to penetrate themselves with sex toys and - in the case of one Canadian girl - perform sex acts with a pet dog, the National Post reported. Samstrom denies rape and is now appealing the judgement; defense lawyer Kronje Samuelsson told the press he 'has been convicted in a way that we do not think is correct.' Uppsala District Court, Sweden (pictured), convicted a man (not pictured) of raping 27 girls via webcam. Court heard how he threatened girls in the US, Britain and Canada into performing sex acts on camera by saying he would kill their relatives or post their nude pictures online Samstrom, of Upsalla, 43 miles north of Stockholm, has admitted making contact with the children but claims he cannot remember asking them to perform for him. The 10-year sentence is the stiffest available in the country. Prosecutors said they want a harsher punishment and intend to appeal on those grounds. Samstrom's conviction for online rape is the first of its type in Sweden, and comes as a result of the country's uniquely worded laws. They allow for a rape conviction not just from intercourse, but also in cases where there has been an act that is considered to be equally violating. Defense lawyer Kronje Samuelsson (pictured) said Bjorn Samstrom, 41, should not be convicted of rape. But Swedish laws allow for the charge even if there is no contact, so long as an equally violating act has occurred The court heard how Samstrom met the 26 girls and one boy - who are from the US, Canada and Britain - online then persuaded them to send him nude pictures. He then either threatened to post those photos on porn sites, or said he would kill their family members if they did not perform the sex acts for him, prosecutors said. The juveniles did not know he was in another country. At least one was as young as 13. Some of the girls were coerced into penetrating themselves with their fingers or objects, the court said. Another was told that her family's pet dog 'had to perform on her, and she had to perform on the dog as well,' the prosecutor said. Annika Wennerstrom, one of the prosecutors overseeing the case, said that she was glad that the court agreed that Samstrom had committed rape despite being on another continent. 'These girls are performing penetrations for a very long time and it hurts and they're sad and they are very young and it still doesn't count as a rape,' she said, of the traditional interpretation of the crime. 'From their perspective, the perpetrator is present in the room with them, because they can hear his voice and he's writing to them and instructing them. They are traumatized in the same way.' She added that the conviction would prove a deterrent to other predators - and a signal to their victims to come forward. 'It sends a message, a clear message that this is possible, and you can get 10 years for it,' she said. 'It sends a signal to the children, as well, who are out there and now realize, "I've been raped. I had no idea. I thought I did this to myself." 'This is a crime that society takes very seriously.' Samstrom was found guilty of aggravated rape in four cases that involved animals or other children. He was also convicted of rape in one of the other cases, and aggravated sexual assault or sexual coercion in the rest. 'Rachael was wonderful. She was outgoing, bubbly, fun loving, confident, hilarious and intelligent. She was much loved. She had a huge circle of friends and was very caring, but to a fault. 'She was the last person you would've thought to have been subject to what came to light.' Melony Slack's kind words are about her sister-in-law, Rachael, 38. A mother, loyal friend and greatly loved person. But behind her smile she was living in fear of her ex partner, Andrew Cairns, 44. Rachael Slack and her son Auden were stabbed to death by Andrew Cairns in 2010 After their deaths, two IPCC reports, a Serious Case Review, an inquest and NHS investigation were conducted into their deaths In 2010, Andrew, who was suffering from depression, stabbed their son Auden, 23 months, in front of Rachael. He then stabbed her to death before turning the knife on himself. To many the incident was a horrendous shock. However Melony, who is married to Rachael's brother Hayden, reveals signs of domestic abuse were there early on. Andrew and Rachaels relationship traces back to Ronda, Spain, in 2004, where Rachael was working as an artist and Andrew owned a gallery. The relationship was positive at first but later on Rachael returned England to find a new job and called time on the romance. 'She was very fond of Andrew but she felt he didn't want to commit. She also found that what he wanted from life was not what she wanted, Melony said. Two years later, in 2007, Andrew went to Rachael's birthday party. Despite the fact they were not together anymore, they were friendly towards each other. In the December, Rachael announced she pregnant with his child. The extent of domestic violence and its impact on women According to Office for National Statistics and Refuge, the national domestic violence charity: One in four women experiences domestic violence in her lifetime Two women are killed each week by a current or former partner in England and Wales In the year ending March 2016, 1.2 million women reported experiences of domestic abuse in England and Wales In 2013-15, four times more women than men were killed by their partner/ex-partner Melony Slack says: 'Over the last seven years we have had to endure four reports into a number of state failures to respond to the domestic violence experienced by Rachael and Auden. 'With each of those reports we have repeatedly been told that lessons have been learnt and that the state agencies have changed their practices. 'But still two women are killed every week in England and Wales alone; women just like Rachael. 'Every year there is a report into what improvements the 43 police forces across the country are making in the way they respond to domestic violence and the progress is woeful. What has really changed? 'Hayden and I will continue to champion change and we will continue our work with Refuge to raise awareness of this insidious and pernicious issue that takes and ruins so many lives. 'If our story can reach just one woman like Rachael and one child like Auden, and encourage them to access support from Refuge, then the last seven years of taking on the system will have been worth it.' www.refuge.org.uk www.samm.org.uk Advertisement Melony said: 'Rach and Andrew still weren't in a relationship but she wanted to keep Andrew in the baby's life.' Much to Rachael's surprise, Andrew one day turned up at her house in Wessington, Derbyshire, saying he hadn't got anywhere to live, so Rachael felt obligated to let him move in. When the lease ran out on that property, they moved in with Jean, Rachael's mother. 'There was a huge pressure on everybody. Andrew's depressed state worsened the more Rachael was involved with the baby. My mother-in-law said Andrew would often say he wanted to kill himself but never told the mental health services,' Melony said. On July 15, 2008, Auden was born. While Rachael was delighted with his arrival, Andrew continued to suffer with his mental health. She found him supported housing to live in and he moved out. Melony said: 'We didn't realise how much it was affecting her. We thought she wanted to support him but she felt she had to. He was pulling the wool over her eyes about his illness. She found out he was lying about other things like not having food in his house, where he was born, previous jobs and qualifications. 'She didn't feel comfortable around him and was treading on eggshells. Ever since Andrew had come back into her life the light seemed to have gone out in Rach.' 'When Auden was tiny, shed said Im scared, Mel. Im scared of what Andrews capable of. I felt so guilty Id dismissed her fears, putting them down to her being a new mum. The pair broke up and Rachael moved to Holbrook as an opportunity to 'start again'. In 2009 she reconnected with her childhood sweetheart, Robert Barlow, on Facebook and the pair began dating. Rachael became pregnant again and was expecting a boy. Robert said: Andrew was manipulating her, but because she was such a big hearted person she was trying to do the right thing by being there for him. The professional bodies didnt see it. They didnt support her and didnt let her be his carer when she applied for it.' Despite her new life, she continued to care for Andrew by taking him to his appointments and buying groceries for him. Melony said: 'She prepared to tell Andrew about the pregnancy in May 2010 but he didn't take it well.' On May 26, Rachael drove Andrew to a police station because he refused to get out of her car. Detectives arrested him and he was sectioned under the Mental Health Act. A psychiatrist assessed him as being of no risk to others and low risk to himself. He was released. The next day, he rang her 21 times and turned up at her home, demanding to see Auden. During a trip to the park, he threatened her. 'You are a f***ing b**ch for abandoning me and getting together with someone else and getting pregnant,' Andrew said. 'I gave up everything to be with you. You have no idea what I am capable of I will kill you and take Auden.' Robert said: After his threats to kill, she came and picked me up from work with him in the car. I realised she didnt want to be in the car with him alone. We dropped him off home and then rode around the block. She broke down in tears and told me what he said. We went to the police and he was arrested. Andrew (left) and Rachaels relationship traces back to Ronda, Spain, in 2004, where Rachael was working as an artist and Andrew owned a gallery Two years later, in 2007, Andrew went to Rachael's birthday party. Despite the fact they were not together anymore, they were friendly towards each other. In the December, Rachael announced she pregnant with his child, Auden (right is the last photograph taken of him in May 2010) Officers called Rachael the next day to tell her Andrew was being bailed, but they did not tell her she and Auden were at high risk of being murdered. On June 2, 2010, Andrew visited his GP. 'Today is going to be the most important day of your career,' he said. He then took a bus and hitchhiked to Rachel's house. Screams were soon heard by a neighbour who saw Rachael at a window with the 'shadow of a man standing behind her.' Police arrived at the scene and found Andrew slumped on top of her with a knife lying between them. Auden was nearby. He had a faint pulse and was airlifted to the Royal Derby Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival. His parents died at the scene. Robert arrived shortly afterwards and saw the bodies lying on the floor. Melony and Hayden are pictured holding photographs of Auden and Rachael Over the next seven years, he and Rachael's family would be dragged through two Independent Police Complaints Commission reports, a six week inquest and a Serious Case Review. Melony said: 'It was very hard for the first month for Jean as she was being asked to repeat the story. 'I have huge admiration for people who are able to speak coherently in the aftermath because its just so hard. Robert was very good at that.' The initial IPCC report in 2010 found 'no indications' any officers had breached professional standards. But an inquest in 2013 found police failure 'more than minimally' contributed to the deaths. A Serious Case Review found authorities could not have predicted that he would kill them. A subsequent IPCC report identified major failings. In September this year, an independent investigation by the NHS found a 'systemic missed opportunity' during Andrews treatment was that Rachael and Andrew's sister were not invited to provide 'valuable information and insights into his mental state'. The authors said this could have helped with an 'understanding of his personality and illness, as well as any potential safe-guarding issues'. Melony said: 'When the Serious Case Review came out it was hard to hear. We tried arguing that surely a jury verdict of an inquest would provide enough information for the review. 'But rather than arguing what could have been done, we decided to look and see what we can do to help in the future. What are the signs of domestic abuse? According to Refuge, if a woman is forced to change her behaviour because she is frightened of her partner then she is being abused. If she is experiencing any of the following then its likely that shes being abused: Is he jealous and possessive? Does he cut her off from family and friends and try to isolate her? Is he charming one minute and abusive the next? Does he have sudden changes of mood like Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde? Does he control her life for example, her money, who she should see, what she should wear? Does he monitor her movements? Does he blame her for the abuse? Does he humiliate or insult her in front of others? Does he verbally abuse her? Does he constantly criticise her? Does he use anger and intimidation to frighten her and make her comply with his demands? Does he tell her shes useless and couldnt cope without him? Has he threatened to hurt her or people close to her if she leaves? Does she change her behaviour to avoid making him angry? Does he force her to have sex when she doesnt want to? There are many different ways of being abusive. Here are a few examples: Damaging a womans possessions Smashing up the furniture Threatening to harm or kill the pets Threatening to kidnap or get custody of the children if she leaves Locking her out of the house during an argument Terrorising her by driving fast or through red lights at high speed because he knows it frightens her Sandra Horley, Refuge chief executive, said: 'It is essential that women receive the right education and information so they can understand the techniques of control frequently used by abusive men. 'Its all too easy for women to excuse their partners possessive and jealous behaviour but in so doing they run the risk of the abuse increasing in frequency and severity over time. 'By understanding the signs early a woman is forewarned and forearmed.' Advertisement 'Each time something happened, an IPCC report, the inquest, the Serious Case Review...we were being asked to comment. We didn't know anything about this sort of stuff, this is where Refuge has been so helpful.' After Rachael and Audens deaths, Sandra Horley, chief executive of national domestic violence charity Refuge, wrote them a letter and said they may be able to help. The charity, which supports 6,000 victims each day, and the family are working together to raise awareness of domestic violence. Melony said: 'We dont feel bitter towards him and we don't want to defame his character as he was going through a lot. At the same time, Rachael didnt recognise she was a victim of domestic abuse. 'I didnt recognise the warning signs Rachael was putting across to me. I couldve helped her out we couldve made a plan. Afterwards you think how could I have not have picked this up?' Robert said: I went away for a weekend with the support after murder and manslaughter group, which is a charity that supports families bereaved by murder and manslaughter. We did an open session and I realised I was sat in this room surrounded by just a handful of people who were all victims of domestic violence, just like me. Everyone spoke about their pain and the really horrendous situations they encountered. I said I felt the pain of everyone in the room, but Ive decided choose life and seize it. Ive had some dark times but that shouldnt amount to your own beauty and how you look at life. Everyone can grieve in their own way but I just think of life. I saw my dad die when I was 15 and I saw life end again when Rachael died. At the end of the weekend we all were given a balloon, which represented our loved ones, and let them off into the sky. I thought Those are all people floating into the sky. We have got a real problem with mental health and the support for it. A lot of changes are being made but that doesnt stop those balloons coming back down. 'Domestic abuse is rising and it won't stop until it become apparent to all that something more than lip service needs to be done. The correlation between the increase in mental illness and domestic violence isnt just coincidental. 'How many more Rachaels and Audens have to be wiped off the face of the planet before something of great significance is put into place to protect them?' Every year, on Rachael's birthday, her friends and family celebrate her life - it is known as Red Lippy Day. Melony said: 'It comes from when she was having a bad day - she would pull herself together, put red lipstick on, go and pick others up and say "lets get out there and have fun." 'She is definitely remembered as a lovely, fun loving person who had a strong bond with her son. It's really evident from her friends about how wonderful she is - there are hundreds of them out there. Rachael had a book, which we treasure, where she wrote inspirational quotes. Inside it says, Be a lighthouse, not a searchlight. That is what she was. If you are experiencing domestic violence or need support please contact Refuge Donald Trump is likely to announce next week that the United States recognizes Jerusalem, not Tel Aviv, as Israel's capital, a senior official has said - potentially causing chaos in the Middle East. Trump may make the declaration on Wednesday, the senior member of the administration told Reuters. If he does, it will deal a serious blow to the Middle East peace protest. Donald Trump (seen with Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu) is likely to say next week that the US recognizes Jerusalem as Israel's capital, a senior administration official said on Friday Israel claims East Jerusalem as its territory; until now the US and other countries have not recognized this, as it would inflame Arab anger and upset the peace process. Pictured: the city Jerusalem - which contains sites holy to the Muslim, Jewish and Christian faiths - is claimed as the capital of both the state of Israel and a proposed Palestinian state. The international community doesn't recognize the Palestinian claim and does not recognize Israel's claim to certain sections of the city that it took from Jordan following the 1967 Middle East War, then annexed. But in 1995, a law was passed declaring that the US embassy be moved from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Every president since then has signed a waver every six months to put off that transfer, in the hope of not further widening the rifts that exist in the region. Instead, they have said, Jerusalem's status must be decided only in negotiations. Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas (pictured) said America's recognition of Jerusalem would 'destroy the peace process' and 'destabilize the region' Trump pledged on the presidential campaign trail last year that he would move the embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. But in June he waived the requirement, saying he wanted to 'maximize the chances' for a new US-led push for what he has called the 'ultimate deal' of Israeli-Palestinian peace. Those efforts have made little, if any, progress so far and many experts are skeptical of the prospects for success. Now, the possibility that Trump may take this chance to bestow US recognition on Israel's claim has upset many Arab leaders in the surrounding region. It could also unravel the US administration's fledgling diplomatic effort, led by Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner, to restart long-stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace talks and enlist the support of the US's Arab allies. Nabil Abu Rdainah, spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, said America's recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital would 'destroy the peace process' and 'destabilize the region.' And while visiting Washington this week, Jordan's King Abdullah warned lawmakers that moving the embassy could be 'exploited by terrorists to stoke anger, frustration and desperation,' according to the Jordanian state news agency Petra. Such a move, however, could help satisfy the pro-Israel, right-wing base - particularly evangelical Christians - that helped Trump win the presidency. It would also please the Israeli government, a close US ally. And some of Trump's top aides have privately pushed for him to keep his campaign promise for that reason. The senior US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said details were still being finalized and could still change. Another American official also said Trump appeared to be heading toward recognizing Israel's claim to Jerusalem but that it was not a done deal. Jordan's King Abdullah (pictured with Queen Rania) said recognizing Jerusalem as the capital could be used by terrorists to stoke anger. The decision has not yet been made by Trump 'We've nothing to announce,' said a spokesperson with the White House National Security Council. Trump is reportedly weighing in personally in the intense internal deliberations, a White House aide said. Despite the short-term gains to be had for him, he may still stick with the established program and sign a waiver keeping the embassy in Tel Aviv for another six months. But seeking to temper his supporters' concerns, another option under consideration is for him to order his aides to develop a longer-term plan for the embassy's relocation, to make clear his intent to do so eventually, the officials said. It was unclear, however, whether any public recognition by Trump of Israel's claim on Jerusalem would be formally enshrined in a presidential action or be more of a symbolic statement. A Vermont retirement community resident made ricin and tested the deadly toxin on her neighbors by putting it on their food or in beverages over a period of weeks, investigators said. Betty Miller, 70, told an FBI agent that she wanted to 'injure herself' and was testing the poison's effectiveness on other residents at the Wake Robin senior living facility, according to a criminal complaint filed in federal court on Thursday. Police were called to the senior community in Shelburne on Tuesday after Miller told heath care providers at the UVM Medical Center she had manufactured the ricin and placed it on other residents' food and beverages, the agent said in the complaint. Betty Miller, 70, told an FBI agent that she wanted to 'injure herself' and was testing the poison's effectiveness on other residents at the Wake Robin senior living facility, according to a criminal complaint filed in federal court on Thursday. She is seen in court on Friday Betty Miller, 70, admitted to testing self-made ricin on residents of the Wake Robin senior living facility in Shelburne, Vermont Miller told health care providers she made the ricin and placed in other residents' food and beverages and afterwards police were called The Vermont Health Department says it's aware of one person who likely became ill with ricin poisoning from the deadly toxin found. But the Health Department said Friday that no one is currently ill with ricin poisoning. Officials say symptoms would have appeared 24 hours after ingesting it. Miller said she harvested 30 to 40 castor beans from plants growing on Wake Robin's property and made 2 to 3 tablespoons of ricin twice in her kitchen, the complaint said. She exposed other residents to the ricin on at least three occasions, the complaint said. The Vermont Health Department says it's aware of one person who likely became ill with ricin poisoning from the deadly toxin found Investigators found a pill bottle half full with powder labeled as ricin in a basket in a kitchen cabinet of Miller's apartment a midst other pill bottles labeled 'apple seed,' ''cherry seed' and 'yew seed,' the complaint said. The powder tested positive for ricin. Investigators also found instructions for making ricin that apparently were from the internet, the affidavit said. Miller had an initial court appearance on Friday on charges of possessing ricin, which is a biological weapon. If inhaled, ricin causes difficulty breathing and other symptoms including vomiting, diarrhea and hallucinating While not much is known about Miller, WCAX did report that the woman had a lengthy mental health history read by a federal judge during the court appearance. Miller is still in US Marshal custody and returns to court on Wednesday for a probable cause and detention hearing. A federal public defender did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment. If inhaled, ricin causes difficulty breathing and other symptoms. If ingested, symptoms include vomiting, diarrhea, hallucinations and seizures. Initial symptoms of ricin poisoning are most likely to occur within four to 10 hours of exposure. Hawaii tested a nuclear warning alert for the first time in decades on Friday - but hardly anyone heard it. It's hoped that the 385 sirens dotted around Hawaii will give residents and tourists a 20-minute warning if North Korean nuclear missiles are inbound. But the sirens, which have been silent since the Cold War, were barely heard in the busy tourist areas of Waikiki, where most people obliviously went about their day. These sirens will broadcast a 20-minute warning to people on Hawaii in the event of a nuclear attack. Their test on Friday - the first since the Cold War - did not go well, however Hawaii Emergency Management Agency officials work at the department's command center in Honolulu. Many of the sirens were inaudible amid the hubbub of life on the islands The wailing siren sounded for a minute Friday after the usual testing of a system to alert people to natural disasters. It produces a different tone than the long, steady tsunami warning that people in Hawaii have grown accustomed to, and includes a wailing in the middle, to distinguish it further. Vern Miyagi, Hawaii Emergency Management Agency administrator, said tests went well but he expects complaints. Officials are investigating to see if they worked properly But even in those places where the sirens could be heard, some took little notice of them. Karen Lindsay and Carolyn Fujioka didn't react as they ate lunch in Waikiki's Ala Moana Park, where the wailing siren was audible. Lindsay vaguely recalled hearing the sirens during the Cold War era, and said that the new siren will give people just 20 minutes of warning before a bomb strikes. She said she wondered where she is supposed to go if that happens, and said that they would likely be 'dead meat' regardless Lindsay said the siren is probably best intended as an alert to say your last goodbyes. Disturbed by the underwhelming results of the tests, officials are now investigating whether the sirens were operating as they are supposed to. Vern Miyagi with the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency said early reports indicate the test went well, but the agency could get complaints later. He said how well someone hears the sirens depends on how close they are to one. The move comes the same week North Korea fired a powerful nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missile that some believe could reach the US mainland. Hawaii Governor David Ige said the possibility of a strike is remote but that people have to be prepared. Officials delayed testing by a month to ensure residents and visitors were informed, but some still expressed confusion this week about what they were supposed to do after hearing the attack siren. The Christmas market selling Santa chocolates, Advent wreaths and spiced wine is in full swing. In a German town with an unrivalled record of welcoming migrants and making them feel at home, excited children wave from carousel rides as shoppers chattering in German and Arabic mingle. On the face of it, it's a relaxed scene of which Angela Merkel, the German leader, would surely approve. Except that here in Salzgitter, things are abruptly changing. It's pro-refugee Mayor has declared a moratorium on any more foreigners coming to join the 5,700 who have already arrived. He admitted a few weeks ago: 'Right now, we are overwhelmed. We have received too many in too short a time. The locals are having fears for the future.' Even the migrants living in Salzgitter, which sits on a lake in Lower Saxony, north-west Germany, agree there is a crisis. Here in Salzgitter, things are abruptly changing. It's pro-refugee Mayor has declared a moratorium on any more foreigners coming to join the 5,800 who have already arrived. (File image of migrants arriving in Germany in 2015) 'Not everyone can come or there will be nowhere to sleep and no free chairs in the schools,' says Khaled Rasti, a 32- year-old Syrian from Damascus, who with his wife Slivi, 30, is wheeling two-year-old Jodi one of their three children in a pushchair near the Christmas market. 'We have worries,' he says. 'I am still learning German. I do not have a job. There are many like me.' This town's decision to refuse any more migrants is a slap in the face for Mrs Merkel, who relentlessly lectured her nation that 'We can do it' when she unilaterally welcomed 1.5 million migrants, many of them Muslim, from the war-shattered Middle East and impoverished African states in 2015. Today, increasing numbers of ordinary Germans feel the influx has been too large and too fast for the incomers to integrate properly. Already, six per cent of the German population is Muslim. And this week an international think tank warned the numbers will only increase, and predicted Europe's Muslim population could double by 2050, due to migration and high birth rates among those who have already reached the continent. The Pew Research Centre forecast that if both regular migration and the heavy flows of refugees were to continue, this deeply Christian country will have the highest number of Muslims in the EU, amounting to 17.49 million people or 20 per cent of the population. Even the migrants living in Salzgitter (pictured), which sits on a lake in Lower Saxony, north-west Germany, agree there is a crisis This uncontrolled immigration is seen as a key factor in the reversal of Angela Merkel's fortunes. It is directly responsible for the rise of a new anti-migrant party, the radical Right-wing Alternative for Deutschland (AfD), which in September's national election gained 12.6 per cent of the vote and its first ever parliamentary seats. Coupled with her own poor performance in the election, the success of the AfD is the reason Mrs Merkel has been unable to form a coalition government. The irony of all this is that for three decades, in an attempt to expunge the legacy of its Nazi past, Germany has championed multiculturalism and liberal democracy only to find that its recent openborders immigrat ion pol icy, introduced without a vote in Germany's parliament, has rekindled the flames of the radical Right. In the town of Salzgitter, AfD support was even higher at 14 per cent than it was nationally. But if Mrs Merkel is shocked at events since she provoked the biggest migration wave across Europe since World War II, so are many of the newcomers. They believed Mrs Merkel's promise of giving them homes, jobs, an education and money with few questions asked. Now they as well as many Germans fear they are not becoming part of the wider society, and never can be because their numbers are so huge. No place illustrates the shattered Merkel dream better than Salzgitter. It took in a higher proportion of migrants compared to its population than any other part of Germany. Ninety-one per cent of those migrants in the town today are jobless and live on benefits, according to new statistics from town officials, compared with a slightly less dismal picture nationally for migrants of 84 per cent. One of the charities trying to find them work says they are only qualified for the simplest of jobs because of low education. 'We just don't have the jobs that these people could take,' a volunteer explained. But aside from the problems of work and welfare are the sheer numbers who have arrived. This town's (pictured) decision to refuse any more migrants is a slap in the face for Mrs Merkel, who relentlessly lectured her nation that 'We can do it' when she unilaterally welcomed 1.5 million migrants, many of them Muslim, from the war-shattered Middle East and impoverished African states in 2015 A mother taking her six-year-old to a Salzgitter school this autumn found that her child was one of two German children in her class amid 20, mostly Syrian, migrants. 'I'm not against foreigners,' said the woman. 'But there is a point where we have to wonder who is integrating with whom.' What's particularly fascinating about this town is that it is the officials who are backing the mayor's policy stopping the arrival of further migrants. Dincer Dinc, a German of Kurdish descent who is a Salzgitter's integration chief, says he agrees with the moratorium which two other overburdened German towns in Lower Saxony copied last week. Salzgitter took in a higher proportion of migrants compared to its population than any other part of Germany 'We need a break from more newcomers to help those who are already here,' he says. 'What good will it do for more to come so that the problems we have keep compounding? The town's image is changing for residents. They encounter more and more people with darker skin and wearing headscarves.' Both he and the mayor, Frank Klingebiel a member of Merkel's CDU party believe the ban will stop more local voters embracing the xenophobic and populist Alternative for Deutschland. The reason the town encouraged migrants in the first place is the same one that drove Mrs Merkel to invite them in. Germany has an ageing population and needs new blood to drive the economy. Back in 2013, Salzgitter was in the doldrums. It was established during World War II to house workers from a nearby steel factory used to produce armaments for Hitler's war machine. But a few years ago, it became clear that young people were leaving for the bright lights and jobs in big cities. The population as in the rest of Germany was predicted to drop dramatically because of the falling birth rate. In the town of Salzgitter (pictured), AfD support was even higher at 14 per cent than it was nationally In Salzgitter, population was expected to fall from 100,000 to around 90,000 by 2030. Houses lay empty, schools were short of pupils, and the shopping centre, scene of the jolly Christmas Market this week, was often deserted. 'If this keeps going on, there won't be a town any more,' one 78-year-old pensioner, Herbert Haschke, told the local newspaper at the time. Then came the migrants and Salzgitter saw its salvation. The town hall produced welcome leaflets for the incomers, the locals waved flags and soon word got round that this was a safe-haven with plenty of vacant housing and school places. The mayor himself says that in those early days ' everything was perfect'. 'But in the second half of 2016, [local] people approached me for the first time,' he explains now. 'They were worried about overcrowding. We have kindergartens and schools where the proportion of migrant children is between 60 and 80 per cent. A mother taking her six-year-old to a Salzgitter school this autumn found that her child was one of two German children in her class amid 20, mostly Syrian, migrants. Pictured: Salzgitter town centre 'People have told me our German children are growing up in an environment where barely any German is spoken.' The fresh arrivals in town have congregated in the bleak workingclass suburb of Lebenstedt, where this week the local kebab house and Arabic shops were doing a brisk trade. Here, they stick together. There are cheap housing association flats, a handful of mosques, and the mayor claims there is a real threat of 'ghettoisation'. With unemployment among all residents of this down-to-earth town at just under 11 per cent about twice the national average the locals feel 'crowded out' of an already suffering employment market. The area's largest employer, Volkswagen, has been re-thinking its workforce after the recent diesel engines emissions scandal, and international pressure to produce electric cars. The moratorium on new migrants sparked by these local worries brought a rebuke from the United Nations' refugee agency this week. The fresh arrivals in town have congregated in the bleak working class suburb of Lebenstedt (pictured), where this week the local kebab house and Arabic shops were doing a brisk trade It says those in need, wherever they come from, should have the right to freedom of movement, and that Salzgitter's ban breaches international law. Sascha Schiessl, of the Refugee Council for Lower Saxony, said the moratorium (which is expected to last three years) will only encourage the notion that the migrants are harming German society and thereby increase support for the anti-immigrant Alternative for Deutschland. Whatever the truth of this, there's no doubt the tide is shifting in public opinion over migrants in Germany. I have been reporting on this story for two years, since I inteviewed the first young Syrians to arrive in Germany after Mrs Merkel threw open the doors in 2015. Back then they were excited and full of expectation for a new life in the West. This week, I met some of them again and they told a very different story. A number of them are downcast, and have considered leaving to go home to Syria. They are stopped from doing so only by the terrifying prospect of being compulsorily drafted into President Bashir Assad's despotic government army, or the prospect of life in a home town destroyed by Islamic State terror. Newcomers to Germany believed Mrs Merkel's promise of giving them homes, jobs, an education and money with few questions asked. Now they as well as many Germans fear they are not becoming part of the wider society, and never can be because their numbers are so huge. No place illustrates the shattered Merkel dream better than Salzgitter (pictured) Mohammed Saleh was 17 when he arrived in Berlin with his friends from Syria two years ago. Balloons and bunting saying 'Welcome' were tied to every lamppost and social workers showed them the tourist sites. Full of hope, he told me then: 'Germany has promised me a flat, an education and a job.' His parents sent him to Europe when they heard of Mrs Merkel's invitation. His father's car repair workshop in Islamic State- controlled territory had been blown up by the terrorists. They felt their only son (he has six sisters) had a better chance overseas, and it would avoid him being called up into the Syrian government army. I have kept in touch with Mohammed. Sent to a hostel for 70 young migrants in Spandau, a multi- cultural suburb of the capital, he was soon texting me saying he was desperate to go home. 'I am despairing, depressed and so disappointed. It is unbearable here.' He sent me pictures of his arms slashed from self-harming. He went on hunger strike and took five pills he found in protest about his living conditions. 'I was taken to hospital and the doctors asked me why I wanted to die,' he told me. 'I said I could not live any longer in this way in Germany. The Berliners look at me suspiciously on the bus or the train. I do not know what they think of me, an Arab migrant, but we are not friends.' Now 19, he lives in an adult homeless hostel and shares a room with a 37-year-old Syrian Kurd he says he is afraid of. Pictured: Lebenstedt, one of the first areas to embrace migrant families who arrived in 2015 He gets 70 a week and sends home 45 of it to his family, now in Damascus. For four hours each weekday he attends free German language classes with fellow Syrian migrants at a nearby school, and says he can now hold a basic conversation in his adopted language. But he has still not reached the level which will get him a place at college. Pin-thin and drawn, he rarely eats because the food 'it is always pasta' is so bad at the homeless hostel and because he is depressed. Yet he dare not tell his parents of his life in limbo. This week, when I returned to see him with fellow Syrian migrants in Berlin, he told me: 'The German government has not gone out of its way to make life easy for migrants. I always hoped I would get at least a room to myself. I have asked the authorities whether my 63-yearold father, who has a heart problem, can come here to join me. That has been refused.' Mohammed is a decent young man who would like to be an electrical engineer. Today he despairs of that dream: 'There are so many migrants that the Germans have started to hate us.' By way of illustration, he tells me how last week he tried to get a job at a workshop in Marzahn, a grim Berlin suburb. The German boss asked him where he came from. When he answered Syria, there was an immediate riposte. 'You should have stayed there,' he told him. 'You should have fought with the army to make your country take the right path.' He then refused Mohammed work, saying he was already paying for him to live free in Germany out of his taxes. Merkel should never have invited him in, he added. Perhaps it is no surprise that sentiments are changing here. Disturbing stories have started to be leaked to the press of migrants who still live in hostels in every part of Germany with nothing to do but collect their state benefits, study their mobile phones and wait for the next meal. These young men are idle and angry, and there have been murders, rapes and knifings as they wait and hope to find a place in German society. The tragedy is that there are many, many good people among the immigrants who want nothing but to work hard and help Germany solve its population crisis. But many Germans don't want to hear that or to help Chancellor Merkel out of a political mess which, they believe, is very much her own making. One of Britains leading fund managers yesterday branded warnings that Britain faces economic Armageddon because of Brexit profoundly wrong. Speaking out against Brexit-driven hysteria, Neil Woodford said Remoaners who wanted to stay in the European Union should get over themselves. The star stock-picker even used the interview with the Financial Times to accuse the newspaper which opposes Brexit of going a little bit mad in its coverage of the referendum result and its aftermath. Speaking out against Brexit-driven hysteria, Neil Woodford said Remoaners who wanted to stay in the European Union should get over themselves Mr Woodford, 57, likened concerns about the UK economy to those over the millennium computer bug, which turned out to be nonsense. The fund manager, who looks after about 15 billion of savers money, said the shares of certain British companies were now cheap because of overblown worries about Brexit. Ive rarely witnessed such an overwhelming consensus view which I believe to be profoundly wrong that the UK economy is going to hell in a handcart, he told the Financial Times. And I think your own paper has gone a little bit mad, actually. People have become so extreme in their view that Brexit is a pre-determined disaster for the UK economy, that the share prices are discounting literally economic Armageddon for the UK economy. The fund manager, who looks after about 15 billion of savers money, said the shares of certain British companies were now cheap because of overblown worries about Brexit Asked how he voted in the referendum, Mr Woodford said: Put it this way, I think I would have been a happier, less stressed fund manager if wed voted to stay. Best Month in 4 years in our factories Britain's manufacturers have clocked up their best month for more than four years as the weak pound boosts exports. Defying Brexit doomongers, factories said demand for goods helped to boost production and new orders last month, leading to more jobs. The upbeat report came as figures showed overseas investment hit a record high last year as foreign money flowed into Britain. Some 145.6 billion worth of foreign direct investment was recorded by the Office for National Statistics in 2016, up from 25.3 billion in 2015. Research group IHS Markit said its index of activity in British manufacturing, where scores above 50 show growth, rose from 56.6 in October to 58.2 in November. This was the strongest score since August 2013 and the tenth best since the survey began 26 years ago. Manufacturing production is also increasing at a quarterly rate of almost 2 per cent. Advertisement But we didnt. And as a country, we just need to get over it. And the Remoaners need to get over themselves. Mr Woodford has earned a reputation for correctly predicting how companies will perform and investing savers cash accordingly, although he admits to having just had a pretty poor 18 months. He said he feared global stock markets were in a bubble that will eventually burst. But he added that he believed stock in certain UK companies was now at a knock-down price due to overblown worries about Brexit. Mr Woodford said the share price of Lloyds Bank, which slumped immediately after the Brexit vote, was one example. He said: It is a big liquid UK-focused bank whose fortunes pivot on the relative health, or the absolute health, of the UK economy. What the share price is expressing is a consensual view that the UK economy is going to hell in a handcart. Definitely, absolutely, without doubt. Comparing Brexit fears to those surrounding the millennium bug, he added: Exactly the same thing will happen with respect to Brexit, whether we are able to negotiate a deal or not. Im not saying that it wont be disruptive. But this notion of a cliff-edge event for the UK economy, where unemployment rises massively, consumer and business confidence evaporates and companies desert the UK is just not how the real world works. Mr Woodfords comments will add weight to the views of other experts who believe official economic forecasts are too gloomy. Leading Brexiteer, Tory MP Jacob Rees-Mogg, said last week that Britains greatest days lie before it and not behind it. Britain's answer to Warren Buffett... Neil Woodford is the closest equivalent the UK has to legendary American investor Warren Buffett. The star stock-picker made his name over a quarter of a century working at Invesco Perpetual, where loyal private investors trusted him with 33 billion, more than any other fund manager. Neil Woodford is the closest equivalent the UK has to legendary American investor Warren Buffett (pictured) Savers who handed him 10,000 in the late 1980s would now have 300,000, and his views and stock picks can strike fear or joy into the nations top chief executives. Mr Woodford, 57, lives in Tetbury, Gloucestershire, having left Henley-on-Thames in Oxfordshire in 2011 after a bust-up with neighbour and broadcaster Jeremy Paxman over the fund managers plans to build a horse-training arena. In 2015, he married his second wife Madeline White, an amateur show-jumper, with whom he has two young children. Mr Woodford leaves home at 6am every day, driving a Porsche Cayenne to his funds modest offices on an industrial estate in Oxford or into London for meetings at some of the UKs biggest companies. Despite his success, he says he chanced upon fund management. Growing up in Berkshire, he left Maidenhead Grammar wanting to fly fighter jets. But he could not pass the RAFs aptitude test, and instead went into the City in 1981 when Britain was gripped by a recession. Sleeping on his brothers floor, Mr Woodford worked his way through various jobs at the Reed Pension Fund, TSB and Eagle Star. His big break came in 1988 when he got a job at Invesco in Henley, and he was soon running his own fund. In 2013, he quit to set up his own fund management operation, Woodford Investment Management, which manages 15 billion of savers cash. Despite a shaky performance over the past 18 months, Mr Woodfords influence in the City endures. In 2015, he told the Mail the eurozone could not continue in its current form and that a day of reckoning over Britains future in the EU was inevitable. A Mexican man who was deported from the US 20 times has been convicted of 10 counts including sexual assault in Oregon. On Friday, Sergio Jose Martinez, 31, was sentenced to 35 years in prison in a Portland courtroom after pleading guilty to kidnapping, sexual assault, sodomy and several other counts, KOIN reported. Martinez smiled throughout the trial, and as he left, he gave one grim parting shot to his two victims' relatives: 'See all you guys in Hell.' Scroll down for video Sergio Jose Martinez is seen here grinning in court on Friday as he pleads guilty to 10 counts including sexual assault and kidnapping. He assaulted two women on the same night in July The first attack occurred early on the morning of July 24, when Martinez entered the Northeast Portland home of a 65-year-old woman through a window she had left open to cool the house. Wielding a metal rod, Martinez told the woman to get down on the ground, where he bound and blindfolded her, threatened to murder her, and then sexually assaulted her, KGW reported. He stole the woman's purse and car; she called the police from a neighbor's home, and they located the vehicle and put it under surveillance. While they kept an eye on the car, however, Martinez was stalking his second victim in a parking garage on the corner of Northeast 21st Avenue and Northeast Halsey Street. Martinez, a Mexican man who has been deported from the United States 20 times, received 35 years in prison in the Portland, Oregon courthouse He approached her carrying a knife and made her get into her car; as he got in after her she attempted to escape, but he was able to grab her and start slamming her head into the ground. The woman called out for help and as passersby approached, Martinez attempted to steal her car, then fled on foot when it failed to start. Police caught him minutes later. Two relatives of one of the victims, and one of the victims herself, spoke during the sentencing phase Friday, in which Martinez often grinned. A brother of one victim told Martinez: 'Sergio, no sentencing is enough. I rather you rot in Hell.' Deputy District Attorney Amity Girt, the prosecutor on the case, said: 'We had some very powerful victim impact statements that said it all. 'It was really breathtaking to hear the far-reaching consequences of violent crime, the emotional injury.' Under the agreement that spared Martinez a possibly longer sentence if he had been found guilty at trial, he pleaded guilty to 10 counts, including first-degree burglary, sodomy, sex abuse, kidnapping, robbery, and second-degree assault. Martinez's lawyer, Jonathan Sarre, said his client 'suffers from some mental illnesses; often such people may do inappropriate things in these situations.' However, he acknowledged that a doctor had declared Martinez competent to stand trial. Martinez had been freed from jail in Portland a week before the attacks; he was in there for interfering with police and providing a false birth date. He was released despite a request from US Immigration and Customs Enforcement for the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office to hold him so the agency could take him into custody. Oregon became America's first sanctuary state when it adopted a law in 1987 preventing law enforcement from detaining people who are in the United States illegally but have not broken other laws. The smirking criminal told the victims' families he would 'see you in Hell' after they blasted him in court. ICE said they plan to deport him again once he's finished his 35-year prison sentence Sheriff Michael Reese said he could not legally continue to hold Martinez on the federal agency's 'immigration detainer' request, but if ICE had sent a criminal detention warrant signed by a judge, he could have been held longer. 'He was released consistent with the orders of the court. No federal or state criminal warrants were present at the time he left our custody,' he said at the time. However, he noted that Martinez had been deported before 'and has returned to commit additional crimes.' 'It would help our community to understand how he was held accountable by federal authorities for multiple, illegal re-entries' Reese said. US Attorney General Jeff Sessions highlighted Martinez's case when he visited Oregon in September and urged local jurisdictions that don't cooperate with federal immigration agents to reconsider those policies. Martinez is not eligible for early release due to a 1994 ballot initiative passed by Oregon voters that establishes mandatory minimum sentences for certain crimes. After 35 years, ICE would be able to take him into custody if they monitor his release date, the attorney said. By then, Martinez will be 66 years old. ICE spokeswoman Lori Haley said that the agency will want Martinez transferred to its custody when he completes his sentence, so it can deport him. Just a day prior to Martinez's conviction, another man who had also been deported multiple times for being in America illegally, Jose Ines Garcia Zarate, was found not guilty by a jury in San Francisco in the shooting death of a woman. That case touched off a national immigration debate. 'Unfortunately, after Zarate got acquitted, Martinez is now the boogeyman of the face of immigration,' Sarre said. Prince Charles, who has just turned 69, was beaming with pleasure after the news of Prince Harry's engagement to actress Meghan Markle The birthday cards were still up the other day when a flunky at Clarence House murmured that the Prince of Wales, who had just turned 69, was now in his 70th year. Hardly the most penetrating observation, but one the aide knew he should not make a habit of voicing too often, and not in the Princes earshot. Charles does not take kindly to being reminded of his mortality. He has always been proud of his fitness and the iron will that prevents him putting on weight both qualities he inherited from his father Prince Philip, still ramrod straight at 96. But in recent times, say friends, there has been a slight thickening of the princely waist, and the perennial back pain and old, nagging polo injuries have apparently been playing up a bit more. His face, reddened from the time he spends outside, has appeared somewhat drawn. During a walkabout on a chilly day this week, the broken capillaries that have spread across his nose and cheeks were clearly visible, giving the unfair impression of a man who likes a tipple. His lips looked chapped. Given all that, the news this week of Prince Harrys engagement to American actress Meghan Markle was an undoubted tonic. He beamed with pleasure as he broke off from an official visit to Poundbury, his beloved new town in Dorset, to speak of his happiness. It was, he declared, marvellous. The Prince has always worried more about Harry than William and, of course, has been troubled by him more, too. But he has also allowed him the freedom to make his own choices in life, an attitude he shared with Princess Diana. Charles has always been more worried about Harry than William but has also allowed him the freedom to make his own choices in life Yet behind all the paternal bonhomie and genuine goodwill on show, there can be no doubt that the arrival of this poised young woman in the heart of the Royal Family represents a potential problem for Charles. Its pretty much a rule that opinion polls on the royals deliver results based on how much public exposure individuals have had, so Harry and Meghan will be the only show in town just now. Its perfectly possible that if people were asked who should be the next monarch today, Harry would top the poll. But that will never happen, and Charles will carry on regardless anyway. Much the same thing happened six years ago, remember, when Prince William married Kate Middleton and the two were dubbed Charles and Diana Mark II. For a Royal Family thin on glamour, the middle-class girl from Bucklebury, Berkshire, was a godsend. Tall and slim, she picked up as a royal fashion icon where Diana so tragically left off. Prince Harrys fiancee takes the glamour stakes to another level. To have one photogenic royal couple sharing the limelight was one thing: now Charles must get used to eking out what little is left. The question troubling courtiers is whether this means a new crisis for the Prince of Wales in terms of the publics view of him. Prince Harry this week announced his engagement to American actress Meghan Markle and it is perfectly possible he would top a public poll of who should be the next monarch Certainly he hated being upstaged by Diana, and never came to terms with the fact that after his own wedding, the crowds who flocked to them wanted to see his wife, not him. Paradoxically, the competition with Kate and William has largely not been an issue. This in part has been down to the soothing presence of Charless second wife, Camilla. The Duchess of Cornwall has been grateful at the spotlight shifting onto the young couple and their children, because it means she does not have to endure such an intense public gaze. It is worth pointing out that the last time there was any serious talk of Charles stepping aside and the Crown skipping a generation to allow William to follow the Queen was just as Kate arrived officially on the scene. But ever since, those concerns have subsided as the focus has been on the Prince of Wales taking on more duties from an ageing monarch. Which is why the arrival of Meghan Markle has been concentrating minds at the Palace. At the heart of the issue is Charless relationship with his sons. In the 20 years since their mothers death, it has ebbed and flowed. But it has become noticeably cooler since they decided to appoint themselves the custodians of Dianas memory, which they did so openly in the summer. An old friend of Princess Diana said of William and Harry: It was pretty clear they dont have a good word for Camilla Back in 2004 and 2005, in the lead-up to Charles and Camillas own marriage, the brothers were very much in evidence, making supportive comments about their father and their stepmother. Fast forward to this year, and that has changed. The two main TV documentaries marking the 20th anniversary of Dianas death, in which the young Princes participated, excised Charles. Only Diana, her work and her influence on them mattered. Then there was Camillas own milestone, her 70th birthday in July. It was played down by Clarence House because of the Diana anniversary: a documentary on the Duchess was postponed. It was expected that William and Harry would say something publicly about a stepmother to whom they had once been so welcoming. But they did not. In fact, far from drawing closer to the Duchess as they got older, the boys have moved farther away. They are not close to Camilla, says a friend. The relationship has changed. An old chum of Dianas who went to Kensington Palace earlier this year to discuss the boys plans for a statue of their mother told me: It was pretty clear they dont have a good word for Camilla. Courtiers believe that should Charles wish to change Camillas status when he becomes King and make her his Queen rather than Princess Consort, he will need the undiluted support of his sons Does this matter? After all, second wives often fail to win over their stepchildren. The short answer is yes. Courtiers believe that should Charles wish to change Camillas status when he becomes King and make her his Queen rather than Princess Consort, he will need the undiluted support of his sons. So WILL they offer it? Charles does, after all, provide them with an income befitting princes of the royal blood. He has little influence over the boys these days beyond the fact that he controls their money, says a friend. But hes so absorbed with his own life, with Camilla and the extra work he is accumulating from the Queen and his father, he doesnt have the time anyway. There was also some brave talk by some of the pro-Queen Camilla team around the Prince at the end of last year that her 70th birthday might be the time to rebrand her as the Princess of Wales. Harry and Meghan are due to marry next year The theory was that after a bit of public angst, everyone would soon get used to the idea. But it didnt get very far. The extraordinary outpouring of affection for the late Princess Diana throughout much of this year rapidly confined that idea to the dustbin. But the young Princes should also remember that Charless unbending devotion to his divorcee wife has done much to change perceptions about what can be allowed in royal relationships. A clergyman close to the Royal Family pointedly tells me: The fact that the public is waiting for Harry to wed Meghan, unconcerned that she is a divorcee with divorced parents, is thanks to the battle Prince Charles fought to get Camilla accepted into The Firm. With Dianas memory very much to the fore, neither Harry nor his brother seems willing to acknowledge that. What is becoming clear to courtiers is that the retirement of Prince Philip is precipitating a shuffling of the royal jigsaw pieces, and in doing so placing greater demands on Charless time. If Charles is at the Queens side for events, it sidelines Camilla. If William takes Philips place, as he did when the German president was invited to lunch at Buckingham Palace this week, it sidelines Charles. Its a condundrum. For Prince Charles, seeing his younger son happily married next year will be a prelude to his own 70th birthday landmark. That will be a chance for him to take stock and ponder his role and workload in the coming years. How fascinating that the gradual rundown in the Queens duties began very subtly soon after she turned 70, when she severed ties with a number of charities. Suffice to say, however, that any aide foolish enough to suggest to Charles that he throttle back, rest those polo injuries and start to put his feet up will get very short shrift indeed. An Amazon customer has hit out at the company after he was forced to turn detective when a driver faked a delivery and stole goods worth hundreds of pounds. Computer engineer Samir Sabbir, who lost expensive camera equipment in the scam, said: 'Amazon is completely failing its responsibility to vet the drivers who are making its deliveries. 'I was left to investigate what happened myself. Amazon was no help.' Mr Sabbir became suspicious after capturing CCTV video footage of an Amazon driver making a delivery to his home in Walthamstow, east London, when he was out. Samir Sabbir became suspicious after capturing CCTV video footage of an Amazon driver making a delivery to his home in Walthamstow, east London, when he was out The courier was due to drop off two items, but he handed over one to a neighbour and returned another, containing 370 worth of camera equipment, to his van. The driver then put a card through the door saying both parcels had been delivered to the neighbour. Mr Sabbir, 35, went to the Amazon delivery hub in Enfield, north London, and established that the driver worked for Parcel Connect UK Logistics, who are contracted to deliver Amazon packages. He convinced a member of staff to give him the driver's address a block of flats in Barnet, north London. There, accompanied by managers from Parcel Connect, he found several empty Amazon parcel boxes in the communal bins. The courier was due to drop off two items, but he handed over one to a neighbour and returned another, containing 370 worth of camera equipment, to his van. The driver then put a card through the door saying both parcels had been delivered to the neighbour He contacted people whose names were on the boxes and they, like him, have reported the incident to the police. Eventually, an associate of the driver handed over the missing camera equipment to Mr Sabbir outside the flats. Treasure tracks for UK Amazon is launching a new challenge to the High Street by bringing its 'Treasure Trucks' to the streets of Britain. The American concept involves shoppers signing up to the web giant's app to receive text notifications about where the trucks will be and the deals available. Customers buy sought-after items, such as the latest Nintendo games console, at a discount and then collect them from the truck. Amazon said: 'Treasure Truck will initially pop up in Manchester and London several times a month, featuring one carefully selected goody at a time. 'Each offer is a surprise and customers will have to act fast to get their mitts on the kit, with only limited stock on the truck.' Advertisement He was asked to return the equipment to the parcel company as evidence and spent weeks trying to negotiate a refund and compensation. When he complained to Amazon, the company told him via email that he should sort out the situation with Parcel Connect. The email said: 'As you are aware, the driver involved in this incident is engaged by a third-party delivery service provider, Parcel Connect. 'I understand that they have... made an offer of 950 to compensate you for the items that you did not receive. 'Our view is that Parcel Connect has made a very reasonable offer... I am afraid that there is not any scope for a higher amount to be offered to you either by Parcel Connect or by Amazon.' Mr Sabbir, who accepted the 950, said: 'This company works for Amazon. I pay Amazon for its Prime delivery service and I expect them to make sure items arrive as promised.' Asked how many parcels were stolen by the driver and whether it would continue to use Parcel Connect, Amazon refused to answer. Parcel Connect did not respond to questions about the number of parcels that were taken. A manhunt is underway for a convicted murder who strangled his victim and dumped her in a cupboard after he escaped from an open prison. William Kerr, 56, also known as Billy, was found guilty of murdering his friend Maureen Comfort in 1998. He is serving a life sentence at Hollesley Bay Prison near Woodbridge, Suffolk, but did not return to his arranged meeting point in Ipswich after being released for a few hours this afternoon. This is not the first time Kerr has escaped. William Kerr (pictured), 56, also known as Billy was found guilty of murdering his friend Maureen Comfort in 1998. He was due to return to Hollesley Bay open prison in Suffolk this afternoon In 2015 he absconded from a bail hostel in Hull after being released from prison on licence. He was found by police and arrested a month later in Waterloo, London. The now 56-year-old also broke bail conditions by disappearing before his trial in 1996, reports the Yorkshire Evening Post. Police say he is dangerous and have warned members of the public not to approach him. He is described as white, 5ft 7in, with blue eyes, black hair, of a thin build and is about 10 stone. Police said he has what are described as 'bad teeth' and speaks with a Scottish accent. He has tattoos on his left and right arm, left wrist and on the right hand a tattoo says 'Les'. When last seen he was wearing blue jeans and a blue North Face puffer jacket with an orange logo. Hollesley Bay (pictured) is a Category D open prison and Young Offenders Institution, which describes itself as 'an establishment that has developed a strong reputation in successfully preparing life sentenced prisoners for their final release' Hollesley Bay is a Category D open prison and Young Offenders Institution, which describes itself as 'an establishment that has developed a strong reputation in successfully preparing life sentenced prisoners for their final release'. There is room for 421 prisoners, many of which are allowed out into the community for part-time jobs. Kerr strangled Ms Comfort, 43, at her home in Leeds with his accomplice Christopher Moody in 1995. Her body was found in a cupboard. Anyone who believes they may have seen William Kerr, or who has any information regarding his whereabouts, is asked to contact Suffolk Police on 101 quoting Cad 330 of Friday 1 December. A giant plaster sphinx head has been discovered by archaeologists excavating a nearly hundred-year-old movie set in California. The perfectly intact 300lb was a part of the set for director Cecil B DeMillle's 95-year-old set for The Ten Commandments. Buried in the Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes, the piece is said to be unlike anything else from previous digs, according to Doug Jenzen, Executive Director of the Dunes Center. 'The majority of it is preserved by sand with the original paint still intact,' he said to the KEYT. Once buried in the Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes, California, the 300lb sphinx's head piece is said to be unlike anything else from previous digs The plastered head was a part of the set for director Cecil B DeMillle's 95-year-old set for The Ten Commandments Director Peter Brosnan and a group of filmmakers began looking for the ruins in the 1980s. Excavation finally began of the area, 30 years later 'This is significant and shows that we're still learning unexpected facets to film historical movie production such as the fact that objects in black and white films were actually painted extremely intense colors.' The Lost City of DeMille finds its origin in 1923, when the director ordered the spectacle set including detailed gates, pharaohs and pyramids to be built for The Ten Commandments. According to local legend, the director had the set buried because it was too valuable and too expensive. Director Peter Brosnan and a group of filmmakers began looking for the ruins in the 1980s. And over 30 years later, the excavations revealed a plethora of artifacts. The Lost City of DeMille finds its origin in 1923, when the director ordered the spectacle set including detailed gates, pharaohs and pyramids to be built for The Ten Commandments According to local legend, the director had the set buried because it was too valuable for thieves and too expensive As archaeologists worked to excavate the rest of the sphinx body that they had located from a previous dig, they stumbled upon the five by three by eight ft sphinx head The movie is lauded for its 'immense and stupendous' set and was known for stellar special effects - including the scene where the Red Sea is parted Period relics provide an inside look at what life was like for the cast and crew in 1923. These included prohibition liquor bottles, makeup and tobacco. As archaeologists worked to excavate the rest of the sphinx body that they had located from a previous dig, they stumbled upon the five by three by eight ft sphinx head. The set was designed by 'Father of Art Deco' Paul Iribe and consisted of 21 similar heads. The movie is lauded for its 'immense and stupendous' set and was known for stellar special effects - including the scene where the Red Sea is parted. DeMille re-made the film in 1956 and it was, once again, one of the most expansive sets ever built. DeMille re-made the film in 1956 and it was, once again, one of the most expansive sets ever built It is unknown whether he used parts from the old set The son of a miner and late Labour MP has been deselected as a councillor because he is too working class. Kieran Harphams electoral ward in Sheffield has been taken over by hard-Left activists who have kicked him out. Many are members of Momentum while others are students, Trotskyite academics from the citys universities or middle-class professionals. Labour insiders say the 27-year-old was seen as too authentically working class and not Left-wing enough. Mr Harphams father, Harry, won David Blunketts former Sheffield seat for Labour in 2015 but died from cancer nine months later. Kieran Harphams electoral ward in Sheffield has been taken over by hard-Left activists who have kicked him out Jeremy Corbyn, who attended the funeral, described the 61-year-old as a decent man dedicated to justice for working people. Last week his son found himself facing reselection for the Broomhill ward against five other candidates. Members voted to replace him with Janet Ridler, a 58-year-old historian who only recently joined the party and lives in Sheffields wealthiest suburb, Dore. When approached for comment, Lord Blunkett said: Kierans dad, who was a former miner and never a Blairite, was my agent and successor as MP for Brightside and Hillsborough. Im extremely distressed that his son Kieran should have experienced the backlash of the Momentum drive for deselections not least as Jeremy Corbyn attended his dads funeral. I hope people will examine their consciences. Sheffield Labour moderates say the situation is even more mad because Harry Harphams parliamentary seat was taken by his wife Gill Furniss, who is Kierans stepmother. A former council member, who would not be named, said: Kierans deselection is absolutely bonkers. What kind of situation is it when a shadow ministers stepson isnt Left-wing enough? A veteran Sheffield councillor and Corbyn supporter said: Broomhill is in its own world. 'Its full of arty-farty people who think they know better than anyone else. Kierans problem is that hes too authentically working class and not enough of a Left-wing intellectual for them. A former senior Labour councillor added: Kieran is a really good guy, really dedicated and hard-working, who did well to win in a marginal ward in 2016. Jeremy Corbyn is pictured with Gill Furniss, whose husband Harry Harpham died from cancer Broomhill has always been a difficult seat and it does lend itself to a kind of intellectual snobbery. 'Its an area where people are interested in theoretical views of socialism rather than practicalities and in many ways a northern replica of what you get in Islington. Being a Labour member there is no longer about working-class people and who represents them. Mr Harphams deselection follows aggressive purges of Labour moderates in London, including ten Haringey councillors who are understood to have resigned or been deselected. In Leeds, the Labour council leader Judith Blake is understood to be facing a battle against Left-wing candidates after she was not automatically reselected. Mr Harpham, who has overcome two kidney transplants and a brain tumour, said: The problem is the influence of the people who have become members over the last two years. 'Before the rise of Corbyn and Momentum, Labour members were happy to disagree but would get along with one another. I dont think its constructive for getting work done within the party. He added: I have to say that Im unhappy to have been deselected but thats life and Ill try to stand again elsewhere. Mr Harpham, who will keep his seat until elections in May, has been labelled a Blairite for signing a letter on a vote of no confidence against Mr Corbyn. His father was such a staunch socialist that when Margaret Thatcher died he tweeted a picture of him toasting her death with a pint of beer. He was a member of the National Union of Mineworkers and took part in the 1984-5 strike. He later became deputy leader of Sheffield City Council. For best viewing, find an isolated space away from artificial light and pollution Will be visible as early as December 4, but is predicted to peak on December 14 Earth will move through the debris trail of the ancient asteroid 3200 Pantheon The Geminids Meteor Shower is one of the 'best three' meteor events of the year The 2016 Geminids Meteor Shower, Colorado If you feel like New Year's Eve fireworks are getting a bit passe, then you may want to tune into the Geminids Meteor Shower instead. A quick road trip Glenworth Valley in the Central Coast region of New South Wales will give you the best viewing spot from which to enjoy the astral spectacle. The phenomenon occurs annually as the earth passes through the remnants of an ancient asteroid, with about 120 meteors per hour hitting the earth's atmosphere and in showers of light. Experts recommend viewers in the southern hemisphere begin looking out for bright lights in the mid-to-late evening - Geminid showers tend to consist of bright, fast meteors that persist longer in the night sky than other showers. Geminids Meteor Shower photographed over Scotland in 2016 during the final day of visibility Another stunning annual meteor event is the Perseid meteor shower (photographed in Spain) Local astronomers and night sky photographers David Magro and Andrew Murrell told the Daily Telegraph there were about a dozen 'decent' meteor events a year, but the Geminids Meteor Shower was 'one of the best three'. The stunning display will be visible as early as December 4, but is predicted to peak in Australia on December 14. The astral display occurs as the earth travels through a trail of debris left behind by the asteroid 3200 Phaethon, which is more than 5km wide. The 'shooting stars' are made as chunks of the asteroid burn while entering the earth's atmosphere, bathed in light by Gemini's second brightest star Castor. Last year's shower was difficult to see due to the position of the moon, but Mr Margo and Mr Murrell said that his year, 'the heavens had aligned' so that 2017's shower promises to be one of the best yet. The spectacle is visible to the naked eye, but people need to find a dark spot that is well away from streetlights and other light pollution. The best spot in NSW to take it in is the Glenworth Valley Outdoor Adventures campsite - an isolated spot on the Central Coast where Mr Murrell will be setting up telescopes for campers on December 9. He told the Daily Telegraph that he wanted to inspire 'a whole new generation of amateur astronomers and night sky photographers'. Geminids Meteor Shower photographed over Primorye Territory in Russia in December 2016 People from all countries gather together to see the Geminids Meteor Shower (Bulgaria, 2016) 'There's a rebirth of the space age,' Mr Magro told the publication. 'Its becoming more accessible.' He was the 2017 Exposure Photographer of the Year with his image 'Field of Stars', which was also taken at Glenworth Valley. 'In years past you couldnt take a shot with a camera and now every camera you can plonk out and get a good Milky Way shot. The sensors are getting better all the time. 'Now you can literally have [space] in the palm of your hand.' Police have arrested two teenagers and questioned a third in connection to the abduction and robbery of a nurse on the Gold Coast. The 18-year-olds were taken into custody after police searched several Gold Coast homes in relation to the incident where a nurse was attacked and trapped in the boot of his car on Friday morning. Neither teenager has been charged at this stage. Scroll down for video Police are hunting for the trio of bandits who allegedly kidnapped Joe Brooker (pictured) A 16-year-old boy at the Southport address where the 18-year-olds were found was released after being questioned. The three teenagers are on the run after abducting a young Gold Coast nurse at gunpoint and stuffing him into the boot of his own car. Police were hunting for the group after they allegedly kidnapped Joe Brooker, 25, as he was walking to his car on Allchurch Street in Benowa about 3.30am on Friday. Mr Brooker had finished work at Pindara Hospital when four men, armed with a gun and a knife, demanded drugs. The man confronted a male nurse at a hospital on Friday before forcing him into a car boot The nurse was pushed into the back of his own car and taken to an ATM on Parklands Drive at Parkwood where the thugs demanded he withdraw $500. He was then forced back into the boot before his attackers crashed the car into the fence of a house in nearby Ashmore and fled the scene at around 4.20am. The owner of the house said the nurse had wounds on his arms and had been abandoned inside the car while it was still moving. 'A car rolled back into our fence, took our fence down and landed in our backyard. That's when I got up,' resident Samantha told 9 News. 'I looked up and there was thing young man covered in blood. He just looked up at me, looking out the window, and said ''help me''.' Mr Brooker (pictured) was forced back into the boot his car which the assailants reportedly tried to push down a hill, but it crashed into a fence Another resident said he saw 'a man sitting in the gutter with blood on his head and also on his spine'. Mr Brocker's mother said her son is now recovering after he was treated for minor stab wounds and grazes, however the family are all shocked. A 16-year-old boy found near the crashed car in Ashmore remains in Gold Coast University Hospital. Detective Inspector Marc Hogan told reporters on Friday Mr Brooker didn't appear to know his attackers and was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. 'It's extremely concerning that this person is going about their own life and it's drastically interfered with,' Det Insp Hogan said. 'It might change him forever, who knows?' A mother-of-nine who left her children and husband of 23 years for a toyboy 14 years her junior has said he is determined to marry him. Heidi Hepworth, 44, left husband Andy for 30-year-old Mamadou Jallow from Gambia after a 'mid-life crisis'. Mrs Hepworth had never been abroad before, but abandoned her nine children to fly out to be with him in the Gambian capital, Banjul. Heidi Hepworth, 44, left husband Andy for 30-year-old Mamadou Jallow from Gambia after a 'mid-life crisis' Mrs Hepworth had never been abroad before, but abandoned her nine children and husband Andy(pictured) to fly out to be with him in the Gambian capital, Banjul Mr Hepworth, also 44, who says the ordeal has been difficult for their children, as young as six, is convinced his wife's lover has brainwashed her. He said: 'A caring mum wouldn't go off gallivanting around Africa with her new boyfriend. The person she has become is horrible. She was a loving, caring mum.' But Mrs Hepworth defended her actions, telling The Sun: 'I don't have a single regret. I'm not a terrible parent. 'It was really hard for me to leave my kids, but they couldn't come with me so I had no choice. 'We are in love and nothing will stop me from marrying him. If other people don't like that they will just have to lump it.' The couple have six children together and Mr Hepworth has raised the three children she had from a previous marriage as his own. Mrs Hepworth(pictured) defended her actions, saying: 'I don't have a single regret. I'm not a terrible parent After she went to Gambian capital Banjul concerns were raised about the three youngest aged six, nine and 11 by a neighbour because Mrs Hepworths absence was so unusual. However, police later found them staying legally with their 29-year-old sister. Mr Hepworth, who served in the Royal Navy for four years, added: She had three children from a previous relationship but I brought them up as mine. We then had six of our own. The couple have six children together and Mr Hepworth has raised the three children she had from a previous marriage as his own In becoming this new person she forgot about her family and theyre the most important people in all this.' Mrs Hepworth previously told The Sun she had 'drifted apart' from her former husband. Nearly half Gambias two million population live in poverty, and the average income is 8 per week. For weeks, Donald Trump reportedly feared that his former national security advisor Michael Flynn would speak to the feds during their investigation into his administration, and the president even made a shady jab at his former aide during a Thanksgiving speech. The 71-year-old president began to fume privately that Flynn 'had turned' on him as it appeared that the ex-aide would be making a deal with the feds, an administration official and two outside allies of Trump told The Daily Beast. Trump apparently felt betrayed about the fact that someone who he liked both personally and admired professionally, had possibly flipped, two of the sources said. Those same sources told Daily Beast that it appeared as though the president made a veiled jab at Flynn while speaking to members of the US Coast Guard during his Thanksgiving speech. For weeks, Donald Trump reportedly feared that his former national security advisor Michael Flynn would speak to the feds during their investigation into his administration, and the president even made a shady jab at his former aide during a Thanksgiving speech (above) The 71-year-old president began to fume privately that Flynn (above on Friday) 'had turned' on him as it appeared that the aide would be making a deal with the feds, an administration official and two outside allies of Trump told The Daily Beast 'You never know about an ally. An ally can turn,' Trump said, which the sources revealed was intended as a swipe at Flynn. 'You understand. You're going to find that out.' Now, about a week later, Trumps alleged fears came true with Flynn. The former trusted aide pleaded guilty on Friday to lying to the FBI about contacts with Russia and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors delving deeper into the actions of Trump's inner circle before he took office in January. A federal statement of offense against Flynn states that a 'very senior' member of the Trump transition team 'directed' Flynn to reach out to foreign leaders about a UN resolution 'including Russia' to find out where the leaders stood. 'You never know about an ally. An ally can turn,' Trump said, which the sources revealed was intended as a swipe at Flynn. 'You understand. You're going to find that out.' Now that Kushner has been identified as that 'very senior' member, the focus of the investigation moves even closer to Trump. Flynn has promised to testify 'against Trump, against members of his family, and others in the White House.' The former trusted aide said he will provide 'full cooperation' to Special Counsel Robert Mueller in his Russia probe after his stunning guilty plea in federal court Friday morning. Flynn reportedly caved in to plead guilty in the least 24 hours after mounting emotional and financial pressure. He also wanted to do the 'right thing for his country.' He said in a statement: 'After over thirty-three years of military service to our country including five years in combat away from my family and then my decision to continue to serve the United States, it has been extraordinarily painful to endure these many months of false accusations of treason and other outrageous acts.' Family in his sights: Robert Mueller now has a star witness who will testify against members of Trump's family and the president himself 'My guilty plea and agreement to cooperate with the special counsel's office reflect a decision I made in the best interest of my family and of our country. I accept full responsibility for my actions,' Flynn said in a statement. 'Such false accusations are contrary to everything I've ever done and stood for,' Flynn added. 'But I recognize that the actions I acknowledged in court today were wrong. Through my faith in God I am working to set things right. 'My guilty plea and agreement to cooperate with the special counsel's office reflect a decision I made in the best interest of my family and of our country. I accept full responsibility for my actions,' he continued. Judge Rudolph Contreras accepted Flynn's guilty plea and the maximum sentence is five years in prison. Contreras said: 'There will be no trial and there will be probably no appeal.' Annette Roque, the wife of Matt Lauer, has allegedly fled their New York home and has returned to her native Netherlands. A source told Page Six she was last seen at the family's $33million Hamptons home on Wednesday. The status of her three children is unclear although Page Six suggested her two youngest had accompanied her. Her supposed departure came as the fallout from Lauer's dramatic ousting from NBC continued. Executives at the network confirmed he would not be getting a $30million payout his lawyers were working on. They revealed he would not be getting paid anything past the day he was fired following allegations of sexual misconduct. Senior staffers at 30 Rock, NBC's headquarters, are believed to be in the process of dismantling his office - including the controversial desk button that would lock the door. They were also erasing all evidence of his time at the network, including photos of him on the walls. Sources have told Page Six that Annette Roque, the wife of Matt Lauer, has returned to her native Netherlands. The couple is pictured in August 2017 Roque previously filed for divorce from Lauer in 2006 but dropped her suit. They are pictured together in India in 1998, the year they were married Lauer and Roque have three children: 16-year-old Jack, 14-year-old Romy and 11-year-old Thijs. Lauer and Roque met in 1997 and married in 1998. She is Lauer's second wife. She filed for divorce in 2006 and described him as controlling and angry, but they ended up staying together. The news comes as a report claimed that Lauer was seeking a $30million payday, which drew a strong response from executives at NBC on Friday. A source with knowledge of the situation confirmed to DailyMail.com that Lauer would not be receiving any payday or salary beyond his last day of work at the network. That was first reported by CNN, who noted that Lauer's morals clause likely allows NBC to withhold his salary. It was also noted that Lauer could choose to sue the network in an attempt to receive additional pay, but they will not agree to hand over any money to the disgraced anchor. Also on Friday, a memo sent to staff by NBC News Chairman Andy Lack revealed that an internal investigation as underway into the matter of Lauer's 'appalling behavior.' 'A team of the most experienced NBCUniversal Legal and Human Resources leaders have begun a thorough and timely review of what happened and what we can do to build a culture of greater transparency, openness and respect for each other,' read the memo. 'At the conclusion of the review we will share what weve learned, no matter how painful, and act on it.' The former NBC host was seen in a jeep as he drove out from behind the gates of his $33million estate on Thursday while still wearing his wedding ring. Lauer's mid-morning outing came shortly after Today read the ex-anchor's full apology on the air at the start of the program on Thursday. A source said she was last seen at the family's $33million Hamptons home (above) on Wednesday Lauer (pictured with his children, from left to right Jack, Romy and Thijs) has been accused of sexual misconduct my multiple women 'There are no words to express my sorrow and regret for the pain I have caused others by words and actions. To the people I have hurt, I am truly sorry,' said Lauer. 'The last two days have forced me to take a very hard look at my troubling flaws. It has been humbling. 'Some of what is being said about me is untrue or mischaracterized. But there is enough truth in these stories to make me feel embarrassed and ashamed. 'I regret that my shame is now shared by the people I cherish dearly.' Lauer's apology, read out on the show, came hours after more graphic details of the allegations against the host emerged. In one allegation, a married NBC staffer claimed she woke up in Matt Lauer's office with her pants halfway down her legs after having sex with the anchor until she passed out. The woman told The New York Times that the longtime Today Show host's assistant had to take her to see a nurse after the alleged encounter in 2001. The former employee, who was in her 40s at the time, said Lauer first made advances towards her while covering a story away from their New York headquarters in the late 1990s. She described moving away from him during a car journey to the airport because he was sitting 'uncomfortably close', to which he apparently replied: 'You're no fun'. Then, in 2001, she claims the married Lauer summoned her to his office at 30 Rock in New York to discuss work. She says he then used a button under his desk to lock the door and then told her to unbutton her blouse. The former NBC host was seen in a jeep as he drove out from behind the gates of his $33million estate on Thursday while still wearing his wedding ring. Lauer and Roque are pictured together during happier times She said the veteran broadcaster then stepped out from behind his desk, pulled out a chair, bent her over, and started having sex with her until she fell unconscious. The woman told The Times she woke up a while later on the floor of his office with her pants halfway down her legs, prompting his assistant to take her to seek medical attention. The ex-staffer, who has not been named, is one of a string of women who have come forward accusing Lauer of sexual misconduct. She did not tell NBC about the alleged incident at the time because she thought she could have done more to stop Lauer's actions, and she left around a year later. NBC executives fired Lauer on Tuesday night soon after they saw a string of lewd messages and explicit photos he sent an intern during the Sochi Olympics, reports suggest. His departure was announced by visibly-shaken co-hosts Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb on Wednesday morning, and a number of explosive stories on his alleged conduct during his time at the Rockefeller Center quickly followed. Lauer was seen by DailyMail.com for the first time since he was fired by NBC on Tuesday night 'There are no words to express my sorrow and regret for the pain I have caused others by words and actions. To the people I have hurt, I am truly sorry,' said Lauer on Thursday (above meeting with lawyer and friend Eddie Burke Jr.) He has been accused of flashing his penis at one woman and buying another a sex toy. There was also a stunning revelation that he had a button under his desk that would lock to the door to his office. It was a security-measure used by most high-profile employees at NBC, but Lauer allegedly used it at least once so he could have sex with the NBC staffer in 2001. The NBC investigation that led to his spectacular downfall was sparked by an intern who accused him of sexually assault at the beginning in 2014 at the Sochi Olympics. She shared her account with the human resources and legal departments of NBC News on Monday - Lauer was fired just 24 hours later. He was sacked so quickly because of lewd messages he sent the female staffer, and at least one explicit picture. Variety also spoke with 10 past and present workers at the company who accused Lauer of a vast array of sexual misconduct, including the intern who claims she was attacked at Sochi. Previously, it was revealed that Lauer visited his son Jack at his prep school to tell him the news in person. A man has been charged after allegedly filming a woman under the door of a toilet cubicle at a busy shopping centre. The 22-year-old was reportedly confronted by a woman, 53, after she noticed a mobile phone being held under the door on Friday just after 7am. The accused was detained by security until police arrived, and he was taken to Penrith Police Station. A man has been charged after allegedly filming a woman under a toilet cubicle On his phone police allegedly found a video of the woman using the toilet as well as many other videos of unknown women using public toilets at unknown locations. Child exploitation material was also allegedly found on the phone. The 22-year-old man was charged with filming persons private parts without consent and filming person in private act without consent. He was also charged with two counts of possess child abuse material; and possession of equipment for administering prohibited drug. He was refused bail to appear at Parramatta Bail Court on Saturday. Inquiries into the incidents continue. The Senate dramatically approved a $1.5trillion tax overhaul in the early hours of Saturday, giving the Republicans a huge victory after furious Democrats cried foul and claimed they had no time to read the bill. The 51-49 vote moves the GOP and President Donald Trump a major step closer to slashing taxes for businesses and the rich in a bid to re-ignite the economy while offering everyday Americans more modest changes. After the vote, President Trump tweeted: 'We are one step closer to delivering MASSIVE tax cuts for working families across America. Special thanks to @SenateMajLdr Mitch McConnell and Chairman @SenOrrinHatch for shepherding our bill through the Senate. Look forward to signing a final bill before Christmas!' Vice President Mike Pence announced the bill's passage at 1.51am to a round of rapturous applause from Republicans after a marathon voting session. Final alterations were still being made late Friday as furious Democrats protested they had no time to read the 479-page bill which was scrawled with handwritten notes. They demanded an adjournment but it failed to pass as Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) declared: 'The Senate is descending to a new low of chicanery.' Now the Senate and the House of Representatives, which has already approved its own tax bill, must craft a single bill to send to Trump to sign into law. The President wants it on his desk before Christmas. Vice President Mike Pence quickly moved to the Senate chamber to break a tie vote on an amendment on 529 savings plans, he approved and pushed the vote to 51-50 for it that would allow parents to use 529 college funds to pay private school tuition for students k- highschool Republicans look on as the votes in the tax reform bill are counted. Final alterations were still being made late in the evening on Friday and into the early hours of Saturday morning. The final, decisive vote was announced at 2am President Trump took to Twitter in the early hours of Saturday morning to thank the Republicans in the Senate Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer tried to push the Democratic vote till Monday to give the lawmakers a chance to read the 500-page, small print bill with illegible hand written notes Sen. Bob Menedez shared tweaks the Democrats had to decipher before the senate begins asking for amendments The Democrats, who voted in bloc, said the largest US tax overhaul since 1986 will help the rich at the expense of the middle class and add $1.5trillion over 10 years to the $20trillion national debt. They were joined by deficit hawk Bob Corker of Tennessee, the only Republican to oppose the bill. 'Obviously I'm kind of a dinosaur on the fiscal issues,' said Corker. But other Republicans insisted the changes will be revenue-neutral as tax cuts spur employment and growth. After the vote, Kentucky Republican Mitch McConnell, the Senate majority leader, called it 'a great day for the country' and said: 'I'm totally confident this is a revenue-neutral bill'. The bill was almost scuppered by a push from Schumer to delay the vote until Monday as Democrats complained the bill was scrawled with last-minute changes and printed in small font. Several posted photos of the bill on Twitter and accused the GOP of being irresponsible and devious. Kentucky Republican Mitch McConnell, the Senate majority leader, called it 'a great day for the country' and said: 'I'm totally confident this is a revenue-neutral bill' Democratic Sen. Jon Tester of Montana posted a video of him holding the bill on Twitter and said 'one page literally has hand-scribbled policy changes on it that can't be read' How does the Senate tax overhaul effect different income groups? Income group Changes in 2019 Changes in 2027 Less than $10,000 4% of people in group get tax cut 1% get tax cut; 2% pay more $10,000 to 20,000 38% get tax cut 3% get tax cut; 27% pay more $20,000 to 30,000 45% get tax cut 5% get tax cut; 22% pay more $30,000 to 40,000 61% get tax cut 9% get tax cut; 21% pay more $40,000 to 50,000 72% get tax cut 12% get tax cut; 21% pay more $50,000 to 75,000 81% get tax cut 14% get tax cut; 26% pay more $75,000 to 100,000 84% get tax cut 22% get tax cut; 20% pay more $100,000 to 200,000 64% get tax cut 32% get tax cut; 30% pay more $200,000 to 500,000 85% get tax cut 43% get tax cut; 40% pay more $500,000 to 1 million 91% get tax cut 58% get tax cut; 37% pay more More than $1 million 80% get tax cut 61% get tax cut; 39% pay more Source: Joint Committee on Taxation Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts tweeted: 'No, I haven't had time to read the 500-page #GOPTaxScam bill that we're voting on tonight,' with a photo of her reading aloud from pages at her desk. 'Couldn't read it if I tried - and I did.' Democratic Sen. Jon Tester of Montana said 'one page literally has hand-scribbled policy changes on it that can't be read. This is Washington, D.C. at its worst. Montanans deserve so much better.' Some Democrats were furious that the vote was even taking place at night. Oregon Senator Ron Wyden said on the Senate floor: 'Millions of Americans must be watching in stunned disbelief tonight as the Republican Senate betrays the middle class for the benefit of faceless multinational corporations. What is happening tonight is the worst of the United States Senate.' Democrats blasted Republicans arguing they were trying to rush the legislation through the Senate without giving lawmakers a chance to read it. Schumer pushed a motion to delay until Monday saying: 'Because the bill was given to lobbyists to read and change before senators saw it, and because the bill was given to us on a few hours' notice and has not been read fully or considered fully by a single senator, I move we adjourn until Monday so we can first read and then clean up this awful piece of legislation.' But Senators voted 48-52 on the motion to adjourn and fell short of simple majority needed to stall the legislation. A few hours later the bill passed and Republicans were celebrating. The bill was almost scuppered by a push from Schumer (pictured on Friday) to delay the vote until Monday Soon after the vote was announced, Mike Pence tweeted: Tonight's tax cut vote in the Senate was a historic victory for the American people. Grateful for the support of @SenateGOP for passing @POTUS' 'middle-class miracle' for millions of hard-working families. On track to have POTUS sign the Tax Cuts & Jobs Act into law by Christmas!' Tax reform would give Trump and his Republicans their first major legislative achievement of 2017, despite controlling the White House, the Senate and the House since he took office in January. In getting the bill through the Senate, they succeeded where they failed earlier this year, when their efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act collapsed. This time, urged on by donors and fearful of facing voters in next year's midterm elections without a legislative achievement to show, Republicans said time and again that failure was not an option. Republicans want to add almost $1.5 trillion over 10 years to the $20 trillion national debt to finance changes that they say would further boost an already growing economy Bob Corker of Tennessee, the only Republican to oppose the bill. 'Obviously I'm kind of a dinosaur on the fiscal issues,' said Corker 'The American people wanted change,' said Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.). 'We were able to deliver.' Wisconsin Republican and House Speaker Paul Ryan said in a statement: 'We will move quickly to a conference committee so we can get a final bill to President Trump's desk.' US stock markets have rallied for months at the prospect of a corporation tax cut as the bill reduces the rate from 35 to 20 per cent. The bill focuses its tax reductions on businesses and higher-earning individuals, gives more modest breaks to others and offers the boldest rewrite of the nation's tax system since 1986. Republicans touted the package as one that would benefit people of all incomes and ignite the economy. Even an official projection of a $1 trillion, 10-year flood of deeper budget deficits couldn't dissuade GOP senators from rallying behind the bill. Majority Mitch McConnell declared 'We have the votes,' earlier Friday evening, after leaders swayed holdout senators by agreeing to fatten tax breaks for millions of businesses and let people deduct local property taxes. Republican leaders engaged in eleventh-hour negotiations with GOP holdout senators to meet their demands and secure their support for the bill that's a political imperative for Trump and the party. They had rounds of closed-door meetings and were drafting the revised bill text up to the time they assembled on the Senate floor in advance of the vote. In 2010, Republicans argued that Democrats hadn't read the massive health care bill before voting for its passage. Democrats slammed a provision in the bill designed to give a special tax break to a conservative college in Michigan. The party also said the tax break was designed to help just one politically-connected school: Hillsdale College in southern Michigan. Democrats were furious an extension to vote ont the massive, 500-page, tax bill only hours before would not happen, as Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar tweets Oregon Senator Ron Wyden (pictured in the days before the vote) said on the Senate floor: 'Millions of Americans must be watching in stunned disbelief tonight' 'I can't find anybody else in America who benefits from this particular provision. That doesn't strike me as right,' said Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore. 'There are so many deserving schools in Oregon and Pennsylvania and elsewhere who don't get this special treatment.' Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., said, 'It feels like this is a very limited provision written for a very special person.' Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., acknowledged he sponsored the language and Hillsdale College would benefit from it. Leaders' changes last night included helping millions of companies whose owners pay individual, not corporate, taxes on their profits by allowing deductions of 23 percent, up from 17.4 percent. That helped win over Wisconsin's Johnson and Steve Daines of Montana. People would be allowed to deduct up to $10,000 in property taxes, a demand of Sen. Susan Collins of Maine. That matched a House provision that chamber's leaders included to keep some GOP votes from high-tax states like New York, New Jersey and California. The changes added nearly $300 billion to the tax bill's costs. To pay for that, leaders reduced the number of high-earners who must pay the alternative minimum tax, rather than completely erasing it. They also increased a one-time tax on profits U.S.-based corporations are holding overseas and would require firms to keep paying the business version of the alternative minimum tax. Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz. - who like Corker had been a holdout and has sharply attacked Trump's capabilities as president - voted for the bill. He said he'd received commitments from party leaders and the administration 'to work with me' to restore protections, dismantled by Trump, for young immigrants who arrived in the U.S. illegally as children. That seemed short of a pledge to actually revive the safeguards. The Senate bill would drop the highest personal income tax rate from 39.6 percent to 38.5 percent. The estate tax levied on a few thousand of the nation's largest inheritances would be narrowed to affect even fewer. Deductions for state and local income taxes, moving expenses and other items would vanish, the standard deduction - used by most Americans - would nearly double to $12,000 for individuals and $24,000 for couples, and the per-child tax credit would grow. The bill would abolish the 'Obamacare' requirement that most people buy health coverage or face tax penalties. Industry experts say that would weaken the law by easing pressure on healthier people to buy coverage, and the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office has said the move would push premiums higher and leave 13 million additional people uninsured. Drilling would be allowed in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Another provision, knocked out because it violated Senate budget rules, would have explicitly let parents buy tax-advantaged 529 college savings accounts for fetuses, a step they can already take but which anti-abortion forces wanted to inscribe into law. There were also breaks for the wine, beer and spirits industries, Alaska Natives and aircraft management firms. The tattered outfit and purse of a Texas beauty queen killed in 1960 were shown in court on Friday in the trial of the former Catholic priest accused of killing her. A crime scene technician looked over the personal effects of Irene Garza, 25, to help the state in their prosecution of 85-year-old John Feit. Garza, a schoolteacher and Miss All South Texas Sweetheart 1958, disappeared on Easter weekend in April 1960 and was found dead in a canal five days later. The personal effects of 25-year-old beauty queen, Irene Garza (left) were shown in the second hearing for John Feit, 85, (right) on Friday who is accused of beating and strangling her in 1960 Garza, a schoolteacher and Miss All South Texas Sweetheart 1958, disappeared on Easter weekend in April 1960 and was found dead in a canal five days later. But her shoe and purse (pictured) were found before her body She was last seen at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in McAllen, where Feit was a visiting priest, for confession with him. Garza's shoe and purse were found first before her body was. An autopsy revealed that she had been raped while unconscious and then beaten and asphyxiated. Monica Ballesteros, of the McAllen Police Department, opened the evidence which were all in packages obtained from law enforcement in 1960. She was last seen at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in McAllen, where Feit was a visiting priest, for confession with him Authorities questioned the then-27-year-old priest who had scratches on his hand and failed a lie detector test. He was later ruled out as a suspect after church officials allegedly pressured police to leave him alone, according to the Houston Chronicle . Two priests revealed that Feit admitted killing Garza. The re-opened case sparked a grand jury probe in 2004, but Feit was never indicted due to a lack of new evidence (Pictured, Sacred Heart Catholic Church in McAllen, Texas where Feit worked and where Garza was last seen) Included was a petticoat, a blouse, one shoe, a belt and a black purse that had been brought up by two witnesses on the first day of the hearing on Thursday. Juan Gonzalez, 65, testified that he tried to return the purse to the church rectory as a young boy of eight or seven-years-old at the time in 1960. But he claimed that John Feit took the purse and shut the door in his face, Gonzales would not speak up about the occurrence until 2002 when he saw a TV special surrounding the Feit case. Juan Gonzales and Alfredo Barrera testified on Thursday that they had both come across the purse after Garza had been killed Hidalgo County Assistant District Attorney Michael Garza shows a petticoat worn by Irene Garza during the trial 86-year-old Alfredo Barrera also claimed to have found Garza's purse near Highway 495, adding that he picked it up with a pencil and drove the purse to the family's house. The defense had tried to object to the admittance of the evidence prior to the testimony, arguing chain of custody but that was overturned. Also included in evidence were handwritten letters from Feit to McAllen Police Chief Clint Mussey and an affidavit from the defendant taken shortly after the beauty queen's disappearance. Feit was arrested in February at his home Scottsdale, Arizona, home Rodriguez argued there was enough evidence to prosecute him Found on Garza, at the time her body was discovered, was a slide viewer with long black cord, which belonged to Feit. Authorities questioned the then-27-year-old priest who had scratches on his hand and failed a lie detector test. He was later ruled out as a suspect after church officials allegedly pressured police to leave him alone, according to the Houston Chronicle. After two priest came forward and offered testimony that Feit had allegedly confessed to the killing, Texas Rangers reopened the case in 2002. A grand jury probe found insufficient evidence to indict him, however, in 2004. Garza's body was found in a canal (pictured) five days later. An autopsy revealed that she had been raped while unconscious and then beaten and asphyxiated Garza's shoe (right) and purse (left) were found first before her body was. Also found on her was a slide viewer with long black cord, which belonged to Feit The then district attorney of Hidalgo County, Rene Guerra, was heavily scrutinized for his role in the investigation by the victim's family who then chose to support Ricardo Rodriguez ultimately helping him win the election in 2014. After winning, he reopened Garza's case and requested a new grand jury, which led to a subsequent indictment against Feit in early February 2016. Feit was arrested that month at his home Scottsdale, Arizona, home Rodriguez argued there was enough evidence to prosecute him. At the time it was unthinkable for a priest to commit such a horrible act. Investigators urge anyone with information about the shooting to come forward He was rushed to hospital on Friday and is recovering from an abdominal wound A man, 33, was shot in the stomach while standing at an intersection in Tingapla A man is recovering in hospital after being shot in the stomach while he was standing on a Brisbane street on Friday night. The 33-year-old was standing outside the Wynnum Manly Workers Club near the intersection of Torquay Crescent and Michael Place at around 9.40 pm on Friday when he was shot, police say. Emergency services treated him at the scene in Tingalpa before we was taken to hospital in an ambulance for further treatment. Investigators are appealing for information after a man was shot in the stomach in Tingalpa He is now recovering from a serious wound to his abdomen at the Princess Alexandra Hospital in Woolloongabba, Queensland. The exact circumstances surrounding the shooting are yet to be determined, according to a statement by Queensland Police. Investigators are urging anyone who may have been in the area of Torquay Crescent and Bognor Street around the time of the shooting to come forward and contact police. A gunman fired at an emergency room at a hospital in Bakersfield, California, Friday. After firing several shots at the glass door, the shooter then walked inside Bakersfield Heart Hospital and a security guard made contact with him but there was no exchange of gunfire, police said. He then walked outside, where police, who had just arrived, shot him, Assistant Chief Greg Terry of the Bakersfield Police Department said. The gunman, whose name has not been released, was treated at the hospital before being transferred to another one, police said. He is listed as in a stable condition. Police are seen at Bakersfield Heart Hospital after Friday's shooting Police and patients are seen in the hospital after the drama unfolded on Friday at around 5pm The incident happened at 5pm. His motive is unknown and police said they were not aware of what kind of gun he had or how many shots he fired. The hospital was put on lockdown while officers looked for injured people or other threats connected to the gunman, but none were found, authorities said. Kerngoldenempire.com reported that witness Tami Myers told Channel 17: 'We were sitting in the waiting room when a woman came running in and said there was man with gun. 'They made us go into a nurses station. They locked the hospital down and then, all of a sudden, the back door came flying open and they said he was in there. The incident happened at 5pm. His motive is unknown and police said they were not aware of what kind of gun he had or how many shots he fired The hospital was put on lockdown while officers looked for injured people or other threats connected to the gunman, but none were found, authorities said 'Me and my sister and my little girl went running down the hall. We turned the corner and there he was standing here. 'And he told me, 'Don't worry, I'm not going to shoot you.' Her sister Sherry Biddles said they heard six shots. The hospital has 47 beds and specializes in cardiac care, according to its website. Bakersfield, a city of 365,000 people. Is located about 100 miles (160.93 kilometers) northwest of Los Angeles. Former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn is reportedly planning to put his Northern Virginia home on the market to offset the mounting legal fees associated with special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia probe. President Donald Trump's former top aide has increasingly been concerned about the 'crippling legal costs' if he continued to contest the charges associated with the high-profile case, a confidant told ABC News. That same person said that Flynn decided to plead guilty to lying to the FBI about his contact with Russian officials during the presidential transition because in recent weeks he felt abandoned by Trump. 'Flynn is very angry,' the confidant told ABC News Friday. 'He will cooperate truthfully on any question they ask him.' Scroll down for video Former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn (above on Friday) is reportedly planning to put his Northern Virginia home on the market to offset the mounting legal fees associated with special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia probe Flynn, who is one of President Donald Trump's former top aides (above in 2009), has increasingly been concerned about the 'crippling legal costs' if he continued to contest the charges associated with the high-profile case, a confidant told ABC News Sources close to Flynn say the decorated military officer plans to sell the 2,118-square-foot home in Alexandria (above center) that he bought in November 2015 for $774,000 Sources close to Flynn say the decorated military officer plans to sell the 2,118-square-foot home in Alexandria that he bought in November 2015 for $774,000. The house is estimated now to be worth about $811,837, according to real estate agent Redfin. The three story home was built in 2005 and sits in the heart of Old Town Alexandria, which is not far from Washington, D.C. It comes complete with two-and-a-half bathrooms and three spacious bedrooms. The house is estimated now to be worth about $811,837, according to real estate agent Redfin. Above the interior of the home is pictured before Flynn purchased it The cozy three story home was built in 2005 and sits in the heart of Old Town Alexandria. Above the interior of the home is pictured before Flynn purchased it It comes complete with granite counter-tops and hard wood floors throughout the main level of the residence The house has not hit the market yet officially; Flynn still owns a residence in Rhode Island. Flynn's plea shook political Washington, even as it sent Wall Street into a tailspin. The Dow Jones industrial average briefly dropped 350 points, although it closed down only 41 points on the day to 24,231. On Friday it was also revealed that for weeks, Trump reportedly feared that Flynn would speak to the feds during their investigation into his administration, and the president even made a shady jab at his former aide during a Thanksgiving speech. The 71-year-old president began to fume privately that Flynn 'had turned' on him as it appeared that the ex-aide would be making a deal with the feds, an administration official and two outside allies of Trump told The Daily Beast. Trump apparently felt betrayed about the fact that someone who he liked both personally and admired professionally, had possibly flipped, two of the sources said. The residence also features a spacious master bedroom on the second level with white carpet throughout. The house has not hit the market yet officially A room on the third level of the home appears to be for a family room or could also be turned into an office space Those same sources told Daily Beast that it appeared as though the president made a veiled jab at Flynn while speaking to members of the US Coast Guard during his Thanksgiving speech. 'You never know about an ally. An ally can turn,' Trump said, which the sources revealed was intended as a swipe at Flynn. 'You understand. You're going to find that out.' Now, about a week later, Trumps alleged fears came true with Flynn. A federal statement of offense against Flynn states that a 'very senior' member of the Trump transition team 'directed' Flynn to reach out to foreign leaders about a UN resolution 'including Russia' to find out where the leaders stood. For weeks, Donald Trump reportedly feared that his former national security advisor Michael Flynn would speak to the feds during their investigation into his administration, and the president even made a shady jab at his former aide during a Thanksgiving speech (above) Now that Kushner has been identified as that 'very senior' member, the focus of the investigation moves even closer to Trump. Flynn has promised to testify 'against Trump, against members of his family, and others in the White House.' The former trusted aide said he will provide 'full cooperation' to Special Counsel Robert Mueller in his Russia probe after his stunning guilty plea in federal court Friday morning. Flynn reportedly caved in to plead guilty in the least 24 hours after mounting emotional and financial pressure. He also wanted to do the 'right thing for his country.' He said in a statement: 'After over thirty-three years of military service to our country including five years in combat away from my family and then my decision to continue to serve the United States, it has been extraordinarily painful to endure these many months of false accusations of treason and other outrageous acts.' The most notorious serial killer in living memory may finally be unmasked thanks to modern-day technology and clever detective work. Investigators are now planning to use DNA found at one of the Zodiac Killer's suspected crime scenes to reveal the murderer's true face. 'It's probably the greatest American unsolved serial killing case,' cold case detective Ken Mains told Fox News. 'I'm very confident it can be solved.' Scroll down for video The Zodiac Killer (police sketch left) may finally be identified from DNA found at the murder scene of Cheri Jo Bates (right). She was stabbed to death in 1966 in Riverside, California Mains believes the killer's DNA has been obtained from the scene of the grisly murder of 18-year-old student Cheri Jo Bates. Bates was attacked, stabbed to death and nearly beheaded on October 30, 1966, while leaving the library at Riverside Community College. 'During the examination of Bates' clothing, I discovered, without a doubt, two bloody handprints at the bottom of her pants,' Mains said. THE ZODIAC KILLER'S REIGN OF TERROR The serial killer operated in Northern California in the late '60s and early '70s - his identity is still not known. Evading capture, he taunted police by sending clues to local Bay Area press in the form of cryptograms. In one of those letters, he identified himself as 'Zodiac' and began using the Celtic cross symbol used on Zodiac-brand watches. Though police linked him to five murders and two survivors, he boasted of at least 37 victims in his letters to the press. Advertisement 'We have touch DNA from those handprints,' added the former FBI task force member and Marine Corps vet, who stars in HISTORY's new documentary series The Hunt For The Zodiac Killer. He believes that the killer was one of two men: Ross Sullivan and Lawrence Kane. Sullivan worked at the library outside which Bates was killed, and bore a striking resemblance to police sketches of the killer. He also wore military-style boots with prints similar to those found at the murder scene, and was interviewed by police in connection with Bates' death - though never charged. He had an interest in cryptography, which means he may have been capable of creating the elaborate coded letters sent to newspapers by the killer And he was arrested in 1968, the year of the first Zodiac killings, for 'bizarre behavior' in Santa Barbara - not far from where the murders took place. Sullivan's current whereabouts are unknown; if he is alive, he will be 76 years old. Kane, meanwhile, was a cryptographer for the Navy - again suggesting that he may have been able to write the complex letters - who died in 2010. Only seven attacks were confirmed by police as being those of the Zodiac Killer - and Bates' is not one of them. However, six months after her death, her father, the local police and the Press-Enterprise all received letters signed 'Z' with the message 'She had to die there will be more'. Two of the investigators' prime suspects are Ross Sullivan (left), who worked at the library Bates' body was found outside; and Lawrence Kane (right), an expert in cryptography The Zodiac Killer wrote complex cryptograms and ciphers that he sent to the press. This super computer is now being used to decode the mysterious messages And after a 1970 report linked Bates' murder to the Zodiac Killer, he wrote to the LA Times claiming that he had murdered Bates and others in the Riverside area. Riverside police maintain that her death was not a Zodiac case, and say that at most the real killer was trying to falsely claim credit for her killing. Nevertheless, Mains is hopeful that he and his compatriots on the show - LA homicide detective Sal LaBarbera and code-breaker Kevin Knight - will crack the case. One of the tools they have in their arsenal is CARMEL, a supercomputer that is being used to analyze and decode the elaborate cryptograms in Zodiac's letters. The team claim that it has already solved a substantial portion of Z340, the astoundingly complex 340-character cipher mailed on November 8, 1969, to the San Francisco Chronicle. A Texas man who merged onto the highway one morning found himself in the middle of a police chase. The man, who filmed the bizarre ordeal, says: 'So this is how my morning's going. 'We're in the slowest high-speed chase I've ever been a part of.' A man in Denton, Texas found himself in the middle of a police chase when he merged onto a highway on the morning of November 29 The man deemed the ordeal 'the slowest high-speed chase I've ever been a part of'. He was going 26 miles per hour The man indicates that four cars are stuck in the chase, with police surrounding them on all sides. He says: 'Look at this, 26 miles per hour, and I got trapped in. 'I got cops in front of me. I got cops behind me. 'These cops have tried to throw spikes at this car like eight times, and they keep missing. 'Like, how do you miss a car going 12 miles per hour? Wow. Unbelievable. 'I got nowhere to go. I got cops all around me. I'm trying to move out of the way, but me and these four other cars, they kind of got us bottled up in the middle of them. 'OK, we're slowing down even more.' Eventually the police cars stop and surround the perpetrator, who appears to have given up the chase. Police eventually apprehend the perpetrator, the video shows. ViralHog indicates that the incident occurred on November 29 in Denton, Texas. Denton is part of the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area. Eventually the chase stopped and the perpetrator was apprehended The man wrote on ViralHog: 'I entered the highway not realizing I was getting on in the middle of a high speed chase. 'I was surrounded my cops and highway patrol. I had no where I could go, so I had to continue driving until the chase came to an end.' A substitute teacher at CJ Harris Elementary school in Pearland, Texas, allegedly called the police on Mohammad Suleiman, six, and claimed he was a terrorist A substitute teacher in a Texas elementary school called police on a six-year-old Muslim boy with Down syndrome, fearing he was a terrorist. Mohammad Suleiman's father, Maher, felt discrimination was in play after the teacher claimed the boy kept repeating 'Allah' and 'boom' in his Pearland, Texas, classroom. 'Mohammad was born with Down Syndrome chromosome 21, the father said to Fox 26 about his son's intellectual difficulties and his inability to speak, something the school claimed he could do. 'It's not true, he doesn't speak at all.' A substitute teacher at CJ Harris Elementary school in Pearland, Texas, allegedly called the police on Mohammad Suleiman, six, (pictured) and claimed he was a terrorist Maher can't help but be disgusted by the allegations against his son being a terrorist that the substitute teacher at CJ Harris Elementary School made. 'She claimed he was a terrorist,' added Maher. 'This is so stupid, it's discrimination. Actually, it's not implied discrimination, it's actual discrimination.' The phone call placed by the teacher prompted both the police and Child Protective Services to launch investigations into the Suleiman family. The teacher said that Mohammad kept saying 'Allah' and 'boom' but his father, Maher, asserts that the boy has down syndrome and does not speak 'This is so stupid, it's discrimination. Actually, it's not implied discrimination, it's actual discrimination,' the father (pictured) said 'The last three to four weeks have been the hardest of my life,' said Maher. 'My wife and kids were crying a few days ago and I told them everything is fine.' The Pearland Police Department did tell FOX26 that an investigation took place but found that there was no need for police involvement. Child Protective Services is still conducting their investigation. Due to privacy laws, the Pearland Independent School District has not released any information pertinent to either the student or the personnel, according to a spokesperson. Former NPR host John Hockenberry has been accused of sexual harassment by several women, who say he kissed them without permission. Hockenberry, 61, most recently hosted The Takeaway on WNYC, a job he quit in August. It's not clear whether his departure is linked to the claims by women he worked with there. They told New York Magazine that he embraced and kissed them without consent, and even professed love despite their obvious discomfort. Former public radio host John Hockenberry (pictured) has been accused of sexual harassment by several female former colleagues; he does not deny the claims Kristin Meinzer, a producer for Hockenberry in 2014, said he kissed her as thanks for organizing an interview with Oscar-winning actress Marion Cotillard for him. 'He rolled right up to me at my desk, grabbed my face and started kissing me,' she said of the host, who is wheelchair-bound. 'I moved my head away and pushed him away, and I said, "No, no, please don't."' She said he told her: 'I just want to kiss you because I'm so thankful.' Another producer said that around 2010-11 the crew were put up in a hotel after they became trapped by winter weather. 'John said, "Can we talk about something on the show?" So I went to his room, which might seem stupid now but didn't seem crazy then: We worked around the clock,' she said. 'He came up and put his arms on mine, and kissed me. Then he said, "I love you. We've always had this special thing." I pushed him away, and said "This cannot happen." I ran out of the room.' Hockenberry, who is in a wheelchair, says his experiences with feeling powerless should have made him more empathetic toward his victims Hockenberry has not denied any of the claims, and apologized in a statement he made through his publicist. 'Looking back, my behavior was not always appropriate and I'm sorry,' he said. 'It horrifies me that I made the talented and driven people I worked with feel uncomfortable, and that the stress around putting together a great show was made worse by my behavior.' He also said that his experiences as a disabled man - he was paralyzed below the waist after being hit by a car aged 19 - should have clued him in to how his victims felt. 'Having to deal with my own physical limitations has given me an understanding of powerlessness, and I should have been more aware of how the power I wielded over others, coupled with inappropriate comments and communications, could be construed,' he said. 'I have no excuses.' A Sydney mother has slammed Commonwealth bank after her 19-year-old son secured a $15,000 personal loan without entering a branch. Jane, who chose not to give her last name, said the teenager was on a part-time wage at the time but was able to secure the money through an online application which was as 'easy as a Facebook like'. But cancelling the loan proved to be a harder feat, with the concerned mum calling the experience 'traumatic' and querying why no steps involved 'human' interaction. A Sydney mother has slammed Commonwealth bank after her 19-year-old son secured a $15,000 personal loan online without entering a branch, with the process described as being as 'easy as a Facebook like' (stock image) The teen applied for the loan in September in the hopes of using the money to buy a car, but after seeing the costs of monthly repayments and interest decided to back out. 'He tried to reverse his impulsive curiosity and hit an 'X' on the screen ... which he believed to be a cancel button, but there is no cancel button once you start on this slippery slope,' Jane told News.com.au. The loan, which reportedly involved $337 repayments and more than $5,200 of interest, was approved 'pending documentation' and later fully approved unconditionally. 'I know I couldn't get a loan to save my life years ago... There's no way a kid would get a $15,000 loan approved without even having to enter a bank,' Jane said. The worried mum reportedly made multiple phone calls and visited her local branch where she was told to make a 'complaint'. In late November, the loan was finally reversed and Commonwealth bank provided a $600 'goodwill payment'. The teenager was on a part-time wage at the time but secured the money through an online application in September, later seeing the monthly repayments and interest costs wanted to back out. A spokesperson from Commonwealth Bank told Daily Mail Australia customers can cancel anytime prior to accepting the contract (stock image) According to Commonwealth Bank's guidelines customer's applying for a personal loan must be at least 18-years-old, an Australian resident, live in the country, be employed, have a good income and not be in the process of bankruptcy. They must also meet minimum income requirements, which in this case was believed to have been proven by the teen's most recent three months of activity. A spokesperson from Commonwealth Bank told Daily Mail Australia that while they do not comment on particular cases due to privacy, customers can cancel anytime prior to accepting the contract. Such instances are believed to include at the submission of an application, once an official offer has been sent and via phone before the money has been added to their account. Meanwhile, verification of a customer's loan is taken on a case by case basis, with factors including how long someone has been with the bank, as well as their income considered. 'People prefer to do applications online, but we do have human contact depending on the situation, whether someone is an existing customer and other factors,' the spokesperson said. Such standards are believed to be consistent across the industry and other banks. MPs are demanding answers after white goods manufacturer Whirlpool ended its product replacement scheme for tumble dryers - despite more than one million defective machines remaining in UK households. Rachel Reeves, the chairwoman of the Commons Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee, accused the US firm of 'falling significantly short of their responsibilities' amid continuing concerns about the safety of the dryers. In a letter to Whirlpool UK's head of communications Ian Moverley, she demanded to know why he failed to mention the replacement scheme was closing when he gave evidence to the committee in October. Last month a coroner called on Whirlpool to take action to prevent future deaths after an electrical fault in the door of one of its dryers was blamed for a fire which killed two men in a flat in Llanrwst, North Wales, in October 2014. Labour MP Rachel Reeves has demanded to know why Whirlpool has ended a product replacement scheme for tumble dryers despite more than one million defective machines remaining in UK households This Whirlpool tumble dryer was blamed for the deaths of Bernard Hender and Doug McTavish in Llanrwst, north Wales in October 10, 2014 This fire in Shepherds Bush Green is believed to have been caused by faulty Indesit washer dryer in August 2016 which led to more than 50 people being evacuated from their homes Whirlpool, which makes Hotpoint, Indesit and Creda machines, had previously identified a fire risk with two models of tumble dryers manufactured between 2004 and 2015. The company initially advised consumers the machines were safe to use with precautions while awaiting repair before stating in February that the dryers should be unplugged until the repairs were done. Consumers with faulty machines were given the choice of upgrading their product for a small cost rather than waiting for the modification. However, in her letter to Mr Moverley, Ms Reeves said the company appeared to have decided to end the replacement scheme in October due to a 'fall in demand'. 'Why did you not mention this when you gave evidence to the committee at the end of October?' she wrote. 'Please can you explain why you decided to end this scheme when there are one million defective tumble dryers still being used in households across the UK?' Ms Reeves said: 'For Whirlpool to stop their replacement scheme of their tumble dryers due to a 'fall in demand' while one million customers still have these faulty appliances in their homes suggests a company falling significantly short of their responsibilities to consumer safety.' A spokesman for Whirlpool said: 'We continue to appeal to any remaining owners of the affected models to contact us immediately so we can modify their tumble dryers. 'After two years of extensive measures to raise awareness, the number of consumers coming forward has fallen sharply. This suggests that few affected appliances remain in service. The Grenfell Tower disaster is believed to have been caused by a Hotpoint fridge freezer 'We wish to remind consumers that if they still own one of these appliances, it is never too late to get in touch and we urge them to contact us immediately. The booking process is instant and they can arrange for one of our engineers to visit their home free of charge to carry out the modification at a time of their choice. 'Anyone who still owns an Indesit, Hotpoint, Creda, Swan or Proline dryer manufactured between April 2004 and September 2015 should visit https://safety.indesit.eu/, https://safety.hotpoint.eu/ or https://safety-swan.eu and use the interactive model checker to find out if theirs is affected. Alternatively, UK consumers can call our dedicated freephone helpline on 0800 1510905. 'All consumers who own an affected dryer are eligible for a free-of-charge modification. Previously, consumers who wished to upgrade their products to a newer model were offered the additional option of a brand new dryer in exchange for a small contribution to the total cost. The scheme has now ended due to a fall in demand.' Last month the London Fire Brigade collated figures that showed Whirlpool white goods had caused three times as many blazes as the nearest manufacturer. Mother-of-two Melissa Dooley, pictured, was sorting her washing when black smoke started pouring from her Hotpoint tumble dryer in October 2016 In a study of emergencies attended by the London Fire Brigade, there have been 2,891 fires in homes and buildings where white goods have been responsible. Whirlpool owns the Hotpoint, Indesit, Proline, Creda and Swan brands. Of the fires included on the list, there have been ten deaths and 348 injuries. London Fire brigade said a blaze in Shepherd's Bush in an 18-storey building which took 120 firefighters to get under control was caused by a faulty Indesit tumble dryer. The incident in August 2016 forced the evacuation of the building. The Grenfell fire, which claimed the lives of 71 people is believed to have been started by a Hotpoint fridge/freezer. Whirlpool said at the time they were unable to verify the data. In October 2016 Melissa Dooley, 35 of Sherwood, Nottingham, was sorting out her washing and putting it into her tumble dryer. The mother-of-two suddenly noticed black smoke coming out of the Hotpoint machine. She quickly pulled the device from the wall when it burst into flames. A gigantic cloud of ash continues to spew out of Bali's Mount Agung volcano as rapidly changing wind causes chaos for locals and tourists. Photos of the dramatic thick plume taken from a nearby village show the massive scale of the erupting mountain, which recently left 150,000 travelers stranded on the island. Jetstar and Qantas were still flying out of Bali during the day, but cancelled later flights as foretasted wind changes were expected to blow the ash cloud into Denpasar Airport. Jetstar cancelled seven of its flights for Saturday and several more for Sunday amid growing concerns of a violent eruption. Mount Agung has been spewing black columns of volcanic ash for more than a week Photos of the dramatic thick plume taken from a nearby village show the massive scale of the erupting mountain Airline flight pilots were set to review their schedules Saturday evening and early Sunday with updated information. About 2,000 Australians were still in Bali, according to Jetstar spokeswoman Kate Millar. 'Jetstar and Qantas have brought more than 7,000 people back from Bali over the last three days,' Ms Millar told Sydney Morning Herald. Work continued for a local woman who was pictured in the foreground of the volcano carrying debris as she walked along the road. One woman captured a selfie while wearing a face mask as the monstrous cloud billowed out of the mountain behind her A gigantic cloud of ash continues to spew out of Bali's Mount Agung volcano as rapidly changing wind causes chaos for locals and tourists Another woman, who wore a face mask, was spotted capturing a selfie with the monstrous cloud billowing out of the mountain behind her. Breathtaking new photos come after authorities raised the volcano's alert to the highest level four on Monday. About 40,000 people have been evacuated and are living in temporary shelters as the area experiences ongoing earthquakes. Flights bound for Bali were on Saturday cancelled, as an impending explosive eruption forecast by volcanologists forced airlines to shut services down. Work continued for a local woman who was pictured in the foreground of the volcano carrying debris as she walked along the road Images from the Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre showed that wind would push the giant ash cloud towards Denpasar Airport Saturday afternoon and evening. An Indonesian seismic report revealed earthquake tremors around the mountain had become closer together and had increased in strength. The island's most recent powerful tremor was felt Friday night, escalating the possibility of a major eruption at any moment. While less ash pouring form the top of the volcano had some believing the worst could be over, volcanologist Dr Janine Krippner said it was normal for activity to fluctuate. Airline flight pilots were set to review their schedules Saturday evening and early Sunday with updated information 150,000 travelers were recently stranded on the island as the giant ash cloud forced flights to be cancelled 'This does not mean it is over'. Fluctuations in activity are a normal part of the life of volcanoes,' Dr Krippner said on Twitter. One third of Mount Agung's crater has filled with magma, meaning a vilent eruption remains likely, according to Indonesia's Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation Centre. 'We calculate it based on the monitoring results of Himawari satellite images of seismic recording data, deformation and geochemistry,' a spokesperson said. Nasa's Earth Observatory said: 'The plume appears to rise from two vents in the volcano's crater.' Five people are in hospital with multiple injuries after a car ploughed into a traffic light post and a group of pedestrians at an intersection in Adelaide's CBD. The 40-year-old driver, who is 'known to police', is in a serious but stable condition, while four women - two 67-year-olds, one 32-year-old and one 26-year-old - are being treated for various injuries. The black BMW hatchback was traveling north down Pulteney Street and was turning into Rundle Street when his vehicle slammed into the light pole and the pedestrians. Emergency crews were called to the intersection at the corner of Rundle and Pulteney Streets just after 4pm Saturday afternoon. The vehicle struck the pedestrians as they waited to cross the road near Target. Five people have been rushed to hospital after a car slammed into a light pole in Adelaide's CBD The out of control vehicle ploughed through three female pedestrians as it hit the light pole One of the elderly women, from Dulwich, is in a stable condition at Royal Adelaide Hospital, as another from Heathpool is in the Flinders Medical Centre in a stable condition with leg injuries. The 32-year-old from West Croydon is also in Royal Adelaide with leg injuries, while the 26-year-old woman, from North Adelaide, is in the Flinders Medical Centre with minor injuries. Witnesses recalled hearing the screams from the elderly woman after she was hit. '(There was) a loud band and smoke coming out of the bonnet and everyone rushed to help,' a witness told Seven News. 'There was screams from a woman just screaming, "help me, someone please come and help me",' she said. Another witness said she saw people trapped inside the car as well. 'There was another lady on the ground, and another guy. Not good,' she said. Five people have been rushed to hospital after a car slammed into a light pole in Adelaide's CBD There were scenes of chaos in the CBD as witnesses recalled hearing the screams from the elderly woman after she was hit The driver of a black hatchback was taken to Royal Adelaide hospital in serious but stable condition Emergency crews were called to the intersection at the corner of Rundle and Pulteney Streets just after 4pm All access to the area has been blocked, with traffic between North Terrace, Grenfell Street and Bent Street being diverted by police. Major Crash Investigators are on the scene but the incident is not being treated as a deliberate act. Police are appealing for witnesses to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or online at www.crimestopperssa.com.au. Major Crash Investigators are on the scene but the incident is not being treated as a deliberate act All access to the area has been blocked, with traffic between North Terrace, Grenfell Street and Bent Street being diverted by police The scene has been cordoned off with police tape and Major Crash Investigators are attending A nurse who was allegedly abducted and robbed at gunpoint has spoken out about the horrific ordeal. Joe Brooker had finished work at Pindara Private Hospital on the Gold Coast on Friday night and was walking to his car when the alleged attack took place. The 25-year-old said he feared he would be murdered, and worried about what his family would do if he was no longer around to take care of them. Scroll down for video A nurse (pictured) who was allegedly abducted and robbed at gunpoint has spoken out about the horrific ordeal Joe Brooker (pictured) had finished work at Pindara Private Hospital on the Gold Coast on Friday night and was walking to his car when the alleged attack took place 'I was worried about my family and obviously for myself ... I wasn't sure what these guys were capable of,' he said. 'I was worried for my life.' 'I thought I would be in hospital for a very long time and I'm extremely lucky that I've come off with just a few bruises and a few cuts.' Police arrested two 18-year-olds in Southport on Saturday and questioned a 16-year-old in Ashmore in connection to the alleged abduction and robbery. The 18-year-olds were taken into custody after police searched several Gold Coast homes in relation to the incident, but neither teenager has been charged. A 16-year-old boy at the Southport address where the 18-year-olds were found was released after being questioned. The 25-year-old said he feared he would be murdered, and worried about what his family would do if he was no longer around to take care of them 'I was worried about my family and obviously for myself ... I wasn't sure what these guys were capable of,' he said Police are hunting for the trio of bandits who allegedly kidnapped Joe Brooker (pictured) The group allegedly kidnapped Mr Brooker as he was walking to his car on Allchurch Street in Benowa about 3.30am on Friday. Mr Brooker had finished work at Pindara Hospital when four men, allegedly armed with a gun and a knife, allegedly demanded drugs. The nurse was allegedly pushed into the back of his own car and taken to an ATM on at Parkwood where the thugs allegedly demanded he withdraw $500. He was then allegedly forced back into the boot before his attackers crashed the car into the fence of a house in nearby Ashmore and fled the scene at around 4.20am. The owner of the house said the nurse had wounds on his arms and had been abandoned inside the car while it was still moving. 'A car rolled back into our fence, took our fence down and landed in our backyard. That's when I got up,' resident Samantha told 9 News. A group of teens allegedly confronted a male nurse at a hospital on Friday before forcing him into a car boot 'I looked up and there was thing young man covered in blood. He just looked up at me, looking out the window, and said ''help me''.' Another resident said he saw 'a man sitting in the gutter with blood on his head and also on his spine'. Mr Brocker's mother said her son is now recovering after he was treated for minor stab wounds and grazes, however the family are all shocked. A 16-year-old boy found near the crashed car in Ashmore remains in Gold Coast University Hospital. Detective Inspector Marc Hogan told reporters on Friday Mr Brooker didn't appear to know his alleged attackers and was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. 'It's extremely concerning that this person is going about their own life and it's drastically interfered with,' Det Insp Hogan said. 'It might change him forever, who knows?' Barnaby Joyce has claimed victory in the New England by-election, taking back his old seat after losing it due to dual citizenship. Mr Joyce may have benefited from a sympathy vote, with a large swing towards the Coalition and Labor's vote dropping by double digits. Joined by Malcolm Turnbull on the podium, the jubilant former deputy prime minister thanked a boisterous crowd of supporters wearing 'Barney Army' T-shirts. 'We're going back to work tomorrow, God bless the country and all the best!' Mr Joyce said as he ended an emotional victory speech. Mr Turnbull called Mr Joyce's win 'stunning', saying it marked 'the largest swing to the Government in the history of by-elections in Australia'. Barnaby Joyce returned to the New England electorate to cast his vote in the by-election Barnaby Joyce (pictured) seized an early lead as the first polling booths return the results of the New England by-election and is poised to take back his old seat The former deputy prime minister (pictured) is projected to win with 71.16 per cent of the two candidate preferred vote after four of 103 polling places returned results to the Australian Electoral Commission on Saturday evening Mr Joyce took the microphone to chants of 'Barnaby Barnaby', and said he was 'humbled' by the support he had received from the people of New England. He then spoke out strongly in support of the prime minister, calling him the best person to lead the country. 'It's a clear sign that we are a strong government,' he said. 'I'm really looking forward to going back to work with this fella here [Mr Turnbull], running a country is a little bit harder than running sheep through a gate. 'When times get tough, when you've got to make the hard decisions, you need someone who's got the skill set of this fella here. 'Ask yourself a very clear question - who do I want running this country, do I want Malcolm Turnbull or Bill Shorten? I'm going with this bloke.' Barnaby Joyce and Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull celebrate with a beer at The Nationals Party at West Tamworth Leagues Club The Nationals federal leader's closest rival, Labor's David Ewings, picked up the remaining 28.84 per cent (pictured are Mr Joyce and Mr Turnbull celebrating) The former deputy prime minister is projected to win with 71.16 per cent of the two candidate preferred vote after four of 103 polling places returned results to the Australian Electoral Commission on Saturday evening. The Nationals federal leader's closest rival, Labor's David Ewings, picked up the remaining 28.84 per cent. However, with just a tiny fraction of the vote counted there are still hours until a clear winner emerges. Barnaby Joyce greets Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull at McCarthy Catholic College in Tamworth on Saturday Barnaby Joyce greets prime minister Malcolm Turnbull pose for a selfie with a woman at McCarthy Catholic College in Tamworth on Saturday Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull met with his former deputy at a polling booth in Tamworth just before voting closed. 'There have been some personalities and there have been some tensions, there is no doubt about that,' Mr Turnbull told reporters when questioned about the calls from within the Nationals for his resignation. 'The people of New England, returning Barnaby today, are making a great contribution to the government.' Barnaby Joyce greets Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull during the Saturday by-election Mr Turnbull said his friendship and working relationship with Mr Joyce was the most important in the government The pair played down talk of splintering within the coalition, with Mr Turnbull saying his friendship and working relationship with Mr Joyce was the most important in the government. 'The relationship between our parties is strong and Barnaby is a strong leader,' he said. He said the sooner Mr Joyce is back in Canberra at the helm of the National party and the deputy prime ministership, the better. Minutes after the meeting, Mr Joyce told reporters he had been contacted by one of the rumoured agitators - Queensland MP George Christensen. He said Mr Christensen had affirmed his allegiance to the party with the return of Mr Joyce and following the announcement of the banking royal commission. The former Deputy MP leaves after voting at Woolbrook Primary School on Saturday afternoon Voting has officially closed in New England and counting is under way. Mr Joyce has apologised to the electorate for putting them through the snap by-election because of his New Zealand citizenship. He is facing off against 16 opponents, but without a singularly prominent rival, analysts expect him to comfortably regain his seat. Mr Joyce, along with father James and mother Marie, voted at Woolbrook Public School on Saturday afternoon while the rest of the electorate's approximately 110,000 voters did the same at polling booths across the region. Barnaby Joyce greets his mother Marie Joyce (left) as she arrives to vote at Woolbrook Primary Mr Joyce arrives at his pop-up office in Glen Innes in the New England electorate on Friday Mr Joyce said returning to his roots was a chance to show he would keep fighting for rural inhabitants in the 'weatherboard and iron' communities. 'What people ask for in these communities are things like mobile phone reception, some sort of parity in their opportunities. They want you to seal their roads, to stop the centralisation of services away from them,' he told reporters outside the school on Saturday. He joked being school captain was now the highest office he held since being ousted from the position of deputy prime minister in late October. Mr Joyce, the overwhelming favourite in the by-election, said it was very important to return to Canberra to continue his work. He acknowledged towns in Victoria which are at risk of flooding and urged his political colleagues to greenlight the regional investment corporation bill to inject financial aid to rural communities in times of hardship. Former deputy PM Barnaby Joyce talked to Glen Innes residents in the New England electorate Mr Joyce speaks to media after voting at Woolbrook Primary inn the New England electorate When asked if he'd like to send a message to his coalition colleagues who have pushed for Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull to resign, Mr Joyce fire back quickly 'I'll be back tomorrow'. Analysts expect Mr Joyce to regain his seat in the New England electorate in the by-election Theresa May is under mounting pressure to sack Damian Green after a Cabinet minister and a Downing Street aide urged her to axe her deputy. It comes after David Davis has made clear he is ready to quit if Mr Green is sacked over police 'smears' about pornography being found on his Commons computer during a 2008 raid. The Brexit Secretary is understood to be furious at apparent efforts by former police officers to settle long-standing scores by forcing Mr Green out. Yet a Cabinet source told the Times: 'Damian might have survived if this was dealt with immediately but the longer this is drawn out, the more there is a sense this is unsustainable. There are now so many allegations out there, it is hard to work out how they will be dealt with.' Another Tory source said at least one Downing Street senior aide believed that Mr Green would have to be axed or resign. The source said: 'There are senior figures in No 10 who think he should resign.' It comes after the detective who seized Mr Green's computer nine years ago said thousands of images were found and there was 'no doubt whatsoever' the MP himself had been accessing them. The raid was highly controversial at the time, as Mr Green - then shadow immigration minister - had been embarrassing the police with a series of leaks. Accosted by reporters as he left his constituency HQ in Ashford today (pictured), Mr Green again flatly denied viewing any pornography on his office computer Neil Lewis (pictured left), former Scotland Yard detective who examined Damian Green's work PC in 2008, said today it contained thousands of pornographic images and says there is 'no doubt whatsoever' it was his. Former Met assistant commissioner Bob Quick (right) was in charge of the leak inquiry that triggered the raid Mr Lewis' notebook shows how pornography had been found on the computer - he also says there was more on the work laptop Mr Davis was shadow home secretary until a few months before the raid on Mr Green's Commons office in November 2008, and shared the view of many politicians that the police action flouted parliamentary privilege rules Mr Davis was shadow home secretary until a few months before the raid in November 2008, and shared the view of many politicians that the police action flouted parliamentary privilege rules. A source close to Mr Davis said today: 'It is right that allegations of misconduct towards individuals are properly investigated but police officers have a duty of confidentiality which should be upheld.' A mutual friend of Mr Davis and Mr Green told the Evening Standard the Brexit Secretary had 'put his cloak around' his colleague and made his position clear to the PM 'in words of one syllable'. Meanwhile, the deputy PM is facing a second sleaze inquiry after it emerged MPs are required to sign an 'acceptable use policy' for computers at parliament. The Commons standards commissioner could stage a separate investigation to the ongoing probe by the Cabinet Office, which is due to report any day. Theresa May, who has known Mr Green since their days together at Oxford University, will have the final say over whether the First Secretary stays in his job. In the latest wave of allegations against Mr Green, former detective Neil Lewis disclosed his notes from the raid and claimed that on some days porn was browsed and open on the computer for hours. He told the BBC: 'The computer was in Mr Green's office, on his desk, logged in, his account, his name. 'In between browsing pornography, he was sending emails from his account, his personal account, reading documents... it was ridiculous to suggest anybody else could have done it'. He added: 'I was surprised to see that on a parliament computer. I had to take a step back because I wasn't expecting that'. NINE-YEAR GRUDGE MATCH BETWEEN QUICK AND GREEN The Tories put out footage of the 2008 raid on Damian Green's office Damian Green and Bob Quick crossed swords in 2008 when the Met assistant commissioner took dramatic action in an inquiry into leaks from the force. Mr Quick decided to arrest then then shadow immigration minister. The Tory MP was held for nine hours while his Commons office, two homes and constituency office, were searched and computers removed by counter-terrorism officers. The episode sparked a huge inquest at the Commons into whether parliamentary privilege should have protected the material held by an MP. In the ensuing political storm, it emerged Mr Quick's wife was running a car hire firm from their home and details of their address were published on a website. The officer then accused the Tories of being 'wholly corrupt' in leaking the story to intimidate him and his investigation. But he was forced to apologise after then party leader David Cameron said the claim 'Tory machinery' was mobilised against his investigation was 'completely baseless'. Mr Green was later cleared of any wrongdoing. Mr Quick complained bitterly that the investigation cost him his career. He quit in April 2009 after being photographed arriving at Downing Street with documents detailing a counter-terror operation clearly visible. He later claimed he might have survived the gaffe if it had not been for the Green affair. Advertisement The police officer, who worked as a lead in digital crime after being a leading counter-terrorism officer, was working on Operation Miser in 2008. This was an investigation into Home Office leaks that led to Mr Green's Commons office being searched by police and his computers being analysed. The raid sparked an outcry that targeting Mr Green - shadow immigration minister at the time - was a flagrant breach of parliamentary privilege rules. The leak inquiry was being led by Met assistant commissioner Bob Quick, who has also raised allegations about the pornography find. The claims have dramatically widened the Cabinet Office inquiry, which was originally looking at accusations Mr Green made a clumsy pass at a Tory activist. But a host of Conservative MPs have accused the police of pursuing an anti-Tory witch-hunt against Mr Green that was 'straight out of the mafia playbook'. Tory MP Crispin Blunt suggested that as a shadow minister, Mr Green would have been too busy to look at porn online while at work. He said: 'The account that Neil Lewis has given of the use of the computer, based simply on his notebooks from some time ago... on his own account doesnt bear the slightest relation to the kind of life a member of parliament leads. 'We dont have time to sit in our offices breezing through leisure websites of whatever type we largely move from one meeting to the next.' Former Cabinet minister Andrew Mitchell, an ally of Mr Green, said the 'hounding of Mr Green over information which everyone is clear was entirely legal and which he has emphatically denied either downloading or viewing is completely wrong'. 'Now, nine years later, after a pretty contentious raid of a senior politician's office, entirely legal information is leaked to blacken the name of a serving Cabinet minister, and I think that is wrong,' the Sutton Coldfield MP told the BBC. 'I think it is highly questionable whether a retired police officer should misuse this sort of material in this way and I think the police need to explain why there was any record kept of entirely legal activity. 'He says he's doing it to back up his friend Bob Quick ... and I don't think that it is proper for retired police officers to behave in this way. I don't think it's giving Mr Green natural justice and I think it is wrong.' Mr Mitchell said Mr Green should 'certainly not' consider standing down. Accosted by reporters as he left his constituency HQ in Ashford today, Mr Green again flatly denied viewing any pornography on his office computer. 'I have said I am not commenting any further while the investigation is going on,' he said. 'I have maintained all along, I still maintain, it is the truth, that I didn't download or look at pornography on my computer, but obviously while the investigation is going on I can't say any more than that.' Friends of the First Secretary told MailOnline he is 'gobsmacked' by the allegations and suggested some elements in the police had a grudge against him for exposing issues while the Tories were in opposition. This is also the police evidence tag attached to the porn-packed computer found in Damian Green's office nine years ago 'He's deeply concerned that a former police officer is putting outlandish smears on the record,' one said. A Met Police spokesman said confidential information should not be made public. 'The appropriate course of action is to co-operate privately with the Cabinet Office Inquiry as the Metropolitan Police done,' the spokesman said. 'As is routine, for cases of this nature, the circumstances of information being made public will be looked at by the Department for Professional Standards.' Separately, former aides questioned whether he would have been able to spend 'hours' browsing porn in a small Commons office without being noticed. Mr Green was arrested by Scotland Yard in November 2008 in a probe led by assistant commissioner Bob Quick into leaks from home secretary Jacqui Smith's office. His home and his offices in Kent and in the Palace of Westminster were searched, provoking outrage among MPs. Theresa May's deputy has been under investigation since November 1 following disputed claims by Tory activist Kate Maltby that he made unwanted advances towards her And it was former officer Mr Quick who went public with his claims last month that pornography was found on the computer, prompting Mr Green to brand him 'tainted and untrustworthy'. In April 2009, director of public prosecutions Sir Keir Starmer, now a Labour frontbencher, said Mr Green and a junior civil servant, Christopher Galley, would not face prosecutions. Sir Keir said the damage to the Home Office was not excessive and the material was of legitimate public interest. In October 2009 the investigation was criticised in a Scotland Yard review led by former chief constable Sir Ian Johnston, while a separate probe by Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of the Constabulary suggested senior officers allowed the inquiry to go too far. During the controversy, then Commons speaker Michael Martin faced criticism for allowing police into the Palace of Westminster to search Mr Green's office, but insisted officers did not have a search warrant nor his permission. The Met said it had authority in the form of written consent from then-serjeant at arms Jill Pay, who was in charge of security. But Mr Martin pledged police would never again be allowed access to an MP's office or parliamentary papers without a warrant and the personal approval of the Speaker. Mr Quick defended his actions in April 2010 in a BBC interview: ''What we didn't know is whether more serious offences had been committed. 'All we really knew was that someone or maybe more than one person was prepared to steal documents from the home secretary's private office safe and intercept her letters to the prime minister...so for these reasons we saw it as pretty serious.' He added: 'I think this point got lost in the furore about violating the sanctity of Parliament. 'In that noise it was very difficult to convey the facts. 'The difficulty really was that if you have someone that you can clearly demonstrate was prepared to steal documents from a safe that we know holds very sensitive material, then you're under a duty to find out exactly what has been leaked and to whom.' Theresa May (pictured giving a speech in Jordan yesterday) has ordered a Cabinet Office investigation into her effective deputy, which could report within days The House of Commons authorities told MailOnline an 'acceptable use' policy for computers on the estate has been in place since at least 2001. MPs are obliged to sign on behalf of themselves and their staff, with the version thought to have been in force at the time saying they must not access materials that are 'threatening, slanderous, abusive, indecent, obscene, racist, illegal or offensive'. A Commons spokesman said: Parliament has had an acceptable use policy in place for MPs and their staff since at least 2001 and this has been updated on a number of occasions. 'All users of parliamentary digital services are subject to an acceptable use policy.' There is also a ban on use that might 'damage' the parliamentary network by encouraging viruses. The policy raises the prospect that Mr Green might have breached the linked Code of Conduct for MPs, which is policed by the parliamentary standards commissioner. Labour MP Jess Phillips said she thought the issue should be looked at by the Commons watchdog. 'I have lost faith that politicians can mark their own homework on this stuff,' she said. Ms Phillips said Mr Green would have to lose his job if Mr Lewis's allegations were shown to be true. 'If it is found to be true, it does change things and Damian Green cannot stay in his position,' she told the Today programme. 'There is absolutely no illegality - I don't think anybody is saying that - but would you be fired if you looked at pornography on your work computer?' Last month it emerged porn watched on Damian Green's computer was so extreme that viewing such images was made illegal just weeks later, it has been claimed. Images of a disturbing nature were said to have been viewed in the deputy PM's Commons office on 'an almost daily basis'. Some of the porn found on the system was said to be so extreme that police took advice from the CPS on whether to prosecute. But they were told no relevant law was in place when Mr Green's office was raided on November 27, 2008. The law was changed eight weeks later, in January 2009. It is understood that detectives seized at least four computers during the investigation, including three desktops and a laptop. All were understood to be registered to the parliamentary network. When allegations first emerged, the deputy PM said they were 'false' and 'completely untrue'. But he has since appeared to drop his claim that there was never any porn on his seized computers and instead reiterated that police had never told him about the discovery. Police are hunting for an unpredictable woman who officers claim escaped from a minimum security facility in Western Australia. Santana Marie Mason, 27, allegedly escaped from Boronia Pre-Release Centre for Women in Bentley, south of Perth about 11am on Saturday. She is described as being about 165cm tall, with brown eyes, brown hair, and tattoos of a bird and wing on her neck. Police are hunting for Santana Marie Mason who allegedly escaped from a minimum security facility in Western Australia Police said she was last seen wearing a purple shirt. According to police, Mason may be unpredictable and should not be approached as with all prison escapees. Anyone who spots Mason is asked to call police on 131 444. An elderly aristocrat was murdered in her home by an unidentified villain, her eldest son has claimed. The Marchioness of Moratalla passed away aged 87 at her manor in Bayonne, southwest France, earlier this week. The Anglo-Spanish noblewoman, whose full name is Soledad Cabeza de Vaca y Leighton, was a horse-racing icon who ran one of the world's most revered stables. But within days of her death her son Forester Labrouche, 65, filed a criminal lawsuit alleging that his mother was killed, although he has not specified how or why. Her other son, German de la Cruz, 38, who was adopted by the London-born Marchioness in Colombia in 1987, has denied his brother's claims. The Marchioness of Moratalla pictured centre with her two sons German de la Cruz, left, and Forester Labrouche He says his mother, who suffered from Alzheimer's disease, died peacefully of old age 'surrounded by her close family and faithful employees'. The row comes after years of bitter legal battles between the brothers over the Marchioness's family fortune, estimated to be worth around 1billion. In one court last summer Mr Labrouche alleged that Mr de la Cruz had 'kidnapped' their mother in an attempt to exploit her frail mental condition to gain her wealth - an allegation his brother denied. In August this year the elder son successfully had a court order that had given his sibling power of attorney over his mother's finances quashed. And in another hearing last month Mr Labrouche claimed Mr de la Cruz had been given a 12m (10.6m) donation 'in conditions that are quite vague' as he argued that the Marchioness should be made a ward of court. Mr de La Cruz's lawyers have claimed that Mr Labrouche is only motivated by his mother's money and that the Marchioness has always been closer to her younger son. A postbox outside the Marchioness's manor house in Bayonne where she passed away earlier this week According to The Times, Mr Labrouche, who was not present when his mother passed away, has claimed his younger brother stopped him from seeing his mother during her final years. One of the elder brother's lawyers, Richar Malka, said: 'She died without seeing her son or granddaughter again. Every time we asked for news, we were told that everything was fine.' Francois Fourcade, another of his lawyers, said that his client has blamed 'himself for not saving the marchioness'. Mr Labrouche has not said how or why he believes his mother was murdered in his lawsuit, which has seen the launch of a formal investigation to determine exactly how she died. The Marchioness inherited her fortune from her mother, Olga Leighton, who acquired it after her first husband, a founder of what is now HSBC finance, committed suicide. Mrs Leighton married into the Spanish aristocracy and left her money to her only daughter. The Marchioness grew up to marry a horse breeder and developed a stable that produced winners at some of the world's top races. Jason Dors-Lake claimed Agnieszka Labedzka wanted to have sex with him and a friend after the three spent the night drinking three litres of white rum British film icon Diana Dors' son has been cleared of assaulting a female photographer saying she flew into rage when he denied her a threesome. Jason Dors-Lake claimed Agnieszka Labedzka wanted to have sex with him and a friend, Sophie Ingrand, after the three spent the night drinking three litres of white rum. When asked in court whether he thought he was a bit of a catch, the 47-year-old alcoholic responded: 'I have had affairs with Kate Moss and some other models and stuff,' reports The Sun. Ms Labedzka, 30, from Poland, claimed she was punched in the face the morning after the boozy session at Mr Dors-Lake's 1million home in Notting Hill, West London. Giving evidence at Hammersmith Magistrates' Court, she said she could 'see the evil' in his eyes as he threatened to kill her, held her by the throat next to a window and asked whether she 'wanted to fly'. Ms Labedzka said she fled the scene and called police. She had gone there with fellow photographer Ms Ingrand, 29, to look at unpublished negatives of Diana Dors, the court was told. Mr Dors-Laker said: 'Agnieszka probably drank the most she became louder and lairier. Ms Dors-Laker said he heard a crash and found Ms Labedzka (pictured) face down in his bookcase after knocking a 'big' David Bowie book off The court heard Sophie Ingrand (pictured) got into Mr Dors-Lake's bed before he joined her. He said: 'My girlfriend has no problem with that because I am totally in love with her' 'Sophie went to bed in my bed. My girlfriend has no problem with that because I am totally in love with her.' Mr Dors-Laker said he got into bed with Ms Ingrand and began 'nodding off', before Ms Labedzka got into bed with them and started 'getting fresh'. Mr Dors-Laker asked her to stop, which he said she did but continued shortly after. Mr Dors-Lake is the son of British film icon Diana Dors, who died of ovarian cancer when her son was only 14-years-old Five months following Diana Dors' death, Mr Dors-Lake's father, actor Alan Lake, killed himself using a shotgun in his son's room He claimed that, in the morning, Ms Labedzka began 'wailing like a banshee' at him in Polish. Ms Dors-Laker said he heard a crash and found Ms Labedzka face down in his bookcase after knocking a 'big' David Bowie book off. He said he used force to march her outside and threw her bag after her but denied punching her. Magistrates said they were not persuaded beyond reasonable doubt that Mr Dors-Laker had committed and offence. Mr Dors-Laker was just 14 when his mother, who was billed as a British version of Marilyn Monrow, died from ovarian cancer aged 52. The nation was scandalised in the 1950s when it was revealed she had hosted sex parties. Five months following her death, Mr Dors-Lake's father, actor Alan Lake, killed himself using a shotgun in his son's room. Mr Dors-Lake later turned to drink and drugs. The missing mother of a toddler who wandered alone into a newsagent's shop in Wigan has been arrested on suspicion of neglecting a child. She is believed to be with the police while her son is being taken into the care of social services. Police were called around 4.20pm on Friday after the boy, possibly aged around two or three years old, walked into C&L Oliver newsagent's in Higher Ince in Wigan, on his own. Police were called around 4.20pm on Friday after the boy, possibly aged around two or three years old, walked into C&L Oliver newsagent's (pictured right) in Wigan, on his own Staff there described how the toddler spoke few words but repeatedly said 'mamma'. A customer had raised the alarm after the boy walked into the store and police arrived around 30 minutes later. Zohaid Arshad, 29, the shop's owner, told the MEN: 'He was OK. We gave him chocolate and a magazine and made sure he was OK. We looked after him and gave him anything he wanted.' The boy was described as white with mousey brown hair. He was wearing a black tracksuit with grey trainers and a khaki green coat and blue bobble hat. Police issued an urgent appeal to re-unite the boy with his parents or guardian. He was at Wigan police station being cared for by staff after having a nap while officers concentrated their efforts on finding his parents. Police later confirmed the mother had been located by officers and she was later arrested on suspicion of neglecting a child. A spokesman for Greater Manchester Police said: 'We have identified a parent and the boy is safe and doing well. 'A woman has been arrested on suspicion of neglecting a child. She is currently being interviewed by officers. 'Enquiries are ongoing to understand how the boy came to be on his own.' A couple hoping to tie the knot in a picturesque part of rural Victoria have been left heartbroken after their wedding was cancelled due to wild weather. The celebration was set to take place at the Euroa Butter Factory, 150km north of Melbourne, on Saturday but had to be postponed following a deluge of floodwaters. More than 150mm of rain lashed the state overnight, stopping guests hoping to attend the nuptials from getting in and out of town. Scroll down for video A couple hoping to tie the knot in a picturesque part of rural Victoria have been left heartbroken after their wedding was cancelled due to wild weather and floods The celebration was set to take place at the Euroa Butter Factory, 150km north of Melbourne, on Saturday but had to be postponed following a deluge of rain 'We had all of our staff here, and we were preparing for a wedding of 85 people,' owner Russell Griffin told Nine News. The couple had stayed at the venue the night before, with hopes the ceremony and reception, including vegan catering, could still take place. However, the owners made the heartbreaking decision to abandon the wedding around 9am, over safety concerns for those set to attend. 'We are still talking to the couple, obviously they are absolutely devastated by what's happened,' Mr Griffin told the Shepparton News. As many as 85 people were expected to attend the vegan nuptials, but the venue owners made the heartbreaking decision to abandon the event around 9am over safety concerns, with many guests unable to get in or out of town 'They've been planning (the event) for 18 months and to be told on the day you can't go ahead is just really, really sad.' Mr Griffin said it was the first time they have had to cancel an event due to the weather, with the hopes of rescheduling the big day later this month or early next year. He said they will do 'whatever we can to help' the bride and groom and hope to issue a call out via their Facebook page for people willing to donate flowers or a vegan cake. Victorian residents have been evacuated from a number of towns due to the floods, with thousands more bracing to leave before the weather worsens again. The state's northeast and alpine regions have copped the heaviest rainfalls so far, including 200mm at Strathbogie and 170mm at Euroa. Pauline Hanson has decided she will 'update her interests register' after the politician was accused of failing to declare a $4,500 Great Barrier Reef cruise she was gifted last year. The One Nation leader, alongside senators Brian Burston and Malcolm Roberts, chartered a glass-bottom boat and a commercial catamaran to Great Keppel Island's Monkey Reef last November. Joined by at least 25 other staff and media, Ms Hanson set out to discover for herself the truth behind the effects of bleaching on the iconic reef. Pauline Hanson said she's decided to 'update her interests register' after the politician was accused of failing to declare a $4,500 Great Barrier Reef cruise she was gifted last year (pictured) The trip was supposed to be an educational expedition about the effect of bleaching on the iconic reef All three senators got to Rockhampton and back on taxpayer money, with Ms Hanson and Mr Roberts also choosing to claim travel allowance. But the expensive the cruise was actually a gift from Yeppoon-based charter company, Freedom Fast Cats, The Age has reported. Ms Hanson claimed the trip fell below her $300 disclosure threshold and said she'd 'make no apologies' for not adding it to her interests register. However, she recently reneged on her initial decision when questioned over the true cost of the cruise, according to the publication The expensive trip may have come out of taxpayers' pockets for no reason because the cruise was actually a gift An independent investigation revealed a similar cruise from Freedom Fast Cats would cost about $4,500 - significantly higher than she originally claimed. Even if the amount was divided between the three senators, each of them would be required to declare it given it fell above the disclosure threshold. When confronted with the issue on Saturday, a spokesman for Ms Hanson revealed an amendment would be made to her records. 'While the Senator is of the understanding that any expenses associated with her visit to the reef were under the threshold for the sake of completeness she has decided it appropriate to update her register of interests.' Ms Hanson originally claimed the trip fell below her $300 disclosure threshold and said she'd 'make no apologies' for not adding it to her interests register Updates to a register of interests must be made within 35 days of originally accepting a gift, and it's been more than a year since her trip to the reef. Senators who fail to meet these obligations could be at risk of 'serious contempt of the Senate'. The discrepancy was 'another example of Senator Hanson thinking she is above the law',' according to Labor senator Murray Watt. 'She is already under investigation for not having disclosed the apparent donation of a campaign plane. In being caught out again, she is either incredibly sloppy or is deliberately hiding donations from businesses,' Mr Watt said. Ms Hanson has been contacted for comment. Advertisement The Dutch King and Queen have indulged in a spot of scuba diving during their three-day trip to the Caribbean. King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima were clad in scuba gear when the smiled for the camera on a boat at Saba Bank, off Saba Island. The royal couple then took the plunge to explore some of the most stunning marine life in the Carribean Sea. Their visit comes three months after Hurricane Irma left a trail of destruction across the the Netherlands island of Sint Maarten. Smiling for the camera, Dutch King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima ready themselves before taking the plunge to go scuba diving yesterday The Royal couple prepare themselves for the dive after being taken out to Saba Bank in the Caribbean to see a diverse range of marine life The Dutch King and Queen have embarked on a three day trip to the three Dutch islands in the Carribean, three months after Hurricane Irma batter them Taking the plunge! The royals enter the water of suiting up. Saba Bank, off the island of Saba, is home to some of the most spectacular marine wildlife in the Caribbean Queen Maxima cleans her goggles and King Willem-Alexander fits his before the pair dive to explore the stunning scenes below the surface As part of their trip, the couple are inspecting reconstruction efforts on St Maarten following the storm The king and queen are today inspecting reconstruction efforts on the island following the devastating tropical storm. Thousands of homes across the island were flattened, while luxury yachts moored in marinas have been sunk or driven on shore by the hurricane-force winds. Locals were forced to queue for basic aid and even water as the island's infrastructure has been utterly destroyed by the hurricane. The royal couple's first stop on Thursday was St Eustatius, before they arrived at Saba island yesterday where they also joined in on Saba Day festivities. They have been accompanied by the State Secretary for the Interior and Kingdom Relations, Raymond Knops. The royal couple's first stop was St Eustatius on November 3, before they moved on to Saba yesterday Drying off: The King and Queen remove their scuba gear after exploring Saba Bank in the Caribbean yesterday Queen Maxima dons blue sunhat and a Saba Conservation Foundation polo shit after she and her husband dived the beauty spot The three-day trip comes three months after the Hurricane devastated parts of the islands Police want to trace two men on a moped after construction worker Danny Pearce (above), 31, was stabbed to death as he walked home from a jazz club with friends on Saturday, July 15 A 25-year-old man will appear in court after being accused of stabbing and shooting a man to death for his Rolex watch. Danny Pearce, 31, was targeted by moped-riding thieves on July 15 and was killed after he refused to hand over his expensive watch in Greenwich, south-east London. Jordan Bailey-Mascoll, from Dartford, Kent, was charged on Friday with the deadly assault. Bailey-Mascoll was arrested on November 30 and will appear at Bromley Magistrates' court today. A 21-year-old man has also been arrested in connection with the attack. He remains released under investigation, police said. Police had released CCTV footage of the attack which shows a moped with helmets on. Pearce was reportedly approached by two men on a moped in the attack in Greenwich, south-east London. One was armed with a gun, and the other with a knife in the attack at 12.15am. Shots were fired in the violent robbery, although none hit the father-of-one, who died at the scene suffering stab wounds to his neck. The muggers reportedly pulled his valuable Rolex watch from his wrist as he lay bleeding to death on the ground. A grainy image captured from CCTV footage (above) shows two men riding pillion on a moped with helmets on. Mr Pearce was reportedly approached by two men on a moped in the attack at 12.15am in Greenwich, south-east London. One was armed with a gun; the other with a knife Shots were fired in the violent robbery, although none hit the father-of-one, who died at the scene suffering stab wounds to his neck. The muggers reportedly pulled his valuable Rolex watch from his wrist as he lay bleeding to death on the ground. (Above, an image released by the police of one of the people they want to trace) Police have also released an image of the Rolex watch which was taken from Mr Pearce in the attack, and would like to hear from anyone who may have come across it since it was stolen Nearly a week on from the stabbing, police have still not made any arrests and are appealing for help from the public to trace the attackers. Officers will also be returning to the scene of the alleged murder to appeal directly to the public for information. Police have also released an image of the Rolex watch which was taken from Mr Pearce in the attack, and would like to hear from anyone who may have come across it since it was stolen. Detective Inspector Jo Sidaway, who is leading the investigation, said: 'We believe that Mr Pearce was approached on King William Walk by two suspects on a moped. 'One suspect is believed to have been in possession of what appeared to be a firearm, the other a knife. 'During an altercation, Danny was stabbed and a firearm was discharged. The suspects fled the scene on the moped. Danny sought help at a nearby address; he was pronounced dead there. Tributes have been left for the popular Chelsea fan, who was a father to young daughter Grace. A child's felt-tip drawing of a family marked 'to Daddy, love Gracie' nestles among the bouquets of flowers left at the spot where he died 'We believe that Danny's Rolex watch was stolen in the attack, and one line of enquiry is that his death was the result of a violent robbery. If you have seen this watch under suspicious circumstances, please get in contact with us. 'We are also releasing images of two men we are eager to trace and speak to. If you have any information that could help us, we would urge you to come forward as soon as possible.' A Chelsea scarf tied to the railing nearby reads: 'RIP Pearcey, thanks for all the great memories' Tributes have been left for the popular Chelsea fan, who was a father to young daughter Grace. A child's felt-tip drawing of a family marked 'to Daddy, love Gracie' nestles among the bouquets of flowers left at the spot where he died. Speaking from the family home in Plumstead, south east London, Mr Pearce's grandmother said: 'He was lovely, he was a good boy. He was a wonderful grandson.' A Chelsea scarf tied to the railing nearby reads: 'RIP Pearcey, thanks for all the great memories.' This is the creepy moment an alleged serial groper reaches round a bus chair to try and fondle a woman's breasts. Panida Chianchana, 24, was travelling on a public bus in Bangkok, Thailand, on November 26 when she felt fingers on her chest. The university student - who was interviewed by local media - said she was touched 'two or three more times' before she decided to record it. Footage of the incident - which she gave to her boyfriend to post online - shows fingers probing the area where her waist had been before leaning forward. Panida Chianchana, 24, was travelling on a public bus in Bangkok, Thailand, on November 26 when she felt fingers on her chest The student recorded the man's fingers inching closer towards her chest while he was sat in the seat directly behind her Video shows the moment Panida bravely confronted the wide-brimmed hat-wearing 'psycho' to ask him 'Why did you put your hand there? Why did you touch me? Are you a psycho?' After going public with the assault, several more women came forward to say they had been groped by the same man, an airport worker, who was later arrested and confessed. Panida - who waived her anonymity - told local media: 'I was taking the bus from Chatuchak to the Victory Monument and thought to myself 'what's wrong with my chest?' 'There was a strange feeling that there was something pressing inwards, like the shoulder strap. But it happened two or three times more so I decided to turn on the phone to record it. 'I saw a hand try to get through from behind the chair and reach my chest. So then I stood up and asked why he was doing this. I said are you a psycho? Panida Chianchana - who was interviewed by local media - said she was touched 'two or three more times' before she decided to record it 'There was a strange feeling that there was something pressing inwards, like the shoulder strap,' she added Panida - who waived her anonymity - told local media: 'I was taking the bus from Chatuchak to the Victory Monument and thought to myself 'what's wrong with my chest?' The victim added: 'It happened two or three times more so I decided to turn on the phone to record it' 'He denied that he had done anything wrong. The man then rushed out of the bus and the other passengers did not help at all. They just sat quietly together.'' After Panida bravely shared the footage and a number of other women came forward after recognising the man in the clip. One woman, a student, told local media she had decided to contact police after seeing Panida's video. She said: 'Because I saw that video. I saw it, and it was the same man. When it happened to me I told the bus conductor but nobody helped.' Several other alleged victims also contacted police who issued an arrest warrant for the attacker. After going public with the assault, several more women came forward to say they had been groped by the same man, an airport worker, who was later arrested and confessed. The suspect is pictured in a white, short-sleeved shirt The man, named by police as Peerapol Yodcharoen, 36, was later arrested at his home in the Bang Sue district of the capital The man, named by police as Peerapol Yodcharoen, 36, and reportedly a worker at busy Don Muang Airport used by millions of tourists, was later arrested at his home in the Bang Sue district of the capital. He allegedly confessed to the assault caught on camera. Officers revealed had a previous conviction for a similar attack at a bus stop in April which happened near the Don Muang Airport. Police Lieutenant Sompong Chengtang, deputy commander of the Metropolitan Police, gave details of similar incidents on August 18 in which Yodcharoen had been identified. He was also believed to be responsible for oher incidents throughout September. He allegedly confessed to the assault caught on camera. Officers revealed had a previous conviction for a similar attack at a bus stop in April which happened near the Don Muang Airport Pol Lt Chengtang said Yodcharoen would be charged with 'committing indecent acts to persons over the age of 15 by force'. He said: 'A video on social networks showed a girl attacked by the man on Bus 8. The behaviour was the same as an earlier offence on August 18 and the man has been identified as the same offender'. 'I have spoken with the woman who made the most recent clip and others who have complained. 'There are also many young women who have been abused by this man who touched their chest on the bus. I have collected all the evidence and photos. 'A file will be passed to the investigating officer to prosecute the person.' A man who pleaded guilty to brutally murdering his partner has claimed police played a part in the vicious killing. Stephen Boyd, 53, pleaded guilty in August to the murder of his former partner, childcare worker Tina Kontozis, in her Bundeena home on the outskirts of southern Sydney and to knocking his son unconscious with a bat on April 24, 2016. During a sentencing hearing in the New South Wales Supreme Court, crown prosecutor Chris Maxwell revealed Boyd had written a letter to his son Daniel and Ms Kontozis in May 20, 2016. In the letter, Boyd blamed police for his 'emotional breakdown' which led to the murder of his partner, according to news.com.au. Daniel Boyd (left, with family and supporters) has told a court that his father - who brutally murdered his mother before beating him with a bat - was an 'evil narcissist' 'To this day I still believe the police should not have been called and should not have got involved in our family arguments,' he wrote. 'All it did was make things worse because the police overreact and exaggerate the facts and charges, resulting in an AVO [apprehended violence order] then a breach of AVO and a good behaviour bond, all with court appearances, court costs and fines. 'Police should not have carried on with it, resulting in restrictions and more pressure on me which I believe contributed to my emotional breakdown that terrible day.' Boyd ended the letter by coming to the realisation that he would be imprisoned for a long time, while also begging for forgiveness. Stephen Boyd, 53, stabbed his former partner, childcare worker Tina Kontozis to death and then beat their son Daniel unconscious (Daniel and Tina pictured together) Earlier in the hearing, Boyd's son Daniel spoke of the fondness he had for his mother. 'Rest in peace, mum, I love you and miss you, you will forever be in my heart,' said Daniel Boyd on Friday at his father's sentence hearing in the NSW Supreme Court on Friday. The court heard Boyd repeatedly stabbed Ms Kontozis and hit her with a wooden bat. Boyd pleaded guilty in August to the murder of his former partner In his victim impact statement, the now 19-year-old said his mother's life was tragically taken away from her in horrific circumstances. 'I was also assaulted by the offender which resulted in numerous injuries,' he said. He now hates going to bed at night, has nightmares and is paranoid about making sure the doors are locked. 'Mum was just a beautiful person,' he said, adding that he missed her so much. 'You may have taken my mother away from me forever but you cannot take my memories.' In his victim impact statement, the now 19-year-old said his mother's life was tragically taken away from her in horrific circumstances 'I was also assaulted by the offender which resulted in numerous injuries,' he said He now hates going to bed at night, has nightmares and is paranoid about making sure the doors are locked Ms Kontozis's mother Helen Kontozis (centre) described the cruel burden of 'having to bury my baby girl' Daniel, who is now 19 years old, delivered a powerful victim impact statement in court Other statements were read out on behalf of Ms Kontozis's three older brothers and their mother Helen Kontozis, with whom her grandson Daniel now lives. She described the cruel burden of 'having to bury my baby girl' who was murdered by a selfish bully in a barbaric manner. 'My daughter's son Daniel is effectively an orphan,' she said. Tina's brother James Kontozis told the court he was haunted after being given his sister's deformed rings - a sign of the trauma she had suffered before her death. 'I couldn't imagine the trauma Tina endured in her final moments . but when I was given the rings she was wearing and saw the deformed state they were in I came to the realisation that she would have suffered horribly,' he said. Brothers Nick and George Kontozis both said they felt guilt for not protecting their little sister. The hearing continues. Advertisement Strong gales will batter Britain next week after a short, mild respite from bitterly cold temperatures - amid fears the La Nina phenomenon will bring a record freezing winter. A prolonged period of cold in the Pacific Ocean has sparked speculation that the UK will face sub-zero temperatures for months. When La Nina is brewing as is the case now warmer winds are blocked. As a result, bitter northerlies can come blasting in, bringing the kind of weather expected this week. They also create the potential for it to get a lot colder. La Nina was blamed for the big freeze of winter 2010 and the coldest December on record, with lows of -13c, snow on the ground for weeks and blizzards that deposited 2ft drifts, bringing parts of the country to a standstill. A steam train chugs along the North York Moors Railway line as it heads towards Pickering, North Yorkshire, surrounded by fields of snow Plumes of white smoke billow into the sky above the engine as it cross a bridge on its way to Pickering from Goathland near Scarborough, North Yorkshire A prolonged period of cold in the Pacific Ocean has sparked speculation the El Nina phenomenon will mean the UK facing sub-zero temperatures for months Met Office spokesperson Grahame Madge told The Independent: 'In 2010 we had a deep La Nina which sent a strong meteorological signal, and it was reflected in the weather in the UK with the cold weather we saw at the time.' Some areas of Britain are facing up to 4in of snow and temperatures as low as -8c this week as a precursor to a month-long cold snap - amid hopes of a White Christmas. Winds of nearly 60mph will hammer the whole of the UK next Wednesday after the mercury rises to more comfortable conditions from tomorrow. Parts of northern England and Scotland have been blanketed in snow in the past few days. But wintry scenes could melt away when mild temperatures return from this afternoon bringing with them more cloud and a possibility of rain for much of England, and Northern Ireland and Scotland. Walkers make the most of the what is left of the snow on the North York Moors. Milder temperatures are set to sweep across Britain, meaning a lot of the white stuff could be gone come Monday A grouse pokes it's head out of the thick snow on the North York Moors this morning Glen Coe, in the Scottish highlands, pictured yesterday morning, was blanketed in thick snow and the white peaks are beautifully reflected in the lake below Britain is set for a mild respite from bitterly cold temperatures at the start of the new working week. But, after stormier conditions, colder conditions will return for next weekend Milder conditions will continue into the beginning of the new working week, bringing bright spells but patches of cloud and drizzles on Monday and Tuesday By Sunday morning an area of high pressure will have pushed warmer air across most of the UK, with the warmest spots being in the south. Met Office forecaster Charlie Powell told MailOnline: 'It's going to be less cold than it has been. 'Temperatures will be up to double figures and most parts will see 10C, London and the south will be warmest.' Milder conditions will continue into the beginning of the new working week, bringing bright spells but patches of cloud and drizzles on Monday and Tuesday. Residents and visitors enjoy a Saturday morning walk along the beach in Swanage, Dorset, as milder conditions return today and into the start of next week A man and two youngsters make the most of the calm conditions this morning in Swanage, Dorset. Winds of up to 60mph will sweep across much of Britain next Wednesday through to Thursday ) Photographers wait for that special moment up on Peveril Point on an overcast day in Dorset Saddleworth, near Manchester, is pictured with drips and drabs of snow still lingering on the streets and on the hill yesterday morning The Angel of the North's face hasn't escaped flurries of snow, as it stands high above fields that have been completely blanketed in white Temperatures are set to get milder today and into early next week before gales batter the country on Wednesday 'Monday and Tuesday and be lumped together and will be similar to Sunday,' Mr Powell added. Cloudy spells and rain will 'disintegrate' as it moves south west across the UK the forecaster said. But the mild spate is expected to come to an abrupt end on Wednesday, which will see gales of 55mph batter Britain. The storm hits on the second anniversary of 2015's Storm Desmond, which saw a record 14in of rain in 24 hours as 5,200 homes flooded in and around Cumbria. This picturesque image show the grounds of North Yorkshire-based Nunnington Hall covered in snow on Thursday Many parts of the country awoke on Thursday to see snow had arrive. Picture are grounds of Nunnington Hall, North Yorkshire Pristine white snow covers the grounds of Nunnington Hall, in North Yorkshire, on Thursday. Colder weather is set to make a return towards the end of next week The Met Office said a second bout of gales on Saturday and Sunday, windiest in the North, is set to see snow at low levels in the North and on higher ground further south And bitter winter temperatures will bite back from Thursday when cold, northerly air sweeps across Britain -- blanketing parts of northern England and Scotland in snow. The Met Office said a second bout of gales on Saturday and Sunday, windiest in the North, is set to see snow at low levels in the North and on higher ground further south. Met Office forecaster Mark Wilson added: 'Two separate depressions are due in the coming week. Huge waves crash against a pier and lighthouse on the coast of Seaham, in Country Durham, yesterday morning Britons woke to slightly warmer temperatures but the seas were still stormy at Seaham, North Yorkshire. Winds of nearly 60mph are set to batter Britain next Wednesday and Thursday Edinburgh Castle was lit up in blue to mark St Andrew's Day in the Scottish capital, which enjoyed a relatively calm evening last night St Andrew's House, the office of the Scottish Government in Edinburgh, were also daubed in blue light to mark St Andrew's Day yesterday Monday and Tuesday will see temperatures move into milder, double-figures. But the respite isn't expected to last long. Pictured: Edinburgh Castle lit up in blue to mark St Andrew's Day 'The first sees Wednesday and Thursday windy for all areas, with the strongest winds in the South and gale-force gusts up to 55mph. 'Colder air returning from the north from Thursday is shown by a significant number of forecast models, meaning showers could fall as snow over northern hills. 'The second low pressure is expected on Saturday and Sunday, with the risk of gales, windiest in the North. 'As there will be bands of rain as well, snow could fall particularly in northern parts, possibly to lower levels, and higher ground elsewhere could see wintry showers.' Advertisement Boasting a lit up Santa on a chimney, twinkling Christmas trees, dazzling stars, 100,000 light bulbs and a whole herd of illuminated reindeer, this spectacular display could be Britain's most festive street. The festive cul-de-sac Burnham-on-Sea in Somerset has burst into colour after the homeowners switched on their lights to mark the count-down to Christmas. In the now annual tradition, families living in the cul-de-sac lit up their homes and lawns to celebrate the start of the festive period. The decorative display helps raise money for local cancer charities and thousands of people are expected to visit the street this month. This neighbourhood in Burnham-On-Sea, Somerset has been dubbed 'Britain's most festive street' as the cul-de-sac twinkles with 100,000 light bulbs The lawns and houses on the cul-de-sac dazzle with Christmas lights and festive decorations, including Santa on his sleigh and a whole herd of reindeer Last year the display raised more than 13,329 for a good cause and this year the collection will go towards two local charities Since the Christmas lights were turned on 11 years ago, more than 85,000 has been raised for various charities The tradition in Trinity Close started more than a decade ago by Nick Gardner, his wife Hazel and their neighbours Chris Woodberry and his late wife Christine. Mr Gardner said: 'It's such a nice thing to do together, everyone helps each other out and passers-by really appreciate our effort. It started off with just a few of us doing it but then more families wanted to join. 'We want lots of people over the festive period to come and see us and help raise a good sum for charity and of course just enjoy the view.' Paula Payne, who lives next door to the Gardners, said: 'It's lovely really, when I was a child neighbours knew neighbours and neighbours helped neighbours. With all the lights we have the same kind of attitude here, we all get to know each other. 'Lots of people like the lights, lots and lots of people come to see them. It's so nice that we can carry on with it every year...it's such a lovely community feel.' Resident Roger Flower said: 'Each house tries to do something a little different and add something each year. 'It's a stunning display again this year and I think part of the success is that visitors are surrounded by lights on all four sides. 'With no through road visitors are able to wander around without worrying about traffic.' Six festive homes on the street have draped more than 100,000 fairy lights across their roofs, garages and garden fences The houses, gardens and gates of the street will be illuminated between 4.30pm and 10pm every day until early January Thousands of visitors flock from around the country to view the spectacular display, helping the residents raise thousands of pounds for grateful charities every year Last year the five-week display raised a record sum of 13,329 for two local charities and over an 11-year-old period, the residents' festive houses have raised more than 85,000 for charitable causes. Charity collection buckets will be outside the houses if visitors wish to donate as the Trinity Close homeowners target to beat last year's raised sum. Money is being raised for BARB, which operates Burnham's rescue hovercrafts and PETAL: The Christine Woodberry Memorial Trust providing cancer support. A teenage restaurant worker has been jailed after he tried to murder a man he had met on a gay dating site in a 'ferocious attack'. Gubair Boshir, 19, of Cardiff, grabbed visited his victim at his flat before putting him in a choke hold and stabbing him multiple times with a knife. He then took a mobile phone and 180 in cash from the man's trousers before leaving the property. The victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was left with scarring to his face and body after the incident. Sentencing Boshir to 17 years and eight months in prison at Cardiff Crown Court, Judge Eleri Rees said: 'This was a ferocious attack with intent to kill.' Gubair Boshir has been jailed for 17 years and eight months after admitting to attempted murder Michael Jones, prosecuting, said the victim met Boshir on a dating website for gay men called Fab Guys and went to the man's home in the early hours of Saturday, May 6. Mr Jones said: 'As soon as he walked in he grabbed the victim in a choke hold, wrapping both arms around his throat. 'The victim struggled and grabbed his arms, trying to breathe. He could feel he was losing strength and fell to his knees.' The court heard Boshir told him: 'Just go to sleep.' Prosecutors said the victim saw Boshir holding a knife with a five-inch blade before feeling a 'sharp pain' in his back, then in his chest and face. Mr Jones added: 'The victim fought for his life - grappling with the defendant.' In a statement given to police, the victim said: 'I felt like I was going to die. At this point I felt I had no fight left, I was so worn out.' After Boshir left the man, who was 'covered in blood' dragged himself to the flat of a neighbour who called 999. He was rushed to the University Hospital of Wales by ambulance and treated for 10 knife injuries, including eight stab wounds, plus lacerations. Boshir was traced to an address in the Grangetown area of the city but was not at home when police attended. Officers returned later with a warrant and found him in his attic bedroom. Cardiff Crown Court heard Boshir told his victim 'just go to sleep' while attacking him The court heard the victim's phone and cash was then found in the defendant's jacket pocket. He was interviewed at Cardiff Bay Police Station where he said: 'I'm glad he didn't die.' He denied taking a knife to the scene and stabbing the victim but later changed his account and said he took the knife 'for protection' as he was meeting a stranger and acted out of 'panic'. In a statement read out in court the victim - who is in his late 50s - said: 'All I want is a quiet life.' He said he still has scars on his face and body, adding: 'My injuries have been on display for all to see.' Boshir admitted theft and attempted murder on a basis of plea, which was rejected by the judge during a trial of issue. Harry Baker, defending, said his client is 'still a very young man' and argued there was an indication of remorse. He told the court Boshir intents to use his time in custody to reform himself. Judge Rees described the incident as 'horrific', noting it was a sustained attack involving stabbing and strangulation. Pensioners claim they have been banned from putting up Christmas decorations - after their housing association introduced new 'ridiculous' safety rules. The OAPs living at Rowan Court, in Worcester, said they were told they could not deck out their communal hall in festive style because their trimmings were considered a fire risk. They claim they have been ordered to take down the Christmas lights they have been using for the past nine years. But Fortis Living, which runs the complex, has denied there is a ban on Christmas lights. The new safety regulations have been put in place following the devastating Grenfell Tower fire disaster in London earlier this year. Pictured from left : Rowan Court residents Alan Price, Dave Brookes and Olive Knight Olive Knight, 77, who lives at the Rowan Court, blasted the rules, which do not apply to residents' rooms, as 'nonsense'. She added: 'We have no idea what we can and cannot do now. We were told that the lights are too low down, that they can't be on the ceiling - it's just nonsense. 'I think it is a real shame that we are being told that we cannot celebrate Christmas how we want to. We are all responsible adults and this has nothing to do with Grenfell. 'We are not going to leave lights on all night or anything, we all look after each other here.' Mrs Knight's daughter, Sarah North, said residents had been left 'miserable' by the new rules. The 51-year-old said: 'It is Christmas for goodness sake. If they can have them in their flat, what difference does it make if they're in communal areas too? Pensioners claim they have been banned from putting up Christmas decorations Mrs Knight's daughter, Sarah North, said residents had been left 'miserable' by the new rules 'They are being treated like schoolchildren not senior adults. It is not fair for them.' A Fortis Living spokesman said the new regulations were simply about safety. He said: 'We have absolutely no bans in place for LED lights or fairy lights. 'What we are putting in place are some fire prevention guidelines for trees, lights and decorations in communal areas.' He said these new rules include 'not to hang wreaths on doors that face into communal areas or to decorate communal corridors and landings'. Sue Heelas, assistant director of housing and care at Fortis Living, said: 'We know Christmas is a special time and we want to do all we can to make sure our tenants enjoy it in the safest way possible. 'Safety is always a priority for us, and in light of the tragic Grenfell Tower fire earlier this year, we want to be confident that the risk of fire is minimal. 'These communal area measures will help us to do just that. 'Tenants are free to decorate inside their homes as they wish, but we would encourage them to follow the same guidance.' Queensland police are hunting an alleged thief who stole a palliative care vehicle from Toowomba Hospice in broad daylight. A volunteer was delivering water in the white Mazda 3 Monday morning when police say the brazen robber climbed behind the wheel and drove away. Keys were left inside the vehicle which was stolen from the Harristown facility, southwest of the city, between 10.30am and 11.20am. Queensland police are hunting an alleged thief who stole a palliative care vehicle from Toowomba Hospice on Monday The vehicle and an unidentified man were later captured on CCTV cameras at a fuel station in Grantham, 30 kilometers away. The hatchback has Queensland registration plates 415 WHU and Toowoomba Hospice written in maroon on its sides and at its rear. A man police believe could assist in their investigation wore distinctive white sunglasses and a bandana. A man police believe could assist in their investigation wore distinctive white sunglasses and a bandana (pictured) The German Christmas market that was evacuated last night over a nail bomb scare was back up and running as normal today as police said it was 'unlikely' to have been a terrorist target. Hundreds were rushed from the market in Potsdam near Berlin after a can with protruding wires was found near a pharmacy as police combed the area for other bombs. Police investigating if the suspected bomb was fake said they have not found a detonator but are still analysing. Brandenburg state police said that it contained 'a cylindrical object with cables, batteries and nails, but at this point no ignition device has been found.' Authorities previously said that the package also contained a powder, but that it hadn't been determined whether it was an explosive substance or something else. Scroll down for video The Christmas market was up and running as normal today as police said it was 'unlikely' that it was the target of the suspicious package Police investigating if the bomb was fake said they have not found a detonator but are still analysing It was first delivered to a pharmacy but was reported as suspicious by an employee who opened it and found wires inside, local media reported. Pictured: Police on the scene now Police have now defused the bomb after having cordoned-off the area. Pictured: Police at the scene Brandenburg's interior minister Karl-Heinz Schroeter last night said experts were trying to determine whether it was a viable device or an elaborate hoax. Officers were assessing 'whether the device was actually capable of causing an explosion or not'. He added: 'There were apparently not only nails but also powder in the canister, and that must be investigated, could it be plaster, or something that doesn't explode or is it something explosive.' He said results of tests to determine the device's viability may not be completed this evening. He added: 'We just don't know at this point if this was a device that could have actually exploded or a fake or a test.' Police confirmed the object was a bomb but were unable to say if it was booby-trapped. Pictured: Police seal off the area Police tape across a road in Potsdam after the bomb scare. In the background, the lights of the market can be seen Police are currently on the scene, having cordoned off the area around a suspicious object. Pictured: The market late last month Germany remains a target for jihadist groups, in particular because of its involvement in the coalition fighting IS in Iraq and Syria, and its deployment in Afghanistan since 2001. Pictured: the scene tonight In a tweet, Brandenburg police said earlier: 'The IED-suspicion has been confirmed. 'The affected area in the city center must be cleared. Please pay attention to our announcements via loudspeaker.' Police added, however, that they could not initially confirm if the bomb was booby-trapped. Roads around the market were also closed. The bomb was reportedly 20 inches long and 16 inches wide. Local media said police were alerted around 1:30 p.m. Police announced on Twitter about three hours later that the object had been defused. Germany is on high alert for potential terrorist attacks after last year's deadly attack on a Christmas market in Berlin. Potsdam is about 15 miles southwest of the German capital Berlin. Germany's security services estimate there are around 10,000 Islamic radicals in Germany, some 1,600 of whom are suspected of being capable of using violence. Pictured: The market tonight And at the end of October, German police arrested a 19-year-old Syrian identified only as Yamen A suspected of planning a 'serious bomb attack' using powerful explosives. Pictured: A police van at the market Potsdam is about 15 miles southwest of the German capital Berlin. Pictured: The city's market tonight after the bomb was found The attacker, Tunisian asylum seeker Anis Amri, hijacked a truck and murdered its Polish driver before killing another 11 people and wounding dozens more by ploughing the heavy vehicle through the festive market in the centre of the city. He was shot dead by Italian police in Milan four days later while on the run. Germany has since been targeted again in attacks with radical Islamist motives. In July 2017, a 26-year-old Palestinian asylum seeker wielding a knife stormed into a supermarket in the northern port city of Hamburg, killing one person and wounding six others before being detained by passersby. German prosecutors said the man likely had a 'radical Islamist' motive. Armed police officers stand in the inner city during the opening of the traditional Christmas market earlier this week And at the end of October, German police arrested a 19-year-old Syrian identified only as Yamen A suspected of planning a 'serious bomb attack' using powerful explosives. IS also claimed responsibility for a number of attacks in 2016, including the murder of a teenager in Hamburg, a suicide bombing in the southern city of Ansbach that wounded 15, and an axe attack on a train in Bavaria that left five injured. Germany remains a target for jihadist groups, with some saying that is because of its involvement in the coalition fighting IS in Iraq and Syria, and its deployment in Afghanistan since 2001. German troops in the anti-IS coalition do not participate in combat operations but support it through reconnaissance, refuelling and training. Germany's security services estimate there are around 10,000 Islamic radicals in Germany, some 1,600 of whom are suspected of being capable of using violence. Chancellor Angela Merkel has allowed in more than one million asylum seekers in the past two years - a decision that has driven the rise of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, which charges - along with many in the mainstream - that the influx spells a heightened security risk. Matthew Azimi, 36, has been identified as the man found dead at a school in The Bronx late Thursday afternoon A special education teacher who was found dead at a New York school after an apparent heroin overdose was a beloved father, friend and mentor. Matthew Azimi, 36, has been identified as the man discovered just shy of 6pm Thursday inside a locked bathroom stall at Public School X811 in The Bronx. Those who knew Azimi said he was a 'role model' and 'veteran teacher' who was 'dedicated to educating and uplifting special needs students,' PIX 11 reported from the school. Azimi is believed to have gone into the cubicle shortly after the end of the school day at 2:50pm, which is when he was last seen alive. An NYPD spokesman confirmed the teacher's death on Friday. He was pronounced dead at the scene by EMTs who were called. Police also confirmed drug paraphernalia had been lying next to his body. Scroll down for video The father and special education teacher died of an apparent drug overdose. He was loved by those who knew him, community members said (Azimi is pictured with two children, believed to be his kids, on Facebook) The teacher was found in the bathroom of Public School X811 on Thursday at 5:55pm. All students had gone home and he was discovered next to a glassine envelope A glassine envelope, the type commonly used for transporting heroin, was found in the cubicle. All of the students left school for the day following the sad event. There are 639 enrolled. New York Schools Chancellor Carmen Farina told DailyMail.com in a statement: 'This is deeply saddening and my heart goes out to the teacher's family and the school community. 'We will be providing grief counselors and ongoing resources to support students and staff during this difficult time.' A school official said grief counselors as well as ongoing resources will be available to students Azimi is shown looking happy alongside his little family in a post from his Facebook page From The Bronx, the American flag was lowered to half-staff and yellow buses were shown lining the road. 'There was like 15 of them ... and cop cars were right here and in front of my house,' a neighbor next to the school told PIX11 of the scene late Friday. 'Alot of faces are sad inside. Alot of people are crying. I've seen the faces of (the students) and they've been crying. You know, it hits home,' Annette Santiago said, who has a son in the 12th grade. 'It's terrible news. Everybody has their situations going on. we don't really know their daily life,' Santiago added. Parents, police and school officials gathered outside the building following the tragedy A neighbor across the street (shown right) said cops cars lined to end of the road after the incident 'I've seen the faces of (the students) and they've been crying. You know, it's hit home,' mother of a student, Annette Santiago (pictured) said 'He was somebody who was hands on with the kids. He always gave them a positive vibe, at all times,' said Jennifer, another student's mother A mother to an 11th grade boy, who provided her first name, Jennifer, said the teacher's loss is 'heartbreaking' and a 'big loss' for the community. 'He was somebody who was hands on with the kids. He always gave them a positive vibe, at all times,' she told the news station. The late Azimi is captured in photos on Facebook smiling and embracing two young children, believed to be his. It seems he also was a lover of pets, as he and the children are shown posing with a dog and cat happily. The department did not comment on the teacher's professional background. The medical examiner has not officially confirmed the cause of death. The family of an Aboriginal man who was shackled in chains on his death bed have spoken out about their horror. Eric Whittaker, 36, died in police custody at Westmead Hospital in Sydney following an aneurysm with his ankles cuffed with shackles on July 4. Mr Whittaker's father, Jamie, has opened up about the outrage his family feels at the way his son was treated before his death. Eric Whittaker, 36 died in police custody at Westmead Hospital in Sydney following an aneurysm with his ankles cuffed with shackles on July 4 'There was no dignity. It's like he's an animal it's not as if he could get up and run away,' Jamie told the Sydney Morning Herald. Corrective services said their treatment of Mr Whittaker was in accordance with protocol, and are not treating his death as suspicious. Mr Whittaker was arrested on June 27 charged with offences including possession of stolen goods, carrying a knife in a public place and failure to appear in court. He was transferred from Surry Hills to Parklea jail, where he was automatically classified as maximum security. Doctors were later told Mr Whittaker had been in an isolation cell and was incontinent and agitated. He was rushed to Blacktown Hospital the following Sunday with his hands and feet bound. After a breathing tube was inserted down his throat Mr Whittaker went into cardiac arrest. His family were contacted that evening by hospital staff about his worsening condition. Corrective services said their treatment of Mr Whittaker was in accordance with protocol, and are not treating his death as suspicious 'I just slumped down on the couch, in disbelief,' Jamie said. Eric was then taken to the intensive care unit at Westmead Hospital. His hand cuffs were taken off but his ankle cuffs remained, according to Corrective Services Commissioner Peter Severin. Family members arrived to find Mr Whittaker in shackles, and his family asked corrections guards to take them off. They took a photo of Mr Whittaker on his deathbed, and the cuffs were removed by guards at the hospital. Family members arrived to find Eric in shackles, and his family asked corrections guards to take them off 'Bloody appalling, the way they can have a man on his deathbed and still have shackles on him like that,' Jamie said. 'There is no dignity shown towards Aboriginal people when they pass away.' Mr Whittaker's aunt Daisy Fernando said her nephew was treated 'like a mongrel dog'. His mother Margaret Hall said she 'can't sleep' after seeing the photo of her son on the hospital bed. The remains of an army veteran and her dog who went missing three months ago are believed to have been found in a shallow grave. The body of Julia Jacobson and her dog Boogie were thought to have been discovered during a search of the Riverside County desert by 120 officers near Cactus City, about 20 miles east of Indio. Investigators are now using dental records to confirm the identity of the remains. San Bernardino Sheriff's Department said it received information that led to the search but would not say where it came from. Dalen Ware, the ex-husband of a 37-year-old who went missing on September 2, was arrested at his home in Phoenix, Arizona, and charged with her murder in October. Julia Jacobson, an Army veteran, went missing over Labor Day weekend. Her remains are believed to have been found in a shallow grave in the Riverside County desert Dalen Ware (left) was charged with Jacobson's murder more than a month after his ex-wife (right, with her dog Boogie) went missing San Bernardino Sheriff's Department said it received information that led to the search but would not say where it came from. Search team seen above Police determined Jacobson had been murdered based on forensic analysis of her car, according to KFMB. It is believed that Boogie was killed along with his owner. Jacobson was last seen with her wheaten terrier in Ontario, California, over Labor Day weekend, and then reported missing on September 2. They also have not released a possible motive for Ware. Family said they have suspected Ware was involved since she disappeared. The couple have been divorced for about a year, and according to court documents, Ware had a history of domestic violence. Jacobson was last seen with her wheaten terrier in Ontario, California, over Labor Day weekend in this store above Jacobson was an Army veteran who worked for a 7-Eleven corporate after serving two tours of duty in Iraq before going missing Jacobson was last seen with her wheaten terrier Boogie in Ontario, California, over Labor Day weekend, and then reported missing on September 2 Jacobson was an Army veteran who worked for a 7-Eleven corporate after serving two tours of duty in Iraq before going missing. A friend told KFMB that Jacobson texted them on September 2 around 9.30pm to say she was near Palm Springs and planned to travel to Big Bear lake. Her car was later found abandoned with the keys inside not far from her home in San Diego, more than 100 miles south from where she told her friend she would be. Ware is being held at Adelanto Detention Center in San Bernardino County in lieu of $1million bail. He will appear in court next month. The couple have been divorced for about a year, and according to court documents, Ware had a history of domestic violence After her disappearance, Jacobson's friends made a 'Help Find Julia' Facebook page to share photos and videos of she and Boogie together. On the page friends wrote that the loss is 'beyond words'. 'Even though Julia's physical presence may be gone and taken from us too soon, her capacity for love, inspirational spirit and laughter will live forever in the hearts and minds of all those that knew and loved her,' a statement on the page said. Milo Yiannopoulos channelled his inner Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz when he stopped by Perth on Saturday as part of his Troll Academy Tour. The right-wing enthusiast added some sparkle during his visit to Western Australia, donning a pair of $4,000 red Christian Louboutin shoes. He paired the fancy footwear with an similarly glimmering black jacket as he addressed the large crowd gathered to hear him speak. Milo Yiannopoulos channelled his inner Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz when he stopped by Perth on Saturday as part of his Troll Academy Tour The right-wing enthusiast added some sparkle during his visit to Western Australia, donning $4,000 red Christian Louboutin shoes He paired the fancy footwear with an similarly glimmering black jacket as he addressed the large crowd gathered to hear him speak Hundreds gathered outside the doors of the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre, with lines snaking outside of the previously undisclosed location. Some enthusiastic guests even took the chance to dress up in American attire including a 'Make America Great Again' cap. While one supporter donned a mask of President Donald Trump ahead of hearing Yiannopoulous speak. Outside it was a different story though, with protesters waving signs, including some that read 'Perth says no to racism'. Hundreds gathered outside the doors of the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre, with lines snaking outside of the previously undisclosed location Some enthusiastic guests even took the chance to dress up in American attire including one man decked out in a 'Make America Great Again' cap While one supporter donned a mask of President Donald Trump ahead of hearing Yiannopoulous speak Police were on hand to ensure the crowds remained in check, as they greeted fans entering for the show. The Troll Academy tour has been marked with controversy so far, with the Greens calling for him to be banned from Parliament House. Since landing in Australia on Wednesday, Yiannopoulos has labelled former prime minister Julia Gillard a p***k, and claimed local journalists were scared to interview him. He also called the Sydney Opera House a 'grotesque carbuncle', saying it is 'the ugliest building in the world'. Outside it was a different story though, with protesters waving signs, including some that read 'Perth says no to racism' Police were on hand to ensure the crowds remained in check, as they greeted fans entering for the show The Troll Academy tour has been marked with controversy so far, with the Greens calling for him to be banned from Parliament House Yiannopoulous' nationwide tour debuted in Findon, in Adelaide's west, on Friday after his first show in Sydney was cancelled the day before. It also drew a crowd of protesters with many holding homemade signs to greet him as security checks were done on ticketholders entering the venue. One person providing a very warm welcome though was former I'm A Celebrity... star Tziporah Malkah. While flamboyant attire appeared to be part of a trend, after Yiannopoulous hit the stage in a shiny leopard skin blazer and matching gold boots. Yiannopoulous' nationwide tour debuted in Findon, in Adelaide's west, on Friday after his first show in Sydney was cancelled the day before, with a warm welcome from former I'm A Celebrity... star Tziporah Malkah The model formerly known as Kate Fischer (pictured) got up close and personal with the star A few protesters holding homemade signs were there to greet him as security checks were done on ticketholders entering the venue Pope Francis ended a diplomatically tricky trip to Asia on Saturday by seeking the forgiveness of Rohingya Muslim refugees in Bangladesh after his controversial decision to not directly refer to their plight when he visited their homeland, Myanmar. On the last day of his three-day visit to Bangladesh, which came after meetings in Buddhist-majority Myanmar, the pope went to a home in Dhaka founded by Mother Teresa for orphans, unwed mothers and destitute elderly. Later in a speech to an audience of around 7,000 young Catholics, Muslims and followers of other religions, the pope spoke about welcoming and accepting those who 'act and think differently than ourselves'. Heading home: Pope Francis leaves after his three-day long visit from Dhaka, Bangladesh Pope Francis gives his speech during a meeting with young people at Notre Dame College in Dhaka Bangladeshi students attend a program with Pope Francis at Notre Dame College 'When a people, a religion or a society turns into a 'little world', they lose the best that they have and plunge into a self-righteous mentality of 'I am good and you are bad',' Francis said at the Notre Dame College, founded by Catholic priests. He also asked his young listeners to 'not spend the whole day playing with your phone and ignoring the world around you!' Francis said he was very pleased by an inter-religious meeting on Friday night, where he had an emotional meeting with refugees from Myanmar and then used the word Rohingya for the first time on his current trip, saying they had God within them and should be respected. He also sought their forgiveness in the name of all who persecuted them. Previously, in Myanmar, he followed the advice of Myanmar Church officials who said his use of the word could prompt a backlash against Christians and hurt that country's fragile path to democracy. That had disappointed rights groups such as Amnesty International, which has said Myanmar's 'security forces were carrying out a systematic, organized and ruthless campaign of violence against the Rohingya population.' Myanmar's military has denied the allegations. The country does not recognise the stateless Rohingya as an ethnic group with its own identity and considers them as illegal immigrants from Bangladesh. Pope Francis is flanked by Bangladeshi officials and security guards as he walks to the airplane before his departure from the airport The Pope had faced criticism from some rights activists and refugees for failing to address the issue publicly. He did not visit the refugee camps, where only a handful were aware that one of the world's most high-profile leaders was championing their cause just 300 miles away. One refugee expressed gratitude that the pope had finally uttered the word Rohingya, and said he believed the meeting would have a big impact. 'It is the first time that a great world leader has listened to us,' 29-year-old Rohingya teacher Mohammad Zubair said. 'This meeting will send a clear message to global leaders.' But Yangon-based analyst David Mathieson said the tour would 'do nothing dramatically to alter the humanitarian disaster of Rakhine' in Myanmar, where the violence against the Rohingya has unfolded. 'I think the Pope's strategy for his visit to Bangladesh was to keep international attention focused on the immense humanitarian crisis... and provide some inspiration for the Christians of Myanmar,' he said. Pope Francis speaking during a meeting with young people at Notre Dame College in Dhaka A fish that's so frightened of water it hides away in a miniature cave has been filmed for the first time. The leaping blenny shelters three feet above the tide in Guam, Micronesia, fleeing for higher ground when the smallest of waves threatens to approach. The poor swimmer, which resorts to rolling its body in puddles to stay wet, was captured on film by the BBC's Blue Planet II for its latest episode, Coasts. The Pacific Leaping Blenny is so scared of the sea that it shelters in a cave above the tide and rolls in puddles in order to remain wet Introducing the Pacific fish, narrator Sir David Attenborough reveals the creature's sea-fearing habits. 'One marine creature has virtually abandoned the sea altogether,' he says. 'On a few remote Pacific islands lives the most terrestrial fish on the planet. 'These Pacific Leaping Blenny seem afraid of the waves. They are poor swimmers and would be easy prey in the sea.' The blenny flees for higher ground the moment it believes a wave is approaching its crevice shelter The fish can leap much farther than its three-inch body length in order to avoid being swept into the sea and feeds on algae growing on the cliff face. It flashes an orange patch on its dorsal fin to attract females to its home in the rock crevice, where the mate lays her eggs. The episode, which airs on BBC One at 8pm tomorrow, also captures sea lions working together to chase tuna through a labyrinth of bays in the Galapagos Islands. This is the first recorded proof that the creatures can cooperate and plan. The episode captures sea lions working together to hunt tuna and is the first proof that the animals work together and plan Land crabs leap from rock to rock in the episode as they desperately try to avoid Moray eels and octopuses below and penguins are seen tentatively negotiating their way through colonies of elephant seals to reach their young. Series producer Mark Brownlow said: 'In the last of our habitat-based episodes we visit our coasts. The show also captures penguins walking through an obstacle course of elephant seals to reach their young 'They may be our window to the oceans, where we go for rest and relaxation, but the creatures that live here have to go through incredible hardships to survive in this divide between land and sea. 'From sea lions that drive massive tuna onto dry land to heroic puffins struggling to feed their young. 'This episode is going to be extraordinary because weve got so many new, incredible stories.' The families of 44 crew members on board a submarine that has been lost for 16 days are demanding that Argentina's navy reverses its decision to stop looking for survivors. The navy said that the search was no longer considered a rescue mission but it would continue looking for the missing sub. Experts said the crew only had up to 10 days of oxygen if the sub remained intact under the sea. Relatives of the lost mariners of San Juan comfort each other as it is announced the search for survivors is over Relatives of crew member Gabriel Rodriguez of the missing ARA San Juan submarine leave the navy base in Mar del Plata An explosion was also detected near the time and place where the ARA San Juan went missing on November 15. Relatives of the crew met Argentina's defence minister and the navy chief on Friday at the sub's naval base in the coastal city of Mar del Plata. Some held pictures of their loved ones. Captain Enrique Babi said on Thursday that he was ending rescue efforts for the 44 missing crew of ARA San Juan more than two weeks after it vanished. Search efforts will continue, he said, but are now solely focused on recovering the wreck of the vessel from somewhere on the sea bed. Captain Enrique Babi, head of the search operation for the ARA San Juan, said on Thursday that the navy will be ending its rescue mission more than two weeks after the sub vanished The Navy will continue searching for the wreckage of the vessel, Babi said, but admitted there are now no hopes of finding the 44 crew alive Family members of the missing crew members collapsed in grief as Babi broke the news at the naval base in Mar del Plata, where the sub was travelling before it vanished He said the rescue efforts had already been 'extended for more than twice what is estimated for a rescue.' 'We've had 28 ships, nine aircraft, 4,000 people involved, 18 countries supporting,' he added. 'Despite the magnitude of these efforts, we've been unable to find the submarine.' Some relatives of the crew broke into tears after they received the news. 'I don't understand this arbitrary and unjustified decision,' Luis Tagliapietra, the father of 27-year-old crew member Alejandro Tagliapietra, told local TV. 'It's unusually cruel. Every day, it's a new blow. I'm destroyed.' Among the missing, now presumed dead, is 35-year-old Eliana Maria Krawczyk, Argentina's first female submariner. The San Juan last made contact with commanders on November 15 to report that water had entered the vessel through its snorkel and caused a battery fault. Relatives of the missing walk past a fence at the Mar del Palta base where a chain link fence has been turned into a makeshift memorial for the missing Emotions ran high as Babi announced his decision, saying the search had already been extended to twice the length of a typical rescue mission It was advised to divert to Mar del Plata to have the problem fixed, and the captain later commuincated via satellite phone that the problem had been contained. That was the last communication received from the submarine before a loud noise, possibly and implosion, was detected from around the area where it vanished. Some family members have denounced the navy's response to the sub's disappearance as well as the age and condition of the vessel. President Mauricio Macri has promised a full investigation. The San Juan, a German-built diesel-electric TR-1700 class submarine, was commissioned in the 1980s and was most recently refitted in 2014. During the $12 million retrofitting, the vessel was cut in half and had its engines and batteries replaced. A relative of one of the members of crew on board the San Juan is pictured distraught at the Mar del Plata base A woman sits with an Argentinian flag draped over her shoulder in front of a sign that reads 'Have strength Argentina that the 44 will come back in the company of the angels' Tributes paid to those feared dead in the disappearance of the San Juan submarine Experts say refits can be difficult because they involve integrating systems produced by different manufacturers, and even the tiniest mistake during the cutting phase can put the safety of the ship and crew at risk. At the sub's home naval base in Mar del Plata, relatives were hit hard by Thursday's announcement. Some hugged and fell on their knees sobbing near a fence crowded with blue-and-white Argentine flags, rosary beads and messages of support. Others took to social media to pay homage to their loved ones. 'I stay with this image,' Jesica Gopar, said in a tweet that included a photo of her husband, submarine officer Fernando Santilli, smiling and holding their young son in his arms. 'He's the most beautiful being that God could have put on my path 13 years ago,' she wrote. 'He's a hero who must be recognized along with his 43 other crew members. I hope you didn't suffer my love.' Since taking office as president in January, Trump and his attorney general, Jeff Sessions (above), have sought to cut federal funding for sanctuary cities but have suffered setbacks in court Attorney General Jeff Sessions said that its time for the US government to crack down on so-called sanctuary cities for their refusal to comply with federal immigration laws. 'It is a very frustrating situation right now,' Sessions told Fox News' Tucker Carlson on Friday, adding that 'it's time for this country to get its head on straight.' 'The federal government and President Trump [are] crystal clear: We are doing everything possible to get these cities to reverse these policies.' In the US and Canada, sanctuary cities limit their cooperation with national governments to enforce immigration laws, reducing the fear of illegal migrants to report crimes, use health and social services, and enroll their children in school. The sanctuary city issue resurfaced this week after a San Francisco jury acquitted Jose Ines Garcia Zarate, 45, of murder and manslaughter charges in connection with the July 1, 2015, death of Kate Steinle. U.S. prosecutors on Friday sought to arrest illegal immigrant Jose Ines Garcia Zarate, 45, after he was found not guilty of murdering Kate Steinle President Donald Trump, who had used the Steinle case as a rallying cry against the pro-immigration policies of so-called sanctuary cities during his successful run for the presidency, called the verdict 'disgraceful' on Twitter. 'It's just amazing to me why any city would not want to rid itself of criminals who are also in the country illegally,' Sessions said. 'Why would they want to maintain them in this country when they're committing additional crimes against the peace and dignity of the city?' Before the shooting, Garcia Zarate, who had been deported to Mexico five times, had been released from a San Francisco jail despite a request by immigration authorities that he be detained and turned over to them. Despite the acquittal, US federal prosecutors sought to arrest Garcia Zarate for a weapons charge conviction, saying he violated the conditions of his supervised release from federal custody in March 2015 after nearly four years in prison, just months before Steinle's killing. Donald Trump saw Steinle's slaying as a rallying cry to stop funding to so-called sanctuary cities President Donald Trump, who had used the Steinle case as a rallying cry against the pro-immigration policies of so-called sanctuary cities during his successful run for the presidency, called the verdict 'disgraceful' on Twitter On Friday, Sessions once again urged the upper house of Congress to immediately put Kate's Law on the legislative agenda and pass the bill Garcia Zarate also faces sentencing in San Francisco Superior Court on the weapons charge, and it was not clear which jurisdiction would take the lead. In June, the U.S. House of Representatives passed 'Kates Law,' which would increase penalties for illegal immigrants who return to the United States. The bill has not passed the U.S. Senate. Since taking office as president in January, Sessions, who heads the Justice Department, has sought to cut federal funding for sanctuary cities but has suffered setbacks in court. On Friday, Sessions once again urged the upper house of Congress to immediately put Kate's Law on the legislative agenda and pass the bill. 'As soon as possible, I'd like to see this legislation advanced in the Senate,' Sessions said. James Martin disappeared into smoke and his studio thrown into chaos on today's show. The television favourite was unable to present after being completely shrouded behind the smoke. Prior to a segment about cooking in France, James - who recently moved to ITV - had set off a smoke machine. And when then returned to the kitchen it was still completely filled with smoke. The presenter and his guests, Alexander Armstrong and chef Nick Nairn, before James started up his smoke machine Prior to a segment about cooking in France, James - who recently moved to ITV - set off a smoke machine His home studio was completely filled with smoke to the point that nothing was visible James wasn't deterred and still attempted to carry on presenting as the clouds lingered However he did give up, eventually, declaring: 'I can't see anything!' But that didn't deter James who still attempted to carry on presenting as the clouds lingered around the presenter and his guests, Alexander Armstrong and chef Nick Nairn. However he did give up, eventually, declaring: 'I can't see anything!' Saturday Morning with James Martin is filmed at James' home and is not actually filmed live. James quit the BBC's Saturday Kitchen before returning to Saturday morning television in September. 'It's a year and a half since I left Saturday Kitchen and my mother kept wittering on at me "you need to be back on a Saturday morning" hence I'm back on a Saturday morning,' James told The Sun. 'It's pre-recorded but I think after 10 years of getting up at 3am on a Saturday I've done my live stint, I don't need to prove myself anymore.' Though the two programmes are similar in ways, James insists they are definitely not the same. A 60-year-old painter and decorator who has lived in Britain since arriving from Jamaica as an eight-year-old boy has been threatened with deportation in the latest instance of heavy-handed treatment by the Home Office. Anthony Bryan, who lives in north London, arrived in Britain when he was eight and has lived in the country ever since, going to primary and secondary schools in the capital, working and paying taxes as a painter and decorator and helping to bring up his children and seven grandchildren. Despite that he was sent to an immigration detention centre earlier this month and booked by Home Office staff on a flight back to Jamaica, which he hasn't returned to since leaving 52 years ago. A last minute intervention by an immigration lawyer meant his place on the plane was cancelled and he was released from the detention centre last week. However his situation remains uncertain and he's been left dumbfounded by his treatment by the Home Office which has left him feeling 'depressed'. Anthony Bryan's local MP Kate Osamor (pictured), who represents Edmonton, described his situation as 'barbaric' Speaking to the Guardian he said: 'I feel they could have treated me better than this after I've been here 52 years.' Mr Bryan's local MP Kate Osamor described his situation as 'barbaric'. She said: 'People are left wondering: how can someone who has done so much for the community be treated like a piece of rubbish? Why send people to detention when they have done nothing wrong?' Government guidelines state that anyone who settled in the UK by 1 January 1973 [the UK entered the European Economic Community] has the right to remain in the country. However Mr Bryan has struggled to find sufficient documents to prove he arrived in Britain before then. He was so young when he arrived in Britain he travelled on his older brother's passport as both his primary and secondary schools either destroyed records or only keeps them for the last 20 years. Since being elected in 2015, Osamor, Labour MP for Edmonton, has encountered at least 10 similar cases of older people being sent to detention after decades in Britain During the last 40 years he's worked as a painter and decorator and has national insurance records to show he was in regular employment. He was made to stop work in 2015 when he applied for a passport and the Home Office's immigration enforcement contractor, Capita, told him he had no right to remain in Britain. He was later taken to an immigration detention centre and then held Campsfield detention centre this month, after an appeal was rejected. Mr Bryan was only allowed to remain in the country he calls home thanks to the help of an immigration lawyer but he is now living in fear of what the future holds. The Home Office said Bryan was 'not currently subject to removal action', adding that he had failed so far to provide the necessary evidence to show a lawful right to remain here. Mr Bryan's case is the latest in a series of Britons who have been threatened with deportation despite living here for the best part of half a century. Earlier this month Paulette Wilson, 61, who lives in Wolverhampton, was almost booted out the country despite living in the UK for nearly 50 years. However she is still waiting to be legally recognised by the government. Ms Wilson was looked after by her grandparents when she arrived in Britain in 1968. She attended primary and secondary school here and has 34 years of National Insurance payments. She also has a British daughter and grandchild. During that time she has never returned to Jamaica. However she received a letter saying she had 'no right' to in the country and was then detained and taken to the Yarl's Wood immigration removal centre. Earlier this month Paulette Wilson, 61, who lives in Wolverhampton, was almost booted out the country despite living in the UK for nearly 50 years Although she was released after an intervention from the Refugee and Migrant Centre in Wolverhampton, she has to report again to the Home Office this month and still faces the prospect of deportation. She has lost her benefits for the past two years and also lost her flat. She is now dependent on the financial support of her daughter Natalie Barnes, who works part-time as a school lunchtime supervisor. In a statement, the Home Office said there had been on-going discussions with Ms Wilson over the past three years about how she could regularise her immigration status, including contact with her MP. 'These discussions did not lead to her making an application or providing the necessary evidence to show a lawful right to remain. 'However Ms Wilson has now submitted an application last month and we are looking into her case to help regularise her immigration status.' In a similar case, last week former boxer Johnny Nelson sent a tweet to the home secretary, Amber Rudd, saying: 'My 68-year-old brother has been in the UK for 53 years. He has received a letter stating he has 10 days to leave or appeal. He received indefinite stay on his passport, lost in a house fire over 20 years ago. 'He's an OAP and will have to find hundreds of pounds for legal representation.' After his tweet was met with a huge response, Nelson later explained that the situation was 'currently being dealt with correctly and swiftly'. The room looks harmless enough, with dull grey shelves and stacks of cardboard boxes packed to overflowing with maps of the Middle East and sheaves of documents filled with Arabic script. Yet the location of this repository in the centre of Europe is a closely guarded secret. To reach the office you climb several flights of stairs in a building deliberately chosen to avoid the prying eyes of those desperate to destroy the evidence of unspeakable horrors recorded in meticulous files housed within its bare walls. I promised not to reveal its whereabouts, yet the office feels like any other, filled with men and women tapping away on computers and chatting over coffee. Pictured: Mail on Sunday reporter Ian Birrell opens the Assad files, stored in a secret location as brave operatives smuggle evidence out of the war-torn country I am ushered towards a locked door which is opened so I can make my way inside and open one of the thousands of brown boxes that fill the room. The first contains military maps covered in fluorescent markings that detail troop movements, weapons instalments and a battle plan. Beneath this are scores of documents filled with Arabic writing. Some have official-looking government stamps. Others are pockmarked with holes from bullets. There is a safe containing seized computers and some phones in padded bags. Their contents offer clues to the most hideous tales of death and depravity, of barbaric torture, and hospitals turned into charnel houses, often written in the banal language of bureaucrats covering their backs. In one document, a Syrian army officer tries to dodge blame for the death of a young man in his custody after beatings to his stomach and genitals. A wounded baby is seen in Douma hospital after an airstrike on the rebel-held town of Mesraba Another makes reference to a fridge that is full of unidentified corpses that have disintegrated. For this innocuous room contains 800,000 pages of potential evidence to build a case that may lead to the most significant war crimes trial since Nuremberg, one that could match The Hagues current International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and make last weeks suicide in its dock by a former Bosnian-Croat general seem like a bizarre footnote in history. For the room I am standing in houses the case against Syrian president Bashar Assad and his genocidal cronies. Indeed, some of the documents I witness here are even signed by the dictator himself. Yet more papers could assist prosecutions against Islamic State leaders and are being used to help European governments vet returning jihadi recruits. Each document, each map, each phone, each computer was sneaked out of Syria or Iraq at huge personal risk. At least one brave smuggler has been killed and others have been locked up as they sought to help expose murderous activities and systemic abuse by the chief perpetrators of Syrias civil war. This treasure trove was stashed away in homes and warehouses, sometimes even buried in fields, then ferried out in boxes, suitcases and lorries. The aim is simple: to build a case to prove guilt for state atrocities. Yet there is a remarkable twist this is the first such war crimes probe run by a private, non-profit body. Brave operatives who smuggle the documents out: Abandoned papers and documents in Syria have been taken to a secret location Although it is bankrolled by democratic governments including our own and has sometimes used diplomatic cover to transport documents, it has no official international mandate. The symbolism is important, said Bill Wiley, the veteran war crimes investigator heading the bold project. We want to prove there is not impunity for anyone. Assad is the worst criminal in the region and he should not be above the law. Last month former Bosnian-Serb commander Ratko Mladic the Butcher of Bosnia was sentenced to life imprisonment. He was convicted of crimes against humanity more than two decades after orchestrating the Srebrenica massacre. This marked the conclusion of the United Nations-backed International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. After 24 years of dogged work, the body secured 83 convictions, including major war criminals such as Slobodan Praljik, who drank poison last week in court as a judge rejected his appeal against a 20-year sentence. Now attention turns to Syria as the conflict nears possible conclusion with Islamic State on the run and Assads regime, backed by Iran and Russia, gaining ground. Assads latest atrocity described by Amnesty International as war crimes on epic scale is a savage bombardment of starving civilians, many of them women and children, in Ghouta. At least 400,000 people have been killed across Syria, half the countrys population have been displaced, and huge numbers have gone missing, many of them held in detention centres infamous for extreme cruelty and torture. Among the papers stored in this building is an arrest document for a man in Deir ez-Zor named Mazen Alhummada. Today this gaunt 40-year-old former oil worker lives in Holland. But he is haunted by his awful experiences after being grabbed by Assads security goons in March 2012 while in a cafe with two nephews. For more than a year, Alhummada endured what can only be described as evil first at a notorious air force base, then inside a hospital, alongside hundreds of other detainees stuffed into fetid hellholes. His nightmare included routine beatings, cigarettes stubbed out on his legs and being hung from his hands. One courier was wounded fleeing with a case full of documents, another was killed in an ambush (file photograph) He falsely confessed in terror to carrying a gun after having his genitals squeezed in a plumbing clamp. In hospital he was attacked by nurses, saw battered corpses stacked in a toilet with eyes gouged out, and a soldier sever the spinal cord of a prisoner. Four relatives are still missing, although he thinks he saw the body of one nephew among 53,000 images of corpses smuggled out by a military police photographer. His remaining family has disappeared after a recent regime attack on Deir ez-Zor. The people who tortured so many Syrians are known, he told me. My hope is these criminals will go to court one day. Wiley, a former Canadian army officer, set up the Commission for International Justice and Accountability (CIJA) a few months after the start of the Syrian revolution in 2011 to secure justice for such victims. His experiences include war crimes probes in Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia, working in the Democratic Republic of Congo as the first investigator taken on by the International Criminal Court, and then drafting Saddam Husseins defence statement in Iraq. His efforts there were always going to be doomed the Iraqi despot was hanged in 2006 but he wanted to underline the importance of a fair trial. Saddam was very polite but I did not find him in touch with reality, said Wiley. After being asked to help train Syrian human rights activists with British cash, Wiley made a counter-proposal: why not teach a specialist team to scoop up data for war crime cases? The Foreign Office backed him with 800,000. Since then his group, subsequently supported by the EU and several Western nations, has had courageous people pursuing the paper trail of war crimes behind shifting battle lines in Syria and later in Iraq. It is risky work. Investigators have followed moderate rebels on attacks of military bases and buildings to grab papers. One courier was wounded fleeing with a case full of documents, another was killed in an ambush. A big cache of documents that was hidden in a remote area was mistakenly burned by an elderly woman as winter fuel. Many more remain stockpiled in secret stashes. Adel, a former lawyer from southern Syria, has carried out seven major smuggling missions, including one tense operation to remove 260 lb of documents from under the noses of IS in Deir ez-Zor. Pretending he was helping a family move home, he obtained a 48-hour pass to transport household possessions in a lorry. Then he collected papers from three hiding places before driving to the border through scores of checkpoints. You are always scared but I do this for my country, he said. Without justice there can be no peace and security again in the future. These papers form the basis for a painstaking task: to compile a case proving the slaughter and torture follows orders from the top. Its like investigating organised crime, said Wiley. We have to ask if Assad and his senior commanders are figureheads or actively controlling what people do and setting out terms of engagement. This is the key, just as it was at Nuremberg. We identify the state structures. Then we link these structures to the criminality, working out who really has the control on it. You only identify suspects at the end. So an April 2011 letter signed by Assad as commander-in-chief proves the dictator has effective control, even if only promising extra allowances for security forces on state of alert. Even a near-comical pre-war note from Syrias National Security Bureau is crucial, despite simply urging enthusiastic comrades to avoid slogans and banners with phrases that exceed the common social praise for Assad since they attract dissent. Key documents include one from August 2011 in which the Central Crisis Management Cell set up by Assad after the uprising outlines its plan to crush demonstrations sweeping the country. The note shows the group, whose minutes were approved personally by Assad, demanding daily raids against those organising, financing and publicising the protests, even people speaking to foreign media and international bodies. Insiders have confirmed such minutes would be taken to Assad, annotated by the Syrian president, then returned to the crisis committee for instant implementation. The result was a reign of terror that inflamed conflict and fuelled support for extremists, with some of the worst abuses taking place, incredibly, in hospitals that became killing hubs as exposed by defectors and human rights groups. One month later the public attorney in Deir ez-Zor sent notes complaining that he was being hounded daily by families of arrested sons, fathers and brothers while the hospital refrigerator is full of unidentified corpses that have disintegrated. A chilling series of letters from Idlib in June 2012 exposes how a military judge signed off the death of a man from sudden heart attack a euphemism used often with murdered detainees. But the next day a military police officer pointed out the man died due to being beaten at a checkpoint. Doctors confirmed the real cause of death: nervous system failure due to pain caused by bruises all over the body more specifically, the testicles and the stomach. Nemer, a Syrian surgeon who fled after witnessing the sickening torture inside hospital and being forced to write false death certificates, told me he was still traumatised by what he had seen. We were used by intelligence to bury evidence of torture, he said. Every day I wonder on the meaning of justice. These people were experts at manipulating evidence. Nemers father was among those killed by security forces after a savage beating despite suffering from cancer. It is my dream to see these people in court. All that can give us peace is to see Assad and the people supervising torture in jail. Human rights experts told me they were impressed by CIJAs efforts in such tough conditions. They have gathered high-quality material, said lawyer and author Philippe Sands, who recently met the team and saw some of their work. This is important not only for any legal proceedings but also for possible efforts at seeking truth and reconciliation in the longer term. Three months ago the United Nations backed British moves to investigate IS for war crimes and genocide. Thousands of jihadis are being held in Iraq while CIJA is providing evidence to help Western governments vet returning foreign fighters. Wiley hopes some of the fanatics will go on trial in Europe next year for war crimes. I saw one impressive 458-page report investigating IS atrocities in Sinjar, Iraq, in August 2014, when they killed many Yazidi men and kidnapped thousands of woman as sex slaves. But what hope of justice for Assad as he tightens the noose on his country, aided by a Russian president protecting him from UN investigations into use of chemical weapons and insisting the Syrian hardman stays in power in any peace settlement? Assad is the biggest criminal in the region and could become a political liability, as we have seen in other similar situations, said Wiley. I dont know if it will take two years, five years or ten years but I do believe that one day he will face justice. Ivanka Trump's fashion choices were slammed by an Indian news outlet who called her attire a 'superficial assimilation' of their culture. The First Daughter and businesswoman was enrobed in an ivy green and yellow Oriental-style dress at a entrepreneurship summit during her trip to the country this week. Along with the pricey $3,500 Erdem Geneva floral print gown, Trump also wore a $3,498 blue and gold Tory Burch ensemble with similar patterns. U.S. presidential adviser Ivanka Trump was slammed for wearing Oriental-style attire this week at the Global Entrepreneurship Summit in India Trump was accused by an Indian news outlet of cultural appropriation for her fashion choices The businesswoman enrobed in an ivy green and yellow $3,500 Erdem Geneva floral print gown (shown) The Daily O lambasted the Burch number and described it to be 'the 'me-too' of a Kashmiri pheran for the prime minister's banquet at the Taj Falaknuma Palace.' While speaking at an event in Hyderabad, a city longtime known for pearl trading, the President's advisor displayed a black and pearl embroidered Tory Burch 'Sylvia' jacket. 'It referenced India with the embroidery, but in reality looked like a cheap brand ripping off designer Rahul Mishra,' the Daily O said of the jacket. Trump also wore a $3,498 blue and gold Tory Burch ensemble with similar patterns (shown) Also in Hyderabad, Trump wore a printed Saloni Lodha red and black ensemble with frilly sleeves. 'In her defense, Ivanka's outfit changes have been kept in character with her previous wardrobe choices,' the report went on to say. 'Being totally tone-deaf to the nuances of public appearance (to be fair, she only has her father as her role model).' Also in Hyderabad, Trump wore a printed Saloni Lodha red and black number with frilly sleeves (shown) The Indian news outlet went even further and called Trump a tone-deaf 'botoxed Barbie' The Indian news outlet further pointed out the fashion designer's choice of dress during a recent visit to Japan. 'While she had the choice of picking the most amazing designers, she selected a cherry blossom print, kimono-inspired dress made by the Colombian designer Johanna Ortiz.' The report went even further, and slammed Ms Trump - who they said 'represents (the) American dream (of being) a botoxed Barbie.' While speaking at an event in Hyderabad, a city longtime known for pearl trading, she displayed a black and pearl-embroidered Tory Burch 'Sylvia' jacket (shown) Editor at large of Vogue India, Bandana Tewari, explained to The New York Times in a statement that she hopes for a authentic 'sartorial tribute' to their 'ancient, rich' culture in the future, and perhaps with more designs made in India. 'We would rather see her wear a hand-woven sari made in our country or a handmade gown made in her own country,' said Tewari. 'But to hybridize the two, in an era of unfiltered diversity, is a superfluous nod to half-acceptance.' The mother-of-three, 36, has not commented on the matter. A teenager has been charged with murdering a 40-year-old father who died after being attacked in a north London cafe. Mohammed Hersi, of Wood Green, was seriously injured after being assaulted at Bethel Cafe in Seven Sisters Road, Finsbury Park on November 28. Mohammed Hersi (pictured), of Wood Green, was seriously injured after being assaulted at Bethel Cafe in Seven Sisters Road, Finsbury Park on November 28 He was taken to hospital but died the next day, surrounded by his wife, 36 and four children, aged between five and 11. He had recently left his job as a kitchen porter at a central London hotel to care for his elderly father, The Guardian reports. A post-mortem examination gave the cause of death as a penetrating head injury. The boy, 17, appeared at Highbury Corner Magistrates' Court this morning and was remanded in custody to appear at the Old Bailey on Tuesday, December 5. The former police officers who leaked claims that a computer owned by Damian Green contained thousands of porn images have been accused of straying into 'dangerous territory'. In the latest wave of allegations yesterday, the detective who seized Mr Green's computer nine years ago said thousands of images were found and there was 'no doubt whatsoever' the MP himself had been accessing them. But Sir Peter Fahy, the former chief constable of Greater Manchester Police, warned that police should stay out of politics amid a growing row over the alleged discovery. He told the BBC's Today programme: 'It is very dangerous territory for a police officer to be making judgments about whether a politician is lying or not. Sir Peter Fahy, the former chief constable of Greater Manchester Police, warned that police should stay out of politics amid a growing row over the alleged discovery Accosted by reporters as he left his constituency HQ in Ashford yesterday (pictured), Mr Green again flatly denied viewing any pornography on his office computer Neil Lewis (pictured left), former Scotland Yard detective who examined Damian Green's work computer in 2008, said yesterdayit contained thousands of pornographic images and says there is 'no doubt whatsoever' it was his. Former Met assistant commissioner Bob Quick (right) was in charge of the leak inquiry that triggered the raid 'That should only happen in a criminal investigation and even then ultimately it is for a court to decide. 'Police should also be extremely careful about making judgments about other people's morality when it is not a matter of crime. 'It is something really central to our democracy that the police are not involved in politics.' The chief inspector of constabulary Sir Thomas Winsor said police had an 'enduring' duty of confidentiality, even after they had left the service. Mr Lewis' notebook shows how pornography had been found on the computer - he also says there was more on the work laptop Mr Davis was shadow home secretary until a few months before the raid on Mr Green's Commons office in November 2008, and shared the view of many politicians that the police action flouted parliamentary privilege rules In a statement, he said if a serving officer had breached that duty they would face disciplinary action potentially leading to dismissal and, in certain circumstances, criminal charges. Sir Thomas said: 'The special powers which citizens confer on police officers are inseparable from the obligations of special trust placed in police officers to enable them to do their duty. 'That trust requires every police officer to respect and keep confidential information which they obtain in the course of their duties and which is irrelevant to their inquiries and discloses no criminal conduct. 'The obligation of confidentiality, and the duty not to break trust, is an enduring one. It does not end when a police officer retires.' The raid on Mr Green nine years ago was highly controversial at the time, as the then shadow immigration minister - had been embarrassing the police with a series of leaks. Yesterday it emerged that David Davis has made clear he is ready to quit if Damian Green is sacked. The Brexit Secretary is understood to be furious at apparent efforts by former police officers to settle long-standing scores by forcing Mr Green out. Mr Davis was shadow home secretary until a few months before the raid in November 2008, and shared the view of many politicians that the police action flouted parliamentary privilege rules. A source close to Mr Davis said yesterday: 'It is right that allegations of misconduct towards individuals are properly investigated but police officers have a duty of confidentiality which should be upheld.' A mutual friend of Mr Davis and Mr Green told the Evening Standard the Brexit Secretary had 'put his cloak around' his colleague and made his position clear to the PM 'in words of one syllable'. Meanwhile, the deputy PM is facing a second sleaze inquiry after it emerged MPs are required to sign an 'acceptable use policy' for computers at parliament. The Commons standards commissioner could stage a separate investigation to the ongoing probe by the Cabinet Office, which is due to report any day. Theresa May, who has known Mr Green since their days together at Oxford University, will have the final say over whether the First Secretary stays in his job. In the latest wave of allegations against Mr Green, former detective Neil Lewis disclosed his notes from the raid and claimed that on some days porn was browsed and open on the computer for hours. He told the BBC: 'The computer was in Mr Green's office, on his desk, logged in, his account, his name. 'In between browsing pornography, he was sending emails from his account, his personal account, reading documents... it was ridiculous to suggest anybody else could have done it'. He added: 'I was surprised to see that on a parliament computer. I had to take a step back because I wasn't expecting that'. NINE-YEAR GRUDGE MATCH BETWEEN QUICK AND GREEN The Tories put out footage of the 2008 raid on Damian Green's office Damian Green and Bob Quick crossed swords in 2008 when the Met assistant commissioner took dramatic action in an inquiry into leaks from the force. Mr Quick decided to arrest then then shadow immigration minister. The Tory MP was held for nine hours while his Commons office, two homes and constituency office, were searched and computers removed by counter-terrorism officers. The episode sparked a huge inquest at the Commons into whether parliamentary privilege should have protected the material held by an MP. In the ensuing political storm, it emerged Mr Quick's wife was running a car hire firm from their home and details of their address were published on a website. The officer then accused the Tories of being 'wholly corrupt' in leaking the story to intimidate him and his investigation. But he was forced to apologise after then party leader David Cameron said the claim 'Tory machinery' was mobilised against his investigation was 'completely baseless'. Mr Green was later cleared of any wrongdoing. Mr Quick complained bitterly that the investigation cost him his career. He quit in April 2009 after being photographed arriving at Downing Street with documents detailing a counter-terror operation clearly visible. He later claimed he might have survived the gaffe if it had not been for the Green affair. Advertisement The police officer, who worked as a lead in digital crime after being a leading counter-terrorism officer, was working on Operation Miser in 2008. This was an investigation into Home Office leaks that led to Mr Green's Commons office being searched by police and his computers being analysed. The raid sparked an outcry that targeting Mr Green - shadow immigration minister at the time - was a flagrant breach of parliamentary privilege rules. The leak inquiry was being led by Met assistant commissioner Bob Quick, who has also raised allegations about the pornography find. The claims have dramatically widened the Cabinet Office inquiry, which was originally looking at accusations Mr Green made a clumsy pass at a Tory activist. But a host of Conservative MPs have accused the police of pursuing an anti-Tory witch-hunt against Mr Green that was 'straight out of the mafia playbook'. Tory MP Crispin Blunt suggested that as a shadow minister, Mr Green would have been too busy to look at porn online while at work. He said: 'The account that Neil Lewis has given of the use of the computer, based simply on his notebooks from some time ago... on his own account doesn't bear the slightest relation to the kind of life a member of parliament leads. 'We don't have time to sit in our offices breezing through leisure websites of whatever type we largely move from one meeting to the next.' Former Cabinet minister Andrew Mitchell, an ally of Mr Green, said the 'hounding of Mr Green over information which everyone is clear was entirely legal and which he has emphatically denied either downloading or viewing is completely wrong'. 'Now, nine years later, after a pretty contentious raid of a senior politician's office, entirely legal information is leaked to blacken the name of a serving Cabinet minister, and I think that is wrong,' the Sutton Coldfield MP told the BBC. 'I think it is highly questionable whether a retired police officer should misuse this sort of material in this way and I think the police need to explain why there was any record kept of entirely legal activity. 'He says he's doing it to back up his friend Bob Quick ... and I don't think that it is proper for retired police officers to behave in this way. I don't think it's giving Mr Green natural justice and I think it is wrong.' Mr Mitchell said Mr Green should 'certainly not' consider standing down. Accosted by reporters as he left his constituency HQ in Ashford yesterday, Mr Green again flatly denied viewing any pornography on his office computer. 'I have said I am not commenting any further while the investigation is going on,' he said. 'I have maintained all along, I still maintain, it is the truth, that I didn't download or look at pornography on my computer, but obviously while the investigation is going on I can't say any more than that.' Friends of the First Secretary told MailOnline he is 'gobsmacked' by the allegations and suggested some elements in the police had a grudge against him for exposing issues while the Tories were in opposition. This is also the police evidence tag attached to the porn-packed computer found in Damian Green's office nine years ago 'He's deeply concerned that a former police officer is putting outlandish smears on the record,' one said. A Met Police spokesman said confidential information should not be made public. 'The appropriate course of action is to co-operate privately with the Cabinet Office Inquiry as the Metropolitan Police done,' the spokesman said. 'As is routine, for cases of this nature, the circumstances of information being made public will be looked at by the Department for Professional Standards.' Separately, former aides questioned whether he would have been able to spend 'hours' browsing porn in a small Commons office without being noticed. Mr Green was arrested by Scotland Yard in November 2008 in a probe led by assistant commissioner Bob Quick into leaks from home secretary Jacqui Smith's office. His home and his offices in Kent and in the Palace of Westminster were searched, provoking outrage among MPs. Theresa May's deputy has been under investigation since November 1 following disputed claims by Tory activist Kate Maltby that he made unwanted advances towards her And it was former officer Mr Quick who went public with his claims last month that pornography was found on the computer, prompting Mr Green to brand him 'tainted and untrustworthy'. In April 2009, director of public prosecutions Sir Keir Starmer, now a Labour frontbencher, said Mr Green and a junior civil servant, Christopher Galley, would not face prosecutions. Sir Keir said the damage to the Home Office was not excessive and the material was of legitimate public interest. In October 2009 the investigation was criticised in a Scotland Yard review led by former chief constable Sir Ian Johnston, while a separate probe by Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of the Constabulary suggested senior officers allowed the inquiry to go too far. During the controversy, then Commons speaker Michael Martin faced criticism for allowing police into the Palace of Westminster to search Mr Green's office, but insisted officers did not have a search warrant nor his permission. The Met said it had authority in the form of written consent from then-serjeant at arms Jill Pay, who was in charge of security. But Mr Martin pledged police would never again be allowed access to an MP's office or parliamentary papers without a warrant and the personal approval of the Speaker. Mr Quick defended his actions in April 2010 in a BBC interview: ''What we didn't know is whether more serious offences had been committed. 'All we really knew was that someone or maybe more than one person was prepared to steal documents from the home secretary's private office safe and intercept her letters to the prime minister...so for these reasons we saw it as pretty serious.' He added: 'I think this point got lost in the furore about violating the sanctity of Parliament. 'In that noise it was very difficult to convey the facts. 'The difficulty really was that if you have someone that you can clearly demonstrate was prepared to steal documents from a safe that we know holds very sensitive material, then you're under a duty to find out exactly what has been leaked and to whom.' Theresa May (pictured giving a speech in Jordan yesterday) has ordered a Cabinet Office investigation into her effective deputy, which could report within days The House of Commons authorities told MailOnline an 'acceptable use' policy for computers on the estate has been in place since at least 2001. MPs are obliged to sign on behalf of themselves and their staff, with the version thought to have been in force at the time saying they must not access materials that are 'threatening, slanderous, abusive, indecent, obscene, racist, illegal or offensive'. A Commons spokesman said: Parliament has had an acceptable use policy in place for MPs and their staff since at least 2001 and this has been updated on a number of occasions. 'All users of parliamentary digital services are subject to an acceptable use policy.' There is also a ban on use that might 'damage' the parliamentary network by encouraging viruses. The policy raises the prospect that Mr Green might have breached the linked Code of Conduct for MPs, which is policed by the parliamentary standards commissioner. Labour MP Jess Phillips said she thought the issue should be looked at by the Commons watchdog. 'I have lost faith that politicians can mark their own homework on this stuff,' she said. Ms Phillips said Mr Green would have to lose his job if Mr Lewis's allegations were shown to be true. 'If it is found to be true, it does change things and Damian Green cannot stay in his position,' she told the Today programme. 'There is absolutely no illegality - I don't think anybody is saying that - but would you be fired if you looked at pornography on your work computer?' Last month it emerged porn watched on Damian Green's computer was so extreme that viewing such images was made illegal just weeks later, it has been claimed. Images of a disturbing nature were said to have been viewed in the deputy PM's Commons office on 'an almost daily basis'. Some of the porn found on the system was said to be so extreme that police took advice from the CPS on whether to prosecute. But they were told no relevant law was in place when Mr Green's office was raided on November 27, 2008. The law was changed eight weeks later, in January 2009. It is understood that detectives seized at least four computers during the investigation, including three desktops and a laptop. All were understood to be registered to the parliamentary network. When allegations first emerged, the deputy PM said they were 'false' and 'completely untrue'. But he has since appeared to drop his claim that there was never any porn on his seized computers and instead reiterated that police had never told him about the discovery. Former President Barack Obama (pictured) met with Mayor of Paris to discuss climate change Former U.S. President Barack Obama is ending a five-day international trip in Paris, where he is lunching with French President Emmanuel Macron and scheduled to give a speech to business leaders. Obama arrived at the presidential Elysee Palace at midday on Saturday. The area was placed under high security. The French presidency said the private lunch was expected to include a presentation about the Obama Foundation. No journalists were allowed at the meal. He also planned to meet with former French President Francois Hollande. His evening speech organized by a club for leaders from the internet and communications industries is on the theme, 'Fear Less, Innovate More.' Obama was in China and India before he arrived in France. Earlier Saturday, Obama discussed climate issues with Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo. On Friday, the former President lashed out at the current administration, taking a thinly veiled dig at Donald Trump as he addressed a leadership summit in India. He also planned to meet with former French President Francois Hollande later in the day His evening speech organized by a club for leaders from the internet and communications industries is on the theme, 'Fear Less, Innovate More' Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, right, greets former U.S. President Barack Obama at Hyderabad House December 1, 2017 in New Delhi, India Obama lashed out at President Trump on Friday for his decision earlier this year to withdraw America from the Paris climate accords The 44th President, who helped pen the Paris Climate Agreement which he signed in 2015, said there has been 'a pause in American leadership' on the issue. The remark was a jibe at President Trump who announced plans earlier this year to withdraw America from the deal. If he follows through with his promise, which is not due to be ratified until 2020, it would make America the only country in the world outside of the pledge. War-torn Syria became the last of 197 nations, including North Korea, to sign on to the deal earlier this month. The agreement pledges all countries to capping rises in global temperatures and to cutting carbon emissions. Obama said: 'It is an agreement that - even though we have a little bit of a pause in American leadership - is giving our children a fighting chance. 'And the good news is that in the United States, there are states, companies and universities and cities that are continuing to work to make sure that America lives up to the agreements that we made in the Paris accords.' Trump has threatened several times to withdraw from the Paris accord saying it is crippling US business. He has called for the agreement to be renegotiated. FBI agent Peter Strzok was removed from working within special counsel Robert Mueller's ongoing probe after he was caught sending compromising texts, a new report revealed Saturday. The deputy head of counterintelligence, who also took lead in the Hillary Clinton email investigation, sent 'anti-Trump' messages to a colleague, three related parties told The New York Times in a statement. Regulations put in place by the FBI permit individuals to 'privately and publicly' speak on 'political subjects and candidates,' while they are forbidden from working for political campaigns. Robert Mueller removed FBI agent Peter Strzok from his probe over compromising texts, a new report has revealed It seems another text exchange was discovered during the Clinton email probe between Strzok and FBI attorney Lisa Page - who were said to be romantically involved. In a report by The Washington Post, the pair exchanged a thread that 'expressed anti-Trump sentiments and other comments that appeared to favor Clinton,' an anonymous source revealed. 'Officials are now reviewing the communications to see if they show evidence of political bias in their work on the cases, a review which could result in a public report.' The report comes after Trumps former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, pleaded guilty Friday to lying to the FBI Mueller spokesman Peter Carr confirmed Strzok's leave in a statement to The Hill. 'Immediately upon learning of the allegations, the Special Counsel's Office removed Peter Strzok from the investigation,' Carr said. 'Lisa Page completed her brief detail and had returned to the FBI weeks before our office was aware of the allegations.' The reports come after Trumps former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, pleaded guilty in federal court for lying to the FBI over an exchange with the Russian ambassador. Aviation regulators have issued a warning after it was claimed 1.5 million drones could be placed under Christmas trees across Britain this festive season. The un-manned aerial devices can be flown within minutes of being unpacked from the box and are capable to travelling more than a mile and at heights of more than 1,000 feet. However, new drone users are risking the possibility of a five year prison term if their new toy endangers the safety of an aircraft. Some 1.5 million drones are expected to be sold in the period running up towards Christmas Drone users face five years in prison if they endanger a manned aircraft with their device Safety experts at the Civil Aviation Authority have expressed concern, because these downs could inadvertently interfere with the safety of helicopters, passenger jets, motorists and people on the ground. Many of those who will be unwrapping their new devices - which range in price from around 50 to 5,000 - are unaware of the regulations concerning their use. Failure to adhere to the law can result in a criminal conviction, and if they endanger an aircraft, can lead to a five year jail term. It is estimated more than two million drones have been sold in Britain over the past five years. The government is considering plans to force all drone owners to register their devices in advance of flying them. The Civil Aviation Authority has developed its own DroneSafe code. Users are warned they must always be able to see their drone so they have the ability to avoid other objects. The Civil Aviation Authority has released a drone safe code to allow users to remain legal Importantly, drones must keep below 400 feet, as this reduces the chance of them interfering with manned aircraft. Owners are also warned that they are not allowed to fly a drone within 150 feet of people and properties, while they must keep 500 feet from crowds and built up areas. In addition, they are not allowed to fly over crowds, railway lines or roads. The pilot of a drone is legally responsible for each flight and there are additional restrictions around airports. Drone present greater risk to aircraft than bird strikes Drones that collide with planes cause more damage than birds of the same size because of their solid motors, batteries and other parts, a study released by the Federal Aviation Administration. The study's researchers say aircraft-manufacturing standards designed for bird strikes aren't appropriate for ensuring planes can withstand collisions with drones. The FAA said it will depend on drone makers to help develop technology to detect and avoid planes. Reports of close calls between drones and airliners have surged. The FAA gets more than 250 sightings a month of drones posing potential risks to planes, such as operating too close to airports. Canadian officials say a drone hit a small charter plane carrying eight people last month over Quebec City, the first such incident in Canada. The plane landed safely. A team of researchers from four universities used computers to simulate collisions between drones weighing 1.2 to 3.6 kilograms and common airliners and business jets. In some cases, drones would have penetrated the plane's skin. The researchers said the drone collisions inflict more damage than striking a bird of the same size and speed because drone components are much stiffer - birds are composed mostly of water. The study was performed by researchers from Mississippi State University, Montana State University, Ohio State University, and Wichita State University. The FAA said studies over the next three years will look at the severity of collisions between drones and other types of planes and helicopters. Advertisement Jim Nicholson of the CAA said: 'Retailers are claiming that drones are going to be hugely popular this year but households are not aware of the rules and could be putting themselves and other people at risk. 'Anyone can buy a drone in a high-street shop. By the time the battery is charged, you could be flying it outside. They might be great fun, but they come with great responsibility. 'If you are a parent or grandparent buying a drone this Christmas, buy one from a quality retailer that gives you the right advice and guidance.' On July 9, a drone 'put 130 lives at risk' after it nearly hit an Airbus A319 which was preparing to land at Gatwick airport. According to the pilot, the device was 'very large, certainly not a toy', with four blades and a diameter of about one metre. The drone passed over the aircraft's right wing. In July the Department for Transport unveiled plans to launch a drone registration system after research found the devices could smash plane windscreens. Although police services across Britain are investing in drone technology according to new figures. Around two-thirds of forces in England and Wales own or have access to unmanned aircraft and only six are not considering using them, according to a report. The amount spent on the technology varies hugely between forces, with Surrey Police and Sussex Police jointly spending 300,000 on five drones while Durham Constabulary bought one for 1,450. A report by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services into the National Police Air Service (NPAS) has raised concerns about the piecemeal approach to unmanned aircraft in different forces. Guidance for police on how and when to use drones and other air services was 'patchy at best' and has led to 'confusion among frontline officers' about their use, it added. 'While most forces have purchased drones, none has rigorously evaluated their use and, as a result, the police service has not developed a common view on their relative merit as a form of police air support,' the report said. It found that: A total of 28 forces in England and Wales have purchased or have access to least one drone. Most have purchased two or three and the Metropolitan Police has 12. Another nine forces are considering purchasing or arranging for access to the technology. Only six forces have not formally considered drone use. The cost of individual drones bought by forces ranged from 1,450 to 60,000. The report has called for an evaluation of the cost-effectiveness and potential uses of drones, which are not currently operated by NPAS. Andrew Hunter, 41, pictured, set out on a two month campaign of harassment after his marriage collapsed A father of two stalked his estranged wife with tracking and recording devices after discovering her Plenty of Fish dating profile. Andrew Hunter, 41, set out on a two month campaign of harassment after his marriage collapsed and he found his wife had started a new relationship with a man she met online. Despite living in the same house the pair had been leading separate lives for a number of months before Hunter's wife signed up for the dating website in January. Teesside Magistrates Court heard that when she met another man on Plenty of Fish Hunter 'stupidly' planted a recording device in the lining of her handbag. Robert Moore, prosecuting, told the court how Hunter then confronted his wife, ripping her handbag and telling her he had planted the device, listening to everything that had been going on. He added that Hunter also 'explained to his wife that there was a tracker on her car and she discovered a small black box hidden under the carpet'. Hunter, of Birkdale, Road, Stockton-on-Tees, who yesterday admitted one count of stalking, sent his wife abusive messages and followed her whilst taking photographs from April 15 to June 6, the court was told. At one point he tracked her to York where she had been on a date. Once she returned to Stockton, she went to the town's police station where another tracking device was discovered. Hunter was arrested the following month after an alleged assault on his wife and during a search of the property officers found more recording and tracking devices. Following the plea of guilt to the charge of stalking without fear, alarm or distress, the Crown Prosecution Service agreed to drop the charge of assault by beating. Teesside Magistrates Court, pictured, heard that when she met another man on Plenty of Fish Hunter 'stupidly' planted a recording device in the lining of her handbag (stock photo) The court heard that the 41-year-old businessman, who runs his own recruitment agency, is now dependant on his parents for financial support. In mitigation, Kieran O'Neill said his client's relationship with his wife had started to decline following the birth of their second child. He said: 'Andrew Hunter found messages on his wife's phone and decided to investigate - for want of a better word. What he should have done was simply have it out with his wife and that would have been that. 'What he did do, rather stupidly, was take matters into his own hands.' The case was adjourned until December 21 when Hunter will be sentenced. Fresh off his biggest legislative victory of the Trump era, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Saturday disputed projections that the Senate's tax bill would add to the nation's debt woes. Back home in Kentucky just hours after the Senate narrowly pushed through the nearly $1.5 trillion tax bill, McConnell predicted that the boldest rewrite of the nation's tax system in decades would generate more than enough economic growth to prevent the burgeoning deficits being forecast. 'I not only don't think it will increase the deficit, I think it will be beyond revenue neutral,' he told reporters. 'In other words, I think it will produce more than enough to fill that gap.' Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., answers a reporters question during a news conference Saturday, Dec. 2, 2017, in Louisville, Ky US President Donald J. Trump delivers remarks as he walks to board Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington DC Over the next decade, Republicans' tax plan is projected to add at least $1 trillion to the national debt. That would be on top of an additional $10 trillion in deficits over the same period already being forecast by the Congressional Budget Office. 'I'm not one of the total supplier siders who just believes that if you cut taxes, no matter what amount, you turn out ahead,' McConnell said. 'I still believe in revenue neutrality for tax reform, and I believe this is a revenue neutral tax reform bill.' McConnell's hometown congressman, Democrat John Yarmuth, said Senate Republicans had 'abdicated any claim they had to being the party of fiscal responsibility.' 'There is nothing remotely responsible about forcing through a ... hastily conceived bill to give tax cuts to the already wealthy and multi-national corporations,' Yarmuth said in a statement. Meanwhile, President Trump hailed the legislative victory as a monumental achievement under his administration and thanked Republican lawmakers for their efforts. Demonstrators take part in a protest during a fundraising breakfast at Cipriani's for the Trump 2020 campaign, at the Manhattan borough in New York, U.S., December 2, 2017 Demonstrators protest against government's tax reforms next to the New York Stock Exchange at the Manhattan borough in New York, U.S., December 2, 2017 A banner with the pictures of U.S. president Donald Trump and White House Senior adviser Jared Kushner is seen as demonstrators protest against government's tax reforms 'Biggest Tax Bill and Tax Cuts in history just passed in the Senate. Now these great Republicans will be going for final passage,' he told reporters around 8am Saturday. 'Thank you to House and Senate Republicans for your hard work and commitment!' McConnell predicted that the GOP-led House and Senate can resolve differences over the tax legislation and get it to President Donald Trump before Christmas. McConnell said he doesn't foresee any compromises that would threaten the Senate Republican coalition supporting the bill. Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., was the only lawmaker to cross party lines, voting in opposition along with Democrats. Demonstrators take part in a protest during a fundraising breakfast at Cipriani's for the Trump 2020 campaign McConnell also disputed claims by the bill's critics that it focuses its tax reductions on businesses and higher-earning individuals, while giving more modest breaks to others. 'I haven't run into anybody during this whole tax discussion who's very successful who thinks they're benefiting from it,' the Senate leader said. The bill would award about $2,200 a year in tax relief to the average family of four, McConnell said. 'And that's pretty darn important to them,' he said. Voters ultimately can look to the nation's economic performance to determine whether Republicans or Democrats were right in the bitter tax debate. 'Look, a year or two from now, you guys can make an assessment which one of us was right,' he said to reporters. 'The proof will be in whether or not the economy picks up and things get better.' McConnell, the state's longest-serving senator, also indicated during his appearance in Louisville that he plans to run for another Senate term in 2020. Demonstrators take part in a protest against the U.S. government next to the New York Stock Exchange at the Manhattan borough in New York, U.S., December 2, 2017 A banner with the pictures of U.S. president Donald Trump and White House Senior adviser Jared Kushner is seen as NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio speaks to demonstrators Demonstrators protest against government's tax reforms next to the New York Stock Exchange at the Manhattan borough in New York, U.S., December 2, 2017 Asked whether he's bracing for a potential challenge from within his own party, McConnell said as a party leader he gets 'a lot of slings and arrows.' 'I think the best way to judge a campaign is how did it end, not how did it begin,' he said, pointing out that he overwhelmingly carried the state in 2014 in the primary and general elections. Later in the day, Trump spoke at a fundraiser at New York's Cipriani restaurant, while protesters lined the streets outside to revolt against the decision. They carried signs labeling it a 'GOP Tax Scam' and said the cuts would destroy education. During his speech Saturday he said: 'We got no Democrat help and I think that's going to cost them very big in the election. 'Because, basically, they voted against tax cuts.' Republicans' tax plan is projected to add at least $1 trillion to the national debt over the next decade US President Donald Trump speaks at a fundraising breakfast at a restaurant in New York, New York on December 2, 2017 And he explained why he preferred using the words 'tax cuts' instead of 'tax reform'. 'For years, I said I wonder why they use the word reform,' Trump said. 'Because nobody knows what reform means. Reform could mean your taxes are going up. And I said to my guys. I called everybody and we had a meeting. Senators, Congress, everybody. I said we have to use the word tax cuts.' 'Look forward to signing a final bill before Christmas!' he said. Trump tweeted soon after the bill passed in the Senate, which occurred around 1.50am Saturday morning, reiterating the Republican argument that the bill will help poor and middle class families. 'We are one step closer to delivering MASSIVE tax cuts for working families across America. Special thanks to @SenateMajLdr Mitch McConnell and Chairman @SenOrrinHatch for shepherding our bill through the Senate,' The legislation still needs to be sent back to House Republicans to be sign-off on before the President can enact it into law. Advertisement Jared Kushner was seen with a grin on his face as he and wife Ivanka Trump went for a jog on Saturday - just hours after sources said he is the mystery official who ordered disgraced ex-national security adviser Michael Flynn to contact Russia. Kushner looked directly at the camera and grinned while he and Ivanka left their Washington, DC residence Saturday around noon wearing matching black sportswear. Later that evening, Donald Trump held up his granddaughter, three-year-old Chloe Sophia Trump, as he walked from Marine One towards the White House - stopping to greet crowds of well-wishers on the lawn along the way. The family were keeping up serene appearances, it seemed, even though the situation they are in is anything but. Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner were spotted out for a run Saturday, apparently unbothered by the mounting tension over the FBI probe into Russia Kushner flashed a smile to photographers before heading out for a jog with his wife. On Saturday sources claimed Kushner was the 'high ranking official' who told Flynn to speak to Russia The parents appeared in good spirits - and seemed unbothered by the revelations that sources named Jared at the official Donald Trump seemed equally unperturbed as he arrived back in Washington, DC from New York, carrying three-year-old granddaughter Chloe Sophia Trump across the White House lawn Trump held up his granddaughter as he waved to crowds and the press. Later that evening, however, he would write an angry Twitter tirade in which he complained about the FBI pursuing Flynn over Russia but not Hillary Clinton over her emails Trump was seen greeting children and saying hello to well-wishers as he walked back to The White House on Saturday evening. The Russia probe continues to develop The White House's Christmas lights were on display as Marine One touched down on the lawn. Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI Sources say that Kushner is the 'high-ranking' administration member mentioned in court Friday. They said Kushner was responsible for telling Flynn to contact Russian officials back in December 2016, before Trump came to office and Flynn was authorized to do so, about working out a United Nations resolution on Israel. Prosecutors outlined details from the discussions handled by Flynn - which were to influence a UN security resolution toward the end of Obama's term. Flynn pleaded guilty in federal court for lying to the FBI over the exchange. Ivanka and Jared were out and about for about 40 minutes before they returned from their run and it seems it is just what they needed after a chaotic week. Ivanka had spent the past few days in India where she attended an annual entrepreneurship summit. The businesswoman co-hosted the event alongside India's Prime Minister, Narendra Modi. At the speaking engagements and dinners, the First Daughter donned a series of printed gowns that were criticized by an Indian media outlet. The Daily O lambasted Trump for her pricey 'Oriental-style' ensembles which they described as a 'superficial assimilation' of their culture. The 36-year-old fashion designer has not commented on the matter. Following claims that Jared in the mystery official, President Trump has been accused of obstruction of justice. The power pair were out and about for the light exercise outing for about 40 minutes On Saturday, Trump appeared to tweet that he knew Flynn lied to federal investigators over his contact with Russian officials but that he never needed to lie himself because all his their interactions were 'lawful'. 'I had to fire General Flynn because he lied to the Vice President and the FBI. He has pled guilty to those lies. It is a shame because his actions during the transition were lawful. There was nothing to hide!' the tweet said. The tweet appeared to be a attempt by the president to defend Flynn and disprove suspicion that there was any collusion between his aides and the Kremlin. Instead, it placed scrutiny back on him and fueled talk of a different offense entirely. Stunned political pundits and Democrats quickly linked it to Trump's apparent request of former FBI Director James Comey to go 'easy' on Flynn the day after he was fired. However, later on Saturday two inside sources told The Washington Post that it was Trump's personal lawyer, John Dowd, who made the tweet. It's not clear if the president saw it before it was posted. Flynn was fired on February 13. At the time, the president said the decision was based on him misleading Vice President Mike Pence about his interaction with Russian ambassador Sergei Kislyak on December 22. He did not admit to knowing Flynn lied in an interview with the FBI in January. On February 14, Trump met with FBI Director Comey. Comey claims he was asked during this meeting to 'go easy' on Flynn and drop the investigation into Russian collusion. He was fired on May 9 and says it was because he never complied with this alleged request. The president has never admitted asking him to 'go easy' on Flynn and said that he fired him over his handling of the Hillary Clinton email scandal - which many say won him the election - months earlier. It seems the couple needed some fresh air and light exercise following the hectic week Kushner had been accused of being the mystery official in the Michael Flynn scandal Friday The grief of Hannah and Ben Day when their baby daughter Iris died at five months old was incalculable. To their heartbreak was added the agonising question of whether her life could have been saved if a vital heart operation had not been delayed three times, as an inquest heard last month. Still, as they look back now, the parents cherish the memories from every day of Iriss short life. Hannah and Ben Day, pictured with their new daughter Enid. While Enid was a 'wonderful surprise' the couple will never get over the loss of Iris But it is a life that would never have begun if they had followed the shocking proposition by NHS staff to abort their baby 37 weeks into the pregnancy because she had Downs syndrome. Now Hannah and Ben have spoken to The Mail on Sunday of their horror at being asked to consider ending Iriss life just three-and-a-half weeks before she was born and of their disgust when one doctor used the repugnant term mentally retarded to describe a child with Downs. Last night the Days, a professional couple who met while working in the City, said they felt like they were treated like an annoyance to the NHS from the moment Iris was diagnosed with the genetic condition in the 36th week of pregnancy. Ben, 41, an insurance broker at Lloyds of London, said: From the outset, we felt like we were steered towards an abortion. Hannah, 29, added: I just dont agree with this notion that, if the babys not perfect, it shouldnt be brought into the world. Because Iris was an IVF baby, for us she was our little miracle. She was so wanted and every day with her was precious. The case raises unsettling questions about attitudes towards Downs syndrome in the NHS, amid concerns that a new, highly accurate pre-natal test for the condition, set to be rolled out next year, could lead to more babies being aborted. For the couple, the diagnosis came as a bolt from the blue. Like one in six couples, they had trouble conceiving naturally so turned to IVF, which they paid for due to NHS funding restrictions. Iris (pictured) was born with Down's Syndrome. A scan at 36 weeks detected a Atrioventricular septal defect, where there are numerous holes in the hearts internal walls, a condition common in babies with Down's Syndrome Hannah became pregnant at the first attempt and, as the months passed, all seemed well: scans at 12, 20 and 22 weeks at Southend Hospital in Essex showed nothing untoward. Then a scan at 36 weeks picked up a problem with Iriss heart called Atrioventricular septal defect, or AVSD, where there are numerous holes in the hearts internal walls. The condition is common in babies with Downs syndrome, so Hannah was offered an amniocentesis test where a sample of amniotic fluid is taken. Beforehand, they met foetal maternal medicine consultant Mandeep Singh. Hannah recalled: He said to us, Can I ask what you will do if its confirmed that your baby has Downs syndrome? Confused, they asked him to explain, and he said: Will you continue with the pregnancy? Ben recalled: We were both taken aback. We didnt even know abortion was an option. It was awful. They said Mr Singh did not explicitly mention an abortion but believed his meaning was clear. What else could he have been suggesting, really? said Hannah. Ben added: We were offered a termination at 36 weeks, which is disgusting. They made it clear they would absolutely not consider an abortion, a process that would take up to a week. Three days later, a nurse called with the news that their baby had Downs. They then had another meeting with Mr Singh. Hannah said: It was in this meeting that he said, Your child will be mentally retarded. Ben added: The way the news was delivered was diabolical. I dont know anyone who uses that word any more. They were then handed a three-page leaflet about Downs syndrome, which Ben described as abhorrent. He said: It was a list as long as your arm saying, These are the things that could be wrong with your child; these are the challenges you are going to face. Basically, everything we heard from the NHS was very negative. Nothing would change their minds, though. Hannah, who describes herself as religious, said she found the thought of terminating so late inhumane. She added: Youve felt the baby kick, at this point youve had the nursery done you are on the countdown to D-day. But Ben said that if their experience was typical, it was no wonder so many couples end up terminating babies with Downs about 500 in England and Wales each year. Abortion is legal in England up to 24 weeks, but if there is a substantial risk to the womans life or foetal abnormalities, there is no time limit. In one year for which statistics are available, six babies with Downs syndrome were aborted at 37 weeks or later the threshold for what is considered full term. A parliamentary inquiry into the issue heard parents who choose to keep a disabled child are sometimes treated as selfish and irresponsible pariahs who foisted a disabled child upon society. They can face pressure or a feeling of disapproval from doctors or midwives as if they were doing wrong by bringing into the world a child who will require extra NHS resources. The couple (pictured with Enid) say they were 'taken aback' when asked if they wanted to abort their first baby After Iris was born in June last year, she was referred for a heart operation to treat her AVSD at the Evelina Childrens Hospital in London. Guidelines state that surgery should take place between three and six months, with research suggesting babies with Downs should ideally be operated on sooner rather than later. However, the Days felt there was never any urgency and they were given November 4 as the earliest date, when Iris was four-and-a-half months old. But three days beforehand, they had to rush Iris to A&E at Colchester Hospital after she developed breathing problems, a temperature and a rash. She was raced to specialists at the Evelina, where she was treated for an infection for a fortnight before being discharged. The hospital stay meant her operation had to be rescheduled for November 25. Then, to the familys huge frustration, it was cancelled again as no intensive care bed was available. Ben said: I was getting quite angry. Wed been told this operation needed to be done soon. She went back to the Evelina for surgery, now set for November 30. But on the eve of the operation it was cancelled once more when a child in intensive care suddenly deteriorated, taking priority. Hannah said: It was so upsetting, I could hardly speak. Iris was discharged without being assessed by a doctor and without an ECG heart test, the Days said. Ben added: This was an ill child, not a tin of beans. It was ridiculous. At Iriss inquest last month, a doctor who reviewed the tragedy said the child who took Iriss place had been critically unwell and the decision was the right one given the evidence at the time. The operation was reset for December 9. It was a date little Iris would never see. On December 1, she suffered another bout of breathing problems and her parents took her to Colchester Hospital again. They stayed by her bed overnight as her condition appeared to improve. By mid-morning, they asked if it was safe for them to go home for a short break and were told it was. Unknown to them, Iris had started to deteriorate at about 8am. Medics also missed warning signs that could have saved her, with a nurse failing to carry out hourly observations properly, and failing to escalate Iriss care when she should have done. Driving home, the Days received the terrible news that Iris was going downhill fast. They raced back only to find she had died. Hannah and Ben said they felt the majority of NHS staff that had contact with Iris 'let her and us down in the worst possible way' Hannah and Ben said they were left with a lingering and uncomfortable impression that more could have been done to save her. They said: We feel that the majority of NHS staff who came into contact with Iris in her short life let her and us down in the worst possible way. As her parents, we were made to feel like an annoyance to the NHS on the day she died and on every day after she was diagnosed with Downs syndrome. Happily, two months ago Hannah gave birth to another child, Enid, who was conceived naturally. She was a wonderful surprise, said Hannah. But the couple will never get over the loss of Iris. Kate Potter, of the Downs Syndrome Association said: Unfortunately, quite a lot of parents [of children with the condition] still do report unsuitable and inappropriate behaviour and language use. She added that her organisation has built a body of evidence which proves that a significant number of health professionals continue to provide information about Downs syndrome in a biased manner. Prospective parents have reported feeling pressurised into a termination when being given a very pessimistic view of the life chances of someone with Downs syndrome. All the hospitals involved passed on their condolences to the Days. Colleen Begg, of Southend Hospital, said: Mr and Mrs Day have expressed their concerns formally to us and we have investigated and responded in detail to all aspects of their complaint. Foetal medicine health professionals are obliged to discuss all available options with parents in Mr and Mrs Days situation, and to support and help parents whatever their decisions are, and we do understand that these difficult conversations can be distressing. Dr Andrea Turner, of Colchester Hospital, said it had carried out a detailed investigation into the circumstances leading up to Iriss death and had made a number of changes on monitoring children and talking to experts at specialist hospitals sooner. And a spokesman for the Evelina Childrens Hospital said it worked hard to minimise the number of cancelled operations. Mr Singh did not respond to requests to comment. For more information, visit downs-syndrome.org.uk. New defence secretary Gavin Williamson, pictured, has been accused of starting a backbench row to cover up his lack of ministerial or military experience Allies of Chancellor Philip Hammond have accused Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson of stirring up a bogus war on defence cuts to win over Armed Forces chiefs. In an extraordinary attack just days before the two meet to discuss the defence budget they blamed Mr Williamson for a backbench rebellion, which they said was designed to distract attention from the row over his fast-track promotion to the Cabinet. One source ridiculed Mr Williamsons lack of defence experience, saying: When Williamson is in with all these grizzled old Forces types he just sits there looking like Private Pike from Dads Army. But last night a friend of Mr Williamson hit back, saying Mr Hammond had left the Forces in a parlous state during his own time as Defence Secretary. Mr Williamson is due to hold talks with Mr Hammond and Theresa May later this week to thrash out how to fill a 2 billion hole in the Ministry of Defence budget. It comes against the backdrop of a rebellion by Tory MPs, led by former Army Captain Johnny Mercer, over claims that the next defence review could lead to Army numbers falling below 70,000 soldiers.This has led to reports that Mr Williamson, a former Chief Whip, was fighting to quell a mounting Tory rebellion. But Mr Hammonds allies believe that the Defence Secretary is exaggerating the financial pressures so he can claim a win if the cuts fail to materialise. They even accuse him of being in cahoots with the rebels. One Hammond ally said yesterday: Once a whip, always a whip. Its bogus. We think Williamson is manipulating the party to put pressure on us by encouraging backbenchers to protest so he can claim victory and win the respect of the Forces chiefs. Williamson, pictured at RAF Connisgby inspecting an RAF Typhoon, was appointed to cabinet after the resignation of Sir Michael Fallon last month amid a scandal Mr Hammond, pictured, was a former defence secretary before becoming chancellor All he is doing at the MoD is going around asking, What would [former Defence Secretary] Michael Fallon have done? He knows nothing about how to run a big-spending department, and sweet FA about defence. But he does know his way around the MPs. Another source was even blunter, saying: That boy doesnt know one end of a rifle from another. The Treasury was particularly irritated last week when Mr Williamson publicly argued that Natos target for two per cent of GDP to be spent on defence should be a base not a ceiling. But Mr Williamsons friend said: When Hammond was Defence Secretary, he oversaw damaging cuts to the Armed Forces, leaving them in a parlous state. He is now rightly nervous that a light is about to be shone on his poor record. The Prime Ministers decision to parachute Mr Williamson into the job last month, when Sir Michael Fallon was forced out during the sex harassment scandal, caused fury among Tory MPs. They accused her of promoting a member of her inner circle ahead of better candidates. Last week, Tory MP James Gray urged Mr Williamson to lobby Mr Hammond to dig deep in his pockets or risk a very substantial rebellion. And veteran Minister Tobias Ellwood, a former captain in the Royal Green Jackets, has privately threatened to resign if there are severe cuts. The EU has taken advantage of Theresa Mays botched Election to run rings around Britain in Brexit talks and has used her weakened position to punish us with a massive divorce bill. The backlash was revealed in the first major opinion poll since it emerged that the Government is ready to pay around 50 billion to ensure EU negotiations progress to a new round of trade talks. According to a Survation study for The Mail on Sunday, there is no doubt who is judged to have won the first round of talks between EU negotiator Michel Barnier and Brexit Secretary David Davis. A total of 43 per cent said the EU had got the best deal only 16 per cent said the UK had come out on top. And they believe the 50 billion bill has more to do with vindictiveness than fairness. The EU has taken advantage of Theresa Mays (pictured yesterday) botched Election to run rings around Britain in Brexit talks and has used her weakened position to punish us with a massive divorce bill Asked why the EU had demanded so much, the top choice among those surveyed was because the EU wants to punish us, followed by Mrs Mays weakness after her Election gamble backfired. The least popular answer was that it reflects what the UK owes Brussels. A total of 57 per cent of voters believe the UK should not give the EU 50 billion, with only 20 per cent in favour. However, asked more precisely how much Britain should pay to leave, just 11 per cent said 50 billion was correct. Nearly four out of ten said we should not pay anything at all. A total of 17 per cent backed a maximum of 10 billion, with a similar number prepared to go as high as 25 billion. However, if paying 50 billion is the only way to get a trade deal, it appears voters are ready to grin and bear it. Forty per cent say it is a price worth paying to get a trade deal, while 35 per cent say we should walk away with no deal. Similarly, 38 per cent support a so-called hard Brexit, which could see Britain leave the EU single market and customs union. But 24 per cent would prefer a soft Brexit, in which we stay in both agreements, with an additional 28 per cent who want to stay in the EU. The backlash was revealed in the first major opinion poll since it emerged that the Government is ready to pay around 50 billion to ensure EU negotiations progress to a new round of trade talks And there is clear support for a second referendum on the final Brexit deal. One in two say there should be a second vote when all the talking is done, against 34 per cent who are opposed. With just 16 months to go before Britain quits the EU, voters are still nervous about its impact on their lives and key public services. Four of ten admit they are fearful about Brexit, compared to 30 per cent who are excited. And there is little faith that one of the most controversial claims made by anti-EU campaigners that it would lead to an extra 350 million a week for the NHS will be fulfilled. A total of 26 per cent said hospitals would get more but 32 per cent said they would end up with less. Survation interviewed 1,003 adults on Thursday and Friday. Shock EIGHT-point lead for Labour: Corbyn stretches his lead over Tories to largest gap for five months, says only pollster to call the Election right Jeremy Corbyn has stretched his lead over the Tories to eight points the largest gap in any poll for five months. The poll by Survation, which was the only company to accurately forecast Junes General Election result, puts Labour on 45 per cent, with the Conservatives trailing on 37 per cent. The findings will be greeted with dismay inside No 10, which had taken heart from the fact that despite Theresa Mays multiplying political problems her disastrous conference speech, the loss of Sir Michael Fallon from her Cabinet in the sex harassment furore and the pornography row hanging over First Secretary Damian Green it had not fed through into a significant lead for Mr Corbyn. Jeremy Corbyn has stretched his lead over Theresa May to eight points the largest gap in any poll for five months A fortnight ago, Mrs Mays chief of staff, Gavin Barwell, tweeted after a poll was published giving the Tories a four-point lead: When you are still at your desk 17 hours after you arrived at work, this is the kind of news you want to see. A previous Survation poll, on October 5, gave Labour a six point lead. The findings came as former Irish prime minister Bertie Ahern yesterday described Mrs May out of her depth and that Mr Corbyn was beginning to look like he may be the next Prime Minister. Speaking in Dublin, Mr Ahern said: They [the Tories] have a weak Prime Minister who is only there because the other headbangers who were on the Brexit side were fighting each other at the time. She came up the middle. I feel sorry for her because she is totally out of her depth. The poll by Survation, which was the only company to accurately forecast Junes General Election result, puts Labour on 45 per cent, with the Conservatives trailing on 37 per cent Secretive institute behind Boris and Gove's Brexit letter to 'hijack' Number 10 faces probe by charity watchdog The controversial think tank which played a key role in the secret Brexit letter written by Michael Gove and Boris Johnson is being probed by Britains charity watchdog. The inquiry into the Legatum Institute by the Charity Commission follows an investigation by The Mail on Sunday which revealed the organisations secret role in pushing the Government towards a hard Brexit withdrawal from the EU. The commission is examining whether the institutes trustees are actively protecting and promoting the charitys independence and whether its close links to Tory Brexiteers render it in breach of its duty to focus on the advancement of education for the public benefit. Over the past year, Legatum Institute economics director Shanker Singham has held a series of private meetings with Brexit Ministers and officials, including a summit at Chevening, the Kent grace and favour country house used by Boris Johnson and David Davis. The controversial think tank which played a key role in the secret Brexit letter written by Michael Gove and Boris Johnson is being probed by Britains charity watchdog The commission is examining whether the institutes trustees are actively protecting and promoting the charitys independence and whether its close links to Tory Brexiteers render it in breach of its duty to focus on the advancement of education for the public benefit Many of Mr Singhams ideas, including scrapping EU regulations and finding extra money for a no deal Brexit, were included in a letter he secretly co-authored with Johnson and Gove, which was sent to Theresa May in October and then leaked to the MoS. This newspaper also disclosed how Christopher Chandler the Monaco-based tycoon who established the institute had helped to build his fortune through the disaster capitalism of post-Soviet Russia. His allies cut deals with President Vladimir Putins associates. When we approached the institute last week about Mr Chandler, who ploughed his fortune into the Dubai-based Legatum Group investment firm, a spokesman tried to distance Mr Chandler from it. The institute was an independent, public charity he said and was not part of the Legatum Group. Furthermore, Christopher Chandler was not involved in running any of the [institutes] operations or programmes. But on Tuesday Mr Chandler was photographed emerging from the institutes Mayfair HQ in the week it was holding a board meeting next to institute chairman Alan McCormick, who doubles as managing director of the Legatum Group. The following evening, Mr Chandler attended a reception held by the institute at Tate Britain, again with Mr McCormick. Mr Chandler mingled with guests including leading Tory Brexit MPs Bernard Jenkin and Owen Paterson. This week Christopher Chandler was photographed emerging from the Legatum Institutes Mayfair HQ - despite claims he was 'not involved' with the institute Legatum Institute economics director Shanker Singham was pictured leaving the Mayfair HQ 45 minutes after Mr Chandler This newspaper has also established new details of a Brexit row that split the institute after chief executive Philippa Stroud, a former aide to one-time Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith, was appointed chief executive following the EU referendum last year. Up to half its 20-strong staff were reportedly fired or resigned in a Brexit purge, paving the way for it to be turned into what one insider called the hidden intellectual driving force behind the Governments Brexit plans. The rift led to distinguished pro-EU economist and journalist Anne Applebaum quitting the institute after a row with Ms Stroud. A friend of Ms Applebaum said: As soon as Philippa arrived, it was clear she was blindly committed to a hard Brexit and wanted to concentrate on that and nothing else. She believes it will bring glory to Britain and does not want to listen to any dissenting voices. Anne said the institute is supposed to be about ideas. Philippa got very cross and said, Ministers dont want ideas, they want policies. The friend added: After the referendum, Michael Gove and Boris Johnson were desperate. They realised they had no idea of the practicalities involved in leaving the EU. The Mail on Sunday had previously revealed Gove and Johnson's letter to No 10 Legatum offered to do it for them but has nothing like the expertise it claims to have and now has its own strong ideology. They believe everything Shanker Singham tells them but he is not as experienced as they think in negotiating trade deals. To replace departed staff, Stroud recruited several prominent fellow hard Brexit supporters, including Matthew Elliott, former chief executive of Vote Leave, and businessman Toby Baxendale, who ran hard-line Eurosceptic Andrea Leadsoms Tory leadership campaign. Ms Applebaum is an expert on meddling in the West by Russia and Vladimir Putin. But friends stress Mr Chandlers background in Russian business had nothing to do with her departure. Other recruits had previously worked for Ms Strouds Centre For Social Justice, a Right-of-centre anti-poverty campaign group set up by Iain Duncan Smith, which has strong support from evangelical Christians. A well-placed source said that some institute employees were uncomfortable about working for Ms Stroud because of her involvement in a gay rights controversy in 2010. Ms Stroud, as head of the Centre for Social Justice, was revealed to have once founded a church that tried to cure homosexuals by driving out their demons through prayer. The Charity Commission said last night that it would ask the institute to give assurances that they continue to comply with guidance on the advancement of education for the public benefit and are actively protecting and promoting the charitys independence. Charities are allowed by law to undertake political activity in support of their charitable aims but they are not allowed to pursue such aims solely through political activities. A Legatum Institute spokesman said: The institute was always conceived as a convening location. It has 5,000 visitors a year and this week it was teeming with people from around the world preparing for the [Tate Britain] event, so it was natural that Mr Chandler spent time catching up with staff at the institute. To our knowledge, no one left the Legatum Institute due to our research on how to make the best of the peoples decision regarding Brexit. The Legatum Institute is apolitical. There was no putsch by the Brexiteers. The spokesman denied that any concerns about Ms Strouds religious beliefs had been raised with her. Secretive institute behind Boris and Gove's Brexit letter to 'hijack' Number 10 faces probe by charity watchdog The police watchdog has sad officers who claimed they had found porn on Damian Green's computer had violated public trust in the police Britain's top policing watchdog last night rallied to Damian Greens defence by arguing that former officers who claimed pornographic images had been found on his computer had violated public trust in the police. Sir Tom Winsor, Her Majestys Chief Inspector of Constabulary, spoke out as the de facto Deputy Prime Minister fought to avoid the sack over smears about indecent images being found on his Commons computer during a 2008 raid. On Friday, former detective Neil Lewis disclosed his notes from the raid and claimed that on some days porn was browsed and open on the computer for hours. The claim that extreme material was found on Mr Greens work computer was first made by Bob Quick, a former Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner, and publicised last month amid claims of Westminster sleaze. But in a statement last night, Sir Tom warned that officers must not divulge confidential information gathered during investigations. He said: The obligation of confidentiality, and the duty not to break trust, is an enduring one. It does not end when an officer retires. The public need to know that when information about their private lives comes into the possession of the police, and that information is irrelevant to the work of the police, its confidential nature will be respected in perpetuity. If public confidence in this respect is damaged, and people do not believe they can trust the police, great harm may be done. Such violations may have a chilling effect on the willingness of victims and witnesses to co-operate, and that will be at the expense of public safety and justice. Almost all officers, serving and retired, would deprecate actions which flagrantly violate the trust every citizen should have in the police. The US Navy said on Saturday that it has reprimanded two aviators for skywriting a giant phallus over Washington State last month. Commander of Naval Air Forces, Vice Adm. Mike Shoemaker, handed down the punishment after convening a Field Naval Aviator Evaluation Board to address the matter, The Military Times reported. 'The American people rightfully expect that those who wear the Wings of Gold exhibit a level of maturity commensurate with the missions and aircraft with which they've been entrusted,' Shoemaker said in a statement following the decision. The reprimands were not made public as it was meted out in an administrative proceeding 'Naval aviation continually strives to foster an environment of dignity and respect. Sophomoric and immature antics of a sexual nature have no place in Naval aviation today.' A military source told The Times that although the nature of their reprimand would not be made public, the individuals responsible were permitted to retain their status as aviators. Vice Adm. Mike Shoemaker (pictured), handed down the punishment after convening a Field Naval Aviator Evaluation Board to address the matter Following the November 16 incident, US Navy chiefs ordered the fighter jet aircrew grounded after the stunt garnered massive Internet attention around the world. Those officials from the Naval Air Station in Whidbey Island also apologized for the unseemly display. 'The Navy holds its aircrew to the highest standards and we find this absolutely unacceptable, of zero training value and we are holding the crew accountable,' officials said in a statement at the time. They described the act as 'immature' and 'unethical' and vowed to punish the crew responsible for the stunt. The aviators, who belonged to Electronic Attack Squadron 130, used an EA-18 Growler aircraft during the incident, the Times reported. According to the US Navy, the jet 'left a condensed air trail resembling an obscene image to observers on the ground.' Although administrative proceedings have concluded, a command investigation into the incident is still ongoing at Carrier Air Wing 3, the squadron's operational command, according to The Military Times. The controversial think tank which played a key role in the secret Brexit letter written by Michael Gove and Boris Johnson is being probed by Britains charity watchdog. The inquiry into the Legatum Institute by the Charity Commission follows an investigation by The Mail on Sunday which revealed the organisations secret role in pushing the Government towards a hard Brexit withdrawal from the EU. The commission is examining whether the institutes trustees are actively protecting and promoting the charitys independence and whether its close links to Tory Brexiteers render it in breach of its duty to focus on the advancement of education for the public benefit. Over the past year, Legatum Institute economics director Shanker Singham has held a series of private meetings with Brexit Ministers and officials, including a summit at Chevening, the Kent grace and favour country house used by Boris Johnson and David Davis. The controversial think tank which played a key role in the secret Brexit letter written by Michael Gove and Boris Johnson is being probed by Britains charity watchdog The commission is examining whether the institutes trustees are actively protecting and promoting the charitys independence and whether its close links to Tory Brexiteers render it in breach of its duty to focus on the advancement of education for the public benefit Many of Mr Singhams ideas, including scrapping EU regulations and finding extra money for a no deal Brexit, were included in a letter he secretly co-authored with Johnson and Gove, which was sent to Theresa May in October and then leaked to the MoS. This newspaper also disclosed how Christopher Chandler the Monaco-based tycoon who established the institute had helped to build his fortune through the disaster capitalism of post-Soviet Russia. His allies cut deals with President Vladimir Putins associates. When we approached the institute last week about Mr Chandler, who ploughed his fortune into the Dubai-based Legatum Group investment firm, a spokesman tried to distance Mr Chandler from it. The institute was an independent, public charity he said and was not part of the Legatum Group. Furthermore, Christopher Chandler was not involved in running any of the [institutes] operations or programmes. But on Tuesday Mr Chandler was photographed emerging from the institutes Mayfair HQ in the week it was holding a board meeting next to institute chairman Alan McCormick, who doubles as managing director of the Legatum Group. The following evening, Mr Chandler attended a reception held by the institute at Tate Britain, again with Mr McCormick. Mr Chandler mingled with guests including leading Tory Brexit MPs Bernard Jenkin and Owen Paterson. This week Christopher Chandler was photographed emerging from the Legatum Institutes Mayfair HQ - despite claims he was 'not involved' with the institute Legatum Institute economics director Shanker Singham was pictured leaving the Mayfair HQ 45 minutes after Mr Chandler This newspaper has also established new details of a Brexit row that split the institute after chief executive Philippa Stroud, a former aide to one-time Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith, was appointed chief executive following the EU referendum last year. Up to half its 20-strong staff were reportedly fired or resigned in a Brexit purge, paving the way for it to be turned into what one insider called the hidden intellectual driving force behind the Governments Brexit plans. The rift led to distinguished pro-EU economist and journalist Anne Applebaum quitting the institute after a row with Ms Stroud. A friend of Ms Applebaum said: As soon as Philippa arrived, it was clear she was blindly committed to a hard Brexit and wanted to concentrate on that and nothing else. She believes it will bring glory to Britain and does not want to listen to any dissenting voices. Anne said the institute is supposed to be about ideas. Philippa got very cross and said, Ministers dont want ideas, they want policies. The friend added: After the referendum, Michael Gove and Boris Johnson were desperate. They realised they had no idea of the practicalities involved in leaving the EU. The Mail on Sunday had previously revealed Gove and Johnson's letter to No 10 Legatum offered to do it for them but has nothing like the expertise it claims to have and now has its own strong ideology. They believe everything Shanker Singham tells them but he is not as experienced as they think in negotiating trade deals. To replace departed staff, Stroud recruited several prominent fellow hard Brexit supporters, including Matthew Elliott, former chief executive of Vote Leave, and businessman Toby Baxendale, who ran hard-line Eurosceptic Andrea Leadsoms Tory leadership campaign. Ms Applebaum is an expert on meddling in the West by Russia and Vladimir Putin. But friends stress Mr Chandlers background in Russian business had nothing to do with her departure. Other recruits had previously worked for Ms Strouds Centre For Social Justice, a Right-of-centre anti-poverty campaign group set up by Iain Duncan Smith, which has strong support from evangelical Christians. A well-placed source said that some institute employees were uncomfortable about working for Ms Stroud because of her involvement in a gay rights controversy in 2010. Ms Stroud, as head of the Centre for Social Justice, was revealed to have once founded a church that tried to cure homosexuals by driving out their demons through prayer. The Charity Commission said last night that it would ask the institute to give assurances that they continue to comply with guidance on the advancement of education for the public benefit and are actively protecting and promoting the charitys independence. Charities are allowed by law to undertake political activity in support of their charitable aims but they are not allowed to pursue such aims solely through political activities. A Legatum Institute spokesman said: The institute was always conceived as a convening location. It has 5,000 visitors a year and this week it was teeming with people from around the world preparing for the [Tate Britain] event, so it was natural that Mr Chandler spent time catching up with staff at the institute. To our knowledge, no one left the Legatum Institute due to our research on how to make the best of the peoples decision regarding Brexit. The Legatum Institute is apolitical. There was no putsch by the Brexiteers. The spokesman denied that any concerns about Ms Strouds religious beliefs had been raised with her. The police watchdog has sad officers who claimed they had found porn on Damian Green's computer had violated public trust in the police Britain's top policing watchdog last night rallied to Damian Greens defence by arguing that former officers who claimed pornographic images had been found on his computer had violated public trust in the police. Sir Tom Winsor, Her Majestys Chief Inspector of Constabulary, spoke out as the de facto Deputy Prime Minister fought to avoid the sack over smears about indecent images being found on his Commons computer during a 2008 raid. On Friday, former detective Neil Lewis disclosed his notes from the raid and claimed that on some days porn was browsed and open on the computer for hours. The claim that extreme material was found on Mr Greens work computer was first made by Bob Quick, a former Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner, and publicised last month amid claims of Westminster sleaze. But in a statement last night, Sir Tom warned that officers must not divulge confidential information gathered during investigations. He said: The obligation of confidentiality, and the duty not to break trust, is an enduring one. It does not end when an officer retires. The public need to know that when information about their private lives comes into the possession of the police, and that information is irrelevant to the work of the police, its confidential nature will be respected in perpetuity. If public confidence in this respect is damaged, and people do not believe they can trust the police, great harm may be done. Such violations may have a chilling effect on the willingness of victims and witnesses to co-operate, and that will be at the expense of public safety and justice. Almost all officers, serving and retired, would deprecate actions which flagrantly violate the trust every citizen should have in the police. Sir Peter Fahy, a former chief constable of Greater Manchester Police, added: Police should be extremely careful about making judgments about other peoples morality when its not a matter of crime. Mr Green maintains that he did not download or look at pornography on his work computer. Detectives who searched his office were meant to be looking for the source of Whitehall leaks and leading lawyers believe they could not have established how adult images appeared on the computer. Standing by her man the picture that shows PM was always his closest chum Friends: Theresa Brasier, as she was then known, circled with Damian Green. His future wife Alicia is in front row If Damian Green is forced to quit the Government, Theresa May will be losing one of her oldest friends, as well as her most loyal Cabinet ally. They have known each other for more than 40 years and are pictured alongside each other, above, at an Oxford University Edmund Burke Society dinner in 1976. They grew up 25 miles apart in the Home Counties. In the front row, is Alicia Collinson, Mr Greens girlfriend at the time and now his wife. At the time, Ms Collinson was the tutorial partner of Theresa Brasier, as she was then known, at St Hughs College. Mr Green attended Balliol. Advertisement Senior Cabinet Office official Sue Gray is due to deliver a report within days both on the pornography and unrelated claims that Mr Green behaved inappropriately towards a female journalist. Mr Greens colleagues, led by Brexit Secretary David Davis, have rallied to his defence, although that support is likely to melt away if it turns out he did not tell the truth about watching pornography. Former Attorney General Dominic Grieve called the officers actions very worrying that smacked of a police state. And ex-Cabinet Minister Andrew Mitchell called on Scotland Yard Commissioner Cressida Dick to denounce the accusers. He said: As Britains most senior officer, she must stand up and make it clear that this sort of freelancing by rogue police officers is unacceptable. A source close to Mr Green said: Information which comes into the possession of the police must be treated as confidential. There is no question that if Neil Lewis was a serving officer, he would be subject to misconduct proceedings. A family who were left fighting for life after eating contaminated wild boar have woken up after two weeks in a vegetative state. Three members of the same family from Putaruru, on New Zealand's North Island, were in a critical condition after eating the boar, which they shot on a hunting trip. Paramedics found Shibu Kochummen, 35, his wife Subi Babu, 32, and his mother Alekutty Daniel, 62, lying unconscious in their home in November after Mr Kochummen fainted while calling an ambulance. Despite doctors warning they could be paralysed for life, Mr Kochummen and Ms Daniel opened their eyes for the first time in two weeks a few days ago, and now Mrs Babu has woken and spoken to loved ones. Paramedics found Shibu Kochummen (left), his wife Subi Babu (centre) and his mother Alekutty Daniel (right) lying unconscious in their home on Friday Shibu Kochummen, 35, his wife Subi Babu, 32, pictured with their seven year old daughter Friend Joji Varghese told the New Zealand Herald that Mrs Babu's first words were to ask about her family. 'It was difficult to understand because her tongue was slurring so much, but she got the message across. 'I'm just so happy. I'm really just trying to get all my thoughts into place: I'm happy-confused,' he said. The family, who moved from Kerala in India to New Zealand five years ago, have two children aged seven and one. Miraculously the meat was the only item of food the young children did not eat during the meal. Suffering from what is expected to be a severe case of food poisoning, the trio are lying in hospital in an unresponsive state. The family, who moved from Kerala in India to New Zealand five years ago, have two children aged seven (pictured) and on Mr Varghese said it was believed the family were poisoned after eating a wild boar they had caught on a hunting trip. 'They have been diagnosed with food poisoning, after having consumed contaminated wild boar,' he said. 'Though they exhibit periods of intermittent consciousness, they are for all practical purposes, unresponsive and in a vegetative state.' Mr Varghese told Daily Mail Australia that within 30 minutes of eating the meat the family started vomiting. 'Shibu's mother started vomiting and then collapsed. Shibu called an ambulance but fainted half way through the call. 'When paramedics arrived they found three people collapsed on the floor and two children in bed sleeping.' The family from Putaruru, on New Zealand's North Island are in a critical condition at Waikato Hospital Luckily the family's young children did not eat the meat, which has now been taken for testing. 'It was just something they had decided to have for dinner they put the kids to bed before they cooked the meat,' Mr Varghese said. Mr Varghese told Daily Mail Australia Mr Kochummen was a 'keen outdoorsman' who went hunting with friends about once a month. He went hunting with a group of friends locally in Putaruru when they caught the boar. He said it wasn't the first time the family had eaten wild boar. 'We've shared boar on a number of occasions,' Mr Varghese said. The family's young children are being looked after by the church group. The RAF will reform its legendary Dambusters squadron when the first F-35b stealth fighter jets arrive early next year. The crew of the first 13 of the 150m aircraft are being trained on their jets in the United States at US Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort before returning to the UK. The squadron will be based in RAF Marham, Norfolk. The aircraft will be flown by both RAF and Royal Navy pilots and will operate from land and sea. 617 Squadron's new commanding officer Wing Commander Jon Butcher, pictured, first got to fly the F-35B Lightning II at Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort three weeks ago The first 13 British F-35B aircraft will arrive in the UK next year at RAF Marham, Norfolk Britain is planning to buy 138 of the high-tech jets from US manufacturer Lockheed Martin. So far, the project has cost the British taxpayer 3.9 billion. Wing Commander John Butcher, who will command the newly reformed squadron told The Telegraph: 'They were formed nearly 75 years ago for a very special purpose, and that was to bring cutting-edge technology into service for a very special mission. 'And for me I can see a lot of parallels with what we are being asked to do now. We are bringing very special technology into service - once again for a very, very special mission, which is to bring stealth and combat air capability to UK defence. 'I think there is a nice link there between what our forefathers did with 617 squadron, and what we are now doing.' The original Dambusters squadron was formed by Wing Commander Guy Gibson, centre 617 Squadron, pictured here in 1943, were formed with a specific mission to prosecute The squadron were tasked with destroying several dams in Germany's industrial heartland The original Dambusters squadron was formed at RAF Scampton on March 23, 1943 for a special mission to destroy several dams in the German Ruhr valley. Wing Commander Guy Gibson was given permission to hand-pick his bomber crews from other Lancaster squadrons to give the mission the greatest chance of success. The crews trained relentlessly with low-level flying in order to achieve the maximum level of surprise. Also, the specially-designed 'bouncing bomb' had to be dropped above the water at an exact height of 60 feet and a speed of 220mph. The mission required 19 specially-adapted Lancasters to carry out the attack on the night of May 16/17 1943. The mission saw the destruction of the Mohne Dam, as well as the Eder Dam in May 1943 The crews successfully managed to breach the Mohne and Eder dams, but failed to destroy the Sorpe and Schwelme. Gibson, to give his fellow flyers the greatest chance of success flew above the dams to attract anti-aircraft fire while his men lined up their repeated attacks. For this, he was awarded the Victoria Cross. In total, eight of the 19 crews did not return from the mission. However, for 617 Squadron, their precision flying that night saw them lined up for other highly specialised missions, such as using the 12,000lb Tallboy and 22,000 Grand Slam bombs - also designed by Barnes Wallis, who previously created the bouncing bomb. Following the Second World War, 617 Squadron saw service in Malaya i before it was disbanded on December 15, 1955. The Squadron was reformed again in Scampton in May 1958, with Vulcans - when again it was disbanded on New Years' Eve 1981. The squadron was reformed in 1982, receiving Tornado GR1s, later updated to the GR4. The Squadron saw service in Iraq as part of Operation Telic in April 2003 and was again disbanded in 2014. More than a million Australians are being ripped off by employers failing to pay the minimum wage. A shock report has revealed that 11 per cent of workers say they are not being paid for all of the hours they are on the job. And 43 per cent of people surveyed by Kronos said they had, at some point in their working lives, not been paid the minimum wage. More than a million Australians are being ripped off by employers failing to pay the minimum wage Meanwhile 15 per cent of workers said they knew migrant colleagues were paid less than thee, and a quarter said they were paid cash-in-hand to avoid tax. Peter Harte, managing director of Kronos ANZ, said people working in hospitality were most likely to be targeted by exploitative bosses, as were unskilled workers and migrants. A study by UNSW Sydney and UTS last week found that up to a third of foreign students and backpackers are paid less than half the minimum wage. 'It's disappointing to learn, that even in today's mature economy, a large number of Australians are being exploited in the workplace - at a time when wage growth is slow and many people are working harder than ever,' he told Newscorp. 'The practice is also illegal with significant penalty rates for those businesses found to breach regulations.' Lord Bassam, Labours Chief Whip in the Lords, admitted that he had been wrong to claim tens of thousands of pounds in taxpayers money A senior aide to Jeremy Corbyn was plunged into a major expenses scandal last night. Lord Bassam, Labours Chief Whip in the Lords, admitted that he had been wrong to claim tens of thousands of pounds in taxpayers money after The Mail on Sunday investigated his travel expenses. He faces further questions over another 260,000 second home allowance that he has pocketed since 2010 despite not having one. Lord Bassam last night promised to pay back up to 41,000 in expenses he claimed for commuting between Westminster and his Brighton home. If he was forced to pay back the housing allowance instead, the total would greatly exceed anything refunded by an MP in the 2009 Commons expenses scandal. The 64-year-old peer has been nicknamed Lord Swampy a reference to the New Age eco-warrior of the 1990s because of his background as a squatters leader when he was plain Steve Bassam in the 1970s. He now lives with wife Jill in a 1 million townhouse in Brightons fashionable Kemptown district. Because of his position as Chief Whip, and because his main home is not in London, he is one of a handful of Lords frontbenchers entitled to a Lords Office Holders Allowance (LOHA), currently 36,366 a year (worth about 22,000 after tax). Lord Bassam faces further questions over another 260,000 second home allowance that he has pocketed since 2010 despite not having one. Pictured is his home in Brighton The top-up paid as part of his salary is to cover peers expenses in staying overnight away from their main or only residence. But instead of spending the extra cash on a second home in London or hotel bills, Lord Bassam pockets it and joins commuters on the hour-long, 55-mile train trip between Brighton and the capital. Astonishingly, he also claims about 6,400 a year in expenses to pay for those train tickets and cab fares, despite the LOHA payments that assume he stays in London. The expenses scandal is particularly embarrassing for Mr Corbyn because, as Chief Whip, Bassam is in charge of maintaining discipline among Labour peers. Since taking that position following the 2010 General Election, he has received 260,000 in LOHA and claimed 40,900 in travel expenses a total of more than 300,000. Following this newspapers investigations, the peer last night admitted he was wrong to claim travel expenses and vowed to have urgent talks with parliamentary officials about paying it back. He told The Mail on Sunday: I will not be submitting any further claims in this way. I will also discuss the steps necessary to repay previous travel claims including those made since the [2017] Election. Asked to justify claiming the 36,366 second home allowance, he would only say: Regarding the Office Holders Allowance, I have not been advised that any breach of the rules has taken place. The 64-year-old peer has been nicknamed Lord Swampy a reference to the New Age eco-warrior of the 1990s because of his background as a squatters leader when he was plain Steve Bassam in the 1970s However, Sir Alistair Graham, former chairman of the Commons Committee on Standards in Public Life, said Bassam should pay back the larger amount instead. He said: It is clearly indefensible that he should take the extra allowance designed to cover accommodation in London. He should pay that back in full rather than the travel expenses. It is extraordinary that such a situation has arisen after the great MPs expenses furore. He should have learned a lesson from that. Lord Bassam made his reputation as a Left-winger in the 1970s when he set up the Squatters Union, which campaigned for the rights of squatters to occupy empty properties. He was once thrown out of a court for wearing a red nose. He became leader of Brighton council in 1987 and was appointed a life peer in 1997 by Tony Blair, who made him a Minister in 1999. Gordon Brown promoted him to Chief Whip in 2008 and the following year he joined the Privy Council, giving him the formal title of The Rt Hon The Lord Bassam of Brighton PC. Lord Bassam is now a key aide of Jeremy Corbyn. Last night, there were signs Mr Corbyn was distancing himself from the embattled peer He is now a key member of Mr Corbyns inner circle. As Labour Chief Whip in the Lords, Bassam gets a basic 63,537 salary. His LOHA of 36,366 approximately based on the Lords previous 165 a day overnight subsistence allowance multiplied by a nominal 220 number of sittings per year brings the total salary up to 99,903. No receipts are required as the allowance is paid as part of his overall salary. Last night Lord Bassams spokesman admitted the peer rarely stays in London. In addition to his Lords salary, Lord Bassam declares income from a rental property he owns in Eastbourne, not far from Brighton. Last night, there were signs Mr Corbyn was distancing himself from the embattled peer. An ally pointed out that the Lords Chief Whip is chosen by Labour peers not the party leader. A Labour spokesman said Although Lord Bassam hasnt been advised hes broken any rules, it is right that he will repay previous travel claims. Almost 14,000 archaeological sites and national monuments in the United States could be lost by the year 2100 as seas rise due to climate change, scientists have revealed. The findings offer a glimpse into the vast amount of global cultural heritage that could be destroyed, the study said. One in 10 archaeological sites that it analysed on nine southeastern coastal states risk inundation. Almost 14,000 archaeological sites and national monuments in the United States could be lost by the year 2100 as seas rise due to climate change, scientists have revealed. This will affect much of the Gulf and Atlantic coasts in the southeastern US, the researchers warned THE AFFECTED AREAS New research has warned that almost 14,000 archaeological sites and national monuments in the United States could be lost by the year 2100 as seas rise due to climate change. The phenomenon will affect much of the Gulf and Atlantic coasts in the southeastern US, the researchers warned in the new study. Florida's 17th century Castillo de San Marcos fortress and Fort Matanzas, which date back to European colonial struggles for the New World, are among the historic national monuments that could disappear. Other sites are in Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana. Among the affected sites could be Jamestown, Virginia the site of the first permanent English settlement in North America. Advertisement Sea-level rise in the coming years will destroy vast numbers of archaeological sites, buildings, cemeteries, and cultural landscapes, said co-author David Anderson, from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Developing informatics capabilities at regional and continental scales like DINAA (Digital index of North American Archaeology) is essential if we are to effectively plan for, and help mitigate, this loss of human history. Recent studies have found that sea levels could rise by 1 meter in the next century, and 5 or more meters in the centuries to follow. This will affect much of the Gulf and Atlantic coasts in the southeastern US, the researchers warned in the new study. Among the affected sites could be Jamestown, Virginia the site of the first permanent English settlement in North America. Along with the direct implications for archaeological sites on the coast, they say the rising water will force humans to relocate. As millions of people are displaced due to the flooding landscape, the influx will have additional impacts on historic sites in the regions they resettle. Florida's 17th century Castillo de San Marcos fortress could be hit by rising sea levels, the researchers warn The authors called for a debate about which fragments of human history should be salvaged through relocation and documented for posterity. Castillo de San Marcos is pictured 'The data are sobering: projected sea level rise ... will result in the loss of a substantial portion of the record of both pre-Columbian and historic period human habitation,' the authors said in the journal PLoS ONE. '(There are) serious concerns over the threat of global climate change to the archaeological and historic record.' Scientists predict sea levels are on track to surge by an average of one meter globally by 2100. Among the affected sites could be Jamestown, Virginia the site of the first permanent English settlement in North America A wood engraving of the Jamestown settlement is shown. Researchers warn rising sea levels could wipe out thousands of historic sites In the first study on such a scale, researchers combined data on the elevation of archeological and historic sites along in the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts with sea-level rise predictions. 'This is only a tiny fraction of what's out there,' Anderson, an archaeology professor at the University of Tennessee, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation by phone. 'The record of human occupation of coastal regions goes back thousands of years and we stand to lose a lot of that.' One in 10 archaeological sites that it analysed on nine southeastern coastal states risk inundation. In the map above, one dot equals 5 archaeological sites Florida's 17th century Castillo de San Marcos fortress and Fort Matanzas, which date back to European colonial struggles for the New World, are among the historic national monuments that could disappear. Other sites are in Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana. The authors called for a debate about which fragments of human history should be salvaged through relocation and documented for posterity. Most parents have faced a grumpy child who refuses to go to bed. But letting them stay up just a bit longer could damage their performance at school, says an expert on child development. Parents should stick to one fixed time, because their childs reading and maths could suffer, warns Dr Yvonne Kelly from University College London. She told the World Sleep Society that seven-year-old girls and three-year-olds of both sexes perform less well in tests if they do not have a regular bedtime. Allowing children to stay up just a bit longer could damage their performance at school, says an expert on child development (file photo) Her findings also show that three-year-old children are worse at regulating their emotions and more likely to be obese in later life if they do not go to bed at the same time each night. She says children can suffer jet lag from going to bed at different times every day. It is important that children go to bed at a fixed time so they can maintain their circadian rhythms, she said. If you fly across time zones, it is difficult to function when you get to New York, for example. If you ask a child to effectively do the same thing by changing their sleeping patterns, they are going to struggle even more than an adult would. Sleep is important for forming and storing memories, to learn from day to day, and it is essential for children. Dr Kellys warning follows four years of research. In a study of more than 11,000 children, published in the British Medical Journal, a team led by her found three-year-old children performed worse in tests of spatial awareness, reading skills and mathematics without a set bedtime. Parents should stick to one fixed time, because their childs reading and maths could suffer, warns Dr Yvonne Kelly from University College London (file photo) Girls did worse in all these areas at the age of seven, although boys appeared unaffected. She has also found children with irregular bedtimes are more likely to be badly behaved than their peers. But there can still be a happy ending for worried parents. Writing on website The Conversation, Dr Kelly said: We did find an important piece of good news, too those negative effects on behaviour appeared to be reversible. Children who switched to having a regular bedtime showed improvements in their behaviour. This shows that its never too late to help children back onto a positive path, and a small change could make a big difference to how well they get on. When I arrived in Antigua 34 years ago, I had just completed my first Atlantic crossing. I was emotional and thrilled to be back on terra firma but, even so, I fell head over heels in love with the island. Sailing the Atlantic means battling through storms, getting drenched, feeling cold and suffering seasickness all a far cry from the luxury my 17-year-old daughter Mackenna and I were now about to experience at The Admirals Inn, in English Harbour - where Nelson was based from 1784 to 1787. Ship-shape: English Harbour in Antigua, where the British Fleet was based for over 100 years The harbour provided unrivalled protection from hurricanes, and the British Fleet was based there for more than 100 years. The newly-revamped, 23-room hotel looks out over pretty Nelsons Dockyard, the only working Georgian Dockyard in the world. Nelson, a yachtie of sorts, would be astonished at the number of mega luxury boats that now bob up and down around Antigua. Caribbean seafarers: Tracey Edwards and her daughter Mackenna hit the deck in Antigua Theres nothing quite like learning to sail in sunny climes and here, youre spoilt for choice. Both the Antigua Yacht Club and Ondeck are ideal for beginners, operating in the safety and calm waters of Falmouth Harbour. Although Antigua is famous for its beaches, there is so much else to do. Our first outing was through the Antiguan rainforest to take Mack ziplining with Rainforest Canopy Tours. She loved swinging through the trees, and I was perfectly happy watching from the safety of the bar. The next day, we went riding at the outstanding Spring Hill Stables in Falmouth and galloped through the surf, the horses hooves pounding the water and lifting the spray into our faces. You cant get lost in Antigua and if you do, it hardly matters. Mother-daughter time: The two stayed at 23-room The Admirals Inn, in English Harbour Along the way, youre bound to spot the islands old sugar mills, one of which, Bettys Hope, dates back to 1651. Near Pares Village, St Peters, it has been fully restored and is open to visitors free of charge. Then there are the churches such as St Barnabas Anglican Church in the centre of Liberta village, built from the ballast bricks taken from the ships that sailed from the UK in the 18th century. Also deserving of a visit is St Johns Cathedral in St Johns. Its in its third incarnation, as earthquakes in 1683 and 1745 wreaked havoc. Look out for the Victorian pews, shining in all their colonial glory. There you have it. Antigua has beauty at every turn, and its people are forever kind and friendly, but theres also a fascinating history underpinning this wonderful perch in the Caribbean. The mercury is hovering around zero and an Arctic gale is snapping across the surface of the fjord. Its the sort of weather to snuggle under the duvet and have an extra hours snooze. But not for us. We are about to embark on the adventure of our lives, searching for humpback whales in Eyjafjord, a 45-mile-long inlet on the north coast of Iceland. A humpback whale jumps in and out of the water off the northern coast of Iceland We cant guarantee youll see whales, says Manu, our guide. But I can tell from her smile that shes feeling confident. Ive come to Akureyri, a little coastal port just a whisker short of the Arctic Circle. It has its own airport (soon to have Super Break flights from 11 UK airports) and a handful of cosy hotels, making it the ideal gateway to northern Iceland. This is nature at its most raw: a vast wilderness of snow-crusted mountains, empty skies and waterfalls so huge that rainbows form in the spray. Its so otherworldly that they filmed parts of the TV series Game Of Thrones here. Namafjall is one of the most bizarre places on the planet. Here, the Earths crust has buckled and cracked, allowing the liquid beneath to belch to the surface in a giant cauldron of mud soup. Evil-looking syrup gurgles upwards and huge vents of steam hiss and puff like overactive steam trains. Even if you have no interest in geology, this place wont disappoint. But Ive come for whale-spotting, the most popular activity in this part of Iceland. Eyjafjord is home to several types, including blue whales and minke whales, but humpbacks are the most frequently sighted. Giles Milton travelled to Iceland and the 45-mile-long inlet of Eyjafjord to spot the animals We dress as if were heading to the North Pole, with watertight overalls, hats, gloves and even giant goggles. And then we clamber into our speedboat and were off, shooting across the fjord at a skin-blasting 60mph. Twelve oclock! shouts Manu and we all look straight ahead. One, two, three jets of watery air erupt from just below the surface the telltale sign of whales. And then spectacularly theyre everywhere, huge black beasts who are riding alongside us, surfacing in giant arcs of rubbery flesh and then crashing back underwater, their huge tail fins silhouetted against the backdrop of snow-covered cliffs. The humpbacks get so close that the spray from their blowholes gives me an early-morning shower. Eyjafjord is home to several types, including blue whales and minke whales, but humpbacks are the most frequently sighted Icelands waters are rich in fish and the locals still make a decent living from the daily catch. On the following day, I pay a visit to Elvar Reykjalin, a cod fisherman with a zany humour and a sideline in rotten shark meat. He dares me to try some and I agree: it tastes vile, but it gains me membership of Elvars Rotten Shark Club (member 18,898). Over shots of home-distilled moonshine, Elvar guts a giant cod, pops the huge eye into his mouth (his party trick) and then invites me to lunch in his homely fish-shack-cum-restaurant. Salt cod has never tasted better than this. The people who live on this remote coast are among the friendliest in the world all speak fluent English and few come friendlier than Sigurdur Olafsson. He and his family own a beer-spa: you splash around in a hot tub full of fresh beer before heading to the adjacent micro-brewery where Sigurdur pours generous glasses of his excellent home-made pilsners, pale ales and porter. On my last night, long after dark, I head to the outdoor thermal pool at the Siglo hotel in Siglufjord, Icelands northernmost settlement. Here, as I wallow in a pool of geothermal water, the Arctic sky launches a breathtaking display of shimmering green lights. It might be the beer, it might be the moonshine, but experiences dont come much better than this. Advertisement Our skipper Kimi points towards the runway, and it takes a moment or two to realise what he means. The flights that landed at Akaiami were a bit special. Between 1951 and 1960, Tasman Empire Airlines Ltd (TEAL) would drop the likes of John Wayne and Marlon Brando off here for a few hours while the plane refuelled on the way to Tahiti. But theres no tarmac in sight. The TEAL planes were flying boats, the Orient-Express of the air back in the day, and they landed on the clear, sparkling waters of what must be the most staggering lagoon on Earth. A tour boat calls at One Foot Island in Akaiami, one of the 15 islets in the Aitutaki atoll of the Cook Islands in the Pacific Ocean Marlon Brandon was a regular visitor to Akaiami when travelling to Tahiti to film Mutiny on the Bounty Akaiami is one of the 15 islets in the Aitutaki atoll of the Cook Islands in the Pacific Ocean. There may be green hills covered in banana plants and starfruit trees inland, but Aitutaki is dominated by its lagoon. On a dull day it is a vision of majestic light blues, fringed by a reef and several islets playing to the tropical coconut palm stereotype. But as soon as the sun comes out oh boy. The beaches are of the dreamiest white sand, and the water sparkles in teals, turquoises and milky translucence. Any happy snap taken here is sure to fire the envy factor up to 11 for anyone looking at it back home. Kimi has the not-too-arduous task of keeping everyone entertained as the Bishops Cruises boat glides along Aitutakis lagoon, stopping off at some of those islets. This sometimes involves husking a coconut, and at other times demonstrating a zillion ways to wear a pareu the local equivalent of a sarong. But mostly its a case of letting the lagoon do the talking. Akaiami is the first stop, and theres a little bit of information about its strange aviation history. But most arent too bothered about reading signs theres some of the most beautiful water on the planet to splash in. The boat then moves on to One Foot Island, at the far end of the lagoon. Snorkels are donned as Kimi and his team barbecue tuna caught fresh that morning by the skipper. It doesnt take long nosying at what lies beneath the waters surface to find some giant clams. Angelfish flit around them, and shoals of goatfish with their distinctive yellow stripes livening up a pallid body whoosh past. David's tour also took in One Foot Island - another heavenly spot in the Cook Islands At One Foot Island, pictured, David eats barbecued tuna that was caught just hours previously TEAL flying boats, pictured, refuelled in Akaiami en route to Tahiti during the 50s and 60s But the real action, it seems, is next to the boat. A yelp comes up from a woman in the water. She has been startled by an absolute monster of a fish. The giant trevally grow, well, giant here and theyre not shy. Three of them are zooming around at alarming pace, occasionally leaping up to the surface. They have quite a territory here, and they dont seem to mind sharing it with humans ticking off a true bucket-list treasure. How do you keep the Mediterranean interesting once youre a veteran cruiser? The most obvious answer is to find new itineraries. Or, when returning to popular ports, to take new shore excursions. Best of all, enhance your enjoyment by travelling with loved ones whove not yet seen it all. My wife Mo and I were able to do all three this summer on Regent Seven Seas Voyagers ten-day Flamenco & Paella cruise from Rome to Barcelona. Monte Carlo, pictured, one of the stops on the Regent Seven Seas Voyagers ten-day Flamenco & Paella cruise from Rome to Barcelona We hadnt visited half of the ports (Ajaccio, La Spezia, Palamos, Palma de Majorca and Valencia) and the other half were under-explored. The variety of excursions (almost 80) was impressive, and three-quarters of them were free. From Marseilles, instead of returning to Aix-en-Provence, we went to Avignon to see the extravagant Palace of the Popes, briefly the centre of Catholicism in the 14th Century, and the much-sung-about Pont dAvignon that ends abruptly halfway across the Rhone. From Antibes, instead of going back to Nice or Cannes, we travelled to the exquisite medieval hilltop town of St Paul de Vence. No one minds revisiting cities such as Pisa and Florence. There are new discoveries to be made and, even when already ticked off, the legendary cathedrals, churches, towers and galleries never lose their power to overwhelm. Steves daughter Lianne joined the ship in Monte Carlo Livorno is often a mere gateway to these Tuscan jewels. Few people pause there. This time I saw its Duomo, as well as the broodingly powerful Monumento dei Quattro Mori, and tried vainly to view the grave of 18th Century British novelist Tobias Smollett. The neglected Old English Cemetery was tucked away in a sidestreet behind a row of houses, but alas its iron gate was padlocked. On Corsica, narrow winding roads took us into forests of black pine down to the awesome Prunelli River Gorges and Lake Tolla beyond. Our children, Lianne and Nathan, joined us in Monte Carlo on day four. Fittingly, there was a huge firework display on shore that night and our ship remained anchored out at sea to give its guests a grandstand view from the top deck. I took them up to the bridge where the Swedish captain, Daniel Green, explained the technology involved in steering 43,000 tons around the seaways of the world, and then down to the galley where chef Hamza Mebareki detailed how his team satisfy the gastronomic demands of 700 guests. Having the children on board doubled our pleasure. Routine ship activities such as quizzes, karaoke and show time became sweet memories in the making. After much deliberation, Im lumping certain storylines in the soap equivalent of an office OUT tray the plots that long outlive their sell-by interest date, if, indeed, they ever held any interest in the first place. Im calling them MOB plots Move On! Boring! I can only pray that people take note and relieve me of the tedium they create. Topping the list currently is Coronation Streets Chesney/Sinead/Daniel love triangle. The idea that one man would be fighting for Sineads whining affections is ludicrous; two really pushes the boundaries of believability. I noted Daniel has Andrew Marrs History Of Modern Britain on his bookshelf; watching The Great Escape might stand him in better stead where Sineads concerned. This week, Max (pictured with Mick and Linda) proposes in front of everyone in the pub after the truth comes out in EastEnders In Emmerdale, its the interminable saga of Ross and Pete that has us not so much gripping the edge of our seats but wanting to jump off a high ledge. Likewise, Robert and Aaron, who as a double act are about as believable as Pinky and Perky opening a sausage factory. As for EastEnders... well, just put a pin anywhere you like in Tediumsville. Make it your Christmas wish for a turnaround. EASTENDERS: THE (THICK) PLOT THICKENS I swear all three Godfather films combined are not as complicated as the shenanigans between Max, Willmott-Brown, Fi and a host of other people whose names I either dont know or even care to remember. Now that the truth is out about Maxs deception, how many more secrets and lies will be exposed? Doubtless it will end with a kiss and make-up, with people declaring that old Walford adage, No more secrets, no more lies, but for now its not looking good for Max. How will Fi react when he proposes in front of the crowded pub? This isnt going to end well, I suspect. Funniest of all is the news that the Carters will be evicted in January (Yay! A happy Christmas for viewers) and several properties will be turned into luxury flats. Really? Whos going to buy them? Given that no property even has a washing machine or dishwasher, Im not optimistic anyone knows the meaning of the word luxury. A rat-infested dumpster is high quality by these standards. Jack encourages Max to build bridges with his family, but on recent construction form, the man will need planning permission to stick two pieces of Lego together. CORONATION STREET: THE EYES HAVE IT Robert (pictured with Michelle) collapses at work and has to tell Michelle that he's gambled everything in Coronation Street Poor Robert. First he endures prison without access to hair dye; then he discovers he has prostate cancer; and now he collapses at work and has to tell Michelle that he lost everything at the casino. Will there be tears, dissolving the motorways of eyeliner that have once more taken to Michelles face? Actually, shes not the only one. Over the past couple of weeks, Sinead, Kate and Rana have undergone similar Black Eye Syndrome. Has the Phantom Eye Liner in the make-up department returned from maternity/paternity leave? Theres bad news for Anna and Sarah when the latter receives a call from Joe about an explosion in Ukraine, and Garys St Christopher is among the wreckage. When a suspicious David knocks on Nicolas door, is the whole house of cards about to come tumbling down? At least Annas still banged up probably the only place in the country shes safe from making people endless butties and cups of tea. She should be grateful for the rest. Theres some light relief when Norris dons a Batman outfit and carries a Grandfathers for Justice banner when he hears Jude and Angie plan to return to South Africa. Tracy tries to make them miss the flight by locking Angie in the florist stockroom. If that doesnt kill off the poor flowers, I dont know what will. And when Bethany returns from taking George for a walk, an ambulance is called when hes taken sick again. Id be sick, too, if I had to hear Angie banging on all day. EMMERDALE: LIKE A VIRGIN? HMMMMM . . . Rhona (pictured left) hints at her feelings for Paddy in this week's Emmerdale Casting Chas as the Virgin Mary is the equivalent of asking Lord Sugar to play the Laughing Policeman. One can only assume that whoever drew up the shortlist has been hiding in a bin liner for the past decade. Paddy is a little more believable as Joseph, although he might be advised not to be alone with Mary in a quiet stable too long. We all know what Chas can do behind a closed cellar door (and it aint drinking). Please, someone, tell her that Away In A Manger isnt what she probably thinks it is. This is all bad news for Rhona, who, taking charge of the Nativity, hints at her feelings for Paddy. She dated Prince Harry for seven years on and off, and was once predicted to be the woman who would become his wife. But Chelsy Davy proved the relationship was fully behind her, as she stepped out looking carefree in her first outing since her royal ex announced his engagement to Meghan Markle. The Zimbabwean beauty, 32, flashed a dazzling smile as she mingled with the Prince's auntie Sarah Ferguson at the Brilliant Is Beautiful gala at Claridge's Hotel. Scroll down for video High spirits: Chelsy Davy stepped out looking carefree in her first outing since her royal ex Prince Harry announced his engagement to Meghan Markle The blonde beauty, who split from the fifth in line to the throne in 2010, appeared to be in great spirits as she mingled with the London social set. Opting for a classic monochrome look, she stunned in an embellished crop top teamed with a maxiskirt with racy sheer mesh inserts. Styling her golden tresses in a sleek side-parting, Chelsy showcased her striking features with minimal make-up. Her outing comes days after Prince Harry announced he would be marrying Suits actress Meghan, 36, at Windsor Castle next year. What are the chances! Also in attendance was Harry's auntie Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York Loving life: The Zimbabwean beauty, 32, flashed a dazzling smile as she partied at the Brilliant Is Beautiful gala at Claridge's Hotel Looking good: Opting for a classic monochrome look, she stunned in an embellished crop top teamed with a maxiskirt with racy sheer mesh inserts Moving on: Her outing comes days after Prince Harry announced he would be marrying Suits actress Meghan, 36, at Windsor Castle next year As one of his longest-standing girlfriends, Chelsy had been lined up to be Prince Harry's wife before they split in 2010. The 32-year-old businesswoman, currently promoting an ethical jewellery brand, recently lifted the lid on what it feels like to date the prince, calling the intense media interest 'scary'. On and off with Harry for the best part of seven years, Zimbabwe-born Davy revealed that she 'couldn't cope' with the attention and eventually retreated back to Africa for calm. Former flames: As one of his longest-standing girlfriends, Chelsy had been lined up to be Prince Harry's wife before they split in 2010. Seen in 2007 In the past: The businesswoman recently lifted the lid on what it feels like to date the prince, calling the intense media interest 'scary'. Pictured in 2006 Too much: On and off with Harry for the best part of seven years, Zimbabwe-born Davy revealed that she 'couldn't cope' with the attention and eventually retreated back to Africa for calm. Seen in 2006 In an interview with the Times, Davy revealed that being chased by photographers desperate to capture images of the couple together was terrifying. She said: 'It was so full-on: crazy and scary and uncomfortable. I found it very difficult when it was bad. I couldn't cope.' The former lawyer describes herself as 'just a normal kid' and says it was 'tough' to go through such chases at such a young age, saying: 'I was trying to be a normal kid and it was horrible.' Vampy! Chelsy injected a splash of colour with red nails All that glitters! Chlesy turned heads in an all-black ensemble Over it: The blonde beauty looked like she had fully moved on, flashing a wide smile for the cameras at the bash on Friday night Preened to perfection: Styling her golden tresses in a sleek side-parting, Chelsy showcased her striking features with minimal make-up After first meeting while she was a teenager at Cheltenham and then getting together during Prince Harry's gap year in Cape Town, Davy returned to the UK to study in Leeds and be closer to the young royal. Despite going on to establish a highly prized career at solicitor's firm Allen & Overy, Chelsy was branded 'a party girl' by the media for her love of socialising. She concedes she did nothing to correct the image and admits to 'going out and partying a lot'. Monochrome maven: The 58-year-old looked chic in a black column gown with a decadent lace embroidered neckline Here to help! Sarah later slipped into the role of waitress later in the night When the couple split in 2010, she says she retreated once again to her native Zimbabwe unable to handle the break-up headlines. 'It was nuts,' she says. 'That's also why I wanted to go back to Africa. Now it's calm, it's fine.' Chelsy, whose mother Beverley Donald is former Miss Rhodesia 1973, now divides her time between Zimbabwe, where her family is based, her jewellery mine in Zambia and west London - where she has a home in Chelsea. She says she'll always 'be good friends' with Harry and indeed remained so much a part of the royal circle that she was invited to William and Kate's wedding in 2011. Suave: She was accommpanied by a suave male as she left the venue Lovely in lace! Liz donned a floral skirt and faux fur jacket Gorgeous ladies: Sarah looked regal in her black gown which featured a stunning neckline adorned with pearls for the ultimate glamour They're usually known for sharing their jokes with a live audience. But for a select few comedians the crossover to saying clever words and writing witty words down was as easy as learning their ABC's. Radio funnyman Andy Lee, who has been cracking jokes alongside Hamish Blake since 2003, released his second children's book Do Not Open This Book Again in October. Funnyman turned writer: How Andy Lee (pictured) and Peter Helliar went from comedians to published authors The original story line was written in 45 minutes on a plane and was meant to be a surprise gift for his nephew George's first birthday. But when he asked a publisher friend to turn it into a children's tale he was encouraged to publish it to a broader audience. On why the jump between comedy and writing is an easy one, Lee said it's got everything to do with the fact 'comedians never grow up.' Do kids follow this title? The original story line was written in 45 minutes on a plane and was meant to be a surprised gift for his nephew George's first birthday 'This book comes from the angle that kids generally like to do the opposite to what they're told, so tell them not to turn the page no matter what, and you know what they'll do. It's fun and mischievous. And lets face it, Hamish and I have pretty much turned being mischievous into a career,' he told News Corp. For Peter Helliar, who now co-hosts on The Project, the drive to write was always there. The 42-year-old would frequently write short stories and publish them for his school friends around the age of 10. 'As a kid I used to really love the process of putting a book together, first in pencil, then pen when I got my pen licence, then I got it typed,' Peter told BW Magazine. Published! For Peter Helliar, who now co-hosts on The Project, the drive to write was always there While it differed from the yarns he spun in the classroom, Peter released his first novel, Frankie Fish and the Sonic Suitcase, earlier this year. Australian comedian Anh Do has also written a WeirDo series inspired by the things his children talk about. 'My eldest got braces, so WeirDo got braces, and it goes like that. I'll say to my son Luke, "What's the worst thing that could happen if you're trying to ask a girl to a dance?" and he'll say, "That the note is passed to the wrong girl" and I'll say, "That's brilliant!"' The father-of-four has so far found a sweet spot in the market, selling more than 700,000 books in Australia alone. She's been lauded for her cosmopolitan fashion sense. And Thandie Newton was demonstrating her sartorial intelligence again on Friday as she stepped out in New York City. The 45-year-old Westworld star looked quite chic as she exited her hotel thanks to a knee length naval-inspired coat. Scroll down for video On point! Thandie Newton was demonstrating her sartorial intelligence again on Friday as she stepped out in New York City The garment featured gold trim and accents, along with two rows of brass buttons on the front. Ballet-style lace up heels added an even more sophisticated air to the ensemble. The English actress was also weighed down with multiple bags, including a red and black striped tote and medium sized leather handbag. Her raven locks were pulled back into a high ponytail, while light blush, delicate eye-liner and pale rose lipstick made the star glow. On shore leave! The 45-year-old Westworld star looked quite chic as she exited her hotel thanks to a knee length naval-inspired coat Earlier in the day she donned another winter ready ensemble composed of a navy dress with a decolletage cutout, which was layered under a stark white trench coat. Matching white booties completed that fetching look. She seemed to enjoy the outfit so much, she posted an image of her dancing in it to her Instagram account. The caption went on to explain her latest campaign with RoC cosmetics, which is seeking to discourage the use of the phrase 'you look good for your age.' Matching! Earlier in the day she donned another winter ready ensemble composed of a navy dress with a decolletage cutout, which was layered under a stark white trench coat 'Had such a good day speaking with gorgeous women about the backhanded compliment #ForYourAge,' she wrote 'Very grateful to #RoCskincare for starting the conversation.' 'Share when you've heard #ForYourAge with a 'compliment'... let's take it out of our vocabulary!' she continued, before signing off 'X Thandie.' As part of the same campaign, she recently described to Allure magazine a term that she personally finds very distasteful. 'One of the things I find most offensive is the term MILF,' she revealed, 'The first time I was put in that category I was sick to my stomach.' Cutting a rug! She seemed to enjoy the outfit so much, she posted an image of her dancing in it to her Instagram account Of course Thandie is mother to Nico, 13, Ripley, 16, and Booker, aged three, all of whom she shares with husband Ol Parker. She went out to explain why MILF was so personally objectionable to her. 'It's so disgusting because it objectifies women and that qualifier a mother I'd like to f-word?' Like it would be a favor to an older woman? Unfortunately, it gets a cute abbreviation, and you see it everywhere online.' They are conquering the modelling world with their striking good looks and statuesque physiques. So it's no surprise Winnie Harlow, 23, and Natalia Vodianova, 35, wowed when they attended the lavish Business of Fashion gala dinner in Oxford on Friday. The Canadian born beauty went braless in the semi-sheer negligee, worn under a huge faux fur wrap, while her fellow model looked sensational in a scarlet gown. Scroll down for video She's fashion royalty! Braless Winnie Harlow wore a golden tiara as she joined her glamorous model pal Natalia Vodianova at a lavish Business of Fashion gala dinner in Oxford on Friday Glamorous Winnie flaunted her tremendous legs in the sexy robe, accentuated by her racy knee-high boots. The style maven was every inch of fashion royalty when she wore a golden beaded tiara in her cropped pixie raven locks. Despite being inside for the occasion, Winnie added a shade of sex appeal to her attire as she accessorised with tinted sunglasses. She's a queen: The style maven was every inch of fashion royalty when she donned the beaded tiara in her cropped pixie raven locks Meanwhile Natalia, who was the guest of honour at the occasion, donned a quirky headdress with intricate tassels that decorated her forehead. The beauty, nicknamed Supernova, went for an edgy vibe as she drew attention to her kooky feathered sleeves on her deep crimson gown. Supernova added to her statuesque height in towering stiletto boots, which stood out with their metallic keyhole design. Leggy lady: The Canadian born beauty went braless in the semi-sheer negligee, worn under a huge faux fur wrap, and she rubbed shoulders with Derek Blasberg at the event Fabulous fun: Winnie showed off the cheeky side to her character when she danced at the Business of Fashion gala The annual invitation-only event brings together the leading models and entrepreneurs in the fashion industry. Winnie first shot to fame on the 21st season of America's Next Top Model. She has since appeared in a number of high-profile music videos including Eminem's 'Guts Over Fear' and Beyonce's 'Lemonade.' Winnie, who is 5ft 9in, was diagnosed with vitiligo around the age of four, making her among one per cent of the population who has the condition. Good company: Natalia posed up a storm when she was joined by Imran Amed and Alexandre De Batak at the dinner Leading lady: Natalia, who was the guest of honour at the occasion, (pictured with Hailma and Winnie) donned a quirky headdress with intricate tassels that decorated her forehead Peep toe: Supernova added to her statuesque height in towering stiletto boots, which stood out with their metallic keyhole design And the model has become a voice for people with the condition, frequently discussing the topic. In an interview with Cosmopolitan magazine, she revealed: 'Kids called me a cow and mooed at me. I remember sitting by my window wishing upon the stars that my skin condition would go away. Talking about body confidence, she added: 'Everyone asks me what the turning point was but it was just me making the effort to focus on my opinion on myself.' 'I was like, wait I don't actually think I'm ugly - I think I'm beautiful. So where did I get this idea I wasn't? From someone else. Now I've learnt to just listen to yourself.' Posing up a storm! Natalia looked glamorous as she draped herself on the chair, letting her scarlet gown trail across the rug She's gorgeous: The beauty, nicknamed Supernova, went for an edgy vibe as she drew attention to her kooky feathered sleeves on her deep crimson gown Letting her hair down: The beauty showcased her svelte figure in the gown, featuring a cinched waistline She's definitely not shy when it comes to flaunting her unique style. And Ashanti didn't disappoint on Friday when she stepped out for a walk in New York City. The 37-year-old Rain On Me songstress definitely turned a few heads with her wild outfit, which appeared to be from the trendy Moschino label. Eye catching! d Ashanti didn't disappoint on Friday when she stepped out for a walk in New York City On top, the New York native wrapped up in a multi colored viscose jacket which featured a zippered front and a gold knotted embellishment on the left side. Down below was even more bizarre, as her rainbow-colored trousers appeared to have integrated heels. Accessories included some sizable rings on both hands and a large pair of copper-tinted sunglasses. Wild style: Down below was even more bizarre, as her rainbow-colored trousers appeared to have integrated heels Her raven locks were parted in the middle and fell straight down all the way past her waist. She appeared to keep the make-up to a minimum, although she did opt for a dash of pale rose lipstick. While this outfit definitely served to cover up her enviable figure, another recent outfit which did not elicited some unwanted attention from fans. Keeping it unique: She's definitely not shy when it comes to flaunting her unique style On November 19, Ashanti lashed out at a fan who threw bills on the stage of the Neal S. Blaisdell Center during her performance in Honolulu, Hawaii. She was in the midst of a routine in which she lap danced on a man seated on the stage as fans nearby threw money in her direction. The Grammy winner stopped her song and told the crowd: 'Let me tell you something - stop, stop stop. I need you to stop throwing that money. I am not a f****** stripper, OK?' It's not everyday a Summer Bay local pops the question. But as the temperature soars so to does the romance, with actors Sophie Dillman and Jackson Heywood shooting a sweet marriage proposal between their characters on Home and Away in scenes shot on Tuesday. Sophie, who was dressed in a pair of tiny black leather shorts and a pink silk camisole for the occasion, appears to unveil a sign that reads 'Marry Me?' before a crowd of her friends and family on Palm Beach, Sydney. A proposal fit for the bay: Home And Away's Sophie Dillman (pictured) gets engaged to hunk Jackson Heywood In the centre of the mayhem is Jackson Heywood who plays Brody Morgan in the show. Sophie, or Ziggy Astoni as she is known on the long-running soap, looks ecstatic to be propositioning her suitor and immediately rushes down the stairs of the house they are filming on to run into his arms. Jackson wears a relaxed pair of beige cargo pants, a navy and white button up shirt and white t-shirt underneath. Waiting for his surprise! A white curtain with the words 'Marry Me?' was wound up like a scroll on the balcony What do you say? Sophie, or Ziggy Astoni as she is known on the long-running soap, looks ecstatic to be propositioning her suitor Nervous embraces: Just before the big moment, Jackson leans behind him to shake another character's hand Clearly surprised: Jackson Heywood waits for his bride-to-be with outstretched arms How about it, baby? The crew wait with excited expressions as Sophie proposes to Jackson Heywood Love is in the air! In the centre of the mayhem, and likely waiting to give his answer, is Jackson Heywood who plays Brody Morgan in the show The lovers reunited! Sophie and Jackson passionately kiss following the proposal His arms are outstretched as he waits to embrace his on screen love, the passionate hug appearing to confirm he has accepted her offer. Summer Bay locals, including Orpheus Pledger who plays Jackson's brother Mason Morgan on the show, huddle around the pair as they share a kiss. The tender moment, shot outdoors at Sydney's Palm Beach, is a welcome relief from the relationship downfalls the show has been known to showcase. Just say yes! Sophie almost knocks Jackson over as she is enveloped into a hug Accepted: The passionate hug appeared to confirm he has accepted her offer Go get 'em sister! Emily Symons, who plays Marilyn Chambers, is wearing a stunning aqua coloured cover up for the scene, which shows her smiling up at Sophie with an adoring grin Emily Symons, who plays Marilyn Chambers, is wearing a stunning aqua coloured cover up for the scene, which shows her smiling up at Sophie with an adoring grin. It was revealed earlier this year that Sophie Dillman would join the Astoni family on the drama. Rohan Nichol and Kestie Morassi play Sophie's parents, while Anna Cocquerel will play her sister. This is believed to be Sophie's first TV role, after performing primarily in theatre productions before graduating from a Bachelor of Fine Arts in acting in 2015. He is every inch the leading actor when he slips into the shoes of the dashing Prince Philip in Netflix critically-acclaimed series The Crown. And Matt Smith gushed he would love to meet the 'enigmatic' Prince, 96, when he appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live on Thursday evening. The 35-year-old British actor also admitted he thought the Duke of Edinburgh was 'too cool for school' when he spoke candidly about the man he portrays. Scroll down for video 'He's an enigma': The Crown's Matt Smith (pictured in Los Angeles, November 2017) gushed about his meeting 'enigmatic' Prince Philip, 96, but he admitted he is 'too cool for school' Of the Prince, he said: 'I'd really like to meet Prince Philip. He's an enigma. He's too cool, he's too cool for school. 'I've not been asked to meet him. That's what I love about him: He's done what he wants, when he wants, how he wants, with whom he wants. He hasn't asked permission and his wife's the Queen.' The former Doctor Who star, who is dating actress Lily James off-screen, looked dapper when he headed into the studio in a spotty shirt teamed with a tie and blazer. Hunky Matt plays the on-screen husband of the award-winning Claire Foy, who has garnered attention for her role as Queen Elizabeth II. He's the man for the job! The British actor, 35, is every inch the leading actor when he slips into the shoes of the dashing Prince Philip in Netflix critically-acclaimed series The Crown The television sensation recently discussed how the second series of The Crown will be even more lavish than the first after it became Netflix's most expensive series. The Crown's first 10 episodes costing at least 100million to produce which made it the most expensive drama produced by Netflix to date. He said on Radio 2: 'Its got great scale to it. Thats one of the virtues of the show, its got great ambition and great scale. Theres a lot of extras as well which is a tell-tale sign of a film set.' Series two of The Crown will move the love story of the young royals on which will see them face marital strife. 'He is too cool': Matt admitted he thought the Duke of Edinburgh (pictured in Peterborough, in 1999) was 'too cool for school' when he spoke candidly about the man he portrays It is set in the 1950s, covering everything from the Suez Crisis in 1956 to the retirement of Harold Macmillan in 1963. Fans of the show will also get to see the visit to the UK by then-President John F Kennedy and his wife Jackie in 1961. Princess Margaret (Vanessa Kirby) will also be seen meeting photographer Anthony Armstrong-Jones (Matthew Goode) in the series, who would become her husband in 1960. The first season was one of the most critically acclaimed dramas of last year, winning two Golden Globes, two SAG awards, and nominated for four BAFTAs and five Emmys. A team! Hunky Matt plays the on-screen husband of the award-winning Claire Foy, who has garnered attention for her role as Queen Elizabeth II Despite Claire and Matt's success as the title characters however, show creators had always planned to replace the pair as their characters age across the years. It was recently confirmed that Broadchurch star Olivia Colman was take over the role of Queen Elizabeth II in the third and fourth series' to the delight of her predecessor. Speaking to the Sunday People, Claire said of the casting: 'Shell be fantastic, shes an extraordinary actress. Shell completely reinvent it and make it her own... I want to shout it from the rooftops shes amazing.' Olivia will start filming the first of her ten episodes next year but her reign wont begin on Netflix until 2019. The actors playing Prince Phillip and Princess Margaret are yet to be announced. Claire previously confirmed she had no illusions she would be on the show for longer than two seasons, telling Graham Norton on his chat show: 'This is the last stint. It's over, I'm done. I always knew it was only going to be two series and then the part would be reincarnated and someone else takes over. That's the nature of the part.' The Crown Season 2 will be released worldwide on Netflix on Friday December 8. Kylie Jenner seemed to be feeling nostalgic Friday as she unearthed never-before-seen Polaroid snaps of her semi-nude, pre-'pregnancy' figure for her loyal app subscribers. In one picture, the 20-year-old reality starlet bared the left side of her naked body with nothing more than a white sheet to preserve her modesty. The Life of Kylie stunner - who boasts 143.6M followers - shared three other sexy outtakes from various modeling shoots over 'the past few years.' Scroll down for video Exposure: Kylie Jenner seemed to be feeling nostalgic Friday as she unearthed never-before-seen Polaroid snaps of her semi-nude, pre-'pregnancy' figure for her loyal app subscribers And in a make-up trailer shot, the artificially plump-lipped socialite was the spitting image of her 62-year-old momager Kris Jenner, only with a platinum pixie wig. Ever since TMZ first reported on her pregnancy September 22, Kylie has gone to great lengths to only be photographed from the chest up, usually clad in baggy sweats. 'Kylie isn't going to publicly address her pregnancy until she gives birth,' a family insider told People last month. 'She's not doing any public appearances and just wanted to take six months off.' Backyard shoot: In one picture, the 20-year-old reality starlet bared the left side of her naked body with nothing more than a white sheet to preserve her modesty Pert derriere: The Life of Kylie stunner - who boasts 143.6M followers - shared three other sexy outtakes from various modeling shoots over 'the past few years' Candid: And in a make-up trailer shot, the artificially plump-lipped socialite was the spitting image of her 62-year-old momager Kris Jenner, only with a platinum pixie wig The Lip Kit mogul and her elusive rapper flame Travis Scott - who share matching tattoos - will reportedly welcome their first child, a daughter, in February. 'Travis has been getting advice from [Jenner's brother-in-law] Kanye West on the best way to help Kylie get through this, basically how to handle her pregnancy hormones,' a source told Hollywood Life on Wednesday. 'Kim [Kardashian]'s pregnancies were both very tough and Kanye struggled at first to say and do the right things. Kanye's big piece of advice for Travis was that no matter where he is in the world Kylie needs his attention, and it has to be reliable.' Pictured Tuesday: Ever since TMZ first reported on her pregnancy September 22, Kylie has gone to great lengths to only be photographed from the chest up, usually clad in baggy sweats A family insider told People last month: 'Kylie isn't going to publicly address her pregnancy until she gives birth. She's not doing any public appearances and just wanted to take six months off' Pictured August 10: The Lip Kit mogul and her elusive rapper flame Travis Scott - who share matching tattoos - will reportedly welcome their first child, a daughter, in February The 40-year-old rapper-designer and his 37-year-old wife - who are parents of North, 4; and Saint, nearly 2 - are expecting their third via surrogate in January due to her pre-eclampsia. The 25-year-old Grammy nominee (born Jacques Webster, Jr.) will next headline Beat Bash happening Thursday at the Revention Music Center in Houston. Jenner kicked off her romance with Scott shortly after ending her on/off three-year relationship with yet another rapper - 28-year-old single father Tyga - sometime in March. An insider told Hollywood Life on Wednesday: 'Travis has been getting advice from [Jenner's brother-in-law] Kanye West on the best way to help Kylie get through this, basically how to handle her pregnancy hormones. Kim [Kardashian]'s pregnancies were both very tough' Pictured Thursday: The 40-year-old rapper-designer and his 37-year-old wife - who have two children - are expecting their third via surrogate in January due to her pre-eclampsia Busy: The 25-year-old Grammy nominee (born Jacques Webster, Jr.) will next headline Beat Bash happening Thursday at the Revention Music Center in Houston Serial monogamist: Jenner dated Scott shortly after ending her on/off three-year relationship with yet another rapper - 28-year-old single father Tyga - sometime in March On November 22, the Calabasas native released the holiday collection for the '$420M-grossing' beauty brand she launched in 2015 - Kylie Cosmetics. It's hard to believe Kylie was once a regular Sierra Canyon School cheerleader until she started homeschooling in 2012. Catch more of the millionaire millennial and her fame-hungry family on the 14th season of Keeping Up with the Kardashians, which airs Sundays on E! Mogul: On November 22, the Calabasas native released the holiday collection for the '$420M-grossing' beauty brand she launched in 2015 - Kylie Cosmetics She's been busy on the promotional trail for highly-anticipated film Pitch Perfect 3. But Rebel Wilson has still managed to find time for her nearest and dearest, taking her grandparents to the Australian premiere of the movie on Wednesday night. The 37-year-old captured the sweet moment in a video shared to Instagram on Saturday, revealing her grandparents had 'partied til 11pm' after the screening. 'They partied til 11pm!' Rebel Wilson's 'number one fan' grandparents leave hospital to support actress at Pitch Perfect 3 premiere in Sydney In the social media video, a beaming Rebel tells the camera: 'OK I'm inside and guess who is here?' Showing her grandparents Rebel can be heard saying: 'Number one fan, number one grandma, number one grandpa ... They're ready to come and be the first people to see Pitch Perfect 3!' Asking her grandmother if she was excited, the beaming lady replied: 'Yes darling of course I am excited, we are very proud - number one fans!' Supportive: Rebel revealed that her grandparents had gone to great lengths to support her at the premiere In the video's caption on Instagram, Rebel revealed that her grandparents had gone to great lengths to support her at the premiere. She wrote: 'My grandpa got out of hospital and my grandma got out her walker to come to the Pitch Perfect 3 world premiere! They partied til 11pm. Best grandparents ever!' Rebel's Australian promotional tour for Pitch Perfect 3 comes as she opened up about her defamation case in an interview with Sunday Night last month. In the emotional segment, Rebel tearfully recalled how she was left devastated by the publisher's 'brutal' articles, leaving the actress feeling 'bullied' by the media. Family orientated: Rebel has still managed to find time for her nearest and dearest, taking her grandparents to the Australian premiere of the movie on Wednesday night 'They have no idea how actually brutally hard it is ... yes I am an actress and I am in the public eye, but I'm a human being,' the 37-year-old said. In June, Rebel won her legal case against Bauer Media for eight articles published in their magazines, including Woman's Day and OK! Magazine, which claimed she had lied about her real name, age and childhood. The judge found the articles had damaged her reputation and marketability, awarding the actress a $4.5 million payout in October. Bauer Media are appealing against the verdict and payout. Did you know the sand on Sydney's pristine beaches is made up of primarily quartz debris and broken up calcareous material? French Montana [Karim Kharbouch], US rapper and ex-lover of Khloe Kardashian, may have discovered that first-hand (but face-first) on Friday. Caught on camera at Sydney's renowned Tamarama beach, the 33-year-old lost his dignity but narrowly held onto his pants during a hilarious surfing fail. Wipeout! Did you know Sydney's sand is made up of quartz debris and broken up calcareous material? Well Khloe Kardashian's ex, French Montana sure does! According to TMZ, French borrowed someone else's board for the day - a generous, nearly costly move, it turned out. The reality TV star deferred to the sophisticated on-board security measure known as the 'leg strap' as he prepared to make his surfing debut. Seen dressed in a white singlet and some colourful, loosely tied swim trunks, the American rapper confidently strolled into the water. Can't have both! Caught on camera at Sydney's renowned Tamarama beach, the 33-year-old lost his dignity but narrowly held onto his pants during a hilarious surfing fail His one safeguard: French borrowed someone's board, using the sophisticated on-board security measure known as the 'leg strap' Let's do this! Seen dressed in a white singlet and some colourful, loosely tied swim trunks, the American confidently strolled into the water Tragically, the cruel concoction of hydrogen dioxide and sodium chloride wasn't smiling that day. That honour was given to the dozen-or-so members of his entourage, who held back laughter as French struggled mightily to stay on his board. Thar she blows! Tragically, the cruel concoction of hydrogen dioxide and sodium chloride wasn't smiling that day Will the real French Montana please stand up? That honour was given to the dozen-or-so members of his entourage, who held back laughter as he struggled just to stay on his board If the first two waves he attempted to surf on were harsh, then the third was just plain mean. The rapper failed to mount his neon pink steed, instead clinging-on for dear life as he was sent barrelling back towards the shore. Wipeout! If the first two waves he attempted to surf on were harsh, then the third was just plain mean The cracks are starting to show! The rapper failed to mount his neon pink steed, instead clinging-on for dear life as he was sent barrelling back towards the shore Pardon my french! French was spotted uttering something less-than-positive as he waded in the safety of the shallows But wait, there's more: Then came wave number four - which made waves three, two and one look like Colgate's My First Sea Swell by comparison Back to where it all began: The water crashed into French, sending his board hurtling back to its owner and his singlet up to his chin French was spotted uttering something less-than-positive as he waded in the safety of the shallows. Shattering that safety was wave number four - which made waves three, two and one look like Colgate's My First Sea Swell by comparison. Close call! His pants, luckily, remained at half-mast 'Where to next?' It took him close to a minute to recover from the shock and rescue his board First attempt: French did not appear to be an experienced surfer The water crashed into French, sending his board hurtling back to its owner and his singlet up to his chin. His pants, luckily, remained at half-mast. It took him close to a minute to recover from the shock and rescue his board, but he was a good sport, smiling throughout the entire ordeal. They're both blonde TV stars who on Friday revealed they are often mistaken for one another while out in public. And in a bid to prove just how alike they are, Sonia Kruger and Sophie Monk have used the face swap application to exchange genes for a selfie. The hilarious, and slightly strange image was uploaded to Instagram by Sonia on Friday with the hashtags 'so wrong it's right' and 'sister from another mister.' Seeing double! Sonia Kruger and Sophie Monk FACE SWAP after it was revealed they are often mistaken for each other During an interview with Sophie Monk, 37, on Today Extra on Friday, host Sonia Kruger, 52, divulged how fans often confuse her for The Bachelorette star. 'You know what happened to me at the ARIAs? I got into an elevator as I was leaving and this guy in the elevator goes "Oh Sophie!" and I went, 'Um, no Sonia,"' the morning show co-host said. But it appears Sonia isn't the only one to feel the force of a case of mistaken identity. Spot the difference! On Today Extra on Friday, Sonia Kruger (left) claimed she is often mistaken for fellow blonde TV star Sophie Monk (right) Sophie declared she has the opposite problem, stating: 'Yeah I got Sonia, and I'm like, I'm not as smart as her.' Returning the complimentary comment, Sonia responded: 'Well I'm not as young as she is but I'll take it.' The Nine Network presenter also added she felt pressure to keep up appearances as Bachelorette fans were so invested in Sophie's love life. 'On occasion I've felt the need to pretend to be you,' Sonia explained, noting it was mainly when the hype for The Bachelorette was at an all-time high. It comes after Sophie confirmed she would be hosting new Channel Nine reality series Love Island next year. Double take! Sophie (pictured) revealed the reverse is also true, with people confusing her for Sonia as well 'I'm not as young as she is but I'll take it': Sonia said she takes the mistake as a compliment Speaking to the Today show on Friday, Sophie explained the concept of the series which has already been a huge hit overseas. 'It is a young group of people from 18-35 who are going to hook up on an island and they have got to try and last,' she said. 'You can vote them out if you don't believe they are in love. At the end there is a lot of money and the couple either split it or one person takes it. So Australia kind of choose who is really in love. They send in intruders. It is exciting.' Demi Lovato took a fashion misstep in an unfortunate-looking jumpsuit on the red carpet of 102.7 KIIS FM's Jingle Ball in Los Angeles on Friday. It was as though the designer of the partially gold-sequinned halter creation let the 25-year-old Grammy nominee wear the bizarre belted ensemble before it was even finished. When it comes to clothing choices, the former Disney Channel starlet relies on 'Image Architect' Law Roach - best known for judging the recently-rebooted America's Next Top Model on VH1. Scroll down for video Yikes! Demi Lovato took a fashion misstep in an unfortunate-looking jumpsuit on the red carpet of 102.7 KIIS FM's Jingle Ball in Los Angeles on Friday Make-up artist Jill Powell gave Lovato an overall bronzed glow, long lashes, and defined brows; while hairstylist Christian Marc gave her raven bob a boost with waist-length extensions. Not far from home, Demi (born Demetria) - who boasts 151.5M social media followers - tweeted: 'You ready for tonight LA?!' The Echame La Culpa songstress wore the same outfit to perform a few numbers on the Inglewood Forum stage. The homeschooled millennial sang her spring single No Promises with Trevor Dahl (debuting a new neck tattoo), who's the curly-haired frontman of DJ trio Cheat Codes. Lopsided: It was as though the designer of the partially gold-sequinned halter creation let the 25-year-old Grammy nominee wear the bizarre belted ensemble before it was even finished Asymmetric: When it comes to clothing choices, the former Disney Channel starlet relies on 'Image Architect' Law Roach - best known for judging America's Next Top Model on VH1 Sunkissed: Make-up artist Jill Powell gave Lovato a bronzed glow and defined brows, while hairstylist Christian Marc gave her raven bob a boost with waist-length extensions Not far from home, Demi (born Demetria) - who boasts 151.5M social media followers - tweeted: 'You ready for tonight LA?!' In the spotlight: The Echame La Culpa songstress wore the same outfit to perform a few numbers on the Inglewood Forum stage New neck tattoo: The homeschooled millennial sang her spring single No Promises with Trevor Dahl, who's the curly-haired frontman of DJ trio Cheat Codes Lovato's sighting came the same day she premiered 'one of my favorite videos yet' for her single Tell Me You Love Me featuring Grey's Anatomy heartthrob Jesse Williams. But right before the vows, her onscreen fiance dramatically flees leaving her in tears at the altar. Demi will next put her four-octave pipes to use at 103.5 KISS FM's Jingle Ball happening December 13 at Illinois' Allstate Arena in Rosemont. Next year, the twice-rehabbed starlet - who's five years sober - kicks off her 20-date co-headlining Demi x DJ Khaled Tour on February 26 at the Viejas Arena in San Diego. Carpool karaoke king: Backstage, the New Mexico-born beauty hung out with The Late Late Show host James Corden Here comes the bride! On Friday, Lovato premiered 'one of my favorite videos yet' for her single Tell Me You Love Me featuring Grey's Anatomy heartthrob Jesse Williams (L) Devastated: But right before the vows, her onscreen fiance dramatically flees leaving her in tears at the altar In two weeks! Demi will next put her four-octave pipes to use at 103.5 KISS FM's Jingle Ball happening December 13 at Illinois' Allstate Arena in Rosemont Stunning: The brunette beauty looked flawless in the gold ensemble, delivering a show-stopping performance Screen stars: Demi also posed with Modern Family star Sarah Hyland, who was again rocking her chic oversized glasses Also headlining Friday's Jingle Ball was Halsey, who swapped her extremely unflattering denim ensemble for a skimpy Prada outfit onstage. The 23-year-old Grammy nominee (born Ashley Frangipane) belted her new single Him & I in a yarn bra-top, glittery hotpants, and pop star cliche thigh-high boots selected by stylist Maeve Reilly. Pink-haired Kesha - who scored two Grammy nods - opted for a leggy look in a green paisley mini-dress, pink neck scarf, and white cowboy boots selected by stylist Samantha Burkhart. Bella Thorne kicked up her silver platform heels while drumming up publicity for her 2018 romance Midnight Sun alongside onscreen leading man Patrick Schwarzenegger. Texas tuxedo: Also headlining Friday's Jingle Ball was Halsey, who swapped her extremely unflattering denim ensemble for a skimpy Prada outfit onstage On the mic: The 23-year-old Grammy nominee (born Ashley Frangipane) belted her new single Him & I in a yarn bra-top, glittery hotpants, and pop star cliche thigh-high boots selected by stylist Maeve Reilly 'It's the most wonderful night of the year!' Pink-haired Kesha opted for a leggy look in a green paisley mini-dress and white cowboy boots selected by stylist Samantha Burkhart Onscreen couple: Bella Thorne kicked up her silver platform heels while drumming up publicity for her 2018 romance Midnight Sun alongside co-star Patrick Schwarzenegger One Direction's Liam Payne and Niall Horan represented their UK boyband, separately, while clad in casual wear. Girls Trip's Jada Pinkett Smith easily defied her 46 years in an eye-popping plaid high-low gown selected by 'Image Architect' Law Roach. Modern Family's Sarah Hyland showed a little leg in a red maxi-skirt, matching tank top, and stilettos selected by stylist Brad Goreski. Mates: One Direction's Liam Payne (L) and Niall Horan (R) represented their UK boyband, separately, while clad in casual wear Tantalizing in tartan: Girls Trip's Jada Pinkett Smith easily defied her 46 years in an eye-popping plaid high-low gown selected by 'Image Architect' Law Roach Scarlet fever! Modern Family's Sarah Hyland showed a little leg in a red maxi-skirt, matching tank top, and stilettos selected by stylist Brad Goreski Ho, ho, ho! The 27-year-old SAG Award nominee made sure to give the resident Santa Claus some love backstage at the star-studded concert Trio: Three ladies in not-so-basic black included (from L-R) Great News' Nicole Richie, Fifth Harmony's Lauren Jauregui, and Cruel Intentions' Sarah Michelle Gellar The 27-year-old SAG Award nominee made sure to give the resident Santa Claus some love backstage at the star-studded concert. Three ladies in not-so-basic black included Great News' Nicole Richie, Fifth Harmony's Lauren Jauregui, and Cruel Intentions' Sarah Michelle Gellar. This Is Us actress Chrissy Metz looked ready for the holidays in her festive green velvet wrap dress selected by stylist Penny Lovell. Ready for Xmas! This Is Us actress Chrissy Metz looked ready for the holidays in her festive green velvet wrap dress selected by stylist Penny Lovell Gentlemen: Also enjoying the holiday-themed festivities were Good Old Days rapper Macklemore (L) and former NSYNC boybander Lance Bass (R) Kiss: Packing on the PDA on the red carpet was Bachelorette Rachel Lindsay and her chiropractor fiance Bryan Abasolo, who plan on walking down the aisle next year Gents: Meanwhile, British belters Ed Sheeran (L) and Sam Smith (R) showcased their divergent taste in fashion at the Los Angeles event Also enjoying the holiday-themed festivities were Good Old Days rapper Macklemore and former NSYNC boybander Lance Bass. Packing on the PDA on the red carpet was Bachelorette Rachel Lindsay and her chiropractor fiance Bryan Abasolo, who plan on walking down the aisle next year. Meanwhile, British belters Ed Sheeran and Sam Smith showcased their divergent taste in fashion at the Los Angeles event. Great pals! Sam Smith and Liam Payne pulled each other into an affectionate hug when they headed into the Jingle Ball at The Forum Inseparable: The pair looked happy as they embraced each other at the chance meeting outside the venue Trendy: Liam cut a stylish figure in a beige jacket, accessorised with a metallic chain, worn over a black jumper for added warmth Hunky: Sam caught the eye with his lilac jumper and shirt, which were form-fitting to best showcase his slim physique He's rumored to have moved in with girlfriend Lindsay Shookus. But on Friday night Ben Affleck had dinner with a decidedly different sort of companion: his mother Christine Boldt. The 45-year-old Gone Girl actor chose a relaxed wardrobe for his night on the town. Family time! On Friday night Ben Affleck had dinner with his mother Christine Boldt On top he opted to ward off the winter chill with a black coat that fell almost all the way to his knees. He spiced up the demure look with a pair of dashing burgundy trousers. Some classic brown leather oxfords rounded out his laid-back outfit. His facial hair appeared to be neatly trimmed, while he styled his hair up with a bit of gel. Classic: On top he opted to ward off the winter chill with a black coat that fell almost all the way to his knees It seemed as though his eyes may have been a tad bigger than his stomach at dinner, as he carried a sizable to-go bag in his right hand. Ben's mother Christine opted to go even more casual with her evening ensemble. She layered a grey graphic tee under a leather jacket, which she paired with some black trousers and sandals. While he no doubt had a ball with his mom, it seems Ben has taken a real shine to his current squeeze, SNL producer Lindsay Shookus. Hanging out: Ben's mother Christine opted to go even more casual with her evening ensemble Family affair: They were also joined by Ben's Oscar-winning brother Casey and his kids Friday's outing came after it was reported that Ben and girlfriend Lindsay Shookus are now sharing an apartment together in New York. The Justice League actor is renting a luxury apartment in New York's Upper West Side, which will be his base when he's in the city. The Saturday Night Live producer moved in around a month ago, sources told People magazine. The 2,761 sq ft property boasts three bedrooms, stunning views of both the Hudson River and Central Park, round-the-clock butler service, a pool and a private movie theatre, with leases on the building averaging around $28,000 a month. They sure know how to make an entrance. Multitalented stars Olivia Culpo, 25, and Kat Graham, 28, amazed in elaborate black dresses as they laughed while attending the amfAR generationCURE: Holiday Party at Cadillac House in New York City on Friday. Culpo, a former beauty queen, wore a shoulder-less black gown with a lace top, white embellishments, black sandal heels and diamond earrings to the event. Scroll below for video Having a laugh: Kat Graham, 28, and Olivia Culpo, 25, amazed at the amfAR generationCURE: Holiday Party in NYC on Friday at Cadillac House The 5ft7 stunner, who's in a relationship with New England Patriots receiver Danny Amendola, was impeccably made up with her dark locks styled to the side. Graham, who's had a busy year with roles in Where's the Money, All Eyez on Me and The Vampire Diaries, also wore an avantgarde black dress that had diagonal pinstripes, with sharp panels of beige, allowing her perfect pins to show. The Geneva, Switzerland native wore her locks parted in the middle, elaborate earrings and black heels. Ravishing: Both Kat and Olivia were named chairs of the charitable event by amFar Gorgeous: The ex beauty queen looked magnificent, showing off a glimmering diamond ring at the proceedings Elegant: Culpo, no stranger to modeling, hit a number of poses for photographers at the event Jaw-dropper: Kat looked flawless as she posed in her unique dress for the fundraiser Who's that lady? The talented Vampire Diaries beauty was impeccably made up Leggy and lovely: Graham waved as she was the center of attention at the Gotham gala Both served as chairs for the gala, which was held on World AIDS Day, and featured a cocktail party and silent auction. According to the organization, it raised a record $120,000 at the event in 2016. Other notable names at the function included models Sailor Brinkley Cook, Anja Leuenberger and Mariah Strongin. The organization says its generationCURE branch, which came of age in 2011, 'is a group of young amfAR supporters committed to ending the AIDS pandemic in their lifetime by helping the Foundation raise funds for its cure-focused research programs.' It's drummed up more than $600,000 through fundraisers, some of which has been earmarked for researchers. Fashionistas: Models Anja Leuenberger (L) and Mariah Strongin (R) wore striking ensembles Eye-catching: Ukrainian model Alina Baikova stood out in a lavender wide-leg pantsuit He dropped everything for a second chance at love on the upcoming Bachelor spin-off, Bachelor In Paradise. But on Monday, The Bachelorette's Michael Turnbull was all alone as he arrived at Brisbane Airport after presumably being eliminated from the dating series. The 36-year-old struggled to put on a brave face as he strolled through the terminal with his luggage in tow. All by myself: The Bachelorette's Michael Turnbull was all alone as he arrived at Brisbane Airport on Monday after presumably being eliminated from Bachelor In Paradise Michael isn't the first Bachelor reject to be spotted returning to Australia early with their tale between their legs. Nina Rolleston, from season three of The Bachelor, was spotted flying back to Sydney just days after filming for the spin-off had started. Bachelor In Paradise will see former contestants from The Bachelor and The Bachelorette living together on a tropical island in Fiji where they'll hook up and party together. Frozen in time: The taut-looking 36-year-old struggled to put on a brave face as he strolled through the terminal with his luggage in tow The show has the infamous rose ceremonies, which see the contestants who fail to find a mate get eliminated. So far, a string of favourites from the popular dating series have signed up to star, including Laurina Fleure, Jarrod Woodgate, Keira Maguire, Apollo Jackson, Tara Pavlovic, and Davey Lloyd. However, not every ex-Bachie star was keen to return to the show for another shot at love. 'Hello, is anyone there?' The reality TV reject had his phone glued to his ear Blake Garvey, Zilda Williams, and Alex Nation have all stated that they weren't interested in doing the show this time around. Alex and Zilda have both found love outside of The Bachelor, while Blake has bowed out of the spotlight following his disastrous appearance on The Celebrity Apprentice. Bachelor In Paradise will air on Channel Ten in 2018. They have been trying to avoid their feelings for weeks, and were almost caught in a romantic tryst in November when the pair shared their first kiss. But it seems Coronation Street's Kate Connor and Rana Nazir were unable to contain their emotions any longer, with the pair's feelings finally boiling over in a steamy sex scene on Friday. Fans took to Twitter in delight that the pair had finally embraced their love for each other, though their passion was short-lived as they were caught in the act by their friend Luke. Scroll down for video Busted: Coronation Street fans were delighted on Friday when fan favourite couple Kate Connor and Rana Nazir finally embraced their feelings in a steamy romp Kate and Rana finally embraced their love for each other while stranded in a food van after Rana revealed why she would never be able to come out as gay to her family. As the pair kissed passionately, they headed to the back of the food van to continue their romantic embrace, stripping to their bras in the steamy scenes. A slew of tweets from thrilled fans followed, with some even calling it the 'best moment in Corrie history'. Steamy: Fans were thrilled on Twitter to see the pair finally accept their love for each other, kissing passionately in the back of a food van Delighted: A slew of tweets from happy fans expressed their love for the fan favourite pairing, with one calling 'the best moment in Corrie history' One viewer tweeted: 'I love Kate and Rana so much!' while another poignantly wrote: 'honestly though rana and kates story is proof that you can have a compelling story without homophobia, racism, or sexism. it was just about two people who fell in love and couldnt help it.' A third wrote: 'Kate and Rana being protective of each other is my absolute favourite thing IN THE WORLD.' Rana has been attempting to deny her sexuality due to her marriage to her Zeedan, and also revealed to Kate that due to her family's religious beliefs they would never speak to her again. In the scenes Rana told Kate: 'My family would have a meltdown if I wore a skirt above the knee. They would go mad.' Touching: Rana finally revealed to Kate why she cannot come out as gay, saying she would never speak to her family again due to their religious beliefs Romantic: As Kate admitted that she loved Rana, the pair shared a kiss before moving to the back of the van As Kate and Rana enjoyed their steamy romp, they were soon rumbled by friend Luke who came to rescue the pair. Viewers were stunned when the episode ended on a dramatic cliffhanger with the pair literally caught in the act wearing little more than their bras. Luke demanded that the pair come clean about their relationship to Zeedan, with Rana saying that she would tell her husband about her infidelities. Caught in the act: Rana and Kate attempted to stay quiet after they heard someone outside of the van Unexpected: Luke was shocked to find his friends kissing in the back of the van, and later demanded that the pair come clean to Rana's friend Zeedan Despite the couples plans to go public, it seems the road will not be so smooth for the lovebirds as Rana reveals that she is pregnant next week to cover her tracks. Rana tells Luke the news to keep him quiet about the affair, promising that she will stay with Zeedan to raise the baby. While Kate is left devastated by the news, it seems this fan-favourite couple isn't going away so easily as their affair is expected to run into the New Year, with the returning Carla Connor acting as a confidante for the pair. She has won a legion of fans with her body confidence messages and powerful photoshoots. And Ashley Graham certainly sent pulses racing in her video for LOVE Magazine's Advent Calendar. Released on Saturday, the second day of December, the festive treat saw the American model, 30, turn up the heat as she posed in a skimpy underwear set, pulling a sledge down aNew York sidewalk. Scroll down for video Santa baby! Ashley Graham has certainly sent pulses racing in her video for LOVE Magazine's Advent Calendar Giving the camera a generous glimpse of her enviable decolletage showcased in a plunging crop top, Ashley was seen facing the camera as she clapped her hands with liquid chalk. Wearing her hair in tousled waves and accentuating her chiseled bone structure with flawless make-up, the model was then seen clapping her derriere at the camera. Flexing her arms, Ashley then proceeded to pull a sledge down the deserted street, dressed only in trainers, a crop top and tiny shorts. Bootielicious! Released on Saturday, the second day of December, the festive treat saw the American model, 30, turn up the heat as she posed in a skimpy underwear set, pulling a sledge down a New York sidewalk Sharing the video for the second day of the eagerly-anticipated Love Magazine advent calendar, the caption read: 'On the 2nd day of Christmas my true love #LOVEADVENT gave to me @ashleygraham doing the sled pull on a New York sidewalk'. And sharing an insight of Ashley's thoughts on the video, it continued: 'Shooting the Advent calendar, says Ashley is a true expression of self-love and empowers women to embrace their own sexuality. This year were reminding women to #StayStrong because we are powerful, we are resilient, and we run the world. The video follows Thursday's debut video on the 1st December, which featured a scantily-clad Emily Ratajkowski eating spaghetti, along with a summary of models including Jasmin Sanders and Kendall Jenner donning racy outfits for the daily calendar release. Strong! Giving the camera a generous glimpse of her enviable decolletage showcased in a plunging crop top, Ashley was seen facing the camera as she clapped her hands with liquid chalk Stunner! Wearing her hair in tousled waves and accentuating her chiseled bone structure with flawless make-up, the model was then seen clapping her derriere at the camera Emily, appearing in just a bra, was seen toying with viewers while sucking on her finger, before then appearing to be smothered in oil and lying across a table covered in pasta. Making light of the messy scene created, she said of her time on set with LOVE: 'I love pasta and being greased up in oil more than life itself.' LOVE magazine's Advent Calendar was shot by Phil Poynter, styled by Sally Lyndley, and stars several more beauties, including the likes of Doutzen Kroes, Karlie Kloss, Hailey Baldwin, Sara Sampaio, Teyana Taylor, Alexis Ren and Barbara Palvin. Other stars include actress Kate Upton, Alexis Ren, Taylor Hill, Romee Strijd and Stella Maxwell. Fit! Flexing her arms, Ashley then proceeded to pull a sledge down the deserted street, dressed only in trainers, a crop top and tiny shorts 'On the 2nd day of Christmas my true love #LOVEADVENT gave to me @ashleygraham doing the sled pull on a New York sidewalk' Instagram captioned the post 'Shooting the Advent calendar, says Ashley is a true expression of self-love and empowers women to embrace their own sexuality. This year were reminding women to #StayStrong because we are powerful, we are resilient, and we run the world. Ashley rocketed to fame as a body confidence advocate and plus sized model. Her appearance comes after she revealed the key to her body confidence and global success: daily affirmations. The beauty explained on ITV's Lorraine that she changed her life by telling herself everyday: 'I am bold, I am brilliant, I am beautiful I can have and do whatever I want.' The supermodel said she has made it her goal to teach youngsters the same and disclosed she has warned them seeking affirmation from social media is pointless because 'your worth has to come from within'. 'I am bold, I am brilliant, I am beautiful I can have and do whatever I want.' Ashley tells herself in the mirror every day She found fame on season two of Married At First Sight. But on Saturday, Erin Bateman was comparing herself to a significantly more high-profile reality star than herself in a bizarre Instagram post. Posing with two pals, the 28-year-old wrote: ''Omg are you the girls from The Hills?!' Yeah babe, Im plastic face Heidi Montag, this is LC and Audrina.' 'Omg are you the girls from The Hills?!' Erin Bateman took to Instagram on Saturday to share a bizarre post comparing herself and her friends to MTV's iconic hit series The Hills Erin's comparison to the surgically-enhanced Montag comes just days after she boasted on social media about getting Botox and other treatments for her 28th birthday. 'Im so fresh I practically still have the amniotic fluid on me!' she joked on Instagram after her Botox shots. A few days earlier, Erin struggled to frown after receiving the forehead-freezing drug, which she got as part of a paid partnership with a local injectables clinic. 'Im plastic face Heidi Montag!' The 28-year-old compared herself to the legendary Heidi Montag, possibly due to their shared love of cosmetic procedures Botox: Erin struggled to frown after receiving the forehead-freezing drug, which she got as part of a paid partnership with a local injectables clinic The wannabe blogger has previously used her social media to talk about her struggles with fame. Posting a series of book titles on her Instagram Story, Erin held a book titled 'Read this if you want to be Instagram famous', to which she captioned: 'Where's the book about hating your life afterwards?' In a post earlier that week, the former reality star insisted the platform 'can be a bit of a soulless shit bit** at times.' Working hard: After finding fame on Married At First Sight, Erin attempted to launch a career as a fashion blogger and Instagram influencer She did mention the positives, however: 'I am so glad Ive been able to meet some genuinely amazing people through it all.' The blogger recently made headlines after she was spotted with her on-screen 'husband' Bryce Mohr, almost a year after they were last pictured together. Erin and the business analyst attended the first birthday of Harper, the daughter of fellow MAFS alumni Zoe Hendrix and Alex Garner. She has been in the spotlight ever since starring as Shannon Reed in Australian soup Home and Away. Yet Isla Fisher looked as youthful as ever in a boho-style outfit with a burgundy patterned blouse tucked into her waist clinching sixties style jeans while shopping for flowers in Beverly Hills on Friday. The 41-year-old beauty wore her trademark silky auburn locks loosely flowing in the breeze and large sunglasses to hide from the Los Angeles rays. Scroll down for video. Redhead beauty: Isla Fisher went boho-chic while shopping for flowers in Beverly Hills wearing buttoned up jeans and a vintage style blouse with a black bow for a shopping trip on Friday Mum on the go: The starlet's light blue denim jeans highlighted her slim, toned legs as she strolled along clutching hold of her car keys in LA in three-inch black sling back stilettos The busy mum of three was running her daily errands and stepped out with friend Ashlee Margolis of the A-List as they left beauty salon STRIIIKE in Beverley Hills. The starlet's light blue denim jeans highlighted her slim, toned legs as she strolled along clutching hold of her car keys. The Aussie star looked incredibly youthful and doesn't seem to have aged a day since her Home and Away days. Girls day: The Australian actress was joined by friend Ashlee Margolis in LA as she strolled around picking up flowers in the sunshine, both looking casual and chic in laid back effortless styles The Confessions Of A Shopaholic star was wearing minimal make-up on her beautiful features. The redhead recently rejoined comedy show Arrested Development for season five, after making a guest appearance on season 4 in 2013. Isla has had huge success in American with starring roles in huge blockbusters such as Wedding Crashers and Keeping Up With the Joneses. Redhead beauty: The mum of three looked rocked her sixties style look as she shopped with a girl pal in her boho-style blouse and blue denim jeans finished with huge sunglasses She is married to British comedian and actor, Sacha Baron Cohen. The pair share three children together, daughters Olive, nine, and Elula Lottie, six, and son Montgomery Moses Brian, two. And the Great Gatsby actress recently started filming The Beach Bum with actor Matthew McConaughey in Miami. Advertisement She hit back after she was labelled 'Wacko Jacko 2.0' after she was seen licking a window inside a marquee at the Melbourne Cup. And Paris Jackson indulged in some unusual antics again as she was seen sitting on the pavement and scaling lampposts during a trip to Paris last week. The 19-year-old daughter of late King of Pop Michael Jackson put on an animated display in the streets of the French capital and was seen slumping onto the pavement for a rest and a cigarette the next day. Scroll down for video Cigarette break: Paris Jackson indulged in some unusual antics again as she was seen sitting on the pavement before scaling lampposts during a trip to Paris on Tuesday Adventurous: The 19-year-old daughter of late King of Pop Michael Jackson put on an animated display in the streets of the French capital The make-up free star rocked a bohemian look for her backpacking trip, clad in a purple patterned pair of harem trousers paired with a cream top and an ivory gilet as she smoked on the pavement. Keeping warm, she donned furry boots and fingerless gloves as she enjoyed a moment of leisure. Her ombre locks were worn in a tousled style and she carried a large orange rucksack on her back. Smoke break: The make-up free star rocked a bohemian look for her backpacking trip, clad in a purple patterned pair of harem trousers paired with a cream top and an ivory gilet as she smoked on the pavement Selfie time: Paris struck a sultry pose for the camera as she posed on the pavement in Paris Relax: Paris closed her eyes as she put her feet up in a pile of rubble on the pavement in the capital Tourist: The American star looked in good spirits as she went make-up free for her outing in the city Endeavour: Paris looked delighted as she managed to slowly climb up the lamppost as a pal took a photo Climb: The brave star valiantly and somewhat bizarrely attempted to climb a lamppost, getting fairly high up in a bid for the perfect shot Bohemian chic: Paris worked her signature bohemian style as she puffed on a cigarette en-route to the Louvre Looking reflective as she took a quiet moment to herself on the pavement amidst a pile of rubble, Paris looked relaxed as she continued to enjoy her European break. It was a vast change from her antics of the day before where she was trying her hand at scaling the city's historic lampposts. A pal took a photo as the brave star valiantly and somewhat bizarrely attempted to climb a lamppost, getting fairly high up in a bid for the perfect shot. Animated: Paris showed off her slender legs as she walked along with a pal and took a call on her mobile City of Lights: Paris looked focused as she walked with a pal through a group of happy diners Eclectic: The star donned a variety of colours and patterns for her laidback travelling look as she strolled Playful: Paris took a moment to strike a playful pose outside iconic Paris art museum The Louvre Here we go: She held her arms out to provide the illusion that she was holding up the pyramid shaped building Break: Paris puffed on a cigarette as she joined friends for a casual stroll along the street Ombre locks: Paris worked a colourful array of clothing as she toted a huge rucksack along the Parisian streets She wore gold patterned black leggings, paired with a coral shirt and gilet and wore her locks in a chic half updo. On the tourism filled trip, the star was also seen visiting the Louvre, enjoying a casual stroll with friends and a cigarette and signing autographs for friends. She also enjoyed an alfresco dinner during which she face-timed a handsome pal. Lithe: Paris showed off her toned legs in skinny jeans and donned a rainbow beanie for her walk in the fresh air Glowing: Paris cracked a relaxed smile as she took in the stunning sights of downtown Paris Tourist essentials: Paris was seen perusing a selection of postcards which includes images of the Eiffel Tower and the Mona Lisa Culture vulture: Paris couldn't resist taking a photo of a statue as she continued her cultural trip abroad Chat: Paris stopped for a quick chat with some fellow tourists at the Pont Alexandre III Good times: The star looked content as she made the acquaintance of the skateboarders while sight-seeing Surfing the web: Paris was focused on her phone as she sat next to a stunning metal statue and smoked a cigarette Radiant: Paris showed off her glowing make-up free visage as she took a moment to examine her phone The trip came a month after Paris was seen licking a window inside a Melbourne Cup marquee, leading the Herald Sun to post the said image alongside the headline 'Wacko Jacko 2.0,' Paris then took to Twitter, and blasted the writers. The star shared with her 1.35 million followers: 'You guys are f**kin' cowards.' Natural: Paris showed off her natural beauty in the as she strolled along in the French city Work it: Paris looked in good spirits as she enjoyed a moonlit stroll with a stylish friend and took in the sights Happy: Paris looked content as she took in the stunning sights of Paris during a stroll Gifts: The star didn't forget her loved ones back in the States, picking up some postcards for friends and family Generous: The charitable star donated some money to a homeless man before giving his adorable dog a stroke Outing: Paris looked stylish as she ventured outside for more time on the tourism trail Who's that? Paris spent time FaceTiming a handsome pal as she enjoyed an alfresco meal in the city Banter: Paris looked as if she was enjoying catching up with a close friend as she flashed her arm tattoos Taking to Twitter, Paris vented her frustrations, writing: 'cute. you guys are f**kin' cowards. bet you don't have the balls to call me that to my face @nuionline @JackieHeraldSun.' The model, who was an international guest at theMelbourne Cup, posted a screen shot of the newspaper article a day later. Paris captioned the post: 'i couldn't care less what they call me tbh but adding the "2.0" is their way of dragging my father into it and THAT i will not stand for.' Catching up: Paris caught up with a friend as she enjoyed an evening of leisure after her day of sight-seeing Refreshing: She sipped on a refreshing drink as she chatted with her friend at the dinner table Happiness: Paris cracked a relaxed smile before pulling a shocked expression as she sat at the table The brunette later followed suit with: 'again i couldn't care less that they call me, its the principle.' Paris, who was said by News Corp to have been flown to Melbourne by Myer for a whopping $100,000 as their VIP guest, was pictured pressed-up against the windows of a marquee, pulling bizarre facial expressions at onlookers. Sporting a bohemian-style burnt orange frock, a narrow tie, and layers of delicate jewels, the blue-eyed beauty was seen placing both hands on the marquee's window. Paris pressed her nose onto the glass and licked the surface in what appeared to be a defiant move. Eccentric: The trip came a month after Paris was seen licking a window inside a Melbourne Cup marquee, leading the Herald Sun to post the said image alongside the headline 'Wacko Jacko 2.0'- which she lambasted Fans are used to seeing them on Channel 9's Today show. But on Saturday, Sylvia Jeffreys and her husband Peter Stefanovic decided to let their hair down and take a walk on the wild side by attending a Jack Johnson concert at the Sydney Opera House Forecourt. Unfortunately, it started raining, causing the couple to shield themselves from the wet weather by wearing raincoats. Wet and wild! Sylvia Jeffreys and her husband Peter Stefanovic decided to take a walk on the wild side by attending a Jack Johnson concert at the Sydney Opera House Forecourt The pair documented the experience on Instagram, with Sylvia sharing a series of selfies depicting them looking rather unimpressed. While the pair appear to enjoy a fun social life, they've also got family firmly on their minds too. In a recent interview, Sylvia revealed she's hoping for a 'house full of kids' with Peter. 'We'd love a house full of kids,' she gushed to The Australian Women's Weekly while gracing the cover of their Christmas edition. 'We'd love a house full of kids': Sylvia revealed she and husband Peter have children on their minds in an interview with The Australian Women's Weekly Wearing a stunning backless red dress, the 31-year-old looked radiant on the cover. In 2014, Sylvia spoke about having babies with husband Peter, but said at the time they had no plans to start a family. 'Absolutely nothing in the oven at the moment and I'm not working towards it currently,' Sylvia said with a laugh, News.com.au reported. No plans yet: In 2014, Sylvia spoke about having babies with husband Peter, but said at the time they had no plans to start a family 'One day yes, but your guess is as good as mine,' she added. Sylvia wed fellow Channel Nine star Peter in a lavish ceremony at the exclusive Ooralba Estate in the Kangaroo Valley, in April this year. Peter popped the question in July last year while the couple were enjoying a romantic getaway in France. She revealed to the MailOnline over the summer that she had her E-cup breast implants removed, opting for a more natural look. But Lauren Pope still put on a surprisingly busty display as she led the glamour at the Beautycon Festival in London on Friday. The 35-year-old Towie beauty slipped into a revealing crop top ensemble for the occasion, ensuring all eyes were on her. Scroll down for video Turning heads: Lauren Pope still put on a surprisingly busty display as she led the glamour at the Beautycon Festival in London on Friday, despite undergoing a boob reduction recently Making the most of her washboard abs, the nude ribbed bandeau top flaunted her toned stomach and enviable cleavage, and she adorned it with a delicate string necklace. Lauren, who recently split from brief beau Jon Clarke, teamed it with a pair of coordinating high waist trousers, adding height to her stature in nude strappy heels. Wearing her blonde hair in loose tousled waves, the hair extension business owner accentuated her blue peepers with a generous helping of eyeliner. The show, held at Olympia, brings together some of the most influential content creators and celebrities, bringing brands and fans to come together and talk about beauty and style. Chest a glimpse! The 35-year-old Towie beauty slipped into a revealing crop top ensemble for the occasion, ensuring all eyes were on her Speaking exclusively to MailOnline in July, the businesswoman explained that she had her E Cup implants - the result of a second boob job - removed last week and has been recovering in secret. 'I'm back to small boobies!' she admitted. 'I've thought about it for a long time. It's really hard to explain but it's not a big dramatic decision. It's just I feel like I am taken seriously now in the world of business.' Lauren - who is the founder of company Hair Rehab London - has enjoyed several career ventures in her time. Downsizing! Speaking exclusively to MailOnline in July, the businesswoman explained that she had her E Cup implants - the result of a second boob job - removed last week and has been recovering in secret The blonde bombshell first burst onto the scene as a glamour model, before starring in TOWIE - which she left in 2015. She has since been working on her DJ career and continuing to grow her beauty business into an empire. And it's this transition that inspired Lauren to go back under the knife. She revealed: 'It's taken a long time but I feel like my old big boobs are my old life. 'It's time to grow up. This is like a new realm and it's a nod to that. It's not like I'm anti-surgery at all, I was quite happy with them but i just decided to do it. Model behaviour! Back at the event Lauren was joined by Lottie Moss, the younger sister of supermodel Lottie Moss Edgy! The 19-year-old model put on a business chic display in a white blouse and edgy black biker boots 'The clothes I like will look chicer with smaller boobs. The past few years I'd go for outfits that made them look smaller and there were certain clothes I couldn't wear because it would look trashy.' Whilst she explained she wasn't sure of the exact cup size she'll be now, she revealed: 'I'm excited to see how they look. I'm still sore and I'm still swollen but I think it'll probably be a big B or small C [cup].' Lauren - who recently announced her plans to return to TOWIE- documented her second boob job in an episode of the ITVBe series in 2012. Christmas-ready! Montana Brown joined her on the pink carpet, putting on a festive display in a green feathered skirt and semi-sheer blouse Driving them green with envy! Putting her slender pins on display, the Love Island star- who has been raking in modelling deals, beamed as she posed for pictures She was one of 40,000 women affected by the faulty French Poly Implant Prothese (PIP) when she initially had her breast size boosted, and during the process of removing the implants, she replaced the items with larger ones at the time. Back at the event Lauren was joined by Lottie Moss, the younger sister of supermodel Lottie Moss. The 19-year-old model put on a business chic display in a white blouse and edgy black biker boots. Leggy! Olivia Buckland- who appeared in the debut series of the same show, had more success on the show, and also made an appearance without her beau Alex Bowen Vibrant thing! The bubbly blonde slipped her leather clad pins into a pair of thigh-high boots, teaming it with a bright blouse, cinched in at the waist Making the most of her shapely pins, she teamed the ensemble with a thigh-skimming grey skirt, showing off her flawless bone structure and glowing complexion under minimal make-up. Lottie has been keeping a low profile since her split from Made In Chelsea star Alex Mytton over the summer. Fellow singleton Montana Brown joined her on the pink carpet, putting on a festive display in a green feathered skirt and semi-sheer blouse. Turning heads! Presenting the glamorous event was former Misteeq star Alesha Dixon, who oozed understated elegance in leather leggings and an oversized emblazoned shirt Red-hot! She accentuated her statuesque physique in red strappy sandals, wearing her hair tied off her pretty face and adding a pop of colour with red lipstick Putting her slender pins on display, the Love Island star- who has been raking in modelling deals, beamed as she posed for pictures. Montana split from Alex Beattie soon after coming out of the hit dating show this summer. But Olivia Buckland- who appeared in the debut series of the same show, had more success on the show, and also made an appearance without her beau Alex Bowen. Too much sauce! In an overwhelming helping of beauty, Alesha teamed up with fellow stunner Maya Jama, presenter and girlfriend to rapper Stormzy Legs for days! Maya slipped her slender legs into a thigh-skimming khaki shirt dress for the occasion, oozing presenting chemistry with Alesha as they mastered their presenting double act Taken ladies: It isn't difficult to see why the raven-haired beauty has caught the eye of Stormzy, while Alesha is in a long term relationship with Azuka Ononye, who she shares daughter Azura, 3, with The bubbly blonde slipped her leather clad pins into a pair of thigh-high boots, teaming it with a bright blouse, cinched in at the waist. Olivia and Alex recently opened up about their plans to have a family, revealing they would wait until they married next year. Speaking to Mailonline, Alex joked that he would 'love to get Olivia pregnant on their wedding night', after admitting seeing Cara pregnant is making him broody. Glamour puss! At the event the stunners were joined by an array of beauty bloggers, including Jayde Pierce, who showed off her incredible post-baby body in a nude jumpsuit Panel discussion: The beauty event looked to have been a success with the glamorous group enjoying an animated stage debate on all things beauty Suave! Made In Chelsea's Ollie Locke cut a casual figure in jeans and a blazer The couple, who got engaged in New York last December, plan to marry next September, and revealed the wedding will take place in the UK. Alex joked at the time: 'I want to get her pregnant on our wedding night!'. Presenting the glamorous event was former Misteeq star Alesha Dixon, who oozed understated elegance in leather leggings and an oversized emblazoned shirt. She accentuated her statuesque physique in red strappy sandals, wearing her hair tied off her pretty face and adding a pop of colour with red lipstick. Blushing pink! Sam and Nic Chapman of Pixiwoo pur on an edgy display at the event All-black! Liam Payne's ex Danielle Peazer put in a casual display at the event Kita girl! Instagram personality Nakita Johnson rocked a khaki coordinated ensemble for the event Alesha is in a long term relationship with Azuka Ononye, who she shares daughter Azura, 3, with. And in an overwhelming helping of beauty, she teamed up with fellow stunner Maya Jama, presenter and girlfriend to rapper Stormzy. Maya slipped her slender legs into a thigh-skimming khaki shirt dress for the occasion, oozing presenting chemistry with Alesha as they mastered their presenting double act. Feeling blue! Beauty, fashion and lifestyle blogger Sophie Hannah Richardson turned up the heat in a leopard print jacket and turquoise skirt Sizzling! Author Maria Hatzistefanis looked red-hot in a blazer two-piece Such a vibrant thing! Model Felicity Hayward stood out in a bright get-up It isn't difficult to see why the raven-haired beauty has caught the eye of Stormzy, and she was keen on admitting some home truths about their relationship for a recent When Life Gives You Melons podcast. As well as confessing she had been dating the star for a year before they went public, she also revealed she would browse through his phone in their early days. She explained: 'In a new relationship, I would say have a little gander, because as much as its wrong, youre finding a different side of the person you might not ever find otherwise. Nude ambition! Patricia Bright looked glamorous in a nude figure-hugging jumpsuit Here come the boys! Blogger Jonysios (left) put on a vibrant display while Lewys Ball rocked a designer ensemble Star factor! Amazonica turned heads in star-embellished tights and semi-sheer dress 'Obviously you shouldnt really, but if you have a feeling, do it, because how else are you going to know?' At the event the stunners were joined by an array of beauty bloggers, including Jayde Pierce, who showed off her incredible post-baby body in a nude jumpsuit. The beauty event looked to have been a success with the glamorous group enjoying an animated stage debate on all things beauty. Relaxed! Blogger Em Ford opted for casual glamour in ripped jeans and a pink sweater Casual: Samantha Maria rocked loose jeans and a white blazer for the occasion She finally came to the end of Our Girl filming on Saturday, sharing a hilarious video of her and the cast singing on the bus as they headed to the last day on set. And it seemed Michelle Keegan, 30, enjoyed her last day of shooting in the Malaysian sunshine, as she shared a video of her dancing with shirtless hunks on the show on her Instagram stories. The post came on the same day that Michelle's husband Mark Wright, 30, congratulated her for the eight months of filming, tweeting a tribute to his 'little trooper.' Scroll down for video Party hard! Actress Michelle Keegan, 30, celebrated her last day of filming Our Girl in style as she danced with some of the shirtless cast members in an Instagram story on Saturday Michelle shared the video of walking through the set in Malaysia, with several of her co-stars singing Spice Girls Wannabe behind her. The actors had all removed their shirts for the appearance on set, clearly to try and keep cool in the sizzling Malaysian heat. After eight months of filming Our Girl finally wrapped on Saturday, with Michelle's video showing the cast celebrating in style. The BBC drama has already aired four of the twelve episodes, with the remaining yet to have a release date. Michelle also posted a video of the cast singing in unison on a bus heading to the set, clearly thrilled at returning home after a long filming schedule. Support: The post came on the same day that Michelle's husband Mark Wright, 30, congratulated her for the eight months of filming, tweeting a tribute to his 'little trooper.' Much love: Mark called wife Michelle his 'little trooper' in the adorable tweet, as the couple prepared to spend Christmas together Michelle's video came as her husband Mark Wright showered the former Coronation Street star with praise for finally finishing Our Girl, after a gruelling filming schedule that saw shooting in Nepal, South Africa and Malaysia. Tweeting a tribute to his wife, Mark said how excited he was to reunite with Michelle so they could spend Christmas together. He said: 'Done. 8 months away from home, away from loved ones, working ridiculous hours in ridiculous conditions @michkeegan you amaze me more & more every day. Im so proud of you, words cant even explain. Its going to be the best Christmas ever !! I love you so much my little trooper x' Mark has been working in Los Angeles as the new host of celebrity series Extra along with Mario Lopez, and it seems he will finally return to blighty to spend the festive season with his family. Could be worse! In the video, Michelle can be seen singing and dancing to Spice Girls Wannabe with some of the shirtless cast in Malaysia Smoking! Michelle joked around with some of the cast of the series as filming wrapped after eight months Funny: Michelle appeared to get into the spirit as she messed around with some of the cast, ahead of reuniting with husband Mark Wright for the festive season Energetic: The actors appeared to be enjoying the blazing Malaysian sunshine as shooting for the series came to a close 'Little trooper': Michelle's post came on the same day as husband Mark Wright tweeted a tribute to her ahead of them spending Christmas together Michelle recently revealed that she had no idea she would be away for so long filming Our Girl, as she signed a contract for the third season before it was event commissioned. Speaking to Radio 1 host Nick Grimshaw she said: 'I wasn't 100% there would be another series but I signed the option for there to be another. Obviously the first time it was for five episodes but this time it was for 12 so it's overly doubled. 'I didn't know that at the time either. It's been a long, long filming schedule. I was away for three months last time and this time I was in South Africa for three months and then I had three weeks off then I was in Malaysia for three months. 'So over all I was away for seven months. It was a long time being away from home. I had to do it, the contract was signed. Book me a flight!' Reunited: Mark and Michelle have been together for five years, and tied the knot in 2015 He is known for his brash presenting style and laidback fashion sense. But Jeremy Clarkson underwent a style transformation as he stepped out with his glamorous girlfriend Lisa Hogan at the star-studded Newbury Winter Carnival on Saturday. The 57-year-old The Grand Tour presenter looked like a true country gent as he traded in his usual checked shirt and jeans for a khaki cardigan and elegant cream scarf paired with chocolate chinos. Scroll down for video Date day: Jeremy Clarkson underwent a style transformation as he stepped out with his glamorous girlfriend Lisa Hogan at the star-studded Newbury Winter Carnival on Saturday Fun times: The 57-year-old The Grand Tour presenter looked like a true country gent as he traded in his usual checked shirt and jeans for a khaki cardigan and elegant cream scarf paired with chocolate chinos He completed his look with chestnut boots. His girlfriend Lisa, 46, was also feeling the outdoorsy vibe as she showed off her slender legs in identically-hued trousers, teaming it with a white pussybow blouse and checked blazer. Her blonde locks were styled sleek and straight and she added a stylish Panama hat for a further chic twist before topping the look off with a furry scarf. The new couple put on an incredibly smitten display at the races, linking arms, sharing laughs and staring into one another's eyes. Stylish: His girlfriend Lisa, 46, was also feeling the outdoorsy vibe as she showed off her slender legs in identically-hued trousers, teaming it with a white pussybow blouse and checked blazer, in front of musical legend Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber Affection: Lisa appeared to plant a kiss on Jeremy's cheek as they enjoyed the day Chatty: Jeremy and Lisa enjoyed a catch-up from the luxury of a box Nail-biting: Jeremy looked tense as Lisa strained to get a view of the horse racing Close bond: Jeremy pulled a relaxed smile as he strolled along with the pretty blonde Star-studded: The couple took a moment to pose with a dapper Sir Lloyd Webber and his glamorous wife Madeleine (in red) Smitten: Andrew and Madeleine looked over the moon as they spent some quality time together Dubliner Lisa split from her eccentric millionaire husband Steven Bentinck in 2005. Lisa was 'discovered' by comedian John Cleese in the early 1990s when she was struggling to get a second-hand-clothes business off the ground. He subsequently employed her as a researcher, became a close friend and even gave her a role in Fierce Creatures, his follow-up to A Fish Called Wanda. Despite reports to the contrary, they were never romantically involved. Expectant: Oscar-winning actor Eddie Redmayne, 35, enjoyed day out with pregnant wife Hannah Bagshawe, 34 Happy: The cute couple cracked identical smiles as they took in the sports day Dapper: Eddie looked dapper in glasses and a fitted suit as he watched on with anticipation Stars: GBBO co-host Sandi Toksvig and Cold Feet star Robert Bathurst looked captivated by the day's events Smile: Eddie couldn't keep the smile off his face as he enjoyed the racing action Wow: Eddie looked impressed as Sandi waved her tickets in the air celebrating a win Jeremy - who was fired by the BBC when he punched a producer in the face - divorced his wife of 21 years, Frances, in 2014. The pair also rubbed shoulders with a dapper Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber, 69, and his stunning wife Madeleine, 55. Oscar-winning actor Eddie Redmayne, 35, was also at Newbury, taking in the races with pregnant wife Hannah Bagshawe, 34. Winners: Sandi and Eddie made friends as they celebrated the win together Look at this! Sandi, clad in a sequinned top hat, looked over the moon as she won Glee: Sandi flashed a radiant smile as she laughed with friends in the box Hannah worked a mint green double-breasted coat and minimal make-up while Eddie looked dapper in glasses and a fitted suit. GBBO host Sandi Toksvig, 59, was also spotted in the VIP box with Cold Feet star Robert Bathurst, 60. Proving to be an unlikely new celeb partnership Sandi was seen making friends with Eddie as she celebrated a win with him. Talk show host Jeremy Kyle, 52 also made an appearance with his new girlfriend, and former nanny, Vicky Burton, 35. Besotted: Talk show host Jeremy Kyle, 52 also made an appearance with his new girlfriend, and former nanny, Vicky Burton, 35 Cheers: Jeremy cheered as his horse came in first and Vicky celebrated behind him Fun times: Jeremy couldn't help but celebrate as he fist-pumped in the air They were both launched into the spotlight in the summer on the immensely popular Love Island show. And Montana Brown and Olivia Buckland proved they were tied in the style stakes as they attended the Beautycon festival in London on Saturday. Montana looked incredible in a see-through jade striped blouse paired with a matching feathered skirt for the Beautycon festival in London on Saturday. Scroll down for video. Two of a kind: Montana Brown and Olivia Buckland proved they were tied in the style stakes as they attended the Beautycon festival in London on Saturday The 22-year-old reality starlet wore her raven locks slightly waved flowing down her slender shoulders. Montana slipped her long legs into a pair of peep toe boots to finish off her showstopping style. The brunette beauty wore golden make up on her bronzed skin with lashes of mascara highlighting her green eyes. Montana smiled for the cameras, revealing her super pearly whites while swirling her famously toned figure in various poses. Leggy lady! Montana looked incredible in a see-through jade striped blouse paired with a matching feathered skirt for the Beautycon festival in London on Saturday Green goddess: The 22-year-old reality starlet wore her raven locks slightly waved flowing down her slender shoulders. Montana slipped her long legs into a pair of peep toe boots Montana was joined by fellow former Love Island star, Olivia Buckland. The blonde beauty was also wearing jade tones, with a patterned green and blue blouse fashioned with a waist clinching leather belt. The 24-year-old added to her retro look with leather trousers with suede over-the-knee boots. Bold style: Olivia Buckland, 24, joined Montana at the bash wearing leather trousers, suede over-the-knee boots and a green and blue patterned blouse with a waist belt The bubbly star pinned her highlighted blonde hair back off of her face, revealing her pretty features. Olivia wore her trademark heavy make-up with gold eye-shadow and false eyelashes. The fashion-forward babe finished her trendy look with a black choker on her slender neck and silver rings. She's been a big part of the London socialite scene for some time - often sharing her glamorous nights out with her 193k Instagram followers. So model Lottie Moss, 19, naturally made sure to step out in style at the Beautycon Festival in London on Saturday - undoubtedly to the delight of her fans. Going flirty in a crisp white blouse with lace cuffs, the half-sister of modeling royalty Kate Moss showed off her impressive pins in a thigh-grazing grey miniskirt. Scroll down for video Business chic: Model Lottie Moss, 19, made sure to step out in style at the Beautycon Festival in London on Friday The blonde beauty contrasted her sleek style with studded biker boots to create a striking look - and give her typical stamp of edgy cool. Lottie let her golden blonde tresses hang over her shoulders and looked fresh-faced with natural make-up on the custom pink carpet. The model is currently signed with with Storm Model Management, the same agency that manages models such as Cindy Crawford and Behati Prinsloo. Speaking ahead of the Q&A event at the beauty-centric festival, Lottie's told the Evening Standard why she took the leap into modelling at the very young age of 13. Biker beauty: Lottie let her golden blonde tresses hang over her shoulders and looked fresh faced with natural make-up Stike a pose: Lottie, posing with the host of the Q&A Board Jules Von Hep, told the Evening Standard that modeling at a young age was a 'bit of a blur' She said: 'I went into Storm to talk to them. I was so young, I didnt really even know what was going on. I just thought: "This is really cool." 'Everything just kind of happened. It is all a bit of a blur for me as I was so young. 'You realise that when you are older how amazing this opportunity is. I mean who gets to do this? No one.' Fireside chat: Lottie talking at Beautycon London with Jules. The model is currently signed with with Storm Model Management, the same agency that manages models such as Cindy Crawford Biker babe: Lottie rocks a bold look, pairing a business-chic white blouse and studded biker boots. She first got her big modelling break after attending her sister, Kate Moss' wedding 'If I looked back and I hadnt done it, I would be like: "Why didnt I do it?" I know I was young but I feel like you only get one shot and you just have to take it." Lottie first courted the attention of the modelling world when she attended her older half-sister Kate's wedding to her ex-husband Jamie Hince in 2011. Lottie appears to have well moved on following her split from former Made In Chelsea beau Alex Mytton over the summer. The model spent much of the summer with Alex while he was filming new episodes of Made In Chelsea Ibiza, before reports of their split surfaced. Mic please: The little sister of modeling royalty Kate Moss showed off her impressive pins in a thigh-grazing grey miniskirt Earlier this year, she made her debut on the catwalk at New York Fashion Week. But on Saturday, Amelia Gray Hamlin kept it casual as she enjoyed a night out with pals in West Hollywood. Living it up at the upmarket Delilah restaurant, the 16-year-old model looked trendy in a one-shouldered black crop top which she dressed down with a pair of high-waisted blue camouflage trousers. Scroll down for video Casual vibe: Amelia Gray Hamlin looked trendy in a one-shouldered black crop top which she dressed down with a pair of high-waisted blue camouflage trousers Keeping things comfortable, she coordinated her outfit with a pair of white Nike trainers. The youngest daughter of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Lisa Rinna and Harry Hamlin accessorised with silver hoop earrings and layered necklaces. Amelia opted for a slick of mascara, nude lip gloss and black nail polish, wearing her raven tresses down. A dusting of bronze eye shadow accentuated her brown eyes. The starlet is currently carving out a career as a fashion model, alongside her older sister Delilah. Comfort first: The young model coordinated her outfit with a pair of white Nike trainers Good spirits: Amelia hugged a pal as she goes to the Delilah restaurant in West Hollywood In September she walked the catwalk for the first time at the Dennis Basso show. After her appearance, the model admitted Basso was the very designer who had first inspired her to embark on a career in fashion, as the first runway show she ever witnessed. She told W Magazine: 'My mum dragged me to New York with her when I was eleven or twelve. I wasn't really excited for it but as I was sitting front row and in it, I literally started to cry when I saw the models and the clothes. 'It was such an empowering experience and I turned to my mum and said: "I want to do this".' Star quality: Amelia opted for a slick of mascara, nude lip gloss and black nail polish, wearing her raven tresses down She always manages to squeeze in a workout despite being a mother of three kids. And Megan Fox started her morning off right as she was spotted leaving a yoga studio in Malibu, California, with her mom Gloria on Saturday. The 31-year-old actress and her mother appeared relaxed and rejuvenated as they walked back to their car. Namaste: Megan Fox started her morning off right as she was spotted leaving a yoga studio in Malibu, California, with her mom Gloria on Saturday Megan stepped out in black skintight workout leggings and a white T-shirt that she wore under a loose black pull-over sweatshirt. The Transformers actress kept her yoga outfit fashionable with brown-fur sliders. Megan left her silky brown hair down by her shoulders, as she hid her make-up free face behind designer sunglasses. The mother-of-three finished off her look by carrying her yoga mat over her shoulder. Staying fit! The 31-year-old actress and her mother appeared relaxed and rejuvenated as they walked back to their car sporting comfortable workout ensembles Megan's mom Gloria accompanied her daughter wearing dark gray leggings and a black pull-over sweatshirt- matching with her daughter. The Confessions Of A Teenage Drama Queen actress' mom also paired her yogi attire with gray sliders and sunglasses. Gloria was seen holding on to her pink mat and black handbag, as she walked side-by-side to Megan. The brunette-bombshell is currently married to Brian Austin Green. Happy family: The brunette-bombshell is currently married to Brian Austin Green Megan and Brian began dating in 2004 after they met on the set of Hope & Faith when he was 30 and she was 18. They tied the knot on June 24, 2010. Megan recently revealed that none' of her three little ones were 'planned' during a chat with Extra earlier this month. The New Girl actress and Beverly Hills, 90210 star welcomed their latest addition, son Journey River, in August 2016. The pair also have sons Noah, aged five, and Bodhi, aged three. Prior to her third pregnancy, Megan filed for divorce from Brian in August 2015. The couple ended up reconciling and calling off their divorce after it emerged Megan was pregnant with Journey. Meanwhile, the hot mama has recently made a comeback as she displayed her bombshell body while teasing her new lingerie line on Instagram. Megan offered an eyeful while sporting a white lace bodysuit from her collaboration with Frederick's Of Hollywood. She will be seen in the upcoming movie Zeroville, which is slated for release sometime in 2018. Even though she has been nominated for multiple Academy Awards, Amy Adams proved on Friday she's not too famous to buy her own groceries. The 43-year-old actress was spotted shopping at Bristol Farms market in Los Angeles with a friend. The duo looked stylish-yet-comfortable as they showed off their very different and unique styles. This comes after Adams celebrated the 10th anniversary of the release of Disney's Enchanted. Boho queen: Amy Adams went grocery shopping in Hollywood on Friday Amy wore a long, boho chic dress in burgundy. She also had on a pair of nude clogs. Her shoes feature the adorable pom pom detail popular among the most stylish celebrities and fashion bloggers. She finished her look with a pair of oversized sunglasses and a leather handbag. Her friend channeled English model Twiggy with a short blonde pixie cut and funky ensemble. She rocked a mid-length, yellow dress paired with a denim jacket to provide a bit of warmth from the chilly L.A. weather. She accessorized with a pair of white frame sunglasses, black tights and black combat boots. Girls day out: The 43-year-old actress went with her girlfriend, who had on a funky ensemble The duo looked comfortable being out and about in West Hollywood while having a girl's day out. On November 21, Adams celebrated the anniversary of the release of Disney's Enchanted. This comes shortly after she confessed on ITV's Good Morning Britain that she will be returning to the role of Giselle when the highly anticipated sequel titled Disenchanted. The film begins shooting some time in 2018. 'They are working on it, it's titled as of now Disenchanted and is set 10 years after [the original] but I don't know all the details, but I look forward to it,' she said on the show. A couple of weeks later, she spoke to E! News about where the movie is in development. I'll be back: Ten years after the release of Disney's Enchanted, the star says she's ready to bring Giselle back to life for a sequel 'I don't know when it's starting, but we definitely have had conversations,' she said. 'I trust that the team they're putting together is gonna put together something that makes it timely. I think that it's a good time in our world for Disenchanted. I think a little singing and dancing, a little laughing at ourselves is good.' Although not much else is known about the Adam Shankman-directed film, there is a summary of what we can expect to see via IMDb. 'Ten years after her happily ever after, Giselle questions her happiness, inadvertently turning the lives of those in the real world and Andalasia upside down in the process.' Man crush: For 15 years, the Arrival actress has been happily coupled to fellow actor Darren Le Gallo; here they are seen in November The Nocturnal Animals star was recently honored at the 31st Annual American Cinematheque Awards Gala for her many years of work in film and her happiness could not be contained. She and husband Darren Le Gallo shared some rarely-ever-seen PDA during their walk down the red carpet in celebration. For the first time, the Arrival actress admits the reason why it took the pair so long to tie the knot. They married in 2015 after 14 years together. 'I avoided getting married for a really long time because I don't like people looking at me. I don't like to be the center of attention,' she told E! on the red carpet. 'When I'm promoting a film I can sort of be there for the film and I can be there for the director. But when it's a just a night like tonight it becomes very singular.' Adams can currently be seen on the big screen in the DC Comics superhero film Justice League where she reprises the role of Lois Lane from the Superman films. She co-stars alongside Henry Cavill, Ben Affleck, Jason Momoa, Gal Gadot, Ezra Miller and Diane Lane. She let her fans know in April this year that she was retiring from topless modelling. But now glamour model Rhian Sugden, 31, has changed her mind after posing completely naked for her new calendar, in which she no doubt delighted her fans by returning to displaying her incredible figure in all its glory. The blonde bombshell sported only a pair of lace bunny ears while striking a smouldering pose for the camera before later changing into a saucy caged bra. Scroll down for video Camera ready: Rhian Sugden, 31, has changed her mind after posing completely naked for her new calendar, in which she no doubt delighted her fans as she returns to displaying her incredible figure in all its glory Rhian left absolutely nothing to the imagination, as she was seen slipping into a pair of lace-up heels to complement her stunning legs but sported little else more. As well as showing off her tiny waist and perky derriere, Rhian brought out a darker side, showcasing her toned frame in a black lace bodysuit and leather biker jacket. Rhian's golden tresses were loosely styled over her shoulders, and combined perfectly with her gold strapped heels. She later slipped into a more angelic look as she sported a delicate lace white bra and knicker set, which boosted her eye-popping cleavage to perfection. Biker chic: The blonde bombshell sported only a pair of lace bunny ears while striking a smouldering pose for the camera before later changing into a saucy caged bra All white? She later slipped into a more angelic look as she sported a delicate lace white bra which boosted her eye-popping cleavage to perfection The statuesque beauty is no stranger to lingerie, having modelled since she was 20 years old and even owns an online sex shop. She first found fame as a glamour model, but in April, Rhian revealed she had made the decision to retire from topless modelling. She took to Twitter to announce the move, telling fans: 'It's the end of an era for me! I've decided to move on from topless modelling.' 'Thank you to everyone who made my 11 yr career possible,' she continued, before adding: 'Rhi-tirement day. HA! See what I did there!' The starlet is not just known for her modelling ways, but has been a keen advocate of animal rights. Glamming it up: She first found fame as a glamour model, but in April, earlier this year, Rhian revealed she had made the decision to retire from topless modelling (pictured in 2008) Anti-fur protest: Just last week, Rhian took a stand against Canada Goose clothing, stripping down to just a swimsuit as she posed dressed as a coyote in an anti-animal cruelty protest Just last week, Rhian took a stand against Canada Goose clothing, stripping down to just a swimsuit as she posed dressed as a coyote in an anti-animal cruelty protest on Wednesday in London. The model painted herself white and brown, emulating the North American canine's fur and sporting a giant coyote face on her back. The beauty, who recently went from blonde to brunette, carried a sign reading, 'Coyotes suffer for Canada Goose'. Rhian turned heads on the busy pedestrian street, standing with one leg caught in a faux trap. Her hair was pulled back in a loose braid, and her features were accentuated with a bronze shadow and a nude lip. Rhian's action is part of PETA's campaign urging Canada Goose to drop coyote fur and switch to innovative, cruelty-free faux fur. Campaign: Rhian's action is part of PETA's campaign urging Canada Goose to drop coyote fur and switch to innovative, cruelty-free faux fur Taking a stand: Rhian turned heads on the busy pedestrian street, standing with one leg caught in a faux trap Canada Goose explained why they use real Coyote fur ruff detailing on their products on their website. The company wrote: 'In the coldest environments, a fur-trimmed hood creates turbulent air, which helps protect the face from frostbite. 'We recently implemented a traceability program to ensure our fur is sourced from animals that have not been subjected to any unfair practices, willful mistreatment or undue harm, and materials are fully traceable throughout the supply chain.' Statement: The beauty, who recently went from blonde to brunette, carried a sign reading, 'Coyotes suffer for Canada Goose' Rhian has been happily engaged to ex Coronation Street star Oliver Mellor since 2014. He proposed to her by getting down on one knee in front of a packed audience at the Manchester Opera House after performing his stage show Black Coffee at the venue. It came after Rhian achieved new heights of fame after she was caught in a sexting scandal with married DJ, Vernon Kay - prior to dating her husband-to-be Oliver. She's used to stripping down beside the pool in her own swimwear label. But Sahara Ray avoided the sun entirely on Saturday as she was seen entirely naked sitting indoors as she divulged Prior to sharing the nude image of herself to Instagram, the 24-year-old posted a quote that read: 'She wore moonlight like lingerie' followed by a picture of a pink full moon. Avoiding the sun's rays! Justin Bieber's 'ex-fling' Sahara Ray shares a photo of herself NAKED while sitting alone under the moonlight Cryptic: Prior to sharing the nude image of herself to Instagram , the 24-year-old posted a quote that read 'She wore moonlight like lingerie' followed by a picture of a pink full moon. Cosmic princess: The following picture in the sequence showed the interior of a Kundalini Yoga Centre the beauty was at, whether she attended nude or not is unconfirmed Sultry Sahara regularly shares photos with mysterious captions and her latest was no different. With her long, blonde locks swept up in a high bun and sitting atop a plush red lounge, Sahara was positioned in front of a ethereal crystal in what looked to be a rainforest locale. The following picture in the sequence showed the interior of a Kundalini Yoga Centre the beauty was at, whether she attended nude or not is unconfirmed. According to the centre's website Kundalini Yoga can 'help you let go of fear and anxiety, relieve depression and release unconscious blocks so that you can reach your full potential and live a happy and healthy life.' This isn't Sahara's first foray into nude photography, as she posed for a seductive lingerie shoot earlier this week which showed her wearing nothing but a G-string. Dare to BEAR! This isn't Sahara's first foray into nude photography, as she posed for a seductive lingerie shoot earlier this week which showed her wearing nothing but a G-string Busting out: The model's 1.3 million Instagram followers were quick to praise the sun soaked woman for her stunning snap She was seen holding a teddy bear to her chest in an effort to conserve her modesty. The model's 1.3 million Instagram followers were quick to praise the sun soaked woman for her stunning snap. 'You are the definition of sensuality,' one wrote. Her swimwear line, Sahara Ray Swim, is a fan favourite among celebrities, with Kim Kardashian pictured wearing the high-cut aquamarine coloured briefs last week. Ryan Gosling is currently on set in Atlanta, Georgia, filming the Neil Armstrong biopic First Man. The 37-year-old was spotted portraying the iconic astronaut in a blazing house-fire scene on Saturday. He was also joined by his British co-star Claire Foy. But the scene may have been getting to the father-of-two as he looked exhausted during a coffee break. Role of a lifetime: Ryan Gosling is currently on set in Atlanta, Georgia, filming the Neil Armstrong biopic First Man Ryan appeared concerned as he sported patterned pajama pants, a white T-shirt, and a black jacket. He was seen holding a to-go cup of coffee while in the company of the one of the crew members outside. Far from her role as Queen Elizabeth, the Crown's Claire looked unrecognizable while wearing no-make-up and a pixie-cut wig. The actress stared at the flames donning beige baggy pants, a white robe, a bright pink heating pad, and a black puffer jacket. On-screen wife: The 37-year-old was spotted portraying the iconic astronaut in a blazing house-fire scene on Saturday, joined by his co-star Claire Foy Who's that girl? The brunette (left) looked unrecognisable from her role as Queen Elizabeth in The Crown (right) On set: The actors has to reenact a real-life fire that happened to the iconic astronaut Iconic: The biopic is based on James R. Hansen's 2005 biography of Armstrong who died in 2012 Gosling is filming the movie with his La La Land director Damien Chazelle. The biopic is based on James R. Hansen's 2005 biography of Armstrong who died in 2012. After his casting was announced in July, the Canadian actor tweeted: 'Incredibly honored to be a part of telling this story.' Claire plays Armstrong's wife Janet while House Of Cards star Corey Stoll plays Buzz Aldrin, who accompanied Armstrong to the moon. Making on-screen magic: Gosling is filming the movie with his La La Land director Damien Chazelle (Photographed in 2013) Love birds: Gosling, who shares two daughters with longtime love Eva Mendes, expressed support for the women who have alleged they are victims of movie mogul Harvey Weinstein Gosling, who shares two daughters with longtime love Eva Mendes, expressed support for the women who have alleged they are victims of movie mogul Harvey Weinstein. The actor starred in the Weinstein-produced drama All Good Things in 2010 and said on Twitter he was 'deeply disappointed in myself for being so oblivious to these devastating experiences of sexual harassment and abuse.' Gosling added: 'He is emblematic of a systemic problem. Men should stand with women and work together until there is real accountability and change.' The Istanbul public prosecutor said the assets of Reza Zarrab (C) and his family would be confiscated as part of a probe, Anadolu news agency said Turkish prosecutors on Friday ordered the seizure of assets of a gold trader testifying in a New York trial against a Turkish banker accused of violating US sanctions against Iran, state media reported. The Istanbul public prosecutor said the assets of Reza Zarrab and his family would be confiscated as part of a probe, Anadolu news agency said. The Turkish-Iranian citizen is accused of "espionage" for the benefit of a foreign state, according to the prosecutor's office, the agency reported. Hurriyet daily said the order affected Zarrab and 22 others, including his daughter with Turkish pop star Ebru Gundes. The trader on Thursday implied in testimony that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan knew how he and defendant Mehmet Hakan Atilla, deputy chief executive of Turkish lender Halkbank, dodged sanctions. He told the court he was informed that in 2012, then prime minister Erdogan and then treasury minister Ali Babacan had given "instructions" for two other Turkish public banks, Vakif and Ziraat, to take part in the scheme. Ankara has accused the trial of being a "conspiracy" and suggested the American judiciary is seeking to corner Turkey politically and economically. Earlier on Friday, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said the trial was "no longer legal" and had become "completely political". In a speech two days after Zarrab first took the stand in a Manhattan court, Yildirim said: "God willing, he will turn back from this mistake." Turkey has previously said the US case was a "plot" by members of the group led by US-based Islamic preacher Fethullah Gulen who Turkey accuses of launching last year's failed coup. Zarrab was a key figure in a 2013 Turkish corruption scandal in which he allegedly bribed four ministers to facilitate sanctions-busting trade and other deals. He was held for 70 days until prosecutors dropped all the charges. Ankara also denounced the scandal at the time as a conspiracy by Gulen and his group. The Muslim cleric denies all the allegations. Michael Flynn, former national security adviser to President Donald Trump, seen leaving federal court in Washington on Friday after pleading guilty to lying over his contacts with Russia Michael Flynn's downfall was as swift as his rise to become Donald Trump's top national security aide was slow and steady. After three decades climbing the ranks of US military intelligence, it took just 10 months from being sworn in as the president's national security advisor for a disgraced Flynn to plead guilty to charges of lying to the FBI. A pivotal player in Trump's shock election campaign, Flynn's admission on Friday that he lied about contacts with Russia, hurtled him into the center of a scandal that could imperil the presidency itself. Flynn's stride into Washington's district courthouse instantly entered the annals of American political history -- right alongside Watergate mugshots and grainy images of JFK's fateful open-top ride in Dallas. In pleading guilty, the 58 year-old also pledged to cooperate with the deepening FBI probe into possible collusion between Trump's campaign and a Russian effort to tilt the 2016 election in his favor. A wiry, energetic figure with sharp facial features, the retired three-star general was one of the few high-profile military figures willing to embrace Trump during the Republican's maverick election campaign. Flynn's hardline stance on militant Islam and his penchant for engaging Russia had seen him forced out as the head of Barack Obama's Defense Intelligence Agency. But those very same views drew him into Trump's orbit. Such was their personal bond that he was even on the shortlist for vice presidential candidate. At the Republican convention that nominated Trump for president, Flynn delivered a fiery attack on Democrat Hillary Clinton, even leading the crowd in chants of "Lock her up!" But his own fate was sealed when he discussed US sanctions with Russia's ambassador weeks before Trump was sworn in as president, just as then-president Obama was ordering new actions against Moscow over its alleged interference in the US election. Barely a month into his job as White House national security advisor, Flynn was forced to resign in February due to public concerns over his contacts with the Russian envoy. It was not the first time Russia had become a problem for the retired army lieutenant general. His paid appearance at a 2015 dinner in Russia sitting next to President Vladimir Putin especially raised eyebrows, as did his accommodating statements toward Moscow that suggested a readiness to accept Russia's seizure of Crimea and its support for Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad. "We beat Hitler because of our relationship with the Russians, so anybody that looks on it as anything but a relationship that's required for mutual supporting interests, including ISIS, ... that's really where I'm at with Russia," he told the Washington Post in August 2016. The main threat facing America, in Flynn's view, was militant Islam. "We have a problem with radical Islamism and I actually think that we could work together with them against this enemy. They have a worse problem than we do," he told the Post. - Relationship in tatters - The son of a Rhode Island banker, Flynn had a professional army career mainly in intelligence units. In the 2000s he served in Iraq and then Afghanistan, where he became director of intelligence for coalition forces. After leaving the Defense Intelligence Agency, Flynn repeatedly criticized the Obama administration as inadequately focused on the Islamist threat. In his book, Flynn argued that Muslim countries must be forced to stamp out radical Islamic beliefs, which he said were "metastasizing." "We're in a global war, facing an enemy alliance that runs from Pyongyang, North Korea, to Havana, Cuba, and Caracas, Venezuela," he wrote in the New York Post. "Along the way, the alliance picks up radical Muslim countries and organizations such as Iran, Al-Qaeda, the Taliban and Islamic State." Like Trump, Flynn criticized US allies in NATO for not putting enough of their own effort and funding into the western defense treaty. National security community critics had warned his one-dimensional views could upset well-established relationships that benefit the United States. They questioned Flynn's willingness to take money from Russian government-backed groups, and his support for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's harsh crackdown on dissent. His brief, but pivotal, relationship with Trump now lies in tatters. Having reached a plea deal with the FBI, he has now flipped against his old boss, promising to tell investigators details of which "very senior member" of the presidential transition team instructed him to approach Russia. In response, the White House threw Flynn under the bus. Describing him as "a former Obama administration official" White House lawyer Ty Cobb said he was only part of the Trump administration for "25 days." They may turn out to be the most consequential 25 days of his long career. A member of the US National Security Agency's elite hacking team has been charged with illegally removing top secret materials, in an embarrassing breach for the crucial electronic espionage body. The Justice Department said Friday that Nghia Hoang Pho, 67, a 10-year veteran of the NSA's Tailored Access Operations unit, which broke into computer systems, agreed to plead guilty to a single charge of removing and retaining top-secret documents from the agency. He kept the material at his Ellicott City, Maryland home. According to The New York Times, it was Vietnam-born Pho's computer that apparent Russian hackers accessed via his use of Kaspersky software to steal files and programs the NSA developed for its own hacking operations. The Justice Department said Pho had taken printed and digital copies of documents and writings labelled "secret," and containing sensitive "national defense information," and stored them in his home from 2010 until he was caught in 2015. It gave no detail on why he did that, and did not say whether Pho had revealed or lost any of the information. Pho faces up to 10 years in prison, though could negotiate a lighter punishment. He was the third NSA employee charged in the past two years for taking home top-secret information. The NSA declined to respond to questions on the case. In October The Wall Street Journal reported that Russian hackers exploited anti-virus software made by Kaspersky Lab to steal top secret materials from an unnamed NSA employee. The Journal said the 2015 hack led to the Russians obtaining information on how the NSA itself penetrates foreign computer networks and protects itself from cyberattacks. The incident was a key reason why the US government earlier this year announced a ban on use of Kaspersky anti-virus software on government computers, warning that the Moscow-based company has suspect links to Russian intelligence. Kaspersky denies any ties to the Russian government, but said its own forensic investigation did show that hackers made use of its software to break into the NSA worker's home computer. Kaspersky said what was stolen included essential source code for so-called Equation Group hacking software from the NSA. Voyager, depicted in this NASA artist concept handout image, is still sending data back to Earth daily, more than 40 years after its launch NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft -- cruising interstellar space billions of miles from Earth -- was back on the right track Friday thanks to thrusters that were fired up for the first time in 37 years. The unmanned spaceship was launched along with its twin, Voyager 2, more than 40 years ago to explore the outer planets of our solar system, traveling further than any human-made object in history. But after decades of operation, the "attitude control thrusters" that turn the spacecraft by firing tiny "puffs" had degraded. The small adjustments are needed to turn Voyager's antenna toward Earth, allowing it to continue sending communications. "At 13 billion miles from Earth, there's no mechanic shop nearby to get a tune-up," NASA said in a news release. Experts at the agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California decided to turn to four backup thrusters that were last used on November 8, 1980. "The Voyager flight team dug up decades-old data and examined the software that was coded in an outdated assembler language, to make sure we could safely test the thrusters," said Chris Jones, chief engineer at JPL. The engineers fired up the thrusters on Tuesday and tested their ability to turn Voyager using 10-millisecond pulses. Then they waited 19 hours, 35 minutes for the test results to arrive at an antenna in Goldstone, California. Turns out the thrusters worked just fine. "The Voyager team got more excited each time with each milestone in the thruster test. The mood was one of relief, joy and incredulity after witnessing these well-rested thrusters pick up the baton as if no time had passed at all," said Todd Barber, a JPL propulsion engineer. Being able to use the backup thrusters means the lifespan of Voyager 1 has been extended by two or three years, added Suzanne Dodd, project manager for Voyager. NASA plans to switch over to the formerly dormant thrusters in January. They will likely also conduct similar tests on the backup thrusters on Voyager 2. Scientists still hear from the Voyager spacecraft daily, and expect to get data for about another decade. Astronomy textbooks were rewritten on a wide scale thanks to the Voyager spacecraft, which zoomed past Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune and Uranus. The plutonium-powered spaceships will continue until they finally run out of fuel, and will then orbit in the center of the Milky Way galaxy. Neil Young as he answers questions during 2017 Farm Aid in Burgettstown, Pennsylvania Neil Young on Friday opened an exhaustive online archive of his half-century career, as the rock legend charged ahead on a politically loaded new album. In a project whose breadth has no parallels among musicians of his level of fame, Young made all of his albums available for streaming alongside the accompanying lyrics, credits and artwork as well as videos and tour information. In a delight for fans of the ever-prolific Canadian with years of rumored obscurities, the Neil Young Archives includes around 10 unreleased albums although most are not yet fully uploaded. Marking his life's journey, Young inaugurated his archive and new album by playing a livestreamed solo concert at a 225-seat theater in his rural hometown of Omemee, Ontario. Envisioning the archives as a high-tech version of collections that authors and fellow rock elders generally establish at universities, Young said he would continually update the site, accessible at neilyoungarchives.com. Young wrote that he had spent years designing the site, which will be free through June 30 after which Young said he will charge a "very modest" fee. - Rocky past with streaming - The project marks the latest turn in the 72-year-old rocker's turbulent relationship with online music. Several years ago he developed Pono, a portable device vaunted to provide the best-ever mobile sound quality, but it was recently discontinued. Young for around a year took all of his music down from Spotify, Apple Music and other streaming sites, complaining that the sound quality was subpar and had lowered the bar for the entire industry. For his online archive, Young said he had worked with the Singaporean firm OraStream to develop the finest possible audio, with music files that carry up to 20 times as much data as MP3s, the files typically used on streaming platforms and iTunes. In recognition that not all listeners have advanced computers or fast connections, Young also lets users choose to stream the music at less bandwidth. Prioritizing quality and detail over efforts to be user-friendly, the site has a sleek but cluttered interface in the shape of an old-style stereo with knobs and dials, with multiple ways to filter searches. Young himself explains how to use his archives in a 10-minute video after which he offers matter-of-factly: "Don't forget to have a good time and try not to get lost." - Forceful takedown of Trump - Neil Young performing during 2017 Farm Aid in Burgettstown, Pennsylvania, who in his latest album takes aim at President Donald Trump --- declaring America "already great" The archives go back to 1963 and Young's very first recording: the single "The Sultan," recorded in Winnipeg. The site ends with his brand new album out Friday, "The Visitor," Young's second work with Promise of the Real, a hard-charging back-up band featuring Lukas Nelson, son of country great Willie Nelson. Young, never reticent about his political views, lays directly into President Donald Trump from the get-go on "Already Great," a play on the tycoon's "Make America Great Again" election slogan. A longtime resident of California, the artist best known for "Rockin' in the Free World" attacks Trump and, as on recent albums, sings of the environment in nearly religious terms. "The Boy King don't believe in Science / It goes against the Big Money Truth," Young sings on "Stand Tall." "The Visitor" marks one of Young's more consistently forceful albums of recent years, the high-energy guitars giving way to reflective bridges as his voice veers toward highs. Yet there are also musical shifts, with straight-up blues on "Diggin' a Hole" and a merging of rock with strings on "Children of Destiny." He appears to allude to Trump's promised barrier with Mexico on "Change of Heart" as Young sings, "Hate is not worth using / Even as cement / To build your walls that you hide behind." And on "When Bad Got Good," Young turns Trump's election taunt of Hillary Clinton back against him. The rocker bellows: "Lock him up!" North Korean soldiers attend a mass rally to celebrate the North's declaration on November 29 it had achieved full nuclear statehood, on Kim Il-Sung Square in Pyongyang North Korea held mass celebrations for its latest successful long-range missile test, Pyongyang's state media said Saturday, with the regime accusing Washington of "begging for nuclear war" over planned military drills. To celebrate the missile launch the ruling Workers Party's official daily Rodong Sinmun covered its front page with colour photographs showing thousands of tightly packed soldiers and people applauding in Pyongyang's Kim Il-Sung square, which was decorated with large portraits of the North's late leaders. "We heartily celebrate the successful test launch of the Hwasong-15 which showed Chosun (North Korea)'s power and greatness to the whole world", read one banner held up by the crowd, referring to the missile. Photographs showed thousands of tightly packed soldiers and people applauding on Pyongyang's Kim Il-Sung square, which was decorated with large portraits of the North's late leaders. North Korea on Wednesday successfully tested a new intercontinental ballistic missile, with leader Kim Jong-Un declaring his country had now achieved full nuclear statehood. The US in response warned that Kim Jong-Un's regime would be "utterly destroyed" if its pursuit of a long-range nuclear missile arsenal provokes a military clash. Washington is battling to maintain international solidarity in the face of the North nuclear threat after Russia warned that sanctions have failed and China side-stepped talk of an oil embargo. On Saturday Russia's Foreign Affairs Minister Sergei Lavrov reiterated his country's condemnation of the missile test. However, he added: "It is impossible for us not to condemn the provocations by our American colleagues. And, much to our regret, that they try to pull the Japanese and the South Koreans in the same direction. They will be the first victims if a war is started on the Korean peninsula." Tensions are expected to rise further in the coming week as South Korea and the United States launch a massive air force drill mobilising some 230 aircraft including six US F-22 Raptor stealth jet fighters. Commenting that the planned manoeuvre would be the "largest-ever" such drill, a spokesman for the North's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement Saturday: "The Trump team is begging for nuclear war by staging an extremely dangerous nuclear gamble on the Korean peninsula." "The facts above evidently show who is the real nuclear war maniac and the 'nuclear demon' that disrupts and destroys peace of the Korean peninsula and the world," the statement added, the North's official news agency KCNA reported. - "Long live Kim Jong-Un"- Kim himself was absent from the Friday's celebrations -- he usually stays away from such events -- but the gathering drew key military, party and government leaders. "Long Live the General Kim Jong-Un who has brought us the great historic cause of nuclear statehood", another banner read. President of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly of North Korea, Kim Yong-Nam (4th L) attendsa rally with other leaders in Pyongyang to celebrate the North's declaration on November 29 it had achieved full nuclear statehood Vice Chairman Pak Kwang-Ho of the party's decision-making Central Committee told the crowd that, after Wednesday's test launch, "now no one can infringe our sovereignty and rights to survive and develop", according to the daily. He said that the United States had been "jolted" at the strengthening of North Korea's nuclear force and could attempt to commit "robber-like" provocative acts. He repeated Kim's warning that the North would respond with the "highest level of hard-line countermeasure in history". North Korean soldiers attend a mass rally to celebrate the North's declaration on November 29 it had achieved full nuclear statehood, on Kim Il-Sung Square in Pyongyang Kim first made the threat in September in response to Trump's UN speech threatening to destroy the North and mocking him as "Little Rocket Man". The ICBM Hwasong-15 type weaponry system used in Wednesday's test is an intercontinental ballistic rocket tipped with super-large heavy warhead capable of striking the whole mainland of the US, the North said. But analysts remain unconvinced that the North has mastered the technology required to launch and direct a missile, and ensure it survives the difficult re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere. The set of Angkorian-era gold jewellery includes a crown, earrings, armbands and a chest ornament A set of ancient Angkorian gold jewellery was returned to Cambodia Saturday with an elaborate procession through the capital, decades after the precious pieces were looted from a famed jungle temple. The 10-piece set, which includes a crown, earrings, armbands and a chest ornament, was stolen from Cambodia's Angkor Wat temple during the kingdom's civil war in the 1970s and was discovered in the online catalogue of a London art dealer last year. The items are thought to date back to the Khmer Empire, a once-mighty dynasty that sprawled much of modern-day Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam and Laos between the ninth and 15th centuries. Officials proudly welcomed the jewellery back to the country After the pieces turned up in Britain, the Cambodian government lobbied for their return and with the help of specialists spent more than a year inspecting the items to make sure they were genuine. Officials proudly welcomed the jewellery back to the country Saturday as the items were accompanied from the airport by hundreds of people and flanked by security guards. "This is a successful mission of all Cambodians, including diplomats and people who love the arts and antiques. Everyone is happy," Chuch Phoeun, secretary of state at Cambodia's Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts, told AFP. The pieces will soon be designated as national heritage items He said they are believed to have been pillaged during Pol Pot's genocidal Khmer Rouge regime, though the exact date is not known. London's Jonathan Tucker Antonia Tozer Asian Art dealership agreed in April to return the jewellery, which was proudly displayed behind protective glass Saturday and will now be appraised by experts in Cambodia. The pieces will soon be designated as national heritage items, and will join scores of stolen artefacts that have made their way back to the country in recent years -- many that had been on display in western museums or for sale by dealers. Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen's son, Hun Many, said it was an honour to have the jewellery back on home soil The Hindu-Buddhist Khmer Empire built what were then some of the world's mightiest cities and temples, including the famous Angkor Wat complex. But decades of French colonialism and civil war saw vast swathes of Cambodia's architectural and religious heritage looted and sold overseas. Last year, an American museum sent a 10th-century sandstone sculpture of the Hindu god Rama, still missing its head, arms and feet, back to Cambodia after it was stolen in the 1970s. In 2015 a statue of the Hindu monkey god Hanuman which had been looted from the same temple as the Rama torso was returned by the Cleveland Museum of Art. After the pieces turned up in Britain, the Cambodian government lobbied for their return Two other 10th-century Khmer-era statues known as the "Kneeling Attendants", which had also been taken from the same temple complex, were returned from the United States in 2013. On Saturday, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen's son Hun Many said it was an honour to have the jewellery back on home soil. "As a Cambodian, I am so proud to be part of this process to bring our ancestors heritage back home," Many, a lawmaker who helped to secure its return, told AFP. The news came as Pope Francis wrapped up his visit to Bangladesh that has been dominated by the plight of Rohingya Muslims who have fled ethnic unrest in Myanmar A Catholic priest whose disappearance in Bangladesh days before a visit by Pope Francis raised fears among minority Christians has been found safe and well, police said Saturday. Walter William Rosario, a 40-year-old priest and school headmaster, went missing on Monday from a village in northern Bangladesh where suspected Islamist extremists last year hacked a Catholic grocer to death. His disappearance followed a rise in Islamist extremism in the Muslim-majority country, where at least three Christians, including two converts from Islam, have been hacked to death in recent years. Police said Rosario had been found in the northeastern city of Sylhet, adding the disappearance was likely for personal reasons. "He has been found unscathed," said Biplob Bijoy Talukder, police chief in Rosario's home district of Natore. The news came as Pope Francis met with Rohingya refugees in Dhaka at the end of a visit dominated by the plight of the Muslim minority who have fled ethnic unrest in Myanmar and taken refuge in Bangladesh. Christians make up less than 0.5 percent of Bangladesh's 160 million people. sa/cc/tw/amu More than 1,000 people in the Philippines died from dengue last year, according to the government The Philippines is prepared for a "worst-case scenario" following warnings that an anti-dengue vaccine administered to thousands of children may worsen the disease in some cases, a health official said Saturday. Department of Health spokesman Eric Tayag said the country had already taken precautions against potential mishaps when it became the first country to use the landmark vaccine in 2016. The developer of the world's first vaccine for the potentially deadly virus, French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi, revealed earlier this week that it could trigger more severe symptoms in people who had not been previously infected with dengue. More than 733,000 children have already received Dengvaxia, raising fears that many could develop the harsher form of the disease. "The Department of Health is prepared for a worst-case scenario," Tayag told ABS-CBN television, a day after the agency announced it was suspending its mass vaccination programme. Tayag said the government had been careful to only implement the scheme in areas where dengue was already widespread and had only given it to children aged nine or older. "They are being followed up for adverse effects following immunisation," he said. He added that the department, which had previously said there were no reported cases of worsened infection among those who received the vaccine, was also checking hospital records for severe cases of dengue. Sanofi had said such acute dengue cases would not become apparent till about five years after vaccination, Tayag added. The developer initially said its Dengvaxia vaccine was "critical" in the fight against dengue, the world's most common mosquito-borne virus. It said Wednesday that a new study has confirmed Dengvaxia's benefits for "those who had prior infection" with the potentially-lethal disease. "For those not previously infected by dengue virus, however, the analysis found that in the longer term, more cases of severe disease could occur following vaccination upon a subsequent dengue infection," Sanofi said. More than 1,000 people in the Philippines died from dengue last year, out of more than 211,000 suspected cases, according to the government. Yemen's ex-president Ali Abdullah Saleh addresses supporters in the capital Sanaa on August 24, 2017 Yemen's Huthi rebels accused ex-president Ali Abdullah Saleh Saturday of staging a "coup" against their fragile alliance, after the strongman said he was open to talks with the Saudi-led coalition fighting them. "Saleh's speech is a coup against our alliance and partnership ... and exposed the deception of those who claim to stand against aggression," a Huthi spokesman said in a statement carried by the rebels' Al Masirah TV. Violence in Sanaa has left at least 40 fighters dead or wounded since Wednesday, rebel chief Abdul Malik al-Huthi said, as Saleh loyalists and rebel fighters continued to clash on Saturday afternoon. Tension between Saleh and Huthi has been rising in recent months. Saleh has accused the Huthis of seeking to monopolise power and the rebels have accused the strongman of treason over his suspected contacts with Saudi Arabia. Saleh on Saturday said he was ready to "turn the page" with a rival Saudi-led coalition on condition Riyadh and its allies lift a blockade on the impoverished country. The coalition imposed the blockade last month after Saudi Arabia intercepted a missile fired into its territory by the Huthis, whose fraught alliance with Saleh now appears to be crumbling. Yemen's ex-president Ali Abdullah Saleh addresses supporters in the capital Sanaa on August 24, 2017 A Saudi-led coalition fighting Yemen's Huthi rebels praised former president Ali Abdullah Saleh Saturday for "taking the lead" after he announced he was open to talks with the coalition. "The decision by (Saleh's) General People's Congress to take the lead and their choice to side with their people will free Yemen of... militias loyal to Iran," the coalition said in a statement carried by the official Saudi Press Agency. Saleh, who has been allied with the Huthi rebels since 2014, said on Saturday that he was open to talks with Riyadh and its allies on condition they lift a crippling blockade they imposed on Yemen early last month. For three years now, the Saleh-Huthi camp has ruled the capital Sanaa, ending decades of enmity that saw Saleh wage multiple wars against the rebels during his presidency. But in recent months, their fragile alliance has shown signs of unravelling. Saleh has accused the Huthis of seeking to monopolise power and the rebels have accused the strongman of treason over his suspected contacts with Saudi Arabia. Clashes between Saleh loyalists and rebels erupted in Sanaa on Wednesday and continued into Saturday, leaving dozens of fighters dead. Infosys in October reported a 3.3 percent year-on-year rise in profits for the second quarter Indian IT giant Infosys on Saturday named outsider Salil Satish Parekh as chief executive, months after its top boss quit following a showdown with its founders. Parekh, an executive at French consultancy firm Capgemini, will start a five-year stint in charge of the information technology behemoth from January 2, a statement said. The Infosys board met at the headquarters in Bangalore on Saturday to confirm Parekh's appointment as CEO and managing director, according to a filing to the Mumbai stock exchange. His predecessor Vishal Sikka quit the company in a surprise move in August amid boardroom tensions. Sikka had come under fire from some founders over his style of corporate governance and salary increases for top executives. Following his resignation, Infosys quickly named co-founder Nandan Nilekani non-executive chairman to calm investor unrest and steady the share price. Nilekani highlighted Parekh's "strong track record of executing business turnarounds and managing very successful acquisitions". "The board believes that he is the right person to lead Infosys at this transformative time in our industry," he added in a statement. Interim chief executive Infosys veteran UB Pravin Rao will continue as chief operating officer. Parekh joined Capgemini in 2000 and occupied various leadership positions in the group. Infosys in October reported a 3.3 percent year-on-year rise in profits for the second quarter after the boardroom turmoil hit shares for several weeks. India became a back office to the world in the early 2000s as companies subcontracted work to firms such as Infosys, taking advantage of the country's skilled English-speaking workforce. The $150-billion IT sector remains one of the country's flagship industries, but it is facing upheaval in the face of automation and US President Donald Trump's clampdown on visas. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has lashed out at a US trial in which he has been implicated in a multi-billion-dollar gold-for-oil scheme President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday said Turkey could never be "condemned by virtual courts" in the US after he was implicated in a scheme allegedly designed to subvert US sanctions on Iran during a trial in New York. Turkish-Iranian gold trader Reza Zarrab had been due to go on trial over the accusations but, to Turkey's chagrin, he agreed to cooperate with US prosecutors and told a court on Thursday that Erdogan authorised two Turkish banks to circumvent the sanctions and launder money from Iran. The case has angered Erdogan, who accused the trial of being linked to the network of Fethullah Gulen, the US-based Muslim cleric blamed by the Turkish government for last year's failed coup. "My country can never be condemned by virtual courts set up by FETO scoundrels, fake representatives," Erdogan said during a televised speech in the eastern city of Kars, referring to Gulen's group that Turkey has dubbed the "Fethullah Terrorist Organisation". "Someone has got up and decided they will apparently try my country in their falsely set-up courts. Don't bother!" Erdogan added. Turkey has repeatedly called for Gulen to be extradited, but he denies any involvement in the coup or terrorism. Since Zarrab became the prosecution's star witness in the trial, deputy chief executive of Turkish lender Halkbank Mehmet Hakan Atilla is now the lone man in the dock accused of violating sanctions, bribery and money laundering. Turkish-Iranian gold trader Reza Zarrab had been due to go on trial over the accusations but, to Turkey's chagrin, he agreed to cooperate with US prosecutors Zarrab has taken the stand three times since Wednesday, admitting to bribing a former Turkish economy minister and being involved in the multi-billion-dollar gold-for-oil scheme. On Thursday he told the court he was informed that in 2012, then prime minister Erdogan and then treasury minister Ali Babacan had given "instructions" for two other Turkish public banks, Vakif and Ziraat, to take part in the scheme. Zarrab was a key figure in a 2013 Turkish corruption scandal, which Ankara denounced at the time as another conspiracy by Gulen and his group. Analysts say the embarrassing revelations could damage Erdogan politically and also harm the Turkish economy, if one or more Turkish banks are fined over violating sanctions. Ankara has urged Zarrab to "turn back from his mistake" and claimed this week that the trader is under pressure to make defamatory claims against Turkey. Istanbul's public prosecutor ordered the seizure of Zarrab and his family's assets late on Friday, accusing him of "espionage" for the benefit of a foreign state. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu earlier on Saturday claimed "FETO has infiltrated American missions in Turkey, the US judiciary, its Congress, everywhere, they have infiltrated all institutions in this or that way, legally or illegally." US President Donald Trump speaks at a fundraising breakfast at a restaurant in New York, New York on December 2, 2017 US President Donald Trump insisted Saturday that his former national security adviser Michael Flynn had done nothing illegal during the transition. Flynn pleaded guilty Friday to lying to the FBI about contacts he had with the Russian ambassador. Trump said he fired Flynn because he lied to the vice president and the FBI about those dealings. "It is a shame because his actions during the transition were lawful. There was nothing to hide!" Trump said in a tweet, his second comment of the day of the explosive turn of events in the Russia probe. It is now moving closer to the Oval Office itself as Flynn has agreed to cooperate with special prosecutor Robert Mueller. With this new tweet Trump seems to admit for the first time that he knew Flynn lied to the FBI, which is a crime. At the time of Flynn's dismissal, the White House acknowledged only that Flynn had lied to Vice President Mike Pence about what he discussed with the ambassador -- sanctions imposed by then-president Barack Obama against Russia for meddling in the election. Trump's ties with Flynn have been under intense scrutiny since FBI director James Comey was fired by the president in May. Comey testified before a Senate panel in June that after Flynn's firing, Trump asked Comey to drop an investigation into the former national security director. US President Donald Trump made a campaign pledge to move the American embassy in Israel, which like all other foreign missions is currently located in the coastal city of Tel Aviv The Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas which controls Gaza called Saturday for a new "intifada" if Washington recognises Jerusalem as the capital of Israel or moves its embassy to the disputed city. Reports in Washington have suggested US President Donald Trump may on Monday fulfil a campaign pledge on the American embassy, which like all other foreign missions is currently located in the coastal city of Tel Aviv. "We warn against such a move and call on the Palestinian people to revive the intifada if these unjust decisions on Jerusalem are adopted," Hamas said in a statement. Any decision to move its embassy there would be "a flagrant attack on the city by the American administration" and give Israel "a cover for continuing its crime of Judaising the city and emptying it of Palestinians," it said. The status of Jerusalem is a key issue in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Both Israelis and Palestinians claim the city as their capital and previous peace plans have stumbled over debates on whether, and how, to divide sovereignty or oversee holy sites. The last Palestinian intifada, or uprising, which claimed the lives of some 3,000 Palestinians and 1,000 Israelis, was sparked by right-wing opposition leader Ariel Sharon's visit to the city's flashpoint Al-Aqsa mosque compound in 2000. The Palestinian president's office told AFP on Friday that American recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel would "destroy the peace process". Since 1995 it has been US law that Washington's embassy in Israel must be moved from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, as demanded by the Jewish state. But every six months since the law was passed a succession of US presidents have signed a waiver to hold off on a switch which would enrage Palestinians and their Arab supporters. Trump has signed the waiver once, and grudgingly, after vowing to Jewish-American supporters that he would be the president to finally make the switch permanent. The next deadline comes on Monday, and some in Washington suggest that Trump is planning a speech on the issue next week, before his deputy Mike Pence heads to Jerusalem. The White House has described reports he may refuse to sign the waiver as premature -- but sources told AFP they expect Trump to formally declare Jerusalem Israel's capital. The international community has never recognised Jerusalem as the capital of Israel or its unilateral annexation of a band of territory around the city's eastern sector, which it captured in the 1967 Six-Day war. French President Emmanuel Macron (R) gestures as he addresses a joint press conference with Regional Kurdistan Government Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani (L) at the Elysee Palace following a meeting in Paris on December 2, 2017 French President Emmanuel Macron called Saturday for a rapid opening of dialogue between Iraq's central government and Iraqi Kurdish leaders and for "all militias" to be dismantled to ease tensions. "France calls for a constructive national dialogue to engage in Iraq," Macron said at a joint news conference in Paris with Iraqi Kurdish leaders, including Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani. Baghdad and the Kurdish regional capital Arbil have been locked in dispute ever since September's independence referendum, which resulted in a resounding "yes" vote for independence in the autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq. Iraqi security forces backed by paramilitaries responded by seizing the oil-rich Kurdish-held city of Kirkuk in October and other disputed territory. Long-serving Kurdish president Masoud Barzani, whose nephew is Nechirvan, then resigned over the affair. "Having a strong, reconciled, pluralistic Iraq which recognises each of its components is a condition for the immediate and medium-term stability," of the Middle East, said Macron. The French president, who previously met Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi on 29 October, said dialogue needed to be built in "full respect of the constitution of 2005". He also called for "a gradual demilitarisation, in particular of the 'Popular Mobilisation' that has taken place in the last few years, and that all militias be gradually dismantled". Fighters from Iraq's Hashed al-Shaabi are a controversial fighting force that formed in 2014 after the country's most revered Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, urged citizens to take up arms against Islamic State jihadists. Bringing together a dizzying array of paramilitary groups under the command of Iraq's prime minister, the Hashed has since played a key role in battles against IS and more recently against Kurdish forces. But the Shiite-dominated alliance remains deeply divisive; has often been described as an Iranian-backed group, and has been accused of a wave of abuses. The French president said the new generation of Kurdish leaders has a "historic responsibility" and said France would do all it can to ensure "dialogue can succeed," indicating that he will soon meet Abadi again. Nechirvan Barzani, who has been trying to negotiate an end to the confrontation with Baghdad, said on Saturday that his government "respected" a verdict by the Iraqi Supreme Federal Court that ruled the independence referendum unconstitutional. He also said he had "no problem" with the federal government over the issue of border control. The Iraqi federal government has demanded the handover of border posts and airports in the Kurdish region. A 49-year-old US female tourist was killed by a tiger shark this week while diving off a Costa Rican island in the Pacific Ocean, the government and local media reported. The tourist has been identified by friends as Rohina Bhandari, 49, a private equity director from New York City. News of her death was reported by the New York Daily News late Saturday. The attack also badly injured the 26-year-old male Costa Rican diving guide leading the group that included Bhandari. The shark savaged the two on Thursday as they were surfacing after a dive off Cocos Island, a pristine national park located 300 miles off the Costa Rican mainland, the environment ministry said in a statement. A 49-year-old US female tourist was killed by a tiger shark this week while diving off a Costa Rican island in the Pacific Ocean, the government and local media reported. The tourist has been identified by friends as Rohina Bhandari, 49, a private equity director from New York City The attack also badly injured the 26-year-old male Costa Rican diving guide leading the group that included Bhandari who suffered fatal bite marks on both of her legs Bhandari was said to have sustained fatal bite marks on both of her legs. It stressed the attack was 'an isolated incident' and the first one of such seriousness recorded for the island. According to the Costa Rican newspaper La Nacion, the guide noticed the shark approaching his group underwater and tried to scare it away. But as they surfaced, the shark went for the American woman, tearing at her legs. The guide, too, suffered leg injuries. Park rangers came to assist, as did doctors who happened to be diving in the area and who declared the woman dead. The injured guide was taken to a hospital, where he was in stable condition and conscious. He told La Nacion he believed the shark was a female. Bhandari, a resident of Manhattan's Upper East Side, was a senior director at WL Ross & Co. LL, a firm founded by Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross. She was also frequently spotted at charity events throughout the city. Her death was met with shock and sadness by her friends on Facebook. Cocos Island, a Costa Rican island in the Pacific Ocean, is a pristine national park located 300 miles off the Costa Rican mainland Tiger sharks, which have dark stripes on their body when young, are predators often found around Pacific islands. The image above is a stock photo of a tiger shark 'Unbelievably sad and heartbreaking news that Rohina has died,' wrote Julie Walker. 'She was such a wonderful person who loved life. I will always remember her kindness, friendship and our adventures together.' 'Your kindness and genuine warmth to those of us lucky enough to call you "friend" was a blessing to behold,' another friend wrote. Tiger sharks, which have dark stripes on their body when young, are predators often found around Pacific islands. Unlike many other species of shark, they can be aggressive and account for a large proportion of reported attacks on humans. Costa Rica, a small Central American nation that boasts both Caribbean and Pacific coastlines, relies strongly on its tourism industry, especially visitors from the nearby United States. ATLANTA (AP) - Federal prosecutors in Atlanta say a Russian cybercriminal has been sentenced to serve 14 years in prison. The U.S. Attorney's office said in a news release Friday that 33-year-old Roman Seleznev was sentenced for his role in a $50 million cyber fraud ring and for defrauding banks of $9 million through a hacking scheme. Prosecutors say U.S. District Judge Steve C. Jones sentenced Seleznev on a racketeering charge out of Nevada and a conspiracy to commit bank fraud charge in Georgia. He pleaded guilty in September. Jones gave him 14 years on each count. The sentences are to be served at the same time. They will also be served at the same time as a 27-year sentence that Seleznev received in Washington state after a conviction there last year. WASHINGTON (AP) - Michael Flynn, the former national security adviser who pleaded guilty on Friday to lying to the FBI about his conversations with the Russian ambassador last year, is the first person inside the White House to be charged in connection with special counsel Robert Mueller's wide-ranging investigation. Here's a look at his long career: Prominent Military Career: A Rhode Island native, Flynn comes from a tightknit military family, serving 33 years before retiring in August 2014 as a lieutenant general. He earned acclaim in military circles for his service in Afghanistan, where he ran military intelligence operations. In July 2012 the Obama administration made him director of the Army's spy organization, the Defense Intelligence Agency. Flynn was forced out of that job just two years later after Obama administration officials took issue with his management style and temper. After leaving the military, Flynn went on to consulting work, sometimes on behalf of foreign interests. In 2015, he traveled to the Mideast to lend credibility to a proposal for a U.S.-Russia private nuclear partnership that has yet to work out. He also took payments from several foreign firms that have come back to haunt him. Vocal Campaign Supporter: The 57-year-old Flynn was one of the most prominent military veterans to endorse Trump's campaign, lending credibility at a time that many former national security officials publicly denounced Trump's candidacy and foreign policy positions. He delivered a fiery speech at the 2016 Republican National Convention and encouraged Trump supporters along the campaign trails to chant "lock her up," a reference to the FBI's investigation into rival Hillary Clinton's emails. "If I did a tenth of what she did, I would be in jail today," Flynn said at the Republican convention. Flynn was deeply involved in the Trump transition effort after the November election and was appointed national security adviser. Short Lived White House Job: Flynn's tenure in the White House didn't last long: He was fired after just 24 days after it was revealed he'd misled Vice President Mike Pence about his conversations with the then-Russian ambassador to the U.S., Sergey Kislyak. Flynn was interviewed by FBI agents in Washington, D.C., on January 25 about those conversations. Administration officials said publicly that Flynn had not discussed sanctions that had been imposed on Russia in part over election meddling in that call. But days later, then-acting Attorney General Sally Yates warned White House counsel Don McGahn that Flynn had been compromised because of discrepancies between the White House public narrative - that Flynn and Kislyak had not discussed sanctions - and the reality of what occurred. In the court papers filed Friday, Mueller's prosecutors say Flynn lied about those conversations in his interview with the FBI. Undisclosed Lobbying Work: After Flynn's brief stint in the White House, the Associated Press and others began to reveal details of Flynn's past lobbying work on behalf of foreign entities - and whether he properly disclosed those efforts to the Department of Justice. In the weeks after he was fired, Flynn registered retroactively pursuant to foreign lobbying laws and disclosed $530,000 worth of lobbying for a Turkish businessman. He also revealed details of a contract his consulting group, the Flynn Intel Group, engaged in to get information to support a criminal case against a Turkish cleric living in Pennsylvania. The current Turkish president has called for the cleric's extradition, a request the U.S. has so far rebuffed. The FBI had been pursuing those and other acts. Congressional committees investigating Flynn said earlier this year he'd also been paid more than $37,000 by RT, the Russian state-sponsored TV station to attend a Moscow gala in 2015 in which Flynn was seated next to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Value to Mueller: Flynn is the first former national security adviser to be charged with a felony since the fallout from the Iran-Contra affair of the mid-1980s. In agreeing to plead guilty, he may provide Mueller's investigators with insight into what, if any, effort was made to direct his own conversations with Russian officials and other foreign governments during the transitions. In court papers, Mueller disclosed that a senior member of the Trump transition team instructed Flynn to discuss its response to U.S. sanctions with the Russians. That conversation, and Flynn's accounting of it to the FBI, are at the center of the charges filed Friday. Court papers show that Flynn has agreed to aid Mueller in whatever capacity he needs, including swearing to affidavits, taking polygraph exams and conducting covert operations. In a story Nov. 30 about the scheduled expiration of a federal consent decree, a headline by The Associated Press mischaracterized the effect on the Republican National Committee. The RNC will be free to engage in legal election-related activities. A corrected version of the story is below: Court order to expire in voting rights case against GOP A federal consent decree prohibiting the Republican National Committee from engaging in tactics that can lead to voter intimidation is set to expire on Friday By CHRISTINA A. CASSIDY Associated Press A 35-year-old federal court order prohibiting the Republican National Committee from engaging in voter verification and other "ballot security" measures is set to expire Friday, something the GOP says is long overdue but voting rights advocates argue is still needed to prevent intimidation at the polls. Lawyers for the Republican National Committee said in court filings that the organization has been in compliance for years, even going beyond what is outlined in the consent decree. It opts against participating in poll-watching activities, for example, even though they are allowed under the order. "The RNC has worked hard to comply with its obligations under the Consent Decree," lawyers wrote in documents filed with the court. The filing noted efforts to educate members, employees, contractors and volunteers about the requirements under the order and specifically directing members that RNC resources cannot be used on prohibited activities. But critics say the landscape of voting rights has shifted under President Donald Trump, a Republican who continues to promote unsubstantiated claims of widespread voter fraud during the 2016 campaign and has launched a presidential advisory commission to investigate. Trump lost the popular vote by about 2.8 million votes to Democrat Hillary Clinton. They note Trump has installed leaders at the U.S. Department of Justice who are more supportive of state efforts to implement voting restrictions such as strict photo ID requirements. During the campaign, civil rights groups supporting the court order expressed alarm that Trump, at one point, urged his supporters to monitor polling places on Election Day in an effort to detect fraud. "I fear that if the consent decree is not left in place we may see a resurgence of this kind of activity at the polls on Election Day," said Kristen Clarke, president of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. "Challenging voter eligibility is an old and familiar tactic used to intimidate and depress voter turnout, particularly among minority voters." In a statement, Democratic National Committee spokeswoman Adrienne Watson called the existing court order an essential protection "to prevent voters from being intimidated at the polls." The DNC has asked the judge to find the RNC in violation; if granted, that would extend the consent decree another eight years. The legal battle dates to 1981, when the Democratic National Committee filed a federal lawsuit against its Republican counterpart, alleging the RNC helped intimidate black voters that year during New Jersey's election for governor. The lawsuit claimed the RNC and the state GOP had off-duty law enforcement officers stand at polling places in urban areas wearing armbands that read "National Ballot Security Task Force," with guns visible on some. Without acknowledging any wrongdoing, the Republican National Committee agreed the following year to enter into a consent decree that restricted its ability to engage in ballot security activities. On Wednesday, Judge John Michael Vazquez of U.S. District Court in Newark, New Jersey, denied a request by the DNC to hold a hearing but did allow its lawyers to question former Republican National Committee official Sean Spicer about his activities at Trump Tower on the night of the 2016 election. Vazquez did not extend the consent decree in the order, but reserved the right to do so if a violation is later proven. Over the years, Democrats have challenged the RNC's compliance with the consent decree, which has been modified twice since it was signed in 1982. Last year, the judge in the case denied a request to sanction the RNC over allegations they were coordinating with the Trump campaign on activities that might constitute voter intimidation. The consent decree applies to the RNC and the state GOP in New Jersey. It does not affect the activities of state Republican organizations elsewhere. ___ Follow Christina Almeida Cassidy on Twitter at http://twitter.com/AP_Christina MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Jesse Ventura and the estate of "American Sniper" author Chris Kyle have agreed to dismiss the former Minnesota governor's defamation case. Ventura sued Kyle after Kyle wrote that he punched a man, later identified as Ventura, in a bar. Ventura said it never happened. A federal jury in Minnesota awarded Ventura $1.8 million in 2014, but that verdict was overturned on appeal. While Ventura initially said he'd seek a new trial, there were signs in November that a settlement was forthcoming. Court documents filed Friday show the parties agreed to dismiss the case with prejudice, meaning Ventura cannot sue again on the same claim. Ventura's attorneys didn't return messages. Defense lawyers referred questions to Kyle's publisher, which didn't respond. Kyle, a retired Navy SEAL, was killed at a Texas shooting range in 2013, but Ventura's lawsuit proceeded against Kyle's estate. SAN DIEGO (AP) - A U.S. Navy commander was sentenced Friday to 18 months in prison for his role in a fraud and bribery scheme that cost the government about $35 million. Cmdr. Bobby Pitts, 48, of Chesapeake, Virginia, was the latest person to be sentenced in connection with a decade-long scam linked to a Singapore defense contractor known as "Fat Leonard" Francis. Francis bribed Navy officials to help him overbill the Navy for fuel, food and other services his company provided to ships docked in Asian ports, according to prosecutors. The bribes allegedly ranged from cash and prostitutes to Cuban cigars and Spanish suckling pigs. Pitts pleaded guilty in 2015 to charges that alleged he tried to obstruct a federal investigation while in charge of the Navy's Fleet Industrial Supply Command in Singapore. In handing down the sentence against Pitts, U.S. District Judge Janis Sammartino told him that he had "betrayed the Navy and betrayed the country," prosecutors said in a news release. "Pitts deliberately and methodically undermined government operations and in doing so, diverted his allegiance from his country and colleagues to a foreign defense contractor, and for that, he is paying a high price," said Adam Braverman, the U.S. Attorney in San Diego. In addition to his prison sentence, Pitts was also ordered to pay $22,500 in fines and restitution. DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) - Pope Francis has gotten into trouble before for ditching diplomatic protocol and calling a spade a spade, most famously when he labeled the Ottoman-era slaughter of Armenians a "genocide" from the altar of St. Peter's Basilica. Francis took the hit - Turkey recalled its ambassador to the Vatican in protest - for the sake of standing up for an oppressed people who were nearly wiped off the map a century ago. Given the opportunity to do the same in Myanmar, where the military has launched what the U.N. says is a campaign of ethnic cleansing against the Rohingya Muslim minority, Francis opted instead for diplomatic expediency. He not only avoided the contested term "Rohingya" in his public remarks, he ignored Asia's worst refugee crisis in decades entirely and didn't call out his hosts for launching it. Pope Francis interacts with a Rohingya Muslim refugee at an interfaith peace meeting in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Friday, Dec. 1, 2017. Pope Francis ordained 16 priests during a Mass in Bangladesh on Friday, the start of a busy day that will bring him face-to-face with Rohingya Muslim refugees from Myanmar at an interreligious prayer for peace. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi) Human rights groups complained. Rohingya complained. Journalists and pundits asked if Francis' legacy as a fearless crusader for the world's most marginal - the poor, homeless, refugees and prisoners - wasn't now in question. By Friday, Francis' heart won out. In an emotional encounter with 16 Rohingya refugees, Francis said what he probably wanted to say from the start. His voice trembling after he greeted the men, women and children who had been forced to flee their homes in Myanmar for wretched camps in Bangladesh, Francis begged them for forgiveness for what they had endured and the "indifference of the world" to their plight. "The presence of God today also is called 'Rohingya,'" he told them. And with that one word, Francis erased days of speculation that the tell-it-like-it-is, protocol-be-damned pope had sold out to the professional diplomats at the Vatican who were willing to deny a persecuted minority their very identity for the sake of global and local church politics. The Vatican had defended Francis' initial silence as necessary for the sake of "building bridges" with Myanmar, which only established diplomatic relations with the Holy See in May. "Vatican diplomacy is not infallible," spokesman Greg Burke told reporters in Yangon. "You can criticize what's said, what's not said. But the pope is not going to lose moral authority on this question here." Burke added that the Catholic Church is a minority in Myanmar. The implication was clear: Catholics are already discriminated against in predominantly Buddhist Myanmar, and certainly didn't need any blowback from the vast majority of Burmese who recoil at the term "Rohingya" because it implies an official recognition of them as an ethnic group. The local church had urged Francis to refrain from using the term, and Francis obliged. A pope is first and foremost a shepherd to his flock. The Vatican also wanted to back its local church in supporting Aung San Suu Kyi, who many Burmese see as their only hope for forging a more democratic, inclusive society where basic rights are guaranteed for all minorities - Christians included. And so when he arrived in Yangon and joined Suu Kyi at an official welcome ceremony, Francis behaved like a true diplomat. He called for all ethnic groups in Myanmar to have their basic rights guaranteed - an important message to be sure but one that was clearly written by committee. Francis upped the ante when he arrived in Bangladesh, where he acknowledged the "immense toll of human suffering" under way in the squalid, overcrowded refugee camps that are now home to more than 620,000 Rohingya who have poured across the border from Myanmar's Rakhine state. In his official arrival speech, Francis demanded the international community take "decisive measures" to not only help Bangladesh provide for the refugees, but to resolve the underlying political causes in Myanmar that set off the exodus. But he didn't say "Rohingya." Until he met them. And when he did, when he clasped their hands in his and listened to their tragedies, he not only acknowledged their identity, he assumed responsibility for all the suffering they had endured. "In the name of all those who persecute you, who have persecuted you, and those who have hurt you, above all in the indifference of the world, I ask you for forgiveness," he said. He repeated the word: "Forgiveness." Francis was back. ___ Nicole Winfield has covered the Vatican and three popes since 2001. Follow her at www.twitter.com/@nwinfield Pope Francis gestures as he leaves after end of an Interfaith and economical meeting for peace program, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Friday, Dec. 1, 2017. (AP Photo/A. M. Ahad) A Rohingya Muslim refuge, third left, leads a prayer, as Pope Francis, center, and others join an interfaith peace meeting in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Friday, Dec. 1, 2017. Pope Francis greeted and blessed Rohingya Muslim refugees who fled to Bangladesh from neighboring Myanmar, grasping their hands and listening to their stories at an interfaith peace prayer in Dhaka. (AP Photo/A.M. Ahad) Cardinal Patrick D'Rozario, Archbishop of Dhaka, hugs a Rohingya Muslims refugee from Myanmar during an interfaith and ecumenical meeting for peace with Pope Francis, in the garden of the archbishop's residence, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Friday, Dec. 1, 2017. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini) A Rohingya Muslim refugee from Myanmar, center left in white robe, leads a prayer with Pope Francis at an interfaith peace meeting in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Friday, Dec. 1, 2017. Pope Francis greeted and blessed Rohingya Muslim refugees who fled to Bangladesh from neighboring Myanmar, grasping their hands and listening to their stories at an interfaith peace prayer in Dhaka. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi) CANBERRA, Australia (AP) - Geoffrey Rush announced Saturday he's stepping down as president of Australia's screen industry academy, days after a theater company revealed it had received a complaint against the Oscar-winning actor of "inappropriate behavior." Rush has denied any inappropriate behavior at the Sydney Theatre Company. Media reports this week said the allegation dated from Rush's starring role in the leading Australian theater's staging of William Shakespeare's "King Lear" two years ago. Rush said he stepped down as president of the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts ahead of the academy's annual televised awards in Sydney on Wednesday. FILE - In this Feb. 11, 2017 file photo, Australian actor Geoffrey Rush poses with his 'Berlinale Camera Award' wich he received prior to the screening of the film 'Final Portrait' at the 2017 Berlinale Film Festival in Berlin, Germany. The Sydney Theatre Company says it received a complaint of "inappropriate behavior" against Rush, an allegation lawyers for the Oscar winner denied. The company wasn't disclosing details of the behavior alleged to have occurred while the 66-year-old Australian actor was an employee. Media reports say the allegation dated from the theater's production of "King Lear," about two years ago. His lawyers deny Rush was involved in inappropriate behavior. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn, File) "Certain recent media reports have made untenable allegations concerning my standing in the entertainment community. It is unreasonable that my professional colleagues should be somehow associated with such allegations," Rush said in a statement to The Associated Press through his lawyer Nicholas Pullen. "In the circumstances, I have decided to step aside in my ambassadorial role as president of AACTA effective immediately and until these issues have been resolved," he said. "This decision has not been made lightly. However, in the current climate of innuendo and unjustifiable reporting, I believe the decision to make a clean break to clear the air is the best for all concerned," he added. AACTA said in a statement it accepted and respected Rush's decision to voluntarily step aside. "We have been deeply concerned about the situation and support a course of action that both respects Geoffrey's rights to the presumption of innocence and due process, but also acknowledges good corporate governance in these circumstances," said AACTA, adding it would not comment further. The Sydney Theatre Company has not disclosed details of the allegation. It said the complainant requested that the allegation be dealt with confidentially, and did not want Rush notified or involved in any investigation. Rush has performed at the Sydney theater for 35 years. The 66-year-old Australian actor won the 1997 best actor Academy Award for "Shine" and has three other Oscar nominations. He is perhaps best known as Captain Barbossa in the "Pirates of the Caribbean" films. Australian media reports say the allegation dated from the theater's production of "King Lear" from November 2015 to January 2016. Sydney's The Daily Telegraph cited two unnamed theater sources in reporting Friday that an actress had accused Rush of touching her inappropriately. The company said the complaint was made after Rush's employment had ended and it disclosed it when a journalist asked in early November. The company did not say what action it had taken and it did not respond to questions about whether it would work with Rush in the future. Rush's lawyers said his "regard, actions and treatment of all the people he has worked with has been impeccable beyond reproach." The actor said Thursday he became aware of "rumors of a complaint" but the theater had refused to provide details at the time. WASHINGTON (AP) - Michael Flynn was President Donald Trump's favorite general, rapidly vaulted to prominence by his fiery speech at the 2016 Republican National Convention about jailing Hillary Clinton and by Trump's decision to reward him with a plum job as his top national security aide. Flynn's plunge was even faster. He was fired by Trump after just a month in the White House and left to contend with a mounting criminal probe that led to his decision to plead guilty Friday to lying to the FBI about his contacts with the Russian ambassador. Flynn, 58, is the first person who served in the Trump White House to be charged in the wide-ranging investigation led by special counsel Robert Mueller into possible coordination between the Trump campaign and Russia. He also becomes the first former national security adviser to be charged with a felony since the fallout from the Iran-Contra affair of the mid-1980s. Former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn leaves federal court in Washington, Friday, Dec. 1, 2017. Flynn pleaded guilty Friday to making false statements to the FBI, the first Trump White House official to make a guilty plea so far in a wide-ranging investigation led by special counsel Robert Mueller. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh) Flynn came to the fore as the stern, hawkish persona of the tough national security image Trump sought to project to the nation and the world during last year's campaign. Trump admired "my generals," as he described the military men he brought into his campaign, and for Flynn, the growing bond with the insurgent GOP candidate was life altering. Flynn was a familiar presence on the Trump campaign trail, his appearance intended to lend national security gravitas to an election effort short on established names. At campaign events, and at the Republican convention, Flynn led cheers of "Lock her up" about the Democratic candidate and her email practices. Flynn's vaunted military career as an intelligence specialist had ended in a forced dismissal by senior Obama administration officials. As a retired U.S. Army lieutenant general, he had to scramble for opportunities advising cybersecurity companies and starting up his own consulting firm. But Trump's growing admiration provided Flynn with the promise of a pivotal national role and a public forum for his increasingly defiant screeds against "radical Islam" and the Obama administration. Trump lauded Flynn as an "invaluable asset" in November 2016 as he named him his national security adviser. And even after Trump fired him in February, the president continued to hold Flynn in high esteem, grousing that such a "wonderful man" had been laid low by leaks and pesky media. Flynn's path to the courtroom can be traced back to two events on the same day - Election Day 2016. That morning, Flynn published an op-ed in The Hill newspaper, trumpeting the talking points of the Turkish government. That evening, Trump won the election, thrusting the retired general known for his attacks on Islam into position for a top national security post. Within weeks, Flynn had been named national security adviser and the Justice Department had taken an interest in the op-ed as possible evidence of unregistered foreign agent work. While Flynn's attorneys began the process of determining whether he would need to register under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, Flynn had a phone conversation with the Russian ambassador to the United States that was recorded by the U.S. government and that swiftly caught the attention of the Justice Department. He was interviewed by FBI agents on Jan. 24 about his communications with the ambassador, Sergey Kislyak, and about whether they had discussed sanctions imposed on Russia following its election interference. Days later, then-acting Attorney General Sally Yates warned White House counsel Don McGahn that Flynn had been compromised because of discrepancies between the White House public narrative - that Flynn and Kislyak had not discussed sanctions - and the reality of what occurred. White House officials took no immediate action against Flynn, and he was not forced to resign his position until after news reports indicated that he had discussed sanctions and that Justice Department officials had raised concerns. In the weeks after his firing, Flynn registered retroactively with the Justice Department, disclosing that $530,000 worth of lobbying his company did for a Turkish businessman could have benefited the government of Turkey. Flynn's business partner, former Export-Import Bank board member Bijan Kian, also registered. In the filings, both men laid out a contract Flynn signed in the final months of the presidential campaign that called for his firm, the Flynn Intel Group, to gather information that could support a criminal case against a Turkish cleric living in the U.S. The cleric, Fethullah Gulen, has been accused of being behind a failed coup last year, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called for his extradition. The U.S. has rebuffed those calls for lack of evidence. But Flynn's retroactive disclosure of the work did not satisfy federal prosecutors. A grand jury in the Eastern District of Virginia soon began investigating, and FBI agents began asking questions about how much Flynn and Kian knew about Ekim Alptekin, the Turkish businessman who hired them. When Mueller was appointed in May, he incorporated that investigation. The Turkish contract landed by Flynn's consulting firm was the first significant promise of business success since he had left the military. Flynn had won plaudits as a military intelligence officer in combat zones in Afghanistan and Iraq and was rewarded in July 2012 with a post as director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, the military's spy organization. He lasted two years, criticized by Obama administration officials for his management and temper, and was forced to retire in August 2014. Flynn's post-military career was a succession of consulting gigs and directorships at small defense contractors. He traveled to the Mideast in 2015 to lend credibility to a proposal for a U.S.-Russia private nuclear partnership that has yet to work out. And he took payments from several foreign firms that have come back to haunt him. Congressional committees investigating Flynn earlier this year found that he had been paid more than $37,000 by RT, a Russian state-sponsored television station, to attend its anniversary gala in Moscow in December 2015. Flynn was given a dignitary's welcome, seated beside Russian President Vladimir Putin at the network's lavish dinner. The Russian network has since been identified by a U.S. intelligence community assessment as a propaganda arm of Putin's government. Flynn is also under investigation by the Defense Department's inspector general to determine whether he failed to obtain government approval before accepting payments from foreign governments. Flynn's rise in prominence in conservative circles came as he became an outspoken critic of President Barack Obama's handling of terrorism. Flynn called for a more aggressive campaign against the Islamic State group and turned his fire on Islam itself, calling it a "cancer" and a "political ideology" that "definitely hides behind being a religion." Flynn harped on similar themes on the campaign trail, joining Trump at rallies and working his way into the campaign inner circle. Most notably, Flynn also became the face of Trump's calls for Clinton to be jailed over her use of a private email server. "If I did a tenth of what she did, I would be in jail today," Flynn said at the Republican convention. __ Associated Press writer Desmond Butler contributed to this report. __ Follow Chad Day and Eric Tucker on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/ChadSDay and https://www.twitter.com/etuckerAP __ Read Flynn's plea agreement: https://t.co/RKxRKSWDAG BEIRUT (AP) - Israel fired several surface-to-surface missiles at a military post near the Syrian capital of Damascus early on Saturday, causing material damage but no casualties, Syria's state-run news agency reported. The airstrike came as violence resumed in the Damascus suburbs after days of calm while the government and opposition delegations attended peace talks in Geneva. The Israeli military did not comment on the missile attack, which occurred shortly after midnight on Friday, targeting a military area near the southern Damascus suburb of Kiswah. Members of the delegation of the Syrian Negotiation Commission (SNC) attend a meeting with United Nations Deputy Special Envoy for Syria Ramzy Ezzeldin Ramzy during the Intra Syria talks in Geneva, Switzerland, Friday, Dec. 1, 2017. (Denis Balibouse/Pool Photo via AP) SANA, the state news agency, said the missile attack caused material damage but gave no details. The report also said that Syrian air defenses shot down two of the Israeli missiles. Israel has carried out a number of airstrikes against suspected arms shipments believed to be bound for Lebanon's Hezbollah militant group, which is fighting alongside Syrian government forces in the civil war. Israel has also struck several Syrian military facilities since the conflict began, mostly near the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. In September, Israeli warplanes hit a military position near the Mediterranean coast in western Syria, killing two soldiers and causing material damage. Rami Abdurrahman who heads the opposition's Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the missile attack targeted an arms depot near Kiswah where the Syrian army's 1st Division is based. He added that there is Iranian and Hezbollah presence in the area but added that it was not clear if they were targeted. Also in the suburbs of Damascus, government forces resumed their airstrikes and bombing of rebel-held areas on Saturday, killing and wounding several people, according to the Observatory and a Syrian Civil Defense search-and-rescue group, also known as the White Helmets. Syrian state TV also said that the rebels shelled several Damascus neighborhoods, wounding at least three people. It said one of the shells exploded near Al-Mariamiyah Cathedral in the central Bab Touma neighborhood. The government and opposition resumed peace talks in Geneva on Tuesday. The U.N.-hosted negotiations paused for the weekend but are scheduled to resume on Tuesday. The Observatory said six people were killed in Saturday's government airstrike on Arbeen while the White Helmets said airstrikes on the suburb of Harasta killed one person and wounded others, including women and children. Harasta and Arbeen are in the Eastern Ghouta region, one of the hubs in the uprising against President Bashar Assad in 2011. The area, long besieged by government forces, is now facing the highest recorded malnutrition rate in the country since the outbreak of the war more than six years ago, according to a U.N. report released Wednesday. ___ Associated Press writer Albert Aji in Damascus, Syria, contributed to this report. JACKSONVILLE, N.C. (AP) - The Latest on the search for a missing North Carolina child (all times local): 7:20 p.m. Authorities say they have recovered a body they think is a missing 3-year-old North Carolina girl from a creek in a neighboring county. This photo provided by Onslow County Sheriff's Office shows Earl Kimrey. Authorities have arrested Kimrey in connection with the disappearance of a 3-year-old North Carolina girl. The Onslow County Sheriff's Office says Kimrey is being held on more than $1 million bond in the Onslow County Detention Center on charges that include concealing a death and obstruction of justice. A statement issued by the Sheriff's Office says the child, Mariah Woods, is believed to be dead. She has been missing from her home since Monday, Nov. 27, 2017. Authorities are searching for her body. (Onslow County Sheriff's Office via AP) Onslow County Hans Miller said dive teams found Mariah Miller's body around 5:30 p.m. Saturday. FBI spokeswoman Shelley Lynch said in a statement the body was in a Pender County creek about 25 miles (40 kilometers) from Mariah Woods' home in Jacksonville. Miller didn't release any other details at a news conference. Deputies have charged 32-year-old Earl Kimrey with concealing a death. Arrest warrants say Kimrey moved Mariah's body from where she died, knowing her death was not natural. They haven't said how they think the girl was killed. Kimrey was living with the girl's mother. ___ 4:30 p.m. People with surveillance footage near where a 3-year-old girl disappeared in eastern North Carolina are being urged to call police and share the video as they investigate the girl's death. FBI agent Stanley Meador on Saturday asked businesses or residents who live on U.S. Highway 17 or state Highway 53 in Onslow and Pender counties to call police if they have surveillance cameras. Onslow County deputies say they charged 32-year-old Earl Kimrey with concealing a death. Arrest warrants say Kimrey moved Mariah Woods' body from where she died, knowing her death was not natural. Officials refused to say how the girl was killed. Onslow County Sheriff Hans Miller said at a news conference that deputies are just as determined to bring the girl home as they were when it was still possible she was alive. ___ 10:45 a.m. Arrest warrants say a man took the body of his girlfriend's 3-year-old daughter from where she died, knowing her death was not natural. The warrant released Saturday on a charge of concealing a death against 32-year-old Earl Kimrey did not say how investigators think she died. Onslow County deputies say they have not found Mariah Woods' body and will continue to search the eastern North Carolina woods with hundreds of volunteers. Kimrey lived with Mariah and her mother in Jacksonville. The girl's mother made tearful pleas for her daughter in the days after she disappeared sometime between Sunday night and Monday morning. ___ 9:45 a.m. Authorities say the man charged in the disappearance of a young North Carolina girl is the boyfriend of the child's mother. FBI spokeswoman Shelley Lynch confirmed in an email Saturday that 32-year-old Earl Kimrey was living with 3-year-old Mariah Woods and her family when she disappeared nearly a week ago. The Onslow County Sheriff's Office said in a statement that Kimrey, of Jacksonville, North Carolina, was arrested late Friday on charges that include concealing a death and obstruction of justice. The statement says investigators think the girl is dead, but didn't say how she might have been killed. Deputies say her body has not been found. The statement did not say if Kimrey has a lawyer. Hundreds of volunteers have come to eastern North Carolina to look for the girl. ___ 8:30 a.m. Authorities have arrested a man in connection with the disappearance of a 3-year-old North Carolina girl. The Onslow County Sheriff's Office says 32-year-old Earl Kimrey is being held on more than $1 million bond in the Onslow County Detention Center on charges that include concealing a death and obstruction of justice. A statement issued by the Sheriff's Office says the child, Mariah Woods, is believed to be dead. She has been missing from her home since Monday. Authorities are searching for her body. Law enforcement search near the Southwest Creek Bridge on U.S. 17 for three-year-old Mariah Woods in Jacksonville, N.C., Friday morning, Dec. 1, 2017. Woods was reported missing from her home on Monday, Nov. 27, 2017. (Gray Whitley/Sun Journal via AP) Volunteers search areas off of Dawson Cabin Road for three-year-old Mariah Woods in Jacksonville, N.C., Friday morning, Dec. 1, 2017. Woods was reported missing from her home on Monday, Nov. 27, 2017. (Gray Whitley/Sun Journal via AP) Volunteers search a wooded area off of Dawson Cabin Road for three-year-old Mariah Woods in Jacksonville, N.C., Friday morning, Dec. 1, 2017. Woods was reported missing from her home on Monday, Nov. 27, 2017. (Gray Whitley/Sun Journal via AP) Volunteers and officials search a wooded area off of Dawson Cabin Road for three-year-old Mariah Woods in Jacksonville, N.C., Friday morning, Dec. 1, 2017. Woods was reported missing from her home on Monday, Nov. 27, 2017. (Gray Whitley/Sun Journal via AP) Richard Alt, case leader with the National Center for Exploited and Missing Children, advises volunteers assembled at Dawson Community Church ready to search for three-year-old Mariah Woods in Jacksonville, N.C., Friday morning, Dec. 1, 2017. Woods was reported missing from her home on Monday, Nov. 27, 2017. (Gray Whitley/Sun Journal via AP) Volunteers and officials search a location off of Dawson Cabin Road for three-year-old Mariah Woods in Jacksonville, N.C., Friday morning, Dec. 1, 2017. Woods was reported missing from her home on Monday, Nov. 27, 2017. (Gray Whitley/Sun Journal via AP) Volunteers board a bus at Dawson Community Church to be transported to search for three-year-old Mariah Woods in Jacksonville, N.C., Friday morning, Dec. 1, 2017. Woods was reported missing from her home on Monday, Nov. 27, 2017. (Gray Whitley/Sun Journal via AP) State Troopers close one lane of U.S. 17 at the Southwest Creek Bridge as search teams look in waterways for three-year-old Mariah Woods in Jacksonville, N.C., Friday morning, Dec. 1, 2017. Woods was reported missing from her home on Monday, Nov. 27, 2017. (Gray Whitley/Sun Journal via AP) Volunteers arrive at Dawson Community Church to search for three-year-old Mariah Woods in Jacksonville, N.C., Friday morning, Dec. 1, 2017. Woods was reported missing from her home on Monday, Nov. 27, 2017. (Gray Whitley/Sun Journal via AP) Volunteers search a clearing off of Dawson Cabin Road for three-year-old Mariah Woods in Jacksonville, N.C., Friday morning, Dec. 1, 2017. Woods was reported missing from her home on Monday, Nov. 27, 2017. (Gray Whitley/Sun Journal via AP) LANSING, Mich. (AP) - Democratic Rep. Sander Levin of Michigan announced Saturday that he will not seek re-election to a 19th term in 2018. Levin, whose Democratic-leaning district is in suburban Detroit, said he will teach at the University of Michigan after 36 years in Washington. "I have tried to live up to the trust given to me by my constituents by following the values of my parents and family and by acting on what I believe after digging deeply into the facts and consulting broadly," Levin, 86, said in a statement released after The Associated Press reported that he would not run again. FILE - In this Feb. 10, 2016 file photo, Rep. Sander Levin, D-Mich. speaks during a House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee hearing on the Flint water crisis on Capitol Hill in Washington. Levin who has served in Congress for nearly 35 years, will not seek re-election to a 19th term. He plans to make the retirement announcement Sunday, Dec. 3, 2017, including at his annual holiday party in the Detroit suburb of Royal Oak, according to three Democrats who spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity to discuss private talks. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File) "I now want to share these same values in ways other than being an elected official," he said. Levin has served on the House Ways and Means Committee, which makes tax and trade law, for almost 30 years. He was the top Democrat on the panel from 2010 through 2016 and was chairman during passage of the federal health care law. Levin, a Royal Oak resident, has represented various parts of suburban Detroit since the early 1980s. His brother Carl was a U.S. senator from Michigan until 2015, and they were the longest-serving sibling duo in congressional history. "The voters respected my strong belief that stereotypes and prejudice do not represent the measure of an individual or of a community. In one of my elections, a primary opponent suggested that I could not represent Macomb County because I had never owned a Christmas tree," Sander Levin, who is Jewish, wrote in an op-ed in the Detroit Free Press. He cited as accomplishments his work fighting for comprehensive health care, blocking attempts to privatize Social Security, working for fairer trade policies and partnering with Michigan's congressional delegation on the federal bailout that rescued the auto industry. House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi issued a statement calling Levin "a principled patriot, champion of the people of Michigan and deeply esteemed leader in the Congress." "In his 35 years in the Congress, he has fought tirelessly on behalf of families in Michigan and across the country to expand quality, affordable health care, secure the dignity of a good retirement and promote fair trade that leaves no worker behind," Pelosi said. Michigan's 9th Congressional District includes areas of Oakland and Macomb counties. Levin's son is seen as a likely candidate for his father's seat. Andy Levin considered a run for governor, but decided against it, writing recently that he would instead focus on "building the movement for economic and social justice closer to home." Another likely Democratic candidate is state Sen. Steve Bieda. Before joining Congress, Levin was assistant administrator in the U.S. Agency for International Development. He was a state senator and twice the Democratic nominee for governor in the 1970s. "Sandy has fought for fair trade deals, affordable health care, and the rights of workers everywhere. His contributions will be evident for a long time, not just in the U.S. but around the globe," said Rep. Dan Kildee, a Flint-area Democrat. Democratic Sen. Gary Peters of Michigan called Levin a mentor and a role model. "If there is one lasting legacy Sandy will leave behind, it is his steadfast commitment to improving the lives of working people," he said. Levin is the second Michigan congressman to decide against seeking re-election, joining second-term Republican Rep. Dave Trott, who represents the neighboring 11th District in suburban Detroit. ___ Follow David Eggert on Twitter at https://twitter.com/DavidEggert00 . His work can be found at https://apnews.com/search/David%20Eggert SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - A jury's decision to acquit a Mexican man in the 2015 slaying of Kate Steinle on a San Francisco pier has reignited the furor of critics who in the two years since have pointed to Steinle's death as evidence of the need for tougher immigration policies. President Donald Trump on Friday called the verdict "a travesty of justice" and renewed his push for a wall on the border with Mexico. U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions demanded cities like San Francisco scrap immigration policies that limit cooperation with federal deportation efforts. Here's a closer look at how the case unfolded and why it got embroiled in the intense national debate about immigration: File - In this Nov. 30, 2017 file photo, Jim Steinle, center, and Liz Sullivan, right, the parents of Kate Steinle, walk to a court room for closing arguments in the trial of Jose Ines Garcia Zarate accused of killing their daughter, in San Francisco. A jury has reached a verdict Thursday, Nov. 30, 2017, in the trial of Mexican man at center of immigration debate in the San Francisco pier shooting. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg, File) THE SLAYING: Steinle, 32, a medical device saleswoman, was shot while walking on a popular waterfront area in the city on the evening of July 1, 2015 with her father and a family friend who were visiting. Her father, Jim Steinle, testified that his daughter collapsed in his arms, saying, "Help me dad." He rolled her on her side and discovered a bullet hole. She was later declared dead at a hospital. Jose Ines Garcia Zarate was arrested a short time later. He told police he found a gun on the pier wrapped in cloth, and that it fired accidentally when he picked it up. The gun was the service weapon of a U.S. Bureau of Land Management ranger, who reported it stolen from his car in late June. THE REACTION: The shooting immediately sparked criticism of San Francisco's policy of limiting cooperation with federal immigration authorities and led to calls for stronger enforcement of federal immigration laws. Garcia Zarate had been deported five times and was wanted for a sixth deportation when Steinle was shot. Before the shooting, he had finished a federal prison sentence for illegal re-entry to the United States and had been transferred to San Francisco's jail in March 2015 to face a 20-year-old charge for selling marijuana. The sheriff's department released him a few days after prosecutors dropped the marijuana charge, despite a request from federal officials to detain him for deportation. The story dominated conservative talk radio, but also had Democrats, including Hillary Clinton, saying San Francisco was wrong to let Garcia Zarate go free. As a presidential candidate, Donald Trump repeatedly referenced the Steinle shooting and vowed to crack down on sanctuary cities. His administration has moved to restrict funding from such cities, but judges have blocked those attempts. Supporters of sanctuary policies say they improve public safety by allowing immigrants to cooperate with police without fear. They also say detaining people without a warrant just so immigration officials can pick them up is unconstitutional. THE TRIAL: Garcia Zarate was charged with murder, and throughout most of the trial San Francisco Deputy District Attorney Diana Garcia portrayed the defendant as someone who willfully disregarded the safety of others when he fired the gun. But she spoke more strongly in her closing argument, saying he had come to the pier with a gun and a desire to hurt someone, and should be convicted of first-degree murder. His attorneys argued that he found a gun wrapped in cloth under a chair on the pier, and it fired accidentally when he picked it up. Their forensic experts testified that the bullet that killed Steinle ricocheted from 15 feet away, something he could not have done intentionally. Jurors found Garcia Zarate guilty only of being a felon in possession of a firearm, which carries a maximum sentence of three years in jail. WHAT MIGHT COME NEXT: It's likely Garcia Zarate will have served long enough behind bars considering his time in custody. But that might not be the end of his legal troubles. The Justice Department is considering bringing federal charges against him, and at its request, a judge in Texas on Friday unsealed an arrest warrant for Garcia Zarate that was issued days after Steinle's shooting. Federal officials say they believe the Steinle shooting violated the terms of Garcia Zarate's supervised release following his conviction for illegal re-entry to the U.S. The Steinle family, separately, has also filed a lawsuit that names Garcia Zarate and alleges the U.S. Bureau of Land Management ranger negligently left the gun used in the slaying loaded inside a vehicle in San Francisco before it was stolen. FILE - This undated file booking photo provided by the San Francisco Police Department shows Jose Ines Garcia Zarate. A jury has reached a verdict Thursday, Nov. 30, 2017, in the trial of Mexican man at center of immigration debate in the San Francisco pier shooting. (San Francisco Police Department via AP, File) FILE - In this July 6, 2015 file photo, Father Cameron Faller, right, and Julio Escobar, of Restorative Justice Ministry, conduct a vigil for Kathryn Steinle on Pier 14 in San Francisco. A jury has reached a verdict Thursday, Nov. 30, 2017, in the trial of Mexican man at center of immigration debate in the San Francisco pier shooting. (AP Photo/Beck Diefenbach, File) LONDON (AP) - A British police officer has been praised for grabbing hold of a van as it dangled on an icy bridge over a highway with the driver trapped inside. The West Yorkshire Police force said Constable Martin Willis arrived Friday at the scene of an accident that had left the large van teetering on the edge of the bridge. Willis says he could see the van sway every time another vehicle passed. He grabbed the rear axle and held it until a fire department crew arrived. Willis said Saturday he told the driver not to panic and "whatever you do, don't move." The fire service says the driver is recovering in a hospital. The constable posted pictures of the rescue on Twitter, where he goes by @WYP_PCWILLIS or Motorway Martin. SELMA, Ala. (AP) - The Latest on a U.S. Senate Race in Alabama (all times local): ___ 2:30 p.m. Doug Jones, second from left, the Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, waves to a supporter as he walks in a Christmas parade, Saturday, Dec, 2, 2017, in Selma, Ala. Jones is trying to shore up support among black voters in his U.S. Senate race against Republican Roy Moore by appealing for an end to the divisiveness that has long been part of the state's politics. (AP Photo/Jeff Amy) Alabama Democrat Doug Jones is continuing his outreach to black voters in his U.S. Senate race against Republican Roy Moore. Jones on Saturday marched in the Christmas parade in Selma, where events in 1965 helped spur the U.S. Voting Rights Act that secured voting rights for African-Americans. The outreach is important because the state's Democratic base is composed mainly of black voters, who account for 23 percent of the state's registered voters. Jones also needs to peel away moderate GOP support from the deeply conservative Moore. Jones says his focus on pocketbook issues will appeal to all voters, including African-Americans in economically depressed Selma. In previous stops, he's highlighted his experience prosecuting Ku Klux Klansmen in a 1963 church bombing that killed four black girls. Alabama hasn't elected a Democratic senator in 25 years, and Republicans hold all statewide offices. ___ 2:30 a.m. Alabama Democrat Doug Jones is trying to shore up support among black voters in his U.S. Senate race against Republican Roy Moore. Jones held an event at a predominantly black Montgomery church Friday night after stops in heavily black areas of east Alabama. The outreach is important because the state's Democratic base is composed mainly of black voters, who account for 23 percent of the state's registered voters. Jones also needs to peel away moderate GOP support from the deeply conservative Moore. Jones is talking about economic issues during campaign stops, and he's highlighting his experience prosecuting Ku Klux Klansmen in a 1963 church bombing that killed four black girls. Alabama hasn't elected a Democratic senator in 25 years, and Republicans hold all statewide offices. ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE (AP) - The Latest on Pope Francis' trip to Asia (all times local): 12:10 a.m. Pope Francis says the Cold War-era policy of nuclear deterrence is no longer viable and that the mere possession of nuclear weapons is now "irrational." Pope Francis talks during a news conference on board a flight to return to Rome, Saturday Dec. 2, 2017, after a seven day trip to Myanmar and Bangladesh. Pope Francis urged Bangladeshi priests and nuns to resist the "terrorism of gossip" that can tear religious communities apart, delivering one of his trademark, zinger-filled spontaneous speeches to the country's Catholic leadership on Saturday at the close of an otherwise tense and diplomatically fraught Asian tour. (Vincenzo Pinto/Pool via AP) Flying through Asia en route home from Bangladesh Saturday, Francis said: "We're at the limit of licitly having and using nuclear arms. Why? Because today, such sophisticated nuclear arsenals risk destroying humanity or at least a great part of it." Amid increasingly heated rhetoric between the U.S. and North Korea, Francis told a nuclear disarmament conference last month that mere possession of nuclear weapons was to be condemned, given the risks, and that the only viable path forward was total disarmament. Francis said he wanted to pose the question as a pope: "Today, is it legitimate to keep nuclear arsenals as they are? Or to save creation, to save humanity today, isn't it necessary to go back?" ___ 12:01 a.m. Pope Francis is defending his public silence in Myanmar over the plight of Rohingya refugees, saying a public denunciation would have "slammed the door in the face" of his hosts and prevented his overall message from being heard. Francis said Saturday he chose instead to speak in general terms about human rights in public so that he could speak more frankly in private. Speaking to reporters en route home from Myanmar and Bangladesh, Francis said he was "very, very satisfied" that his message had been received in his private meetings with Aung San Suu Kyi and Myanmar's powerful military chief, Gen. Min Aung Hlaing. He said: "It's true I didn't have the pleasure of slamming the door in their face publicly with a denunciation. But I had the satisfaction of dialogue, and letting the other side dialogue, and in this way the message arrived." Pope Francis talks during a news conference on board a flight to return to Rome, Saturday Dec. 2, 2017, after a seven day trip to Myanmar and Bangladesh. Pope Francis urged Bangladeshi priests and nuns to resist the "terrorism of gossip" that can tear religious communities apart, delivering one of his trademark, zinger-filled spontaneous speeches to the country's Catholic leadership on Saturday at the close of an otherwise tense and diplomatically fraught Asian tour. (Vincenzo Pinto/Pool via AP) Pope Francis talks during a news conference on board a flight to return to Rome, Saturday Dec. 2, 2017, after a seven day trip to Myanmar and Bangladesh. Pope Francis urged Bangladeshi priests and nuns to resist the "terrorism of gossip" that can tear religious communities apart, delivering one of his trademark, zinger-filled spontaneous speeches to the country's Catholic leadership on Saturday at the close of an otherwise tense and diplomatically fraught Asian tour. (Vincenzo Pinto/Pool via AP) Pope Francis talks during a news conference on board a flight to return to Rome, Saturday Dec. 2, 2017, after a seven day trip to Myanmar and Bangladesh. Pope Francis urged Bangladeshi priests and nuns to resist the "terrorism of gossip" that can tear religious communities apart, delivering one of his trademark, zinger-filled spontaneous speeches to the country's Catholic leadership on Saturday at the close of an otherwise tense and diplomatically fraught Asian tour. (Vincenzo Pinto/Pool via AP) Britons will be waking up to slightly warmer temperatures on Friday with forecasters saying the current cold spell is almost on its way out. Snow showers seen across eastern England on Thursday will likely melt away through the course of Friday, the first day of meteorological winter, as temperatures rise to around 6C (42F). Coldest UK November temperatures Yellow be aware warnings for snow and icy patches across northern Scotland and the east of England as far south as Essex will be reduced as the Met Office reports the risk of snow is beginning to diminish. The majority of showers over eastern England are now expected to fall as rain and sleet, forecasters said. Meanwhile, police in Durham and Darlington warned snow and ice were still affecting some areas on Friday morning, making driving conditions hazardous. Meteorologist Craig Snell told the Press Association: For the rest of today, its a less cold day. Its still going to be nippy out there, especially across England and Wales, but there is plenty of drier weather to be had away from eastern counties. A snowy scene in Middlesbrough (Tom Wilkinson/PA) It will be increasingly cloudy across Scotland and Northern Ireland with outbreaks of rain. That will gradually move south-eastwards as we go through the course of the evening tonight, not reaching the far south until some point tomorrow. (PA Graphics) He warned southern areas could be in for a cold night, with temperatures possibly falling below freezing resulting in an early frost, but it is expected to be a milder night for northern parts, with places in Northern Ireland not likely to fall below 6C or 7C (42F to 45F). Looking ahead, Mr Snell said the picture looked less cold for the weekend, especially at night, with cloudier skies. He added: We will be picking up a bit more cloud than we have been used to and there will also be the risk of rain at times across western and northern parts of the country. That general milder scene will continue as we go into the early and mid part of next week. The risk of frost is beginning to decrease and it looks like this cold spell is almost on its way out. EasyJets new boss said he wants the airline to go from strength to strength as he started his role on Friday. Chief executive Johan Lundgren, who replaced the long serving Dame Carolyn McCall, met pilots, cabin crew and passengers at the carriers Luton Airport headquarters. The travel sector veteran, who joined from tour operator Tui, also visited easyJets operation control centre and spoke to employees in the hangar. Johan Lundgren met easyJet staff and passengers at Luton airport (EasyJet/PA) Mr Lundgren said: I am delighted to have started at easyJet and to have met with so many easyJet people on my first day. Having flown with easyJet as a customer many times and competed against the airline for many years, I am full of admiration for the fantastic airline that Carolyn McCall and the whole easyJet team have built. My ambition is to help easyJet go from strength to strength, and my aim over the coming weeks is to really get to know the airline and to hear from the easyJet team on how best to continue to build on the energy and momentum easyJet has. The FTSE 100 firm is paying Mr Lundgren an annual salary of 740,000, while handing him the opportunity to bank a maximum yearly bonus of 200% of his salary. In July, easyJet announced Dame Carolyn will join ITV as the broadcasters first ever female chief executive in January 2018. Dame Carolyn McCall is leaving the airline to join ITV (Chris Radburn/PA) She has headed up the low-cost airline since 2010, and has been widely praised for her tenure at easyJet and for raising the profile of women in business. But she leaves the low-cost carrier at a difficult time for the sector in Britain, with Brexit storm clouds gathering over the travel industry. The pounds collapse has meant less people travelling overseas and, more starkly, British airlines are at risk of being grounded unless Tory ministers strike an aviation deal with the European Union before March 2019. To mitigate the impact, easyJet has obtained a new air operators certificate in Austria to allow it to continue flying in the EU after Britains divorce from the bloc. EasyJet reported last month that annual profits nosedived by 17% after taking a 101 million hit from the weak pound. In her last set of results at the airline, Dame Carolyn said it had been a difficult year for the industry as she posted headline pre-tax profits of 408 million, down from 494 million the previous year. Almost two-thirds of Scots want powers currently held by Brussels to be transferred to Holyrood and not Westminster when Britain leaves the European Union, a new poll has revealed. According to the survey, 62% want to see responsibilities over devolved areas currently held by Europe to be transferred straight to the Scottish Parliament in the wake of Brexit. The research, for the campaigning organisation 38 Degrees, was released as negotiations continue between Scottish and UK ministers in a bid to break the deadlock over where the powers should go. A Union Jack, Saltire and European Union flag At the moment, the devolved administrations in Scotland and Wales say they cannot consent to the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill unless changes are made. Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and her Welsh counterpart Carwyn Jones have branded the Bill a power grab as responsibility in devolved areas is set to be returned from Brussels to London, so UK-wide frameworks in areas such as agriculture can be drawn up. Positive conversation with @DamianGreen - working together to prepare for our future outside the EU, but our position on the Withdrawal Bill remains unchanged we will not support it unless changes are made #Brexit Read more here: https://t.co/cOaIPVwweA pic.twitter.com/xQbdMxuwH8 Mark Drakeford (@PrifWeinidog) November 30, 2017 Control over these areas would only be given to Cardiff and Edinburgh at a later stage. The impact of the EU Withdrawal Bill on devolution is set to be debated in the House of Commons on Monday. Stewart Kirkpatrick, of 38 Degrees, said: This poll couldnt be clearer: Scots want the Scottish Parliament, not Westminster, to have control over devolved issues after Brexit. A total of 1,017 adults in Scotland were questioned on the issue by pollsters at Survation between November 27 and 30. The poll also found 46% of people rising to 62% when dont knows were excluded felt devolution would be undermined if the powers did not come to Scotland. More than 40,000 people have signed a petition on the 38 Degrees website in support of this. Mr Kirkpatrick, head of the organisation in Scotland, said: 38 Degrees members and nearly two-thirds of poll respondents who expressed a view are concerned that the UK Governments current plans for a power grab could undermine devolution. Now, MPs across Scotland have to listen to their constituents and vote to amend the EU Withdrawal Bill next week to protect devolution. A Government spokesman said: The UK Government has been clear from the outset that as a result of exiting the EU more powers will be devolved to Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast. The Withdrawal Bill will mean our laws still function when we leave the EU, with changes made by Parliament and devolved administrations pic.twitter.com/kLMj9wAGxd Department for Exiting the EU (@DExEUgov) November 15, 2017 Real progress is now being made in ensuring that all parts of the UK are ready for the extra powers that are coming back from the EU to the UK. Michael Russell, Minister for UK Negotiations on Scotlands Place in Europe, said: This poll confirms overwhelmingly that the people of Scotland can see the current EU Withdrawal Bill for what it really is - a power grab by the UK Government. The Scottish Government will not recommend its approval by the Scottish Parliament as it stands, a position that has widespread support right across Scotland from independent observers such as the Law Society of Scotland and Scottish Fishermens Federation. The UK Government must respect the will of the Scottish people and act urgently to amend the Bill and ensure powers are rightfully returned to the Scottish Parliament. Michael Flynn, the former national security adviser who has pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his conversations with the Russian ambassador last year, is the first person inside the White House to be charged in connection with special counsel Robert Muellers wide-ranging investigation. Here is a look at his long career: Prominent military career A Rhode Island native, Flynn comes from a tightknit military family, serving 33 years before retiring in August 2014 as a lieutenant general. He earned acclaim in military circles for his service in Afghanistan, where he ran military intelligence operations. In July 2012 the Obama administration made him director of the Armys spy organisation, the Defence Intelligence Agency. Flynn was forced out of that job just two years later after Obama administration officials took issue with his management style and temper. After leaving the military, Flynn went on to consulting work, sometimes on behalf of foreign interests. In 2015, he travelled to the Mideast to lend credibility to a proposal for a US-Russia private nuclear partnership that has yet to work out. He also took payments from several foreign firms that have come back to haunt him. Vocal campaign supporter Flynn was one of the most prominent military veterans to endorse Mr Trumps campaign, lending credibility at a time many former national security officials publicly denounced his candidacy and foreign policy positions. Flynn, 57, delivered a fiery speech at the 2016 Republican National Convention and encouraged Trump supporters along the campaign trails to chant lock her up, a reference to the FBIs investigation into rival Hillary Clintons emails. If I did a tenth of what she did, I would be in jail today, Flynn said at the Republican convention. Flynn was deeply involved in the Trump transition effort after the November election and was appointed national security adviser. Short-lived White House job POTUS Trump Names Lt. General Joseph Keith Kellogg, Jr. as Acting National Security Advisor-Accepts Resignation of Lt. General Michael Flynn pic.twitter.com/hrHNuefNe3 The White House 45 Archived (@WhiteHouse45) February 14, 2017 Flynns tenure in the White House did not last long: He was fired after just 24 days after it was revealed he had misled Vice President Mike Pence about his conversations with the then-Russian ambassador to the US, Sergey Kislyak. Flynn was interviewed by FBI agents in Washington, DC, on January 25 about those conversations. Administration officials said publicly that Flynn had not discussed sanctions that had been imposed on Russia in part over election meddling in that call. But days later, then-acting Attorney General Sally Yates warned White House counsel Don McGahn that Flynn had been compromised because of discrepancies between the White House public narrative that Flynn and Kislyak had not discussed sanctions and the reality of what occurred. In the court papers filed on Friday, Mr Muellers prosecutors say Flynn lied about those conversations in his interview with the FBI. Undisclosed lobbying work Michael Flynn during his White House days (AP) After Flynns brief stint in the White House, news organisations began to reveal details of Flynns past lobbying work on behalf of foreign entities and whether he properly disclosed those efforts to the Department of Justice. In the weeks after he was fired, Flynn registered retroactively pursuant to foreign lobbying laws and disclosed 530,000 dollars (393,000) worth of lobbying for a Turkish businessman. He also revealed details of a contract his consulting group, the Flynn Intel Group, engaged in to get information to support a criminal case against a Turkish cleric living in Pennsylvania. The current Turkish president has called for the clerics extradition, a request the US has so far rebuffed. The FBI had been pursuing those and other acts. Congressional committees investigating Flynn said earlier this year he had also been paid more than 37,000 (27,000) by RT, the Russian state-sponsored TV station to attend a Moscow gala in 2015 in which Flynn was seated next to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Value to Mueller Special Counsel Robert Mueller (AP) Flynn is the first former national security adviser to be charged with a felony since the fall-out from the Iran-Contra affair of the mid-1980s. In agreeing to plead guilty, he may provide Mr Muellers investigators with insight into what, if any, effort was made to direct his own conversations with Russian officials and other foreign governments during the transitions. In court papers, Mr Mueller disclosed that a senior member of the Trump transition team instructed Flynn to discuss its response to US sanctions with the Russians. That conversation, and Flynns accounting of it to the FBI, are at the centre of the charges filed on Friday. Court papers show that Flynn has agreed to aid Mr Mueller in whatever capacity he needs, including swearing to affidavits, taking polygraph exams and conducting covert operations. Middle-aged people who are overweight have an increased risk of dementia, a new analysis has found. The research, based on 39 studies across Europe, the United States and Asia, looked at the health of more than 1.3 million adults. It concluded that people who were diagnosed with dementia generally had a higher Body Mass Index (BMI) in midlife, but a lower one in old age. There is a higher risk of dementia with higher BMI (PA) Of the 1,349,857 people who took part in the study, 6,894 were recorded as developing dementia, the research published in the Alzheimers and Dementia Journal said. Body mass index (BMI) is used to determine whether you are a healthy weight or not. But what does it really mean? https://t.co/9C8IQGbmLw pic.twitter.com/fjaRkH9L9F NHS (@NHSuk) November 18, 2017 BMI is a measure taking into account a persons height and weight. A healthy BMI is in the 18.5 to 24.9 range, according to the NHS. Twenty-five to 29.9 means someone is overweight, while 30 or above means someone is obese. The study, which involved researchers from University College London, the University of Edinburgh and the University of Bristol as well as others from institutions in Sweden, France and Finland, said higher BMI was associated with increased dementia risk when weight was measured (more than) 20 years before dementia diagnosis (typically in midlife), but this association was reversed when BMI was assessed (less than) 10 years before dementia diagnosis (typically in old age). Dr Rosa Sancho, from the charity Alzheimers Research UK, said the reason for some sufferers having a lower BMI in the years leading up to their diagnosis could be due to effects of the condition. She said: This large study links a higher BMI with an increased risk of dementia later in life and underlines the importance of maintaining a healthy weight to help support a healthy brain. While the researchers found that people with dementia actually tended to have a lower BMI in the years leading up to a diagnosis this could be a consequence of the early stages of a disease like Alzheimers, rather than a factor affecting risk. We know that diseases that cause dementia get under way in the brain many years before symptoms start to show, so our lifestyle in midlife can have a particularly strong impact on our brain health in later life. While BMI can be a crude measure and not necessarily a good indication of our general health, limiting the amount of body fat we carry is important for a healthy body and a healthy brain. Seventh-tier Hereford earned their place in Mondays FA Cup third-round draw after holding on for a 1-1 draw away to League One Fleetwood. Calvin Dinsley gave the Southern Premier Division side, 89 places below their opponents in the league structure, a stunning start with a volleyed opener on 23 minutes. Devante Cole equalised six minutes later and the home side almost won it in injury time when Ashley Hunters shot struck the base of the post. Devante Cole came to Fleetwoods rescue (Mike Egerton/Empics) Oxford City were denied late on as Jorge Grant scored five minutes into injury time to give Notts County a 3-2 win at Meadow Lane. It was a heartbreaking finish for the National League South side, who had twice fought back from a goal behind and looked set to earn a replay against their League Two hosts. Richard Duffys opener was cancelled out by Rob Sinclair and after Jon Stead put the home side back in front from the penalty spot, Matt Paterson levelled again on 73 minutes before Grants dramatic winner. FULL TIME | Notts County 3-2 Oxford City. Heartbreak for City who were moments away from earning a more than deserved replay. pic.twitter.com/ldjiXSMCy3 Oxford City FC (@OxCityFC) December 2, 2017 National League Maidstone led MK Dons thanks to Magnus Okuonghae but the League One side ran out 4-1 winners with all four goals in the second half, Aidan Nesbitt equalising and Kieran Agard hitting a brace before Peter Pawlett rounded off the win a minute from time. Stuart McCalls Bradford are in the mood for another cup run after a 3-1 win over League One rivals Plymouth. Romain Vincelots header put the 2015 quarter-finalists in front after 38 minutes and Nathaniel Knight-Percival doubled the Bantams advantage after the break. Big performances from all the boys today, but who was your Man of the Match? #SFCvSTFC pic.twitter.com/JU1HHFxQjy Stevenage FC (@StevenageFC) December 2, 2017 Graham Carey pulled one back but a minute later, Charlie Wyke lashed home to seal the Pilgrims fate. Stevenage cruised to a 5-2 win over Swindon despite sacrificing a 2-0 lead in the first half. Alex Samuel and Matthew Goddens goals were cancelled out by Amine Linganzi and Matthew Taylor before Thomas Pett put Stevenage back in front just before half-time. Two goals in five minutes from Danny Newton in the second half proved enough to send Stevenage through. FT: Town 2 @ShrimpsOfficial 0: Goals from Rodman and Whalley in the first half enough to see Town through to the next round of the @EmiratesFACup #salop pic.twitter.com/N9itQRgGhe Shrewsbury Town FC (@shrewsburytown) December 2, 2017 League One promotion hopefuls Shrewsbury also guaranteed their place as Alex Rodmans opener and a Shaun Whalley penalty gave them a 2-0 win over Morecambe. Forest Green and Exeter must go to a replay after a dramatic finish at the New Lawn saw the two sides share a 3-3 draw. Christian Doidges early opener for the hosts was cancelled out by a Jordan Moore-Taylor header and when Jayden Stockley put Exeter in front on 64 minutes there was little sign of the drama to come. What a frantic end! We are all over here and will need a replay at St James Park after three goals in the last six minutes of the game! pic.twitter.com/1Xi6gkpJU6 Forest Green Rovers (@FGRFC_Official) December 2, 2017 Scott Laird equalised on 88 minutes and Forest Green thought they had won it two minutes into injury time when Doidge hammered home but there was still time for Stockley to head home from a Lloyd James corner to grab a draw. Jordan Green headed home in the 89th minute to earn struggling Yeovil a 1-1 draw at Port Vale, who had led through Tom Popes header. And Gillingham and Carlisle must also meet again after Luke ONeills opener for the Gills was cancelled out by Danny Graingers 18th-minute penalty. LA PAZ, Nov 29 (Reuters) - Bolivia's socialist President Evo Morales on Wednesday hailed a decision by the country's highest court to allow him to run for another re-election as "a great surprise for the people, for the revolutionaries, for the anti-imperialists." The opposition said it would march against the ruling announced on Tuesday by the Constitutional Court, which paved the way for Morales to run for a fourth term in 2019. The court decision was final and cannot be appealed. The ruling "guarantees a democratic continuity, but also guarantees stability, dignity and work for the Bolivian people," Morales said during a news conference. Opposition leaders called for several marches to be held on Wednesday, protesting what they say is "the end of democracy" in the land-locked, natural gas-producing country. "It means a coup d'etat, it means trampling the constitution and the most worrying is that Bolivia is approaching the road that Venezuela is on," Samuel Doria Medina, leader of the National Unity party, told Reuters. Bolivia is allied with Venezuela, where leftist President Nicolas Maduro is struggling with a severe economic crisis. Morales, in power since 2006, had previously accepted the results of a 2016 referendum, when 51 percent of voters rejected his proposal to end existing term limits. He later reversed course, saying that while he was willing to leave office, his supporters were pushing for him to stay. In September, Morales' Movement to Socialism (MAS) party asked the court to rescind legal limits barring elected authorities from seeking re-election indefinitely. (Reporting by Daniel Ramos and Monica Machicao, writing by Hugh Bronstein; Editing by Susan Thomas) SOFIA, Dec 1 (Reuters) - Credit ratings agency Standard & Poor's raised its sovereign rating for Bulgaria to BBB-minus from BB-plus on Friday, citing the Balkan country's improving external metrics, expansion of exports and rise in domestic savings. S&P said in a statement that Bulgaria's public financial management has been prudent, in deference to the currency board regime. "We are therefore raising our sovereign credit ratings on Bulgaria to 'BBB-/A-3' from 'BB+/B'," the agency said. S&P lowered the outlook on Bulgarias sovereign credit rating to stable from positive, adding that an upgrade could happen in the next two years if the government's fiscal performance strengthened further beyond expectations. "The stable outlook reflects balanced risks to the ratings on Bulgaria," S&P said. It said it might take a positive action if further reductions in the Bulgarian banking sector's nonperforming loans improved the country's monetary flexibility. Another upgrade trigger could be Bulgarias admission into the European Unions exchange rate mechanism (ERM-2), commonly known as the euros waiting room. S&P said Bulgaria's relatively low income levels, weak institutional settings and adverse demographic profile constrain the ratings. "Another credit weakness, in our view, is the Bulgarian government's and central bank's limited policy flexibility due to the country's fixed exchange rate regime," the agency said. "We recognize, however, that Bulgaria's currency board has been an important anchor of stability for the country." On Thursday Bulgaria's parliament approved a state budget bill that targets a fiscal deficit of 1.0 percent of economic output as it gears to spend more on education and wages. Bulgaria is expected to end this year with a balanced budget. The bill assumed the economy will grow by 4.0 percent in 2017 due to strong domestic demand and exports, with growth edging down to 3.9 percent in every subsequent year through to 2020. Credit ratings agency Fitch on Friday upgraded Bulgaria's long-term foreign- and local-currency issuer default ratings (IDRs) to BBB from BBB-minus. (Reporting by Angel Krasimirov; Editing by Leslie Adler) CARACAS, Dec 1 (Reuters) - Venezuela has arrested Diego Salazar, a relative of former oil czar Rafael Ramirez, as part of an investigation into a money laundering scandal in Andorra, the South American country's state prosecutor said on Friday night. President Nicolas Maduro is overseeing what his administration calls a "crusade" against corruption in the member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). Some 65 oil executives have been detained in a deepening purge that could also see the leftist leader consolidate his grip over the energy sector and sideline rivals. The Salazar case appears to relate to what the United States in 2015 said were some $2 billion in laundered funds from Venezuelan state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A. , known as PDVSA, at the private bank Banca Privada D'Andorra (BPA). Saab did not specify Salazar's role or details on the money laundering, except that it involved around 1.35 billion euros in 2011 and 2012, but he said the case was bound to grow. "I want to highlight that this citizen will likely not be the only one detained and the only one investigated," Saab said in a phone call to state television announcing the arrest. The arrest is bound to cast the spotlight on Ramirez, who was the powerful head of PDVSA and the oil ministry for a decade before Maduro demoted him as a envoy to the United Nations in 2014. A protracted rivalry between Maduro and Ramirez has increased in the recent weeks, sources close to the situation said this week, especially after Ramirez wrote online opinion articles criticizing PDVSA's production slump and the government's handling of Venezuela's crisis-hit economy. Maduro sacked Ramirez, who was thought to have presidential ambitions, from his job this week and summoned him back to Caracas from New York, the people with knowledge of the situation said. Ramirez and PDVSA did not respond to a request for comment on Friday. Salazar could not immediately be reached for comment. (Reporting by Alexandra Ulmer and Deisy Buitrago; Additional reporting by Marianna Parraga; Writing by Alexandra Ulmer; Editing by Richard Chang) By Nick Mulvenney ADELAIDE, Dec 2 (Reuters) - Craig Overton made Australia captain Steve Smith his maiden test victim but England could not drive home their advantage under the Adelaide lights and the hosts finished the first day of day-night Ashes cricket on 209 for four on Saturday. It was the story of the day for the tourists after captain Joe Root had won the toss and sent the Australians in to bat under ashen skies only for his bowlers to fail to make the breakthroughs the decision demanded. Peter Handscomb, who was 36 not out, and Shaun Marsh, unbeaten on 20, batted out the remainder of a tense final session and will resume on day two as Australia look to build on their thumping 10-wicket victory in the opener at the Gabba. "At the end of the day whether you bat or you bowl, you've got to do it well," Australia batsman Usman Khawaja said. "I wouldn't say we're streets ahead but I'd say we're pretty happy with four for 200. It'll all depend on how we bat tomorrow, though." Australia survived the rain-disrupted first session with all 10 wickets intact and openers Cameron Bancroft, run out for 10, and David Warner, caught behind for 47, departed in an extended second. England struck straight after the second break to remove Khawaja for 53, leaving Smith, whose unbeaten 141 was the difference between the sides in Brisbane, to again carry the burden. With what sun there had been long gone and the Adelaide Oval bathed in the bright artificial light, though, Overton found the perfect length with an off-cutter and Smith played on for 40 - his bails flashing red as they flew into the night air. "It was a pretty nice one," said Overton, who came in for Jake Ball in the only change to the England side. ' "He's one of the best players in the world and so good to get that one to start with and, hopefully, I can continue with that tomorrow. "We're pretty happy even though we didn't quite get the rewards we wanted. We'll come back tomorrow with a new ball and hopefully take a couple of early ones and then we'll be right on top." RECORD CROWD The crowd of 55,317 was a record for cricket at the ground, bettering the 50,962 that packed into the ground for the second day of the 1933 "Bodyline" test. Although relations between the sides have not yet approached the lows of that series, there were plenty of words exchanged in the middle and umpire Aleem Dar at one stage felt the need to step between Smith and England's James Anderson. Anderson verbal aggression was reflected in his bowling in the final session when he had Khawaja caught by James Vince at gully but he and fellow pace spearhead Stuart Broad will be disappointed with their earlier contribution. It was Chris Woakes who ended more than 80 overs over the last two tests without a wicket for an England bowler when he lured Warner into a thick edge that Jonny Bairstow swallowed up behind the stumps. The seamer should have had his second wicket before the end of the second session but Mark Stoneman dropped a Khawaja top edge at deep backward square and the left-hander had time to bring up his ninth half century with a crisp four. (Editing by Ed Osmond) ADEN, Dec 2 (Reuters) - Former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh's supporters battled Iran-aligned Houthis for a fourth day on Saturday in the capital Sanaa, residents said, in a widening rift that could affect the course of a more than 2-1/2 year civil war. The two groups have been allies in fighting a Saudi-led coalition that intervened in Yemen's civil war in 2015 aiming to restore the internationally recognised government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi after the Houthis forced him into exile. The clashes underscore the complex situation in Yemen, one of the poorest countries in the Middle East, where a proxy war between the Iran-aligned Houthis and the Saudi-backed Hadi has caused one of the worst humanitarian catastrophes in recent times. Residents described heavy fighting on the streets of Hadda, a residential district in southern Sanaa where many of Saleh's relatives, including his nephew Tareq, live. They said explosions and gunfire were being heard all over the area. The streets were deserted except from fighters from both sides. There was no immediate word on casualties. The fighting resumed after a lull of several hours brought about by mediation efforts that sought to resolve the dispute. Saleh's General People's Congress (GPC) party, accused the Houthis of failing to honour the truce and said in a statement on its website that the Houthis bear responsibility for dragging the country into a civil war. It also called on supporters, including tribal fighters, to "defend themselves, their country, their revolution and their republic..." The GPC appealed to the army and security forces to remain neutral in the conflict. The Houthis' Ansarullah group, in a statement issued on its Twitter account, described the clashes as "regrettable" and said "It is happening in coordination with it," referring to the Saudi-led coalition. The fighting began on Wednesday when Saleh's GPC party accused the Houthis of breaking into the city's main mosque complex and firing RPGs and grenades. Both sides reported that at least 16 people have been killed in the fighting since Wednesday. Yemen's civil war has killed more than 10,000 people since 2015, displaced more than two million people, caused a cholera outbreak infecting nearly one million people and put the country on the brink of famine. (Writing by Sami Aboudi; editing by Jason Neely) BEIRUT, Dec 2 (Reuters) - Israeli missiles struck a military position near Damascus and Syria's air defence system responded on Saturday, destroying two of them, Syrian state television said. "The Israeli enemy launched...several surface-to-surface missiles towards a military position," it said, adding there had been "material losses at the site. An Israeli military spokeswoman had declined to comment on earlier reports of such an attack overnight. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said missiles, probably fired by the Israeli military, struck an arms depot of the Syrian army or its allied forces after midnight. The Britain-based group, which monitors the war through a network of contacts in Syria, said the attack hit near al-Kiswa town south of the capital Damascus, causing loud explosions. The Israeli air force has said it struck arms convoys of the Syrian military and Lebanon's Hezbollah nearly 100 times during more than six years of the Syrian war. Israel has grown deeply alarmed by Iran's expanding clout during the conflict, and has warned it would act against any threat from its regional foe Tehran. Iran has provided critical support to President Bashar al-Assad's military in fighting Syrian rebels and Islamic State militants. Iran-backed Shi'ite militias, including Hezbollah, have helped Damascus regain control of swathes of the country. On a visit to Damascus in October, Iran's military chief warned Israel against breaching Syrian airspace or territory. (Reporting by Ellen Francis and Tom Perry in Beirut, Dan Williams in Jerusalem; Editing by Michael Perry and Alexander Smith) The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine forecasts an 18.6% rise in revenues of the consolidated budget of the country in 2018 (by UAH 181 billion), to UAH 1.155 trillion, Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman said at a government meeting on Friday. "We forecast the increase in the revenues of the national consolidated budget from the work of the national economy to UAH 1.155 trillion in comparison with this year's figure of UAH 974 billion," he said. Groysman added the government also expects growth of exports from Ukraine next year. "We have plans for the growth of national exports - exports of Ukrainian products. As you know, only over the year from the implementation of the Association Agreement with the EU in part of free trade, we already have a 10% increase in Ukrainian exports to Europe. We are in the top ten largest exporters of agricultural products, we are among the top five in many positions ... We need to invest more in development, in particular in our export opportunities. Exports will grow from $50 billion to $55.7 billion," he said. ADEN, Dec 2 (Reuters) - Former Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh said on Saturday he was ready for a "new page" in ties with the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen if it stopped attacks on his country, in a move that could pave the way to end nearly three years of war. The apparent shift in position came as Saleh's supporters battled Houthi fighters for a fourth day in the capital Sanaa, in fighting which the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said has killed dozens of people and prompted calls to protect civilians. The fighting was the most serious since the Houthis and Saleh's General People's Congress (GPC) made common cause against the Saudi-led coalition which joined the Yemen war in 2015 to try to restore the internationally recognised government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi to power. The clashes between Saleh's supporters and the Houthis underscore the complex situation in Yemen, one of the poorest countries in the Middle East, where a proxy war between the Iran-aligned Houthis and the Saudi-backed Hadi has caused one of the worst humanitarian catastrophes in recent times. "I call upon the brothers in neighbouring states and the alliance to stop their aggression, lift the siege, open the airports and allow food aid and the saving of the wounded and we will turn a new page by virtue of our neighbourliness," Saleh said in a televised speech. "We will deal with them in a positive way and what happened to Yemen is enough," he added. Saleh, who was forced to step down by a 2011 mass uprising against his 33 years in office, said Yemen's parliament, which is dominated by the GPC, was the only legitimate power in the country and was ready for talks with the coalition. WELCOME MOVE The Saudi-led coalition welcomed Saleh's change of stance. In a statement carried by the Saudi-owned Al-Hadath channel, the coalition said it was "confident of the will of the leaders and sons" of Saleh's GPC party to return to Arab fold. Hadi, in a statement after a meeting with his advisors, also said he was ready to work with Saleh against the Houthis. "The meeting calls for turning a new page with all the political sides ... and to form a broad national coalition that will lay the foundations for a new era and unify everyone against the coup militia," the statement said. The coalition accuses non-Arab Iran of trying to expand its influence into Arab countries, including Yemen, which shares a long border with Saudi Arabia, by aligning themselves with the Houthis and Saleh. The Houthis accused Saleh of betrayal, and vowed to keep up the fight against the Saudi-led coalition. "It is not strange or surprising that Saleh turns his back on a partnership he never believed in," the group's political bureau said in a statement. "The priority has been and still is to confront the forces of aggression." The Houthi group leader, Abdel-Malek al-Houthi, had earlier appealed to Saleh to avoid any escalation, saying that the crisis would only serve Yemen's enemies. Residents of Sanaa described heavy fighting in Hadda, a southern residential district where many of Saleh's relatives live, early on Saturday, with sounds of explosions and gunfire heard while the streets were deserted. The fighting eased in the afternoon as Saleh supporters gained the upper hand. There was no immediate word on casualties, but ICRC Regional Director Robert Mardini, writing on his Twitter account, said that dozens have been killed and hundreds were wounded in the fighting which began on Wednesday after a dispute erupted over a mosque in the capital. Both sides have reported that each side has lost eight fighters. CONCERN The United Nations envoy to Yemen, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, and the ICRC urged the parties to avoid targeting civilians. Saleh's GPC party accused the Houthis of failing to honour a truce and said in a statement on its website that the Houthis bear responsibility for dragging the country into a civil war. It also called on supporters, including tribal fighters, to "defend themselves, their country, their revolution and their republic..." The GPC appealed to the army and security forces to remain neutral in the conflict. Yemen's war has killed more than 10,000 people since 2015, displaced more than two million people, caused a cholera outbreak infecting nearly one million people and led the country on the brink of famine. (Additional reporting by Omar Fahmy in Cairo, Michelle Nichols in New York and Tom Miles in Geneva,; writing by Sami Aboudi; editing by Jason Neely and Stephen Powell) By Michel Rose and Ahmed Aboulenein PARIS/BAGHDAD, Dec 2 (Reuters) - French President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday called on Iraq to dismantle all militias, including the government-sanctioned, Iran-backed Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF), a rare public call to do so by a major Western leader. Macron's call, which followed a meeting with Iraqi Kurdish leaders in Paris, underscores the tough balancing act Baghdad has to perform between its allies in the war on Islamic State, Iran and Western powers, which do not see eye to eye. "It is essential that there is a gradual demilitarisation, in particular of the Popular Mobilisation that established itself in the last few years in Iraq, and that all militias be gradually dismantled," he told a Paris news conference held with Iraqi Kurdish leaders. Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) authorities accuse the majority Arab Shi'ite PMF of widespread abuses against Kurds in Iraq's ethnically mixed regions. Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi's government denies that the PMF are engaged in a systematic pattern of abuses and has pledged to punish anyone proven guilty of violations. Disarming the PMF is seen as Abadi's most difficult test as his forces edge closer to declaring victory over Islamic State. In Baghdad, Abadi's office released a statement later saying he had spoken to Macron by phone and that the French president had affirmed his country's commitment to a unified Iraq. It made no mention of Macron's call to dismantle the militias. Iraqi Vice President Nuri al-Maliki, a former prime minister who was pressured to leave office by both the U.S. and Iran for failing to stop Islamic State, was more forceful. Macron, he said, was carrying out "unacceptable interference" in Iraq's internal affairs. "These positions from France are absolutely rejected and harm Iraq's sovereignty and its institutions," Maliki said in a statement. Macron's meeting with KRG Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani and his deputy Qubad Talabani was the first high-profile international meeting for the Kurdish leadership after a Sept. 25 independence referendum. U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and British Prime Minister Theresa May have both made trips to Iraq after the referendum but only met officials in Baghdad and made no visits to the KRG capital Erbil. Western powers had encouraged the Kurds not to hold the referendum and instead engage in dialogue with Baghdad. 'CONSTRUCTIVE DIALOGUE' Macron again called for dialogue between the central government in Baghdad and the semi-autonomous KRG within the framework of the Iraqi constitution, saying he was convinced a "constructive dialogue" could lead to lifting Baghdad's restrictions on the Kurdish region. Kurds voted to break away from Iraq in the referendum, defying the government in Baghdad and alarming neighbouring Turkey and Iran who have their own Kurdish minorities. The Iraqi government responded by seizing the Kurdish-held city of Kirkuk and other territory disputed between the Kurds and the central government. Long-serving Kurdish president Masoud Barzani stepped down over the affair and the regional government led by his nephew Nechirvan has tried to negotiate an end to the confrontation. The Kurdish prime minister said on Saturday he saw France playing a role to end the dispute with Baghdad and that his government respected a verdict by the Iraqi Supreme Federal Court ruling the referendum unconstitutional and its results void. "With regards to the referendum, we are in a new era, and this issue is over and we have made our position in the Kurdistan Regional Government clear," Erbil-based broadcaster Rudaw quoted Barzani as saying. Macron called for the long-delayed implementation of Article 140 of the Iraqi constitution to settle the status of territories disputed between Baghdad and the Kurds. Article 140 provided for a referendum to be held by the end of 2007 in the oil region of Kirkuk and other territories claimed by both the KRG and the Iraqi government to determine whether their populations wanted to be part of the Kurdish region or not. No such referendum took place, among the reasons cited by the KRG to unilaterally hold its referendum on independence. (Reporting by Michel Rose in Paris and Ahmed Aboulenein in Baghdad; Writing by Ahmed Aboulenein; Editing by Ros Russell and Richard Balmforth) The funds received from China Merchant Company in connection with the Hambantota Port Project and those received from the Indian company in connection with the Mattala Airport will be credited to a special account thus boosting the country's foreign reserves, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said yesterday. He said this at the opening of the new bus stand and economic centre in Ampara yesterday. "Sri Lanka will receive US$1.1 billion from the China Merchant Co., Ltd under the debt swapping programme while US$300 million will be invested by the Indian company to manage the Mattala international airport on the basis of a joint venture with the Civil Aviation Authority. It will also be possible to earn more by selling some of the half-built hotels. We are hoping to stabilise our foreign reserves in ten years time," the Prime Minister said. "Some are asking us as to what we have been doing during the past two years. The people remember that we inherited a country laden with debt. I told Parliament on Thursday how bonds have been issued without informing the monetary board. However we have managed to stabilize the economy. We have managed to stabilize the economy amid other challenges such as natural disasters." The Prime Minister also underscored the fact that Sri Lanka the cost of living had risen because of the natural disasters that devastated the country recently and said the government would go ahead with its plans to develop Colombo, Hambantota, Kandy and the Hingurakgoda Airport mainly to boost tourism. He said he would visit Bingiriya on Sunday to look for suitable lands to set up industrial zones there and recalled that Ampara was developed with the setting up of the Galoya Development Project and later with the Mahaweli project. (Yohan Perera and Wasantha Chandra Pala in Ampara) President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko has signed the law on ratification of the financial agreement (Ukraine's Higher Education Project) between Ukraine and the European Investment Bank (EIB) on granting a loan of EUR120 million to Kyiv to improve energy efficiency of university buildings. According to the presidential press service, the financial agreement was signed on December 19, 2016 with the aim of attracting up to EUR120 million of EIB loans under state guarantees. The funds will be used to implement energy efficiency measures at university buildings and other investments related to the educational process. The Ukraine's Higher Education project will be implemented on co-financing terms with attracting funds from other sources. Thus, in addition to the funds issued by the EIB, some EUR10 million will be provided from the Eastern Europe Energy Efficiency and Environment Partnership ( E5P). The board of directors of the Nordic Environment Finance Corporation (NEFCO) also decided to issue a loan of EUR30 million, which will be used to implement this project. The project envisages two stages of implementation and aims at improving the learning environment as a whole. It foresees investments in energy efficiency at seven universities in Ukraine. Ukrzaliznytsia launches sale of tickets for trains to EU states on Dec 2 PJSC Ukrzaliznytsia on Saturday, December 2, started the sale of tickets for international trains running to the countries of the European Union. Ukrzaliznytsia wrote on its Facebook page, in pursuance of the resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, the company took measures to establish discounts for the current ceiling tariffs for international traffic and developed the schedule of trains for 2017/2018 taking into account these discounts. Now passengers by Ukrzaliznytsia trains can travel to such cities in Europe: Warsaw, Wroclaw, Przemysl, Bratislava, Prague, Kosice, Bucharest, Suceava, Budapest, and Vienna. "The cost of travel to the EU countries will be calculated taking into account the euro exchange rate on the date of purchase of the ticket," Ukrzaliznytsia reported. Director of the Ukrainian Barometer sociological service Viktor Nebozhenko has noted the low efficiency of the incumbent Verkhovna Rada. "I have been in the Verkhovna Rada since 1989 as an adviser, but not as a deputy. The current composition of the parliament is one of the weakest, and it is a mixture of the market of political conjurers and demagogues with the Party of Regions cache," Nebozhenko said at a press conference at Interfax-Ukraine. "Now the Rada is the place of conservation of the most cruel and cynical people who did not have time to flee or whom the Kremlin sent here. It is also an exchange of corruption services: a people's deputy, coming to work, can solve a particular problem," he added, saying that "this is bad, because, in fact, there is little parliamentary activity." "Whatever they say about the adopted bills, from sociology we also get very bad assessments of the activity of these members. But on the other hand, the country could swing towards the parliamentary republic, because the incumbent head of state discredited the institution of presidency," the expert said. Kostiantyn Matviyenko, the expert of Gardarica Strategic Consulting Corporation, in turn, noted that at the next plenary week people's deputies could consider at second reading the bill on restoring sovereignty in the occupied territories. "An attempt is planned for the next week to adopt the law on the occupied territories at second reading. In principle, if all the proposals of Samopomich and Batkivschyna are taken into account, this could be a step towards ending the war politically and diplomatically," he stressed. Poroshenko announces submission of law on currency to parliament in near future Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko intends in the near future to submit to the Verkhovna Rada a draft law on currency developed by the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU). He announced the corresponding plans during a meeting of businesses with the government in Kyiv on Friday. At the same time, the head of state thanked Acting Head of the NBU Yakiv Smolii for the development of the document by the central bank, indicating that the current currency decree was adopted dozens of years ago. As reported, the NBU on August 10, 2017 posted the draft law on currency on the website for public discussion. The document is intended to become a single legislative act that determines the order of currency regulation and currency supervision in the country. New Delhi: India's second largest IT firm Infosys said on Saturday that it has appointed Salil S Parekh as its CEO and Managing Director. Parekh, who is joining the company from Capgemini, will take over on January 2, 2018, Infosys said in a statement. "He (Parekh) has nearly three decades of global experience in the IT services industry. He has a strong track record of executing business turnarounds and managing very successful acquisitions," said Nandan Nilekani, Chairman of Infosys Board. The board believes that Parekh is the right person to lead Infosys at this transformative time in the industry, he added. Previously, Parekh was associated with Capgemini where he was a member of the Group Executive Board. He has Master of Engineering degrees in Computer Science and Mechanical Engineering from Cornell University, and a Bachelor of Technology degree in Aeronautical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay. U B Pravin Rao will step down as the interim CEO and Managing Director effective January 2, 2018 and will continue as Chief Operating Officer and a whole-time Director of the company, Infosys said. India's $2 trillion economy, with growth dipping to 6.1 per cent in the three months ending March before bottoming out at 5.7 per cent in June. New Delhi: India's economy grew at 6.3 per cent in the second quarter of the financial year, official data showed Thursday, rebounding from a sharp slowdown in the wake of high-profile reforms. Government figures showed Asia's third-largest economy expanded for the first time in five quarters, shaking off the lingering impact of a sudden cash ban and launch of a nationwide tax that had dragged growth to three-year lows. The official figures were slightly below expectations. A Bloomberg survey of economists predicted GDP growth at 6.4 per cent from a three-year low of 5.7 per cent in the previous June-ended quarter. But the upturn will come as a relief for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has been dogged by criticism over two major reforms that stalled India's much-needed economic expansion. In the last 12 months Modi's government withdrew most of India's high-value banknotes from circulation in a snap move known as "demonetisation" and rolled out a national goods and services tax. Both measures sent shockwaves through India's USD 2 trillion economy, with growth dipping to 6.1 per cent in the three months ending March before bottoming out at 5.7 per cent in June. The slump cost India its title as world's fastest-growing major economy but the government defended the pain as necessary to boost tax revenues, crack down on corruption and absorb tens of thousands of new jobseekers into the economy every month. US oil refineries that are unable to sell a dirty fuel waste product at home are exporting vast quantities of it to India instead. New Delhi: US oil refineries that are unable to sell a dirty fuel waste product at home are exporting vast quantities of it to India instead. Petroleum coke, the leftover from refining Canadian tar sands and other heavy crude, is cheaper and burns hotter than coal. But it also contains more planet-warming carbon and far more heart- and lung-damaging sulphur a key reason few US companies use it. Refineries are sending it around the world instead, especially to energy-hungry India, which last year got almost a fourth of the fuel grade petcoke the US ships, an Associated Press investigation found. In 2016, the US sent more than 8 million metric tons of petcoke to India about 20 times more than in 2010, and enough to fill the Empire State Building eight times. The petcoke burned in countless factories and plants is contributing to dangerously filthy air in India. Resident Satye Bir doesnt know why Delhis air is so dirty, but feels fury and resignation. My life is finished....My lungs are finished, said Mr Bir, 63, wheezing and reaching for an inhaler. This is how I survive. Otherwise, I can't breathe. Tests on imported petcoke used near the capital found 17 times more sulphur than the limit for coal, according to India's Environmental Pollution Control Authority. India's own petcoke, produced domestically, adds to the pollution. Industry officials say petcoke has been an important fuel for decades, and its use recycles a waste product. Health and environmental advocates say the US is exporting an environmental problem. The US is the biggest producer and exporter of petcoke in the world. We should not become the dust bin of the rest of the world, said Sunita Narain, a pollution authority member who heads the Center for Science and the Environment. We're choking to death already. Oil refining is a lifeline in America's industrial heartland. In northwest Indiana, a refinery and steel mills dominate the Lake Michigan shoreline, and smokestacks still symbolize opportunity. Workers cheered when the BP Whiting refinery invested $4.2 billion to process crude extracted from Canada's tar sands. Dozens of US refineries built units called cokers to process heavy crude into petroleum products, but huge amounts of petcoke remained. Mumbai: The Go Goa Gone director-duo Raj Nidimoru and Krishna DK are planning a web series and were about to zeroed down on Akshaye Khanna to star in the same. Akshaye had earlier confirmed the development. He said, Raj had come to me with the series and I really loved the idea. Im absolutely open to trying out the space. But there havent been any further discussions on that. But the makers have roped in Manoj Bajpayee to play the lead in the upcoming show. A source close to the development revealed, Akshaye quoted a ridiculous amount, which is why the makers had to drop the idea of casting him. He asked for almost as much as thrice his usual price, which the producers obviously didn't agree to and there were no further discussions with him post that. The makers subsequently approached Manoj Bajpayee who really liked the script and now will debut on a digital platform, with this series.The team wanted an older hero whos known for his acting prowess to do the role. They approached Manoj and he loved the script. He instantly agreed to do it, source added. The other cast members havent been selected yet and the makers are expected to do announcement about the female lead. A source informed that the web series is a racy socio-political thriller titled 'The Family Man'. The first season will have 10 episodes and will go on floors only in 2018. Broadway casting director Justin Huff, who has been involved in 2013 Tony winner Kinky Boots, has been fired from his position at prominent casting agency Telsey + Company over internal reports of sexual misconduct. He was let go last week. I was given reports of inappropriate behaviour which I took very seriously, and once I was able to get some information, it was very clear he had to leave this office, Bernard Telsey, the founder of Telsey + Company, told Variety. Huff did not respond to requests for comment. During his tenure at Telsey, he had a significant role in casting Broadway titles including Kinky Boots, Newsies, The Color Purple, On Your Feet! and Honeymoon in Vegas. Telsey confirmed there was sexual misconduct, but neither he nor other sources have shared the exact nature of the inappropriate behaviour. Spain starts extradition of Onyschenko, he is obliged to monthly appear in court Spain has started the procedure of extradition of the wanted people's deputy of Ukraine, Oleksandr Onyschenko, the Hromadske edition has stated, with reference to the report from the Spanish Embassy, presented at a meeting of the Kyiv Solomiansky District Court by the prosecutors of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office. According to the report, the Spanish court obliged Onyschenko to appear in court every month. "Under the Spanish court ruling, a measure of restraint in the form of conditional release was applied to him. And now on the first day of every month he is obliged to appear in the Spanish court, which considers extradition," Prosecutor Andriy Perov said, noting that if Onyschenko does not appear in court, he could be put on the wanted list in European countries. The Spanish court made the corresponding decision in relation to the Ukrainian parliamentarian on November 13, 2017. At the same time, Onyschenko's defense in court tried to appeal against the letter of the Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine, in which as early as December 2016 the investigators asked Spain for the extradition of the people's deputy. Thiruvananthapuram: Film buffs hoping for an exciting fare will not be disappointed when the 22nd International Film Festival of Kerala opens here on December 8. Movie director Mahamat-Saleh Haroun, who brought Chad to the world and vice versa through his films, is one of the names in the Contemporary filmmaker in focus category of the IFFK. Haroun was appointed minister of culture, art and tourism by Chadian president Idriss Deby earlier this year. But as a young man in the 80s, he and his family had left the central African country, which was torn by civil war, and lived in France for decades, where he also studied film. Even so, his films and documentaries have been mostly set in Chad. His first film Bye Bye Africa made in 1999 is a docu-drama on a fictionalised version of his life. His second, Abouna, won awards, and was the first to be screened in Chad. Daratt, his third, got the Grand Special Jury Prize at Venice International Film Festival, and A Screaming Man won the jury prize at Cannes. His newest film, A Season in France, is the first set in his adopted country. The other contemporary filmmaker in focus this time is Mexican director Michel Franco, who rose to fame with the screening of his film After Lucia at Cannes in 2012 on the bitter experiences of a teenage girl. His newest, Aprils Daughter, is again on a troubled teen girl. Chronic, Daniel and Ana, and Through The Eyes are his other notable works. Lebanese director Ziad Doueiris The Insult is the opening film for the IFFK. The director who made the masterly drama, The Attack, comes back with The Insult exploring the tension between two men belonging to different cultural backgrounds. A small issue gets blown out of proportion when Lebanese Christian Tony and Palestinian refugee Yasser have an exchange of words in todays Beirut. It finally reaches the courtroom where a senior lawyer defends Tony and his daughter, Yasser. But when the case goes out of hand, and gets national attention, Tony and Yasser may just have to reconsider their prejudices. One of Bollywoods ace choreographers, Vaibhavi Merchant will make her Telugu debut. She has been roped in to compose dance moves for Allu Arjuns (Bunny) under-shoot film Naa Peru Surya. Vaibhavi will be choreographing two dance numbers for the action-drama. Her seasoned work over the years has prompted the makers of the Telugu film to give a fresh look to the songs in the Vakkantham Vamsi directorial. Vaibhavi is a top choreographer and has choreographed for several big-budget Bollywood films. She has the ability to elevate the visual appeal of the tracks with her splendid dance moves. Vaibhavi will compose for two tracks in the film. One is a family song based on Krishnashtami and the other number is a love song, says producer Lagadapati Sridhar. Following his morning stroll around Istanbuls medieval Galata tower, Hasan Kale walks into a bulk food market to examine the goods that will make up his next canvas. These are the ones I was looking for, Kale says excitedly, as he scoops up a handful of pumpkin seeds. The 57-year-olds morning routine may not stand out at first glance, but his motive does. At home, once Kale pours his freshly bought pumpkin seeds on his table, the adventure begins. A micro-artist renowned as Turkeys Microangelo, a pun on Italian Renaissance master Michelangelo, Kale paints scenes from Istanbul on miniature objects or even food particles. For him, no object is too small - from fig seeds to bottle caps, lentils to fishbone, Kale finds any object or food big enough to paint a scene from his hometown of Istanbul. Of course the only hindrance here is that you cant hang it on your wall and (look at it) while you sip your coffee. You have to submerge in it, Kale said. Celebrating his 22nd year as a micro-artist, Kale said he has so far painted on 350 different objects, but that one of the biggest challenges of using food as a canvas is that his micropieces may not always last for long. Nowadays, Kale said he was working on opening the worlds first micro objects museum to exhibit his tiny oeuvre. I fight to make them last forever ... I try to take them to the highest level and I want to display them in the worlds first and only museum of micro-objects that I want to open. Victims of sexual assault who experienced no other violence were no more likely to drop out than their peers who were not victims. (Photo: Pixabay) Children who have been victims of violence are more likely to drop out of high school before graduation than their peers, a study has found. Girls who had experienced childhood violence were 24 per cent more likely to drop out, while boys who had experienced violence were 26 per cent more likely to drop out than their peers. One in five people in the US drop out of high school before graduation, which decreases their lifetime earning potential by 20 per cent. Yet there has been little previous research into the link between being a victim of violence before the age of 16 and dropping out of high school. The researchers used data from previous studies to create a sample set of 5,370 females and 3,522 males. The sample was restricted to people born in the US to create a more consistent data set. Within the sample of more than 8,800 respondents, 34 per cent of women and 29 of men reported being the victim of some sort of violence before age 16. Twenty-one per cent of women reported sexual assault as opposed to six per cent of men. "Actually, we were stunned by the magnitude of the violence directed against young women and young men," said William A Darity, professor at Duke University in the US. "Moreover, these assaults are not confined to any social class, racial, or ethnic group," Darity said. "This is authentically an American problem. One of its manifestations is the negative effect on persistence in school for many of the victims," he said. Since most states require compulsory education until age 16, the study focused on the association of dropout with violence experienced between the ages of 1 and 15. Dropout rates for people who experienced any type of violence before age 16 were compared with the rates for people who did not experience violence during the same time frame. The researchers categorised violent experiences into three kinds: child abuse, sexual assault and community violence. Community violence was defined as violence experienced outside the home, such as being mugged or beaten by anyone other than parents. Sexual assault included violence both within the home and in the community. They found significant differences between men and women for the three types of violence experienced. Men suffered more from community violence, 12 per cent versus three per cent for women, while more women experienced sexual assault, at 21 per cent versus six per cent for men. Women who suffered a combination of both sexual assault and child abuse were the most likely to dropout. Among men, the highest dropout rate was highest for those who were victims of both child abuse and community violence. Male and female victims of home violence also left school early at a higher rate than their peers who did not report experiencing violence. Surprisingly, victims of sexual assault who experienced no other violence were no more likely to drop out than their peers who were not victims. This held true among both males and females. The study suggests that policies to reduce violence against children or assist children in coping with violence will have the additional benefit of lowering the national dropout rate. The take-home message for patients is that this practice is safe if done appropriately. (Photo: Pixabay) Most neurosurgery patients are no more likely to die or suffer serious complications when their surgeon is involved in more than one operation at the same time, a recent US study suggests. Researchers focused on whats known as overlapping surgery, when a senior surgeon performs critical components of one operation at the same that a trainee surgeon or physician assistant handles a non-critical part of another procedure. For example, it might mean the assistant closes up an incision on one patient while a senior surgeon begins an operation on another patient. They looked at outcomes for 2,275 patients who had neurosurgery at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta in 2014 and 2015, including 972 people who had overlapping surgeries and 1,303 who didnt. After 90 days, there was no meaningful difference in deaths, complications or patients functional status based on whether or not they had overlapping surgery, the study team reports in JAMA Surgery. The take-home message for patients is that this practice is safe if done appropriately, said co-author Dr. Daniel Barrow of Emory University School of Medicine. Overlapping surgery has been confused with simultaneous surgery, the latter defined as critical portions of two operations occurring at the same time, Barrow said by email. This is not an acceptable practice and has not been demonstrated to be as safe as overlapping surgery has. Patients in the study were 52 years old on average, and most of them were having elective procedures, not emergency operations. Overall, 53 patients died during the study period. Of the remaining 2,222 patients, 15 percent had serious complications and 21 percent had similar or worse functioning than before their operations. In the first 30 days after surgery, 979 patients, or 43 percent, went to the intensive care unit (ICU). About 4 percent of patients had surgical site infections, while 9 percent had repeat hospital admissions and 7 percent had another operation or invasive procedure. Researchers took into account the severity of the condition requiring surgery, other health problems and total length of hospital stay. Patients with the most severe illness, requiring treatment in the ICU, for example, had 25 times the risk of death compared to those who were not in the ICU. But when researchers adjusted for these factors, having overlapping versus non-overlapping surgery had no effect on patient outcomes. Limitations of the study include the focus on a single medical specialty and on patients treated at just one academic medical center, researchers note. Another problem with this study and other research into overlapping surgery is whats known as publication bias, said Dr. Michael Kent, a researcher at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston who wasnt involved in the research. Because overlapping surgery is common, surgeons are unlikely to publish the results of studies that suggest the practice is unsafe, Kent said by email. Its also possible, however, that experienced surgeons would know what type of situations would work with overlapping surgery and which cases are too complex to do this way, Kent said. I would imagine that surgeons would specifically avoid overlapping procedures for complex operations which required the attention of the senior surgeon for the majority of the procedure, Kent said. One aspect of surgery the study didnt address is patient consent. Kent was lead author on a study published in February that found patients wanted to be told exactly what aspects of their operations might be handled by a senior surgeon or by a trainee, or resident, surgeon or an assistant. I think the take-home message is that overlapping surgery can be done safely with excellent outcomes, but that it is important that the practice be described to patients beforehand, Kent said. Police arrest two physical training (PT) instructors of the school after interrogating them. (Representational image) Kolkata: A four-year-old nursery student was allegedly sexually assaulted inside a prominent private school in the city where a similar incident had taken place three years ago, triggering angry protests by guardians following which two teachers were arrested. Joint Commissioner of Police (crime) Vishal Garg said that two physical training (PT) instructors of the school were arrested after interrogating them. The parents of the girl child had lodged a complaint at the Jadavpur Police station, a senior Kolkata Police officer said. The child after returning home on Thursday from her school GD Birla Centre for Education kept on crying and complained of severe pain. Her mother spotted blood stains on her clothes, he said. The girl told her mother that the physical training teacher had taken her to the washroom but could not narrate what happened thereafter. Her parents then took her to a paediatrician, who advised her to be taken to the police, Garg said. The girl was admitted to the state-run SSKM Hospital late Thursday night and tests were performed to confirm the alleged sexual assault on her, hospital sources said. Her condition was now stable and she was released, the sources said, adding that the investigation report has been submitted to the police. Following the incident, parents of the students were staging a dharna in front of the school for around 15 hours demanding immediate suspension of the accused teacher and action against the Principal S Nath for alleged inaction. A police force stood guard outside the school building as the guardians were demonstrating. Meanwhile, the GD Birla Centre for Education said in a statement to the media that the school's management was extending full cooperation with the police in their investigations and will continue to do so. "The school management will take necessary and proper action after the investigations are over," the statement said. Narrating the sequence of events, it said, "The principal had received a call around 10:45 pm on Thursday from the officer-in-charge of Jadavpur Police Station inquiring about the whereabouts of a particular teacher. "When she enquired about the background for seeking such information, she was informed that the parents of a Lower Infant student of the school had lodged a molestation complaint," it said. The school tried to call the guardian of the victim but the phone was switched off, the statement claimed. It was found that the girl had left the school with her mother at 4 pm on the day after school hours and the school has started further internal enquiry, it said. The statement said representatives of the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education have also been apprised of the matter. West Bengal Education Minister Partha Chatterjee said he is looking into the incident with "utmost seriousness". "I have no words to condemn the incident. Strongest punishment should be given to those responsible for the incident," he said. Chatterjee said that he had heard that such an incident had also taken place in that school three years ago and the school authorities should ensure security of the students. Women and Child Development and Social Welfare Minister Sasi Panja said the child welfare committee has been asked to visit the school and the hospital where the girl was admitted. "I just cannot think of what has happened in that school. The authorities of the school had assured three years ago that they will ensure safety in the school premises," she said. West Bengal Commission for the Protection of Child Rights, Chairperson, Ananya Chakraborty said, "I have asked the school authorities why CCTVs were not installed there in the last three years, but they have no answer." "They said it will be done this month. I am not satisfied with their answer," she said. In 127 cases, the accused turned out to be close family members and in 155 cases they were related. HYDERABAD: Its a shocking revelation: Telangana tops the country when it comes to sexual assaults on senior citizens (those aged above 60 years). The NCRB data for 2016 reveals that 16 women senior citizens were raped in the state. Kerala recorded eight cases, while Karnataka seven. There were 1,278 cases of offences of various kinds against senior citizens and in 1,254 cases, the victims knew the accused. In 127 cases, the accused turned out to be close family members and in 155 cases they were related. In 255 cases, neighbours were accused. The state also has the second highest number of cases registered 60 of employers sexually assaulting their employees. Amravati: The Andhra Pradesh Assembly on Saturday unanimously passed the Kapu reservation bill to give 5 per cent reservation to the Kapu community in education institutions and government jobs. The state cabinet had given a nod in this regard on Friday based on the report submitted by the Manjunath Commission. The state cabinet has decided to include the Balija, Ontari and Telaga communities in the Backward Castes (BCs) and provide them 5 per cent reservation in education, employment and welfare schemes. The state government will now send the bill to the Centre as the move to grant 5 per cent quota to Kapus exceeds the 50 per cent reservation limit mandated by the Supreme Court, said Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu. The Bill will be first sent to the governor and then to the Union Home Ministry. As 5 per cent of reservation to Kapus makes total reservation exceed 50%, central govt nod is compulsory. We will send this bill to the centre. We ask them to include this reservation in schedule 9, so that it will become legitimate, said Naidu. Naidu told the Assembly that the Kapu community said it does not need political reservation. They just demanded quota in education and employment sectors. Three of the four members BC commission headed by Justice KL Manjunatha gave their report to the chief minister on Friday. While M Purnachandra Rao, S Satyanarayana and V Subrahmanyam gave their reports in favour of the Kapus, Manjunath did not give his report. They were said to be unanimously favoured giving 4-5 per cent reservation to the Kapus. Andhra Pradesh has 29 per cent reservation for Backward Castes (BCs), 15 percent for Scheduled Castes (SCs) and 6 per cent for the Scheduled Tribes (STs). Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati on Saturday alleged the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) tampered with the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) in the Uttar Pradesh civil body polls. (Photo: PTI/File) Lucknow: Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati on Saturday alleged the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) tampered with the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) in the Uttar Pradesh civil body polls. "The BJP has tampered with the EVMs in the assembly elections of 2017, as they did back in 2014. Even in these civil body elections, they tampered the electoral process, otherwise our mayors would have won. Overall they were unable to make us lose, as the BSP came second in position," Mayawati, who visited here to pay a tribute to Buddhist monk Pragyaji, said. Mayawati further said it was not just the Dalits, but other communities like the Backward Classses and the Muslims also supported them in the polls. "We are taking with us people from all communities because BSP believes in 'Sarvjan hitae, Sarvjan Sukhaye' (everybody's interest and everybody's happiness). When we won in Uttar Pradesh, we ran our government on this slogan. What is good for us is that along with Dalits, the upper class, and the Backward Classes and the minority sections," she added. She further challenged the BJP to remove the EVMs and start using ballot papers. "If the BJP is honest and believes in democracy then they should discard the EVMs and conduct voting on ballot papers. The general elections are due in 2019. If the BJP believes people are with them, they must implement it. I can guarantee if ballot papers are used, the BJP won't come to power," Mayawati said. The BJP secured a massive victory in the civic polls in Uttar Pradesh on Friday. The BSP won the mayoral posts in Aligarh and Meerut. Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party failed to win a single mayoral seat. Hyderabad: The Hyderabad High Court has asked the Telangana state government to consider the case of meritorious students while fixing the seats ratio in private medical colleges. A division bench comprising Justice V. Ramasubramanian and Justice M. Ganga Rao, while passing the final order on a petition by Mr Basheeruddin Siddiqui and 13 others, felt that decreasing the convener quota and increasing the management and NRI quota seats would hamper meritorious but poor students from the minority community. They would stand to lose irreparably and would never be able to acquire a professional medical education, the bench said. As the seat sharing was based on the agreement entered into each year between the state government and private medical colleges, the court directed the government not to enter into agreements to the disadvantage of meritorious poor students. The petitioners challenged GO Ms No. 115, 117 and 119 issued in July 2017 through which Category A seats were reduced to 50 per cent and seats in B and C categories enhanced to 35 per cent and and 15 per cent respectively. Ms B. Rachna Reddy, counsel appearing for the petitioners, said that as per the GO 130 issued in 2016, the A category were 60 per cent, B and C categories 25 and 15 per cent respectively. She submitted that due to increase of management quota and reducing seats in Category A the minority students with good NEET ranks would be forced to opt for category B seats if the college said that category A seats are filled. The bench in August this year had stayed GOs 115 and 117 and directed the government to make admissions into unaided minority professional medical and dental Institutions for 2017-2018, in accordance with GO MS No. 130 in the ratio of 60:40. The bench made it clear that all admissions pursuant to the interim order suspending the reduction of A category seats will continue and students shall finish their education. Firm fails to get tax relief The Hyderabad High Court has refused relief to Progressive Constructions Ltd and directed the commercial tax department not to take coercive measures against the firm for recovery of tax of `12.60 crore. The company had moved two petitions challenging the assessment order passed by the commercial tax department in 2008 and a subsequent notice for public auction of its property of 2,050 square yards situated at Khairatabad for the recovery of the tax amount. It had also issued notices to banks to recover the money from the company accounts. The company moved another petition seeking to review an earlier order that refused to direct the commercial tax department to assess tax afresh for 2008. The company contended that the assistant commissioner had passes the assessment order without jurisdiction. A division bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Ramesh Ranganathan and Justice M. Satyanarayana Murthy while dismissing the petitions observed that the limitation for challenging an assessment order is four years, and the company had challenged it after six years. The bench said, The High Court does not ordinarily permit a belated resort to the extraordinary remedy under the writ jurisdiction because it is likely to cause confusion and public inconvenience and bring in its train new injustices. It said, Where there is inordinate and unexplai-ned delay, and third party rights are created in the intervening period, the court would decline to interfere, even if the action complained of is unconstitutional or illegal. During conversation with Tamil Nadu Chief Minister E Palanisamy, Prime Minister Narendra Modi assured to immediately give the required assistance. (Photo: PTI) Chennai: The Tamil Nadu government has said it will soon seek central funds for the damage caused by Cyclone Ockhi in the southern parts of the state, with Kanyakumari and Tirunelveli districts being the worst hit. This was conveyed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi by Chief Minister E Palanisamy during a telephone conversation between the two leaders Friday night, a state government release said. "The prime minister assured to immediately give the required assistance," said the release issued Friday night. Modi dialled Palanisamy and enquired about the damage caused by the cyclone, which also battered parts of Kerala, it said. The chief minister apprised him of the various relief works going on in "full swing" in seven districts of the state and told Modi that Kanyakumari and Tirunelveli were the worst affected. He listed out various steps being taken, besides deputing senior ministers and IAS officials to oversee the relief work, the release added. Efforts were being undertaken on a "war footing" while power supply was being restored. The Coast Guard's help was being used to rescue 30 fishermen stranded in the sea even as 76 of them had been already rescued, Palanisamy said. The state will send a report to the Centre seeking funds after carrying out a detailed assessment of the damage caused by the cyclone, which has crippled life in Kanyakumari district, he told the Prime Minister. Cyclone Ockhi, which in Bengali means 'eye', had Friday intensified into a severe cyclonic storm and moved to the Arabian Sea. The state government yesterday said that over 1,200 people affected by the cyclone in Kanniyakumari and Tirunelveli districts have been lodged in relief camps. The hospital wrapped the two bodies in two separate paper bags and handed over the same to the family in a polythene bag. The parents noticed movement in one bag. (Representational image) New Delhi: In a case of alleged medical negligence, one of the newly born twins, who was declared dead by an upscale private hospital in Delhi, was later found to be alive when the parents were on their way to perform the last rites. The incident is of Max Hospital in Shalimar Bagh where a woman gave birth to pre-mature twins (a boy and a girl) on Thursday evening. While the girl was stillborn, the baby boy was declared dead later. The hospital wrapped the two bodies in two separate paper bags and handed over the same to the family in a polythene bag. While the family was on its way to perform the last rites, they felt some movement and squirming coming from inside the bag. To their utter shock, one of the babies, which was declared dead, was found alive. We were near Madhuban Chowk when we felt some movement in the bag. Upon finding it alive, we took the baby to a hospital in Pitampura where he is being currently treated, said the babys maternal grandfather, Praveen Malik. It is very unfortunate. I have directed the Delhi government to look into the matter and take necessary action, Union health minister JP Nadda told reporters. The Delhi government has ordered a probe into the incident and sought a preliminary report within three days. Delhi health minister Satyendar Jain has ordered an inquiry by the health department. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal too said that strong action would be taken against the hospital, if found guilty. The family of the twins said that the doctors in Max Hospital, before declaring the baby dead, had said that his condition was serious and that he needed to be admitted in the nursery for several weeks, which would cost them around Rs 50 lakh. The baby was declared dead while the family was debating about admitting the baby at the huge cost. Meanwhile, Delhi police said that it has received a complaint from the parents of the child and it will carry an inquiry and submit the findings to the Delhi Medical Council and the MCI. The hospital, in a statement, has said that it is shaken and concerned at this rare incident and it too has initiated an enquiry. Barack Obama, who had chosen Akkai Padmashali from the audience to ask a question, said that a change requires steady education of the public. (Photo: Screenshots) New Delhi: Finding your voice and being able to tell the stories are how any marginalised or stigmatised community can face the challenges of the society, former US president Barack Obama said Friday in response to a question from a transgender in Delhi. This was among a slew of questions that Obama was asked at a Town Hall here attended by about 250 change-makers from across the country. Akkai Padmashali, a transgender activist, had posed the question on the suffering and rejection faced by the community. Obama, who had chosen Padmashali from the audience to ask a question, said that a change requires steady education of the public and political strategy and that it is going to take time. "But, it (the change) begins with finding your voice and to be able to articulate your views and your experiences, to tell your story, and that is true for any group, marginalised, stigmatised," he said. Obama said finding the voice and being able to tell that story leads to breaking down of perceptions that "you are different". Because then the people start to "recognise their own experiences in you", he said. Padmashali's question was, "Mr President. I am a transgender woman. I was a sex worker, I was a beggar. I was rejected by all sections of the society... I have so many issues to bring before you as a social activist. "When state terror is against minorities be it transgender, sexual minority, class, caste, religious, race minority when you have been stigmatised, when you've been discriminated, for no reason of yours, and patriarchal power and domination are against you I want to take my strong objection to it," the transgender said. Padmashali, who came from Bengaluru to attend the event hosted by the Obama Foundation, said across the world, transgender people were "facing rejection", even as "we are seeking love, affection and acceptance. How do I deal with that?" The 44th US president, who held office between 2009 and 2017, also said, "Once the voice is there, hopefully others join you, and then you have networks and organisations and allies. Of these 137 candidates, 78 candidates were facing serious criminal cases such as murder, attempt to murder, kidnapping and rape. (Photo: PTI/Representational) Ahmedabad: An analysis of the affidavits of 923 candidates, out of the total 977 in fray for the first phase of Gujarat Assembly polls, showed that 137 candidates, accounting for around 15 per cent, were facing criminal cases, including serious charges such as murder, kidnapping and rape, according to two NGOs. The analysis has been carried out by the NGOs Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and Gujarat Election Watch. It also showed that 78 of the 137 nominees are facing serious criminal cases. A party-wise analysis found that 10 out of 89 BJP candidates were facing serious criminal charges, while the Congress gave tickets to as many as 20 such candidates for the first phase of the polls, the report of the NGOs said Friday. These main political rivals were followed by eight candidates from the BSP, three from the NCP and one from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), it said. "Though 977 candidates are in the fray for the 89 Assembly seats going to polls in the first phase on December 9, affidavits of 54 candidates could not be analysed as they were either badly scanned or incomplete," Pankti Jog of Gujarat Election Watch told reporters in Ahmedabad. The analysis said that 137 candidates, out of 923 (15 per cent), have declared criminal cases against them. Of these 137 candidates, 78 candidates (eight per cent) were facing serious criminal cases such as murder, attempt to murder, kidnapping and rape. It also said that eight candidates were facing attempt to murder charge while three had been accused of kidnapping. One was facing rape charge, Jagdeep Chhokar of the ADR said. Mahesh Vasava, son of former JD(U) MLA, Chhotu Vasava, has topped the chart with 24 cases against him, including two of murder and one of attempt to murder, the report said, adding that he was also facing charges related to dacoity, robbery, rioting, assault, theft and kidnapping, the report said. Vasava is fighting from Dediapada (ST) seat of Narmada district under the banner of the Bharatiya Tribal Party, floated by his father after a split within the JD(U) recently. He is followed by BJP candidate for Wankaner seat in Morbi district, Jitendra Somani, who is facing 13 criminal cases, including one related to attempt to murder. Congress candidate from Talala seat in Gir Somnath district, Bhagwan Barad, is facing four criminal cases, including that of dacoity, theft and assault, it said. The analysis also carved out 21 'Red Alert Constituencies', where three or more candidates with criminal cases are contesting the polls. The first phase of the two-stage Assembly polls will be held on December 9 and the second phase on December 14. The counting of votes is scheduled on December 18. 198 'crorepati' candidates in fray for 1st phase of Guj polls The richest candidate contesting in the first phase of the Gujarat Assembly elections comes from the Congress, with assets of Rs 141 crore, followed by two from the BJP, the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) said in a report on Friday. With movable assets worth over Rs 20 crore and immovable assets of above Rs 121 crore, Rajguru Indranilbhai Sanjaybhai, contending from the Rajkot West seat, was reported as the richest candidate in the fray by the not-for-profit election data body. Saurabh Yashvantbhai Dalal Patel, contesting from Botad, and Dhanjibhai Patel from Wadhwan -- both from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) -- stood second and third wealthwise with assets worth Rs 123 crore and Rs 113 crore, respectively. Of the 923 candidates in the fray in phase one, 198 or 21 per cent candidates declared themselves millionaires. The BJP has fielded the most millionaires (85 per cent) at 76 out of the 89 candidates, while the number stands at 60 out of 86 (70 per cent) for the Congress. Two independent candidates -- Unadkat Prakashbhai Vallabhdas and Chauhan Rafik Husen -- have declared "zero assets" in their affidavits. Out of the 923 candidates analysed (across parties), 137 (15 per cent) candidates have declared criminal cases against themselves. Twenty candidates contending from the Congress have "serious criminal cases" murder, attempt to murder, kidnapping, crimes against women, etc. against them, while the BJP has 10 such. The assembly elections will be held in two phases, with the first phase on December 9 and the second on December 14. Hyderabad: While the state government is celebrating the success of the eighth edition of Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES), which was hosted in Hyderabad, Indian start-ups do not expect to see concrete results immediately. According to the government, the aim of the Summit was to nurture innovation and entrepreneurship, and participants will reap rich dividends in the future. Though the GES has not produced any tangible results yet, it has added momentum to entrepreneurial activity in the country. Ms Ajaita Shah, a native of Rajasthan and the winner of the start-up pitching competition, said, The GES was only about momentum. I hope that a year from now, when you ask me about the impact of the Summit, I will be able to tell you that we have scaled and reached all parts of the country. Ms Shah runs frontier markets to empower rural women. After having seen the founders of several start-ups reach out to established panellists and speakers seeking guidance, she is optimistic that the Summit will have a positive impact in the long run. According to the government, over 40,000 contacts were exchanged during the three days of the summit. Many entrepreneurs have established connections that would otherwise have been impossible. Ms V. Aruna, the founder of a Hyderabad-based online jewellery store, says, I have been running my business for ten years, and I needed to take it to next level. Through the GES, I got a connection to Walmart. I want to export jewellery to the USA. Lets see how this goes forward, but at least I have a connection now. Several entrepreneurs decided to make the most of the opportunity and asked some renowned panellists to pose with and endorse their products. Ms Teresa Nelson Carpenter of Reel Muzik Weks LLC, the company that has produced music for movies such as Guardians of the Galaxy and The Conjuring 2, says that she doesnt mind endorsing start-ups. There are entrepreneurs who can use me to propel their own brands. I love to support women in business and if they want me to endorse their products, I will, she said. Panellists at the GES and NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant said that while other countries were trying to build products for future, Indian start-ups were trying to solve existing problems. In such a scenario, investments and partnerships are more important than expansion plans. According to IT minister K.T. Rama Rao, the GES has created excitement and aspirations among entrepreneurs. The protracted dream of turning Hyderabad into the next Silicon Valley will be propelled by the persistent impact of the Summit. DHARMAPURI: J. Deepa, niece of former Chief Minister, J. Jayalalithaa, told reporters here on Friday that she would initiate legal action against Amrutha if she continued claiming as the 'secret daughter' of her aunt. Deepa while here in Dharmapuri said, "I suspect Sasikala family's role in Amrutha's efforts to blot the image of my aunt (Jayalalithaa)" Ms. Jayalaithaa's niece ad-ded, "she (Amrutha) should stop making such derogatory statements or else a legal case will be filed against her in the interest of saving Jayalalithaas image." Ms Deepa, slamming the election commission of India (ECI) said, that she would challenge the ECI's ruling in the Supreme Court for allotting the 'Two Leaves' symbol to the Edappadi K. Palaniswami-O. Pannerselvam group. She also expressed apprehension over whether the ECI will conduct the bypolls for RK Nagar Assembly constituency in a fair manner. Ms. Deepa also expressed her unhappiness at the Edappadi Palaniswami government acting at the behest of the Central government. KANYAKUMARI: The death toll from the heavy rains and floods in Kanyakumari district rose to seven on Friday, as three more were reportedly crushed to death by falling trees. Four persons including a 60-year-old woman were killed in Kanyakumari district that was ravaged by torrential rain accompanied by squally winds, uprooting scores trees and throwing life out of gear on Thursday. Three more on Friday died in the district to the rain effect, official sources said. The dead included 27-year- old Vimal of tribal village, Paraliyaru near Keeriparai in the district, who reportedly died as a tree uprooted by the gale fell on him. Two more persons, Thiyagaran (67) of Vadaseri, Nagercoil and Rathinasamy (65) too were said to have been crushed to death by falling trees. Fishermens representatives complained that around 300 fishermen who ventured into fishing in 30 boats from Thengaipattinam fishing harbour did not return. However, the Fisheries department officials said that only 15, went for fishing from various parts of the district were found missing. Reacting to the problem of missing fishermen, the State Revenue minister, R.B. Udayakumar said that of the 57 fishermen complained to have not returned on Thursday, 42 had been rescued and search operations have been intensified to rescue the remaining 15 fishermen who were still missing. The minister added that three patrolling vessels of the Indian coast guard have been pressed into action in the rescue operations to find the missing fishermen. Colachel Marine police have registered three complaints preferred by the relatives of 10 fishermen, whose whereabouts are not known. Fisheries department officials, however, said that they have been receiving information that some of the Kanyakumari district fishermen landed safe at the coastal hamlets near Kollam and Kochi in Kerala. We are yet to get the exact number of fishermen who landed safely on the Kerala coast, said an officer. Around 30 country-craft boats in the district tossed by the high tides were damaged and around ten boats were reportedly washed away into the sea creating heavy losses to the fishermen. Even the national highway in Kanyakumari district was not spared by the flood, as traffic in one of the countrys longest highway--NH 7, was suspended since Friday morning as the road got severely damaged by the flow of the flood waters. As a result, road connectivity between Nagercoil and Tirunelveli got cut off. National highways authority of India officials, however, said that works are on in warfooting to restore traffic in the sector. Ivanka Trump visited India to attend the Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES), and had dinner with the international delegates on the 101 dining table, one of the world's largest dining tables, at the Taj Falaknuma Palace. (Photo: Twitter | @USAmbIndia) Hyderabad: The Telangana Police has refuted reports of an alleged security breach, reported in the media, during United States President Donald Trump's daughter and advisor Ivanka's visit to Hyderabad. The above-mentioned security breach was related to a few important details, not meant for public viewing, but telecast from the Taj Falaknuma Palace during Ivanka's visit. "The visuals from the video wall were shot by a few TV channels from the Command and Control Centre and were later telecast as part of disseminating information to public in normal course as a part of a usual practice," said Director General of Police (DGP) M Mahendar Reddy clarified. He further said no live streaming of TV Footage and CCTV Footage from Command and Control Centre had taken place. "Once noticed, the TV channels were advised to remove the content which they did immediately," DGP Reddy added. He also said a new Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) was being put in place on sharing the visuals from the Command and Control Centre so as to ensure that only permitted visuals were shared on a "need to share basis now onwards." The clarification added, "It is made clear that no action shall be taken against any TV channels as being rumoured on the social media. In fact, the Telangana Police have exhibited immaculate professionalism and competence in providing the highest standards of safety and security to the GES/Metro Rail Launching, including all VVIP/VIP visits to the full satisfaction of all concerned." Ivanka Trump visited India to attend the Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES), and had dinner with the international delegates on the 101 dining table, one of the world's largest dining tables, at the Taj Falaknuma Palace. The Election Commission of India (EC) told the Delhi High Court on Friday that the 'hat' symbol was free and the Returning Officer (RO) will decide to whom it could be allotted after the filing of nominations for the byelections to the R K Nagar assembly segment. New Delhi: The Election Commission of India (EC) told the Delhi High Court on Friday that the 'hat' symbol was free and the Returning Officer (RO) will decide to whom it could be allotted after the filing of nominations for the byelections to the R K Nagar assembly segment. The poll panel submitted before Justice S P Garg that the RO will take a decision by December 7 after the nominations are received. The submission by the EC's lawyer came in response to the court's query whether the Sasikala-TTV Dhinakaran group of AIADMK can use the 'hat' symbol for filing nominations. The court had asked the question in the pre-lunch hearing of the pleas moved by Sasikala and Dhinakaran challenging the EC's order allotting the 'two-leaves' symbol to the AIADMK faction of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister E K Palaniswami and O Panneerselvam. The lawyers, appearing for Sasikala and Dhinakaran, said the poll panel had in its order cancelled the allotment of the 'hat' symbol to it and hence the RO will reject the nomination of their candidate. They urged that the RO should be directed to take a decision on the morning of December 4, the last date for filing nominations, as December 7 will be too late. The court, however, directed that the petitions be listed before the bench or judge, who is to hear such matters according to the roster. The matter was listed before Justice Garg as Justice Indermeet Kaur, who according to the roster was supposed to hear the matter, was not available today. The hat symbol was given to the Sasikala-Dhinakaran group by the EC in March this year when it had frozen the use of the 'two-leaves' symbol to which the group led by Palaniswami and Panneerselvam had also laid claim. The Palaniswami-Panneerselvam faction had at the same time been granted the electric pole symbol. However, on November 23 the poll panel ruled in favour of Palaniswami-Panneerselvam faction by allotting the 'two- leaves' symbol to them for the upcoming by-poll which is to be held on December 21. Sasikala and Dhinakaran have in their pleas sought quashing of the November 23 order of the EC, alleging that it was bad in law and needed to be set aside. The issue has been lingering since April in the aftermath of the announcement of by-poll to Radha Krishnan Nagar Assembly constituency here following the death of AIADMK supremo J Jayalalithaa in December last year. Sasikala and Dhinakaran's pleas had sought directions for initiating appropriate proceedings against Madhusudhanan, AIADMK's candidate for the R K Nagar bypoll, Palaniswami, Panneerselvam and MLA Semmalai for their acts. They have also sought to call for records and files relating to the dispute over the symbol. The decision making process of the ECI is contrary to the settled legal principles. The EC has treated fabricated and untested material as genuine which has resulted in the hearing being unfair and consequently contrary to the principle of natural justice and therefore the proceedings and the order are void, the pleas have alleged. The order of the Commission came as a setback to deposed party leader Sasikala, who is currently serving a four-year sentence in a Bengaluru jail in a disproportionate assets case, and her nephew Dhinakaran. An Indian fisherman who was stranded in the Arabian Sea is escorted down from an Indian Navy helicopter after being rescued in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala (Photo: AP) Nagercoil|Chennai: Even as the warships of Indian Navy are combing the choppy seas down south for bodies and signs of struggling survivors of Cyclone Ochki that wreaked havoc in the region, the wailing families in Kanyakumaris coastal villages claimed that over 1,000 of their kin were still missing at sea and complained bitterly that the state administration did little or nothing to help. We have been getting help from the Kerala government, said an elder leader in a hamlet close to Colachel. At another nearby hamlet Chinnathurai, several hundred families sat out in the streets through Saturday, some shouting slogans and most others quietly sobbing. They went home late evening after fisheries minister D. Jayakumar, who rushed to the battered Kanyakumari for firsthand information, promised to step up help. We had agitation in Chinnathurai hamlet from morning to evening, where 18 fishermen are reported as missing at sea. More than 100 have gone missing in nearby villages and more than 1000 in this Kanyakumari district. Yet our government does not seem to worry and Minister Jayakumar says only 737 are missing, said Fr Churchil, general secretary, South Asian Fishermen Fraternity, who has been handling the humanitarian efforts for helping the fishers. Twenty-seven-year-old Sahaya Nandini is among the wailing women gathered at the Colachel demonstration. With her youngest child in arms and two little kids hugging her in confusion, she sobbed, My husband Justin Babu fell off the boat barely 16 miles from the coast and was gone. His boat of 14 men had struggled for more than five hours in the rough sea and despite sending out distress signals on wireless, no help came. Finally, a boat from Kerala government spotted the boat and rescued the 13 men. Fr Churchil said the weather department sounded the cyclone alarm only on November 29 evening but by then, thousands of fishermen of Kanyakumari district were already out at sea in hundreds of mechanized boats. Our fishermen set out for deep sea fishing lasting 10-30 days and they need weather alerts in proper time, whereas our weather department only gives us a days notice, even less, said the activist priest. He said at least 25 fishermen die at sea every year for want of advance weather alerts. Also, the vessels and the fishermen are not insured because the insurance companies make the premiums most burdensome arguing we are in high risk vocation. Besides, the banks do not offer credit for the boats forcing the fishermen to turn to private lenders. Apart from whatever the immediate relief that the government would now provide, there should be long term plans to help the fishermen, said Fr Churchil. Our fishermen earn huge foreign exchange for the government, which does not invest a paisa on them. Instead they collect road tax and green tax on the diesel for the boats. Are there roads and streetlights in the sea and do our vessels pollute the green environment out there? Vijayawada: Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Saturday told the Assembly on the last day of the Winter Session that the government would recommend to the Centre that Kapu reservations be placed under Schedule 9 of the Constitution. He said Backward Class communities need not have any suspicions or doubts over the safety of their reservations. He said the BCs were the backbone of the Telugu Desam since its inception and that the government wouldnt harm the interests of the community under any circumstance. Mr Naidus justification for awarding 5 per cent reservations to Kapus and their sub sects in education and employment appeared to have convinced legislators belonging to the non-Kapu communities. c We will urge them to include Kapu reservations under 9th Schedule , said Mr Naidu. The Chief Minister stated that the government was committed to bridging the gaps between various communities, castes, as there was injustice done to them for long on the social and economical fronts. Deputy Chief Minister (Revenue) KE Krishnamurthy appealed to the BCs stating that there was nothing to worry over Kapu reservations, as it would not affect the BC quota. Earlier minister K. Atchannaidu introduced the Bill in the House and MLAs Kimidi Mrinalini, Dr Appala Naidu, Bonda Uma Maheawara Rao, Jyotula Nehru, Gollapalli Surya Rao, Bandaru Satyanarayana Murthy and BJP Floor leader P. Vishnu Kumar Raju spoke on the Bill, hailing the government, decision to meet the long-pending demand of the Kapus and their sub-sects. Mr. Bandaru Satyanarayna Murthy criticised the move of Telangana state TD MLA and BC leader R. Krishnaiah, without naming him directly, for his observations on Kapu reservations in AP. :Why should he intervene in an AP subject? He is from Telangana state, Mr Satyanarayana said. Mr Vishnu Kumar Raju suggested to the government to address the reservation issues related to Rajakas, which was also mentioned in the TDs 2014 manifesto. An Indian fisherman who was rescued from the Arabian Sea is rushed to a hospital in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. (Photo:AP) Chennai: A low-pressure system over the South Andaman Sea is gradually turning into a depression over the Bay of Bengal and is very likely to bring more rains to Tamil Nadu. Under the influence of a new system, Tamil Nadu may experience more rains in the next 24 hours. With Cyclone Ockhi weakening and a low pressure being formed, northern and coastal parts of Tamil Nadu including Thiruvanmalai, Villipuram and Cuddalore belt will get heavy rains. Western districts of Theni, Dindigul, Coimbatore and Nilgiris are also to witness heavy rainfall, the Regional Meteorological Center said on Saturday. The depression is very likely to intensify further and move towards north Tamil Nadu and south Andhra Pradesh coasts during the next 3-4 days, said a RMC bulletin. Heavy rains continued in several parts of the state on Saturday affecting normal life, while Kanyakumari, Tirunelveli and Thoothukudi are slowly returning to normalcy after having been ravaged by Cyclone Ockhi on Thursday and Friday. "The well-marked low-pressure area over the south Andaman Sea and adjoining Strait of Malacca is very likely to become a depression over southeast Bay of Bengal and neighbourhood during the next 36 hours. Heavy rainfall can be expected in coastal regions of Tamil Nadu. While Sathanur in Tiruvannamalai district recorded the highest rainfall of 23 cm ending till 8.30 am on Saturday, Coonoor and Cuddalore recorded 12.7 cm and 12.3 cm rain respectively", S Balachandran, Director, Regional Meteorological Centre, said. Power supply was restored in Kanyakumari while the authorities are making efforts to restore power supply in neighbouring areas of Nagercoil and Kuzhithurai, which is likely to be restored by Sunday. Train services were also affected leading to the cancellation of Mumbai CSTM-Kanniyakumari Express, while five of them were partially cancelled and one remained rescheduled. Chennai and neighbouring districts are expected to get one or two spells of light to moderate rains. Maximum and minimum temperatures are likely to be around 31 degree Celsius and 25 C respectively, RMC said on Saturday. Over 100 fishermen still missing at sea More than 100 fishermen from different parts of Tamil Nadu were reported to be missing from Kanyakumari and Tirunelveli and according to the reports reaching the state disaster management centre here in Chennai. As many as 76 fishermen were rescued on Friday and another 97 fishermen were found safe on Saturday. "The rescued fishermen have been admitted to different government hospitals in coastal Kerala and Tamil Nadu. We are in touch with the chief secretary of Kerala and the senior officials of the Indian Coast Guard and Navy to identify the missing TN fishermen", K. Satyagopal, commissioner, disaster management told DC. The state has sounded an alert. Both the fisheries department and state disaster response force are taking up relief work in flood hit coastal districts and more than 1,500 people have been evacuated due to heavy rains and relief centres were opened, the commissioner said. The rains continued to last the southern districts for the second consecutive day. Vaigai, Bhavani Sagar, Mettur, Pechiparai, Perunchani, Courtrallam, Papanaasam and Manimutharu dams received a heavy inflow for the third consecutive day. All the twelve dams in Nilgiris brimmed due to heavy rains in Mudumalai and Sathyamangalam tiger reserves. Heavy rains in Anamalai tiger reserve and Kalakad Mundanthurai tiger reserve also brought inflow into dams, including Amaravati, Pollachi, Aazhiyar, Sholayar Servayalayur and Tirumuruthy. As a safety measure waterfalls, including Panatheertham, Courtallam, Suruli falls in southern districts were closed for tourists. Train services between Nagarcoil, Thiruvanadapuram, Tirunelveli and Kanniya-kumari were also disrupted on Saturday. Earlier in the day, health minister Vijayabhaskar said steps have been taken to prevent possible outbreak of any epidemic in rain-hit areas of Kanyakumari and Tirunelveli. Health department officials are monitoring the situation in rain-affected areas of Kanyakumari, Tirunelveli and Tuticorin, Vijayabhaskar told reporters here. Rescue and relief works are being undertaken on a war footing in these areas, he said. The corridor improvement plan works will be launched in Saidabad, Balapur, Gudimalkapur, Uppal, Hussaini Alam, Rakshapuram and Bahadurpura. (Representational image) Hyderabad: The city will witness the demolition of about 3,000 properties, with the state government setting a December 31 deadline to the GHMC to acquire and demolish properties obstructing the widening of roads and junctions. Due to this, the traffic jams have become an everyday affair on these stretches and unless a time-bound action plan is taken up to acquire and demolish properties, widening of these roads to resolve this problem cannot be solved, he said. The source added, The special teams will meet property owners, issue acquisition notices, hold negotiations to convince them for demolition. The notices will be issued as per TS Land Acquisition Act, 2017. The government will pay twice the registration cost as compensation for land. In case of buildings, land cost and construction cost will be paid as per existing market rates, he said. The corridor improvement plan works will be launched in Saidabad, Balapur, Gudimalkapur, Uppal, Hussaini Alam, Rakshapuram and Bahadurpura. As many as 34 special teams have been constituted to take up the widening of the roads on the 34 roads and junctions. THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Nursing Institute for Career Enhancement (NICE), the Centre of Excellence in Nursing is a first-of- its- kind initiative in India in collaboration with the Government of Maldives. It imparted a clinical nursing skill programme for nursing students from Maldives and had completed the training of 74 Maldives nurses. NICE was inaugurated on July 2, 2015 at the KINFRA International Apparel Park at Menamkulam here. The objective of NICE is to develop the skills of nurses for various cadres by conducting courses to suit the demand of both the national and international hospital industry. Courses offered are Advanced Nursing Excellence Programme (ANEP) for GCC aspiring nurses, Nursing Excellence Programme (NEP) for up-skilling the nurses who have already completed licensing exams for GCC. Other than these, there are multiple short term programmes aimed at up- skilling viz BLS- ACLS, PALS, ITLS etc. NICE held the convocation ceremony of the Advanced Certificate in Nursing (Level 4) for students from Maldives and visa distribution for students from Kerala who have completed NEP. Labour minister T. P. Ramakrishnan held talks with the Maldives education minister Dr Aishath Shiham. "On Friday, 74 Maldivians have successfully passed out as nurses. The second batch will join on December17. There will be collaboration between Kerala and Maldives where skill development, education and tourism-related sectors would be initiated," said Ramakrishnan. Maldives education minister Dr. Shiham informed that she would hold talks with the union Government soon. She invited Ramakrishnan to visit Maldives to which he agreed. Hyderabad: The girl students of government schools in four districts will be trained in martial arts to equip them with the ability to protect themselves under adverse conditions. This move is in keeping with the recommendations made by the Women Protection Commission chaired by senior IAS officer Punam Malakondaiah after the formation of TS. The undivided district of Mahbubnagar has over 2,000 government schools, 72 Kasturba schools and eight model schools, with 1.2 lakh girl students. The department of education has selected 566 of these schools for the introduction of karate classes for at least three months a year. These 566 schools now fall within the districts of Mahbubnagar, Wanaparthy, Jogulamba-Gadwal and Nagar Kurnool. An official from the department of school education said that though it was an initiative of the Telangana government, it was being funded by the Central government under the Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA). The Central government has already released `48.11 lakh for the provision of training in martial arts to girls in the ninth and tenth standards. Each school will receive `8,500 to be used for the remuneration of short-term instructors, he said. The official said that the government had already issued instructions to the headmasters of the 566 schools selected. The government wants classes to be launched as soon as possible in the view of the upcoming SSC and annual examinations. We are planning to conduct classes without disturbing their regular academic sessions and revision time. As per the blueprint, the girls will be trained in self-defence. They will be taught how to block atta-cks and react quickly if they face eve-teasing or harassment, he said. Another official from the department said that the government was planning to introduce similar classes in 5,111 government schools across the state. Schools selected for martial arts classes Thiruvananthapuram: The Latin Catholic Church has alleged apathy on the part of the government in rescuing fishermen who went missing following the Ockhi cyclone and warned of an agitation if the situation did not improve. The Thiruvananthapuram Diocese of the Church has also urged the central government to declare it as a national disaster. The church also demanded that the search limit be extended to 70 nautical miles from the current 40 nautical miles. The church has issued an ultimatum to the government to deploy all efforts at its command to rescue the missing fishermen. The government failed to locate more than 130 people who were missing, the Vicar-General of the Thiruvananthapuram Archdiocese Fr Eugene H. Pereira told DC, adding that so far government machinery had been ineffective. Many people from Vizhinjam have set out into the sea for rescue operations on their own. People from Poonthura were also willing for such an operation. However, they did not go as officials warned of dangers, said Fr Pereira said. The locals have been demanding that the government involve them in rescue operations. Fishermen from Kollam have ventured into search operations on their own alleging that the ongoing search operations were not effective. Friends and relatives of four fishermen who went out fishing on Thursday in a boat called Velankanni from Moothakara in Kollam have not returned. Hyderabad: BC leader and TS TD legislator R. Krishnaiah opposed the decision of the party government in AP to give 5 per cent quota for Kapus in education and employment under the BC category. Mr Krishnaiah said there is no justification for giving reservations for Kapus as they are not backward and demanded that the AP government withdraw the decision. Mr Krishnaiah said he was a BCs leader first and TD leader or MLA later; protecting the interests was paramount for him. He said he had no plans to quit the TD but will be forced to take a decision if the TD government goes ahead with the reservations for Kapus in AP. Mr Krishnaiah held meetings with BCs associations. He said, We have decided to take legal course of action and will approach the High Court and the Supreme Court challenging the decision. He added that if governments continue to give quotas out of political compulsions or coming under pressure from some caste leaders, all castes would resort to such tactics and demand quotas. The real BCs will suffer if reservations are given to undeserving sections," he said. Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Saturday said the BJP has always been a pro-Hindutva party. (Photo: PTI) Surat: Senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley on Saturday dismissed Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhis temple visits, saying when the original Hindutva party was available, people would reject its clone. He alleged that the Singh-led government which ruled for 10 years was the most corrupt government. It was a leaderless government. It was said that the then Prime Minister is in office, but not in power. Policy paralysis was the order of the day, the BJP leader said. In 1980, Gujarat had seen that when politics of social polarisation was practised, the agenda of the state changed. But when the BJP government came to power, the state left the politics of social polarisation,s he said. Gujarat paid a huge political cost in 1980s. The Congress is today attempting to bring back the same old politics. This social polarisation results in division on the basis of caste. It will be a policy diversion from development, Jaitley said. Chennai: The more the merrier. The adage finds its latest and the most exciting on-ground application in the RK Nagar Assembly byelection with Kollywood star Vishal on Saturday announcing interest to contest. The actor wears two hats already general secretary of South Indian Film Artistes' Association and president of the Tamil Nadu Film Producers' Council and now insists he has a fair chance of adding a third by winning the December 21 battle in the politically surcharged north Chennai constituency. But the proverb does not apply to Vishal's crowd of hats; rather it refers to the stretching queue of high profile gladiators in shining armour AIADMK candidate E. Madhusudanan, opposition DMK nominee N. Marudhu Ganesh and Sasikala-faction chief TTV Dhinakaran sharpening swords for this battle. "I am not new to fighting elections. I had contested in the college elections. I have already won the Nadigar Sangam election and the Producers' Council poll. Now I will win at RK Nagar too. I am pretty confident", Vishal told Deccan Chronicle. Asked how he would relate himself to the electorate as he resides at Anna Nagar, the star shot back, "You cannot dismiss him as an alien to RK Nagar. I was there during the floods of 2015, deeply involved in the relief operations. People there would surely remember that". Did he consult other film artistes, seek guidance from seniors like Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan, request their help for campaigning? "No, this is my own decision and I did not consult anybody". But what made him to jump into the already burning furnace at RK Nagar? "Well, the prevailing situation has pushed me into taking this decision to contest the election there", Vishal replied. Situation? What situation, where? Does he mean the financial crisis that the movie producers are facing due to kandhu-vaddi (usury)? Or does he have something else in mind? "I am filing nomination on Monday and I will explain all the details after that. For now, suffice to say that I will contest the byelection and I will win". Considering the surcharged politics in the bypoll of high stakes, it would be hugely creditable for the macho movie hero even if he just about manages to keep his deposit. In any case, credit should be given to Vishal for swimming into the whirlpool of TN politics, even if through such a small bylane of a bypoll, whereas seniors Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan are still testing the waters. The DMK is the most amused by the new arrival at the RK Nagar battleground. "He is most welcome. He will only increase the DMK's victory margin as everyone knows that our party is an iron fort and the traditional DMK voters would never scatter", said party spokesperson TKS Elangovan, Rajya Sabha member, adding, "Many are trying to fish in the AIADMK's troubled waters and Vishal is the latest". The story of the UP municipal poll results is an instructive one, although the headline news of the impressive win of the BJP in 14 of the 16 municipal corporations has quite appropriately drawn national attention. This has naturally led top BJP leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party chief Amit Shah, to seek to exploit the news to shore up morale in the saffron camp in Gujarat, where apparently there is a ding-dong poll battle on. The most noteworthy aspect of the municipal results is that electronic voting machines (EVMs) were used only in the corporation polls in the principal cities of the state, where the ruling BJP gave all comers a licking. However, EVMs were not used for polls to municipal councils and municipal panchayats, which constitute the lower tiers of urbanisation. In these, paper ballots were used. And the results are revealing. The ruling party won a mere 18 per cent of the votes in the former and 12 per cent in the latter, losing to Independents. Traditionally, municipal elections are not fought on a party basis, but the BJP sought to make a sharp point and chose to contest using its lotus symbol. Such a drastic difference in result caused by the use of EVMs versus the traditional ballot paper method has deepened doubts among many about the impartiality of the EVM as an instrument. Voting had to be suspended in Meerut for some time as any button being pressed on the EVM machine was recording the vote for the BJP, and no other party. A law and order situation was averted. And this is the lesson to take for political parties contesting the Gujarat poll. The Japanese auto maker Nissan has initiated arbitration proceedings against India, seeking about Rs 5,000 crore in tax incentives it claims the state of Tamil Nadu has not paid in the last couple of years. The merits of the case may need closer judicial examination before coming to a conclusion as a portion of the claim Rs 2,100 crore has to do with damages and interest charges. The point is Tamil Nadu, whose capital Chennai has become a major world automobile hub, has behaved in such manner as to leave room for a dispute. This does nothing for the image of a country that desperately seeks foreign investments in industry as they come with considerable job generating qualities while also fulfilling the Make in India criterion dear to the Central government as a policy initiative best serving national interests. Tamil Nadu may claim that Nissan is attempting pressure tactics to try and fast-track incentives so as to suit the foreign companys viability of operations. But it would seem amateurish that at the time of signing MoUs a well-ordered system of incentives would not have been thought of. Would it not have made sense for both the parties to have agreed to a five per cent adjustment of incentive claims of an agreement spread over 20 years as the Nissan-Tamil Nadu MoU is? It is a known fact that while states go out of the way to seek investments as in global investors meets to participate in which considerations are also suspected to be paid to political parties or personalities some among them are not that good in keeping their word and delivering on promises. Invoking the Centre in the dispute may only complicate matters and it is best that Tamil Nadu, a huge fiscal deficit state, negotiates its way directly with an important car maker and exporter. There are currently 17 bilateral investment treaties claims, ranging from disputes over undelivered incentives, retrospective taxation and payment disputes. It is hard to escape the conclusion that some states of India are just not reliable enough business partners. Coupled with gigantic tax claims slapped retrospectively as was done against Vodafone and Cairn adds to the suspicion that while India woos investors its ardour is not sustained enough to ensure a smooth partnership. While the bureaucracy is found to be too pedantic, the policy makers tend to toughen their approach the moment a financial claim opportunity is spotted. Most disputes arise from a lack of attitudinal adjustment on the part of India. The scenario of disputes with foreign entities casts doubts on the improvement in the ease of doing business index in India. Its high time the country had a dispute settling mechanism to handle such issues. Assignment in Geneva The Centre has cleared Indian Council of Medical Relations (ICMR) chief Soumya Swaminathan to take up the assignment as director general for programmes of World Health Organisation (WHO) in Geneva. The decision was taken by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The committee also approved curtailment of the deputation tenure of Ms Swaminathan, who is also secretary, Department of Health Research. Ms Swaminathan's appointment as the deputy director-general for programmes was announced early last month by the WHO. The government now has to find a successor. Sources say it has set up a panel headed by Cabinet secretary P.K. Sinha to identify Ms Swaminathan's successor. The other members of the search committee include Mr P.K. Mishra, additional principal secretary to the Prime Minister, Prof P. Balaram, former director, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, Mr T. Ramasami, former secretary, Department of Science And Technology and Mr P.N. Tandon, emeritus professor, neurosurgery, AIIMS. J&K babus in a merry-go-round Dilli is getting crowded with babus from the Jammu & Kashmir cadre. Barely three days after relieving Mr Dheeraj Gupta as principal secretary, Power Development Department, Jammu & Kashmir, Mr Sundeep K. Nayak, principal secretary in the Agriculture Production Department is headed for another Central deputation. Mr Nayak will be posted as managing director of the National Cooperative Development Corporation under the Union Ministry of Agriculture. Sources say that with his Central deputations, Mr Nayak has been literally shuttling between New Delhi and Jammu & Kashmir. Meanwhile, Mr Gupta was abruptly removed as principal secretary PDD, relieved in J&K and posted as principal secretary (Coordination) in Resident Commission New Delhi, which is already packed with three senior IAS officers. Apparently, as many as 11 senior IAS officers of the J&K cadre are already on Central deputation. They include Mr B.R. Sharma, additional secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs, Mr Suresh Kumar, additional secretary, Ministry of Coal, Mr Sudhanshu Pandey, joint secretary, Department of Commerce, and Ms Mandeep Kaur, among others. Cadre power Prime Minister Narendra Modis preference for babus from his home state has inevitably created a Gujarat club in Delhi, an exclusive group of senior Gujarat cadre babus who enjoy the PM's confidence and have enviable access to the PMO. Sources say that there is soon going to be an addition to this club. Indications are that Mr Anil Mukim, additional chief secretary, Gujarat government, is going to be transferred to the Centre and is most likely to be given a high-profile position. If the rumours are true, Mr Mukim will follow in the footsteps of a string of Gujarat-cadre officers who have been accommodated in powerful posts in Delhi. He will join the likes of additional principal secretary to the PM P.K. Mishra, finance secretary Hasmukh Adhia, chief election commissioner A.K. Joti, CBI special director Rakesh Asthana, Commerce secretary Rita Teotia, Water Resources secretary Amarjit Singh, private secretary to the PM Rajiv Topno, officer on special duty to the Prime Minister Sanjay Bhavsar and CBI joint director A.K. Sharma, who is in charge of the key Public Policy Division. No wonder the Gujarat club draws comparisons with the Kerala club, when Kerala cadre babus held sway during the UPA regime! Economist Dr Pronab Sen was the first chief statistician of India and was principal adviser in the erstwhile Planning Commission. Dr Sen is a Ph.D in economics from Johns Hopkins University, specialising in open-economy macroeconomic systems, international economics and public finance. He speaks to Pawan Bali on the GDP data for the second quarter released on Thursday, which showed that GDP is finally picking up after falling for five straight quarters. Q Indias GDP grew in the second quarter (July to September period) of 2017-18 by 6.3 per cent after falling to three years low of 5.7 per cent in the previous quarter (April to June 2017-18 period). Has Indian economic finally started recovering ? From the current GDP data you cannot make out if Indian economy has started recovering. This is because this data is capturing discontinuity and recovery requires some sense of continuity. So this GDP data has come after GST implementation, so you had a pre-GST effect which was de-stocking and then you had the post GST effect. So hopefully all these will settle down in the third quarter. So you will have to look at the third quarter GDP data before you can make any statement whether the recovery has started or not. Q But can we at least say that now there is a pause in the GDP slowdown and we will not see a downfall from here on? No, the thing is that you can only make a projection when you have a sense of normality. Otherwise people can make only a very short-term prediction like next month but you cant say anything for the long-term. If you look at this data, basically everybody is getting very excited that investment is going up by 4.6 per cent but if you look at investments as percentage of the GDP it has actually gone even further down. Now if you are looking at signs of green shoots then the absolute increase in investments is that what you will be looking at, but if you are looking at a trend you will look what is happening to investments as percentage of the GDP. So these are giving you contradictory signals. Hence I will not use it to say one way or the other. Q So how much time it will take for GST impact to settle down as GST Council is changing rules and rates in nearly every meeting? It will take time. First of all, the rules have to eventually come to a place where no change is happening and then it will take a quarter after that (for the GST impact on economy to settle down). This is because till then you will not know what are you picking up: are you picking up the affect of change in GST or you are picking up affect of economy doing something. Q Some rating agencies are saying that 7 per cent growth in the manufacturing sector in the second quarter, which pulled up the overall GDP growth, is mainly on the back of restocking by the companies after the GST implementation? We dont know but restocking certainly has a major role to play in it. But as I said earlier, you cant make out because the restocking is also getting diluted by the fact that GST started operating and it has played for a bit. The actual restocking effect may be larger than what the data is suggesting. Q The agriculture sector on which a large population, especially in the rural areas are dependent for their livelihood, saw a slower growth of 1.7 per cent in the second quarter against 2.3 per cent in the first quarter. It is not surprising. Last year was an excellent kharif crop and on that base 1.7 per cent growth is fine. Q What will be the impact on rural income and rural stress? That depends on what happens to the pricing. These things dont capture the price affect. What you are measuring is the volume; how much agriculture production has taken place. But to go from there to income ..... if the pricing crashes then farm income may not go up. Q Exports are still weak... Exports are weak and they will remain weak until the GST mess is sorted out. Q Many exporters are saying that while global trade may pick up this year, Indian exports will remain weak. They are right. Global trade is recovering but whether we will be able to take advantage of that immediately is the question. Q When do you see India getting back to 8-9 per cent GDP growth rate? It is not going to happen until the investment cycle reverses. It hasnt started reversing yet. Q What government needs to do for investment to pick up? That depends how you are interpreting what is the cause-effect you are looking at. The government is in a state of denial about effects of demonetisation. And if you are saying that demonetisation effect has gone, then you have one set of policies. If you say demonetisation effect has not gone, then you have to have different policies. Q Does India need a fiscal stimulus to push growth? My view is that the demonetisation effect is still playing out in which case you do need stimulus. But you need stimulus of a particular variety; a stimulus which creates income at the lower level, not the one meant for the corporate sector. It is a stimulus which will help the informal sector. The nature of the stimulus is very important. Q The government has recently announced a whopping Rs 2 lakh crore capital infusion in state-owned banks? This is an enabling provision. We had a situation where banks were not in a position to lend because their capital adequacy norms were being violated. So you have relaxed that constraint. This doesnt mean that bank lending will go up hugely because there is a demand side to it. At the end of the day people must want loans. So re-capitalisation has tackled the supply of credit but we dont know how the demand for credit will behave. Q Recently, global rating agency Moodys upgraded Indias rating. Will it have an impact on investment? Frankly, it doesnt matter. I will not particularly care one way or the other. It matters only for portfolio investors and in any case we are getting more than what we can handle so I am not worried about that. The other way it affects is by the borrowing cost of the Indian Inc in the global capital markets; there is not any appetite for that anyway. Everyone was very excited about the upgrade in the rating, but I think we were over-reacting. The ruling party for 22 years, the Bharatiya Janata Party, says it is about development. This is apparently a copyrighted word and development is something only the BJP can deliver, particularly under Mr Narendra Modi. What the BJP does is development and what other parties do is corruption, dynasty and so on. This formulation is childish in its simplicity but the remarkable thing is that the BJP has been allowed to get away with it by its opponents. Even if we assume that what the BJP wants to talk about is development, meaning the discussing data and policies that push economic and social growth, the party gets distracted often. It wants to know what religion Rahul Gandhi is. The Prime Minister lies and says the Congress celebrated Hafiz Saeeds bail. What does that have to do with development? Nothing, of course. If the BJP claims to stand for development, the Congress is not clear about the issue in the election. Or at least it does not offer a single point like the BJP claims to offer development. The Congress partys crown prince Rahul Gandhi wants to discuss corruption in the Rafale deal (for which he has got no support from the media) one day, and the next day he wants to talk about GST and demonetisation. This lack of focus has meant that the messaging against the BJP has been scattered. The second thing, after issues, is organisation. Here the BJP is a formidable force. It is one of the most powerful political parties in the democratic world. It has a large grassroots presence that is managed by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the worlds biggest non-governmental organisation, with lakhs of members. These are dedicated and trained individuals, and in recent years they have also been highly motivated because of the charismatic leadership of Mr Modi, whom the RSS grassroots adores. In any tight race, and one is not sure whether Gujarat is a tight race at the moment, the BJPs organisational assets will win the day for them. On the other side, and since this is a two-party state we can only look at the Congress, it must be accepted that this level of competence is missing. The old Congress worker from the Seva Dal or the Youth Congress is absent. The structure has disintegrated and it is left to the individual Congress candidates to provide the manpower that will do the work. This costs money and many Congress leaders no longer invest as much money in elections because the party has been consistently losing. Both on the side of issues and organisation, my view is that the BJP is ahead, either because of its strength or the Congress weakness, or both. The third thing is the campaign strategy. The BJP has used its most powerful card, the Prime Minister, and has deployed him in dozens of rallies. Readers may have observed that though for many years he would only use Hindi even in Gujarati, these days he has started speaking in Gujarati. To me this indicates that he feels he needs to drive home the message and that may mean a closer race than the opinion polls show. Mr Modi is of course an outstanding public speaker and he is able to set the agenda in a way that Mr Rahul Gandhi cannot. When Mr Modi makes a big speech, he usually frames an old issue in a new way so well that the headlines must report it. An example: I sold tea, but did not sell the nation. Such clear, simple framing is a terrific asset to have in a leader. On the other hand, the Congress not only cannot set the agenda but must also keep defending itself on non-stories, such as whether Mr Ahmed Patel was wrong to be a trustee in a hospital and whether Mr Gandhi is Catholic. The Congress has, however, managed to do one thing with competence: It has brought in the three large dissenting groups that had mobilised in the last few months. The Patidars, the Dalits and the OBC kshatriyas, led by Hardik Patel, Jignesh Mewani and Alpesh Thakor, respectively. It would not have been easy to do this, given that the three groups have contradicting demands. And it would not have been natural for these groups to align with Congress given that all three mobilisations are apolitical and spontaneous, but the Congress has managed to pull it off. My guess is that this is the doing mainly of Mr Patel. The BJP is worried by this development, and we can observe that in the many statements from its leaders, particularly the chief minister, which are aimed at breaking the alliance. The question is: will it be enough to defeat the BJP? My view is that this election will be determined above all by turnout. Gujarat is a high turnout state and the BJP, even if it leads opinion polls, must ensure that its base comes out and votes. This may not be easy because it is fighting a defensive campaign. The Congress can be confident that, even though its base is smaller, their voters will turn out because they are angry. In that sense the real issues in Gujarat, jobs and meaningful economic development, are against the ruling party, even if it pretends to be fighting on them. In a noble gesture, US President Donald Trump on Friday donated his third-quarter salary to the Department of Health and Human Services (HSS) to help fight the opioid epidemic. Mr Trumps annual salary is $4,00,000. So, effectively his donation amount would be about $1,00,000. His decision to donate his salary is a tribute to his compassion, to his patriotism his and sense of duty to the American people. But its his compassion above all that drives his interest in the issue to which HHS is going to devote his donation, Americas devastating opioid crisis, HHS acting secretary Eric Hargan, said. The opioid epidemic kills 175 Americans every day. That means well lose seven of our fellow Americans to drug overdoses during this press briefing alone. That kind of urgency is Mr Trump had called for HHS to declare an unprecedented nation-wide public health emergency, he said. Vandana Jhingan, who is a journalist, will challenge Democrat Indian-American Raja Krishnamoorthi, 44, who was elected to the US Congress for the first time in 2017s Congressional elections. (Photo: Facebook) Washington: An Indian-American woman has announced that she will run for the 2018 election to the seat of US House of Representative from a Chicago suburb. Vandana Jhingan, who is a journalist, will challenge Democrat Indian-American Raja Krishnamoorthi, 44, who was elected to the US Congress for the first time in 2017s Congressional elections. She is the second Indian-American from the Republican party to challenge Krishnamoorthi. In November Jitender JD Diganvker had announced to enter the race from the party. Pledging to bring jobs, fiscal responsibility, family values and firm foreign policy, Jhingan announced to run from 8th Congressional District of Illinois. Both Diganvker and Jhingan would have to win the Republican primary scheduled for March 8 for the 8th Congressional District, which has a significant Indian-American population. The seat is traditionally considered to be a Democratic stronghold. In a statement, Jhingan said it is her years of community service and experience working with business and government has motivated her to take on challenges facing the residents of the 8th district of Illinois. She has been Midwest bureau chief of TV ASIA for more than 15 years. I have demonstrated my commitment by serving the community for more than 20 years. I immigrated to United States and got an opportunity to live the American Dream now I am looking to fight for you to bring back the same, she said. In addition to Krishnamoorthi, the House of Representative currently has three other Indian-Americans the three-term Dr Ami Bera and Ro Khanna from California, and Pramila Jayapal from Washington State. Kamala Harris, whose parents are from India and Jamaica, was the first Indian-American to be elected to the US Senate. Frank Islam left his family and friends in India with just USD 35 to pursue his life-long dream of owning a business. He went on to become founder and CEO of a company worth more than USD 300 million. (Photo: Twitter) Washington: An eminent Indian-American philanthropist has described immigrants as "the future of the United States", which he said, is a nation of inclusion, openness, opportunity, democracy and freedom. Frank Islam made these remarks during a ceremony where some 200 foreign nationals took the oath of citizenship. Islam borrowed a quote from Former President John F. Kennedy: In a democracy, every citizen regardless of his interest in politics or holds office, every one of us is in a position of responsibility. The kind of government we get depends on how we fulfill those responsibilities. "I ask you to fulfill those responsibilities by being a 21st Century Citizen," he said during his speech at the John F Kennedy Presidential Library in Boston on Thursday. At the age of 16, Frank Islam left his family and friends in India with just USD 35 to pursue his life-long dream of owning a business. He went on to become founder and CEO of a company worth more than USD 300 million. Islam became a citizen in 1980, but he never attended a naturalization ceremony, said a media release issued by the presidential library. "My story reaffirms the notion that America is a land of opportunity. It also shows that America is a nation of inclusion, openness, opportunity, democracy, and freedom. All of us can proudly and truly embrace these values and qualities of America," he said. "As immigrants and the future of America, I know that you will make great contributions to ensure that dream is even stronger and better for the citizens of this immigrant nation...I am extremely positive about the future of America because of the courage, tenacity and indomitable spirit of my fellow immigrants," Islam said. Noting that over the past few years, there have been a lot of complaints regarding the country's politicians, and the government, he said some of that criticism is "warranted". "On the other hand, we must remember that the United States is a representative democracy. At the end of the day, we get the politicians and the government we deserve," he said. "If we don't like things in this great democracy of ours, we can change them. That is our right and responsibility as citizens," Islam said. Former national security adviser Michael Flynn is to plead guilty on Friday to making false statements to the FBI, the first plea by any of the four former Trump advisers charged so far in a wide-ranging investigation led by special counsel Robert Mueller. Court documents show Flynn, an early and vocal supporter on the campaign trail of President Donald Trump whose business dealings and foreign interactions made him a central focus of Muellers investigation, will admit to lying about his conversations with Russias ambassador to the United States during the transition period before Trumps inauguration. The expected guilty plea makes the retired Army lieutenant general the first person to have actually worked in the Trump White House to face formal charges in the investigation, which is examining possible coordination between Russia and the Trump campaign to influence the outcome of the 2016 election. Flynn has been under investigation for a wide range of allegations, including lobbying work on behalf of Turkey, but the fact that he was charged only with a single count of false statements suggests he is cooperating with Muellers investigation in exchange for leniency. Earlier, Mr Trump had taken a particular interest in the status of the Flynn investigation. Former FBI Director James Comey has said Mr Trump had asked him in a private Oval Office meeting to consider ending the investigation. An Indian American woman has announced that she will run for the next years election to the seat of US House of Representative from a Chicago suburb. Vandana Jhingan, who is a journalist, will challenge Democrat Indian American Raja Krishnamoorthi, 44, who was elected to the US Congress for the first time in the last years Congressional elections. She is the second Indian American from the Republican party to challenge Krishnamoorthi. Last month Jitender JD Diganvker had announced to enter the race from the party. Pledging to bring jobs, fiscal responsibility, family values and firm foreign policy, Jhingan announced to run from 8th Congressional district of Illinois. Both Diganvker and Jhingan would have to win the Republican primary scheduled for March 8 for the 8th Congressional District, which has a significant Indian American population. The seat is traditionally considered to be a Democratic stronghold. In a statement, Jhingan said it is her years of community service and experience working with business and government has motivated her to take on challenges facing the residents of the 8th district of Illinois. She has been Midwest bureau chief of TV ASIA for more than 15 years. More smoke but no smoking gun. Michael Flynns guilty plea added a new layer of lies to the far-reaching investigation into ties between President Donald Trump and Russia, and put heightened scrutiny on the Presidents son-in-law, Jared Kushner. But Flynns admission, and all of the criminal cases thus far, have not resolved the fundamental question special counsel Robert Mueller is seeking to answer: Did Mr Trumps campaign collude with Russia to win the election? Still, Mueller has left no doubt that his investigators have amassed a wealth of knowledge about the contacts between Trump associates and the Russians, and theyre looking to gather more facts from Flynn, a new key cooperator. By forcing Flynns assistance, Mueller gains someone who can put him in the room with Mr Trump and his closest advisers during the campaign, transition and the early days of the administration, times where Mr Trump associates have acknowledged communicating with people connected to Russia. In the hours after Flynn admitted lying, two names surfaced as integral players in his actions. Citing unnamed sources, The Washington Post reported that Kushner was identified as a very senior transition official, who directed Flynn to contact foreign governments, including Russia, about a UN Security Council resolution last December. And K.T. McFarland, who served as Flynns deputy national security adviser, was a senior transition official involved in discussions with Flynn. Hello Dear, How are you. I am pleased to send you email regarding my business proposal. I am the assistant marketer of my company in London UK (Invedia Industrial Diamond Plc). It may interest you to know that my company has developed business industrial empire for supplying assorted gold & diamonds in the Europe. Presently, I am in Moscow Russia where i am currently representing my company in a business program but I decided to contact you because the business is very urgently.I picked interest to share a business proposal with you. My company urgently need a product that is used for cleaning raw gold stones and diamond but the product is no more available in the Europe market. During my research, I found a company that is selling the product at a lower cost but i don't want my company to know about it. Please I would like you to handle the contract of supplying the product to my company at a higher cost and we could make good profits in the supply. My company urgently need 1000 cartons of a product that is used for cleaning raw gold stones, The product is called SILICA OIL (One bottle is 5.8 cm size and it contains 8 bottles in one carton). My boss usually buy a carton for 5000 euro until the product became scarce in the Europe market. On my research, Someone gave me the contact of a store in Africa that has this product and they are selling one carton for only 2800 euro but I don't want to tell my boss about it because I want you to supply the product to my company at higher price so we can make good profit. Here is the details on how you will do the supply You will be buying the product from the store for 2800 euro per carton My boss will be buying the product from you for 5000 euro per carton Our total profit in 1000 cartons will be EURO 2.2 million (EURO) Which You and Me will share (50/50) equal. This business is not difficult or complicated. Firstly, I will tell my boss that you are a trusted seller of the product and then my boss will contact you for the purchase of the product. Immediately my boss send full payment in advance to supply 1000 cartons in London, Then You will buy the product from the store in Africa and supply to my company in London. Meanwhile, You will keep our profit of EURO 2.2 million in your bank account because i will visit your country after you have finished supplying the product to my company. As soon as i confirm your interest in this business, I will quickly send you the information of the store to confirm if they still have Silica Oil in stock before we can proceed. Moreover. I have attached my photo and my roaming phone number to call me here in Russia (+447024096063) Thanks. Best from Mrs Grace Annette From: Grace Annette < graceannette46@yahoo.com > Sent: Wednesday, November 29, 2017, 6:20:54 PM GMT+3:30 Subject: Contact the store company in Togo now about the product okay Hello My Dear Partner i am happy to meet your kind person in this business. This is a good and nice business and i choose you because i believe and trust that you will be the right person in this business. Please i dont need money from you in this business because my boss in london will be sending you money to buy the product and supply to them in london okay. Only what i need from you is honest and truth in this business. For this product called SILICA OIL both of us will be buying this product at cost of 2,800 euro from the store company in Togo and supply the product at cost of 5,000 euro to my boss in London. My boss will be sending you money to buy the product and supply to them in London. I want you to know that this product is very urgent needed by my company because my boss is anxiously searching to buy this product but I didn't want my boss to know that i found it at a low price in Africa Togo because i want you to supply the product to my company at higher price which my boss normally buy it in the Europe market. I have noticed that you are serious and willing to do this business with you and I want to rely on you as my trusted foreign partner in this business because I have the confidence to do this business with you. I attached below the contact of the store where i found the product, Please contact them today and find out the cost of one carton and also confirm if they have up to 1000 cartons in stock because that is the quantity you will supply to my company in London. UNI-BIZ CHEMICAL & amp; STORES LTD. Location: TOGO AFRICA E-mail 1: mohammedalistoresellerafrice@yahoo.com Phone: (+228) 96617801 Product name: SILICA OIL. As soon as i get your positive feedback from the store, I will quickly contact my boss in London and introduce you as the seller of the product so that my boss will contact you for the purchase of the product because he will be sending you the money to supply the product in London. I want the transaction to be between you and my boss and I also want you to receive the product in your country and resend it from your country to my company so that my boss will not know the store in Africa because I want you to always supply this product to my company in future. Remember that when you received the cost of supplying 1000 cartons from my boss, You will remove our profit and keep it safe in your bank account because I will plan to visit your country after my program in U.S.A so i can obtain my 50% share in the business and I will be so glad to meet you in person too. Please contact the store today so that you will get quick response from them because it's urgent. From: Grace Annette < graceannette46@yahoo.com > Sent: Wednesday, November 29, 2017, 8:13:00 PM GMT+3:30 Subject: Re: for my friend Please i dont want any of them to know about this buisness okay. I just choose to dop this business with you and my heart trust you okay. If i did not trust you or choose you i will never contact you okay. But my heart trust on you in this business and that is why i contacted you into this business okay. please contact the store company in Togo through their email address and ask them how much is for a product called SILICA OIL by cartons okay. Ask them how much is for 1000 cartons to delivery to london okay. please let me know once you contact them so that i will contact my boss in london to contact you okay From: Mohammed Ali Store seller africe < mohammedalistoresellerafrice@yahoo.com > Sent: Thursday, November 30, 2017, 1:13:20 PM GMT+3:30 Subject: UNI-BIZ CHEMICAL & STORES LTD UNI-BIZ CHEMICAL & STORES LTD 6027B Villa 2451 Medinay - Grand, City Comic Togo Fax No: +228-97 122 82 3 Mobile No: +228-96670146 E-mail: mohammedalistoresellerafrice@yahoo.com Togo Africa DEAR CUSTOMER Thanks for making inquires on our product, Uni-Biz Chemical & Stores Ltd (UNI-BIZ) has been granted a worldwide non-exclusive license to manufacture and market chemicals and Our product are 100% guaranteed to the satisfaction of our customers. YOUR INQUIRY: We have the SILICA OIL and we are ready to supply any quantity demanded. Our company price for each carton is estimated EURO 2800 (Two thousand eight hundred EUR) with no discount charge and we have more then 5000 cartons in our store. FOR PAYMENTS: We only accept two payments methods depending on the quantity of goods ordered. 1. BANK TRANSFER PAYMENT 2. WESTERN UNION PAYMENT YOUR ORDER ESTIMATE: I have attached some of our company pictures here for more details. CUSTOMER NAMES. . . . . . . . . . . COUNTRY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . STATE/CITY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PHONE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . OUR SERVICE: We offer a quick and reliable service to ensure that PREPAID GOODS are delivered within one week of payment. Sincerely, Mohammad Ali Marketing Manager Tell: (+228) 9667014 From: Grace Annette < graceannette46@yahoo.com > Sent: Thursday, November 30, 2017, 4:17:21 PM GMT+3:30 Subject: I have contacted my boss now my dear partner My dear trusted partner how are you today . I am so much happy now in this business. Oh My God. This is a very great news to us in this business that the store company in Togo still have the product in their store. I am so happy to meet your kind and serious person in this business my dear. I have contacted my boss in London now and i told my boss all about you as the marketer of this product and my boss will be happy that i find the product now. I told my boss that you are a good marketer and you have the product up to 1000 cartons or 2000 cartons in your store company and you are very serious and willing to supply the product to them in London once you receive the total payment complete and my boss said OK that he will transfer you the payment urgently once he confirm from you as the marketer. My dear partner please please Do not forget to tell my boss that each carton is 5,000 euro so that we will buy the product in Africa company for 2,800 euros and supply it to my boss in London for 5,000 euro and have our profit of 2,200 euro by each carton. Once my boss contacted you and ask you how much is the cost of the product for each one carton. You tell my boss 5,000 euro by one carton. Tell my boss that you are the marketer of the product and you have the good product up to 2,000 cartons in your company shop in Africa. So that my boss will transfer you the payment of 5,000 euro for each carton to 1000 cartons to your bank account so that we will buy it in Africa low price at 2,800 euro OK. My dear partner We needed this profit in this business so that we will share the profit of 2.20000 Million euro 50%50 OK. Notice: my boss Name. His Name is MR Davids Williams OK? He will contact you soon because of this product is very urgent and serious OK. I am so much happy that this business will work very well and fine soon so that From: Grace Annette < graceannette46@yahoo.com > Sent: Thursday, November 30, 2017, 6:24:38 PM GMT+3:30 Subject: Re: my friend My dear trusted partner please before i contact you into this business i have already confirmed everything about the store company in Togo. So please i trusted the store company in Togo okay. The have the product and the must send the product once we send them money for the supply okay. If i did not trust the company in Togo i will never contact you to contact them okay. Please please do not be afraid of this business because i am with you okay. PLease once my boss contact you. please tell my boss that each carton of the product cost 5,000 euro. Tell my boss that your company has the product up to 1000 cartons or 2000 cartons in store okay. Tell my boss that once you receivce the payment complete for the supply that your company will supply him the product in london successfully okay. please do what i said please. We need profit in this business okay From: Davids Williams < davids.williams805@yahoo.co.uk > Sent: Friday, December 1, 2017, 12:47:51 PM GMT+3:30 Subject: INVEDIA INDUSTRIAL DIAMOND PLC LONDON , UNITED KINGDOM ATTENTION! SIR I WAS NOTIFIED BY MY MARKETER (MRS GRACE ANNETTE) THAT YOUR COMPANY TRADE SILICA OIL PRODUCT AND I TOOK INTEREST TO VERIFY FROM YOUR STORE AS WE URGENTLY NEED THIS CHEMICAL. PLEASE IF THE SILICA OIL IS STILL AVAILABLE AT YOUR STORE, KINDLY SEND US THE PRICE PER CARTON TO KNOW IF IT COINCIDES WITH OUR COMPANY BUDGET BEFORE MAKING ANY ORDER FROM YOUR STORE. WE ACTUALLY NEEDED 3000 CARTONS BUT OUR FIRST ORDER WILL BE 1000 CARTONS AND AFTER THE FIRST SUPPLY, I WILL BE CONFIDENT TO PURCHASE MORE CARTONS FROM YOUR STORE. IN THIS REGARD. I WISH TO KNOW YOUR BEST PRICE TO SUPPLY 1000 CARTONS TO LONDON UNITED KINGDOM. YOUR QUICK RESPONSE WILL BE MOSTLY APPRECIATED. THANKS CORDIALLY DR.DAVID WILLIAMS DIRECTOR-GENERAL MANAGER INVEDIA INDUSTRIAL DIAMOND PLC LONDON , UNITED KINGDOM Head Office : 63-66 Hatton Garden London EC1N 8LE Fax:+44 (0) 1756 73766 | (0) 1746 73735 | Tell:+44 (0) 1784 437520 www.invedia.co.uk | davids.williams805@yahoo.co.uk From: Grace Annette < graceannette46@yahoo.com > Sent: Friday, December 1, 2017, 7:53:15 PM GMT+3:30 Subject: My dear trusted partner My dear trusted partner i am so much happy that my boss in london have contacted you about the business supply. I am so much happy now my dear partner. I want you to believe that God is with us in this buisness okay. My dear partner i want you to contact my boss in london back and tell him that each carton of the product cost is 5,000 euro. Tell my boss that your company has the product up to 2000 or 3000 cartons in store. Tell my boss that once he send you the payment complete that your company will supply him the good and nice product in london successfully okay. Please contact my boss in london now and tell him okay. So that my boss will be sending us payment for each carton 5,000 euro and we buy the product in store company in Togo for 2,800 euro okay. This is a good and nice business okay. I trust you with all my heart and that is why i choose you with all my heart to do this business. Please contact my boss now and let me know what he said again okay From: Grace Annette < graceannette46@yahoo.com > Sent: Saturday, December 2, 2017, 4:37:35 PM GMT+3:30 Subject: Re: for my friend My dear trusted partner how are you today. Yes i agree with you okay. Please i trusted you with all my heart in this business okay. Please my dear partner cope the message now and forward it to my boss in london now okay. Forward the message to my boss in london okay. the message is very good and nice okay. Please get back to me once my boss reply to you back okay From: Davids Williams < davids.williams805@yahoo.co.uk > To: Sent: Saturday, December 2, 2017, 7:20:33 PM GMT+3:30 Subject: INVEDIA INDUSTRIAL DIAMOND PLC LONDON , UNITED KINGDOM ATTENTION! MARKETER I ACKNOWLEDGE YOUR RESPONSE REGARDING THE AVAILABILITY OF SILICA OIL IN YOUR COMPANY, I HAVE SEEN YOUR COMPANY PRICE TAG. THOUGH WE USUALLY BUY IT HERE AT THE COST OF 5000 EURO BUT I AM SATISFIED OF BUYING EACH CARTON FROM YOUR STORE FOR 5,000 EURO TOO. OUR FIRST ORDER WILL BE 1000 CARTONS WHICH YOUR COMPANY WILL FIRST SUPPLY TO US HERE IN LONDON AND WE ARE READY TO SEND YOU THE PAYMENT FOR URGENT DELIVERY. WE WERE SERIOUSLY SEARCHING TO BUY THIS PRODUCT UNTIL OUR MARKETER MRS GRACE ANNETTE NOTIFIED US FROM HER LOCATION IN RUSSIA THAT SHE FOUND YOUR COMPANY DURING HER RESEARCH FOR THE PRODUCT AND SHE ALSO CONFIRMED THAT YOUR COMPANY CAN SUPPLY LARGE QUANTITY OF THIS PRODUCT TO OUR COMPANY HERE IN LONDON UNITED KINGDOM. WE ADVICE YOU TO SEND US YOUR BANK ACCOUNT DETAILS AND ALSO ADVICE YOU TO SEND US ONE CARTON SAMPLE FIRST FOR CONFIRMATION BEFORE ANY PAYMENT BECAUSE THIS WILL BE OUR FIRST ORDER FROM YOUR COMPANY AND IT'S NECESSARY FOR US TO VERIFY YOUR PRODUCT BEFORE BUYING IT IN LARGE QUANTITY FROM YOUR COMPANY BECAUSE IT IS AGAINST OUR COMPANY LAW . AS FOR NOW WE NEED ONE CARTON SAMPLE FOR THE TEST AND FOR CONFIRMATION FIRST. THIS IS OUR COMPANY LAW THAT BEFORE BUYING ANY PRODUCT FROM OUR MARKETERS WE MUST TEST THE PRODUCT BEFORE THE PAYMENT. PLEASE CONSIDER OUR REQUEST AND SEND US ( ONE CARTON) OF SILICA OIL VIA DHL EXPRESS SO THAT OUR COMPANY CAN QUICKLY TEST THE PRODUCT BEFORE SENDING YOU THE COST OF SUPPLYING 1000 CARTONS TO OUR COMPANY HERE IN LONDON. FURTHERMORE, I WANT TO KNOW THE PERIOD OF DELIVERY AFTER PAYMENT AND I ALSO WISH TO INQUIRE IF YOUR COMPANY COULD OFFER US SOME DISCOUNT SINCE WE ARE PURCHASING 1000 CARTONS AS OUR FIRST ORDER. 1, SEND US ONE CARTON FIRST AS SAMPLE FOR US TO KNOW THE QUALITY OF YOUR COMPANY PRODUCT AND ALSO TO BE MORE SURE THAT YOU ARE THE MARKETER OF THIS PRODUCT CALLED SILICA OIL. THIS IS ONLY WHAT OUR COMPANY NEEDED FROM YOUR COMPANY URGENTLY. THIS IS OUR COMPANY INFORMATION HERE. SEND IT THROUGH DHL EXPRESS TO OUR COMPANY ADDRESS IN LONDON URGENTLY AND FAST, INVEDIA INDUSTRIAL DIAMOND PLC LONDON , UNITED KINGDOM Head Office : 63-66 Hatton Garden London EC1N 8LE Fax:+44 (0) 1756 73766 | (0) 1746 73735 | Tell:+44 (0) 1784 437520 YOUR QUICK RESPONSE WILL BE APPRECIATED AS WE ARE URGENTLY IN NEED OF THIS PRODUCT. THANKS GENERAL MGR/MARKETING DEPT INTERNATIONAL COMPANY IN U.K From: Grace Annette < graceannette46@yahoo.com > To: Sent: Sunday, December 3, 2017, 2:22:53 PM GMT+3:30 Subject: Happy Sunday my dear partner My dear trusted partner good morning. I am so much happy that my boss have reply to you back. I am so much happy my dear trusted partner. I understand for the message that my boss need a sample carton from us first so that he will test and confirm the product before booking the order 1000 cartons from us. I am so much happy that my boss have accepted to buy the product at cost of 5,000 euro from us. this is my happiness and joy now in this business. So that we can buy the product at cost of 2,800 euro from the store company in Togo and supply the product at cost of 5,000 euro for my boss in london. I am very very sure that once my boss in london receive the sample carton from us. My boss will believe and trust us so much in this business supply and transfer us the payment to supply them 1000 cartons in london. I am very very sure okay. Why my boss ask us to send him the sample carton first for test and for confirmation. So that he will see and confirm that we have the product in store. So once my boss receive the sample carton from us my boss will believe and trust you as the marketer owner of this product company and transfer you all the total payment to supply them 1000 cartons in london okay. i am very sure of that okay. that is why my boss ask us the sample carton first for test so that he will believe us and trust us in this business supply and transfer us the payment to supply them 1000 cartons in london okay My dear partner i want you to contact the store company in Togo now. And ask them how much is for a sample carton cost with the DHL POST fee to london address okay. Contact the store company in Togo now and ask them the cost of the sample carton with the DHL post fee okay From: Mohammed Ali Store seller africe < mohammedalistoresellerafrice@yahoo.com > Sent: Monday, December 4, 2017, 2:48:29 PM GMT+3:30 Subject: THIS IS THE TOTAL COST OF THE SAMPLE CARTON WITH D.H.L POST FEE TO LONDON UNI-BIZ CHEMICAL & STORES LTD 6027B Villa 2451 Medinay - Grand, City Comic Togo Fax No: +228-97 122 82 3 Mobile No: +228-96670146 E-mail: mohammedalistoresellerafrice@yahoo.com Togo Africa Thanks for making inquiries on our product, Uni-Biz Chemical & Stores Ltd (UNI-BIZ) has been granted a worldwide non-exclusive license to manufacture chemicals and Our product are 100% guaranteed to the satisfaction of our customers around the world. I will consider to sell only one carton sample as you wanted it due to the large number of cartons which you have proposed to buy from our store company in the nearest future. One carton is 2,800 euro plus the DHL Tax fee 180 euro to deliver the sample carton to you successfully through DHL office to your giving address . Remember that the one carton sample will only take us 24 hours and you will confirm the one carton sample successfully to your home address successfully. Once we receive 2,800 euro plus the Tax 180 euro for the DHL tax to deliver the sample carton to you successfully i. The total amount you will send to us is 2,980 euro. Once we receive the 2,980 euro our company will help you and go to DHL office and post one carton sample to your address successfully. Send us the 2,980 euro through WESTERN UNION or through our COMPANY ACCOUNT with this Details as fellows. once you make the payment through this Details here our company will receive it successfully in our office and post the sample carton to you successfully, Name. . .Mohammed Ali country. . Togo city. . . . Youis zip code. .228 Address. . rue achiyyuyocu reuebs(12rd-floor) Togo Youis Store Seller in Africa Department THIS IS OUR COMPANY BANK ACCOUNT DETAILS BLOW, THANKS Bank Name _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ : BANK OF AFRICA - TOGO Bank Swift_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ : AFRISNDAXXX IBAN _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _: SN08 SN10 0010 0400 2729 6500 0340 Account Name _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _: MOHAMMED ALI Account No _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ : 02729650003 Bank Code _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ : SN100 Code Guichet _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ : 01004 Cle RIB_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ : 40 OUR SERVICE: We offer a quick and reliable service to our customers Sincerely, Mohammed Ali Marketing Manager Tell: (+228) 96670146 Uni-Biz Chemical & Stores Ltd From: Grace Annette < graceannette46@yahoo.com > Sent: Monday, December 4, 2017, 6:51:01 PM GMT+3:30 Subject: my dear partner i need your help please My dear trusted partner good morning. I am so much happy that God is with us in this business. Oh My God. I am happy that the store company in Togo have accept to sell one carton sample and also send it to london through D.H.L post. All the total cost is 2,980 euro. My dear partner i am very very sure that once my boss receive the sample carton from us everything is done successfully. The only thing that will make my boss to believe us and trust us so much in this business and transfer us the payment for 1000 cartons is once he receive the sample carton from us. Once my boss receive the sample carton from us. My boss will believe us and trust us so much in this business and transfer us the payment for 1000 cartons. I am very very sure okay. My dear partner please i want you to help and send the 2,980 euro with my boss information address to the store company in Togo please. So that the store company in Togo will help us and send the sample carton to my boss information address in london successfully okay. Once my boss in london receive the sample carton from us. My boss will believe us and transfer us the payment for 1000 cartons okay. I trust you with all my heart in this business and i want us to do this business successfully okay. So that we can share our profit money and be happy in this life okay. so please contact the store company in Togo and send them my boss information address in london with 2,980 euro please. So that the store company will send the sample carton to my boss address fast and urgent please. This business is very urgent please. please get back to me soon okay. From: Grace Annette < graceannette46@yahoo.com > Sent: Tuesday, December 5, 2017, 11:18:59 AM GMT+3:30 Subject: very very urgent please My dear trusted partner good morning. Please get back to me soon so that i will know what to do next please. My boss is waiting for us now to send him the sample so that he will believe us so much in this business supply and transfer us all the total payment for 1000 cartons. I can sell anything i have to make sure that we buy the sample and send to my boss in london okay. so please get back to me please,. From: Grace Annette < graceannette46@yahoo.com > Sent: Wednesday, December 6, 2017, 10:22:08 AM GMT+3:30 Subject: Good morning my dear trusted partner My dear partner i will try all my best to sell my gold jewelrys so that we can get money to buy the sample carton and send it to my boss address in london okay. I am very very sure that once my boss receive the sample carton from us whatever we told my boss in this business my boss will believe and trust us so much because we send him sample carton for test. So please i want to sell my gold jewelrys to make sure that we buy the sample and send it to my boss in london fast and urgent please. This business is very very urgent please. The lady who i meet to buy my jewelrys from me said by tomorrow i should come to her shop. So by tomorrow i will go to the lady she and sell my gold jewelrys to her. so that we can arrange money 2,980 euro for the sample carton okay. I will try all my best because i am very very serious in this buisness. So i can do anything to make sure that we complete this business successfully okay. So by tomorrow once i get the money from the lady i will inform you and also send it to the store company in Togo account details which you send to my last time. By tomorrow i will inform you okay. From: Grace Annette < graceannette46@yahoo.com > Sent: Thursday, December 7, 2017, 3:27:25 PM GMT+3:30 Subject: Good morning my dear trusted partner My dear trusted partner how are you today. I receive a call now from the lady who want to buy my gold jewelrys. She called me now to come to her shop with my gold jewelrys. So i am going to the lady shop now. Once i receive the money from the lady today i will go to the bank and send 2,980 euro to the store company in Togo okay. I am praying to God so that the lady will give me the money today so that i can send it to the store company in Togo to help us and send the sample to my boss london. I want this business to complete successfully and done fast. That is why i am selling my only gold jewelrys to make sure that we send the sample to my boss address in london so that my boss will trust us so much and send us money for 1000 cartons okay. I am very very sure that once my boss receive the sample from us everything is completed successfully. The sample will make my boss to trust us more and more in this business okay. Once my boss receive the sample from us my boss will book the order of 1000 cartons because my boss is very urgent in need of the product okay. My dear trusted partner please contact the store company in Togo and tell them that your business partner Mrs Grace Annette from Russia will send them 2,980 euro for the sample today or tomorrow okay. Contact the store company in Togo now and inform them okay. So that once i collected the money from the lady today i will go to the bank and send 2,980 euro to the store company in Togo to help us and send the sample to my boss in london okay. Please i am selling my only gold jewelrys because of the trust i have for you in this business and i want us to do this business with honest. Because i know that once this business is successfully and done i can buy any kind of gold jewelrys i want with my own share of the profit. So i believe in God in this business. God will help us so that our business will complete successfully soon okay. so that we can share our profit money and be happy in this life okay. I am going to the lady shop now okay. I will inform you once i am back with good news If you received a similar letter, please ignore it. Do not answer it. If you do, you will end up on more of the mailing lists used by the criminals behind this fraud. Read more.... A US Navy veteran charged with killing an Indian techie and injuring two others in a racially motivated hate crime at a bar in Kansas City early this year has pleaded not guilty. Adam Purinton, 52, was charged with first-degree murder in the February shooting in Olathe that killed 32-year-old Srinivas Kuchibhotla. He also faces two counts of attempted first-degree murder for wounding two other men. During a preliminary hearing on Saturday, Purinton pleaded not guilty. He waived his preliminary hearing and the not guilty plea was entered on his behalf. The next hearing is scheduled for May 8. He faces a maximum penalty of death or life in prison. Federal prosecutors allege that Purinton targeted Kuchibhotla and another Indian man, Alok Madasani, because of their race or ethnicity. The third man was shot when tried to help the two victims. North Korea on Wednesday successfully tested a new intercontinental ballistic missile, with leader Kim Jong-Un declaring his country had now achieved full nuclear statehood. (Photo: AFP) Seoul: North Korea held mass celebrations for its latest successful long-range missile test, Pyongyang's state media said Saturday, with a propaganda-filled display of fireworks and dancing in public squares. The ruling Workers Party official daily Rodong Sinmun covered its front page with colour photographs showing thousands of tightly packed soldiers and people applauding in Pyongyang's Kim Il-Sung square, which was decorated with large portraits of the North's late leaders. "We heartily celebrate the successful test launch of the Hwasong-15 which showed Chosun (North Korea)'s power and greatness to the whole world", read one banner held up by the crowd, referring to the missile. North Korea on Wednesday successfully tested a new intercontinental ballistic missile, with leader Kim Jong-Un declaring his country had now achieved full nuclear statehood. Read: US pushes China to cut off oil supply to North Korea The US in response warned that Kim Jong-Un's regime would be "utterly destroyed" if its pursuit of a long-range nuclear missile arsenal provokes a military clash, and has battled to maintain international solidarity in the face of North Korea's nuclear threat. Kim himself was absent from the celebrations - he usually stays away from such events - but Friday's gathering drew key military, party and government leaders. "Long Live the General Kim Jong-Un who has brought us the great historic cause of nuclear statehood", another banner read. Vice Chairman Pak Kwang-Ho of the party's decision-making Central Committee told the crowd that, after Wednesday's test launch, "now no one can infringe our sovereignty and rights to survive and develop", according to the daily. He said that the United States had been "jolted" at the strengthening of North Korea's nuclear force and could attempt to commit "robber-like" provocative acts. He repeated Kim's warning that the North would respond with the "highest level of hard-line countermeasure in history". Kim first made the threat in September in response to US President Donald Trump's UN speech threatening to destroy the North and mocking him as "Little Rocket Man". The ICBM Hwasong-15 type weaponry system used in Wednesday's test is an intercontinental ballistic rocket tipped with super-large heavy warhead capable of striking the whole mainland of the US, the North said. But analysts remain unconvinced that the North has mastered the technology required to launch and direct a missile, and ensure it survives the difficult re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere. Tensions are expected to rise further in the coming week as South Korea and the United States launch a massive air force drill mobilising some 230 aircraft including six US F-22 Raptor stealth jet fighters. Bangladesh has a tiny Christian population but they turned out in large numbers for Friday's service, many having queued for hours to get into the park. (Photo: AP) Dhaka: Pope Francis referred to refugees who have fled Myanmar for Bangladesh as "Rohingya" on Friday, using the politically sensitive name for the persecuted minority for the first time on an Asia tour dominated by their plight after meeting some of them in Dhaka. In a brief but strongly worded speech that followed an emotional encounter with a small group of the refugees who have fled to Bangladesh, he asked for forgiveness for all that the Rohingya have suffered "in the face of the world's indifference". "Today the presence of God is also called Rohingya," the pope said on the sidelines of a gathering with the leaders of different faiths in Dhaka. "Your tragedy is very hard, very great, but it has a place in our hearts. In the name of all those who have persecuted you, who have harmed you, in the face of the world's indifference, I ask for your forgiveness." More than 620,000 Rohingya have flooded into Bangladesh in the last three months, fleeing a violent military crackdown in mainly Buddhist Myanmar that the United Nations has described as ethnic cleansing. Among those the pope met was Shawkat Ara, a 12-year-old Rohingya orphan who broke down in tears shortly after the pope spoke to her and gently touched her head. "My parents were killed. I don't have any joy," she said, saying she had lost her entire family in an attack by the military in Myanmar. Pope Francis is known for championing the rights of refugees and has repeatedly expressed his support for the Rohingya, a persecuted Muslim minority whom he has described as his "brothers and sisters". But the usually forthright pontiff walked a diplomatic tightrope during his four days in Myanmar - the first ever papal visit to the country - avoiding any direct reference to the ethnic cleansing allegations in public while appealing to Buddhist leaders to overcome "prejudice and hatred". Hours after arriving in Bangladesh he addressed the issue head-on, calling for "decisive" international measures to address the "grave crisis". But as in Myanmar, he avoided using the term "Rohingya", drawing criticism from some rights activists and refugees. The word is politically sensitive in mainly Buddhist Myanmar because many there refuse to see the Rohingya as a distinct ethnic group. Pope Francis is offered a basket of Bangladesh soil as he arrives at Dhaka's international airport, Bangladesh. (Photo: AP) Religious freedom The 80-year-old Roman Catholic leader has frequently sought to influence a world he sees as indifferent to the plight of refugees forced to leave their homelands, whether through poverty or conflict. In 2016 he took three Syrian families, all Muslim, back to the Vatican after visiting them on the Greek island of Lesbos, a hotspot for asylum seekers. He has praised Bangladesh for giving refuge to the Rohingya, who have brought with them stories of horrific abuse at the hands of the Myanmar military and local Buddhist mobs, including rape, arson and murder. Read: Ahead of his Rohingya meeting, Pope Francis leads huge mass in Dhaka Earlier the pope led a giant open-air mass in Dhaka attended by around 100,000 Bangladeshi Catholics who sang hymns in Bengali and chanted "viva il papa" ("long live the pope") as he was driven through the crowd in an open-sided popemobile. Bangladesh has a tiny Christian population but they turned out in large numbers for Friday's service, many having queued for hours to get into the park. Some 4,000 police and security forces were deployed for the mass in the mainly Muslim country, which has suffered a number of attacks on religious minorities by Islamist extremists in recent years. "I feel like I am blessed to join the Pope's prayers," said 60-year-old widow Pronita Mra, who had travelled from her village in northeastern Bangladesh. "I'll pray for my late husband and parents so that they go to heaven. I hope the Pope will pray for peace and harmony among all communities in Bangladesh." Christians make up less than 0.5 percent of officially secular Bangladesh's population of 160 million and community leaders say it has become more difficult to practise their faith openly. But speaking to Muslim, Buddhist and Hindu leaders, Francis praised the country's commitment to religious freedom, which he said "stands as a subtle yet firm rebuke to those who would seek to foment division, hatred and violence in the name of religion". Imaan Mazari, daughter of PTI leader Shireen Mazari, had uploaded a video to her Twitter account, criticising the role of the army in the Faizabad sit-in and the aftermath of a botched operation by the government. In a surprising turn of event, mere hours after her anti-army video went viral, Imaan Hazir Mazari, daughter of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Shireen Mazari has gone missing from the social media site Twitter, Pakistan Today reported. A search for Imaans Twitter handle bounces back with a message displaying non-existence of such a page, even though it was only a few hours earlier that she used the same twitter account to publish an anti-army video.The disappearance of Imaan Hazir Mazari twitter handle has not gone unnoticed and people have started questioning whether her decision to leave Twitter was voluntary or forced. Earlier, Imaan Mazari uploaded a video to her Twitter account, criticising the role of the army in the Faizabad sit-in and the aftermath of a botched operation by the federal government. Shireen Mazari distanced herself from daughter Imaan Hazir Mazaris anti-army video, saying that she condemned the use of abusive language and narrative by her daughter against the armed forces of the country. The heavily-armed militants, who arrived in an auto rickshaw, attacked the students' hostel of the Directorate of Agriculture Extension on the University Road. (AFP/ Representational) Peshawar: Nine persons were arrested Saturday in Pakistan in connection with the Taliban attack on a Peshawar agriculture training institute in which at least 12 people, including students were killed and 35 others injured. Three burqa-clad Taliban militants stormed the institute and opened indiscriminate fire, killing at least 12 people, half of them students, before being shot dead by security forces Friday. The arrests were made after police and security forces carried out raids in Badhber, Telaband and other areas. "Nine suspects were nabbed and were being probed for their role in the attack," a senior police officer said. A huge cache of weapons was also recovered, he said. Earlier, the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) lodged an FIR in connection with the pre-dawn attack against unknown persons. Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), a banned terror outfit, claimed responsibility for the attack. Army said that the attack was planned and handled from Afghanistan where TTP militants are hiding. Meanwhile, bodies of victims were shifted to their native areas where funeral rituals were performed before their burial. The heavily-armed militants, who arrived in an auto rickshaw, attacked the students' hostel of the Directorate of Agriculture Extension on the University Road in the city, the capital of the restive Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province. Read: 9 killed, 35 hurt as Pak Taliban militants disguised in burqa attack college The institute was closed for the Eid-e-Milad holiday, but about 70 students were present in the hostel. The militants stormed the building by firing automatic weapons, creating panic, officials said. Aerial surveillance of the operation was carried out by the army aviation division whereas armoured vehicles of security forces were also called on site. Three terrorists were killed by security forces after a gunfight which lasted for an hour. Bullets holes in building walls, broken glass scattered and blood stains could be seen on TV footage. A police officer and two army troops were among the injured. An eyewitness said he and his colleagues were sleeping when the firing started, media reports said. The students present at the premises are undertaking their diplomas in Agriculture Sciences and Veterinary Sciences. Peshawar, close to the Afghan border, has seen some of the worst violence incidents during the Taliban insurgency in recent years. In 2014, a total of 147 people, including 132 school children, were massacred in one of the deadliest terrorist attacks in the country's history when terrorists stormed the Army Public School in Peshawar Cantonment and opened indiscriminate fire. Three burqa-clad Taliban militants stormed the institute and opened indiscriminate fire, killing at least 12 people, half of them students, before being shot dead by security forces yesterday. Nine persons were arrested on Saturday in Pakistan in connection with the Taliban attack on a Peshawar agriculture training institute in which at least 12 people, including students, were killed and 35 others injured. Three burqa-clad Taliban militants stormed the institute and opened indiscriminate fire, killing at least 12 people, half of them students, before being shot dead by security forces yesterday. The arrests were made after police and security forces carried out raids in Badhber, Telaband and other areas. Nine suspects were nabbed and were being probed for their role in the attack, a senior police officer said. A huge cache of weapons was also recovered, he said. Army said that the attack was planned and handled from Afghanistan where TTP militants are hiding. With barely five months left for the Assembly elections, Siddaramaiah is all set to create a record of being the first chief minister in the last four decades to complete the full five-year term. The last chief minister who was in the office for the entire five years was the late D Devaraj Urs (1972-77), who too was a backward classes leader like Siddaramaiah. Incidentally, both belong to the Mysuru district. Since 1978, no chief minister has been able to complete the term, mainly on account of infighting within the ruling party or charges of irregularities. Since 1978, Karnataka has seen 19 governments and had President's rule imposed four times. In fact, the trend of a chief minister not completing the full term started with Urs himself, who became the chief minister for the second time in 1978. He was ousted from his post in just two years in 1980 due to dissident activities in the ruling Congress party. Though S M Krishna had provided a stable government a 1999 and 2004, he did not complete the full term as he decided to go to polls five months in advance. In the past four years and seven months as the chief minister, Siddaramaiah has proved himself an astute politician: He has not only managed to successfully wriggle out of difficult situations, but also consolidated his position in the party by carefully playing his cards. Though a section of the leaders, especially those who claim to have remained loyal to the party, have been upset with Siddaramaiah for sidelining them, the 'new convert to the Congress' has not allowed them to gang up against him and stage a coup. Siddaramaiah either carefully got rid of his adversaries or ingratiated himself with them. His adversaries such as former ministers V Srinivas Prasad and A H Vishwanath quit the Congress, while party veterans such as B Janardhana Poojary and C K Jaffer Sharief who used to openly criticise his style of functioning were silenced. He managed to keep Dalit leader and Congress leader in Lok Sabha Mallikharjun Kharge in good humour by inducting his son Priyank Kharge into the Cabinet. So much so that, Siddaramaiah is now eying a second term as the chief minister. He has, on many occasions, claimed that he will continue in the post if the party comes back to power in the 2018 Assembly polls. The Congress high command, which is making all-out efforts to retain power in Karnataka, too, has declared that Siddaramaiah will lead the party campaign in the Assembly elections. Interestingly, Siddaramaiah has also broken two jinxes: First, visiting Chamarajanagar town and second, using 'Kaveri' as his official residence in Bengaluru. Chief ministers over the past many years had been avoiding both of them, fearing that they would lose their post. Siddaramaiah not only visited Chamarajanagar town many times, but he continues to stay in 'Kaveri.' Political analyst Harish Ramaswamy said stability is the prerequisite for providing good governance. Siddaramaiah has managed to provide it despite many challenges. "He has proved that he is a seasoned politician. Moreover, he took advantage of the lack of clarity in the Congress high command and emerged as a strong leader," he added. Donald Trump's former top advisor Michael Flynn pleaded guilty Friday to lying to the FBI over his contacts with Russia, in a dramatic escalation of the probe into possible collusion between the president's campaign team and Moscow. The 58-year-old retired three-star Army general is the most senior figure indicted in special prosecutor Robert Mueller's sprawling investigation into Russian interference in last year's election. Flynn's admission that he had secret discussions in December 2016 with Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak -- with direction from top Trump officials -- set Washington abuzz with speculation over who in the Republican leader's inner circle might next be in Mueller's sights. Citing unnamed sources, The Washington Post reported that one of the "very senior" presidential transition team officials advising Flynn to contact the Russian envoy was Trump's son-in-law and senior aide Jared Kushner. Flynn's guilty plea, on a federal charge of making false statements to investigators, came with a pledge to cooperate with Mueller, whose focus goes beyond possible collusion with Russia to shady business dealings and whether Trump himself tried to thwart the investigation. The White House rejected the idea that Flynn could implicate "anyone" else, as ABC News reported that Flynn would testify that Trump ordered him to reach out to Moscow during the campaign -- news that sent Wall Street shares tumbling. ABC later issued a clarification, saying its source said Flynn would testify that Trump ordered him to reach out to Moscow after the November 2016 election. "I recognize that the actions I acknowledged in court today were wrong," Flynn said in a statement after a brief appearance in federal court in the US capital. "My guilty plea and agreement to cooperate with the special counsel's office reflect a decision I made in the best interests of my family and of our country. I accept full responsibility for my actions." The charge normally carries up to five years in prison, but under the terms of the plea deal, Mueller says he has recommended a lighter sentence of only up to six months in jail, court filings show. Flynn, the fourth person charged in the Mueller probe, admitted he lied to FBI investigators about his private discussions with Kislyak about US sanctions imposed on Moscow by the administration of then president Barack Obama. At the time, Flynn was a campaign and transition advisor with no official US government role, but he was clearly a top candidate to become Trump's White House national security advisor. Flynn eventually was given that post, but was forced to resign in February, just weeks after the president took office, due to public concerns over his contacts with Russia. According to court documents released by prosecutors Flynn asked Kislyak on December 28 to moderate Russia's response to new sanctions and the expulsion of 35 Russian diplomats, announced by Obama in retaliation for Moscow's interference in the 2016 election. The documents say he took that action based on discussions with "a senior official of the Presidential Transition Team." After its announcement of punitive measures, the Obama administration was openly puzzled by Moscow's decision not to retaliate, and began investigating possible interference by Flynn and the Trump campaign. A week earlier, under the instruction of "a very senior member" of the transition team, Flynn also secretly asked Kislyak to defeat or delay a looming UN Security Council resolution to condemn Israel's settlements in Palestinian territory, according to court filings. While the two interactions do not clearly suggest collusion, they raise questions about the Trump team's dealings with Moscow before taking office -- and whether they actively worked to undermine Obama's policies. The White House, which has long denied any wrongdoing in relation to Moscow, said Flynn's admitted lies about those meetings "mirror the false statements to White House officials which resulted in his resignation." "Nothing about the guilty plea or the charge implicates anyone other than Mr Flynn," said White House attorney Ty Cobb. Since the first allegations of Russian interference last year, and despite reports from top US intelligence officials concluding it happened, Trump has dismissed the notion as "fake news" and an excuse for Democratic rival Hillary Clinton's loss at the polls. "Since the first day I took office, all you hear is the phony Democrat excuse for losing the election, Russia, Russia, Russia," he tweeted last week. But Friday's news made clear that Trump's inner circle could increasingly come under the microscope. For Trump, the focus is on whether he has tried to stifle the investigation, including by firing FBI chief James Comey in May, which could draw obstruction of justice charges, the same charges that forced president Richard Nixon from office in 1974. On social media Comey posted a biblical verse: "But let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream." Democratic Senator Mark Warner told CNN: "The one individual that still seems to deny that this is a major issue is Donald Trump. And I just kind of wonder why." With the Assembly elections in mind, the state government has decided to launch a BMTC bus service, named after former prime minister Indira Gandhi, to cater exclusively to women garment workers in the city. "There are two lakh female garment workers in Bengaluru. A committee headed by the transport secretary will soon identify routes based on the location of the garment factories," Transport Minister H M Revanna told reporters. The Indira Sarige will ferry garment workers at subsidised fares. The government will also launch a new bus pass named after Indira. The Indira Pass will be issued free of cost only to female labourers in the unorganised sector in Bengaluru. "The pass will carry similar fare rebates that come with passes that are issued to students, senior citizens and the differently-abled," Revanna said. The fare subsidy on Indira Sarige and Indira Pass will be borne in part by the employers of the female labourers, Revanna added. On Saturday, Revanna is scheduled to launch Indira Clinics at the Majestic and Yeswanthpur bus stations. The clinics will provide primary healthcare to drivers and commuters. Earlier this year, the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government launched the popular chain of affordable eateries, Indira Canteens, in Bengaluru. The government and the party celebrated the birth centenary of the late prime minister with much fanfare recently. Bengaluru is short of 1,100 public toilets to reach the guidelines issued by the Swachh Bharat Mission for public toilets. Ahead of the Swachh Bharat survey, the finding by an NGO underscores the lack of civic amenities in the city. The guidelines issued by the Swachh Bharat Mission for public toilets gives directions to provide one public toilet complex for every seven kilometres. However, the survey by Janaagraha shows that there is just one public toilet complex for every 24 kilometres. The toilets also suffer from lack of maintenance. As it was discovered that though most toilets seem to be in a usable condition, they lack functioning flushes or dustbins. About 204 of toilets have scored zero in the survey that marked them based on the amenities available. The condition of the city parks, playgrounds and open spaces is equally disappointing according to the survey. Some of these parks lack basic facilities such as lights and remain locked all through the day. The two-month long survey was conducted by an expert team and the data has been collected through 10 questions framed for each category. "The BBMP has to work to provide the basic infrastructure. It is a good move that they are actually calling for tenders and have issued job codes but it will matter only if properly done," said Sapna Karim, Head, civic participation, Janaagraha. Sarfaraz Khan, joint commissioner, Health and Solid Waste Management, BBMP said, "Recently we have been granted some funds under the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan and we have also held a meeting regarding this issue. We will have all toilets properly functioning with all the amenities by the end of December 31." The Swachh Survekshan-2018 covering all 4,041 Indian cities will begin in January and the results are expected to be announced by March-end. WASHINGTON, Dec. 1 (Xinhua) -- U.S. space agency NASA said Friday that a set of thrusters aboard the Voyager 1 spacecraft, the only human-made object in interstellar space, have been successfully fired up after 37 years without use. The spacecraft has been using small devices called "attitude control thrusters" to orient itself so it can communicate with Earth, but the thrusters have been degrading since 2014, according to NASA. The Voyager team assembled a group of propulsion experts to study the problem and eventually agreed on an unusual solution that will try giving the job of orientation to a set of four backup thrusters dormant since 1980. On Tuesday, Voyager engineers sent a command to fire the four "trajectory correction maneuver (TCM)" thrusters and it took 19 hours and 35 minutes for the test results to reach an antenna in Goldstone, California. On Wednesday, the engineers "learned the TCM thrusters worked perfectly -- and just as well as the attitude control thrusters," said NASA. The plan going forward is to switch to the TCM thrusters in January, it said. "With these thrusters that are still functional after 37 years without use, we will be able to extend the life of the Voyager 1 spacecraft by two to three years," said Suzanne Dodd, project manager for Voyager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. NASA added it will likely do a similar test on the TCM thrusters for Voyager 2, the twin spacecraft of Voyager 1. Voyager 2 is also on course to enter interstellar space, likely within the next few years, and currently, its attitude control thrusters are still functioning well. Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 were launched 16 days apart in 1977. Voyager 1 reached interstellar space, which NASA described as "the environment between the stars," in 2012. Thousands took to relief camps in Sri Lanka and southern India on Saturday to escape rising floodwaters after a cyclone killed at least 26 people. Cyclone Ockhi has left 13 people dead in Sri Lanka and killed an equal number in India's Kerala and Tamil Nadu states since Friday as it churns in the Arabian Sea. Eleven people, mostly fishermen, remained missing in the two countries as nearly 9,000 people sought shelter in relief camps. Scores of localites suffered flooding and cut power and telephone lines as winds of up to 130 kilometres (80 miles) per hour swept the region. Weather experts warned of more heavy rains to come, as the water level rose in several rivers in southern India. The tiny Indian island of Lakshadweep off the country's western coast braced for winds of 145 kilometres (90 miles) per hour. The Sri Lankan disaster management centre said 77,000 people in 16 districts have been affected, with the highest number in the southern Galle district. Nearly 4,000 people are in Sri Lankan relief camps amid widespread destruction of property. Authorities are on red alert in coastal areas, with five deaths already reported in Kanyakumari on the southern tip of India. Schools and colleges in parts of India's southern states have been shut as authorities try to restore nearly 4,000 snapped power lines. The Kerala state emergency department said nearly 3,200 people were in relief camps. "Seven people died in several incidents and 218 were rescued from the sea," an agency official told AFP. Weather officials said the storm was likely to move north into Tamil Nadu and the east coast state of Andhra Pradesh in the next four days. India's eastern coast -- including major cities like Chennai and Bhubaneswar -- are prone to storms that wreak immense damage between April and December. In 1999, more than 8,000 people were killed when a cyclone battered the eastern state of Orissa. While Cyclone Ockhi was said to be weakening, another tropical storm was brewing in the Bay of Bengal on the east coast, officials said. Speak Out is much appreciated for its wit and tongue-in-cheek counterpoints. In this four-part recap, we bring to you some editors picks of our Speak Out section. We hope this will delight you as much as it delighted us to put it together. The order is purely chronological from January until now. In August this year, DK Shivakumar faced a massive raid by the Income Tax department. The raid, lasting 4 days, unearthed over Rs. 300 crores in unaccounted income. Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah called the raids politically motivated, throwing a shade at the BJP government in the Centre. The Gorakhpur tragedy was a widely reported incident where several people, including infants, died in the BRD college's hospital owing to lack of oxygen. Subsequent investigations revealed that oxygen supply was cut off because the hospital failed to pay the bills to their suppliers on time. Yogi Adityanath's statements came after the opposition and the media took to criticising him, who was from that constituency.Kamal Hassan's comments on his colour "not being saffron" came after a meeting with Pinarayi Vijayan, when he was asked what his political affiliation was.The killings of BJP and RSS workers in Kerala was, politically speaking, a pretty dark time for the communist government of the state, given that the BJP was handed a highly effective weapon to use against them. The comments of Amit Shah, however, directly blamed the CM, Pinyari Vijayan, for the murders.The caste-based reservation has always been a touchy subject in India, but the limit imposed by the Constitution on reservation is capped at 50%, which includes reservation for all backward communities. However, this did not stop Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah from proclaiming that he would increase reservation for SCs and STs to 70% if he won the 2018 Assembly polls. RELATED: Part 1: Recap of Speak Out in 2017 Part 2: Recap of Speak Out in 2017 (Compiled by Ajmal, Poornima & Varun) Naples' art of pizza twirling is a candidate to join UNESCO's list of "intangible heritage" next week along with a wealth of other cultural treasures such as Saudi Arabian wall painting and Bangladeshi cane weaving. Meeting on the South Korean island of Jeju, the UN cultural body's World Heritage Committee will also consider whether to give special support for heritage that is struggling to survive. Naples' candidacy for pizza twirling has created a buzz in the southern Italian city where the art has been handed down for generations - as well as around the world. Some two million people have joined a petition of support of Naples' application, according to Sergio Miccu, head of the Association of Neapolitan Pizzaioli, who will be in Jeju for the proceedings. "We're confident the vote will be favourable," Miccu told AFP in Rome, adding: "We'll be giving out free pizza in the streets" if the age-old culinary tradition joins the prestigious list. The custom goes far beyond the pizzaiolo's spectacular handling of the dough -- hurling it into the air in order to "oxygenate" it - to include songs and stories that have turned pizza-making into a time-honoured social ritual. Thirty-four candidates are seeking to join the list of intangible heritage, which currently includes 365 traditions, art forms and practices from Spain's flamenco dancing to Indonesian batik, to more obscure entries such as a Turkish oil wrestling festival and the Mongolian coaxing ritual for camels. Saudi Arabia wants to see Al-Qatt Al-Asin, elaborate interior wall paintings traditionally done by women, inscribed on the list this year. The art, which promotes solidarity among women, is handed down through observation. For its part, Bangladesh has put forward its tradition of Shital Pati, an intricate weaving craft using strips of green cane to produce mats and bedspreads. The list of "intangible" cultural treasures was created in 2003, mainly to increase awareness about them, while UNESCO also sometimes offers financial or technical support to countries struggling to protect them. Morocco is sounding the alarm this year for its martial dance called Taskiwin, and Turkey is concerned over its whistled language heritage. Both are threatened by declining interest in the traditions among young people. UNESCO began compiling a list for cultural and natural world heritage - physical properties such as Cambodia's Angkor Wat or the Grand Canyon in the United States - in 1972. The World Heritage list now comprises 814 cultural sites, 203 natural ones and 35 with both natural and cultural qualities such as Australia's Uluru National Park, formerly known as Ayer's Rock. The committee winds up its review of nominations to the list of Representative Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity on Friday. More than 8,000-10,000 residents from various apartments across the city on Saturday morning came together to protest against the rule making it mandatory for the apartments with more than 50 units to install Sewage Treatment Plants (STP). The rally was organised by Bangalore Apartment Federation (BAF), a federation of hundreds of apartments in Bengaluru. A long human chain was formed by the apartment dwellers of 173 apartment complexes in the city. "The older apartments do not have the design or strength to install STPs. Moreover, all these are already connected to the internal sewage system. Why are we being harassed to install STPs now? It is the job of the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) to maintain the internal sewage system right," said Srikant Narasimhan, general secretary, Bangalore Apartments Federation. He also said that the civic agencies should engage with the people and the residents of the city to find solutions for these problems. BWSSB has issued notices to 1,043 apartments with more than 50 houses in the city asking them to install STP within December 31 to avoid being penalised. London mayor Sadiq Khan will be arriving in Mumbai on Sunday as part of his first official tour to three Indian cities to promote the British capital's resilience and strengths post-Brexit. Apart from Mumbai, Khan would be visiting Delhi and Amritsar in India and then fly to Lahore, Islamabad and Karachi in Pakistan on his six-day tour to six cities. As part of the Indian leg of the trade mission aimed at promoting new business links between India and London, the London mayor has a series of meetings planned with senior politicians, business leaders, regional leaders as well as bollywood personalities. His central message will be that the British capital remains open to Indian talent post-Brexit. "Following last year's EU referendum, it is far more important to get the message of London is open out far and wide and I will be taking that message to India and Pakistan," he said on the eve of his visit. Khan would be taking the Jet Airways' recently launched third direct London-Mumbai flight. "Jet Airways is doing their bit to ensure that the London-India relationship really takes off. The new flight comes as a major boost for the relationship between our two countries and an opportunity to not only deepen and expand our economic ties but to forge even closer social and cultural ties too," he said. Mumbai-headquartered Jet Airways recently added a third direct flight between London and Mumbai, taking the total number of direct flights between London and India to four with two existing direct routes to Mumbai and one to Delhi. The mayor of London will be accompanied by his Deputy Mayor for Business, Rajesh Agrawal. Their packed itinerary in India will include discussions on business and investment, infrastructure and the environment as well as visas and other opportunities to work together more closely. A newly married woman allegedly committed suicide over dowry harassment by her mother-in-law, at HSR layout in the city. Police said she left behind a suicide note, saying her mother-in-law had been harassing her over dowry. Vanitha (28), daughter of a corporator in Mysuru, was found hanging from the ceiling of her room last night. She had got married to a techie from Chennai five months back. Police said the woman's mother-in-law and husband were detained and were being questioned. Sixty eight year old Trevor D'Souza, a marine engineer by profession, came down all the way from Toronto in Canada to Mangaluru just to get Aadhaar card for his 101-year-old mother Gladys D'Souza, who stays in an old age home in City. "As Iacould not transfer money from my mom's account in SBI to the senior citizen's home account, which is also in the same branch of SBI (reportedly due to non-submission of KYC details), I came all the way from Canada to set right the anomalies," he told DH. Soon afterwords, he tried his level best to get Aadhaar card for his 101 year old mother, who can not move from senior citizen's home at Pandeshwar in City. To his dismay, he was told in the DC office that he will have to get his ailing mother to the DC office. Meanwhile, his efforts to appeal senior citizens helpline (1090) as well as Department of Women & Child at Urwa too was of no help, said another senior citizen I J S Shet, who accompanied Trevor to these offices. In fact, Trevor was amused to see a list of senior citizens displayed in DC office who are in queue for the same problem. When contacted, Additional Deputy Commissioner Kumar told DH that the government has recently withdrawn the facility wherein the equipment could be taken out to a particular place, specially for those who are unable to move or go to Aadhaar enrolement office. "As of now, besides DC office and taluk office, the facility is available at 17 Naada Kacheris and Mangalore One centres," he said and added that a special Aadhaar Adalat is planned between December 4 and December 8 at Town Hall in City for those who can not go Aadhaar centres without easy access (for example staircase). Centenarian Gladys has been living in Mangaluru since 2008, as she was not comfortable and happy in Canada and the US as the cold conditions there did not suit her life style. In fact, Trevor is worried that if he can not get Aadhaar card by this month end, he will not be able to transfer money to his mom's caretakers. Quite interestingly, Gladys is a cancer survivor. As recently as 2015, she was diagnosed with cancer of the breast and treated at Fr Muller's hospital with the support of city's leading oncologists. Though at one stage it seemed a lost battle, the fighter of big battles that Great Grand Mother Gladys has survived and hopes to survive the Aadhaar conundrum as well, with the help of the DK district administration, before the authorities concerned delink the accounts on December 31, 2017. Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, delivers a speech at the opening ceremony of CPC in Dialogue with World Political Parties High-Level Meeting in Beijing, capital of China, Dec. 1, 2017. (Xinhua/Liu Weibing) BEIJING, Dec. 1 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, said the CPC is willing to work with other political parties around the world to promote the building of a community with a shared future for mankind and create a better world. Xi made the remarks while delivering a keynote speech on Friday at the opening ceremony of CPC in Dialogue with World Political Parties High-Level Meeting in Beijing. BUILDING COMMUNITY WITH SHARED FUTURE FOR MANKIND Xi said the initiative of building a community with a shared future for mankind is being transformed from a concept into action. "I'm delighted to see that the friendly cooperation between China and other countries is increasingly expanding and the concept of a community with a shared future for mankind is gaining support and endorsement from an increasing number of people," Xi said. The concept of building a community with a shared future for mankind was put forth by Xi in 2013. The Belt and Road Initiative is the practice of the concept, Xi said, adding the initiative has become a huge cooperation platform for countries concerned to realize their common development. Proposed by Xi in 2013, the Belt and Road Initiative aims to build trade and infrastructure networks connecting Asia with Europe and Africa via land and maritime routes. In his speech, Xi said building a community with a shared future for mankind is in essence to connect the prospects and destinies of every nation and country closely together, share weal and woe, and turn planet Earth into a harmonious family. He said efforts shall be made to build a safe world free of fear, adding a country cannot gain its security at the cost of others'. Threats facing other countries may be challenges to ourselves. "Facing increasingly complicated and integrated threats, we shall not fight alone, nor shall we worship military force," he said, adding all countries should pursue a new concept of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security. All countries should create fair, just and shared security to jointly eliminate the root cause of war and rescue people from pains brought about by war, he said. In the meantime, countries should also strive to eliminate poverty and promote common prosperity, Xi said, citing challenges such as the North-South development gap, poverty, hunger and digital gap. The old-school winner-takes-all mentality and beggar-thy-neighbor approach would not only block the doors of others, but also barricade one's own path. "They would erode a country's own roots for growth, and impair the future of whole humanity," he said. The world should push for an economic globalization that is more open and inclusive, more balanced, more equitable and beneficial to all, to bring prosperity to all countries and create comfortable lives for children worldwide, he noted. Xi went on to emphasize the significance of an open and inclusive world, urging the world to break cultural barriers and let all kinds of civilizations exist and grow in harmony. Stressing the building of a clean and beautiful world with picturesque scenery, Xi called for efforts to ensure coexistence between man and nature, cherish the environment as we cherish our own lives, respect and protect nature, and safeguard the irreplaceable planet Earth. NEW MODEL OF PARTY-TO-PARTY RELATIONS Xi proposed to develop a new model of party-to-party relations, in which political parties seek common grounds while shelving differences, respect and learn from one another. Political parties of different countries should work together for an international network of cooperation and exchange in various forms and at multiple levels, he said. With an open vision and broad mind, the CPC is willing to carry out dialogues, exchanges and cooperation with peoples and political parties of other countries, he noted. In the next five years, the CPC would like to invite 15,000 members of foreign political parties to China for exchanges, Xi said. Xi also suggested that the CPC in Dialogue with World Political Parties High-Level Meeting be institutionalized and developed into a high-level political dialogue platform of broad representation and international influence. The CPC has kept regular contacts with more than 400 political parties and organizations in about 160 countries and regions. CHINA WILL NOT "EXPORT" CHINESE MODEL Xi said the CPC would neither import foreign models of development nor export the Chinese model. "We will not ask other countries to copy the Chinese practice," he added. He reiterated that the CPC strives for both the well-being of the Chinese people and human progress. Therefore, besides taking care of China's internal matters, the CPC will create opportunities for the world through China's development, said Xi. The CPC, as the biggest political party in the world, will also explore the law of social development for humanity and share it with other countries, according to Xi. He said that the CPC will, as always, contribute to world peace. Noting that one of the founding missions of the CPC, established in 1921, was to end the plight of the country which had suffered long period of war and to ensure the people's survival, Xi stressed that the CPC "knows deeply the value of peace and holds firm resolve in maintaining peace." To date, China has dispatched over 36,000 peacekeeping personnel and the country is acting as a major peacekeeping force and contributor of funds for UN peacekeeping missions. There are currently more than 2,500 Chinese peacekeepers on UN missions in eight locations, safeguarding local peace and tranquility, despite difficulties and dangers. He pledged that no matter what stage of development it reaches, China will never seek hegemony or engage in expansion. Also, the CPC will continue working for common development around the world and contributing to exchanges and mutual learning among the civilizations of the world, Xi said. EXCHANGES IN VARIOUS FORMS After the opening ceremony, the first plenary session of the meeting was held, in which foreign delegates spoke highly of Xi's speech and expressed their willingness to work with the CPC to build a better world. Wang Huning, member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and member of the CPC Central Committee Secretariat, attended the opening ceremony and the first plenary session. Earlier the same day, representatives of attendees paid a visit to the Party School of the CPC Central Committee and visited an exhibition on China's achievements over the past five years. Guests from Africa and Central Asia also had seminars with the CPC on the role of parties in building a community of shared future and promoting the Belt and Road Initiative, respectively. Both events were held under the framework of the high-level dialogue, which has attracted over 600 representatives of nearly 300 political parties and organizations from more than 120 countries. BJP chief Amit Shah today cited the acceleration in the growth rate of the country's GDP to assert that it underlined the "India Unstoppable" story under Prime Minister Narendra Modi and described the growth in the manufacturing sector as a very positive sign. The reforms by the BJP-led central government were leading to a faster growth as well as creating a strong and stable economy, with increased opportunities for the poor and middle class, Shah said in a series of tweets. "Today's GDP numbers reiterate the #IndiaUnstoppable story under PM Narendra Modi. The strong rebound in growth is a reflection of solid economic management by the Modi government," he said. "India's rise in the World Bank's ease of doing business rankings, upgrade by Moody's, praise by Standard & Poor's and the strong growth in Q2 show that India's rise is inevitable. The Modi government's efforts are ensuring better prospects for each Indian," the BJP chief said. Reversing the trend after five quarters of a decline in the GDP growth, the Indian economy expanded by 6.3 per cent in the July-September quarter, due to a pick-up in manufacturing. "The significant uptick in the manufacturing sector is a very positive sign for our economy and will further boost 'Make in India' and generate more employment," Shah said. BJP spokesperson GVL Narasimha Rao hit out at the Congress, saying its gloomy predictions for the economy had fallen flat on the faces of former prime minister Manmohan Singh and former finance minister P Chidambaram. As predicted, the economy had rebounded strongly in the second quarter (of the current financial year) and would gather further momentum in the quarters ahead, he said. "The Congress' cynical attempt at predicting an economic gloom, fully knowing that the GST would recalibrate the economy, has fallen flat on the faces of Manmohan Singh and P Chidambaram. They had brought the economy to the brink of a precipice during the UPA rule," Rao said. PTI KR RC A day after winning the Uttar Pradesh civic polls, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and apprised him of an internal assessment on the electoral effort that showed that people continued to repose their faith in the BJP, eight months after the Assembly elections. Modi is learnt to have told the chief minister to focus on the development of the state as the next round of a bigger electoral test is only a year away when the prime minister will be seeking a fresh mandate to remain in power. The chief minister also took to Twitter to say that the verdict validates the development schemes of the Centre and state governments for empowering the people of Uttar Pradesh. But, Yogi will have to deliver administratively not only to silence his detractors who have created a buzz on his lack of office experience, but also fulfil the central leadership's expectation that the party's performance in the next general elections should not slip much from its peak performance in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. The BJP had won 71 of the total 80 parliamentary seats. Yogi has launched a crackdown on non-performers and given a free hand to police for restoring law and order. "With this feat, the saffron-robed head priest of Gorakhnath math has now consolidated his position in the BJP, given that he had steered the campaign leading to the party's emphatic win in civic polls," said a party leader in Uttar Pradesh. The BJP won 14 of the 16 mayoral seats. Interestingly, the party has not fared that well in the nagar panchayat elections, as it has managed to win only 664 of the total 5446 wards, which comes to only 12.22%. It indicates that rural inhabitants are not satisfied with the ruling BJP's performance. While more than 71% wards were cornered by independent candidates, the SP managed to win 453 wards, the BSP 262 and the Congress stood last with 126. Bengaluru-headquartered Exide Life Insurance, which commenced its operations in 2001, aims to grow at twice the pace of the industry. In an interaction with Uma Kannan of Deccan Herald, Kshitij Jain, Managing director and CEO of Exide Life Insurance, explains that the industry is growing really well and how the company plans to grow its business. Edited excerpts: What is India's life insurance penetration at present? Has it undergone any changes in the last five years? Insurance penetration is seen in very different ways globally. One way it is seen is gross written premiums of the entire industry as a percentage of the GDP of the country, which means that you take all the premiums picked up in the life insurance industry and all the premiums picked up in the general insurance industry, combine them and take that as a percentage of the GDP of the country. The reason why everyone is excited about the insurance industry is that even today insurance penetration is under 4% of GDP in our country. While in developed economies, for instance, in the UK, and even in Asian markets like Taiwan, insurance penetration is in the double digit a between 12% and 15%- of the GDP. Also, we can look at the number of people who buy insurance policies every year and how many policies are in force, which in the life insurance industry is quite exciting, as over three crore policies are sold every year. How big is the insurance industry in India? There are over 25 crore policies in force in the country. That's a very large number, and this would include individuals who have more than one policy. The insurance industry is a very large industry and in the last year, it has come back to growth. Though there was a relative slowdown in the industry after the financial crisis in 2009-10, if you look at the first seven months of this financial year, we have new business, and the industry has grown the fastest in this period as compared to the last seven years. Demonetisation has had an impact on what has happened in the industry. The large amount of cash that people had found their way into the financial services, as a result of which bank deposits have gone up, the mutual fund industry is doing very well, and so are we. Also, if you look at the other options available in the market, it is no secret that hard assets, especially gold and real estate today are not as attractive as they used to be as savings options, and therefore, very clearly the beneficiary is the financial services industry. How do you look at the future of the industry? Will insurance penetration touch two digits? Two digits may be difficult. However, we can be certain that the overall industry will grow. I am confident about this. At least twice the pace of GDP of this country. How well is Exide Life Insurance growing, especially after demonetisation? Our organisation till six years ago was not making profits so the entire focus of the organisation was to make sure that we can take this business to profitability. Over the last five years, we have had a secular improvement in our profits year-on-year. We witnessed Rs 112 crore of profit in the last fiscal, 27% growth over the previous year. Our total premium income was Rs 2,409 crore, and assets under management (AUM) stood at Rs 11,105 crore. We serve over 15 lakh customers in over 200 cities in India. After Rs 100 crore profit, the other exciting number would be Rs 200 crore, but it will take more time. But in two years down, we should be in a position to double again. How many products are you offering at present? We have a very wide portfolio of products. We do business in two platforms - one is the individual life insurance where we have 23 products and we have three riders, riders are add on options which you can buy along with products to get an additional cover. In addition to this, we have five products and one rider on the group platform which is for corporate customers. We have a solution for every need of a customer and for every life stage, and that's the reason why there is such a large product portfolio. Are you planning to expand your presence? To build distribution, physical infrastructure is not that crucial anymore. So, the only reason we are opening offices now is to be able to service customers who are in large numbers in a particular geography. Instead of expanding our own physical offices, we are tying up with like-minded partners, for example, banks, brokers and corporate agents and through them in addition to the 200 cities, we are actually close to 800 more. Going forward, the business will depend more on digital interventions to be able to both sell and service the customers. We want to grow this business in terms of new business at over 35%. That would be the first internal check but more than new business, the big thing that we are attempting to do as an organisation is actually focusing on increasing the number of policies enforced by the organisation. In the recent past, many insurance companies have gone for IPO. Do you have any plans to go for the same? Not in the immediate future. Our principal shareholder Exide Industries is invested for the long-term. It is a very cash-rich ownership, and it is debt-free. There are no plans for an IPO, but when our shareholders feel the need, we will see. Education is the first step towards social equality, reminded Professor Niranjan Aradhya V P. "Education enables an individual to validate the Constitutional values. Hence upholding them and ensuring equality and justice in the society must be the aim of the education system. Only then would the creation of an able and aware society be possible," said the educationist. He was delivering a talk on 'Present Scenario of Education System in India: Prospects and Challenges' at Alva's Nudisiri 2017 on Saturday. "The education system was expected to be a pioneer of social well-being. But privatisation and modernisation, combined with English imperialism have turned the system into a market-driven entity," he said and added that this system is failing in providing free and fair education to all. "Oxford, Cambridge, CBSE, English medium schools, deemed universities, government schools, and the variety of education systems have all glorified the education system, but each of them has failed in providing justice to the purpose of education," he opined. Elaborating on the condition of schools in India, Niranjan Aradhya said, "The school system in Karnataka has reached a position of extreme jeopardy. People are losing faith in government schools today. All we can hear is that they neither provide quality education nor ensure a safe future for the students. Consequentially, government Kannada medium schools are shutting down, marking the downfall of Kannada as a whole." Speaking further, he said, forced installation of English and Western culture at a very young age is depriving students of their interests as well as opportunities to comprehend and respect Kannada heritage. "The increase in the number of English medium schools in the state is evidence for this. There were 47,670 Kannada medium schools in Karnataka in 2010-11, but the number has fallen to 43,895 in 2017. Private English medium schools have risen from 10,215 to 13,438 in the period. So is the government of Karnataka merely focusing on privatisation?" he asked. "If government schools fail to inculcate value-based education in students, isn't the government doing an injustice to the Constitution? Well-furnished schools, competent teachers, electricity, pure drinking water, playgrounds, and libraries are absolutely necessary. However, only 10% of government schools in Karnataka possess such facilities. Clearly, this is cause for the steady downfall of the education system in Karnataka," he validated. "Education is not just about transferring technical information. It must be an embodiment of knowledge through ethical and competent means. If the Karnataka government works to make the education system more competent, only then would the system sustain any further," he concluded. President of Alva's Nudisiri Nagatihalli Chandrashekar and convenor Dr M Mohan Alva were present. Introspection Dr Nityananda B Shetty from Mysore University spoke on the subject 'Mass Media-Grounds for Self-Introspection.' "People who do not have direct access to truth rely on other forms of media for access to content. The form of media in the contemporary scenario is largely visual media. However, visual media has resorted to manufacturing truth and consent. The trend of 'mediatisation' is making people believe what the channels want them to. They seem to be in an illusion that they are 'Sarvajnas' (know-it-all). The entity that introspects and criticizes the country's aspects is in dire need of introspection," said the professor. Elaborating the prospects for self-introspection in newspaper media, Dr Niranjan Vanalli from Mysore University said, "Tabloid journalism had once posed a threat to mainstream media. Now, however, mainstream media itself has turned into tabloids. No one apparently has the sensitivity to filter out the wrong news. Gate-keeping ideology and conscience orientation are lacking in newspapers today. It is impossible to build a society with such destructive ideals." Wonder Woman, Deadpool, and other comic book characters from across the city came alive at the sixth edition of Bengaluru Comic-Con, a festival dedicated to comics, movies and Anime, at the KTPO convention centre in Whitefield on Saturday. Fans dressed as popular characters queued up to get autographs from their favourite comic artists. Among the international guests at this year's festival was Scott Hampton, American comic book artist known for his illustrations of Batman, Sandman, Black Widow, Hellraiser and Star Trek. Speaking at an interaction, Hampton described how his brother Bo, also a comic artist, inspired him to draw. "Bo is five years older than me. He was my access to comics, drawing and the guitar. I first started drawing when I was three or four because Bo was drawing," he said. Hampton said that when he was drawing Batman, the first thing he paid attention to was the length of the superhero's ears. "I opted for longer ears because I liked it that way. I also wanted the city in the comic to be dark and dimly lit. Nobody in my city had a light bulb over 40 Watts," he joked. Hampton has an interest in ghost stories and he revealed that his book Upturned Stone, about four boys who encounter a ghost on Halloween, may soon be experienced in the movie form. He said that he was in talks with production houses and was hoping to see his book on the silver screen soon. "This is the best of times and the worst of times to be a comic artist. On the one hand, it is so much easier to put your work out there because of social media and other digital platforms. At the same time, there is a great deal of competition because of this. You should let that push you and let that be an inspiration," he said. The second day of the fest will have a session with the editor-in-chief of Tinkle Rajani Thindiath and writer Sean D'mello who will talk about the comic magazine's new 13-year-old superhero Wingstar. Comedian Naveen Richards will also give a special performance. Two Deputy Commissioners of Police on Saturday combed the CCB strongroom where Rs 1.5 crore of demonetised currency is stored to determine whether any scrapped notes have gone missing. DCP (Crimea1) Ram Nivas Sepat and DCP (Crimea2) Jinendra Khanagavi spent the entire day sifting through the property forfeiture list prepared by 20 inspectors of the Central Crime Branch (CCB). The list is a ledger/register of cases and properties seized and stored in the strongroom. It contains details of cases, the quantity and type of property seized and stored in individual safes under the custody of respective police inspectors, Khanagavi said. While Kanagavi inspected the properties seized by two CCB squads - Fraud and Misappropriation, and Homicide and Burglary - Sepat was busy checking the properties confiscated by the CCB squads under his watch - Special Enquiry, Women and Narcotics, and Organised Crime Wing. "We are checking the total number of cases and the amount of property seized and are in the process of tallying them," Khanagavi said. "If any property is missing, stringent action will be taken against the inspector concerned." The inspection came a day after Home Minister Ramalinga Reddy revealed that Rs 1.5 crore in demonetised currency had gone missing from the CCB strongroom. Interestingly, three CCB policemen attached to the Homicide and Burglary squad - an assistant sub-inspector and two constables - were suspended for robbing a BMTC conductor and a real estate agent of Rs 1 crore in demonetised currency on November 25. Sources privy to the probe said the policemen were part of a CCB team that had confiscated Rs 3 crore in scrapped notes from a Tamil-Nadu businessman. The team, however, showed only Rs 1.5 crore as being seized in the raid. The rest of the money was legalised with the policemen pocketing Rs 24 lakh in legal tender. They snatched Rs 1 crore in banned notes to make up for the shortage in the CCB strongroom. What's a strongroom? Unlike strongrooms at banks where only valid cash can be stored, the strongroom of an investigating agency is nothing but a protected area where senior in-charge police officers are given individual safes to store properties seized during the course of an investigation. The officers (mostly police inspectors) maintain a list of cases and the quantity of seized properties in each safe. The CCB strongroom is located at its headquarters in Chamarajpet. Each investigating agency, including police stations, have strongrooms that are used for depositing seized items such as cash (both valid and demonetised), documents, gold, silver, other valuables, electronic gadgets, drugs, firearms, lethal weapons, and evidence of different nature. Sometimes, confidential governmental documents are also stored in the strongrooms that are under CCTV surveillance. The vigilance sections of governmental agencies such as BMTC, KSRTC, Bescom, KPTCL, etc, also have strongrooms. ROME, Dec. 1 (Xinhua) -- International cooperation in world security is lacking partly due to the structural obstacles, Chinese congresswoman and senior diplomat Fu Ying said at the Third Mediterranean Dialogue forum being held in Rome from Thursday to Saturday. Fu Ying, chairperson of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National People's Congress (China's top legislature), said the U.S., the strongest military power in the world, has failed to build an all-inclusive security framework after the Cold War. "It prefers to take its military alignment as the pillar of the world security," said Fu, China's former deputy minister of foreign affairs. "However, as we all know, the alignment is based on an exclusive security approach, and sometimes even leads to the insecurity of non-allies," said Fu, a key speaker at the forum mainly on international cooperation and world security. "For example, the U.S. has prioritized the interests of its allies in the territorial disputes in the East and South China Sea, while not willing to recognize the interests of China, which is not an ally (of the U.S.)," she said. The Korean Peninsula is an even more unfortunate example, according to Fu. "After the Korean War, the U.S. has maintained its military presence and the Peninsula have been trapped in confrontation for over half a century. Due to the deep mistrust between the U.S. and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), no peace agreement, be it bilateral or multilateral, could be fully implemented," she said. "The U.S., emphasizing the security of its own and its allies, has exerted mounting military pressure and called for continued sanctions. While the DPRK, hoping to achieve ultimate security and in disregard of regional security, has speeded up nuclear and missile tests, resulting in a vicious circle of action and reaction," Fu pointed out. The world is now witnessing a growingly dangerous situation, Fu warned. "So, the world can be safe only when all countries are free from threat and feel safe," the former Chinese ambassador to Britain said. At the forum, Fu raised 4-point suggestion as China's thinking on a community of security. The first is common security, meaning to respect and ensure the security of each and every country, rather than some countries being safer than others, Fu said. According to Fu, the second point is comprehensive security, meaning tackling both traditional and nontraditional security threats. The third one is cooperative security, meaning promoting common security through communication and cooperation. The fourth, she said, is sustainable security, meaning also paying attention to development which, for many developing countries, is the vital path to stability and security. "For China, it's important to strengthen its defense forces to protect the country and the people, and handle security challenges that confront China," Fu emphasized. For international security, Fu said, China mainly plays a role within the UN framework. "For example, China is the biggest contributor to peacekeeping among the 5 permanent members of the Security Council. The Chinese navy has actively participated in anti-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden." The Chinese veteran diplomat also said that it would be hard to form synergy in countering rising new challenges if countries maintain a closed bloc or an exclusive approach to security or stick to geopolitical competition. Desperate heritage rescue Shock, anger and a collective sigh of extreme despair greeted the dramatic demolition of the 157-year-old Krumbiegel Hall in Lalbagh last week. It has been a rude wake-up call for all those who value Bengaluru's surviving structures and traditions, tagged with pride as our 'heritage.' Is the delayed inclusion of heritage conservation in the Revised Master Plan (RMP 2031) compensation enough? In disrepair for several years, Gustav Hermann Krumbiegel's lecture hall had symbolized all that the legendary botanist did to boost the city's green cover. The official machinery was in a hurry to perfect its demolition job, unmindful of the public outcry. It was yet another exhibition of the brute power of the State, bypassing a consultation process that could have helped renovate the structure. A glimmer of hope Now that the deed is done and dusted, a desperate attempt is on to stop the bulldozers. Fortunately for the heritage buffs, the RMP 2031 offers a glimmer a hope. For the first time, the plan has acknowledged preservation of heritage, devoting adequate documentary space. Creation of 12 heritage zones, a heritage master plan and a city-level heritage committee are key parts of the strategy proposed. But heritage is much more than buildings. Fairs, festivals, traditional markets are all part of the city's cultural heritage. Yet, as civic evangelist V Ravichander reminds, "Traditionally, we have been very insensitive to our building heritage. Beyond lip sympathy, the city has done precious little to preserve it." English model The English Heritage, where private people take the initiative with government support, could be a model to emulate, suggests Ravichander. "Look at the way they have preserved the houses of Shakespeare and Jane Austen, complemented by guided tours, arresting narratives, story-telling and audio files. Of course, everything is charged. The model has to be sustainable," he explains. To inject life into heritage buildings, they have to be repurposed while weaving compelling stories around them. But first they need to be restored and refurbished. "Our leaders and the bureaucracy need to have sensitivity, a feeling for history. Two to three decades back, we did have a few committed people in the Bangalore Urban Arts Commission." Online petition By setting off an online petition hash-tagged #HeritageBeku and #PastForward, civic activists Priya Chetty-Rajagopal had articulated the need to democratize the heritage conservation efforts. Over the last eight months, the petition seeking stringent laws to activate preservation, has gained traction. On legislation, the petition reminds that "A fledgling law has already been drafted and is yet to see light of day. The Bengaluru Heritage Preservation and Regulation Bill is still buried with the urban development department although the bill was conceptualized circa 2004, and drafted in 2010." A key suggestion was to seamlessly integrate city tourism and heritage. "Tourism is the single biggest kicker to practically sustain heritage. Show demonstrations or case studies of how much revenue can be generated this way," the petition had asked the Chief Minister and Bengaluru Development Minister. Not clearly defined The RMP 2031 has included a few of these suggestions. "The RMP is at least respectful of the existence of heritage. The idea is to make heritage liveable. But there are issues. Heritage is still not clearly defined. The list of heritage sites needs to be validated. Questions like what is the legal framework for a heritage site remain," notes Priya. In 2015, urban architect Naresh Narasimhan had presented a proposal to include 65 historical buildings in a special zone of over 2,500 acres in the city centre. The idea was to create a 'Suvarna Valaya' that doubles up as a highly engaging, interactive tourist zone. The zone, still under consideration by the Ministry of Tourism, is yet to take shape. Heritage TDR Overall, the RMP might have elicited a positive response from conservationists. But there is a spot of bother: How can private heritage property owners be compensated for the restrictions that the government proposes to impose? One option could be to introduce Heritage TDR (Transfer of Development Rights), as Meera Iyer, INTACH-Bengaluru chapter co-convenor suggests. "It has been adopted in Ahmedabad, where the walled city houses about 2,600 listed heritage structures. The private heritage property owners are given a particular amount as TDR. When they restore their property, they can sell the TDR to a builder to construct (additional floors, etc) elsewhere," she explains. Since it is a transaction between two private parties, the government will not be burdened with any compensation. For Bengaluru, the scheme could be modified, says Iyer, suggesting more alternatives: Property tax waivers or low interest loans for restoration of the heritage structures. It is not the first time Kerala fishermen have faced a turbulent sea, but the sheer ferocity of Cyclone Ockhi has shaken them badly. Trapped in violent waters, with no food or water, desperate eyes searching for help in the middle of a turbulent sea---sum up the helplessness of the fishermen. Though many fishermen were brought ashore safely and admitted to hospitals, many are yet to recover from the shock of wrestling the lashing waves and seeing death face-to-face. Stephan, a fisherman hailing from nearby Poonthura, said he was terrified on seeing a rescue boat move away without seeing them and hearing their cries. "It was the first time we were experiencing such huge waves and a rough sea. Luckily, the rescue boat came back and saved us," Stephan, who is recuperating at Government Medical College Hospital here, said. Most of the rescued fishermen had bruises all over their bodies and were seen shivering and begging for hot water and food when brought ashore. Titus, another fisherman hailing from Neendakara in Kollam district, said he had never seen such a violent sea even in movies. He said strong winds virtually threw them in the sea and that they somehow managed to hold on to the boat, till the rescue team arrived. His fellow fisherman Kennedy said their boat drifted aimlessly for around 100 km in the gusty winds. Meanwhile, anxious families of fishermen, who are yet to return, expressed their anguish and protested by holding roadblocks in various places here. The weeping women said they were waiting with prayers and tears for their beloved ones to return. The Centre is likely to enhance the speed limit of vehicles on national highways and expressways as the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways is considering this taking into account of improved vehicle technologies and road infrastructure in the country. The speed limit for passenger cars on expressways likely to be increased from the existing 100 km per hour to 120 kmph, and on national highways from 80 kmph to 100 kmph, a senior official in the ministry said. For two wheelers a uniform speed limit of 80kmph on highways and expressways may be fixed while for the buses and trucks, it will be 90kmph on expressways and 80 kmph on national highways. Earlier, a committee headed by Abhay Damle, a joint secretary in the road transport ministry, submitted a report recommending to increase the speed limit. To check accidents due to over speeding, the panel also suggested the government to include a feature in the electronic control unit (ECU) in vehicles which will not allow them to run at more than 10% of the maximum permitted speed. "The government held a discussion on the panel recommendations and is likely to take a decision soon", said an official in the ministry. Since the government is taking up massive highway building works by widening the exiting two lanes to four or six lanes, increase the speed limit of the vehicles would not be a problem, said the official. Besides, the government is also embarking to build 1,000 km of access-controlled expressways and works has started in several areas. Taking serious note of increase road accidents due to faulty road design, the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI), a nodal agency for development of national highways, has started rectifying the accident spots. Besides, the Road Ministry is also improving system of road design to make it more comfortable to travelers as well as curb accidents roads on highways,said the official. A gun battle broke out between Assam Rifles (AR) troopers and militants at Kongkan village in Kamjong district in the wee hours on Saturday. The troopers of 31 AR were ambushed at Kongkan village near Myanmar border by suspected Revolutionary Peoples' Front (RPF) militants around 3.30am, a senior police officer said. "The jawans retaliated and a gun battle ensued between the two sides. The militants, however, escaped taking advantage of the darkness and rugged terrains. No casualty was reported during the gunfight which lasted for a few minutes," he said. Additional forces comprising army officials, AR troopers and state police officers have been rushed to the site to nab the militants, the officer added. The American economy is still buoyant and people are traveling, trends that continue to boost growth in the U.S. airline industry despite a recent uptick in fuel prices. The business has never been known as a fruitful source of shareholder dividends, but thanks to this success, the situation has changed -- more are inclined to hand out dividends to their investors. It nearly goes without saying that not all are created equal; here's the airline sector payout that I think flies above the rest... The dividend-paying carriers traded on U.S. stock exchanges generally tended to pay out at around the same rate well into 2017. At least they did until Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) and Panama's Copa Holdings hiked their payouts. Now, Delta's yields 2.4%, and Copa weighs in at 2.5%. Behind them, Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK)and China Southern Airlines both yield just under 2%. A bit down the ladder is Hawaiian Holdings, which recently initiated a 1.4% dividend. The low end belongs to the sub-1% yields of American Airlines Group and Southwest. Source: Motley Fool Related Articles: - 9 Dividend Stocks Beating The 4% Rule - You Can't Spend Earnings - Why Dividends Matter - Hey, You Invest Like a Girl! - Are Storm Clouds Gathering For These 4 High-Yielding Securities? 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Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe BEIJING, Dec. 1 (Xinhua) -- The fifth Chinese peacekeeping police team to Liberia was awarded UN peacekeeping medals for its outstanding performance, the Chinese Ministry of Public Security (MPS) said Friday. All 140 members of the team received the award at a ceremony at their camp in Monrovia, capital of Liberia, on Nov. 30, according to the ministry statement. The team helped train a 150-strong Liberian riot police task force under the command of the UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) and performed well in armed patrols, garrison and guard missions, Mou Yuchang, political commissar for the MPS Border Control Bureau, was quoted as saying at the ceremony. According to the statement, Farid Zarif, the UN secretary-general's special representative and head of the UNMIL, spoke highly of China's contribution to world peace and expressed gratitude to Chinese peacekeeping police team for their service in maintaining peace and stability in Liberia. China sent its first police team to join the UN peacekeeping operations in Liberia in 2013. The fifth team has served in 574 missions since it arrived in Liberia in March. It will be China's last peacekeeping police contingent in Liberia. India has been elected to one of the councils of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) for the next two years. India polled the second highest votes in Friday's voting to Category-B in the IMO council securing 144 votes of member countries. Germany scored the maximum of 146 votes. This for the first time voting was held for Category-B in the IMO council since its inception. Earlier all 10 members were elected unanimously. India has been a member since 1959. Category-A group has 10 nations with the largest interest in providing international shipping services, which include China, Greece, Italy, Japan, Norway, Panama, Republic of Korea, Russian Federation, United Kingdom and United States. Category-B, which has 10 nations with the largest interest in international seaborne trade, includes Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, India, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and the United Arab Emirates. In Category-C, there are 20 nations that have special interests in maritime transport or navigation and whose election to the Council will ensure the representation of all major geographic areas of the world. These include Bahamas, Belgium, Chile, Cyprus, Denmark, Egypt, Indonesia, Jamaica, Kenya, Liberia, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Morocco, Peru, Philippines, Singapore, South Africa, Thailand and Turkey. The Council is the executive organ of IMO and is responsible, under the assembly, for supervising the work of the organisation. Between sessions of the Assembly, the Council performs all the functions of the Assembly, except that of making recommendations to governments on maritime safety and pollution prevention. The newly elected council will meet after the conclusion of the 30th Assembly, for its 119th session (on 7 December) and will elect its chair and vice-chair for the next biennium. "India enters the IMO Council under category B having won 144 votes, the second highest in the category. A proud moment for the country," the Indian High Commission in UK tweeted soon after the results were out. Shipping minister Nitin Gadkari had parked himself in London to address IMOs annual session and raise support during the election. IMO is UN's specialised agency for the safety and security of shipping and the prevention of marine pollution by ships. Till now Bangladesh and Argentina were members in this category. The 30th Assembly of the IMO is meeting in London at IMO headquarters from 27 November to 6 December 2017. All 172 member states and three associate members are entitled to attend the assembly, which is IMO's highest governing body. The intergovernmental organisations with which agreements of co-operation have been concluded and international non-governmental organisations in consultative status with IMO are also invited to attend. The Assembly normally meets once every two years in regular session. It is responsible for approving the work programme, voting the budget and determining the financial arrangements of the Organization. It also elects the organization's 40-member council. Sinn Fein MEP Matt Carthy has demanded urgent Government action to deal with the fodder crisis facing farmers across the country. He also called for the current review of the Areas of Natural Constraint (ANC) scheme to ensure more targeted aid to those farmers on mountain land and lowlands who face specific difficulties. The Midlands North West MEP, who is a member of the European Parliaments Agriculture Committee, made the remarks at a meeting of the Irish Natura and Hill Farmers Association in Sligo on Friday evening. Farmers across the country are facing into a very serious fodder crisis. Excessive rainfall this year has resulted in farmers having to start early feeding of livestock, and they are unable to get a second cut of silage. Waterlogged fields have forced many farmers to keep cattle indoors throughout the worst of the summer weather and grass intended for silage could not be cut across much of the North West. "Farmers have observed 10 dry days between July and October for drying and evaporation. Fodder shortages have now spread to the border counties and Midlands," he said. The fodder situation is serious and getting worse. Minister for Agriculture Michael Creed must urgently address this deepening crisis and implement a fodder scheme to establish a fund for affected farmers. He needs to introduce an emergency fodder scheme immediately. "The Government must step in to assist our farmers. While farmers have been warning about this problem for months now, the Minister for Agriculture has been claiming there is sufficient fodder across the country. Farmers have warned that any fodder that they do manage to produce now will be of poor quality - leading to potential animal health problems," he said. Ibec, the group that represents Irish business, has strongly opposed proposals to increase commercial rates in Donegal. On Friday the employers' group called for no increase of commercial rates by Donegal County Council in its budget for 2018, but the budget was passed late on Friday evening with the proposal for a 5 per cent increase in commercial rates included. Ibec North West Regional Director Terry MacNamara Ibec say focusing on improving debt collections would play a greater role in addressing gaps in revenue and would better support economic development across the county. Finally, there should be no increase in commercial rates until every business in Donegal has been revalued under the national revaluation programme. Ibec North West Regional Director Terry MacNamara said: The proposed increase is excessive. It is unwarranted given the extent of commercial rates Donegal County Council fails to collect on a yearly basis. In commercial rates alone, 15 million approximately goes uncollected. This equates to one out of every three euro due in commercial rates not being collected by the Council. This is almost 10 times the amount that would be raised through the proposed increase. Increasing commercial rates bills of compliant local businesses is simply unfair. These businesses have had to weather the economic downturn and sustain local employment. Now they are facing the very real threat of Brexit. Instead, a better focus by Donegal County Council on improving debt collections is urgently needed. BROKEN The commercial rates system is broken. Local businesses are expected to plug the gap of Donegal County Councils finances for little benefit. Key services such as water are no longer the functions of the local authority and are subject to a separate invoice regardless. Businesses are already paying more for less and less. Instead, reducing the burden of commercial rates would boost local employment," he said. Commercial rates are based on the value of a business premises. This system dates all the way back to 1826. It is time for a change. A national revaluation programme began in earnest in 2007, yet businesses in Donegal will not be revalued until 2021. This is a full 14 years after the process began and at least two local authority areas will have been revalued for a second time. Given this, it should be agreed that no increase in commercial rates should occur in Donegal until after the revaluation process is completed, he concluded. CHIPLEY, Fla. A Washington County woman is behind bars after reporting to authorities she shot her husband after an argument. On Nov. 30 a 911 call came in from a woman identifying herself as 46-year-old Peggy McAteer. During the call she reported she shot her husband and needed emergency medical services. Washington County deputies responded to the scene, located at 3496 Union Hill Road in Bonifay, finding the victim, 60-year-old Randy McAteer, shot lying inside the front door. During the investigation, the suspect once again stated she shot her husband during an argument, which had lasted throughout the day. She stated she entered the master bedroom closet and retrieved .44-caliber handgun and fired twice, shooting the victim in the upper leg. Statements providing during the investigation led investigators to believe the argument began over accusations of an ongoing affair. The victim was immediately transported to a local hospital for treatment. McAteer was arrested and charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon. She was transported to the Washington County Jail. Her bail is set for $100,000. In the past three years, emissions from the businesses with the highest emission had been stable instead of going down by roughly three percent per year needed to limit global warming in line with goals set by the 2015 Paris climate agreement. The 33 per cent of top 100 GHGs emitters in 2016 are European. The US has the second largest share with 26 per cent of top 100 companies being of American origin. China has the third largest share with 14 per cent of top GHG emitters in 2016 being of Chinese origin. Data source: CDP Carbon Majors Report, 2017 However, it is Indias state-owned company, Coal India, that topped the list with largest GHG emission2076.2 million tonnes. Besides Coal India, three other Indian companies are among 100 global businesses with the highest carbon footprint. Fast Facts India's state-owned company, Coal India, tops the list with largest GHG emission2076.2 million tonnes. Coal Indias GHG emissions in 2016 were just 17 per cent lower than the countrys CO2 output2431 million tonnes. Besides Coal India, three other Indian companies (NTPC Ltd, Reliance Industries, ONGC) are among 100 global businesses with the highest carbon footprint. In 2016, the 33 per cent of top 100 GHGs emitters in 2016 are European. The US has the second largest share with 26 per cent of top 100 companies being of American origin. All the GHG emitters of the US origin in top 100 are private-owned with ExxonMobil Corporation leading the pack. China has the third largest share of top 100 GHG emitters in 2016 with 14 per cent of the businesses being of Chinese origin. In China, nine out of 14 GHG emitters are state-ownedthe highest concentration of state-owned firms in a single country. Procter & Gamble is the only consumer goods company present in the Top 100. Luxembourg, one of the worlds smallest countries with a total area of 2,586 sq km, is on the list, due to ArcelorMittalthe worlds largest steel producing company. A 27-year-old South Armagh man was arrested for drunk driving, after gardai spotted that his number plates were covered up and he failed to stop for them, Dundalk District Court heard last week. The Defence barrister told the court his client had been the victim of a prank and had not concealed the registration plates himself. Eric Rocks with an address at Captains Rd, Forkhill was originally prosecuted for dangerous driving on the Dublin Road, Haggardstown and at Newtownbalregan on August 28 last, with drink driving at Faughart Lower and having no identification marks on the vehicle. The Defence counsel told the court last Wednesday that his client was offering a guilty plea to one of the dangerous driving charges and admitted the drink driving offence, which would result in a two year disqualification. He added that his client was the victim of a prank as somebody had attached plastic bags to the number plates and unfortunately when he came across the gardai Eric Rocks had panicked and "the die was cast". The court heard the accused is employed in his family's retail business and the barrister described him as a very hard working young man who had never come to garda attention before. In addition to the ban for the drink driving offence, Judge John Coughlan also imposed a 75 fine and fined him the same amount again for dangerous driving at Dublin Street but struck out the charges relating to the number plates. SOCHI, Russia, Dec. 1 (Xinhua) -- Government leaders of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) countries pledged to enhance cooperation to battle economic challenges here on Friday. A joint communique was approved at the 16th meeting of the Council of the SCO Heads of Government (Prime Ministers), which was held in Sochi from Thursday to Friday. The meeting was the first of its kind after a membership expansion in June to include India and Pakistan. The SCO now has China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, India and Pakistan as its full members. According to the communique, the leaders promised to actively carry out the agreement reached during the 17th meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the SCO, which was held in June in Astana, capital of Kazakhstan. They also expressed support for China's rotating presidency for 2017 to 2018. The communique called on the member countries to actively tap new potentials from the accession of India and Pakistan into the organization. The leaders pointed out that the world economic prospects could face adverse impact imposed by global terrorism, regional conflicts and natural disasters. In order to attain robust, sustainable, balanced and inclusive growth, it is important to carry out equality-based cooperation, the communique said. The SCO members need to take coordinated actions and improve international monetary and financial system, under the background of unstable financial and raw materials markets, fluctuating foreign exchange rates and rising protectionism, according to the communique. The members advocated an open, inclusive, transparent, non-discriminatory and rule-based multilateral trading system and called on the countries to prevent fragmentation of international trade relations and to resist trade protectionism. The leaders advocated cooperation in the fields of trade, industrial capacity, energy, transportation, railway, investment, finance, agriculture, customs and telecommunications. They pledged support for technological innovation and are ready to exchange experiences in making national economic plans, promoting economic growth and facilitating commerce. The leaders have also agreed to keep up with professional discussions on and jointly make a plan for the establishment of the SCO development bank and fund, according to the communique. CULTURAL EXCHANGES The SCO leaders welcomed China, within the framework of the SCO's rotating presidency, to hold activities to promote the "Shanghai spirit" and develop partnership among the younger generations, and offer support for interactions between youth associations in the member countries, the communique said. It is important to carry out cooperation in culture, education, science and technology, environmental protection, health, media, sports, tourism, academics and the preservation of cultural and natural heritage of the SCO region. They will also continue to promote cultural exchanges, strengthen mutual understanding between different peoples, respect their respective cultural traditions, preserve cultural diversity, and hold related international exhibitions, festivals and competitions, the communique said. Countries should study different cultures and preserve the region's cultural and natural heritage, including those along the "Silk Road." SECURITY COOPERATION The SCO leaders also emphasized to step up cooperation in the fight against terrorism, separatism and extremism in the current international and regional situation. They agreed to support the efforts of Afghanistan in improving domestic situation via political consultations and dialogue so as to restore peace, stability and prosperity in the country. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, when addressing the SCO leaders, urged the SCO member countries to approve an anti-extremism treaty at an early date. The treaty was signed by eight member countries in June's Astana summit in Kazakhstan, and it needs to be approved by all of its member countries to become effective. The document shows the region's decisive resolution in the fight against the "three evil forces," namely terrorism, extremism and separatism, Li said. Li also suggested the establishment of a regional center to address security challenges and threats, and to augment cooperation in drug control and fighting cross-border crimes. Chinese President Xi Jinping (R), also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, meets with President of the Cambodian People's Party and Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen, who is here to attend the CPC in Dialogue with World Political Parties High-Level Meeting, in Beijing, capital of China, Dec. 1, 2017. (Xinhua/Rao Aimin) BEIJING, Dec. 1 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping met here Friday with President of the Cambodian People's Party and Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen. Hun Sen is here to attend the Communist Party of China (CPC) in Dialogue with World Political Parties High-Level Meeting, scheduled from Nov. 30 to Dec. 3. Xi called Hun Sen a good friend, old friend and true friend of the CPC and the Chinese people. The China-Cambodia ties are currently at the best period in history, Xi said, citing enhanced political trust, expanded cooperation and cultural exchanges. The year 2018 marks the 60th anniversary of China-Cambodia diplomatic ties. Xi called on both sides to take the opportunity to advance relations. The CPC and the Chinese government always view China-Cambodia ties from a strategic height and long-term perspective, Xi said. He said Cambodia always firmly supports China on issues concerning its core interests. Xi expressed support for Cambodia's efforts to maintain development and stability, adding China expects to boost cooperation with Cambodia in defense, law-enforcement and security as well as other areas. The Chinese president called for stronger bilateral coordination in multilateral mechanisms such as the United Nations, East Asia Cooperation and Lancang-Mekong Cooperation. Xi briefed Hun Sen about the 19th CPC National Congress, adding the CPC expects to share governance experience with Cambodia. Hun Sen congratulated Xi on his re-election as general secretary of the CPC Central Committee and spoke highly of the dialogue between CPC and the world political parties. Calling China a trustworthy and close friend of Cambodia, he said Cambodia is satisfied with the growth of bilateral ties and expects to further enhance the relationship. Cambodia hopes to learn from China's governance experience, Hun Sen added. (Xinhua) 11:44, December 02, 2017 Chinese President Xi Jinping(R), also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, meets with Myanmar State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi, who is here to attend the CPC in Dialogue with World Political Parties High-Level Meeting, in Beijing, capital of China, Dec. 1, 2017. (Xinhua/Rao Aimin) BEIJING, Dec. 1 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinpingmet with Myanmar State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi in Beijing on Friday, hoping that the ruling parties of the two countries would deepen strategic communication. Aung San Suu Kyi is here to attend the Communist Party of China (CPC) in Dialogue with World Political Parties High-Level Meeting. "Since the National League for Democracy (NLD) came to power, I have met with you many times," Xi told Suu Kyi. The two sides have understood and supported each other and kept close coordination and cooperation on issues involving each other's core interests and major concerns, said Xi, also general secretary of the CPC Central Committee. The friendly relations between the CPC and the NLD have continued to develop, which consolidates the political foundation of China-Myanmar relations as well as friendship between the two peoples, he said. The CPC and Chinese government will, as always, adhere to a policy of friendship with Myanmar and view bilateral ties from a strategic height and long-term perspective, said Xi. He suggested the two sides keep their relations on the right track, implement all the consensus reached by both sides and nurture new growth points, such as discussing the construction of China-Myanmar economic corridor, so as to advance bilateral ties. He hoped that the ruling parties in China and Myanmar would maintain close communication, share experience on party and state governance, and strengthen political guidance in bilateral relations, making new contributions to the China-Myanmar comprehensive strategic partnership of cooperation. Xi briefed Aung San Suu Kyi on the major outcomes of the 19th CPC National Congress, saying that the congress report takes the building of a community of shared future for mankind as the objective for China's diplomacy in the new era. Aung San Suu Kyi, for her part, thanked China for inviting her to attend the CPC in Dialogue with World Political Parties High-Level Meeting. She said developing relations with China is of particular significance to Myanmar, recalling the long history of friendship between the two countries as well as close cooperation based on mutual trust and respect. Suu Kyi thanked Xi for attaching great importance to bilateral relations, noting that she has fully felt the sincere friendship of the CPC and Chinese government. She agreed with China's proposal of building the Myanmar-China economic corridor. The NLD appreciates the achievements and rich experience of the CPC in party and state governance, and hopes to deepen exchanges with the CPC in this regard, she added. (Photo: Peter Kenny / Ecumenical News)World Council of Churches communications director Marianne Ejdersten (L) and Beatrice Fihn, executive director of ICAN (International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons) during a media conference at the Ecumenical Center in Geneva after it was announced ICAN had won tbe 2017 Nobel Peace Prize. The Korean Peninsula needs "A light of peace" as tensions there escalate again, and on Sunday Dec. 3, the World Council of Churches launches a campaign for a north Asian region and a world free of nuclear weapons. It is the first Sunday of Advent when Christians worldwide begin a period of sacrifice in preparation to celebrate the birth of Jesus. The WCC's social media campaign invites people all over the world to extend "A light of peace" for the Korean peninsula and the world. "The situation on the Korean peninsula continues to be tense," says WCC general secretary, Rev. Olav Fykse Tveit as peace-lovers scramble to find diplomacy as a means of deescalating tensions in the region. "As a Christian fellowship we must raise our voices against nuclear proliferation and express our solidarity with peoples living under the threat of armed conflict," he said. The campaign will be accompanied by common prayers for justice and peace for the peoples of Korea soon after North Korea launched a powerful new missile that landed in Japanese territorial waters. NOBEL PEACE PRIZE AWARD The campaign will coincide with the Nobel Peace Prize Award Ceremony in Oslo on the 2nd Sunday of Advent, Dec. 10, when the WCC's longtime partner, the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) will receive the award. "Lighting candles and sharing prayers through social media sends a strong message of peace and solidarity from people around the world. It is an excellent opportunity to show unity and make our voices heard," says Tveit. "So, please join us in prayers and in social media in our journey for justice and peace." The campaign aims to revive public awareness about the unstable and dangerous situation on the Korean peninsula and the threat that nuclear weapons pose. The National Council of Churches Korea will from 3 to 9 December hold a candle-light prayer gathering at Seoul's Gwanghwamun square early each evening. PRAYER GATHERINGS Churches in South Korea will also hold prayer gatherings from Dec. 3 to 7 and on Dec. 9 at the YMCA in Seoul. The campaign seeks to raise public awareness about the peace-building role of the Churches and WCC's support of eliminating nuclear weapons. For decades the world has tightened sanctions against North Korea, but its campaign to be a nuclear power has proliferated. In a statement on Nov. 22, the WCC, however said, "While celebrating new steps taken towards global elimination of nuclear weapons, the Executive Committee also fears the cycle of confrontation on the Korean peninsula might slide into nuclear warfare." In a previous statement on Aug. 9, the WCC spoke out against sanctions, which are viewed as counterproductive, running counter to the U.S. administration of President Donald Trump who seeks to ramp up sanctions perennially in quest that still shows no results. The WCC urged the international community to instead adopt measures which can contribute to creating the necessary context for dialogue and a constructive defusing of tensions on the Korean peninsula. (Xinhua) 13:11, December 02, 2017 WASHINGTON, Dec. 1 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday denied media speculation that the White Houseplans to oust State Secretary Rex Tillerson, calling the reports "fake news." "The media has been speculating that I fired Rex Tillerson or that he would be leaving soon -- FAKE NEWS!" said Trump on Twitter. "He's not leaving... we work well together," he added. Multiple major U.S. news outlets reported on Thursday that the White House is planning to remove the current head of the State Department, as his relationship with Trump has been "strained." The top U.S. diplomat has been said to be replaced by incumbent Central Intelligence Agency Director Mike Pompeo "within the next several weeks." On Friday, Tillerson himself also brushed off the reports, calling them "laughable." Tillerson is scheduled to begin an official trip to Europe next week, during which he will visit Brussels, Vienna and France, to meet leaders of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and foreign ministers of the European Unionmembers. (Xinhua) 13:28, December 02, 2017 BEIJING, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) -- Political parties across the world have convened in Beijing in the largest such meeting ever to mull inclusive development and welfare for all. The unprecedented dialogue which opened Thursday and ends on Sunday is being attended by representatives from more than 300 political parties of some 120 countries. Guo Yezhou, deputy head of the International Department of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, said the dialogue is being held in response to the parties' request for in-depth discussions on the 19th National Congress of the CPC and some of the main concepts discussed at the congress, such as Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, and building a community of shared future for all. BETTER WORLD, SHARED FUTURE The CPC is willing to work with other political parties around the world to promote the building of a community with a shared future for mankind and create a better world, said Chinese President Xi Jinping, who is also general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, while delivering a keynote speech on Friday at the opening ceremony of CPC in Dialogue with World Political Parties High-Level Meeting in Beijing. Fu Ying, chairperson of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National People's Congress, China's legislature, explained the vision of a "community of shared future", a phrase that has acquired global currency today and has been incorporated into a United Nations Security Council resolution as well. In an article, Fu said it is the culmination of President Xi's ideas on reforming and improving the existing international order. While voicing it, special consideration was given to developments in the 21st century and their impact on international relations. "China appears to have a genuine case of wanting to make the world a better place," said Robert Gichimu Githinji, a member of parliament from Kenya. China's history of failure and success has given it the confidence to come up with ideas for making the world a better and more equitable place, Githinji said. El Sun Oh, a senior fellow with the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, said the high-level dialogue was a platform for the CPC to share its successful ruling-party experience with other political parties, especially those from developing countries, in a more systematic manner and on a large scale. "China stresses a lot on policy coordination to achieve regional development, and one way of doing so is to build up this sort of inter-party dialogue mechanism, so as to attain the ultimate goal of (a) common destiny for humanity," he added. "I think this is a shared vision of a world in harmony," said Raphael Tuju, secretary general of Kenya's Jubilee Party, a world where important decisions are taken collectively so that no part of humanity feels left out. "A world that listens to grievances that sections of humanity may have and finds a solution that offers equity and justice," he emphasized. For Zarko Obradovic, vice president of the Socialist Party of Serbia, the message of "building a community of shared future for mankind" was that if we wanted to pay attention to the future and our common life, we have to also harmonize our plans. The Belt and Road Initiative can play an important role in that, he added. DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVE FOR ALL Proposed by Xi in 2013, the initiative comprises the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road and aims to build a trade, investment and infrastructure network connecting Asia with Europe and Africa along and beyond the ancient Silk Road trade routes. It is the first global initiative that absolutely fits into the concept of a community of shared future for mankind, as well as the first concept that has a developmental component relating to such a great number of countries, Obradovic said. "It will bring huge benefit to mankind," he remarked. For Jose Luis Robaina, a Cuban expert on Asia studies from the Research Center for International Politics in Havana, the Belt and Road Initiative creates possibilities for development in Latin America as well. "China has a common destiny not only with Latin America, but with the whole Third World (sic), based on the Chinese concept of common destiny, which has to do with win-win cooperation, or real cooperation," he said. El Sun Oh called the Belt and Road Initiative one of the many areas where the CPC can work together with political parties from other countries. Many of the countries along the Belt and Road lag behind in infrastructure, while China has accumulated both capital, technologies and good practices, he said. "The Belt and Road Initiative calls for better policy coordination. If the CPC can better communicate with the political parties, the initiative will be better advanced and better understood by local people. Thus a community of common destiny will be better achieved," he said. (Xinhua reporters Yang Ke in Manila, Wang Lili in Singapore, Liu Tong in Kuala Lumpur and Jing Jing in Johannesburg also contributed to this story.) More than 400 companies to attend expo at Wuzhen Summit More than 400 companies from 13 countries and regions 100 more than last year will attend the Light of Internet Expo at the 4th World Internet Conference from Dec 3 to 5 in Wuzhen, Zhejiang province. The companies include industry giants such as BMW, Kaspersky, Alibaba, Tencent and others, Yuan Jiajun, the governor of Zhejiang province, told reporters at the opening ceremony of the expo on Saturday. The four-day expo will also witness launch of 118 new products, host 113 project signing ceremonies and match more than 1,200 projects with potential investors double the number than last year, Yuan said. The expo features the most innovative and cutting-edge products and fields in information technology, including cloud calculation, big data, quantum communication, artificial intelligence, and shared economy, he said. "The expo has become an important platform to showcase some of the world's latest tech products and business models," Yuan said. "It has become a trendsetter for Internet development." BEIJING, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) -- World political parties showed their willingness to join hands with the Communist Party of China (CPC) in building a community with a shared future for humanity at the ongoing high-level conference that started Friday in Beijing. Focusing on the responsibilities of political parties in building a community of shared future and a better world, the meeting is attended by leaders from nearly 300 parties and political organizations from more than 120 countries and regions. Addressing the opening ceremony of the meeting, Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, said the initiative to build a community with a shared future for humanity is being transformed from a concept into action. "I am delighted to see that the friendly cooperation between China and other countries is increasingly expanding and the concept of a community with a shared future for humanity is gaining support and endorsement from an increasing number of people," Xi said. Hun Sen, Cambodian prime minister and president of the People's Party, said that his country has actively responded to Xi's concept of building a community with a shared future for humanity and seeking benefits for the people. "In this regard, I believe President Xi has explicitly pointed out common values of all political parties participating in this meeting," he said. Julio Rios, director of the Observatory of Chinese politics (OPCh) affiliated to the Spanish think tank, the Galician Institute of Analysis and International Documentation, said that the concept provided Chinese wisdom for major issues concerning the future and destiny of humanity. With the advancement of globalization, any political party, think tank and country can not deal with global challenges alone, he said, adding that cooperation is the only way to promote development. Xi has expounded on the concept of building a community with a shared future for humanity on many occasions since it was put forth in 2013. At the 19th CPC National Congress held in October, promoting the building of a community with a shared future for humanity was given as one of the 14 fundamental principles of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, and Xi reaffirmed China's principle of shared growth through discussion, collaboration and active engagement in global governance. Observers say that the Belt and Road Initiative is this concept in practice. The initiative has become a huge cooperation platform for countries to achieve common development. Proposed by Xi in 2013, the Belt and Road Initiative aims to build trade and infrastructure networks connecting Asia with Europe and Africa via land and maritime routes. Ilyas Moussa Dawaleh, general secretary of the People's Rally for Progress of Djibouti, said the Belt and Road Initiative is an important public good that China has provided to the world, which will effectively boost connectivity among regions and countries. Dawaleh said Djibouti hopes to carry out more cooperation with China under the Belt and Road Initiative. Currently, against the backdrop of a global economic downturn and a complicated international environment, participants at the meeting said the world should push for a more open and inclusive economic globalization. Political parties from various countries around the world should bear dual responsibilities in speeding up domestic reform in light of new circumstances while shouldering more global responsibilities in creating a better world, said Rios, the OPCh director of the Spanish think tank. Evariste Ndayishimiye, secretary general of CNDD-FDD of Burundi, said his country hoped to learn from Chinese experiences, especially in promoting comprehensive development and people's welfare. ADS ADS If you dont know your Raymond Weil from your Patek Philippe, or your Carl F. Bucherer from your Maurice Lacroix, dont worry! In an industry that often takes itself far too seriously and where brands and media often overestimate the knowledge of their audience, diving into the wonderful world of Swiss watches may seem daunting. Burly security guards posted on the doors of most high-end watch shops dont make for a welcoming environment either. So if youre unsure where to start, here are some of the basics to consider when looking to buy a watch, whether its that special something for a friend or family member, a long sought-after piece from an iconic collection or simply a chance to compare different timepieces. How Swiss is a Swiss watch? The Swiss watch industry is found in three main regions of Switzerland: Geneva, the Vallee de Joux and La Chaux-de-Fonds, with a later industrial concentration around the city of Biel. Notable exceptions such as IWC are found on the other side of the country, in the city of Schaffhausen on the German border. Swiss watches are among the best in the world, but how Swiss are they? The question may sound ridiculous but there are strict rules governing Swissness and the use of the Swiss Made label for any product. A new federal law that entered into force in Switzerland on 21st June 2013 enshrines the concept of Swissness. In the product category for watches, at least 60% of the value must originate in Switzerland. Just because a watch has Swiss Made on its dial, therefore, does not mean that all of its components have been produced in Switzerland. Watches that meet the much stricter criteria of 100% Swiss Made come from the so-called manufacture brands, who produce most of the components themselves and assemble their timepieces in-house. Given the cost of labour in Switzerland, this naturally has a considerable impact on the price and makes such watches that much more special. You may be able to find a Swiss watch with a mechanical movement for under 2,000 Swiss francs, but add the notion of manufacture and the price of the movement can easily double. What to look for: the case Top-end brands like Patek Philippe and Vacheron Constantin produce timepieces with cases made almost exclusively from precious metals, such as red and white gold, as well as platinum. A gold watch is a status symbol in many countries and cultures and is often the gift of choice at retirement in the UK, for example, since gold guarantees a touch of luxury. For most of us, however, the classic Swiss watch comes with a stainless steel case, not least because of the question of price. Most Swiss Made timepieces use 316L grade stainless steel, which is nickel-free and therefore unlikely to cause you any problems with skin allergies. Cheaper grades of steel are available, of course, and mean cheaper watches. But as the word stainless suggests, this kind of steel will not oxidise or rust over time and can be polished out in servicing to restore its original sheen. You should also pay special attention to the lugs, which usually take the form of elongated protrusions where the strap or bracelet is attached to the case. Inferior quality watches are likely to have sharper edges that can catch on your clothes (for men, they can rip your shirt cuffs), or, even worse, your skin. Swiss watch cases are more likely to be have been polished by human hands on a machine to make sure the entire case has smooth, rounded edges. You can often feel the difference between an inferior product and a luxury timepiece quite easily with the watch in your hand or on your wrist. Cases come in a variety of shapes, from the classic round case that forms the cornerstone of any collection, to rectangular, square, barrel-shaped and cushion-shaped watches. The combination of a distinctive case or bezel with a specific material has been associated with many an iconic collection. Consider, for example, the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak, which was the first luxury watch to use a stainless steel case and has a distinctive octagonal bezel with screws. Brands such as Cartier have made unusually-shaped watch cases a distinguishing feature of their watch collection with models such as the elongated rectangular Tank and the deformed Crash. What to look for: the bracelet As far as stainless steel is concerned, the same conditions apply to the bracelet. Comfort is perhaps even more of an issue here, so make sure that the bracelet has also been polished and has smooth contours. Whether in stainless steel or gold, the bracelet can come in a variety of designs but almost always consists of individual links of metal, which can come in various sizes and finishes. When is a bracelet not a bracelet? When its a strap! Because French predominates in the Swiss watch industry, and the word bracelet in French can mean either a metal bracelet or a strap, there can sometimes be some confusion here. Any form of attaching the watch to your wrist that is not metal is referred to as a strap, whether it is rubber, leather or fabric. There is an entire culture among watch fans built around the strap alone, especially among men. Watch straps can come in all manner of leathers, from calfskin and alligator right up to trout skin. Rubber straps are the perfect fit for divers watches and the trendy NATO strap (where the fabric is passed through a double loop) in a variety of materials is now even being used on high-end collectors pieces. Your choice of strap can make or break the look of your watch on your wrist. Here too, you get what you pay for. You might be able to get a regular NATO strap for less than 50 Swiss francs, but quality hand-made leather has its price, too, so dont be surprised if you see a fine leather strap that costs several hundred Swiss francs. Because of their affordable price, NATO straps can easily be swapped with specific colour combinations that fit with a particular watch or a special event, from Formula 1 team colours to the famous purple and green of Wimbledon. What to look for: the dial If you have to read hundreds of technical specifications for watches, as we do, you will notice that dials can come in a myriad of colours and finishes. They can be silvered, brushed, opaline, galvanic and many more besides. Unless the dial is in enamel (which itself comes in a number of different types), then you should consider the colour more than anything. Your next consideration should be legibility. Can you read the time? If there are additional functions, such as a chronograph, can you read them too? Now find a dark place and try again. Can you read anything? Is there any luminescent material on the dial and, if so, how well does it light up in the dark? It may not sound obvious at first, but remember that this is one of the criteria that NASA considered when they were looking for a watch to go to the moon. The dial will also often give you clues about the watch without you needing to look up technical information. Watches that meet the requirements for the Swiss Made label often have Swiss Made displayed somewhere on the dial, usually at the bottom. Because of its simplicity, the word automatic may also be added to confirm that the watch has a self-winding movement. In more elaborate luxury timepieces you may also see words such as guilloche main to denote hand engine-turned decorations on the dial, or email grand feu for oven-fired enamel dials. What to look for: the movement If you are a collector or watch aficionado, you probably already know a fair bit about what goes on inside a watch. If you are a complete beginner, however, there are some very important basic points to consider. Firstly, any watch movement works on the principle of oscillations, which are progressively divided until they can be converted into fractions of a second. In the case of quartz, electrical impulses from a battery are used to excite a tiny quartz oscillator that vibrates at a very high frequency (usually 32,768 hertz). Mechanical watch movements have been around for centuries and powered the very first pocket watches. They are still going strong today in the finest Swiss timepieces and their biggest benefit is that they do not need a battery. Energy is stored in a coiled mainspring, which is wound either by hand or by a winding rotor (in the case of automatic or self-winding watches) that converts the motion of your wrist into winding energy. An escapement stops the mainspring from releasing all its energy at once and transmits it to an oscillating balance wheel and balance spring assembly in a controlled manner. The oscillations of this assembly are then successively reduced down to fractions of a second by means of a gear train. Most mechanical watch movements operate at frequencies between 2.5 and 5Hz, meaning that the seconds hand can indicate fractions down to one tenth of a second. This can be seen by the movement of the so-called sweep seconds hand, which moves smoothly around the dial. Compare this with the instantaneous second jumps of a quartz movement and you can instantly tell the difference between the two. Quartz movements can be produced on an industrial scale, with little need for the skilled hands of a watchmaker. Mechanical movements, on the other hand, are mainly assembled by hand by experienced watchmakers who know how to adjust the movement to achieve optimum accuracy. As a result, there is a considerable difference in price between the two types of movement, which is reflected in the much higher average price for a mechanical watch. In some cases, Swiss watches have a transparent sapphire crystal case back that allows you to view the movement. Aside from allowing you to instantly tell the difference between a manual and automatic movement (an automatic movement will have a winding rotor that swings around), this is also a great way to inspect the quality of the finishing on the movement. Chronometer/chronograph disambiguation A chronometer is quite simply a device for measuring the time, but in watchmaking it refers specifically to a precision timekeeping instrument, since there is an ISO standard (ISO 3159) that governs the requirements that need to be met for a watch brand to use the term chronometer for a particular watch. A chronograph, on the other hand, is a device for measuring elapsed time. The term has stood the test of time despite being inaccurate, since the Greek etymology suggests a device that can write time and harks back to the early chronographs that did actually use a dot of ink to record elapsed times. What to look for: complications A complication in watch parlance refers to additional functions added to the base mechanical movement. One of the most common complications for men is a chronograph. The moon phase is a popular complication in watches for women and depicts the current state of the moon, usually in conjunction with the date. Other popular complications are variations on the calendar, showing anything from the simple date to day-date, the so-called triple calendar (day, date and month), annual calendar (requiring only one correction each year at the end of February) and the much more complicated perpetual calendar, which can take leap years into account and therefore does not need adjusting until the year 2100. What to look for: differences between watches for men and women Men and women have different tastes, which are taken into account by watch brands in their watch designs and the functions they offer. Men are often looking for functional watches and may be particularly interested in the movement. Women, on the other hand, may be more interested in practicality and not worrying about whether their watch needs winding or not. Watch sales statistics bear this out, with women expressing a clear preference for quartz watches, while men appreciate the technicality of a mechanical movement. Brands pander to womens tastes with cases in gold, dials in mother of pearl and no limits to the use of diamonds in a watch, from a discreet setting on the dial to the so-called fully paved look, where every available surface of the watch is set with diamonds. Some women, however, prefer to wear a watches designed for men and one often-heard complaint is that watch brands do not do enough to satisfy their tastes with watches that occupy a middle-ground between the overtly feminine and overtly masculine aesthetics. We hope you found these basic tips helpful. Feel free to browse our watch database to find out more (we have over 15,000 watches listed dating back to the year 2000) and please let us know in the comments below if you would like tips for other aspects related to Swiss watches. The latest wave of sexual harassment allegations that rocked and blindsided the media industry has now hit Vice Media. Vice Media terminated three unknown employees after the company discovered numerous alleged allegations regarding foul behavior including sexual harassment in the workplace. "The conduct of these employees ranged from verbal and sexual harassment to other behavior that is inconsistent with our policies, our values, and the way in which we believe colleagues should work together," Vice stated in a leaked memo. Susan Tohyama, Vice's head of Human Resources refused to reveal the identities of the three terminated workers who were the subject of the alleged complaints. She also encouraged employees to step forward if they experienced some form of harassment. "I want to say again how important it is that you report any inappropriate conduct that you've experienced or witnessed. Working together we can move forward to ensure this is an inclusive, fair, safe, creative, and fun place to be." Tohyama wrote. Vice's History Of Harassment This incident is not Vice Media's first. A 2015 investigative piece discovered that the company was a "toxic" working environment filled with misogynistic tendencies. Kaj Larsen, who served as the media outlet's Los Angeles bureau chief, found himself terminated after he engaged in inappropriate activity multiple times with one of his colleagues. Jason Mojica, another high profile Vice Media employee, is currently suspended from his role as the head of the media outlet's documentary film unit. Vice has been mum regarding Mojica's employment status. Numerous outlets will continue investigations on Vice as the story develops. Strengthening Vice's Company Culture The media outlet is hoping to change its image in the public eye by adding several resources to strengthen their employees' empowerment. "I am very serious about ensuring that this company's policies and procedures are consistent with the best practices in the HR industry." Tohyama wrote. Vice installed a hotline for employees to report abuse to both Tohyama and Vice's lawyers. In addition, the organization has formed an advisory committee that will give the media outlet's leaders and employees a much safer work environment. The advisory committee membership consists of iconic women's rights activist Gloria Steinem, lawyer Roberta Kaplan, Tina Tchen, and Maya Harris. Tchen and Harris were employees of former First Ladies Michelle Obama and Hillary Clinton. Since the first issue of Vice Magazine was published in 1994, Vice Media has blossomed into a company that has covered stories on the music industry, LGBTQ community, and politics. Vice has also expanded its film and documentary departments. Aja Naomi King has a new exciting role. The How to Get Away with Murder star joins the L'Oreal Paris family as their newest spokeswoman. King is the latest actress to be a part of an incredible roster of women who've had the pleasure of embodying the iconic beauty brand. Julianne Moore, Eva Longoria, Elle Fanning, and Camila Cabello are some of the actresses who have represented L'Oreal Paris in the past. "Makeup provided me with a sense of protection and gave me the power and confidence to face the world in the way I wanted," King shared in the brand's official announcement. King's New Role This is King's first time as an ambassador for a major beauty brand, but her obsession with makeup goes back to childhood. The actress' love for beauty sparked when she watched her mother apply makeup every morning. "Seeing how much she enjoyed putting makeup on, including her go-to L'Oreal Paris Colour Riche Lipcolour, inspired me to love makeup as much as she did." King recalled. King's L'Oreal Paris campaign will feature a collection of five products that are designed to create an effortless and luminous glow. The Liineup of products include: Glotion Natural Glow Enhancers, Glow Nude Palette, Shimmerista Powder, Glow Boosting Drops, and Bronze it Bronzer. The products arrive just in time for winter and retail at $14.99. "I am so excited to help others find and believe in the beauty of who they are because everyone deserves to know their own worth," King in a statement. King will be starring in the upcoming biopic, A Girl from Mogadishu, as a Somali activist Ifrah Ahmed. The film shares Ahmed's journey from a refugee camp to Ireland where she becomes devoted to eradicating female genital mutilation. The actress' work includes starring in ABC's hit drama, How to Get Away with Murder, as well as the films: The Birth of a Nation and The Upside. King has been on HTGAWM since the series premiere in 2014. The series also stars Tony-winning actress, Viola Davis. The Birth of a Nation was released in theaters in January 2016 and is a dramatization of Nat Turner's life and the rebellion he led. The Birth of a Nation was directed and produced by screenwriter, Nate Parker. The Upside is a comedy that follows the relationship between a billionaire and an unemployed convict who is hired to help him. The film is set to hit theatres in March 2018. On 5 June 2016, on the occasion of World Environment Day, in a nondescript village called Madanpur in Chhattisgarh, bordering north Korba and south Surguja districts, a slogan was raisedNa lok sabha na vidhan sabha, sabse badi hai gram sabha (the biggest power lies with neither the Lok Sabha nor the Vidhan Sabha but with the gram sabha). Literally and figuratively, this represented a challenge to the privileged policy-legislating bodies at the centre and states from the gram sabha, the grass-roots policymaking body that is comparatively the least significant and virtually powerless. The thousands of villagers gathered in Madanpur on the pretext of attending a sammelan (convention) titled The Challenges and Role of Gram Sabhas in Self-Governance and Environment Conservation demanded direct participation not only in important legislative and policymaking processes that deal with their region, but also in issues of national and state-level interest that have a bearing on Hasdeo Arand. The conference was organised by the Hasdeo Arand Bachao Sangharsh Samiti (HABSS: Save Hasdeo Arand Campaign Committee), a loose federation of around 30 villages from the Hasdeo Arand region in Chhattisgarh. Through various national- and state-level campaigns, they have tried to attract the attention of policymakers to the potential and substantial local impact of centrally-determined policies and legislations. In this way, the movement represents a unique experiment to push for genuine decentralisation and proper implementation of existing constitutional and legal provisions applicable to Scheduled Areas. Umeshwar Singh Armo,1 the convenor of HABSS, explained: Virginia L. Gray dedicated 38 years of her life to the University community until her retirement in 2007 as Director, Office of Open Learning. Virginia's innovative approach to education positioned the University of Guelph to become an international leader in continuing and distance education. Virginia was committed to eliminating barriers to education and to supporting students who had a desire to advance their academic and career goals through education. Family, friends and colleagues of Virginia Gray have established and contributed to the Virginia L. Gray Memorial Bursary as a tribute to her exemplary work. Established by faculty, staff and friends of Open Learning. These funds are intended to provide support for non-degree students that are enrolled in an Open Learning Program (courses, certificates, and diplomas) in need of financial assistance. Students interested in enrolling in an Open Learning and Educational Support continuing education or Open Learning program course are eligible to apply. Applicants must be Canadian citizens or Permanent residents. Applications will be reviewed on January 30th and July 30th for upcoming course offerings. Applications must include a letter outlining financial need and academic goals, and must include supporting documentation. Students may receive the bursary only once. More information can be found at: opened.uoguelph.ca/en/students/financial-assistance.asp Qualification(s): Canadian citizens or permanent residents with the greatest financial need. Submission Address Please send bursary applications to: Bursary Award Committee Open Learning and Educational Support University of Guelph Johnston Hall, Room 160 Guelph, ON N1G 2W1 seanmcint said: Hi all, We want to include an explanation regarding some issues with our relationship evidence. Should this be part of the introduction letter or a separate letter included with the relationship documents? Thanks Click to expand... We used a cover sheet for each category. This is what we wrote for Relationship Evidence but keep n mind this was in 2014 and they may have become more strict now, so just a guideline.RELATIONSHIP EVIDENCEI am enclosing some photos from over the years as evidence of my long and enduring marriage to ********* These photos were taken in ************ and cover the years from *********I am also enclosing some correspondence and bills addressed to both of us as evidence that we have always lived together since our marriage in ***********. Since, in *********** post is always directed to a post office box, we do not have many bills or statements with our physical address on but the bank statements I enclose do include the physical address.I no longer have any correspondence from our years in *********, prior to our departure in 19** or from our earlier years here in ********. Having relocated on several occasions, we did not retain our correspondence or bills etc. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate The Thanksgiving Day shooting death of a 10-year-old girl appears to be part of a larger feud among gang members and a woman they were romantically involved with, according to police records. Late Thursday evening, police arrested Cody Gann, 18, and charged him with murder in connection with the shooting death of 10-year-old Delilah Hernandez, who was shot as she slept in her North Side home. Jasmine Cary, 19, was also arrested, on a warrant for evading arrest. Police described her as an accomplice. According to the records, Gann and Cary had an ongoing feud with Delilahs older brother, 19-year-old Nathaniel Vega, starting in September. Investigators believe that he was the intended target of the Thanksgiving Day shooting. Vega is also a documented Bloods gang member, according to records. Cary had previously dated Vega, but she was currently romantically involved with Gann, according to the records. A third man Cary dated, Matthew Merical, got involved in the ongoing feud after he was robbed by three armed people early Nov. 20. Merical was a friend of Vega. Police said they identified the shooters after receiving a tip from an anonymous caller who told investigators that this craziness has to stop. The caller said the shooting was retaliation and that everybody knew that Nathaniel Vega had done recent drive-by shootings at the homes of the couple. Meanwhile, Vega told police he had received threatening messages from a rival gang member identified as Gann in the days leading up to the attack, according to an arrest warrant affidavit. Todays the day, one message read. Surveillance video recorded on the day Delilah was killed showed an SUV traveling at a high rate of speed after the shooting. Investigators determined that the vehicle was the same Nissan Murano that the couple drove around during the week of the shooting, according to the affidavit. Police also found a spent bullet casing in the vehicle that matched the casings on the scene of the Thanksgiving Day shooting, authorities said. Jennifer Martinez, Delilahs aunt, reacted to the death of her niece Friday, saying she doesnt believe that the suspects should receive the death penalty. They need to spend the rest of their lives in prison so they can live for what they did to Delilah, Martinez said. Were happy they were caught, but it doesnt bring back Delilah, does it? Ongoing rivalry Officer Douglas Greene, a Police Department spokesman, said investigators dont know how far back the feud stems, mainly because gang members tend not to report crimes. Its hard to put a number on how long this has been going on, Greene said. Meanwhile, Castle Hills police Capt. Johnny Siemens described Gann and Vega as archenemies. On Sept. 1, Ganns home was the target of a drive-by shooting. His father reportedly told police that he believed that Vega was connected to the crime. Although the motive behind that shooting is unclear, the arrest affidavit notes the romantic connections. Then on Nov. 20, Merical was robbed by three armed people who broke into a San Antonio home. The three repeatedly struck Merical and used duct tape to cover his mouth and eyes and to restrain his wrists and ankles. He was later dropped off in a ditch before he walked to a convenience store to get help, he reportedly told police. Records show Merical had an idea of who was responsible for the robbery but that he refused to tell police or press charges. He allegedly told police that he would take care of matters himself. Two days later, Nov. 22, someone fired shots at Carys home, authorities said. Gann and Cary were there at the time, but neither called police, according to the affidavit. The shooting was discovered only as police were following leads in Delilahs murder. Police havent named any suspects in the Nov. 22 shooting, but a witness told police that Cary had called her afterward and said she believed that it was retaliation for the robbery of Merical, authorities said. A day later, police say, Gann fired the shot that struck and killed Delilah while she slept in her home. I want my lawyer Gann was quiet as he was questioned by reporters while being escorted to a police vehicle at Public Safety Headquarters late Thursday. Im not gonna say anything, he said. I want my lawyer. Gann was released from jail Friday after paying a portion of his $250,000 bail set by Judge Lori Crockett. Cary was also released on bail. Also Friday, Ganns family denied the murder charge. A woman who identified herself as his mother but asked not to be named said she was heartbroken to learn about Delilahs death but blamed it on Vega. My heart bleeds for the family, she said. But her brother caused her death. She also said her son isnt the type to commit a drive-by shooting. Hes always put people down that do drive-bys like that, she said. Hed say innocent people always get hurt that way. Hed say if you want to end something, you meet a man face to face and fight it out. The woman said Vega had constantly threatened and harassed Gann. Gann didnt want any trouble, she said, and even went as far as to change his phone number. The truth will come out, she said. Its just unfortunate that it costs what it takes to prove it. eeaton@express-news.net | Staff Writers Jacob Beltran and Alexandro Luna contributed to this report. The two top diplomats met on the sidelines of the Euro-Mediterranean Dialogue held in Rome Egypt's Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry discussed Friday, among other issues, developments on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) with his Saudi counterpart, Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir, the Egyptian foreign ministry announced. According to a statement issued by the foreign ministry, the two top diplomats met on the sidelines of the Euro-Mediterranean Dialogue held in Rome. Shoukry and Al-Jubeir discussed the latest developments in the region, especially in Syria, Lebanon, Yemen, Libya and the Qatar crisis. Shoukry also discussed Egyptian efforts in achieving Palestinian reconciliation and how to enable the national accord government to do its job in the Gaza Strip, as well as reviving the Palestinian-Israeli peace process. For his part, Al-Jubeir presented his condolences to Egypt for Al-Rawda Mosque terrorist attack where not less 310 were killed last week in North Sinai. Search Keywords: Short link: This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate AUSTIN In wake of the Sutherland Springs church shooting, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick is asking the Texas attorney general to clarify when people can carry handguns in a place of worship. Citing confusion over state law, Patrick is seeking an opinion on whether licensed handgun owners can carry loaded guns into any church, unless the building has a specifically posted prohibition. Next legislative session, I will continue to support initiatives to clarify the law and protect gun rights in Texas, Patrick wrote in a letter Friday to Attorney General Ken Paxton. Meanwhile, I ask that you please expedite this request so that churches may know what legal options they have to improve their security. Concerns about church security have mounted in the wake of Texas worst mass shooting, in which Devin P. Kelley shot and killed 26 people last month at First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs. While some of the states top Republican leaders, including Paxton, have pushed for arming churchgoers, Democrats have called for tightening Texas gun laws, such as barring people from openly carrying rifles. A new state law that took effect Sept. 1 makes it easier for churches to install volunteer security teams by doing away with the annual $225 licensing fees they have to pay, Patrick said. It was passed out of concern that churches, especially smaller congregations, could not shoulder such burdens, he wrote. In his letter, Patrick sought to verify that churches wouldnt have to pay fees for assembling volunteer security teams. State Democrats have taken a different approach, suggesting potential law changes to ban the open carry of rifles and to make it a state criminal offense for someone to lie on a background check form when purchasing a gun. Because Republicans in control of the Legislature have steadily been loosening firearms restrictions over the past few decades, its not clear how much traction those policies could get. amorris@express-news.net AUSTIN - Outgoing House Speaker Joe Straus said Friday he has no plans to make an endorsement in the race to succeed him, but he pledged anew to back the reelection of Republicans including Rep. Sarah Davis and aggressively took issue with Gov. Greg Abbotts decision to back her opponent. I dont know what his (Abbotts) goal is, but if his goal is to flip a Republican seat in Harris County to the Democrats, that would be a pretty effective way to do it, Straus, R-San Antonio, told reporters after a speech to the business-based Texas Taxpayers and Research Association. Abbott has endorsed Susanna Dokupil, who worked in the state attorney generals office under him before he was governor. Davis, R-West University Place, tangled with Abbott this year over ethics reform and is closely aligned with the more moderate Straus. The governor in endorsing her opponent said, We need leaders in Austin who will join me to build an even better future for Texas. Straus said he thinks that Davis will get more help now, I think, than she would have otherwise. Asked if he would support her, he said, Oh, hell, yeah Shes a strong, independent, smart Republican woman who we need more of, not fewer of. The head-butting highlights ongoing tensions within the Republican party. Later Friday, roughly 85 House Republicans voted to change the way they pick the next speaker, seeking to ensure a conservative gets the gavel and Democrats input is minimized. Under the new rules, Republicans will select their own speaker candidate before the full House vote, when Democrats can participate. Straus has relied on support from both parties to stay in power for a record-tying five terms. Though members said they agreed at the meeting to vote as a party bloc for their chosen candidate, the rules are not binding. The majority party, throughout Texas history, has always elected a speaker from their party, said Rep. Phil King, R-Weatherford, one of two Republicans who plans to run for speaker next session. But theres been in recent years quite a bit of division within the Republicans and I think this is just a great opportunity and a great way for us to build back some unity within our ranks. Straus, who has announced he is not running for re-election to his House seat, skipped the caucus meeting and cast doubt on the new rules. Im not sure that anything can be binding, but sounds like the state party chairman and others are really kind of whipping this thing up. I would think the wiser approach would be to change the state constitution. You cant bind somebody to vote for a speaker candidate on the floor, Straus said, So, whatever. Asked if he would endorse a speaker candidate, he said, I cant imagine that I would, no. As for endorsing a successor for his House seat, Straus said he doesnt plan to do that either but said he would see what things look like after the filing period is over. I dont have any plans to be centrally involved in any of that, Straus said. When Republicans meet after next years election to select their speaker candidate, the winner will have to earn support from two-thirds of the caucus. If no one can meet the high threshold after several rounds of voting, the requirement will be dropped. Initially seen as a way to undermine Straus longtime grip on the gavel, some lawmakers expected the effort would die down after the longtime speaker announced he wouldnt seek reelection in 2018. But the effort has only picked up steam in recent months, with the state Republican Party now asking all House candidates to declare whether they will back the GOP-chosen speaker candidate. A Republican Speaker of the House should first win the confidence of a majority of his or her fellow Republicans, says a speaker selection commitment form the party is offering to all Republican House candidates filing to run in the states March 6 primary. The appropriate venue for House Republicans to their choice for Speaker is a meeting of the Republican Caucus in the Texas House to be held before the Legislature convenes for the next regular session. pfikac@express-news.net This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate WASHINGTON Rep. Blake Farenthold, R-Corpus Christi, used $84,000 in taxpayer dollars to settle with a former aide who sued him for sexual harassment in 2014, The Washington Post confirmed Friday. Farenthold is the first member of Congress confirmed to have benefited from a little-known Treasury Department fund created to cover workplace settlements involving lawmakers. The congressional Office of Compliance disclosed Friday that the fund paid for only one sexual harassment settlement involving a House lawmakers office in the past five years, but did not name Farenthold. The congressmans former communications director, Lauren Greene, accused him of making sexually charged comments designed to gauge whether she was interested in a sexual relationship. She filed suit after going through the Office of Compliances counseling and mediation process. Farenthold denied wrongdoing in the case. Neither the congressman nor Greenes lawyer would confirm they were involved in the $84,000 settlement. While I 100% support more transparency with respect to claims against members of Congress, I can neither confirm nor deny that settlement involved my office as the Congressional Accountability Act prohibits me from answering that question, Farenthold said in a statement Friday. The Ethics Committee opened an investigation into Farenthold in September 2015 that was still pending as of Friday. Secretive process The revelation from the Office of Compliance sheds new light on the secretive process that lawmakers use to settle workplace complaints against them and their aides using public funds. In total, the Treasury fund has paid for settlements related to six claims against House members offices since 2013, the OOC wrote in a letter Friday to the Committee on House Administration. The five complaints not pertaining to sexual harassment alleged one or more forms of employment discrimination and in some cases, retaliation, the letter stated. The fund is not the only source of settlement payments for lawmakers accused of misconduct. Members such as Rep. John Conyers Jr., D-Mich., have used their office budgets to settle and conceal complaints. Settlements reached using this method are not tracked, and they are difficult to identify, even in congressional offices payment records. Ethics watchdog groups welcomed the request as a sign the panel might wield its power to address mounting allegations of misconduct on Capitol Hill. A nice change of pace to see the Ethics Committee asserting its jurisdiction, Meredith McGehee, executive director of Issue One, a nonprofit focused on government ethics, wrote in an email. Usually they are looking for ways to avoid taking on hard questions, hoping the member leaves or burying the allegations until the heat goes away. Under the law, the executive director of the Office of Compliance has authority to share records of hearings and decisions with the House and Senate ethics committees. The executive director can share all written and oral testimony from hearings and decisions, but not information discussed in mediation. Strong allegations Farenthold, 55, was first elected to the House 2010 during a Tea Party wave. He was co-host of a local conservative radio at the time and toppled then-U.S. Rep. Solomon Ortiz, a Democrat, by less than 800 votes. He represents the 27th District, which stretches from Corpus Christi up the Texas coast to include Matagorda and Wharton counties. In a 2015 interview with the Houston Chronicle, Farenthold talked about Greenes lawsuit, which was filed in 2014 alleging he had illegally fired her after she complained about mistreatment. I was surprised, he said. I didn't imagine us having any problems in the office. And the things she alleges are just so far out in left field. I'm just stunned. Farenthold during that interview that the suit could be reprisal for Greene's termination. Somebody gets fired, you never can tell how they're going to take it, Farenthold said in the interview. Alexis Ronickher, a Washington employment lawyer who has represented congressional employees in workplace complaints, said there are considerable emotional and professional risks involved in bringing a claim against a lawmaker. Greene, the former staffer who sued Farenthold, is now publicly identified as going against and asserting claims against a member of Congress, and her name throughout the Internet is associated with this, Ronickher said. Its very hard to build a life after that. $84,000 is a very, very modest recompense, particularly given the types of conducts that are being alleged, she added. These congressional staffers are not being made whole, whatsoever. Farenthold challengers Two Democrats and one Republican have filed with the Federal Election Commission to challenge Farenthold in 2018. Republican Mike Clouds campaign released a new Facebook campaign fundraising pitch on Friday asking supporter to help us fight the culture of corruption in our Nations Capitol. Cloud, who was the Victoria County Republican Party chairman for seven years, officially qualified Monday to be on the March 6 primary ballot against Farenthold. Neither of the two Democrats Rene Pena Jr. and Eric Holguin had qualified as of Friday to be on the ballot in 2018, according to Texas Secretary of State records. Before news of the settlement broke, political watchers considered Farentholds seat a safe Republican district after he won re-election over Democratic challenger in 2014 and 2016 by more than 20 percentage points. Austin Bureau Staff Writer Jeremy Wallace contributed to this report. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate EDINBURG Before John Feit was a suspect in the killing of a South Texas teacher, he threatened other young women and exhibited strange behavior for a priest, several witnesses testified Friday. Feit, now 85, is on trial in the 1960 death of Irene Garza, a 25-year-old second-grade teacher and beauty queen. Hes charged with murder. Before the shock of Garzas death spread through the small agricultural community, Feit reportedly accosted Beatrice Garcia. Garcia, now 77, testified that back in 1960, she was walking past Sacred Heart Catholic Church in McAllen, when Feit, a 27-year-old priest at the church, pulled up next to her in his car. He said, I would love to take a picture of you dressed in black by the cemetery. Garcia testified in the second day of the trial in 92nd State District Court. I thought he was trying to scare me. In another incident, Cleotilde Tilly Sanchez, now 80, who was a cook at the church rectory at the time, testified she heard Feit comment to other priests as she went for supplies in the cellar. How about we close the door and make Tilly disappear? Sanchez testified she heard Feit say. Sanchez testified that the priest also threatened her in the days after his attack on America Guerra at a church in Edinburg. The former cook told jurors she received a call at the rectory and when she picked up the phone, it was Feit, who told her, Tilly, youre next, honey. Sanchez notified McAllen police and told them it was Feit who had threatened her, but church officials assured her that she was mistaken. Feit pleaded no contest to assaulting Guerra and was fined $500. Darrell Davis, who was a TV reporter in 1960, testifed Thursday that the Hidalgo County district attorney, now deceased, told him off the record that the plea was part of a deal struck with the Catholic Church. Feit would plead no contest in the Guerra case and be sent to a monastery and the DA would stop the investigation into Feit in the Garza case. Garza had been Miss All South Texas Sweetheart in 1958 and a former prom and homecoming queen at what then was Pan American College. Her death jolted McAllen, a tight-knit community. Jose Garcia, 87, a classmate of Feits at Pan American College in Edinburg, said he began to suspect Feit when he noticed what appeared to be scratch marks on the priests hands, but like several other state witnesses, he didnt report his observation at the time. Feits attorney O. Rene Flores questioned the recollections of state witnesses, many of them now in their 70s and 80s, asking why they had waited decades after the slaying to come forward. Also Friday, Garzas petticoats, blouse and bra were introduced into evidence. Feits viewfinder, which investigators found in the canal near Garzas body, was also introduced. Police said Feit claimed ownership of the viewfinder. These days, Feit suffers from various ailments and enters the courtroom with the assistance of a walker. On Friday, he sat stone-faced as he saw the evidence and faced his accusers. As a young priest living in at the pastoral house in nearby San Juan, Feit filled in where he was needed, often at Sacred Heart Church in McAllen. He was considered a supply priest, meaning he wasnt the regular full-time priest assigned to a specific church. While serving at the parish he demonstrated strange behavior for a priest, said Ana Marie Hollingsworth, now 83, a childhood friend of Garza. Garza confided in Hollingsworth, who took the stand Friday, that Feit had pulled her out of a confessional booth to hear her confession face-to-face in the rectory, a practice that was highly unusual at the time. Feit explained to the devout schoolteacher that the confessional wasnt good enough for Garza, Hollingsworth testified. Garza went to Feit for the sacrament of confession on the last day she was seen alive. Her body was found in an irrigation canal. She had been beaten, raped while unconscious and then asphyxiated. She said, He thinks hes handsome he takes me into the rectory, Hollingsworth said of her conversation with Garza. She was disturbed. anelsen@expess-news.net | Twitter: @amnelsen A State Security Misdemeanor Court for Urgent Matters sentenced on Saturday Egyptian lawyer Nabih El-Wahsh to three years in jail in absentia for inciting sexual harassment and rape against women who wear "revealing ripped pants." The court, which also fined El-Wahsh EGP 20,000,has set bail at EGP 10,000 pending appeal. Last month, the prosecution charged El-Wahsh with disrupting public peace and harming the public interest after he said on a TV programme that it is a public duty for men to rape women who wear ripped jeans that expose their posterior. El-Wahsh made the comments when he appeared as a guest on a show on Al-Assema TV channel to discuss laws to combat prostitution and debauchery. El-Wahsh's statements sparked outrage among many in the country, including female MPs who condemned his comments in a statement. In 2014, the Egyptian penal code criminalized sexual harassment, which has been a widespread phenomenon for a number of years in the country, and stipulated punishments for perpetrators, including jail sentences and fines. The law also punishes those who commit sexual assault with 3-7 years in jail. Search Keywords: Short link: Angelina Jolie hopes her new film will encourage people to go to Cambodia. Angelina Jolie The 42-year-old actress-turned-director made 'First They Killed My Father' - which is based on author Lung Ung's account of the Khmer Rouge 1975-79 regime - in the Asian country, and though it depicts an incredibly difficult period in history, she wants viewers to see past that and embrace the "beautiful" land and its people. She told Psychologies magazine: "I love this country so much and I hope that when people see the film, they don't just see the war and the suffering, but they get to really know this Cambodian family. "My wish is that they see the beautiful culture, language and talented artists. I hope that people will come ad bring work and travel to Cambodia." And Angelina - who raises Maddox, 16, Pax, 13, Zahara, 12, Shiloh, 11, and nine-year-old twins Knox and Vivienne with estranged husband Brad Pitt - thought it was very "special and beautiful" to work on the movie with so many local creatives. She said: "I was so proud of everybody in Cambodia and how hard they worked and participated in the creation of the film. "It was also important for them, because one of the first steps the Khmer Rouge took was to kill all the artists and writers and anyone who could be creative and expressive. So seeing Cambodian artists contributing to this film was special and beautiful." But the filmmaker was also aware it was a "painful" period to recreate, so she made sure there was always help and support on hand. She added: "It was painful for everyone - you can imagine how hard it was for them to relive certain moments. "Seeing Khmer Rouge soldiers marching up brought many traumatic memories. That's why we made therapy available on the set for anyone who needed it. "We were constantly talking about every scene and it was a way of bringing the crew together as a community. It was a cathartic process." Kate Winslet auditioned for 'Titanic' with Matthew McConaughey. Kate Winslet The 42-year-old actress became a global sensation 20 years ago when she nabbed the leading role of Rose DeWitt Bukate alongside Leonardo DiCaprio's Jack Dawson in the romantic disaster film but, although Paramount and the director James Cameron were in two minds about who to cast as the handsome orphan, she has admitted she actually went for the part alongside the 48-year-old actor. Speaking on 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert', the host said: "Paramount wanted Matthew McConaughey for the role of Jack but [James] Cameron insisted on Leo, how would that have changed things?" To which Kate said: ""I auditioned with Matthew, isn't that weird? "I've never said that in public before!" Although Leonardo's character Jack spent the majority of his scenes in the freezing water, Kate has admitted she's the one who got sick with hypothermia because the vast filming location made it impossible for the crew to warm the water up. She confessed: "I did get hypothermia. It was really f***ing cold!" Despite getting ill from the final scenes, it didn't put Kate off doing any other water work as she has demanded to do all "her own" acting in the water in 'Avatar 2'. Cameron - who is also directing Avatar 2' - said previously: "She does, and she's very excited about it. She blazed through for a couple of days of rehearsals and saw the world that we had created, and how we do the work, and she's very excited. She plays a character who's part of the Sea People, the reef people. The one thing she did do is demand that she do all her own water work. I said, 'Alright, that's fine, we'll have to teach you how to free dive.' The other actors are up to three- and four-minute breath holds. We've already been doing underwater capture. We did a scene last week with six teenagers, well, actually five teenagers and one seven-year-old underwater holding their breath for a couple minutes and acting, actually doing a dialogue scene under water because they speak kind of a sign language." Olivia Cooke, Anya Taylor-Joy, Anton Yelchin and Paul Sparks are all set to star in next years release Thoroughbreds, directed and written by Cory Finley. This week, a brand new trailer for the film has been released, which you can check out below: Taylor-Joy and Cooke play childhood friends Lily and Amanda respectively; a pair that have grown apart in recent years, but find a chance to reconnect in suburban Connecticut. Whilst Lilys a polished upper-class member of society, Amanda seems to be the complete opposite; a woman with a sharp wit and attitude, whos growing close to becoming a social outcast. Completely at odds with one another, the two still find a chance to bond over Lilys hatred for her oppressive stepfather Mark (Sparks), and as they grow closer their more destructive personality traits begin to bubble over the surface. Ambitious in their goals, they hire local hustler Tim (Yelchin) to take their lives back into their own hands, hoping to put themselves on a path to success, but forced to tackle some of the biggest challenges theyll ever see in their lives. Francie Swift and Kaili Vernoff also star in the flick, which was actually filmed and completed principal photography back in 2016 before premiering at the Sundance Film Festival on January 21, 2017. Already seen by a number of high-profile critics, the films made a positive impact on the majority of those whose views are counted towards the movies total score on reviews aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes. There, it sits with 83% (19 positive reviews against 4 negative), so it will be interesting to see if the general consensus matches up with that of early viewings upon release next year. Thoroughbreds is released across UK cinemas on March 9, 2018. by Daniel Falconer for www.femalefirst.co.uk find me on and follow me on Mads Mikkelsen and Hanne Jacobsen celebrate their 19th wedding anniversary today, so we reflect on their time as husband and wife with a few things you might not know about the couple. Mads Mikkelsen and Hanne Jacobsen (Credit: Famous) 1. Actor Mikkelsen married choreographer Jacobson on 2nd December 2000. 2. The pair began dating back in 1987 before tying the knot 13 years later. 3. When he was asked how they met by www.nytimes.com, he revealed: 'I met her when I was dressed up like a woman in La Cage aux Folles. There must be some Freudian stuff happening there. I was a Chinese girl, and I think I was quite good. I have womens legs.' 4. They have two children- a daughter- Viola (1992) and a son- Carl (1997). 5. The couple lived in Copenhagen but moved to Toronto in 2012 when the filming began for Hannibal. 6. Several polls in women's magazines have called him- 'the sexiest man in Denmark', which he reportedly still uses today; 'I can still pull it out from the drawer and say: Honey, do you realize who youre married to? The sexiest man 14 years ago.' To which she replied, Well, youre married to the most hot girl in the world. (www.nytimes.com) Happy Wedding Anniversary Mads and Hanne! Source: Wikipedia and IMDB. Zund Systemtechnik AG, Switzerlands textile machinery firm that specialises in manufacturing digital cutting systems, has released version 3.0 of its comprehensive Zund Cut Center (ZCC) software suite. It offers enhanced registration methods for greater productivity and browser-based dashboard for remote access to all performance and production data.Zund has expanded its already comprehensive software suite with new functionalities and another boost in performance and user-friendly operation. The new release includes a variety of intelligent workflow options. Additional registration methods generate significant increases in overall productivity. Zund Systemtechnik AG, Switzerland's textile machinery firm that specialises in manufacturing digital cutting systems, has released version 3.0 of its comprehensive Zund Cut Center (ZCC) software suite. It offers enhanced registration methods for greater productivity and browser-based dashboard for remote access to all performance and production data.# ZCC version 3.0 now includes refined algorithms for capturing only those register marks essential for accurately determining position, skew and distortion. Consequently, the ICC camera targets only critical marks for capture while ignoring the rest. This leads to enormous time savings and translates into significant increases in productivity.Dashboard is another highlight of the latest version of Zund Cut Center. This new browser-based function visualises performance and productivity data of the Zund cutters operating on the production floor. Dashboard gives management and production staff easy, round-the- clock remote access to all relevant production data. Real-time job status can be viewed anytime, anywhere. Visualised statistics provide a clear, instantaneous overview of Zund cutter productivity for user-definable time periods.Organisation and clarity are the be-all and end-all of smart production planning. That is exactly what Zunds proven Cut Queue offers, with a tool palette that facilitates production planning and job management. Cut Queue estimates production times and facilitates setup by visualising job contours.Many settings, such as overcut compensation and offsets for objects and cut paths, can either be handled automatically through hot folders or manually, at any time, via Cut Editor. Hot folders automatically generate production-ready files from commonly used layout and CAD programmes. This accelerates file prep and eliminates manual steps in job setup. At the same time, the software also automatically optimises cut data for the shortest possible processing time by determining the optimal cut direction, cut sequence and cut path, closing open contours, smoothing curves, etc. Cut Editor also provides such useful functions as crease-counter generation for high-quality creasing, powerful nesting features for maximum material yield, and a variety of routing features designed to deliver superior routing quality, productivity and profitability. (GK) Fibre2Fashion News Desk India The 12 and 18 per cent rates under the goods and services tax (GST) may be merged once revenue collections pick up and the top 28 per cent slab would be for a very thin" list of luxury and sin goods, Indian finance minister Arun Jaitley hinted recently. That would result in two rates, 5 per cent and another 'X' per cent to be decided later, he said.The new regime started with multiple rates to keep the tax incidence around the same level that existed before GST, Jaitley told the HT Leadership Summit in New Delhi. The country would eventually move to a two- tier GST, but that would depend on the revenue position of the government, a news agency report quoted him as saying. The 12 and 18 per cent rates under the goods and services tax (GST) may be merged once revenue collections pick up and the top 28 per cent slab would be for a very thin" list of luxury and sin goods, Indian finance minister Arun Jaitley hinted recently. That would result in two rates, 5 per cent and another 'X' per cent to be decided later, he said. # GST has four tax slabs of 5, 12, 18 and 28 per cent. There is also a zero per cent tax on certain essential daily use commodities.Stressing on the need to reduce the compliance burden on small and medium enterprises, he said that is a legitimate noise. (DS) Fibre2Fashion News Desk India TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 12/01/17 -- Editors Note: There is a photo associated with this press release. Mutual Funds Canada Limited has been called upon for its expertise in finance and investments with a specialty in underlying asset review of both stocks and bonds, mutual funds and etf's. MF is proud to join some of Canada's top investment and finance professionals as a regular writer for MUTUALFUND.CA and the electronic and industry trade publication called 'Mutual Fund Magazine' that is an RRSP Season favorite for mutual fund dealers, representatives and advisors. 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Mutual fund companies, dealers, representatives, advisors and managers are welcome to participate with news, stories, information, data and more. Make the Mutual Fund Newsletter better with your love and support for the sake of Canadian Financial Literacy and the promotion of mutual fund education. The MUTUAL FUNDS Newsletter - representing You and Your Money Like us, tell your friends about us and join us for all the right reasons. trilliondollarfunds To view the photo associated with this press release, please visit the following link: http://www.marketwire.com/library/20171201-800money.jpg Contacts: Money.ca info@money.ca (416) 360-0000 The two defence ministers also discussed common challenges in the region Egypt's defence minister Sedky Sobhi discussed on Saturday in Cairo the latest regional and international developments and common challenges in the region with his US counterpart James Mattis at the headquarters of the Ministry of Defence, Egypts Armed Forces said in a statement. The two officials discussed coordinating efforts in the war on terrorism as well as military cooperation and the exchange of expertise and joint drills between the two countries. The meeting was attended by Egyptian Army Chief-of-Staff Mohamed Farid Hegazy and acting US ambassador in Cairo Thomas H. Goldberger. The Egyptian defence minister told Mattis that he appreciates the longstanding partnership and strategic cooperation between the militaries of Egypt and the US, stressing the importance of strengthening military cooperation. Mattis stressed the depth of the decades-long military relationship between the two countries and their mutual understanding and coordination in different areas. Mattis also stressed the US commitment to continued support for Egypt and its Armed Forces in fighting terrorism and continuing cooperation to achieve peace and stability in the Middle East. After concluding his visit, Mattis departed Cairo, the statement read. Mattis is set to visit Jordan where he will participate in the Aqaba Process, a meeting hosted by Jordans King Abdullah II on countering violent extremism in West Africa. Search Keywords: Short link: (2) Reflects the number of positions in issuers in which the Company has previously publicly disclosed an investment, which occurs after the Company has completed its accumulation. Cash, cash equivalents, direct or indirect currency or other hedges and income/expense items are excluded. Multiple financial instruments (for example, common stock and derivatives on common stock) associated with one (1) issuer count as one (1) position. A position that is included in the number of positions will be removed from the table only if the investment becomes 0.0% of the portfolio. (3) For the purpose of determining the equity and debt exposures, investments are valued as follows: (a) equity or debt is valued at market value, (b) options referencing equity or debt are valued at market value, (c) long call options and short put options (or vice-versa, short call options and long put options) held on the same underlying issuer and with the same strike and same expiry are grouped together and treated as synthetic equity positions, and are valued at the market value of the equivalent long equity position (or vice-versa, the equivalent short equity position), and (d) swaps or forwards referencing equity or debt are valued at the market value of the notional equity or debt underlying the swaps or forwards. Whether a position is deemed to be long or short is determined by whether an investment has positive or negative exposure to price increases or decreases. For example, long puts are deemed to be short exposure. (4) Includes all issuer equity, debt, and derivatives related to issuer equity and debt, and associated currency hedges. Cash, cash equivalents, direct or indirect currency or other hedges and income/expense items are excluded. The market values of associated currency hedges are included as part of the associated investment. In the event that there is a change in market cap category with respect to any non-publicly disclosed position, this information is not updated until such position is publicly disclosed. (5) Portfolio composition is reflective of the publicly disclosed portfolio positions as of the date of this report. A position in an issuer is only assigned to a sector once it has been publicly disclosed. (6) "Pershing Square Holdings, Ltd. AUM" equals the assets under management of Pershing Square Holdings, Ltd. Any performance fees crystallized as of the end of the year will be reflected in the following period's AUM. (7) "Total Strategy AUM" equals the aggregate assets under management of Pershing Square, L.P., Pershing Square International, Ltd., Pershing Square II, L.P. and Pershing Square Holdings, Ltd. (collectively, the "Core Funds"). Redemptions effective as of the end of any period (including redemptions attributable to crystallized performance fees/allocations, if any) will be reflected in the following period's AUM. (8) "Total Firm AUM" is the aggregate of Total Strategy AUM and the assets under management of Pershing Square VI Master, L.P. which operates as a co-investment vehicle investing primarily in securities of (or otherwise seeking to be exposed to the value of securities issued by) Automatic Data Processing, Inc. ("PSVI") without double counting investments by any Core Fund in PSVI. LONDON, December 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- FOR MEDICAL AND TRADE MEDIA ONLY Absolute PASI analysis from the VOYAGE 1 trial shows a high level of skin responses were maintained through two years in patients treated with guselkumab Additional new data show a consistent safety profile for guselkumab through two years Janssen-Cilag International NV ("Janssen") presented a new analysis from VOYAGE 1 assessing efficacy responses based on absolute Psoriasis Area and Severity Index score (PASI), as reported through two years of TREMFYA (guselkumab) treatment in adult patients with moderate to severe psoriasis.[1] The data, presented at the 8th International Congress of Psoriasis from Gene to Clinic, showed that guselkumab treatment led to significantly higher rates of skin clearance vs Humira (adalimumab) through one year, as measured by absolute PASI (p <0.001). In patients who received continuous treatment with guselkumab, high level PASI responses were also maintained through the two years.[1] "The chronicity and often unpredictable nature of psoriasis mean that percentage improvements in signs and symptoms don't always translate into improvements in quality of life for patients," said Dr Kim Papp, K Papp Clinical Research and Probity Medical Research, Waterloo, Canada and study lead investigator. "By directly analysing PASI values in this trial, we focused on a direct and objective measurement of disease severity, not just the percentage of improvement. Results from VOYAGE 1 demonstrate that treatment with guselkumab translates into clinically meaningful improvements for patients." The aim of this post-hoc analysis was to objectively measure the area of the body affected by the reddening, scaling and thickening associated with psoriasis plaques, rather than reporting on the relative percentage improvement in PASI score from baseline seen with treatment. Efficacy through to two years (week 100) was analysed based on absolute PASI responses of 0, 1 and 3 on a scale of 0 to 72, with higher scores indicating greater disease severity.[1],[2] The results showed that at week 48, 72.0% of patients treated with guselkumab had a PASI score of 1 vs 43.4% of patients treated with adalimumab (p <0.001). Furthermore, 47.4% of guselkumab treated patients had clear skin (PASI 0) vs 23.4% of those treated with adalimumab (p <0.001).[1] After 2 years (week 100) high skin clearance rates continued to be seen among patients receiving guselkumab, 68.6% had a PASI score of 1 and nearly half (49%) had clear skin (PASI score of 0).[1][see Information for Editors section for study design] Janssen also presented new two-year data from VOYAGE 1 and VOYAGE 2, evaluating the safety of guselkumab in adult patients with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis.[3] The analysis considered patients who were initially randomised to guselkumab and those randomised to placebo and crossed over to guselkumab at week 16. The results showed that safety event rates for both groups of guselkumab-treated patients were comparable between year 1 and year 2. In addition, the safety data for patients who were initially randomised to adalimumab and later crossed over to receive guselkumab were consistent with overall guselkumab safety data, with no additional safety signals identified.[3] Adverse events reported in at least five percent of guselkumab-treated patients during the first 16 weeks in the VOYAGE 1 and 2 trials included: nasopharyngitis, upper respiratory tract infection, injection site erythema, headache, arthralgia, pruritus and back pain. The types of adverse events reported remained generally consistent through 48 weeks of treatment,[4],[5] and through to week 100.[3] Information for Editors About the International Congress of Psoriasis from Gene to Clinic The 8th International Congress of Psoriasis from Gene to Clinic is taking place in London from Thursday 30th November to Saturday 2nd December. For more information, visit: http://www.psoriasisg2c.com About TREMFYA (guselkumab) [ 6] On 10 November 2017, guselkumab was granted market authorisation in Europe for the treatment of adult patients with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis who may benefit from taking injections or pills (systemic therapy). Guselkumab is the first psoriasis treatment licensed in the European Union to selectively target IL-23, a key driver of the immune inflammatory response in psoriasis.[4],[5],[7],[8] Guselkumab is a self-injectable treatment for psoriasis (following training). Treatment requires two starter doses, one initially and the other four weeks later, followed by a maintenance dose once every eight weeks (q8w) thereafter.[4],[5] The Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson maintain exclusive worldwide marketing rights to guselkumab, which is currently approved in the US, Canada and Europe. For complete European Union (EU) prescribing information, please visit: https://www.medicines.org.uk/emc/medicine/34321 VOYAGE 1, VOYAGE 2 studies VOYAGE 1 is a Phase III, multicentre, randomised, double-blind, placebo- and active comparator- controlled study, including 837 patients. It included a placebo-controlled period (weeks 0-16), after which patients taking placebo crossed over to receive guselkumab through week 48, and an active comparator-controlled period comparing guselkumab with adalimumab (week 0-48). [5] At week 48, patients randomised to guselkumab at week 0 and those who crossed over from placebo to guselkumab at week 16 continued to receive guselkumab q8w; patients randomised to adalimumab at week 0 also switched to guselkumab q8w at week 48. [9] Beginning at week 52, all patients began receiving open-label guselkumab. This study will continue for a total of 5 years. At week 48, patients randomised to guselkumab at week 0 and those who crossed over from placebo to guselkumab at week 16 continued to receive guselkumab q8w; patients randomised to adalimumab at week 0 also switched to guselkumab q8w at week 48. Beginning at week 52, all patients began receiving open-label guselkumab. This study will continue for a total of 5 years. VOYAGE 2 is a Phase III, multicentre, randomised, double-blind, placebo- and active comparator-controlled study, including 992 patients. It consisted of a placebo-controlled period (weeks 0-16), an active comparator-controlled period (weeks 0-28), and a randomised withdrawal and retreatment period (weeks 28-72).[4] Beginning at week 76, all patients began receiving open-label guselkumab. This study will also continue for a total of 5 years. About Psoriasis What it is The most common form of psoriasis is plaque psoriasis, usually resulting in areas of thick, red or inflamed skin covered with silvery scales which are known as plaques.[10] The inconsistent nature of psoriasis means that even when plaques appear to subside, patients can have ongoing concerns over their return.[11] Impact Psoriasis can cause great physical and psychological burden. A study comparing psoriasis to other prominent conditions found its mental and physical impact comparable to that seen in cancer, heart disease and depression.[12] Psoriasis is also associated with several comorbidities including psoriatic arthritis, cardiovascular diseases, metabolic syndrome, chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD) and osteoporosis.[13],[14] In addition, many individuals are faced with social exclusion, discrimination, and stigma because of their disease.[15] About the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson At the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson, we are working to create a world without disease. Transforming lives by finding new and better ways to prevent, intercept, treat and cure disease inspires us. We bring together the best minds and pursue the most promising science. We are Janssen. We collaborate with the world for the health of everyone in it. Learn more at http://www.janssen.com/emea. Follow us on Twitter: @JanssenEMEA. Cautions Concerning Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains "forward-looking statements" as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 regarding development and potential availability in Europe of guselkumab. The reader is cautioned not to rely on these forward-looking statements. These statements are based on current expectations of future events. If underlying assumptions prove inaccurate or known or unknown risks or uncertainties materialise, actual results could vary materially from the expectations and projections of Janssen-Cilag International NV or Johnson & Johnson. Risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: challenges inherent in product research and development, including uncertainty of clinical success and obtaining regulatory approvals; uncertainty of commercial success; competition, including technological advances, new products and patents attained by competitors; challenges to patents; changes to applicable laws and regulations, including global health care reforms; and trends toward health care cost containment. A further list and descriptions of these risks, uncertainties and other factors can be found in Johnson & Johnson's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended January 1, 2017, including under "Item 1A. Risk Factors," its most recently filed Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, including under the caption "Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements," and the company's subsequent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Copies of these filings are available online at http://www.sec.gov, http://www.jnj.com or on request from Johnson & Johnson. Neither the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies nor Johnson & Johnson undertakes to update any forward-looking statement as a result of new information or future events or developments. References 1. Papp K, Griffiths CEM, et al. 8th International Congress of Psoriasis from Gene to Clinic 30 November - 2 December, 2017; London, UK, ID #77. 2. Poulin Y, Sheth P, et al. Dermatol Ther (Heidelb). 2014 Jun;4(1):33-42. 3. Reich K, Papp K et al. 8th International Congress of Psoriasis from Gene to Clinic 30 November - 2 December, 2017; London, UK, ID #75. 4. Reich K and Armstrong AW, et al. J Am Acad Dermatol 2017;76(3):418-31. 5. Blauvelt A, Papp KA, et al. J Am Acad Dermatol 2017;76(3):405-17. 6. European Medicines Agency. 2017. Available at: https://www.medicines.org.uk/emc/medicine/34321 . Accessed November 2017. 7. Langley RG, Tsai TF, et al. Br J Dermatol 2017; Jun 21 [Epub ahead of print]. 8. Bachelez H. The Lancet 2017;390:208-10. 9. Griffiths E, Papp K, et al. 26th European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology Congress (EADV 2017) 13-17 Sept, 2017; Geneva, Switzerland;D3T01.1I. 10. National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Disorders. NIH Medline Plus 2003;12(1):20-1. 11. US Food and Drug Administration. 2016. Available at: https://www.fda.gov/downloads/ForIndustry/UserFees/PrescriptionDrugUserFee/UCM529856.pdf .Accessed November 2017. 12. Rapp SR, Feldman SR, et al. J Am Acad Dermatol 1999;41(3):401-7. 13. Nijsten T, Wakkee MJ. Invest Dermatol 2009;129(7):1601-3. 14. National Psoriasis Foundation. Available at: psoriasis.org/about-psoriasis/related-conditions.Accessed November 2017. 15. World Health Organization. 2016. Available at: apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/204417/1/9789241565189_eng.pdf.Accessed November 2017 BANGALORE, India, December 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Infosys announced today that its Board of Directors has appointed Salil S. Parekh as Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director (CEO & MD) of the Company effectiveJanuary 2, 2018. (Logo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/610722/Infosys_Logo.jpg ) Commenting on the appointment of Mr. Parekh, Mr. Nandan Nilekani, Chairman of the Board said, "We are delighted to have Salil joining as the CEO & MD of Infosys.He has nearly three decades of global experience in the IT services industry. He has a strong track record of executing business turnarounds and managing very successful acquisitions. The Board believes that he is the right person to lead Infosys at this transformative time in our industry. The Board is also grateful to Pravin for his leadership during this period of transition." Ms. Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Chairperson of the Nomination & Remuneration Committee, stated, "After a comprehensive global search effort, we are pleased to appoint Salil as the CEO & MD. He was the top choice from a pool of highly qualified candidates. With his strong track record and extensive experience, we believe, we have the right person to lead Infosys." Mr. Parekh joins Infosys from Capgemini where he was a member of the Group Executive Board.He has Master of Engineering degrees in Computer Science and Mechanical Engineering from Cornell University, and a Bachelor of Technology degree in Aeronautical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay. Mr. U B Pravin Rao will step down as the interim CEO and Managing Director effectiveJanuary 2, 2018and will continue as Chief Operating Officer and a whole-time Director of the Company. About Infosys Infosys is a global leader in technology services and consulting. We enable clients in 45 countries to create and execute strategies for their digital transformation. From engineering to application development, knowledge management and business process management, we help our clients find the right problems to solve, and to solve these effectively.Our team of 198,000+ innovators, across the globe, is differentiated by the imagination, knowledge and experience, across industries and technologies that we bring to every project we undertake. Visit http://www.infosys.com to see how Infosys (NYSE: INFY) can help your enterprise thrive in the digital age. Safe Harbor Certain statements in this press release concerning our future growth prospects are forward-looking statements regarding our future business expectations intended to qualify for the 'safe harbor' under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements. The risks and uncertainties relating to these statements include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties regarding fluctuations in earnings, fluctuations in foreign exchange rates, our ability to manage growth, intense competition in IT services including those factors which may affect our cost advantage, wage increases in India, our ability to attract and retain highly skilled professionals, time and cost overruns on fixed-price, fixed-time frame contracts, client concentration, restrictions on immigration, industry segment concentration, our ability to manage our international operations, reduced demand for technology in our key focus areas, disruptions in telecommunication networks or system failures, our ability to successfully complete and integrate potential acquisitions, liability for damages on our service contracts, the success of the companies in which Infosys has made strategic investments, withdrawal or expiration of governmental fiscal incentives, political instability and regional conflicts, legal restrictions on raising capital or acquiring companies outside India, and unauthorized use of our intellectual property and general economic conditions affecting our industry. Additional risks that could affect our future operating results are more fully described in our United States Securities and Exchange Commission filings including our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2017. These filings are available athttp://www.sec.gov. Infosys may, from time to time, make additional written and oral forward-looking statements, including statements contained in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and our reports to shareholders. In addition, please note that any forward-looking statements contained herein are based on assumptions that we believe to be reasonable as of the date of this press release. The company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements that may be made from time to time by or on behalf of the company unless it is required by law. Media contacts: Asia Pacific Sarah Gideon Infosys, India +91-80-4156-3998 Sarah_Gideon@infosys.com EMEA Margherita Di Cerbo Infosys, Europe +44(0)2075162748 Margherita.DiCerbo@infosys.com Americas Chiku Somaiya Infosys, USA +1-408-375-2722 Chiku.Somaiya@infosys.com NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / December 2, 2017 / Pomerantz LLP announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed against RYB Education, Inc. ("RYB" or the "Company") (NYSE: RYB) and certain of its officers. The class action, filed in United States District Court, for the Southern District of New York, and docketed under 17-cv-09261, is on behalf of a class consisting of all persons other than defendants who purchased or otherwise acquired RYB's American Depositary Receipts ("ADRs"): (1) pursuant and/or traceable to RYB's false and misleading Registration Statement and Prospectus, issued in connection with the Company's initial public offering on or about September 27, 2017 (the "IPO" or the "Offering"); and/or (2) on the open market between September 27, 2017 and November 22, 2017, both dates inclusive (the "Class Period"), seeking to recover damages caused by defendants' violations of the Securities Act of 1933 (the "Securities Act") and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the "Exchange Act"). If you are a shareholder who purchased RYB securities between September 27, 2017, and November 22, 2017, both dates inclusive, you have until January 26, 2018, to ask the Court to appoint you as Lead Plaintiff for the class. A copy of the Complaint can be obtained at www.pomerantzlaw.com. To discuss this action, contact Robert S. Willoughby at rswilloughby@pomlaw.com or 888.476.6529 (or 888.4-POMLAW), toll-free, Ext. 9980. Those who inquire by e-mail are encouraged to include their mailing address, telephone number, and amount of shares purchased. [Click here to join this class action] RYB Education, Inc. offers educational services. The Company operates kindergarten and pre-schools. RYB Education provides training in a variety of subjects and languages, teacher recruitment, guidance, innovative learning, development of children, rating systems, parents consulting, and other services. The Complaint alleges that throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and misleading statements regarding the Company's business, operational and compliance policies. Specifically, Defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (i) RYB failed to establish safety policies to prevent sexual abuse from occurring at its schools; (ii) RYB's failure to remedy problems within its system exposed children to harm and unreasonable risk of harm while in the Company's care; and (iii) as a result of the foregoing, RYB securities traded at artificially inflated prices during the Class Period, and class members suffered significant losses and damages. On November 24, 2017, various news outlets reported that police have opened an investigation into RYB after numerous parents accused a RYB nursery of drugging and molesting their children. Beijing's education authority confirmed the police investigation in a statement. According to China's leading newspaper Xinhua News Agency, RYB has suspended multiple teachers at RYB Education New World after kindergarten students were "reportedly sexually molested, pierced by needles, given unidentified pills," and forced to undress and locked in a dark room. Parents reported that at least eight children have been abused at the school and that the children had given similar accounts with respect to their abuse. On this news, RYB's ADR price fell $10.28 per share, or over 38% from its previous closing price, to close at $16.45 per share on November 24, 2017. On the following day, several news outlets reported that Chinese police had detained teachers in connection with its RYB's child abuse inquiry. According to police reports, one of the teachers was arrested after needle wounds were found on at least eight children aged 2 to 6 years at the kindergarten. In a statement issued later that day, RYB announced it had fired the detained teachers, as well as the head of one of its kindergartens. The Pomerantz Firm, with offices in New York, Chicago, Florida, and Los Angeles, is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, the Pomerantz Firm pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 80 years later, the Pomerantz Firm continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered numerous multimillion-dollar damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.pomerantzlaw.com SOURCE: Pomerantz LLP WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Senate Republicans narrowly approved a massive tax reform bill early Saturday morning after GOP leaders managed to win over several reluctant lawmakers with changes to the legislation. The Senate voted 51 to 49 in favor of the bill known as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, with the vote largely coming down along party lines. Senator Bob Corker, R-Tenn., was the only Republican to vote against the bill amid concerns about the legislation's impact on the budget deficit. President Donald Trump praised the vote in a post on Twitter, saying, 'We are one step closer to delivering MASSIVE tax cuts for working families across America.' 'Biggest Tax Bill and Tax Cuts in history just passed in the Senate,' Trump added. 'Now these great Republicans will be going for final passage. Thank you to House and Senate Republicans for your hard work and commitment!' The vote came after Republicans made changes to the bill to win the support of lawmakers such as Senators Ron Johnson, R-Wis., and Steve Daines, R-Mich., who agreed to vote for the bill after securing additional tax relief for pass-through businesses. Under the agreement, the deduction for pass-through businesses will increase to 23 percent from 17.4 percent, which Daines said would provide $60 billion in tax cuts for Main Street businesses. Senator Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., agreed to support the legislation after securing the elimination of an $85 billion expensing budget gimmick in the bill. Flake said he has also secured a commitment from Senate leadership and the Trump administration to work on a growth-oriented legislative solution providing protection for illegal immigrants brought to the country as children. In a post on Twitter, Senator Susan Collins, R-Maine, said she decided to vote for the bill after securing significant changes as well as commitments to pass legislation to help lower health insurance premiums. 'As revised, this bill will provide much-needed tax relief and simplification for lower- and middle-income families, while spurring the creation of good jobs and greater economic growth,' Collins tweeted. Meanwhile, Corker remained opposed to the bill after the Senate parliamentarian ruled against his proposed 'trigger' that would raise taxes if the economic growth generated by the tax cuts does not offset the cost. Democrats also unanimously voted against the bill, claiming the hastily crafted legislation benefits corporations and wealthy Americans at the expense of the middle class. 'Millions of Americans must be watching in stunned disbelief tonight as this Republican Senate sells out the middle class for the benefit of faceless multinational corporations,' said Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Ore. 'What's happening here tonight brings shame to this body. Republicans have left a trail of broken promises behind in the mad dash to pass this bill,' he added. 'This bill has passed here in the dark of night, but this vote will not soon be forgotten.' With the vote to approve the bill, lawmakers from the Senate and House will need to go to conference to work out differences in the bills passed by the two chambers. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de The global e-commerce segment is exploding. In 2017, the market size is set to cross $2.2 trillion, and that number is expected to double by 2020. While retail giants like Amazon, FlipKart and Alibaba account for a large portion of that number, 63 percent of those revenues are being driven by the mid-market globally, smaller businesses with niche products and brand loyal customers. Its an attractive market focus for startups, but what are the most important things an e-commerce business owner can do to take advantage of the opportunity? After all, there are many distractions when building a business - finding the right product for the right audience, devising great marketing campaigns, SEO, social media impact, advertising, branding, inventory management, and much more. Perhaps the most important thing is to make sure your online storefront delivers an incredible customer experience. Research shows that 79 percent of customers disappointed with an online shopping experience are less likely to return, and that could be disastrous for a new business. The performance of your online storefront plays a major role in this experience, yet remarkably, it is often where the first mistakes are made. Ever wondered why we still hear about websites crashing when too many people try to get in? Stories were rife about festival rush online in India, or Black Friday and Cyber Monday events in the US, where big brands like Old Navy, Macys and Walmart, all experienced availability issues due to surge traffic, even though these businesses are mature and have the budget and qualified teams to support their systems. A large part of the problem is a dated infrastructure strategy. Many companies are still using traditional dedicated server hosting and networking solutions for the scale, security and management of their websites, and web applications. In fact, they should be considering using the cloud for its infinite capacity and utility consumption model.The other part of the problem is a lack of expertise in bringing all the disparate pieces of the solution together. Startups have the opportunity to learn from these mistakes, and pursue a different path with regards to the underlying infrastructure of their online storefronts. Traditional, on-premise server deployments are expensive, time-consuming and challenging to manage, but if the critical functions are deployed as a Software as a Service (SaaS)-based utility in the public cloud, everything changes. The deployment becomes a service, managed by a software vendor instead of the company who is reliant on its features, eliminating the need to constantly buy and upgrade capacity. Scaling out in the event of a surge in traffic is automated, instant and cost effective, versus installing more physical servers, which may then sit dormant for a large percentage of time when not running at peak because the demand ebbs in low season. Old dogs can learn new tricks? Not likely Traditional vendors in this space, such as F5, Radware and Citrix are moving to embrace the cloud and stay relevant, but their entire business model has yet to pivot from the approach of deploying appliances hardware, software or virtualized. And their sales and go to market models are not suited for the new world. While these companies may feel like a safe bet, and their cloud vision may seem compelling and logical, their solution still requires an installation, advanced expertise and the customer still needs to support it through a 24/7 strategy. It is no secret that the cloud offers infinite scalability, but in addition to the Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) from a cloud provider, using an advanced performance, security and reliability focused solution known as an application delivery controller (ADC), offers much more. Traditional solutions are missing out on content optimization and the ability to offer analytics for customer insights. A machine-learning stack, delivered as a utility-type service, truly built for the cloud, can detect changing requirements and respond to those requirements thereby monitoring a customers web traffic and infrastructure and resolving issues before they cause disruption. This can be anything from improved page load times to a full scale-out because of a sudden surge in traffic. In addition, these options include security, round the clock support, developer services for help at the application level, as well as included cloud-agnostic hosting services if required. This is the new wave of success the E-commerce Cloud and its a one stop-shop for an e-commerce startups infrastructure needs. Isnt it time to think outside the box? Despite this trend, startups and existing online businesses still arent being swayed to adopt the cloud or services that make the cloud more efficient, even when in todays always-on world, any business can be subject to a sudden traffic overload that traditional hosting solutions cant keep up with. With so many other priorities, e-commerce start-ups especially need to be asking themselves the following question: Is it better to worry about and maintain our own systems or instead use that time and money to focus on growing the business? Are we understanding the entire cost structure or are we confusing server costs with online success? The answer should always be to favor whatever route facilitates laser-focus on ones business and leave everything else to service-based utilities designed to manage this on their behalf. (The writer is Chief Executive Officer of Webscale Networks ) Chairman and Managing Director of Reliance Industries, Mukesh Ambani spoke about business rivals, Jio and his idea of India in a conversation with Hindustan Times editor-in-chief R Sukumar during the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit in Delhi. Here is the full transcript of the conversation: R Sukumar: One of your rivals in the telecom business had an interview in a newspaper where he spoke about Jio actually destroying 50 billion of their value in the telecom business. There is this perception of Reliance entering into businesses and fundamentally disrupting them and destroying the competition. Do you think that would be an accurate assessment of what has happened in telecom? Mukesh Ambani: Sunil (Bharti Mittal) is a good friend of mine, he is not a rival. R Sukumar: A business rival. Mukesh Ambani: I do not think of businesses in that way. The second piece what he said and what you are interpreting is different. But just to make my point of view clear, I think that for all of us within industry, profits and losses are risks that we take and I do not think that we can rely on regulators or governments to guarantee our profits or losses. To me, what is most important is do we really move the country forward and does the consumer gain? And I think the question as a journalist you should be thinking about is that, even if there are profits and losses, who gains and who loses as long as the consumer gains and the country moves forward, it is worth taking those losses. Some of us are big boys, we can afford that. R Sukumar: How soon do you expect Jio to turn profitable? Mukesh Ambani: Jio's results are declared every quarter now, and you can see the trend and watch the next few quarters. You will learn in January and you will learn in March. I do not want to predict, but I think we are ahead of our schedule in terms of the returns that we are generating. R Sukumar: How do you decide how to enter into a business? You spoke about all these interesting new areas that are emerging. What are the parameters a business has to meet before Reliance decides it wants to enter it? Mukesh Ambani: The Reliance DNA started from my father when he founded Reliance. At that time, he had ingrained into us that as a business, you must solve problems and the economic value is more a by-product of that. So if you look at the history of Reliance, we started with clothing people, we started with textiles, we went into developing the textile industry, then built our refinery which was really energy security. We solved the problem at that time in terms of India not importing diesel and petrol. If we look at our own entry into retail, it was linked to the need for employment creation and as our balance sheet becomes stronger, we still look to solve problems to create societal values and now, I challenge myself and our people to solve the more difficult problems and we can take some risks. So what we did with Jio is, really, we put in and not many in the world had backed us. But, as I just explained, we are strong believers that if India and 1.3 billion Indians have to participate in this new world, for us, we cannot always have the data infrastructure 20 years after the world. We would have no chance. Today, we have along with Rajan and Kumar, with all of us as one industry, I think India, in terms of data infrastructure will be ahead of the US by 2019. So as we move forward, we think about more and more difficult issues that create value for all Indians. I think that agriculture is difficult and that is something that needs to be taken. Education is important. And healthcare is the most difficult. So, we would clearly think about what we can do in each one of these areas. On India and China The whole world is talking about China's rise and India's rise. This is civilisational re-birth for both India and China. To me, there is nothing surprising about it. In the long history of mankind, India and China were the most prosperous nations before the 17th century and after a short interval of 300 years of western domination the centre of gravity of the world economy is shifting back to China and India. By the middle of the 21st century, India's rise will be higher than China's rise and more attractive to the world. Editor's note: When was the last time you watched a film, just because you stumbled upon on it, or heard someone mention it in passing? We're so used to reviews, previews and a barrage of recommendations it almost feels like it is impossible to enjoy watching a film without it being topical. And so, here's a column we're introducing Films, Just Because where we talk about films, just because. *** While cops and robbers both have been the mainstay of numerous popular Hindi films, a sustained view into their worlds that would form a better part of a films narrative has been rare. The procedural drama has never really enjoyed a sub-genre like status as it does in Hollywood or other cinema be it European, Japanese or Korean despite the detective genre enjoying mainstream interest routinely from the 1950s with Apradhi Kaun? (1957), Gumnaan (1966), Intaqam (1969) in the 1960s and Manorama Six Feet Under (2007) or Detective Byomkesh Bakshy! (2015) in the recent past. One could argue that Ab Tak Chappan comes close to being one of the best procedural films made in mainstream Hindi cinema but it remains more invested in the soul of the lead character as opposed to the procedural talents that he possesses. But, while police and law dramas still have some degree of procedure thrown in for good measure, crime rarely gets any attention beyond the perfunctory and its in this light that discovering Aafat (1977), a barely recalled 1970s urban crime thriller, becomes a thing of joy. Watching the opening credits of Aafat (1977) where the first shot shows a knife cutting the belly of a dead fish to retrieve stolen diamonds and then the intricate fashion in which smugglers peddle the stash with a police informant Jagpal (Mac Mohan) on the trail shows how this little known urban crime thriller is clear in its intent to do something different. The plot of Aafat isnt important and, beyond a point, neither is the story. But its the narrative with a few inspired set pieces and the array of characters which on the face seem typical of both the genre as well as the era in which the film was made that make this nearly forgotten film worth a re-look. Following the growing smuggling and drug-related crimes in Bombay, Din Dayal (Nazir Husain), an influential and respected businessman, uses his sway in Delhi to get a special CBI officer Inspector Amar (Navin Nishcol) on the case. Din Dayals nephew, the sole heir to the familys fortunes has become an addict and he personally requests Amar to nab those who are hell-bent on ruining the youth of the country. Amar gets the lead of a newspapers editor Balraj (Sajjan) from Jagpal but before he can reveal more information, an assassin hired by the secret gang of Shera (Amjad Khan) kills him. Amar lands up at the newspaper and meets Mahesh (Mehmood), the papers crime reporter and his childhood friend. Although Balraj is keen to share the details of the gangs modus operandi. he backs out the moment he gets a threatening call from Jenny (Faryal), the gangs resident moll. Amar decides to come back later in the night to investigate Balrajs office but finds him dead and bumps into a mysterious woman (Leena Chandavarkar), who overpowers him and runs off with the evidence that Amar was looking for. Later, Amar finds out that the mystery woman is in fact a cop named Inspector Chhaya and she is also investigating the same gang. Mahesh and Amar track Rajni (Jayshree T), the courier for the gang who is given drugs in exchange for her work and who also turns out to be Chhayas younger sister. Amar doubts the commissioner Hardayal (Kamal Kapoor) to be in cahoots with Jenny, Shera, and the ilk. Along with Mahesh and Chhaya, he too inches closer to unraveling the mystery. Things promise to fall into place when Amar finally meets Champa (Prema Narayan), a street dancer employed by the gang of smugglers, and she gives him vital information about a consignment due in few days. But seeing a hung-over Champa leave Amars hotel room in the wee hours of the morning, Chhaya imagines the worst and decides to go her separate way to solve the case. After numerous crests and troughs, the mystery gets solved and so does the confusion between Chhaya and Amar. The meandering screenplay fails to seamlessly string the narrative together but a few things being stilted to the extent of hilarity notwithstanding, Aafat is thoroughly enjoyable. The ease with which Navin Nischol embraces the proceedings and his general effervescence is a treat to watch, as are most of the scenes featuring Mehmood and some of the set pieces such as the one where Amar and Chhaya are trapped in a burning library. The dialogues are campy, especially gems from Amjad Khan such as Meri maut khanjar ki shakl mein mere panje mein qaid rehti hai (My death? My deaths imprisoned within the knife I wield in my hand) and Meri awaaz ka gramophone record banalo aur jukebox mein lagakar sunte rehna (Make a gramophone record of my confession that you have recorded and play it on a jukebox) and other one-liners that Mehmood throws across the film. The only weak link in the film is Leena Chandavarkar. More so, the abject lack of chemistry between her and Navin Nishcol. In scenes with even the slightest hint of sexual tension, Chandavarkar shifts gears to become cold and distant and Nischol then interprets the scene from a comic point of view he even lovingly refers to Chandavarkars full figure in bovine terms. The near sibling or buddy aspect of the leads is hardly an issue thanks to Nischol and Mehmoods camaraderie, Jayshree T and Mehmoods scenes and the crackling intensity between Prema Narayan and Nischol in a handful of scenes. By the end, you cant help wonder if the film needed a traditional female lead. At a basic level, Aafat might appear escapist, and even stupid but scratch a little and youd notice how it features a pack of emancipated female characters for a film from the 1970s. Usually in popular Hindi cinema, whenever narrative strives to depict any kind of liberated female character, it willy-nilly resorts to typical symbolism to convey the point. But Aafat doesnt seem to possess any such imagery and even does away with the perfunctory look how far us women have come dialogues. The four primary women characters Chhaya, Rajni, Champa, and Jenny are shown doing things that one would ideally be associated with independent, free-thinking 1970s women but neither do they make a fuss about it nor do the men patronize them. Take for instance Chaayas run-ins with Amar. In every single pow-wow, even though Amar disagrees with her, he never doubts her professional skills as a policewomen; or Jennys decision to seek a partnership with Shera once she realizes that its the likes of her who actually do all the dirty work for the faceless boss; or Maheshs decision to enlist Rajni and her pals from the Judo club to take on the gang of smugglers for the simple reason that they would be more proficient. Even when Champa, the supposedly standardised amoral street dancer, confesses that she couldnt care less for the memory of a dead Jagpal, who loved her, she isnt judged or sermonized either by Amar or even the narrative. Directed by Atma Ram, Guru Dutts younger brother, the films wafer-thin veneer of modernity is just perfect and Rams credentials as a documentary as well as ad filmmaker seem to come in handy. Aafat might pale in comparison to Shikar (1969), Atmas Rams most recognized work, which incidentally was a well-crafted procedural drama too, but this one deserves to be unearthed along with his Aarop (1974), a drama about corruption in journalism. Hollywood actress Pamela Anderson has responded to claims that she was victim blaming when she suggested Harvey Weinstein's accusers "knew what they were getting into". The 50-year-old Baywatch star has clarified her comments, insisting that she was not blaming those who have accused Weinstein, but stands by her claims that women "must be aware" of their surroundings. Anderson told tmz.com, "This is not victim blaming. [Weinstein is] a sexist pig and a bully. [But] there are a lot of self-protection courses. There is even a well-known story of suffragettes learning martial arts. Women [must be] aware of certain problems and how to spot them and fight them." Anderson defended her comments further by refusing to apologise. She added, "It is totally hypocritical to ignore this ...[I] will not get coerced into apology." Earlier this week, on 30 November, Anderson was interviewed by the Today show host Megyn Kelly where she spoke about the most talked-about subject in Hollywood sexual harassment and especially Harvey Weinstein. This week, in a fresh set of allegations, Weinstein was accused of luring a woman into a hotel room. While speaking to Kelly, Anderson was asked if she was surprised at all by the complaints made against Weinstein. The Independent quotes Pamela as saying, "No. It was common knowledge that certain producers or certain people in Hollywood or people to avoid, privately. You know what youre getting into if youre going into a hotel room, alone. On being informed that the meetings of the complainants were scheduled by their agents and that they had hardly anything to do with the venue or time, the Baywatch actor briskly replied that those women should have gone to the meetings along with their agents. "That's what they should have done. Sent somebody with them. I just think there's easy ways to remedy that. That's not a good excuse," she said. Earlier in another interview with The Times Anderson had accused Weinstein of being "intimidating", as reported by another article by The Independent. In her conversation with Kelly, she added how she was offered houses, cars, and money by powerful men in exchange for unjust barters which made no sense. "When I came to Hollywood I had a lot of offers to do private auditions and things that just made absolutely no sense, she said. Just use common sense. Don't go into a hotel room alone. If someone answers the door in a bathrobe, you know, leave. Things that are common sense. But Hollywood is very seductive," she further said. While recalling her confrontations with Weinstein, Pamela highlighted, "He told me I'd never work in this town again because I refused to work with a dog. He's so intense. I've never been talked to that way by anybody. Not even by a boyfriend. He was really intimidating. And I did it. But I did it without the dog." (With inputs from IANS) Celebrated filmmaker Anurag Kashyap, who has found himself in the midst of several controversies when it comes to his films or opinions in general, has now spoken about the Padmavati row. Addressing the controversy surrounding the film, Kashyap said that many in the fraternity are scared to come out in support of director Sanjay Leela Bhansali, who has been at the receiving end of the wrath of Rajput groups and politicians. Bhansali is being accused of distorting historical facts, a claim which has been repeatedly denied by the director. The makers had to defer the release of the film from 1 December, and still await clearance from the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC). Kashyap is clear that he doesn't want to judge people for not backing Bhansali openly. What is happening with Padmavati is unfortunate. But there is a lot of fear in the atmosphere... there is fear among all of us, not just the makers of the film. It's not just the industry; the media is also very scared, and in this situation, the media should not talk about the unity among us filmmakers, says Kashyap. When asked if this will prevent him from making a certain kind of cinema in the future, he says, I have and will remain the same as a filmmaker. If somebody is not going to stand up and fight for me, I wont be disappointed. I won't get upset with that person, because I know why they are not supporting me. I can understand why that person is scared, and I wont judge them." He says that if need be, he will always fight for what he believes in. He emphasised that despite facing several hurdles during his career as a filmmaker, all of his projects had come out intact. "I am honest with my films. I dont have any political agenda, I am a neutral person, not with or against any political party. My fight is for my rights; I am a selfish person, says Kashyap, who refused to reveal whether he met or had spoken to Bhansali, as he did not want to put the filmmaker "in the dock". I want to be there for him, said Kashyap. Speaking about the Karni Sena, the group staging the protests against Padmavati, Kashyap says, "Only those who can be seen on television are the ones that are protesting. I am a Rajput myself. My film Gulaal talked about Rajputs. The problem with the Rajputs is that they continue to live in the past; there is no future for them. They cant do anything for their girl child. They will take pride in their moustaches but the fact is that they dont even have thew money to oil their moustaches. The Rajputs are in a bad shape." He talked about how the first and last time they had staged a protest was during the making of Jodhaa Akbar, adding that even then, they alleged that there was a distortion of history on the part of the filmmakers. He recounted how one political party formed overnight around the time that Water was being released (Deepa Mehta's film about society's treatment of widows, for which Kashyap had written the screenplay). "Now, everybody has an agenda, and the more the media gives space to such agendas, more parties will emerge and we will increasingly feel that more people are protesting. Protesters also came to Mumbai to create tamasha last year. They went as far as peoples homes," he says. Kashyap has fought many battles with the CBFC. The latest of these was the row over Shahid Kapoor-Alia Bhatt-starrer Udta Punjab (2016) when he dragged the CBFC to the Bombay High Court. When weren't there any censorship issues? We live in a country where films were banned 20 years ago, and this continues to happen even now. Then too, filmmakers would fight, and those who didnt fight had to buckle down under pressure. Raj Kapoor fought so many battles with the CBFC for his films such as Ram Teri Ganga Maili and Prem Rog... But didn't those films release? They did. Even I have always fought," he says. The view that there would be no consequences for people's actions is faulty, according to him. He says that he was happy with Prasoon Joshi's appointment, but that whoever was the CBFC's chairman would have to follow the same guidelines. "These guidelines come from the same Constitution that gives me the freedom to stand up for myself. My question is, how many people stand up for themselves? I fight all the time and the censor's scissors don't cut through my films. The Constitution gives you that space to stand up for yourself," says the filmmaker. Former Egyptian prime minister Ahmed Shafiq arrived in Cairo from Emirates on a private plane Staurday evening, where he was received by members of his family, sources at Egypt's international airport confirmed to Ahram Online. An informed source told Ahram Arabic news website that Shafiq checked in a hotel in Cairo pending the end of work to prepare his home for his residence. In the afternoon, Dina Adly, the lawyer of the former Egyptian prime minister, claimed in a post on her Facebook page that Shafiq was "deported" today from the UAE to Egypt.. However, earlier in the evening, Wamnews, the UAE official news agency, reported that Shafiq has left the Emirates returning to Cairo and his family remains in the country enjoying its care. Shafiq had claimed late last week that the UAE was preventing him from leaving the country to return to Egypt. The UAE denied Shafiq's claims. On Wednesday, Shafiq declared from the UAE his intention to run in the upcoming presidential elections in Egypt, which is expected to be held in the spring of 2018. Shafiq is the second person to announce intentions to run for president in 2018. Earlier last month, uman rights lawyer and former 2012 presidential candidate Khaled Ali declared his own intention to become a candidate for president. President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi has not yet declared a decision on whether he intends to run for a second term. The 76-year-old Shafiq served as aviation minister under former President Hosni Mubarak and briefly as prime minister during the 2011 uprising before he was replaced in February 2012. Shafiq narrowly lost the June 2012 presidential elections to the Muslim Brotherhoods Mohamed Morsi, who held the office for one year before he was ousted in July 2013 following nationwide protests against his rule. Shortly after the 2012 election, Shafiq claimed that the vote was rigged and travelled to the UAE, citing "concerns for his own safety." While in the UAE, Shafiq was tried in absentia on a number of corruption charges, but was either acquitted or had charges against him dropped. Search Keywords: Short link: BONN, Germany (Reuters) - At least 15 countries have joined an international alliance to phase out coal from power generation before 2030, delegates at U.N. climate talks in Bonn said on Thursday. A boat is seen in front of a coal transport ship as a part of a protest organised on the Rhein river by the environmental organisation Greenpeace during COP23 U.N. Climate Change Conference in Bonn, Germany, November 15, 2017. REUTERS/Ralph OrlowskiBritain, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Italy, France, the Netherlands, Portugal, Belgium, Switzerland, New Zealand, Ethiopia, Mexico and the Marshall Islands have joined the Powering Past Coal Alliance, delegates said. The alliance aims to have 50 members by the next U.N. climate summit in 2018 to be held in Polands Katowice, one of Europes most polluted cities. But some of the worlds biggest coal users, such as China, the United States, Germany and Russia, have not signed up. Powering Past Coal comes just days after U.S. administration officials, along with energy company representatives, led a side event at the talks to promote fossil fuels and nuclear power in climate mitigation. FILE PHOTO: File photo of a bulldozer working on a heap of coal at the Boleslaw Smialy coal mine, a unit of coal miner Kompania Weglowa (KW), now renamed PGG, in Laziska Gorne, Silesia, southern Poland September 11, 2015. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel/File PhotoThe event triggered a peaceful protest by anti-coal demonstrators and jarred with many ministers who are working on a rule book for implementing the 2015 Paris Agreement, which aims to move the world economy off fossil fuels. The alliance was kicked off by Britain, Canada and the Marshall Islands, who urged other nations to join them in a letter seen by Reuters on Wednesday. A source close to the matter said signatories to the alliance so far had been at least a dozen, in addition to some U.S. states, Canadian provinces and businesses. It is a rebuke to (President) Donald Trump from the UK and Canada, two of Americas closest allies, that his obsession for dirty energy will not spread, said Mohamed Adow, international climate lead at Christian Aid. Since signing the Paris Agreement in 2015, which aims to wean the world off fossil fuels, several countries have made national plans to phase out coal from their power supply mix. This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. ARESE, Italy (Reuters) - Fiat Chrysler Automobiles is in talks with South Koreas Hyundai about a technical partnership, but there are no merger talks between the two, FCA Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne said on Saturday. FCA group CEO Sergio Marchionne speaks during the Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team presentation in Arese, near Milan, Italy December 2, 2017. REUTERS/Alessandro GarofaloFCA is often the subject of merger speculation, especially after its unsuccessful 2015 attempt to tie up with larger U.S. rival GM. Its share price jumped to record highs in August after reports of interest from China and Hyundai. We already buy components from (Hyundai)... lets see if we can agree on other points, especially for the development of transmissions and hydrogen, Marchionne told journalists, adding there was nothing to announce for the moment. Asked whether this collaboration could turn into a merger, Marchionne said: I dont believe so. The 65-year-old chief executive, whose mandate ends in April 2019, is working on a new business plan to 2022, which he said should be presented in the second quarter of next year. As part of that strategy and to simplify its portfolio, FCA is working on separating two of its three components businesses. Marchionne said the spin-offs of Magneti Marelli - which makes components for lighting, engines, electronics, suspension and exhausts - and robotics maker Comau would be separate operations, especially given Comaus potential development in artificial intelligence or robotics. Whether it happens as a spin-off or a distribution to shareholders, or whether we will raise some money in the process -- all things to be discussed with the board, we havent made up our mind, he said. These discussions include a potential listing for either company as happened with other units FCA spun off in the past, such as tractor maker CNH Industrial or luxury sportscar group Ferrari, which are quoted in Milan and New York. Marchionne added that he would like to complete the separations by the end of 2018. The transaction could help boost FCAs finances at a time when it is aiming to become cash-positive by the end of next year. A separation of castings firm Teksid, the smallest of FCAs parts makers, was not on the table, Marchionne said, adding that any spin-off of the Alfa Romeo and Maserati brands would not happen for many years. Asked about possible fines over diesel emissions, Marchionne said he did not believe there was any legal base in recent allegations raised by French authorities. He added that separate discussions with U.S. authorities were ongoing and he expects there will be a cost but it will be something manageable. This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate narrowly approved a tax overhaul on Saturday, moving Republicans and President Donald Trump a big step closer to their goal of slashing taxes for businesses and the rich while offering everyday Americans a mixed bag of changes. In what would be the largest change to U.S. tax laws since the 1980s, Republicans want to add $1.4 trillion over 10 years to the $20 trillion national debt to finance changes that they say would further boost an already growing economy. Trump, speaking to reporters as he left the White House for New York hours after the pre-dawn vote, praised the Senate for passing tremendous tax reform and said people are going to be very, very happy. Once the Senate and House of Representatives reconcile their respective versions of the legislation, he said, the resulting bill could cut the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 20 (percent). It could be 22 (percent) when it comes out. It could also be 20 (percent). U.S. stock markets have rallied for months in the hope that Washington would provide significant tax cuts for corporations. Celebrating their Senate victory, Republican leaders predicted the tax cuts would encourage U.S. companies to invest more and boost economic growth. We have an opportunity now to make America more competitive, to keep jobs from being shipped offshore and to provide substantial relief to the middle class, said Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader in the Senate. The Senate approved their bill in a 51-49 vote with Democrats complaining that last-minute amendments to win over skeptical Republicans were poorly drafted and vulnerable to being gamed later. The Republicans have managed to take a bad bill and make it worse, said Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer. Under the cover of darkness and with the aid of haste, a flurry of last-minute changes will stuff even more money into the pockets of the wealthy and the biggest corporations. No Democrats voted for the bill, but they were unable to block it because Republicans hold a 52-48 Senate majority. Talks will begin, likely next week, between the Senate and the House - which already has approved its own version of the legislation - to reconcile their respective bills. Trump, who predicted that the negotiations would produce something beautiful, wants that to happen before the end of the year. This would allow him and his Republicans to score their first major legislative achievement of 2017 after having controlled the White House, the Senate and the House since he took office in January. Republicans failed in their efforts to repeal the Obamacare healthcare law over the summer and Trumps presidency has been hit by White House in-fighting and by a federal investigation into possible collusion last year between his election campaign team and Russian officials. The tax overhaul is seen by Trump and Republicans as crucial to their prospects at mid-term elections in November 2018, when they will have to defend their majorities in Congress. In a legislative battle that moved so fast a final draft of the bill was unavailable to the public until just hours before the vote, Democrats slammed the proposed tax cuts as a give-away to businesses and the rich financed with billions of dollars in taxpayer debt. The framework for both the Senate and House bills was developed in secret over a few months by a half-dozen Republican congressional leaders and Trump advisers, with little input from the partys rank-and-file and none from Democrats. U.S. President Donald Trump smiles as he arrives to speak about tax reform legislation in St. Louis, Missouri, U.S. November 29, 2017. REUTERS/Kevin LamarqueSix Republican senators, who wanted and got last-minute amendments and whose votes had been in doubt, said on Friday they would back the bill and did so. Senator Bob Corker, one of few remaining Republican fiscal hawks who pledged early on to oppose any bill that expanded the federal deficit, stood out as the lone Republican dissenter. I am not able to cast aside my fiscal concerns and vote for legislation that ... could deepen the debt burden on future generations, said Corker, who is not running for re-election. KEY CHANGES Numerous last-minute changes were made to the bill on Friday and in the early morning hours of Saturday. Slideshow (3 Images)One was to make state and local property tax deductible up to $10,000, mirroring the House bill. The Senate previously had proposed entirely ending state and local tax deductibility. In another change, the alternative minimum tax (AMT), both for individuals and corporations, would not be repealed in full. Instead, the individual AMT would be adjusted and the corporate AMT would be maintained as is, lobbyists said. Another change would put a five-year limit on letting businesses immediately write off the full value of new capital investments. That would phase out over four years starting in year six, rather than be permanent as initially proposed. Under the bill, the corporate tax rate would be permanently slashed to 20 percent from 35 percent, while future foreign profits of U.S.-based firms would be largely exempt-- both changes pursued by corporate lobbyists for years. On the individual side, the top tax rate paid by the highest-income earners would be cut slightly. The Tax Policy Center, a nonpartisan think tank, analyzed an earlier but broadly similar version of the bill passed by the Senate tax committee on Nov. 16 and found it would reduce taxes for all income groups in 2019 and 2025, with the largest average tax cuts going to the highest-income Americans. Two Republican senators announced their support for the bill on Friday after winning more tax relief for non-corporate pass-through businesses. These include partnerships and other companies not organized as public corporations, ranging from mom-and-pop concerns to large financial and real estate groups. The bill now features a 23 percent tax deduction for such business owners, up from the original 17.4 percent. Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal said Trump controls more than 500 pass-through companies that will directly benefit. So the president may be celebrating, but most Americans will rue this day, Blumenthal said. The Senate bill would gut a section of Obamacare by repealing a fee paid by some Americans who do not buy health insurance, a step critics said would undermine the Obamacare system and raise insurance premiums for the sick and the old. Senator Susan Collins, a moderate Republican, said she obtained commitments from Republican leaders that steps would be taken later in separate legislation to minimize the impact of the repeal of the individual mandate fee. This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. Virginia Woolf is believed to have assessed James Joyce's Ulysses as the "work of a queasy undergraduate scratching his pimples." It would be a little uncharitable, perhaps, to call the venerable Financial Times a queasy undergraduate. The London-based newspaper resembles instead the feudal lord of Satyajit Ray's Jalsaghar (The Music Room) who suffers from delusions of grandeur, trapped in memory of a glorious past while the palace crumbles and world passes him by. Britannia is now better known as a biscuit. The Empire at last resembles the reality: A few islands squeezed between high seas. Having voted itself out of the European Union, Dame Britain is now undergoing anxiety pangs ahead of a bitter divorce. Its economy is floundering, society is crumbling to the extent that it distrusts own citizens, its vaunted multiculturalism is facing threats from within and the only thing even remotely interesting emerging out of British shores these days is news of an ex-soldier getting hitched to an American actor. But trust the wind bag editors of British newspapers to pretend as if it is their prerogative to issue certificates about the efficacy of global political systems. The sense of entitlement in its recent political commentary about impending "demise" of Indian democracy is staggering. It must be bothersome to still lug around the burden of orientalism seven decades after quitting Indian shores. To that extent, we should empathise. But our empathy should not be taken for granted. The arrogance in the piece, at places, is so glorious that it feels amusing and tragic at the same time just as in Ray's Jalsaghar where vanity compels the penniless aristocrat to outbid the upstart moneylender with his last few coins. "Indias growth rate is lacklustre and prime minister Narendra Modis two signature policies are floundering. But the increasingly authoritarian leader still enjoys a favourable rating from nearly nine out of 10 people in the country. That is an indictment of Indias political system" Let's leave out the sweeping judgement about Modi's "signature policies". To call the prime minister an elected leader of a robust democracy who must test his and his party's fortune at electoral hustings at periodic intervals a tyrant or a despot is either ignorance or prejudice, possibly both. And to turn PEW Research Center's findings on its head and propose that Modi's "popularity is an indictment of India's political system" stretches the boundaries of credulity. When opening remarks are set within such patronising parameters, it prepares one for more absurdity. Or maybe not quite. "Maintaining the worlds largest democracy is probably modern Indias greatest achievement but the current lack of a competent, credible opposition poses a danger to the country and to its roughly 1.3bn people." The newspaper's contention is that since Congress that enjoyed power for nearly six decades since Independence and has been replaced by BJP since 2014 is led by an uninspiring leader, it signals the end of Opposition politics and India risks becoming "just another Asian authoritarian state with the trappings of elections." Such philistine approach to commentary and lazy analysis reflect poorly on the standards of British journalism. Indian democracy is strong, and despite the apparent weakness of Congress, stays resilient with powerful regional leaders, free media, judiciary and civil society holding the government to account. Indian democracy is cacophonous, rambunctious and argumentative and has enough inbuilt mechanisms to throw out abusers of power: Even a superficial knowledge of the Emergency and the events that followed that moment in history should be enough to dispel doubters. The problem is deeper. It was only recently that British media let out a collective cry of anguish at being denied a seat on the bench of International Court of Justice for the first time in 70 years. The fact that an Indian candidate pipped a Briton to the post prompted British newspapers to mourn the "demise" of Britain's "power and prestige". Guardian called it "a humiliating blow to British international prestige and an acceptance of a diminished status in international affairs" while BBC saw in it a "significant diplomatic setback, a symbol of Britain's reduced status on the world stage Britain tried to win an election but the community of nations backed the other side, no longer fearing any retribution from the traditional powers, no longer listening to what Britain had to say." Other nations are ostensibly supposed to fear the wrath of British "retribution" for their audacity in defying the UK. Too bad they didn't get the memo. This superciliousness isn't accidental: It is borne out of a deep resentment that retreating powers such as the British suffer from. FT patiently explains to us that "a powerful opposition is critical in India because most of the pillars of democracy are still weak." Maybe we should invite a stint of two more of British imperialism to teach us the "propah" way of implementing democracy. We are also told that our "bureaucracy and courts are creaking and corrupt, the rule of law is patchy at best and the electoral process is dominated by patronage, handouts and identity politics." There is no point denying corruption in bureaucracy and judiciary, as in nearly every other strata of Indian society. The good news is that there is an increasing awareness about it, and the current dispensation seems serious about rooting out big-time corruption. But speaking of Britain, it is apparently a good idea to be preachy about "corruption in judiciary" when one's own pants are on fire. It seems one in every five Britons using the courts "last year said they or a household member paid a bribe in relation to that, and nearly one quarter of people in the UK believe the courts and judiciary are corrupt, according to anti-corruption group Transparency Internationals Global Corruption Barometer 2013." Oops! "In the absence of credible opposition, Mr Modi has become increasingly authoritarian. Freedom of speech has eroded markedly and Hindu nationalism is on the rise," marches on FT. The "freedom of speech under attack under Modi government" is a pimple which western media likes to scratch at periodic intervals. Suffice to say that while it is not absolute and we could do better, (neither is it in Britain where exclusionary impulses are stronger than ever), there is little cause for breathless alarm. The trope of nationalism has undoubtedly been used by the BJP by way of a political positioning. It is no different from the wave of nationalistic fervour sweeping across continents, including in "mature democracies" such as Britain where some resentful residents recently decided to "reclaim Britain" by voting for Brexit. One can go on. The crux is that we don't need lessons from Britain on how to conduct ourselves any more than we need reparations. The islanders can keep their stolen Kohinoor and mental floss to themselves. The Supreme Court's rejection of the Central government's plea for extension of deadline to publish the draft of the updated National Register of Citizens for Assam has put the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led governments in Dispur and at the Centre on sticky wickets. The Centre had sought the extension till 31 July, 2018 to complete the task. The office of the State Coordinator, NRC will now be required to publish the first draft after midnight on 31 December, 2017 as directed by the apex court earlier. The apex court did not accept Attorney General KK Venugopal's submission that part publication of the draft NRC could result in a law and order situation because a large segment of the people would think that their names have been excluded from the draft. "We do not see how the aforesaid situation can even remotely arise as we have already indicated in the earlier part of the present order that claims of 47 lakh persons and 29 lakh persons are still pending and would be subject to verification and covered by publication of another draft NRC at a subsequent point of time," the Supreme Court bench, comprising Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice RF Nariman, said in an order issued on 30 November. The court passed the order while hearing a writ petition filed by Assam Public Works (APW) and several other petitions clubbed with it. The court also said that the exercise of preparation of the upgradation of the draft NRC has been presently going on for the last three years and the time schedule was first laid by the court through its order passed on 17 December, 2014. The final time frame laid down by an order passed on 13 July, 2017 contemplates publication of the draft NRC latest by 31 December, 2017. The state coordinator of NRC, Prateek Hajela, told the court that scrutiny of about two crore cases or claims is likely to be completed by 31 December and instructions have been issued to complete the process of verification of 38 lakh persons, where doubts have arisen over documents and particulars by 15 January, 2018. The apex court bench directed Hajela to complete this process on or before 31 December by deploying additional man-power and resources. It also directed the NRC state coordinator to publish, on the expiry of midnight on 31 December, the first draft of the citizens' register, pertaining to the 2.38 crore claims which have been verified or likely to be verified by this date. In the application filed for extension of deadline, the Registrar General of Citizen Registration said the rest 76 lakh claims to be verified have been divided into two categories 47 lakh persons where doubts have arisen over parental linkage after undertaking matching of family tree of an applicant, and 29 lakh cases kept in abeyance of married women who have submitted Gaon Panchayat Secretary Certificate. The court said that publication of another draft would cover these claims pending for verification. The Supreme Court has fixed 20 February for further orders. Desperation of the Central government for extension of the time frame was evident in the Attorney General's contention that fixing a date for publication of the draft NRC is an executive function and an order to the aforesaid effect by the apex court would be an encroachment on the executive domain and violation of doctrine of separation of powers. The Supreme Court rejected this argument saying, "The aforesaid contention advanced before the court for the first time overlooks the fact that over a period of three years, the court has been monitoring the matter and fixing appropriate timelines for the completion of different phases of the exercise of updating the NRC. Even on the last date ie 13 July, 2017, when 31 December, 2017 was fixed for publication of the draft NRC, the contentions now advanced were not made before the court. That apart, it is the sheer inaction on the part of the executive in dragging the matter for a period of over three years and the absence of any justifiable cause to hold back even a partial publication that has led the court to direct publication of the draft NRC on or before 31 December, 2017." The bench wrote in the order that when asked if a request for further extension would be made if this one is granted, Venugopal said that such a possibility cannot be ruled out and, if required, further time will be sought. Political parties in Assam ruling BJP, Opposition Congress, All India United Democratic Front and other student and youth bodies including the All Assam Students Union (AASU), All Assam Minority Students Union (AAMSU) have hailed the Supreme Court directive for publication of the first NRC draft on 31 December. However, the Opposition parties and the student bodies have accused the BJP-led government of seeking to delay the work of updating the NRC. Hailing the Supreme Court directive, AASU adviser Samujjal Bhattacharjya, president Dipanka Kumar Nath and general secretary Lurin Jyoti Gogoi went on record alleging that the stand of the Central government seeking to delay the NRC work was deplorable and cautioned that the Centre would be held responsible if any unwarranted situation arises in Assam due to some submissions made by the Attorney General before the court pertaining to law and order situation over the NRC process. The student leaders alleged that Venugopal's submissions were "provocative", and would encourage "forces which are conspiring to sabotage process of updating the NRC." APW chief Abhjit Sarma said that after a long struggle, the people of Assam would get the first draft of an updated NRC. This, he said, has become possible only because of the Supreme Court's intervention and constant monitoring. He alleged the extension of the time frame sought by the government only revealed lack of required will on its part on the matter. Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal also welcomed the Supreme Court directive and said his government would extend full cooperation for implementation of the directive of the apex court. However, the ruling BJP has found itself in a tight spot having to explain as to why the government headed by the party in Delhi sought an extension of time when it had used the delay in NRC work by the previous Congress-led governments at the Centre and in Assam as a major poll plank. The BJP had also promised to expedite the publication of an updated NRC. Opposition political parties and the student youth bodies, including the AASU, Asom Jatiayatabadi Yuba Chatra Parishad, alleged that the Registrar General, through the Centre, had sought extension of time as the BJP-led government wanted to pass the Citizenship (Amendment) bill, 2016 in the Parliament ahead of the publication of the NRC. The BJP faces another challenge of rearticulating its position on the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016 which is now pending before the Parliament, with respect to Assam. After the NRC, 1951 is updated with the cut off date of 24 March, 1971 and published, the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016 and granting citizenships to Hindu Bangladeshis in accordance with the new citizenship law would lead to creation of two types of Indian citizens in the North Eastern state persons having Indian citizenship with their names in the updated NRC and persons with Indian citizenship excluded from it. There has been a consensus in Assam that the updated NRC would help find a permanent solution to vexed foreigners' problem as it would help identify all migrants from Bangladesh, who entered Assam illegally after 24 March, 1971. It would help in deletion of their names from voters' list and their expulsion from India in accordance with the Assam Accord. Thus passage of the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill might give rise to critical legal question of whether a person who fails to make it to the updated NRC is to be granted citizenship in accordance with the new citizenship law that might come into force if the BJP pushes for the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill and if the person should be included in the voters' list or not. The BJP appears to be looking for an exit route towards a gradual shift in its position. The ruling party has started evading direct response to questions asked by media persons regarding its stand on opposition to Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016 by its coalition partner Asom Gana Parishad. BJP leaders now describe it as a hypothetical question. However, for the BJP, any softening of the party's position on the Citizenship (Amendment) bill and putting the bill on the back burner may not be easy and runs the risk of antagonising a large section of its support base among Bengali Hindu voters not just in Assam but also in West Bengal and Tripura. The NRC issue is hanging like a Damocles' sword over the BJP leaders in Assam. The author is a senior journalist and editor of NEZINE. Kolkata: The Calcutta High Court on Friday directed the West Bengal government to declare dengue a 'notified disease' and issue a gazette notification to this effect. In an interim order, a division bench comprising Acting Chief Justice J Bhattacharya and Justice Arijit Banerjee ordered the state government to disclose the steps taken by it to control vector-borne diseases. The bench said the PILs regarding the spread of dengue and deaths of people were maintainable, and it directed the West Bengal government to declare dengue a 'notified disease' and issue a gazette notification to that effect. The bench also asked the government to ensure that mobile medical vans were dispatched to remote areas where proper healthcare facilities to treat the disease were not available. For the Centre, Additional Solicitor General Kaushik Chanda had told the court during the last hearing on 25 November that the state government has failed to issue a gazette notification declaring dengue a notified disease despite prodding from the Union government. "If the disease is notified, all state-run and private hospitals would be bound to report the number of dengue patients and deaths everyday to the state headquarters so that the exact numbers could be received," Chanda had submitted before the court. At least 10 other states have notified the disease, he said. Alleging that central funds meant for controlling vector- borne diseases were unused by the state government in 2016-17 and 2017-18, Chanda had claimed that the state did not provide any report to the Centre on the number of people affected by the disease and deaths since October 4 when the guideline was to send daily reports during the outbreak season. The bench had, during the last hearing, said that dengue occurs every year despite the state's claim that it was adhering to the guidelines of the central government and WHO to control it. "This shows that more steps need to be taken as these seem to be inadequate to control the disease in West Bengal," the bench had observed. State Advocate General Kishore Dutta had questioned the maintainability of the PILs claiming that these were politically motivated petitions, based on newspaper reports only, and there was no research conducted by the petitioners before moving court. The state government had told the court on 16 November that 38 people died of dengue in West Bengal, of whom 23 died in state-run hospitals and 15 in private facilities, even as some media reports claimed that the figure was higher. The state was verifying 22 other cases of dengue deaths reported by various private hospitals, Dutta had told the division bench. He had also said that around 21,000 people were affected. The bench today directed the state government to file affidavit delineating steps taken in accordance with the order within one week after the winter vacation and the petitioners might file their affidavits in opposition following that. The PILs would be heard by the court again in February. Bagdogra: The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) North Bengal has urged the Centre to upgrade Bagdogra airport with an overhauled infrastructure and night-landing facility for an improved air connectivity between North Bengal and the rest of the country. Placing the confederation's demands before the union minister for civil aviation Ashok Gajapathi Raju Pusapati, the vice chairman of CII-North Bengal, Anand Mittal, also sought introduction of morning return flights from Bagdogra to Delhi and Kolkata, besides flights between Bagdogra and Kathmandu. A five-member CII team met the Union minister on Friday at Bagdogra airport lounge on his way back to New Delhi from Gangtok. The minister, accompanied by joint secretary of ministry of civil aviation Usha Padhee, had come to Gangtok to inspect infrastructure and facilities at the newly built Pakyong airport. "Siliguri, close to Bagdogra airport, is not just the gateway to the North East, it also shares boundaries with Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan. It is the second largest city in West Bengal and its importance as a major trading centre is growing every day," Mittal said. The town also attracts countless domestic as well as foreign tourists, said Mittal. "It is high time that Bagdogra airport should grow in size to cater to the growing needs of Siliguri and North Bengal as a whole. The upgraded Bagdogra airport will certainly serve as a fillip to businesses in the region which in turn will boost the local economy," the former chairman of CII-North Bengal, Ratan Kumar Bihani, said. Chennai: Tamil Nadu chief minister K Palaniswamy on Saturday requested Union home minister Rajnath Singh to involve the Indian Navy and Coast Guard helicopters for search and rescue of fishermen caught in mid sea in the wake of cyclone Ockhi. According to a statement issued by the state government, Singh had called Palaniswamy and enquired about the damages suffered due to the Ockhi cyclone. Palaniswamy had requested deployment of helicopters in the search and rescue operations of fishermen who have not returned after they ventured into the sea a couple of days back. Family members of fishermen in Kanyakumari said around 100 boats with several fishers had ventured into sea three days back and have not returned and several boats seem to have capsized due to heavy winds and rains. Meanwhile, DMK working president MK Stalin in a letter to defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman, said the families of fishermen in Kanyakumari apprehend that about 1,000 fishermen who went for fishing in 100 boats are yet to be located and are stranded in mid-sea. Follow our LIVE updates on Cyclone Ockhi The Indian Navy and the Coast Guard on Saturday continued to search for missing fishermen using ships, dornier aircraft and helicopters in the choppy seas off Kerala and Lakshadweep in the wake of Cyclone Ockhi. Meanwhile, kin of missing fishermen and residents of some Cyclone Ockhi-hit localities took to the streets to draw the attention of the authorities to their plight. The death toll due to the cyclone has now risen to 13. Protesters sought intensified search operations for their family members out on the high seas, while the government authorities stated that everything in their power was being done to alleviate the damage caused by the cyclone. Following are some of the key developments related to the calamity on Saturday Fishermen families protest, call for intensified rescue and relief efforts Family members of around 1,000 fishermen and residents of some Cyclone Ockhi-hit localities in Tamil Nadu's Kanyakumari hit the streets in protest on Saturday to draw the attention of the authorities to their plight and to seek intensified searches for their kin out on the high seas. The kin of around 1,000 fishermen who ventured into the deep seas when Cyclone Ockhi struck the southern Tamil Nadu coast have demanded that aerial searches and rescue operations be launched to trace the missing men. On the other hand people living in a locality in Nagercoil protested against the official apathy to their basic needs like drinking water, milk for children and power supply. According to ANI, agitating locals blocked the national highway for five hours in Thumba, Kerala, demanding better relief measures and rescue of 6 fishermen missing from the area. Opposition, Kerala government urge Centre to declare Ockhi as national calamity The Kerala government decided to urge the Centre to declare Cyclone Ockhi, which left a trail of destruction in the state, as a national calamity. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan entrusted chief secretary KM Abraham with the task of preparing a memorandum in this regard, sources in the chief minister's office (CMO) said. Vijayan met some injured fishermen, who were rescued from the choppy waters, at the medical college hospital in Thiruvananthapuram on Saturday and inquired about their well-being. All that was possible has been done by the government, Vijayan later told reporters. In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Leader of the Opposition in the state Assembly Ramesh Chennithala urged him to declare Cyclone Ockhi, which wreaked havoc in the state, Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu and Lakshadweep in the last two days, as a national disaster. Chennithala also urged the Kerala government to increase the financial aid for the injured at least up to Rs 50,000 from the present Rs 15,000. Opposing figures on fishermen missing due to calamity While protesters stand by the fact that over 1,000 fishermen were missing in the coastal areas due to the effects of Cyclone Ockhi, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman asserted that only 97 are yet to be rescued. "Claim of thousand fishermen stranded is false. Correct figures- 97 are yet to be rescued, 71 from Tamil Nadu have been rescued till now. The Coast Guard is at it, with all its strength to rescue the rest. Hoping for good news soon," she said. Factsheet on #CycloneOchki wrt Tamil Nadu-Claim of thousand fishermen stranded is false.#Correctfigures- 97 are yet to be rescued, 71 from TN have been rescued till now. The Coast Guard is at it, with all its strength to rescue the rest. Hoping for good news soon @nsitharaman Raksha Mantri (@DefenceMinIndia) December 2, 2017 IANS reported that the bodies of four Kerala fishermen were recovered on Saturday, taking the toll to six so far in the aftermath of Cyclone Ockhi, while there is no word about 102 fishermen from the state who ventured into the deep sea. Meanwhile, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that as many as 531 fishermen, stranded in the choppy waters off the Kerala and the Lakshadweep coasts due to Cyclone Ockhi, have been rescued. "So far, 393 people from Kerala have been rescued," Vijayan said, as the state government announced a compensation of Rs 10 lakh to the families of those who died in the storm. Of the rescued, 132 fishermen were from the state capital Thiruvananthapuram, 66 from Kozhikode, 55 from Kollam, 40 from Thrissur, and 100 from Kanyakumari, Vijayan told reporters. Tamil Nadu government requests Centre to deploy Navy, Coast Guard helicopters for rescue operations The Tamil Nadu government on Saturday requested the Centre to deploy helicopters of the Indian Navy and Coast Guard for the search and rescue of missing fishermen, mostly from Kanyakumari, in the wake of Cyclone Ockhi. Chief Minister K Palaniswamy made the request as he discussed the situation with Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh. Singh had called up the chief minister and sought details on the damage caused by the the cyclone, an official release said. "The chief minister requested (Singh) that the Coast Guard and Navy should continue assisting the state government in swiftly rescuing the fishermen who have not returned so far, and that helicopters of Coast Guard and Navy should be deployed for this purpose," the release said. Singh assured the AIADMK leader that the Centre would provide the assistance required to rescue the fishermen, it said. Meanwhile, DMK working president MK Stalin wrote to defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman on the issue of rescuing the stranded fishermen. In his letter, Stalin, also Leader of Opposition in the Tamil Nadu Assembly, urged her to direct the Coast Guard to search and rescue "thousands of fishermen fighting for their lives mid-sea, so as to prevent further loss of lives due to the Ockhi cyclone". He told Sitharaman "immediate rescue measures must be undertaken by the Indian Coast Guard". "Their families are very much afraid that the lives of the stranded fishermen are in great danger," Stalin added about kin of fishermen who were still missing. Narendra Modi assures full assistance to K Palaniswamy The Tamil Nadu government has said it will soon seek central funds for the damage caused by Cyclone Ockhi in the southern parts of the state. This was conveyed to Narendra Modi by Palaniswamy during a telephone conversation between the two leaders last night, a state government release said. "The prime minister assured to immediately give the required assistance," the release issued last night said. Modi telephoned Palaniswamy and inquired about the damage caused by the cyclone, which also battered parts of Kerala, the release said. Assistance from Maharashtra Fishermen from near Kerala, who were caught in the rough seas due to Cyclone Ockhi, have reached Maharashtra's Sindhudurg coast and are safe, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said in Mumbai on Saturday evening. "In all 68 fishing boats, out of which 66 are from Kerala and two from Tamil Nadu, have reached with total 952 fishermen on board. All are safe," the Maharashtra chief minister said in a tweet. "Maharashtra will completely look after everyone till weather permits them to go back," he said. No rescue operations by Japanese ship, asserts Kerala chief minister Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan slammed rumour mongers on Saturday and stated that reports of a Japanese merchant ship rescuing 60 Kerala fishermen caught in the deep seas, were "fake". Following that report, a huge crowd of anxious fishermen waited in Vizhinjam expecting to welcome their missing relatives. Many ambulances were also asked to be stationed at the port. Later fresh news came that the Japanese ship since it was on its way to Kochi, it would drop the fishermen there. It was only late in the night that truth surfaced, that the story was cooked up. Trapped in violent waters without food or water, Kerala fishermen come ashore to safety Though many fishermen were brought ashore safely and admitted to hospitals after facing the cyclone, many are yet to recover from the shock of wrestling the lashing waves. Stephan, a fisherman hailing from nearby Poonthura, said he was terrified on seeing a rescue boat move away without seeing them and hearing their cries. "It was the first time we were experiencing such huge waves and a rough sea. Luckily, the rescue boat came back and saved us," Stephan, who is recuperating at the Government Medical College Hospital in Thiruvananthapuram, said. Titus, another fisherman hailing from Neendakara in Kollam district, said he had never seen such a violent sea even in movies. His fellow fisherman Kennedy said their boat drifted aimlessly for around 100 km in the gusty winds. Coast Guard issues advisory on sea condition Fishermen, tourists and coastal population have been advised not to venture into the sea for the next 48 hours as the sea conditions are likely to be non-conducive due to the effect of cyclone Ockhi. A Coast Guard (CG) advisory in Mangaluru said the status of weather and sea conditions should be checked on television, radio, newspapers and smart phone applications before venturing out into the sea. The merchant ships should also be alert and avoid the path of Cyclone Ockhi, it said. Various naval, coast guard ships and aircraft are patrolling the sea to render search and rescue services. Merchant ships or fishing boats should also assist each other to save precious lives in time, the advisory said. Fishing boats should remain in groups and during distress all the crew should remain together, it added. Any distress to life at sea must be conveyed by using maximum possible means like radio telephony Channel 16, mobile phone and DAT (Distress Alert Transmitter) to the rescue units, the advisory said. As Cyclone Ockhi hits Lakshadweep islands, rains damage property, disrupt communication lines Several houses suffered damage, coconut trees got uprooted and communication lines were disrupted as rains accompanied by strong winds lashed the Lakshadweep islands under the influence of Cyclone Ockhi. Five fishing boats were damaged early on Saturday at Kalpeni island as water level rose due to heavy rains, sources said. The 'very severe' cyclonic storm Ockhi - which in Bengali means 'eye' - over Lakshadweep is likely to intensify further in the next 24 hours. It is likely to continue to move west-northwestwards across Lakshadweep islands during the next 24 hours and then recurve north eastwards during the subsequent 48 hours, according to the latest Met department bulletin. With inputs from agencies Auto refresh feeds As Cyclone Ockhi intensifies in the Bay of Bengal, eight people were killed four each in Kerala and Tamil Nadu on Thursday, reported PTI. Ninety fishermen are also missing, according to NDTV . Schools in Chennai, Kanchipuram, Villupuram, Kanyakumari, Nellai, Theni, Dindigul, Madurai and Thoothukudi will remain closed on Friday due to the cyclonic storm Ockhi, according to Skymet Weather. Due to heavy rains, train services along the Nagercoil-Trivandrum section have been affected on the route. Eight trains (numbers 56313, 56310, 56386, 56362, 56363, 56389, 16791 and 16792) have been cancelled, reported The Indian Express . On Friday, six trains (numbers 56305, 56334, 56333, 56309, 56313, 56715) will remain cancelled. Heavy showers will continue for next 12 hours as it moves towards Lakshadweep over the next 48 hours, the Skymet chief Mahesh Palawat told CNN-News18. Due to the heavy rains as a result of Cyclone Ockhi, water storage levels in the Periyar dam has increased by six feet and by one foot in the Vaigai dam, reported The Hindu . Periyar dam records 16,022 cusecs and the Vaigai dam at 2,507 cusecs. The National Disaster Rescue Force (NDRF) said it has dispatched two teams to Kanyakumari and Nagercoil. "As per the state government's request, we will carry rescue operations. We will be involved in rescuing fisherman, inland area flooding, checking on building collapse and uprooted trees, and clearing the roads," the NDRF told CNN-News18. CNN-News18 reported that five people died in Kanyakumari district alone due to the heavy rains. The NDRF said it has one team already positioned in Trichur or regional district in Kerala. "As soon as we get a call from the state government they will be dispatched for work," said a NDRF official. On Thursday, Nirmala Sitharaman tweeted that a total of six warships, and two coast guard vessels from the Indian Navy and Indian Coast Guard have been deployed along with additional air effort on Friday. Death toll rises to nine in Tamil Nadu and Kerala According to the Indian Coast Guard, three fishermen were rescued off Vizhinjam coast in Kerala on Friday morning. Rescue operations are going on to save five more fishermen sighted near Quilon coast in the state. Three fishermen rescued off Kerala coast, efforts on to rescue five more off Quilon coast On Friday, relatives of the missing fishermen in Thiruvananthapuram lamented that they did not receive any cyclonic warnings from the administration. Union home minister Rajnath Singh spoke to DG NDRF and reviewed the areas affected by Cyclone Ockhi. According to ANI, NDRF teams have been moved to the affected areas with several more on standby in case of further emergencies. Eight fishermen floating at sea rescued by Indian Navy off Thiruvananthapuram coast Cyclone Ockhi can lead to cloudy weather coupled with light rain for some parts along Maharashtra coast and Mumbai next week, reports have said. Indian Met Department issued warning to all ports. Ockhi may lead to cloudy weather with light rain along Maharashtra coast, Mumbai Rainfall will be intermittent in Tamil Nadu but heavy to very heavy showers is expected in Lakshadweep. Skymet predicted that there will be light rains in Saurashtra and Kutch region of Gujarat as well. This seems to be going to Gujarat, says Twitterati According to The New Indian Express , Tamil Nadu chief minister K Palaniswamy announced Rs 5 lakh as compensation for the families of those deceased in Kanyakumari district due to heavy rains caused by cyclone Ockhi. "Since most of the boats are co-owned by people belonging to Tamil Nadu and most of the workers are also from that state, it is also possible that the fishermen might have taken the boats to Colachel, Muttom and Thengapattanam," added Xavier. Usually, we used to receive advance warnings on the weather. But this time, there was no such notification. This is a matter of concern, given there were reports about the arrival of the cyclone at least two days ago, Xavier said. Joseph Xavier, general secretary of All Kerala Fishing Boat Operators Association said that nearly 200 fishing boats which left Kochi coast in the last few days are yet to return to safety, reported The New Indian Express . 200 fishing boats yet to return to Kochi coast: All Kerala Fishing Boat Operators Association Nine persons have died in Tamil Nadu due to rains following the Ockhi cyclone in the last couple of days. Chief Minister E Palaniswami has declared ex-gratia to the bereaved families. Life in Kanyakumari was thrown out of gear due to heavy rain and strong winds. Over 1,000 affected people have been put up in camps, as per reports. Heavy rains battered southern districts of Tamil Nadu and state capital Chennai on Thursday night and early Friday morning, forcing the authorities to order the closure of schools and colleges. Navy saves 16 people in rescue operation, 40 expected to be stranded at sea "We have responded immediately. We will continue to meet the requirement of safety and security of our fishermen. As soon as we got the request from the government of Kerala for search operations, we have started that," Karve said. "Maximum efforts have been put in," he said at a press meet held on board the INS Tir on the occasion of Navy Day at the naval base in Kochi. Rescue operations are on. Some fishermen have already been rescued by the Navy which immediately dispatched aircraft and ships besides helicopters to carry out rescue operations in the sea which is very rough, said Vice Admiral AR Karve, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Southern Naval Command. The Indian Navy is putting in "maximum effort" to rescue fishermen from the sea which is very rough under the influence of Cyclone Ockhi, a top Navy official said on Friday. Top Navy officials said they have deployed two ships to the Lakshadweep Islands for carrying out rescue and rehabilitation operations in the island which is under threat of the cyclone. Twenty people have been rescued and efforts are on to bring others to safety. Continuous sorties of aircraft and helicopters are being undertaken in coordination with the units at sea, the spokesperson said. According to a defence spokesperson, the Navy is continuing search and rescue operations in coordination with the Indian Coast Guard and the state administration in the coastal areas of Kerala. At present, 69 people stranded in the sea have been located and the exact numbers are being corroborated, he said. Many rescued fishermen have been admitted to the medical college in Thiruvananthapuram and general hospitals since they were weak after being in the sea for the last 48 hours, the official said. The rescued fishermen included those who were saved by a Japanese cargo vessel. The vessel has rescued 60 fishermen from mid-sea. They are being brought to the Vizhinjam coast, she said. About 150 fishermen, who put out to sea from various southern districts, were rescued, Thiruvananthapuram district commissioner K Vasuki said, adding that efforts were on to bring the rest of the stranded fishermen to the shore. "There is no need to panic," she said. Heavy rains continued to lash coastal areas of Kerala on Friday, crippling normal life, even as Cyclone Ockhi lay centered about 80km north-northeast of Minicoy in Lakshadweep. Top Navy officials said they deployed two ships to the Lakshadweep Islands for carrying out rescue and rehabilitation operations in the island. In Lakshadweep, orders have been issued to evacuate people from low-lying areas in Kalpeni, Minicoy, Kavratti, Agatti, Androth, Kadamath and Amini islands, official sources said. "People are being shifted to schools," they said. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that the Kerala government has asked the defence ministry to deploy more aircraft for rescue operations as the cyclonic storm moving towards Lakshadweep. The Navy, Coast Guard and Air Force are engaged in rescue operations with their ships, aircraft and helicopters. Besides engaging divers, the Indian Navy has deployed two aircraft and an advanced light helicopter (ALH). Even though the sea continued to be rough, rescue operations are going on in full swing. "It is very likely to continue to move west-northwestwards across Lakshadweep islands during the next 24 hours and then move north-northeastwards during the subsequent 48 hours," it added. As per the latest Met department bulletin, the system is very likely to intensify further during the next 24 hours. Former chief minister Oommen Chandy, BJP state president Kummanam Rajasekharan visited a fishing hamlet in Poonthura, from where a large number of fishermen, who put out to sea, were yet to return. Anxious relatives of the missing fishermen, including women, on Friday blocked traffic and raised slogans in Kollam and Thiruvanathapuram, protesting the delay in their rescue. They said various agencies including the Union home department, National Institute of Oceanography and Indian Meteorological Department had informed the state about the possible landing of the cyclone on Kerala shores days before. The Opposition alleged that the CPM-led government failed completely in tackling the emergency situation though it had received a prior warning about the cyclone. The Opposition Congress and BJP in Kerala on Friday slammed the LDF government over the alleged delay in initiating precautionary measures and launching rescue operations for fishermen, who got stranded in the rough sea off the coast due to Cyclone Ockhi. "A well marked low pressure is lying over South Andaman Sea and its neighbourhood. It is expected to concentrate into a depression in the next 48 hours," Regional Meteorological Centre director S Balachandran said. A low pressure system over the South Andaman Sea is expected to turn into a depression in the next 48 hours, which may bring more rainfall to Tamil Nadu, as the death toll due to Cyclone Ockhi in Kanyakumari district rose to five on Friday. To expedite relief works in worst affected Kanniyakumari district, two NDRF teams and seven of the state disaster response agency have been deputed. "They, along with local officials, were rescuing people on a 'war-footing' from inundated areas," it said. As per the orders of the chief minister, 1,044 persons in Kanniyakumari have been lodged in 16 relief camps while the number was 205 in two camps in Tirunelveli, an official release said. At a review meeting inChennai, the chief minister asked officials to expedite all works undertaken in the affected areas, even as scores of personnel have been deployed to address various issues, including restoring the power network. The Tamil Nadu government on Friday said over 1,200 persons affected by Ockhi cyclone in Kanniyakumari and Tirunelveli districts have been lodged in relief camps, as Chief Minister K Palaniswami took stock of the situation. Over 1,200 hit by cyclone in 2 districts lodged in relief camps As the toll due to Cyclone Ockhi in Kanyakumari district mounted to five on Friday, a low pressure system over the south Andaman Sea is expected to turn into a depression in the next 48 hours, which may bring more rain to Tamil Nadu. The death toll in the two states in rain-related incidents rose to 12 on Friday. Heavy rains continued to batter coastal areas of Kerala and south Tamil Nadu today, crippling normal life, even as Cyclone Ockhi lay centered about 80km north-northeast of Minicoy in Lakshadweep. 105 fishermen drifting in eight boats rescued; eye of the storm close to Kavaratti The Sri Lankan Red Cross on Saturday said that showers or thundershowers are expected in the Western, Sabaragamuwa, Central provinces and in Galle, Puttalam and Matara districts. Faizal said seven persons were rescued from a sinking Uru, a large Dhow-type wooden ship, in the sea off Kavaratti. Lakshadweep MP PP Mohammed Faizal said Kalpeni and Minicoy islands were badly hit by the cyclone but no casualties have been reported. Five boats anchored at a jetty in Kalpeni were damaged in heavy rains, coupled with strong winds. In Lakshadweep, orders have been issued to evacuate people from low-lying areas in Kalpeni, Minicoy, Kavratti, Agatti, Androth, Kadamath and Amini islands, officials said. Vice Admiral AR Karve, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Southern Naval Command, said the Indian Navy is putting in "maximum effort" to rescue fishermen from the sea which is very rough under the influence of Ockhi. Top Navy officials said they deployed two ships to the Lakshadweep Islands for carrying out rescue and rehabilitation operations in the island. The report states that 4,000 power lines in the Kanyakumari district have been damaged by the cyclonic storm. It may a week or more for the entire grid to be restored. Meanwhile, NDRF and state forces have been deployed for rescue operations. As Cyclone Ockhi moves towards Lakshadweep, rain ravaged states are likely to experience relief today. However, as this NDTV report, Kanyakumari in submerged in knee-deep water with no powerless as thousands remain strand across relief centres in the district. Heavy (7-11cm in 24 hrs) to very heavy rainfall (12-20cm in 24 hrs) is most likely to occur at a few places till the morning on 2 December & heavy rainfall (7-11cm in 24 hrs) at one or two places from morning of Saturday till the morning of 3 December in Kerala. Heavy (7-11cm in 24 hrs) to very heavy rainfall (12-20cm in 24 hrs) is most likely to occur at a few places, and extremely heavy rainfall (21 cm or more in 24 hrs) at one or two places till morning of 2 December and heavy rainfall (7-11cm in 24 hrs) at a few places from morning of Saturday till the morning of 3 December in Lakshadweep. Following is the official forecast statement from IMD Thiruvananthapuram: Squally weather with wind-speed reaching 45 to 55 kmph gusting to 65 kmph is very likely along and off Kerala coasts, gale wind-speed reaching 110-120 kmph gusting to 130 kmph is likely over Lakshadweep area till 2 pm 2 December. Fishermen are advised not to venture in to the sea. Following is the official warning statement for fishermen near Kerala and Lakshadweep: Lakshadweep to witness incessant rains, gusty winds at speed of 120-145 kmph to lash islands On Friday night, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Tamil Nadu chief minister K Palaniswamy, assuring him of full assistance in the wake of destruction by cyclone Ockhi, reported The Indian Express . Palaniswamy reportedly said the state government would soon seek Central funds to mitigate the damage caused by the cyclone. She also added that strict instructions have been given that "none should venture into the sea for fishing". "The search operations now are aimed towards the Alappuzha area, as the boats would have run out of fuel. They would be drifting according to the wind direction. Hence the search operations are focusing towards Alappuzha," said Vasuki. Thiruvananthapuram district Collector S Vasuki told the media that the 102 fishermen from Thiruvananthapuram cannot be termed as "missing". "These fishermen had gone into the sea. They are yet to reach home or they have not been able to contact their relatives here." The rescue operations jointly launched by the Indian Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard after Cyclone Ockhi hit the southern districts of Kerala and Tamil Nadu, resumed on Saturday with 102 Kerala fishermen yet to return home, a top state official said. According to News18, Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan said family of those who dies in rain-related incidents will be given Rs 10 lakh as compensation. He also said that so far 393 people have been rescued across Kerala. 550 families have been evacuated to 30 relief camps in the state. The families of the missing have now started to exhibit pictures of their loved ones to the media so as to send message to other parts of the state in case they were sighted. A special Mass was held at the Poonthura St Thomas Church for the suffering. "There has been no word from my husband Gerald for the past three days. We have got no information from any one at all," said his grieving wife. Angry fishermen at Poonthura, a coastal hamlet near Thiruvananthapuram, blocked traffic as about a dozen fishermen from their village were yet to be traced. The Kerala government has already announced free ration to be supplied to the affected fishing villages. Among those rescued on Friday night, 40 are under medical observation at the Medical College hospital and another 28 at the General Hospital in Thiruvananthapuram. On Saturday morning, the intensity of the rains and winds in the deep sea was reported to have come down. However, the meteorological office predicts rains are in the offing. More fishermen rescued on Saturday morning, some stuck in Lakshadweep waiting to get back: Nirmala Sitharaman Here, relatives cry for a fisherman, who went missing in the rough sea due to a cyclone, in the coastal hamlets of Poonthura in Thiruvananthapuram on Friday. Locals in Poonthura came out in protest alleging rescue operations for the missing fishermen have been inadequate. Later fresh news came that the Japanese ship since it was on its way to Kochi, it would drop the fishermen there. It was only late in the night that truth surfaced: "It was a fake news". Following which, a huge crowd of anxious fishermen waited in Vizhinjam expecting to welcome their missing relatives. Many ambulances were also asked to be stationed at the port. It was Thiruvananthapuram district Collector S Vasuki who told the media, on Friday evening, that she wished to thank the Japanese government as one of their ships had rescued 60 fishermen after Cyclone Ockhi struck the Kerala coasts. She said they would arrive at the Vizhinjam coast. Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan slammed rumours on Saturday after it came to light that Friday's reports of a Japanese merchant ship rescuing 60 Kerala fishermen caught in the deep seas, was "fake". Vijayan called those spreading the rumours "mad". The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) issued an "extremely heavy rainfalls" (>20 cm) warning for isolated areas in north Lakshadweep Islands during the next 24 hours. It also said heavy to very heavy rainfalls were likely in isolated areas of Kerala and south Lakshadweep islands. Extremely heavy rainfall likely over north Lakshadweep islands in next 24 hours, says NDMA Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswamy to grant Rs 25 crore for relief and restoration efforts in cyclone-hit Kanyakumari district, reports the New Indian Express Besides, 138 fishermen have been rescued from the Lakshadweep islands, he said. So far, 393 people from Kerala have been rescued, Vijayan said, as the state government announced a compensation of Rs 10 lakh to the family of those who died in the storm. As many as 531 fishermen, stranded in the choppy waters off the Kerala and the Lakshadweep coasts due to Cyclone Ockhi, have been rescued, Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan said on Saturday. Palaniswamy had requested deployment of helicopters in the search and rescue operations of fishermen who have not returned after they ventured into the sea a couple of days back. Tamil Nadu chief minister K Palaniswamy on Saturday requested Union home minister Rajnath Singh to involve the Indian Navy and Coast Guard helicopters for search and rescue of fishermen caught in mid sea in the wake of Cyclone Ockhi. The death toll in rain-related incidents in Kerala rose to nine with the recovery of two more bodies, officials said. More than 500 fishermen stranded in the rough sea off Kerala and Lakshadweep coasts have been rescued even as cyclone 'Ockhi' on Saturday lay centered over the South East Arabian Sea and about 250 kilometres near Amini Divi in the Lakshadweep Islands. Eleven people, mostly fishermen, remained missing in the two countries as nearly 9,000 people sought shelter in relief camps. Cyclone Ockhi has left 13 people dead in Sri Lanka and killed an equal number in India's Kerala and Tamil Nadu states since Friday as it churns in the Arabian Sea. Thousands took to relief camps in Sri Lanka and southern India on Saturday to escape rising floodwaters after a cyclone killed at least 26 people. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan entrusted chief secretary KM Abraham with the task of preparing a memorandum in this regard, chief minister office (CMO) sources said. Trivandrum IMD Director S Sudevan said that his department had passed on three alerts about the deep depression in the sea near the state since 29 November morning. But the authorities started acting only after receiving the third alert at 12 noon on 30 November. But by the time, the depression had developed into a cyclone and started wreaking havoc. The biggest lapse on the part of the SDMA was its failure to disseminate the repeated warnings they received from the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) and other agencies about the deep depression in the Arabian Sea to the people. Experts firmly believe that the intensity of the devastation could have been reduced to a great extent, if not totally averted, had the State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA) risen to the occasion. Information available from different sources shows that the agency failed utterly on all fronts. Cyclone Ockhi's devastating effect could have been reduced if state disaster officials acted promptly An Indian Coast Guard aircraft spotted 15 fishermen on two vessels six nautical miles off Colachel, Kanyakumari and rescued them by vectoring a vessel in vicinity on Sunday. The fishermen are safe, tweeted the Coast Guard. "Maharashtra will completely look after everyone till weather permits them to go back," he said. "In all 68 fishing boats, out of which 66 are from Kerala and two from Tamil Nadu, have reached with total 952 fishermen on board. All are safe," the Maharashtra chief minister said in a tweet. Fishermen from near Kerala, who were caught in rough seas due to Cyclone Ockhi, have reached Maharashtra's Sindhudurg coast and are safe, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said in Mumbai on Saturday evening. A defence spokesman, however, refused to comment on the allegations. The Lakshadweep MP said he would write to defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman in this regard. "We have not got adequate help from the Navy and the Coast Guard. They failed to respond promptly in the adverse situation," Faizal told PTI. He also said that he had spoken to home minister Rajnath Singh, who assured him that a team of officials would be sent to the island. Lok Sabha MP PP Mohammed Faizal on Saturday alleged that the Indian Navy and the Coast Guard failed to respond promptly in tackling the crisis due to cyclone Ockhi, which left a trail of destruction in the Lakshadweep islands. Skymet Weather said that Mumbai can brace for some light showers by the evening of 4 December. It also added that the intensity of these rains will be light with moderate showers in some isolated pockets. Fishermen in Gujarat, north Maharashtra advised not to venture into sea on 4 December Cyclone Ockhi currently positioned at Latitude 11.7 N and Longitude 69.2 E, says NDMA As Cyclone Ockhi slowly recedes from Kerala, cancellations and worried queries from tourists marked the start of the tourist season in the state. According to The Times of India , hoteliers and tour operators observed a drop in inquiries from people planning visits this week. "There have been many cancellations, especially from those who booked online. I received a few calls as well inquiring whether they could still enjoy the stay here in the wake of cyclone Ockhi," Sisupalan, the managing director of Sagara Beach Resort, Kovalam told TOI. "Heavy (7-11cm in 24 hrs) is most likely to occur at one or two places in Kerala and heavy (7-11cm in 24 hrs) to very heavy rainfall (12-20cm in 24 hrs) is most likely to occur at one or two places in Lakshadweep till morning of 3rd December 2017," read the IMD release. Titus, a fisherman from Kollam district, told TNIE he had never seen such a violent sea even in movies. As the navy, air force and coast guard continue conducting search and rescue operations, fishermen who returned to the shore safely had just one thing to say: They had never weathered such a violent storm in their experience. According to The New Indian Express , the rescued fishermen were seen shivering and asking for food. Most of them had bruises all over their bodies from trying to stay onboard their boats for two nights. Gale winds speed reaching 100-110 kmph, gusting to 120 kmph, very likely over and around north Lakshadweep Islands during the next 24 hours and gradual decrease thereafter. Gale winds speed reaching 70-80 kmph gusting to 90 kmph very likely south Lakshadweep Islands during next 12 hours and gradual decrease thereafter. The IMD, in its official statement , said the following: Strong winds reaching speeds up to 120 km per hour likely in the next 24 hours Squally wind speed reaching 45-55 kmph gusting to 65 kmph very likely along and off Kerala coast during next 24 hours and along & off Karnataka coast during next 48 hours. In Kerala, squally wind speeds of up to 65 km per hour expected The boats, 40 from Poonthura and 15 from Vizhinjam, left the shores with food and water. Rescue teams decided to step up their operations after a body in a highly decomposed state was recovered near the Vizhinjam coast. The fishermen community on Sunday decided to launch their own rescue operations as 55 boats ventured into the sea to search for the 115 missing fishermen. The fishermen have blocked traffic on Sunday in agitation. "The authorities have failed miserably and the relief camps are also poorly managed with even the basic facilities not available. We have been demanding opening of a control room in our area but nothing has happened," said a Poonthura resident. However, anger was mounting in coastal villages as they were unhappy with the authorities failing to take precautions before the cyclone hit the state. State tourism minister K Surendran and fisheries minister J Mercykutty Amma have been engaged in rescue and rehabilitation operations since 30 November and coordinating with the navy, air force and coast guard officials. TTV Dhinakaran announces he will go to Kanyakumari to meet people affected by storm Chennai, Puducherry likely to receive heavy rainfall in next 24 hours, according to Chennai Meteorological Center As of Sunday morning, 89 boats with 1,154 fishermen taken shelter in various ports: Nirmala Sitharaman According to the Tamil Nadu State Disaster Management Authority, 23 boats from the state with 260 crew members are safe at Myria Bandar, Ratnagiri in Maharashtra. Kerala to not receive heavy rains as Cyclone Ockhi has moved away: Skymet meteorologist Mahesh Palawat The compound wall of a private resort was washed away by the waves and a party arranged at the resort had to be cancelled. The houses belonging to Philomena Fernandes and Everest Alphonse were consumed by the waves which advanced into the shore. Seen as an after-effect of cyclone Ockhi, damage to the property by huge waves has occurred in most of the coastal areas, official sources said. Two houses near the seashore at Ullal were completely destroyed by the waves while another one was partially damaged. Three houses were damaged while the compound wall of a private resort collapsed as surging waves lashed the coast of Ullal near Mangaluru in the last two days. Alphons held a meeting with Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and other cabinet colleagues earlier in the day to discuss the rescue and rehabilitation operations. "There is no provision to declare this as a national calamity. The Centre will provide funds. If needed, more funds will be allocated," Alphons said in Thiruvananthapuram. On Saturday, the Kerala government decided to approach the Centre for declaring Ockhi a national disaster. Cyclone Ockhi, which has caused widespread damage in Kerala's Thiruvananthapuram and Kollam districts, will not be termed a national disaster, Minister of State for Tourism KJ Alphons said on Sunday. Cyclone Ockhi will not be termed as a national disaster: KJ Alphons Tamil Nadu BJP leader asks state government to take account of missing fishermen in Kanyakumari 71 Tamil Nadu fishermen, 248 Kerala fishermen and 38 fishermen from Lakshadweep have been rescued, defence ministry said DMDK leader Vijaykanth slams the Tamil Nadu government, calls for action on the wars to fix the storm impacts Deputy chief minister O Panneerselvam says relief will be given after seeing the Collector's report 5,759 boats are safe, 205 boats are in other states and 97 fishermen we are searching for, says O Panneerselvam Defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman on her way to visit cyclone-hit Kanyakumari Minister Thoomeani says 100% electricity will be provided in Kanyakumari district within a day or two Meanwhile, 23 vessels registered at Tamil Nadu took shelter at Miryabandar in Maharashtra to avoid the cyclone Cyclone Ockhi likely to lash Saurashtra coast in the next 48 hours and subsequently weaken. All fishermen are warned to not venture out and those already out to be contacted immediately to return, says Collector of Gir Somnath district. Cyclone Ockhi likely to lash Saurashtra coast in the next 48 hours With the help of the Centre, flights and ships are now being used in the rescue operations, says CM E Palaniswamy Around 500 houses suffered damage, several coconut trees got uprooted and electric and communication lines were disrupted due to the calamity in Minicoy island alone, he told PTI. Read more here . Lakshadweep Island, which was hit by Cyclone Ochki, has suffered a loss of over Rs 500 crore, Lakshadweep MP Mohammad Faizal said on Sunday.Faizal sought the Centre's assistance to restore normal life in the islands isolated by the storm. He said normal life in three islands Minicoy, Kalpeni and Kavaratti was badly hit by the cyclone. A total of 243 fishermen in Tamil Nadu, 250 fishermen in Kerala and 1,047 people in Lakshadweep have been rescued so far, an official statement said after a meeting of the National Crisis Management Committee, headed by Cabinet Secretary PK Sinha. As many as 1,540 people, including fishermen, affected by Cyclone Ockhi in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Lakshadweep were rescued by various agencies, the government said on Monday, according to PTI. 1,540 people hit by cyclone Ockhi rescued so far, says government Patrolling of the tracks has been intensified over various rail sections. The Disaster Management Cell of WR is geared up to deal with any emergency, it added. According to the release, all emergency numbers have been updated. Similarly, RPF and commercial control staff has been asked to monitor crowd movements and undertake necessary evacuation at stations in case of a disaster-like situation, the release said. The Western Railway (WR) said it has taken necessary precautions and made suitable arrangements in view of the warning about cyclone Ockhi in coastal areas of Maharashtra, according to PTI. The WR's engineering control has been kept on alert to keep a watch on water level over railway tracks, it said in a release. The Navy said the whole of Lakshadweep and Minicoy islands are under the cover of its ships and aircraft with rescue and relief operations on in full swing. The lndian Navy is determined to bring back normalcy to Lakshadweep and Minicoy islands most expeditiously, a Defence release said. All other ships at the disposal of Indian Navy would continue the search and rescue operations and provide relief till normalcy is restored. Indian Navy on Monday continued search and rescue (SAR) operations in full swing for the fifth day over Southeast Arabian Sea and Lakshadweep and Minicoy islands in the aftermath of very severe cyclonic storm Ockhi. According to the IMD forecast, wind velocity would remain between 50 kmph to 70 kmph when the cyclone would make landfall. Two National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams each have been deployed at Surat, Navsari, and Rajkot, reported News18 . The Army, Navy, and the Border Security Force (BSF) have been alerted in the view of the cyclone's landfall. NASA's Terra satellite passed over the Arabian Sea on 4 December and found Cyclone Ockhi moving north as desert dust pushed into the region north of the storm BJP president Amit Shah's public rallies in Rajula, Mahuva and Shihor in Gujarat cancelled due to Cyclone Ockhi Trains on the central line are running 10 minutes late, but the frequency of local trains in Mumbai has not been affected, a Railway official told CNN-News18 . Public Relations Officer for the Mumbai Airport says flight operations havent been affected. The traffic on Eastern and Western Express Highways in Mumbai has slowed down. There are traffic curbs in some places in view of the rush of followers of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar on his death anniversary on Wednesday. As Mumbai braces for Cyclone Ockhi, areas near the metropolis witnessed a spell of hailstorm early on Tuesday. The weather department has forecast intermittent rains in Mumbai and suburbs in the next 24 hours. Some parts of the Munbai-Pune Expressway experienced a hailstorm early today, police said. The weather department has forecast intermittent rains in Mumbai and suburbs in the next 24 hours. Mumbaikars woke up to an overcast sky on Tuesday as Cyclone Ockhi passed by Maharashtra. Areas near the metropolis witnessed a spell of hailstorm, while schools and colleges in the city and adjoining districts have been closed today as a precautionary measure. The traffic on Eastern and Western Express Highways in Mumbai has slowed down after rain in some parts of Mumbai since Monday night. There are traffic curbs in some places in view of the rush of followers of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar on his death anniversary on Wednesday. Weather forecasting bureau Skymet on Tuesday predicts moderate rain and thundershower with strong winds in Maharashtra. Rough sea over Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman, Ahmednagar, Dhule, Jalgaon, Mumbai, Nandurbar, Nashik, Pune, Raigarh, Ratnagiri, Satara, Thane, Harnai and Kolhapur in the next 36- 48 hours. Take a look at the updated track of Cyclone Ockhi in seconds Skymet predicts rain, thundershower, squally winds and rough sea conditions over Ahmedabad, Amreli, Aravali, Bhavnagar, Devbhumi, Dwarka, Gandhinagar Jamnagar, Kheda, Mahesana, Narmada, Navsari, Porbandar, Rajkot, Sabar, Kantha, Surat, Surendranagar, Tapi, Vadodara and Valsad in the next 48 hours. Day's first high tide happened at 12:49 am (Monday-Tuesday intervening night), the next one will happen at 12:39 pm on Tuesday. The low tide will be around 6:49 pm, according to Tide Forecast . Day's first low tide happened at 6:52 am. The cyclone is currently less than 420-km southwest of Mumbai in the Arabian Sea and moving northwards. Suburban train services running as normal. Water logging at some parts on WE highway near Goregaon, jogeshwari. The Central Railway has also said that it has geared up to the cyclone, Railway Protection Force (RPF) and MSSF arrangements for crowd control at all stations. Cyclone Ockhi currently less than 420-km southwest of Mumbai "Intermittent rain/thundershowers very likely to occur in Mumbai and suburbs in next 24 hours," said a report of the India Meteorological Department (IMD) Mumbai at 8 am. "Heavy rainfall is likely at a few places with squally wind speed reaching 50 to 60-kms per hour gusting to 70-kms per hour very likely along coastal area in next 24 hours," it further said. The BMC has made arrangements for accommodation in some civic schools for people coming from outside Mumbai to pay tributes to Ambedkar at Chaityabhumi in Dadar area. BMC has made arrangements for accommodation in some civic schools for people coming from outside Mumbai to pay tributes to Ambedkar Take a look at the Mumbai rain figures for the last 10 years in the month of December Urging people not to trust unverified news, Mumbai Police on Tuesday said the "news" that Bandra-Worli Sea Link has "collapsed" is untrue. (The video attached here is by Twitter user @radhika1705). Similarly, videos of hailstorm near Mumbai circulating on Whatsapp groups and social media are unverified and it's wise not to trust every video or "news" that comes your way. Several rumours are going "viral" on social media regarding Cyclone Ockhi and Mumbai Rains. #MumbaiRains started trending on Twitter on Monday and videos and GIFs have been circulating on social media and several Whatsapp groups which are more alarming in nature than true. Severe Cyclone Ockhi has now weakened into a Cyclone, is 230 km WSW of Mumbai Mumbai police putting up barricades near Dadar chowpatty and Juhu chowpatty to prevent people from going near the beaches. In view of Mumbai rains, all roads leading up to Dadar Chowpatty have been closed to avoid traffic snafu, reports said In the last 24 hours, from 08:30 am as on Monday, Mahuva recorded 13 mm of rains, Diu 8 mm, Valsad 7 mm, Surat and Ahmedabad 1 mm, Veraval 0.6 mm while the stations such as Surendranagar, Gandhinagar, Idar, and Kandla witnessed some light traces of rains. The weather models were already predicting some rains for Gujarat which were a result of cyclone Ockhi that started travelling towards northwest India. As of now, more rains are expected to continue over Gujarat. According to Skymet, the severe Cyclone Ockhi has weakened to a cyclone and is inching towards Gujarat. Though the intensity of these showers was light to moderate, these rains helped in plummeting the daytime high by a few notches. However, these rains were mainly confined to the southern and central parts of the state. This system is very likely to continue to move north-northeastwards and weaken further. This will cross South Gujarat and adjoining North Maharashtra coast near Surat as a Deep Depression by midnight of 5 December. The intensity of this weather system has now reduced and at present, it lies over east central Arabian Sea, approximately 480 km south-southwest of Surat and 300 km west-southwest of Mumbai as a severe cyclone, reports said. As per weathermen, intensity of rains in Mumbai will be more with moderate spells lashing the region and one or two heavy spells of rains could also be witnessed. Weather predictions did not rule out the possibility of some rain on 6 December. In the last 24 hours, Santa Cruz has recorded 22 mm of rains and Colaba saw 23 mm of rainfall. Fishermen have been advised to not venture out in the sea as the conditions will remain rough. Fishing activities should remain suspended for another two days at least. Strong surface winds will continue to blow over Mumbai in view of Cyclone Ockhi. The winds may gust up to 60 kmph in some area. With 22mm of rain in the past 24 hours, Mumbai broke the decade-old December rain record. According to Skymet, last time Mumbai witnessed the highest rains was in the year 2014 which was a mere 1.5 mm. Fishing activities suspended for 2 days: Fishermen advised not to venture out in sea The weather is expected to start improving by 7 December but until then, it is advised for the locals to stay cautious. Moreover, the sea conditions are also expected to remain rough to very rough. As the storm surge will be high, this may even lead to local flooding in the low-lying areas. Squally winds in order of 60-70 kmph, reaching up to 80 kmph are likely in Mumbai for next 36-48 hours, weather reports have said. Take a look at how Cyclone Ockhi progressed on 5 December Also, the shack owners, whose establishments suffered damages following high tide during to the cyclone, have decided to approach the state tourism department to seek compensation for their losses. The North Goa district has done a preliminary assessment of the damage caused due to Cyclone Ockhi in the coastal state. 'Operation Synergy,' a joint rescue mission by the Indian Navy, the Air Force, Coast Guard and state fisheries department had so far rescued 252 fishermen stranded in the seas in the aftermath of the cyclone. The Kerala government said intensified search and rescue operations are on to trace the 92 fishermen missing in high seas after Cyclone Ockhi hit the state's coast. According to latest forecast released by the Meteorological Centre, the cyclone is now just 390 kilometres away from Surat. It is approaching Gujarat steadily and now lies centred in the Arabian Sea. The Met centre has warned that when the cyclone hits the Gujarat coast, "wind speed would remain between 50 and 60 kmph and may reach up to 70 kmph in south Gujarat". Gujarat's chief secretary JN Singh has convened a video conference with the collectors of coastal districts to review their preparedness to deal with any eventuality. The IFFK, which attracts a large number of cinema aficionados and film personalities from across the country, is scheduled to begin on 8 December. The Kerala government has cancelled the inaugural ceremony of the upcoming International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK) in the wake of cyclone Ockhi affecting many districts in the state. The Ministry of Home Affairs said that two merchant ships and 16 crew members have been rescued in Lakshadweep, The Indian Express reported. According to The Times of India, Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani is expected to hold a press conference on Cyclone Ockhi at 5.30 pm on Tuesday in Surat. The chief minister and his colleagues have been claiming that the government was doing everything possible to save the fishermen stranded in the sea. But the hapless fisherfolk did not believe them. They have enough reasons not to trust the state government, which let down the fishermen by not acting on the weather alerts that they received from the meteorological department and other agencies. Revenue minister and state disaster management authority (SDMA) vice-chairman E Chandrashekharan, who is supposed to coordinate the rescue and relief efforts, was seen nowhere in the picture even when the storm battered the coast and displaced hundreds of fishing families and destroyed their houses. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, meanwhile, appealed to BJP workers to extend a helping hand to those that would be likely hit by the cyclone, which is expected to make a landfall tonight on the states southern coast in Surat. - Amid the heat of the Gujarat polls, cyclone Ockhi, eddying menacingly towards the states coast, poured cold water on the campaigning on Tuesday, forcing cancellation of rallies of several top leaders, including those by BJP chief Amit Shah and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. Those affected by the natural calamity have two days to approach government agencies with details of damage to their properties to get compensation, he told the media. - IANS Twelve beaches in Goa have been affected by the rising sea level caused by Cyclone Ockhi, revenue minister Rohan Khaunte said on Tuesday. He said preliminary estimates suggested that the damage caused by the cyclone, which skimmed Goa's coastline, was between Rs 20 lakh and Rs 30 lakh. Damage Expected over south #Gujarat (Valsad, Surat, Navsari, Bharuch, Dang, Tapi, Amreli, Gir- Somnath, Bhavnagar districts), Daman, Diu, and Dadra, Nagar Haveli and north Konkan Districts of #Maharashtra (Palghar, Thane, Raigarh, and Greater Mumbai) #CycloneOckhi Areas in Gujarat and Maharashtra expected to be most affected by the storm According to The Times of India, Kerala women's commission members will contribute a day's salary to the chief minister's disaster relief fund to help the ones affected by the cyclone. 7 teams of NDRF deployed @ Surat, Navsari, Amreli, Valsad, Bhavnagar and Somnath in Gujrat to assist the administration to deal with the situation arising due to cyclone OCKHI. NDRF deploys seven teams in Gujarat to deal with situation due to Ockhi Those affected by the natural calamity have two days to approach government agencies with details of damage to their properties to get compensation, he told the media. - IANS Twelve beaches in Goa have been affected by the rising sea level caused by Cyclone Ockhi, revenue minister Rohan Khaunte said on Tuesday. He said preliminary estimates suggested that the damage caused by the cyclone, which skimmed Goa's coastline, was between Rs 20 lakh and Rs 30 lakh. The chief secretary of Gujarat held a review meeting with government officials to look at the state's preparedness in the wake of Cyclone Ockhi, The Times of India reported. My thoughts are with people who will be braving the onslaught of #CycloneOckhi . Urge Congress leaders and workers in Gujarat to provide all necessary help and support to the needy during this hour of crisis. Rahul Gandhi urges Congress workers in Gujarat to provide all possible help The BJP has also called off rallies and press conferences of Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje and Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath in Surat on Tuesday, a party leader said. BJP MP Manoj Tiwari's roadshow in Bapunagar area of Ahmedabad was also cancelled due to light showers since early morning, Bapunagar MLA Jagroopsinh Rajput said. IMD says cyclone Ockhi is 230 kilometre west-southWest of Mumbai, likely to continue to move north-northeastward, weaken gradually and will cross South Gujarat and North Maharashtra coast. Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai has urged people not to create panic. It further said that road and rail traffic is running smoothly. The Times of India reported that Mumbai's Chowpatty beach has been closed for the public because Cyclone Ockhi. Heavy rains continued to batter coastal areas of Kerala and south Tamil Nadu on Friday, crippling normal life, even as Cyclone Ockhi lay centered about 80 kilometres north-northeast of Minicoy in Lakshadweep. The death toll in the two states in rain-related incidents rose to 12 on Friday. As the toll due to Cyclone Ockhi in Kanyakumari district mounted to five on Friday, a low pressure system over the South Andaman Sea is expected to turn into a depression in the next 48 hours, which may bring more rain to Tamil Nadu. The deaths occurred in cyclone-related incidents in the district. Chief Minister K Palaniswamy announced a solatium of Rs 4 lakh to the kin of each of the victims, an official release said. A report from Thiruvanathapuram said as many as 218 fishermen from Kerala, stranded in the sea off the coast due to inclement weather conditions,were brought safely to the shore on Friday even as the death toll rose to seven in the state. In Chennai, Palaniswamy took stock of the situation in the wake of the havoc wrought by the cyclone. An official release said over 1,200 persons affected by the heavy rain in Kanyakumari and Tirunelveli districts, have been lodged in relief camps. To expedite relief works in the worst hit Kanyakumari, two teams of National Disaster Response Force and seven teams of state disaster response agency have been deputed. In Kanyakumari, Tirunelveli and Tuticorin districts, heavy rains and gusty winds uprooted 579 trees, it said, adding, efforts are on to remove them. "A well marked low pressure is lying over South Andaman Sea and its neighbourhood. It is expected to concentrate into a depression in the next 48 hours," Regional Meteorological Centre director S Balachandran said. The system is likely to move towards north Tamil Nadu and south Andhra coast in the next four days. "This is the current situation and we are monitoring the system." In the next 24 hours, more rain is expected in most places in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. Heavy rainfall can be expected in Nilgiris, Coimbatore, Theni and Dindigul, he said. Cyclone Ockhi, which in Bengali means 'eye', in Friday intensified into a severe cyclonic storm and moved to the Arabian Sea. Widespread rain has been reported in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry with Papanasam (Tirunelveli district) recording 45 cm rain, Balachandran said. The Coast Guard has deployed two ships Vaibhav and Aadesh besides a Dornier aircraft for search and rescue operations in the sea off Kanyakumari. Tamil Nadu minister for revenue and disaster management RB Udhaya Kumar, deputed to Kanyakumari to monitor relief work, said steps have been taken to drain water from inundated areas. More than 500 trees were uprooted in the district as the rains accompanied by gusty winds left a trail of destruction in the district on Thursday. Trees in the premises of the famous Padmanabhapuram Palace too were uprooted. A portion of roof-tiles were also damaged, officials said. With rains continuing to hit normal life in south Tamil Nadu, authorities on Friday declared a holiday for schools and colleges in five districts, including Kanyakumari. Southern railway officials said some train services in Kanyakumari and Nagercoil were cancelled while others ran late. In Delhi, Union minister Pon Radhakrishnan sought defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman's help to rescue fishermen stranded in the sea. A release from Radhakrishnan's office said he urged Sitharaman to help deploy adequate number of ships, naval personnel and IAF to rescue the fishermen. Sitharaman "assured" all help in this regard, it said. On Friday, four persons had lost their lives in rain-related incidents in Kerala while three persons died, official sources said. According to the chief minister's office, 218 fishermen, stranded in mid-sea off the coast since Thursday, were brought safely to the shore through active coordination of various agencies including Navy, Airforce and Coast Guard. The rescued fishermen included 60 who were saved by a Japanese cargo vessel. After a meeting to review the situation, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said government is yet to know the exact number of persons who had put to sea. But the effort was to rescue all those stranded in the sea, he asserted. The state government has opened 29 relief camps in various places. A total of 2,755 people, from 491 families are in these camps, government sources said. The chief minister said the state has asked the defence ministry to deploy more aircraft for rescue operations in view of the cyclonic storm moving towards Lakshadweep. Top Navy officials said they deployed two ships to the Lakshadweep Islands for carrying out rescue and rehabilitation operations in the island. Vice Admiral AR Karve, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Southern Naval Command, said the Indian Navy is putting in "maximum effort" to rescue fishermen from the sea which is very rough under the influence of Ockhi. In Lakshadweep, orders have been issued to evacuate people from low-lying areas in Kalpeni, Minicoy, Kavratti, Agatti, Androth, Kadamath and Amini islands, officials said. Five boats anchored at a jetty in Kalpeni were damaged in heavy rains, coupled with strong winds. Lakshadweep MP PP Mohammed Faizal said Kalpeni and Minicoy islands were badly hit by the cyclone but no casualties have been reported. Faizal said seven persons were rescued from a sinking Uru, a large Dhow-type wooden ship, in the sea off Kavaratti. The MP said he held telephonic talks with home minister Rajnath Singh who assured him that a team of officials from the ministry will be sent to assess the damage. Precautionary measures have been taken at Kavaratti and Agatti where the cyclone is expected to hit on Friday night. Anxious relatives of the missing fishermen, including women, on Friday blocked traffic and raised slogans in Kollam and Thiruvanathapuram, protesting the delay in their rescue. Opposition Congress and BJP in Kerala slammed the LDF government over the alleged delay in initiating precautionary measures and launching rescue operations for fishermen, who got stranded in the rough sea off the coast. As per the latest MeT bulletin, the system is very likely to intensify further during the next 24 hours. "It is very likely to continue to move west-northwestwards across Lakshadweep islands during the next 24 hours and then move north-northeastwards during the subsequent 48 hours," it added. With inputs from PTI The fury of Cyclone Ockhi, that left a trail of destruction across Kerala, was felt more by fishermen and the people living along the coastal areas of the state. Experts firmly believe that the intensity of the devastation could have been reduced to a great extent, if not totally averted, had the State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA) risen to the occasion. Information available from different sources shows that the agency failed utterly on all fronts. The biggest lapse on the part of the SDMA was its failure to disseminate the repeated warnings they received from the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) and other agencies about the deep depression in the Arabian Sea to the people. Trivandrum IMD Director S Sudevan said that his department had passed on three alerts about the deep depression in the sea near the state since 29 November morning. But the authorities started acting only after receiving the third alert at 12 noon on 30 November. But by the time, the depression had developed into a cyclone and started wreaking havoc. Sudevan told Firstpost that the first alert sent to the State Emergency Operations Centre (SEOC) under the SDMA at 5 a.m on 29 November itself was suggestive of a looming cyclone. The department did not use the term cyclone as they did not want to spread panic unnecessarily. The message had warned of heavy rains, squally winds and high waves in south Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Lakshadweep, indicating a depression which could intensify. The alert had advised fishermen not to venture into the sea. The state officials could have issued an alert based on the message, he added. The senior official said that they had sent another message in the night on 29 November suggesting intensification of the depression. This meant that the storm could develop into a cyclone. Sudevan had also called an SEOC official around midnight and checked whether the department had received the message and acted on it. The official had reportedly confirmed this and assured him that they were acting on it. SDMA officials sought to justify their inaction saying there was no indication in the alert that it could develop into a cyclonic storm. SDMA secretary P H Kurian said the alerts looked more like a regular protocol, alerting of heavy rains and high waves. No one took that seriously, he added. The SDMA had also ignored reports about the IMD alerts in a section of the national media on 29 November and local media in the morning on 30 November. If they had issued a warning to the fishermen not to go sea on 29 November, many would have heeded the warning. According to information available with fishermens bodies, hundreds of boats had gone to sea from Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Alappuzha and Ernakulam on 29 November and 30 November. Many of them are yet to return to the coast. While seven fishermen were killed, the fate of those trapped in the sea is still to be known. Kerala Independent Fish Workers Federation president Thomas Peter said the tragedy could have been averted if the state government had acted in time. Usually, we receive advance warnings on the weather. But this time, there was no such notification," he told Firstpost. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan admitted a lapse on the part of the officials. He said that the message was conveyed to him only around 12.30 p.m on 30 November. He said he had activated the rescue machinery immediately after he got the information. Experts feel that the lapse could have been the result of the failure by officials to correctly interpret the inputs from the IMD. B Chakrapani, Associate Professor, Department of Oceanic Studies at the Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT), said officials may also not have taken the warning seriously as Kerala was not familiar with cyclones that battered many other parts of the country. However, Dr KG Thara, former member of the State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA), said this was not correct. She said that Kerala had witnessed nine minor cyclones in the last 30 years and it is even included in the cyclone-prone area. She believes that the messages may have been ignored as they were not interpreted correctly. Thara said that the problem with SDMA was the lack of experts to analyze scientific inputs and act on them promptly. The authority is now packed with officials, who do not have the required technological know-how to analyse scientific information. Moreover, they are too busy with routine work to consult experts when a situation arises. Thara felt an alert could have been issued hours before the onset of the storm if there was an independent panel headed by experts working full time. She has called for a recasting of the authority with independent experts from different fields to ensure that such lapses are not repeated in future. The SDMA lapse was not confined to issuing the alert alone. M Vincent, legislator representing Kovalam, one of the worst-hit areas, said that the agency had also failed in the rescue operations. He said the agency had not taken any step to rescue the fishermen trapped in the sea despite repeated pleas from the fisherfolk and peoples representatives. He said that the ships for rescue were pressed into action only on 1 December. The boats trapped in the sea had exhausted fuel, water and food by then. The fishermen were found battling with high waves. Though he had informed the chief secretary about this, no action was taken till the next morning. The Coast Guard officials refused to go to the sea immediately after the SDMA issued the alert, citing the rough condition of the sea and their unfamiliarity with those conditions. Several fishermen, who know the sea closely, were ready to join them. However, they waited till the next day. Some ships that were sent then returned without finding any fishermen, Vincent said. He said that some private ships anchored at Vizhinjam were ready to go for the rescue with the fishermen, but the officials were not willing to hire them. One ship was hired on Friday after long arguments. The state government is still in the dark over the number of boats and the fishermen trapped in the sea. The revenue department has asked village offices in the coastal areas of Ernakulam, Alappuzha, Kollam and Thiruvananthapuram to gather the details. The Kovalam MLA termed the rescue and rehabilitation as another disaster and urged the government to learn lessons from it and tone up its disaster management machinery. According to Vincent, the urgent need is to equip the SDMA with infrastructure such as ships and helicopters. Kerala with its vast coastline and hilly areas is prone to a multitude of disasters. It is categorized as a multi-hazard prone state. Besides floods during the monsoon, sea erosion and landslides, the state is also vulnerable to earthquakes of a magnitude of 6.5 or more, and cyclones. Possibilities of chemical and industrial disasters, and disasters like bursting of dams, also are very high in the state. Though the state government is receiving substantial funds from the central government, experts are doubtful whether they were being used for mitigating the sufferings caused by the disasters. The state has received Rs 1,021 crore last year from the Centre to ensure disaster management preparedness in five years, but proper infrastructure is yet to be put in place. The former SDMA member KG Thara said that half of the Rs 50 crores allotted by the Centre for setting up district-level disaster management centres were used for building a posh headquarter for SDMA. Ironically, the people sitting in the high-tech office are yet to learn the basic lessons of disaster management. New Delhi: The Delhi High Court has pulled up the police for its failure to conclude the probe into a "sting operation" in which many traffic policemen were purportedly filmed taking bribes from Blueline bus operators. A bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C Hari Shankar also said the investigation had not been carried forward "meticulously and punctiliously" despite its direction. "Draft challan (charge sheet) was prepared in 2008 and till now you (Delhi police) have not filed the detailed report," the bench noted and asked the counsel for the investigating officers "what have they done all these years?" "It is shocking that for 10 years, you have not filed the charge sheet," it added. The court also expressed concern over the delay in receiving forensic report related to the case. The court has now fixed the matter for 11 December, when it has sought the presence of the CBI. Dealing with the issue of delay in forensic reports, the bench said, "The need to upgrade infrastructural facilities and have more experts, equipment and forensic laboratories in such circumstances need not be emphasised and is accepted." "These are aspects, which must be immediately taken notice of and appropriate remedial action should be taken by the Government of NCT of Delhi, the commissioner of Police, the CBI, and the government of India, ministry of home affairs," it said. The court's direction came on a plea by a property dealer, who claimed that he had not heard of any "investigation or progress from Delhi Police in (the) FIR" registered in April 2008. The "sting operation" was conducted in 2008 by petitioner Chetan Sharma at 30 different points in the national capital and over 90 traffic police personnel were caught on camera allegedly accepting bribes from Blueline bus operators. Besides this, he also conducted sting operations and allegedly captured audio-video recordings of municipal corporation officers taking bribes from public. The stings were conducted with the help of some Blueline operators who were being "harassed" by the traffic police, the plea said. Blueline buses have subsequently been phased out by the Delhi government. The matter was brought to the notice of the high court through a PIL and copies of the tapes were forwarded to the union home ministry, the Delhi Police commissioner and the central vigilance commission to verify their authenticity and take proper action. Mumbai: Fishermen from near Kerala, who were caught in rough seas due to Cyclone Ockhi, have reached Maharashtra's Sindhudurg coast and are safe, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said in Mumbai on Saturday evening. "In all 68 fishing boats, out of which 66 are from Kerala and two from Tamil Nadu, have reached with total 952 fishermen on board. All are safe," the Maharashtra chief minister said in a tweet. "Maharashtra will completely look after everyone till weather permits them to go back," he said. "I have given orders to the Maharashtra Maritime Board and collector, Sindhudurg district to make all arrangements for the stranded fishermen," Fadnavis said. Ive given orders to Maharashtra Maritime Board and Collector, Sindhudurg dist to make all arrangements for the stranded fishermen. Local authorities are already with them and taking care of all arrangements to make everyone feel at home! https://t.co/Eh7U2smtco Devendra Fadnavis (@Dev_Fadnavis) December 2, 2017 "Local authorities are already with them and taking care of all arrangements to make everyone feel at home," he said. Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman thanked Fadnavis for the assistance. "Thanks Hon.CM @Dev_Fadnavis for understanding the sense of urgency in this matter of fishermen reaching Devgad minor port, Maharashtra," she tweeted. . Thanks again Hon.CM @Dev_Fadnavis for calling again to say that the DM of Sindudurg district (Devagad port)& the state maritime board is directed to extend all help. Thanks also for informing that there are 40 boats out there. Nirmala Sitharaman (@nsitharaman) December 2, 2017 "These fishermen from near Calicut, Kerala were caught in CycloneOckhi. Grateful to CM who agreed to help immediately," she said on Twitter. By Sharanya Gopinathan If the BJPs 2014 general election hot-button issue was development and vikas, the upcoming Gujarat Assembly elections are, among things, about women and talaq. This month, two widely shared videos on Gujarati social media made a lot of people across the political spectrum sit up and take notice. The first video, widely denounced by human rights organisations, showed a young woman out alone at night. An azaan-esque call is heard, which is supposed to indicate how dangerous the situation is. Its not actually the creepy soundtrack that you hear in slasher movies when the young heroine leaves the house at night but its meant to be close. Its what they call a dog-whistle in American politics political messaging that appears to mean one thing on the surface to most, but carries completely different undertones that may not be immediately visible to everybody. Next, you see her parents at home (with a Krishna idol placed in the background), waiting for her anxiously. When she arrives, youre informed that this is what Gujarat looked like 22 years ago, and that it may happen again if those people return. The second video, released earlier this week, spells out the (false) claim of women empowerment even more blatantly. It has no time to dog-whistle. This one shows a Muslim woman chastising two Muslim men who come to her door for votes. When were introduced to the men, we hear bass music with threatening overtones. Aapa scoffs at them for remembering her only during election time, and scolds them for selling their izzat-haya for vote-bank politics. She tells them that until now, Muslim women had spent every second in fear of being divorced, and Narendra Modi was responsible for rescuing Muslim women from hell. Finally, Aapa debunks the claim that Modi is the sworn enemy of our people, lauding him instead as their saviour. Both videos, which the BJP claims it has nothing to do with, propagate a message that the party cares about women. The second video takes the claim even further, and is basically the actualisation of a red herring weve been seeing for a while: That since the triple talaq judgment came out during BJP rule, the party alone is responsible for the victory that is the invalidation of triple talaq. During the 2014 general election, for the first time, we saw a hint of the possibilities that the internet and social media hold for elections. Entire books, like Swati Chaturvedis I Am A Troll, have been written about the BJPs army of paid trolls who helped skew public opinion with their social media activity in 2014. The nature of the internet, however, makes it impossible to trace these actions to their original sources (or to those paying their original sources), giving parties plausible deniability when their activities cause outrage. Given the fact that they clearly tell you to vote for Modi and the BJP, its easy to imagine the videos came from party supporters. The videos also repeat the claim that the party and Modi are the saviors of Muslim women because they alone negated triple talaq, a claim that the BJP has been making. This is a false claim that Muslim womens groups have been fed up with for far longer than the new Supreme Court judgment on 22 August. In fact, the concept of largely Hindu political parties appropriating the causes of Muslim women for their own gains is one weve seen before. One recent instance was in the 80s, around the Shah Bano case, when Muslim women fought to codify a provision to guarantee maintenance to Muslim women. The Congress government in power dithered over the Bill for fear of upsetting the powerful male Muslim constituency. Muslim womens groups at the time had to tread carefully while garnering support for their cause, because they constantly had to make sure that the issue wasnt being appropriated by the Hindu right. We hadnt seen this phenomenon repeat itself quite this clearly in recent years, until the triple talaq judgment this August. On 31 October, Bebaak Collective, a Muslim womens rights collective, released a statement condemning BJP appropriation of Muslim womens voices around triple talaq. This came after several BJP leaders, including Amit Shah and Subramanian Swamy, congratulated Muslim women after the triple talaq judgment, and made it sound as though this was a shared victory and a team effort by Muslim women and the BJP. Bebaaks statement correctly clarified that it was in fact womens groups (like BMMA, MWRN and Bebaak) who approached the court and not the current government who only filed an affidavit when directed by the court. It said that the current government is clearly trying to capitalise on the thirty five year long struggle of womens movement, which stood by the Muslim community. Bebaaks prescient statement predicted exactly what were seeing in Gujarat now. It appears these stories (of the BJP liberating Muslim women from Muslim men) before the Gujarat elections and assembly elections (sic) of 2019 will strengthen the image of the current government as champion of womens rights which will successively translate into winning election booths. While pointing out that Muslim women seem to have evoked this governments sudden empathy, they asked where the government was when incidents of mass rape in Gujarat massacre and Muzaffarnagar riots were being pushed below the carpet or orchestrated. But as Bebaak and others have pointed out, the BJP hasnt espoused or enacted any legislative measures that make the lives of Muslim women easier. It has also not taken any steps in that direction other than loudly pushing against triple talaq and, on a slow day, making some noises about implementing UCC. In fact, the BJPs planned next step on the triple talaq, which is to actively criminalise it, has also been opposed by some Muslim womens groups like Bebaak, who feel that it will be used as yet another tool to target and imprison Muslim men. Other womens groups, like BMMA, have spent over three decades working for the criminalisation of triple talaq, and are canvassing support for the comprehensive codification of Muslim Personal Law. This clearly stated, but not nearly as shiny, demand by Muslim womens groups has of course been pretty much ignored by the BJP. Maybe it just doesn't make for good enough election advertising. Ahmedabad: Chief Election Commissioner AK Joti and around 10 senior officials of the Commission on Saturday held a meeting with representatives of main political parties to understand their concerns ahead of the first phase of Assembly polls in Gujarat, to be held on 9 December. The EC delegation, led by Joti, also held another meeting with various government officials, district collectors as well as senior police officials to review the preparations for conducting free and fair election, said Chief Electoral Officer for Gujarat BB Swain. Representatives of the BJP, Congress, BSP and NCP attended the meeting with the EC delegation, he said. During the meeting, Congress leaders urged the EC to deploy adequate security personnel in sensitive constituencies. The Congress also demanded that jammers should be installed at strong-rooms where EVMs will be stored after the polling, said a release by the Gujarat Congress. The EC officials will hold a meeting with senior state government officials on Sunday, too, officials said. New Delhi: After RJD chief Lalu Prasad's wife Rabri Devi failed to respond to eight summons in a money laundering probe regarding the 2006 IRCTC hotels contract case, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) is set to question her in Patna on Saturday. A team of ED officials will question her at the agency's office in the Bihar capital, an agency official told IANS. Rabri Devi has so far not come forward for questioning even though the ED had earlier questioned her son and former Bihar deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav twice on 13 November and 10 October. The ED is probing irregularities in the case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) against Tejashwi, his father Lalu Prasad, and other family members. On 27 July, the Enforcement Directorate had registered a case under the PMLA following an FIR by the Central Bureau of Investigation and is probing the trail of funds transferred through shell companies. The CBI registered a corruption case on 5 July against Lalu Prasad, Rabri Devi, and Tejashwi Yadav for alleged irregularities in the allotment of contracts for two Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) hotels in Ranchi and Puri in 2006 to a private firm when the Rashtriya Janata Dal chief was the Railways Minister. The contracts were given to Sujata Hotels, a company owned by Vijay and Vinay Kochhar, allegedly in lieu of bribe in the form of a plot of prime land in Bihar, the CBI said. Apart from Ahluwalia Contractors' promoter Bikramjeet Singh Ahluwalia, who has also been questioned in the case, former Union Minister Prem Chand Gupta's wife Sarla Gupta and then IRCTC Managing Director PK Goel are co-accused in the case. Let us incentivise the counterinsurgency forces in Kashmir to get local militants to surrender. To do that, lets pay those responsible for a surrender ten times the reward we already hand out to those who kill militants. That was one of the more significant suggestions that came from a delegation that met the Centres Representative for talks in Kashmir, former Intelligence Bureau chief Dineshwar Sharma. The Representative was in Kashmir for his second visit earlier this week. Of course, the delegation that suggested it thought it was an important point. More revealing is the fact that Sharma seemed to think so too. Arafat, an activist, educator, and leading member of that delegation, says Sharma told them at dusk that theirs was the best interaction he had had all day. He jotted notes, and asked them to send him an e-mail repeating the exact words they had used. This vignette is important for two reasons. First, it is an indicator of how little of concrete value regarding long-term solutions has come from the large number of delegations that have so far met Sharma during his two visits. He has done his best. He ventured out of Srinagar this time, and even met some of the youth who are categorised as 'former stone-pelters'. In fact, the suggestion to incentivise surrenders (of local boys) came from a delegation that met him in Anantnag, the main city of south Kashmir. For the most part, however, delegations have apparently brought up mirco-level issues and administrative concerns. One wanted a tehsildar transferred. Several others spoke of power outages and the state of infrastructure. Some sought funds to engage with other Kashmiris. Peace dividend The other reason this particular suggestion is important is that each surrender or capture deflates the movement, while the movement generally gets a huge boost when a militant is killed particularly a local boy. For, on the one hand, such killings generate resentment and anger among his family and neighbours, especially his friends. Some of those friends are liable to pick up the killed militants baton by also turning to arms. The emotions generated at a funeral turn the fallen militant into a hero, with the sheen of a martyr for Islam, even if he lacked a heroic persona while in the field. Obviously, the death of a local boy in the prime of his youth is bound to generate more emotions than that of a Pakistani or other foreign militant. Some perceptive and responsive army commanders are aware of the ills of incentivising kills rather than surrenders. For example, Lt General DS Hooda had raised the issue at a conference of army commanders when he was commander-in-chief of the northern army. In an interview to Firstpost on the eve of his retirement in November 2016, Hooda had emphasised the need to improve the surrender policy, so that Kashmiris might find it easier to surrender. Army commanders who have served in Kashmir in top positions have sometimes pointed out the ironic fact that officers and soldiers are offered incentives to increase the number of 'kills' in their operations but no incentive to achieve peace in their areas of operations. Although the army runs a well-funded Sadbhavana programme to increase goodwill among the people in Kashmir, many officers see it as a means to increase the flow of information. In fact, many in the forces and intelligence agencies are well aware of the fact that the flow of vast budgetary allocations and unaccounted secret funds would dry up if peace were actually achieved. So would the medals, citations, promotions, and other rewards that hinge on maximising 'kills'. The huge power of the police and other forces in areas that are seen as dominated by insurgency also hinges on the continuation of that image. Kolkata: Agitated guardians on Saturday organised a rally outside the GD Birla Centre for Education, where a nursery student was allegedly sexually assaulted by two physical training instructors, demanding justice for the victim, enhanced security for students and a meeting with the principal. The move came hours after principal S Nath and other teachers of the school in south Kolkata were escorted out by the police, after being held up in their offices by angry guardians for over 16 hours. The two accused physical education teachers were arrested on Friday in connection with the case. Krishnendu Mukherjee, one of the protesting guardians, said, "We want immediate resignation of the principal and the teacher who had described the accused as 'naughty boys' before the media on Friday". A guardians' forum will be set up by Sunday and all grievances will be channelised through that platform, he said. "If our demands are not met, we will intensify our protests from Monday," Mukherjee said. The GD Birla Centre for Education, in a statement to the media yesterday, had said the school's management was fully cooperating with the police in their investigation. "The school management will take necessary and proper action after the investigations are over," the statement said, adding the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education (WBBSE) has also been apprised of the matter. West Bengal Education Minister Partha Chatterjee said he was looking into the incident with "utmost seriousness". "I have no words to condemn the incident. Strongest punishment should be given to those responsible for the incident," he told reporters on Friday. The WBBSE has sent a fact-finding team to enquire into the matter. It has sought a report from them by the end of the day, board president Kalyanmoy Ganguly said. The four-year-old nursery student was allegedly sexually assaulted inside the prominent private school yesterday where a similar incident had taken place three years ago, triggering angry protests by guardians. Chandigarh: The Punjab and Haryana High Court has sought a report from the Haryana government in a case of a family being charged Rs 15 lakh by Fortis Hospital in Gurugram for the treatment of a 7-year-old girl suffering from dengue who later died. The direction came during the hearing of the case on the widespread prevalence of dengue in Haryana and Punjab. The court has taken cognisance of the issue on its own. As the hearing of the case resumed on Friday, a division bench of justices Ajay Kumar Mittal and Amit Rawal also asked the government to expedite the inquiry into the matter. The direction came after the issue was raised by amicus curiae (a friend of the court) Anupam Gupta, who had said a bill of Rs 15 lakh was given for a fortnights treatment. "This is trading in death and disease which cannot be allowed. Private sector plays an important role in the area of health...Im not running down the hospital concerned, howsoever outstanding the institution may be, but dengue is not cancer or some serious cardiovascular disease that such a hefty bill was raised," Gupta said. "And then there were reports that an ambulance was refused for the body to be taken home," he said. The counsel for the Haryana government told the bench that an inquiry has already been ordered into the issue. Last week, the state government had ordered a probe into the allegation that the hospital in Gurugram overcharged the family of the girl, who died of dengue, hours after the Centre asked it to initiate an urgent inquiry. Earlier, the private hospital had denied the charge, saying the patients kin were informed about the bill on a daily basis. State Health Minister Anil Vij had said a senior officer would investigate the matter and submit the report at the earliest so that action could be taken against the guilty. The high court has directed the government to place the report before it by the next date of hearing on 12 December. Gandhinagar: Former Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit on Saturday asked if the claim of the ruling BJP in Gujarat of having undertaken a lot of development is correct then why was Prime Minister Narendra Modi rushing off to the state practically every other day to campaign. Addressing the media, the former three-time Delhi chief minister said that the saffron party has realised that people are in a mood to change the government and that's why Modi is paying frequent visits to the state. She said after 22 years of BJP rule the people of Gujarat have now realized that they haven't experienced real development. Dikshit said that the Congress is pretty confident of forming the government in Gujarat. "Why does a so-busy Modi have to visit Gujarat every other day when they have carried out so many development works in the state as they are claiming?," she said The senior Congress leader continued, "Look at the prices of commodities that have risen so sharply during the three-and-a half years of NDA rule. There has been sudden and steep hike in onion, tomato prices. When I was in Delhi, the Congress procured these commodities and availed it to the people at affordable prices." Lambasting the BJP government for dilly-dallying on the metro train project in the state, she said, "When I visited Gujarat 12 years ago, I had heard about the metro project which was announced some years ago with much fanfare. What has happened to that? Is it running now? It is still more on paper than reality. We completed the Delhi Metro project as we had promised in due time. The Congress accomplished all of their promised tasks and that too in time during my 16 years of reign in Delhi." Asked about the BJP alleging that the Congress was playing the caste card for the elections, she said, "Congress has never fought the elections on the basis of caste, it has been always development issues that the party has fought on; real development, not false and so-called development, taking along every section of the society." Asked about the loss in the local body elections in Uttar Pradesh, Dikshit said, "We have not had a major loss as is being projected by some. Wait and watch, the full and entire results have not yet come out and until then we will just wait. It is also wrong that Congress has lost major elections after 2014." To questions about apprehensions over the Electronic Voting Machines (EVM), the former chief minister said, "Lots of people have raised their doubts about the EVMs. Now it is the onus of the Election Commission of India to win the trust of the people, which has recently faltered." She said that people of Gujarat have realised that the standard and quality of education in the state has "gone down the drain" since 22 years and they want it back. Asked if the BJP has carried out development in the state as they claim, Dikshit said, "I don't think so. I think that there is so much potential in the state which could have been carried out if real development had happened. But our government if formed will do that, I am fully confident of that." New Delhi: The Una Police in Himachal Pradesh arrested a man whose stinky socks caused a showdown on a bus as his fellow passengers protested the pungent odour, an officer said Saturday. The man removed his shoes and socks on a bus going from Himachal Pradesh to New Delhi and put them near the aisle, police said. Other passengers protested and asked the man to put away the offending socks or throw them out. The man refused, sparking a heated confrontation that forced the bus driver to stop at a police station in Una district of Himachal Pradesh. Una police chief Sanjeev Gandhi told AFP the bus stopped several times because of the smelly chaos before they came to the police station. "He was arrested on charges of causing public nuisance and later released on bail," Gandhi said. Gandhi said the accused had threatened other passengers and caused a disturbance at the police station. The man, in turn, filed a complaint against his fellow passengers and the bus crew for harassment and insisted his socks did not smell, the officer said. He left the area on another bus a day later, police said. Even six years after the death of Sathya Sai Baba, hailed by his devotees as a living god or bhagwan, the once small arid hamlet of Puttaparthi in Anantapur district is still mourning. Maybe not so much over the demise of its local demi-god Sai baba, but more over the cascading negative impact of his death on the economy, trade, and loss of recognition and pride for Puttaparthi in the country. "Our town is just like Tirumala without Lord Balaji," said a local hotelier Mahabaleswar Gupta of Puttaparthi. Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu, who participated in the 92nd birthday celebrations of Sai baba at the Prashanti Nilayam in Puttaparthi town on 23 November, dwelt on the need to resurrect the institutions universities, water projects, hospitals, meditation centers set up by Sathya Sai baba in India and overseas. He urged devotees to keep the "flame of universal brotherhood and service to humanity" propounded by the godman burning. The death of a town Following his death after a prolonged illness on 24 April, 2011, Puttaparthi has lost not only its spiritual charm and economic focus but also VVIP attention. The civil aviation ministry has cancelled all flights to Puttaparthi and shut down the Sri Sathya Sai Airport built for Sai baba by corporate L&T group in 1990. Only chartered flights of visiting VVIPs are allowed to land with special permission. When Sai baba was alive, a regular flow of 25,000-30,000 foreign and several lakh Indian devotees came annually to the Sai baba ashram at Puttaparthi to pay homage to him. And, on his birthdays, special conferences and conventions were organised to highlight the event. However, the controversies after his death and the fight for control among the trust and family members has led to a reduced devotee flow. Not more than 3,000-4,000 foreigners and a few thousand Indians visit the ashram in a year now. The Sri Sathya Sai Central Trust comprising some close aides of Sai baba is now running activities at the ashram but the absence of political visits and media focus has led to neglect. Nowadays the Prashanti Nilayam and its guest houses have become service providers for political and corporate events, instead of housing devotees. When Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi came to Anantapur district for his walkathon in July, 2015, he used the Prashanti Nilayam to meet local Congressmen and address the media. TDP (Telugu Desam Party) and YSRC (YSR Congress) party leaders also use the spacious guest houses built by Sai baba to host prime ministers, chief ministers and industrial giants. Since 2011, construction activities and registration of assets have also fallen in Puttaparthi. From Rs 5.6 crore in the year ending March, 2011, it dropped to Rs 2.9 crore in 2012-13 and just Rs 42 lakhs in 2016, said the sub-registrar of properties at Bukkapatnam. Nearly 800 apartments are vacant and looking for buyers and some investors have also withdrawn from the flats they had given advance for at Puttaparthi. Business takes a hit Gone are the days when the outskirts of Puttaparthi town were dotted with huge colonies of campers in vans and buses, which filled up empty spaces on fields for miles. Though a gram panchayat with less than 10,000 population, the Andhra Pradesh government had upgraded it to a municipality in the 1970s and created a PUDA (Puttaparthi Urban Development Authority) in 1990 converting vacant lands 50 kilometres around the town to residential and commercial zones. Now with Sai baba gone, most builders, contractors, traders and hoteliers wear a worried look because of the fall in number of visitors. Most of the over 300 Kashmiri traders in handicrafts and artifacts who had a bustling business then have now shifted to Bangalore and Chennai. "I waited for a year for some miracle to occur and bring back business, but nothing has happened and the rich and famous have almost stopped coming, business is fading," said Mohammed Aslam Khan of Srinagar who has now set up shop at Bangalore's Jayanagar. Many locals fear that now only monkeys, donkeys and dogs will dominate the area. Some are hopeful that Puttaparthi will bounce back to life like Shirdi. "No one knew of Shirdi till Bollywood made films about it. Puttaparthi will flourish again, but that will take a long time. I wonder if we can wait that long," said Gopala Krishna Iyer who runs a once-bustling eatery shop. "We locals are used to such phases of inactivity as no devotees came when Saibaba was at Whitefield in Bangalore or at the Kodaikanal ashram. But now, we have a permanent off-season and sort of a ghost town in western movies without guests and devotees at Puttaparthi," said Dinakar Rao, a local advocate who has shifted to Dharmavaram for practice. In the absence of Sai baba, liquor shops, bars, meat shops and cinema halls have descended at Puttaparthi which did not exist during his lifetime. "Things have changed, but the Sai baba legacy and the activities of the Trust are still revered," said RV Ratnakar, a Trust member and nephew of Sai baba (son of late RV Janakiram, brother of the 'godman'). Waiting for Sai baba Sai baba's devotees wait for his successor who, according to his prophecy, will arrive in the year 2030. According to official reports submitted to the Andhra Pradesh government after Sai baba's death in 2011, the Trust has a fixed deposit of Rs 1,500 crore in banks and earns an annual interest of Rs 120 crore. It also received donations worth over Rs 60 crore a year. Though the Godman had institutionalised the Trust with trusted professionals like former Chief Justice of India PN Bhagwati, Supreme Court judges VR Krishna Iyer, V Balakrishna Eradi and retired Andhra Pradesh High Court judge YV Anjaneyulu, many of them have now distanced themselves from the organisation in view of the power struggle. Interestingly and with foresight, Sai baba had stalled all attempts by relatives to corner the Trusts and the corpus. There were days when his brother Janakiram sat at the gates of the ashram and tried to interfere in the day-to-day affairs when Sai baba was sick. There are nearly 200 relatives in the extended family, who have opened restaurants, shopping malls, taxi services and become contractors in Puttaparthi, banking on his influence and cashing in on his recommendations. The only reason family was kept away from the Trust was the threat by the Andhra Pradesh government of a takeover in 2011 by invoking the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Act, 1959 if the power struggle continued. But for now, Puttaparthi awaits a miracle that will change its fortunes. Even as a recent study declared that Colin Firth was nothing like the real Fitzwilliam Darcy (which sent every Firth-Darcy fan into a tizzy), we'd never have an ideal Darcy or several Darcy-like clones in the future if it weren't for Jane Austen and her near-perfect portrayal of the aloof, romantic hero. And 200 hundred years later, the brooding, romantic lead of Pride and Prejudice is still one of the most sought-after fictional heroes the guy has dedicated Facebook groups, online quizzes, spin-offs and adaptions to his character and even a sex pheromone named after him. There's no doubt that Darcy has stood the test of time as an ideal man, but it only points to Austen's astute power in creating a character so timeless, that even millennials are charmed by the Regency era bloke. Today, there are perhaps few readers who haven't chanced upon Austen's novels, and fewer still who haven't marvelled at her ability to turn the ordinary into the extraordinary ideas, circumstances and events that still hold good today and are still relevant. For the non-readers (and those generally not a fan of the writer), Austen novels are just about everywhere a truth universally acknowledged (heh). These empire waistline wonders and Regency gentility cravats have got the cinematic treatment in the many reinventions of Pride and Prejudice (1940, '58, '67, '80, 2003, 2005, 2014), and the obvious choices such as Sense & Sensibility (1995), Clueless (1995), Emma (1996) and Austenland (2013) But the Austen film cannon isn't complete without the mention of modern-y Bollywood-meets-Eng Lit Bride and Prejudice (2004), the dreamy Kandukondein Kandukondein (2000; interestingly, both movies had Aishwarya Rai as the wide-eyed protagonist) or the glamorous, yet slightly pointless Aisha (2010). It's not just the subcontinent that's quite taken with the Regency era's rigid matrimonial rules that so frightfully echo theirs like arranged marriages, match-making parents, viewing women as "burden" to be quickly married off and the value of family as a cohesive unit. It's also Japan, Turkey, Korea and China that share an equal love-hate relationship with the author. And then there's Pakistan. Austen's books are so relevant to the country's society that journalist Laaleen Sukhera found it necessary to start the Jane Austen Society of Pakistan (JASP) in 2015, where the members meet "every once in a while" in the Islamabad, Karachi and Lahore chapters and once a year have a dress-up party to talk all things Austen. Thanks to pop culture and the women of JASP, we now have Austenistan, a collection of seven short stories that pay homage to Jane Austen. And 21st century Pakistan, it seems, has a lot in common with 19th century England there are single men in possession of a good fortune and naturally, there are families with a good eye for wealth, hoping that their daughter would be noticed in Pakistani society dinner parties. Imagine Jane Austen books sprinkled with a bit of garam masala. I ask Sukhera about the Regency era's modern-day counterpart and her cheerful voice booms over the phone, as she talks about society weddings and country houses. "We do have a season like the Regency world. They had balls in London, which tended to be provincial. Here we have society weddings the ones where you're 'seen' and that's where people go for spotting the prettiest young girls and the most eligible young men who are home from abroad, or who's available these days. The whole family is there and this is during the winters. During the summer, back then they used to retire to their country estate; here, people will go to Dubai for a weekend or to farmhouses or to house up in the hills," she says. The way Asia has kept alive Austen's legacy with its class distinctions in marriages, tasteful soirees, romantic courtships and dreamy settings not only comes alive in Austenistan but the anthology also looks at peeling back the layers and examines the "happily ever afters". And keeping a legacy alive is an important job and a huge one at that and while it's easy to believe that part of the credit goes to the subcontinent where arranged marriages are common, it mostly boils down to women's rights and privileges. Take the 'expiration date' analogy for a single woman for example: In the 19th century, women married young, giving rise to the notion that a woman beyond a certain age (aka "marriageable" age), who was yet to be married wasn't sought after. That her appeal had an expiration date. The age might be a little different now, but the idea remains the same. But Austen's legacy is not all about eligible bachelors and classy romance that have us reaching for her books year after year; she also critiqued the patriarchy not just through her male characters, but through the forces behind them: money, morals and emotions. Romance was just a stand-in for social commentary. Jenni Waugh, the social media manager and walking tour guide for The Jane Austen Centre, who came across Austen through Pride and Prejudice when she was a teenager, says the author is still relevant because "although times change, human emotions dont, and our basic dreams and desires dont either. Plenty of us are still looking for our perfect partner (Marianne Dashwood), or trying to climb social ladders (Sir Walter Elliot), or trying to organise the lives of everyone around us (Emma Woodhouse). Austen's novels observe human nature with such a keen eye that we can still identify the same characters that she wrote about within our everyday lives. But, to be brief, I suppose she matters, and will continue to matter, for as long as she brings joy to people and has an impact on their lives. She matters because we believe she matters." Truly, as Waugh put it, Austen still matters, because human nature simply doesn't change, whether 30 years or 100 years or 200 years have passed. Our privileges and lack of them are still connected to the people with us, those who live next to us and those around the world. Like Mansfield Park, published in 1814, in which Austen brings out the economic and social disadvantages of being a woman. Fanny Price's lack of autonomy, her struggle for personal dignity that's denied to women today (even more so for those of a lower class and caste) and the necessity of marriage that's thrust upon her (Price rejects the suitor her family has chosen and goes on to marry the man she loves), all reflect a society that's very familiar to us. Except our privilege makes us blind to it. It's a number of characteristics like this the ability to hold a mirror to society, to shine a light on human suffering, to illuminate social strictures in our communities that make Austen still popular today, believes Claire Bellanti, president of the Jane Austen Society of North America. "She writes psychologically true characters we all know someone obsequious like Mr Collins or indelicate like MrsBennett. In addition, Austen does not give overt lessons in morality as did most of her contemporary novelists. She views her fellow humans and their society with an ironic eye, pointing out all of their foibles and failures. And yet, she generally treats them kindly. Only a few of the worst specimens Lady Catherine, Mr Wickham, Mr Willoughby for example have few or no redeeming characteristics. Most of the characters in her novels and juvenilia are a mix of good impulses and poor judgement. And Austen makes us laugh at the examples of poor judgement and ill behaviour," she says. It's also her repartee and that quick controlled wit and masterful irony, which make us burst out laughing, that's a huge part of her triumph. It's her work's adaptability whether into crazy zombie fiction (Pride and Prejudice and Zombies), murder mystery (Death Comes to Pemberly), sex parody (Pride and Prejudice: Hidden Lusts) or memes that has snarked and snapped its way into a super canon. Her work gathers strength when it passes through adaptations, parodies, homages and sequels, which only attests to the fact that the range of interpretations that her stories permit are endless. The world of Austen which started with six novels by the author continues to expand with more material for the new Austen-fan to peruse: she's gone from class to mass appeal. And thanks to pop culture, the average Austen reader 10 years from now might not start with Pride and Prejudice the novel but perhaps with a sci-fi rendition of it? That said, each generation will look at her work differently, maybe looking to find a reflection of themselves in her work. Thankfully, Sukhera ties it all together for me; that Austen was very much a woman far ahead of her own time. "Because when you read her work, it doesn't feel like you're reading something that was written so long ago, it doesn't feel dated it still feels fresh, the dialogue is so witty, the descriptions aren't very long, it still leaves a lot to your imagination and the characters resonate over centuries, and they probably will over more centuries. We still see them around us, we still identify with them. We don't feel like the heroines are terribly old fashioned; in fact they're independent. There are social constraints on them, but hey that's what we relate to. They're sorta like us! We're feminists but we're still trying to operate within social codes. We still cannot escape the 'marriage market' either; we're still expected to 'settle down'!" From Livy to Ovid, from St. Augustine to Geoffrey Chaucer and from Botticelli to Rembrandt, the tragic tale of Lucrece (or Lucretia) has been retold since Roman Antiquity through poetry, paintings, drama and music with varying veracity of course. But, perhaps, its most compelling account was written by Shakespeare in his narrative poem, The Rape of Lucrece. While it may not be the first poem or drama that comes to mind when one thinks of the Bard, much like his other works, The Rape of Lucrece has transcended the test of time due to its striking modern parallels. And its continuing relevance is what spurred eminent Shakespeare expert, Paul Goodwin, to peruse through its 1,855 lines and reinterpret them into a modern adaptation for NCPAs CentreStage Theatre festival. Goodwin has spent the last 30 years as a professional actor, working at the Royal Shakespeare Company, National Theatre and Cheek by Jowl, as well as repertory theatres in the UK. In collaboration with NCPA, he launched The Shakespeare Edit in India this year hoping to bring the Bard's timeless words and seemingly universal themes to the international stage. This Sunday, he will be presenting the theatre company's debut production, Lucrece at NCPAs Experimental Theatre. In The Rape of Lucrece, Shakespeare tells the story of a woman and a Roman paragon of feminine virtue whose fate is sealed when her husband, a Roman soldier named Collatine, boasts of her proverbial purity and chastity to his fellow officers including Tarquin, the vile son of the king of Rome. The following day, Tarquin travels to Collatine's home in his absence. Lucrece graciously welcomes her guest and lodges him royally but Tarquin repays her hospitality with an act of senseless violence as he goes to her bedroom and threatens her with a sword, demanding and then pleading that she submit to his advances. When she refuses, he rapes her. Unable to wipe out the stain of shame, Lucrece kills herself. Consequently, the angry Roman citizens banish Tarquin and his family, putting an end to the Roman monarchy. "I thought the subject matter was something that stood up to scrutiny in our current political and social climate," says Goodwin, who hopes to expose the reality of sexual violence and abuse of power in modern society through the ancient Roman narrative. "There are lines in this piece that could have been picked out of today's newspapers. It deals with themes of respect across genders and male entitlement in a patriarchal society." As rape and sexual assault are tragically a far too common problem in our society, Goodwin hopes to give all the wronged Lucreces a voice. "There is an extraordinarily strong, multi-faceted female character that emerges out of this adaptation. If you want to tell the woman's story, it can't be about men doing something to women and then being victims. It has to be the woman's voice, the woman's story and we have certainly honoured that," he says. "A young woman in India, England or anywhere really will be able to sit in the audience and identify with Lucrece and have the themes of the play speak to her." Lucrece's rape had profound political consequences historically. The act not only precipitated the collapse of the royal family but also ushered in the Roman republic. Though Goodwin believes it was a watershed moment for the Romans, he thinks the politics were not "overwritten" by Shakespeare in his poem. He stresses his only political priority was to make a powerful statement about violence against women. "I didn't think there's any value in showing the men taking Lucrece and displaying her body throughout Rome, so that they would chase the Tarquins out of town. What I was interested in was showing the violence and the consequences of her rape and making it a rallying cry," he says, "A clamouring call to make change and some comment on society as it currently stands." Instead of adapting Shakespeares more popular plays, Goodwin says he wanted to challenge himself with one of his poetic dramas. He says, "I wanted to do a piece that wasn't often done a poem which was nearly 2000 lines into something that could be presented as a piece on stage in less than an hour. So, I also chose it on a very practical level." The script went through six rewrites and several workshops over a year before its current version was finalised. During the readings, Goodwin discovered something fascinating, "If you put one line in a man's voice and then you put the same line in a woman's voice, it means a completely different thing and carries a completely different weight. So, the thing that we got most out of the process is: Who says what and why?" Lucrece boasts a seasoned, international cast with noted British stage actress Lucy Briggs-Owen in the title role. The production also includes Irish actress Portia van de Braam and three Indian actors who, Goodwin says, have never done Shakespeare before. However, Goodwin doesn't believe Lucrece will be a daunting experience for audiences not familiar with Shakespeare. Its modernised and re-contextualised adaptation will make sure it is accessible beyond the realms of academia. "Thats why we're called the Shakespeare edit. We believe that Shakespeare is for everybody and it can be edited without dumbing down. It's not highbrow intellectualism, although Shakespeare works on many levels," says Goodwin, If I didn't believe we could tell a story that somebody who hasn't studied Shakespeare can understand it, I dont think we should be doing it. Lucrece is a NCPA and The Shakespeare Edit production Director: Paul Goodwin; Cast: Lucy Briggs-Owen, Meher Mistry, Portia van de Braam, Adarsh Gourav, Bhagavatula and Abhinav Grover Venue: Experimental Theatre, NCPA; Date and time: Sunday, 3 December at 7 pm You know the constantly curious Brecht, Whose songs you like to hum He kept asking you with no respect, From where do the rich their riches collect? And so they kicked him about on his bum (Solomons Song, The Threepenny Opera) Just like the constantly curious Brecht, the audience at St Andrews Auditorium, Bandra sits curiously, murmuring in anticipation. Debutante director Imaad Shahs brilliant and sublime production of The Threepenny Opera faithfully renders the 1928 musical by celebrated German playwright Bertolt Brecht and Elisabeth Hauptmann, which explores the all-too-familiar themes of corruption and morality. Its the late 19th century and Victorian London is soaked in crime and debauchery. The Peachums, a shrewd couple, run a fake beggar business designed to showcase human misery to elicit money from the rich and powerful. Their life turns upside down (or so they believe) when they receive news that their young beautiful daughter Polly has fallen in love and decides to get married to the dreaded, notorious criminal Macheath (whose list of crimes is longer than their spine). The magnetic, womanising Macheath, like the other beggars and crooks in the story, has no moral compass. His criminal resume does not hinder his close friendship with the police chief Tiger Brown, who slips him the occasional information of when the police is about to arrest him. Trouble begins to brew for Macheath when the Peachums make it their lifes mission to ensure he is caught and taken to the gallows for running away with their daughter. A dark, farcical tale of loyalties conveniently discarded, betrayals, and corrupt prostitutes and low-lives thus enfolds in this riotous production by Motley. So, what is so great about this particular adaptation of The Threepenny Opera? The question should be, Whats not great about this raucous, sexy, entertaining production? This seventh and final production in the Aadyam Spotlight theatre festival has a lot to offer. Be it the creative direction and use of stage space, the comedic timings, the upbeat chemistry between actors, the live music, the powerful singing, the lighting or the costumes, Imaad Shahs stage adaptation alienates the audience (as Brecht intended for his German audience) and forces them to think about the issues of corruption, class-divide and hypocrisy reflected in the musical in the Indian context. A mix of jazz and cabaret, The Threepenny Opera educates as well as entertains. Brechts lyrics and Kurt Weills music set the tone of the play and act as a powerful commentary on the socio-economic situation of the characters, which the audience cannot help but relate to where the criminal and rich are rewarded while the poor and downtrodden are trampled upon. Capturing this despair is the ensemble cast of Arunoday Singh, Joy Fernandes, Delna Mody, Saba Azad, Vivaan Shah, Bugs Bharagava, Meher Mistry and others. One couldnt have asked for a more gifted cast. Arunoday Singh as the charming Macheath balances well between a cruel, hardened criminal and an inviting lover. Saba Azad plays the sweet, seemingly innocent Polly Peachum who reveals her greedy side as the play progresses. Bugs Bhargava enthralls the audience with his command over Jonathan Peachums character, through his comic timing, body, diction, and interpretation. Similarly, Meher Mistry as Celia Peachum performs as the irritable bourgeois wife who takes no interest in her daughters happiness. Joy Fernandes as the police chief Tiger Brown portrays his torn feelings towards saving his neck and his allegiance to his friend Macheath in a dramatic and hilarious fashion. However, Delna Mody as the leader of prostitutes Jenny Towler is a revelation. Her strong stage presence backed by her powerful vocals leaves the audience spellbound. In the Tango Ballad with Arunoday Singh, Mody packs a punch as she sings and emotes her regrets and desires while flicking her legs sharply in the dance sequence. One of the scenes which stands out in the play is where the prostitutes are introduced for the first time. The lighting is heated, dark and sexual with tones of red and yellow focused on the actors, thanks to lighting designer Yael Crishna, who adds another layer of depth to the entire play through lights. The prostitutes are placed in different parts of the stage and each performs her part effortlessly in a random yet choreographed dance, embodying the character completely. Imaad Shahs direction is thoughtful and creative. His use of sets to create two different levels on stage to show a more dynamic set up is commendable. It ensures the entrances and exits are not made just through the wings in front and keeps each movement fresh. Keeping the musicians on stage in one corner makes it feel like they are an inherent part of the action of the play as well. Another highlight of the play is when the cast sings the song concerning the insecurity of the human condition. The voices are one, the movement is simple yet powerful and it is a delight to watch it through as they bring Brechts edgy lyrics alive. Imaad takes Brechts script and reinvents it on stage. As the play edges towards the climax, the middle class disbelief over the criminally rich being rewarded is shown through the characters reactions, who become one and occasionally break the fourth wall. The acting is meticulous throughout and it shows that each one of the actors has thought deeply of what they could do to react and bring out the subtext of the play. All the beggars and thieves played by Edwin Joseph, Vivaan Shah, Faizan Shaikh, Rahil Gilani, Suhaas Ahuja and Uday Chandra are portrayed to perfection. The gait, the voice, the use of the stage is very creative and even astonishing, at times. The Threepenny Opera is a thoughtful, entertaining and hilarious adaptation of Brechts original and promises a stunning performance each time. The Threepenny Opera will be performed again on 9 and 10 December at Jamshed Bhabha Theatre, NCPA in Mumbai. Kolkata: Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday claimed that the BJP was an "expert in fooling people" and said the SP would support the TMC and other parties who are fighting for secularism in the country. He also said the Samajwadi Party would play a major role in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. "We are ready to make sacrifices to strengthen the fight for secularism. We are ready to extend our support to all those who are fighting for secularism. And for that we are extending our support to didi (Mamata Banerjee)", he said at the eighth state conference of the SP in Kolkata. He said the country required leaders who would lead in the fight for secularism. Asked whether the SP would form a joint front with the TMC, Yadav, who is to meet Banerjee later in the day, said he would make a courtesy call to her. "The BJP is expert in telling lies. They tell lies in such a manner that people have started believing them. The BJP has lied to the people in the name of demonetisation, in the name of GST, in the name of digital India, in the name of Make in India," he alleged. The SP chief said the real strength lies in the hands of poor farmers and wondered what the BJP has done for them and the labourers. He claimed that the GST and demonetisation had taken away their jobs and affected the market. Yadav said in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the SP would play a major role in fighting the saffron party. "We will stop the BJP in Uttar Pradesh," he said. Asked about the differences between him and his father, Mulayam Singh Yadav, he said, "We always have with us the blessings of the Netaji (Mulayam). And a father is just like God." Hyderabad: All-India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Saturday alleged that the Congress and BJP were indulging in "sectarian" politics in poll-bound Gujarat by "ignoring" the interests of Muslims. "All are going to temples. All are writing that I am Hindu, I am Brahmin. But if there is anybody who is most backward, after adivasis, it is Muslim community. "But, there is no voice. Patels have got their leader, OBCs have got their leader. Dalits have got their leader. If there is any community without no leader, it is us," the Hyderabad MP said. Owaisi, addressing a meeting on the occasion of Milad-un-Nabi, found fault with the BJP and Congress for not giving tickets to Muslim candidates in adequate numbers. "(It is) 182 Assembly in Gujarat. Do you know how many Muslim MLAs are there? Two. Who is responsible for this? Me? Did I cut votes there? "Congress gave tickets to seven Muslims in the last elections. Now they have given it to only six. Patels are 13 percent in Gujarat. BJP gave tickets to 49 Patels and Congress to 45. We are 11 percent in Gujarat. The difference is only two percent. If this is not sectarianism, what is? We are fighting against this sectarianism," Owaisi said. Patels are given reservation in Gujarat, but Muslims are not, he claimed, asking people to pray for BJP's defeat in Gujarat. The home state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi will go to polls on 9 and 14 December. Talking about the results of civic body polls in Uttar Pradesh, Owaisi said his party was successful on 32 seats, whereas the Congress could only win 19. "Uttar Pradesh's civic election result has come out. The AIMIM has won 32 seats. How many did 100-year-old Congress win? Only 19," he said. Taking exception to criticism against him of cutting into the votes (of non-BJP parties), Owaisi said the Congress was not successful even in Amethi, a party stronghold and Rahul Gandhi's Lok Sabha constituency. "(We) won 32 and you 19. Whose votes were cut now?" he asked. "You do not have the strength to take on Modi. You do not have the political thought to take on Modi. You do not have stamina, you do not have strategy," he said in a reference to the Congress. The BJP swept the Uttar Pradesh civic polls on Friday pocketing 14 of the 16 mayoral seats. The Congress faced the embarrassment of losing in its bastion Amethi, the Lok Sabha constituency of its vice president Rahul Gandhi, who is expected to be soon elevated as party chief. Claiming that there were 20 lakh abandoned Hindu women, Owaisi wanted to know whether the central government would come to their rescue. Referring to former US president Barack Obama's remarks that minorities in India must be "nourished", the AIMIM leader said his party had been saying the same thing for decades. On the reported comments of Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath that Taj Mahal did not represent India's culture, Owaisi said that he wanted to ask the BJP why did Modi attend the dinner along with US President Donald Trump's adviser Ivanka Trump and others at Hyderabad's Falaknuma Palace during their recent visit to the city. Hyderabad: Strongly opposing the proposed legislation on triple talaq, MIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Saturday called for unity among Indian Muslims to protect the Shariat. Stating that the Supreme Court verdict on the issue is confusing and nobody can say if uttering talaq thrice in one sitting annuls the marriage or it is considered only one talaq, he wondered how the government can bring a bill in the Parliament. The member of Parliament asked the Narendra Modi government if it would provide financial aid to women if their husbands were sent to jail for three years. Addressing a public meeting at MIM headquarters Darussalam on the occasion of Milad-un-Nabbi, he warned that the legislation could lead to a new problem of husbands abandoning their wives. He criticised Modi for speaking about the rights of Muslim women but ignoring the "Hindu sisters". Claiming that "20 lakh Hindu women are abandoned by their husbands", Owaisi asked Modi if he would come to their rescue as well. He said the Sangh Pariwar shows sympathy for Muslim women but was not allowing a film to be released. "When you can't allow a film (Padmavati) to be released, how can you interfere in my Shariat," Owaisi asked. The MIM president said Muslims should learn a lesson from Rajputs who despite being less in numbers came together to stop the release of the film. "If Muslims can unite to strengthen the country and to save Shariat, we can definitely do something," he added. The member of Parliament said the community should also learn lessons from Patels, Gujjars, Jats, and Marathas who came together to fight for their rights and for reservation. On Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath's statement that the Taj Mahal is not part of Indian culture, and BJP describing the monument a symbol of slavery, Owaisi asked why Modi hosted a dinner in Falaknuma Palace for United States president Donald Trump's daughter Ivanka Trump and others. "You have to see the symbols of our forefathers," he remarked while also referring to the other dinner hosted at Golconda Fort for delegates of Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES) this week. Referring to the Gujarat elections, the MIM chief said the leaders of both BJP and Congress were vying with each other in visiting temples and every leader claiming himself to be a "bigger Hindu than the other". He alleged that both the parties were competing with each other in offering reservation for various communities but were united in opposing quota for Muslims. He described both the parties as "hypocrites". On former United States president Barack Obama stressing the need to nurture and cherish Indian Muslims, Owaisi said it was news for media only because a former US president has stated it. "Our party has been saying the same for over 60 years. We have been saying that we love this country, we have faith in its Constitution and the country can strengthen if Muslims get their constitutional rights," he said. Targetting the Congress party, he said it blamed the MIM for dividing votes in various states to hide its failure to defeat Modi. He recalled that his party had contested only 28 seats out of 400 in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections. "In the civic polls in Uttar Pradesh, we won 32 seats but Congress got only 19 seats and could not win a single seat in Amethi," he added. Somnath: BJP chief Amit Shah on Friday said his party's victory in the Uttar Pradesh mayoral polls was nothing compared to what was going to happen in Gujarat on 18 December, when the state Assembly election results would be declared. "In the Uttar Pradesh municipal corporation election, the Congress did not win a single seat. On the other hand, the BJP flag has soared higher under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and (Uttar Pradesh) Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath," he said, while addressing an election rally at Somnath in Gir Somnath district. The BJP bagged 14 of the 16 mayoral seats in Uttar Pradesh on Friday. "The Congress has been shouting for the last three months that 'Congress aave chhe' (Congress is coming in Gujarat), while now, the people of Uttar Pradesh said 'Congress jae chhe' (Congress is going)," he said. "The Congress' loss is such that the BJP won all the municipal corporation seats even in (Congress vice-president) Rahul baba's Amethi constituency," he said while adding, "Whatever has happened in Uttar Pradesh is nothing compared to what is going to happen in Gujarat on 18 December. After the (vote) counting on 18 December, the BJP will emerge victorious and form the government with 150 seats." Shah attacked the Congress over the GDP data, saying that its leaders had fallen silent after the new GDP figures were announced on Thursday. "Three months back, the GDP had come down due to some effects of the GST, and the entire Congress leadership started appearing on TV, shouting that an economic slowdown had descended on the country. On Thursday, a new GDP figure says it is 6.3 and the Congress leaders have fallen silent. The Uttar Pradesh results have made them even more silent," he said. Shah also attacked the Opposition party, saying it was contesting the Gujarat polls on the agenda of "casteism and dynastic rule, while the BJP is fighting on the basis of development". "The Congress will never win if it tries to contest on the agenda of development," he said, adding that since 1995, when the BJP came to power in Gujarat, 19,000 villages got 24 -hour electricity and there were very few incidents of curfew. He said the government helped solve the water problems of the Saurashtra region and accused the Congress of stalling the Narmada Yojana "for 50 years after the then prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru had laid its foundation stone". "Rahul baba, you ask us what did we do? I would like to ask you as to what did you do to Gujarat and its people? Why did your party not allow the Narmada Yojana to be completed for 50 years? But instead of replying, you will ask questions on why is there so much unemployment in Gujarat," he said. Shah added that 13,672 people from Amethi, Gandhi's Lok Sabha constituency, were working in Gujarat and that they would take out a rally to tell the people about the real condition of Amethi. "Even after 70 years of independence, there is no collector's office in Amethi and he (Gandhi) comes to teach us development," he said. Shillong: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson Nalin Kohli said on Saturday the proposed elevation of Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi as the party president through an election is, in fact, a case of "coronation". The process to elect the Congress chief was set in motion on Friday with a notification being issued. "The election process is 'rigged' and it is meant only to announce his promotion as party president...It is coronation, not election," he told journalists. Kohli also described the Congress as a "family-run enterprise". "The BJP is a genuinely democratic party and no one came into the party only on the basis of coming from a particular family," he said. The Congress election is likely to take place next week. Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi met with US Secretary of Defence James Mattis in Cairo on Saturday to discuss consolidating bilateral cooperation, countering terrorism, and restoring stability in the Middle East, a statement by presidency spokesperson Bassam Rady read. El-Sisi stressed the strength of US-Egyptian strategic relations, highlighting the importance of consolidating cooperation between the two countries in several fields, especially militarily. Mattis stressed his country's understanding of Egypt's position as a key pillar of stability in the Middle East. The US defence minister also expressed his country's support for Egypt in the war against terrorism, and extended condolences for the victims of the terrorist attack on Al-Rawda Mosque in North Sinai last month, which killed 311 worshippers, including 27 children. El-Sisi and Mattis also discussed regional and international challenges, with the president renewing his call for the international community to unite and intensify efforts to eliminate the roots of terrorism and help achieve political solutions for the different conflicts in the region in way that preserves the sovereignty of nations and their territorial integrity. The meeting was attended by Egypt's defence minister Sedky Sobhi and top US military officials. Sobhi met with Mattis earlier in the day to discuss the latest regional and international developments. Search Keywords: Short link: Mumbai: The Shiv Sena said on Saturday that Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis should withdraw his "irresponsible" statement lauding the contribution of "outsiders" to Mumbai. The Sena, which is part of the Devendra Fadnavis-led Maharashtra government and the NDA dispensation at the Centre, has been often at loggerheads with the BJP on several issues. "Marathi people have the first right and claim over Mumbai. The statement by Fadnavis is an insult to Maharashtra," an editorial in Sena mouthpiece Saamana said. According to the editorial, "Fadnavis should withdraw his irresponsible statement." Fadnavis lauded the contributions of North Indians and people from other states in the development of Mumbai. The chief minister said the country's financial capital has always given shelter to many and those who live here have added to the city's prestige. "I believe that among the many things which make Mumbai great is the people who have come from various states and settled here. They also make Mumbai great," Fadnavis said at a public event in suburban Ghatkopar in Mumbai on Wednesday. "Today, when we speak of Mumbai and Maharashtra, we immediately see the North Indian community. This city has always given shelter to many and those who have got shelter here have always added to the city's prestige," he said. The BJP leader said, "Today, we can say that the North Indian community which has settled in Mumbai, has always worked towards increasing the prestige of the city." Taking a jibe at Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, Union finance minister Arun Jaitley said on Saturday that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has always been seen as a pro-Hindutva party, and suggested that now, other parties have been trying to replicate their political stance, media reports said. #BattleForGujarat -- BJP has always been seen as a pro-Hindutva party so if an original is available why one would prefer a clone?: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in Surat Image: ANI pic.twitter.com/POfAhjNWbo News18 (@CNNnews18) December 2, 2017 "If an original is available, why would one prefer a clone?" Jaitley asked, referring to the Congress. "In 1990s, the reforms were taken under compulsion but the government under prime minister (Narendra) Modi is undertaking the reforms by conviction," he said. Speaking to the media in Surat, Gujarat, he added, "While the BJP has maintained its credibility, Congress is slowly becoming extinct," ANI reported. The results haven't been out yet and they have already started making excuses for their defeat.: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on EVM tampering #Gujarat pic.twitter.com/sgiLR42pOd ANI (@ANI) December 2, 2017 The 10 years of governance before Modi Ji's govt was the most corrupt govt we have ever seen. It was a leaderless govt. It was said that the then PM is a PM in office but not in power.: FM Arun Jaitley in Surat #Gujarat pic.twitter.com/lkDG17YdBX ANI (@ANI) December 2, 2017 Earlier on Saturday, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi took to Twitter to question Modi over low government spending on education in BJP-ruled Gujarat. Posing the fourth question in the series "a question a day", Gandhi asked, "Why is Gujarat on the 26th position with regard to spending on government education? What wrong has the youth of the state done?" Gujarat will go to polls in two phases on 9 and 14 December, while the results will be announced on 18 December. Click here for detailed coverage of Gujarat Assembly Election 2017. By Saumya Tewari As Gujarat goes to polls in December, an IndiaSpend analysis of election data shows that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) still appears strong in Gujarat. Gujarat Assembly elections are scheduled to be held in two phases on 9 December, 2017 and 14 December, 2017, and the results will be declared on 18 December, 2017. Over 50 percent voted for BJP in constituencies it won in 2012 Assembly elections Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014. He succeeded Keshubhai Patel in October, 2001, after his resignation from the post. Modi served two and a half successful terms as the chief minister, and the BJP in Gujarat secured a stronger voter-base as its vote share increased five percentage points from 44.8 percent in 1998 to 49.9 percent in the seats contested in the 2002 state Assembly elections. In the 2012 state Assembly elections, the BJP, with Narendra Modi as its chief ministerial candidate, won 115 out of 182 seats, with an average vote share of 53 percent in these seats. In 2012, more than half the voters, or a clear majority, in constituencies where the BJP won the Assembly elections voted for the BJP, showing strong support for the party. Source: Election Commission of India 15 percent increase in BJP votes between 2012 and 2014 IndiaSpend analysed BJPs vote share in all 115 Assembly constituencies won in the 2012 Gujarat poll, and compared it with the votes the party secured in the 2014 parliamentary elections in these same Assembly segments. In these seats, between 2012 and 2014, BJPs votes in Gujarat grew 15 percentfrom about 9.1 million to about 10.5 million. In the Assembly constituencies that the BJP won in 2012, the vote share of the party increased 12 percentage points from 53 percent in 2012 to 65 percent in the 2014 elections. In 31 of the 115 seats the BJP won in the 2012 Gujarat Assembly polls, they had a margin of less than 10,000 votes0.5 percent to 8 percent of the total votes cast in the constituency. In a 'first past the post' system, where there are more than two parties contesting, the candidate who gets the highest number of votes is the winner. A thin margin means a very close contest, and in the following election the runner-ups may only have to pursue a few thousand extra voters to defeat the party that won the previous election. But in Gujarat, even among the constituencies with the thinnest margin of victory for the BJP (of less than 10,000 votes) in 2012, Assembly segments from 2014 in all but two constituencies showed an increase in votes for the BJP. Only in two constituencies Nizar in south-west Gujarat and Jamalpur-Khadia located in Ahmedabad district did the Congress party candidate get more votes than the BJP candidate. This shows that BJP voters in its incumbent constituencies and Assembly segments did not change between 2012 and 2014. These trends show that though this Gujarat election is different from previous ones with Narendra Modi no longer leading the BJP in the state there had been little anti-incumbency against the party until 2014. Still, the BJP in Gujarat has not been stable since Modi became the prime minister. Anandiben Patel succeeded Modi as the Chief Minister of Gujarat in 2014 and in August 2016, Vijay Rupani from Rajkot west constituency took over the post. Source: Election Commission of IndiaNote: *Vote-share in the assembly segment derived from the Lok Sabha constituency BJP's winning streak in states after the 2014 national victory Out of 29 states and two union territories (that have Assemblies and appoint chief ministers), 13 have BJP chief ministers at present. After BJPs sweeping win in the 2014 general elections, BJP won Maharashtra for the first time in 2014, with Devendra Fadnavis as chief minister. The same year, the BJP also won Haryana and Jharkhand. In 2016, the north-eastern state of Assam also appointed its first BJP chief minister. In March 2017, the BJP returned to power in Uttar Pradesh after fifteen years, and also won in its sister state of Uttarakhand. Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh were the most important victories for the BJP as these are the biggest states in India in terms of population, and appoint the maximum number of Members of Parliament (one-fifth of total) to the Council of States, the Rajya Sabha. In Jammu and Kashmir's 2014 elections, the BJP which secured the second position both in terms of seats won and vote-share after the Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party (JKPDP)formed the state government with the JKPDP. In 2017, Nitish Kumar, chief minister of Bihar, from the political party Janata Dal United, broke the Mahagatbandhan (grand alliance) with Lalu Prasads Rashtriya Janata Dal, and allied with the BJP. In Gujarat, BJP in power for over two decades, contributes to high vote share Gujarat is one of the few Indian states that have had long-serving chief ministers and political parties. A long rule by one chief minister and his party contributes to a majority vote share for the party, state election data show. For instance, in West Bengal, where the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPM] ruled for 34 years, they had a 50.8 percent vote share in 2006, when they last won the state elections under CPM's second chief minister. Similarly, in Odisha, where the Biju Janata Dal has been in power since 2000, it had a 43.4 percent vote share in the 2014 elections. Vote Share For Parties Of Long-Serving CMs State Chief Minister Political Party Last Election Won Contested vote share West Bengal Budhadeb Bhattacharjee (2000-2011) Communist Party of India (M) 2006 50.8% Odisha NavinPatniak (Since 2000) Biju Janata Dal 2014 43.4% Gujarat NarendraModi (2001-2014) Bhartiya Janata Party 2012 48.3% NCT Delhi Sheila Dixit (1998-2013) Indian National Congress 2008 40.3% Chhattisgarh Raman Singh (Since 2003) Bhartiya Janata Party 2013 41.2% Source: Election Commission of India But over the past decade, two of these states have witnessed strong anti-incumbency against these long-serving governments, with a significant loss in vote share. In West Bengal, the CPM, lost to the All India Trinamool Congress in the 2011 elections, with the CPM vote share reducing nine percentage points from 50.8 percent to 41.4 percent. The Trinamool Congress gained about 20 percentage points in their share of votes in the seats they contested, data from the two consecutive elections show. Source: Election Commission of India Similarly, in New Delhi, the Congress government, which had been in power for 15 years, lost the elections in 2013, resulting in a hung assembly, and its vote share reduced from 40.3 percent to 24.7 percent. In February 2015, after the Congress-Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) alliance disbanded, the AAP formed a majority government in New Delhi. Further, in the 2014 Parliamentary elections, the Congress' vote-share in New Delhi went to the BJP, a January 2015 IndiaSpend analysis of the Assembly segments showed. Source: Election Commission of IndiaNote: Vote share is the proportion of votes every individual party got in the seats it contested for, it is not the proportion of overall votes the parties got hence it may add up to more than 100%. (Tewari is a PhD scholar at the School of Development Studies, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai.) Click here for detailed coverage of Gujarat Assembly Election 2017 Mumbai: The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) allegedly put up a hoarding near the residence of Mumbai Congress chief Sanjay Nirupam in Mumbai making derogatory remarks against him, police said. A senior police officer of the Versova Police Station said the hoarding was put up five hundred feet away from Nirupam's residence in Lokhandwala and it was removed in the early hours on Saturday after the police noticed it. "The hoarding had the MNS party's name and symbol on it. We suspect the hoarding was put by MNS party workers. We are probing the fact," the officer added. In an another incident some unidentified persons on Friday threw ink on Congress banners which were put up outside the Zakeria hall Congress office in Bandra East. Condemning it, the Mumbai Congress tweeted: Strongly Condemn another cowardly act, yesterday late night of throwing INK at Zakaria Hall Congress office,Kherwadi, Bandra East. CM Devendra Fadnavis needs to take quick action & not be a mute spectator. pic.twitter.com/Yyj1GLMpWe MumbaiCongress (@INCMumbai) December 2, 2017 On Friday, the office of the Mumbai Regional Congress Committee in south Mumbai was vandalised and the MNS had claimed responsibility for it on social media. The tussle between the MNS and Nirupam began after the latter came out in support of hawkers against whom the MNS had launched an agitation following a stampede at the Elphinstone Road railway station on 29 September. The stampede had claimed 23 lives. A day after the stampede, MNS chief Raj Thackeray had said such stampedes would continue to occur in Mumbai till hordes of migrants kept pouring into the city. The MNS leader said that the migrant influx was causing a collapse of infrastructure facilities in the city. Patna: Rebel JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav on Friday charged party president and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar with insulting the public mandate by quitting the Grand Alliance and stitching an alliance with the BJP to form a new government in the state. "Had the Grand Alliance comprising JD(U), RJD and Congress not been formed, Nitish would not have been able to retain power. Yet, he did not bat an eyelid before insulting the public mandate," Yadav said at a function in Patna. The former JD(U) president has been opposed to Kumar reuniting with the BJP, which had been the party's ally for close to two decades until the Bihar CM snapped the ties in 2013 following differences over making Narendra Modi the Prime Ministerial candidate. Kumar resigned from his post a few months ago following differences with RJD over corruption cases against his then deputy Tejashwi Yadav. He formed a new government a day later after the BJP, which the Grand Alliance had fought against in the 2015 polls, came up with offer of support. However, Yadav has since been isolated within the party with the Election Commission rejecting his claim over the JD(U)'s symbol and the faction headed by Kumar pressing for his disqualification from the Rajya Sabha. Addressing a meeting of extremely backward classes people, he said "Dalits should have been in the social mainstream. They are the people who built the monuments that are the country's proud heritage. Artisans and craftsmen have come mostly from the backward classes." He also said that lack of unity among Dalits, extremely backward classes and tribals has helped the BJP come to power at the Centre. New Delhi: Questioning Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the government for being silent on the price at which the French Rafale aircraft were purchased, the Congress on Friday asked why they passed over an offer for Eurofighter Typhoon, which was 59 million cheaper. The party raised the issue after a news website The Print did the story, headlined "Before Rafale deal, Modi government passed over option to buy Rs 453 crore/unit cheaper Eurofighter", and saying an offer to the top level of the Indian government "involved diverting deliveries of Eurofighter Typhoon jets from Britain, Italy and Germany to meet urgent Indian requirements". "The silence of the government has been deafening to say the least. Why is the prime minister, his government, and defence minister (Nirmala Sitharaman) reluctant to release the exact price at which the Rafale has been purchased? "Why is the government reluctant to give a match stick on match stick comparison? What was the basic price that the UPA negotiated, what is the basic price which NDA government has negotiated," asked Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari. He further said according to a letter put out by the news website, one of the technically-shortlisted competitors of Rafale wrote to the then Indian defence minister on 4 July, 2014, offering to sell their aircraft at 138 million. "Now, nobody knows as to how much has the final negotiated price of the Rafale but if you go by the figures which are available in the public space, ostensibly it is 197 million. Now the government was offered an aircraft which was 59 million cheaper, which roughly at those prices, translates into Rs 444 crore," said Tewari. Asked if this letter is correct, he asked if the contract to purchase the 126 aircraft had been terminated, and "new process had been commenced, was it not incumbent upon the government to evaluate this offer?" He asked the government to clarify if the offer was evaluated, if so, and what were the reasons for rejection. "We would like to know from the prime minister if there was an offer from a technically qualified bidder and that offer was ostensibly cheaper than the final contract price, what happened to that offer? "Why is the government running away from answering these basic questions? The defence minister ten days ago tells the defence secretary that put out all the figures in the public domain. Why have the figures not been put out?" he asked. Ahmedabad: Former Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit on Saturday criticised the BJP government in Gujarat over delay in completion of the metro rail between Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar, saying promises made to the people here have not been fulfilled. Dikshit said under the BJP, development in Gujarat has been "skewed", but the saffron outfit has been "shying away" from answering questions posed by the opposition party over the issue. "When I visited Gujarat 10-12 years back, the metro rail project appeared near completion. But the project has not been completed yet. We started the metro rail project in Delhi and launched it in one year. Today, 299-km long metro rail is running across Delhi," the veteran Congress leader told reporters. Work on the first phase of the Rs 10,700-crore Metrolink Express for Gandhinagar and Ahmedabad (MEGA) is expected to be completed by 2019. "It is the duty of the government to fulfil promises made before the elections, and we get to see that the BJP does not fulfil the pomises made to people," she said. Dikshit was Delhi's chief minister when the metro rail project started in the national capital in December 2002. The 79-year-old veteran politician also attacked the BJP over its "silence" on questions posed by Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi during his Gujarat campaign tours. The three-time Delhi chief minister said the BJP did not have answers to the questions on "skewed" development in the state. "Rahul Gandhi has made several visits (to Gujarat) and raised a number of issues and asked questions. However, neither the BJP government nor the party has responded to these questions, raising doubts if they have answers to these questions at all ," she said. She said the Congress did a lot of things in Gujarat during its rule like facilitating Amul cooperative model by bringing in father of the white revolution Verghese Kurien and setting up of institutions like the IIM, ISRO (which has Space Applications Centre in Ahmedabad) and NID, among others. The government recently gave a go-ahead to the second phase of the metro rail project. Officials of the Metrolink Express for Gandhinagar and Ahmedabad (MEGA) reportedly said the first phase, connecting Thaltej to Motera, will be completed by the end of 2019. Chennai: Tamil actor Vishal would take the political plunge by contesting the RK Nagar Assembly bypoll, which is scheduled to be held on 21 December, his office said on Saturday. The by-election to the Assembly seat was necessitated after the death of legislator and chief minister J Jayalalithaa. The actor made the surprise announcement on Saturday. Besides Opposition DMK, ruling AIADMK's E Madhusudhanan and the party's sidelined leader TTV Dhinakaran are contesting for the prestigious seat. "Vishal, chief of the Tamil Film Producers Council (TFPC) and general secretary of South Indian Artistes Association (SIAA) will file his nomination on Monday," his office said, adding that he will be contesting as an independent candidate. In 2016, Vishal was elected general secretary of SIAA, an actors' body, in a bitterly fought election. Later, he was also elected as the head of the TFPC and has been actively campaigning against piracy, one of the major issues in Tamil cinema. The emergence of BJP as the most potent political force in the North-Eastern states, came as a surprise to the rest of the country. However, what went on behind the scenes has only been a subject of speculation in the intellectual circles. One may find many books on the 'History of India', but theres hardly a piece of scholarship that will narrate the history of India, while centre-staging the developments in the North-Eastern region of the country. The Last Battle of Saraighat is that one book which has ushered in an era of the integration of the culture, politics and history of the North East, and which also talks about the success of the BJP. (Editor's note: the author's original word of choice, 'mainstreaming', was replaced by 'integration' as it offered a more apt description of the phenomenon). The reader will be pleasantly surprised to see that the book is actually more about the contemporary history and politics of the region, rather than just being an account of how the BJP won a particular election. At the same time, the text is so objective, that the reader will hardly ever realise that the authors campaigned for one particular party. The authors have meticulously traced each and every development of contemporary relevance of Assam to the rich history it has. The text is so well researched that a casual reading is almost impossible. The factual narrative is illuminating and the reader is forced to empathise with the politics and contemporary developments in the state. It highlights the complete apathy of Delhi towards Assam; how the politics of Delhi, starting from the period before independence, was always dismissive of the interests of the people of Assam. The book notes that Nehru was willing to sacrifice the autonomy of Assam for the sake of preserving the Cabinet Mission Plan. Gandhiji had to decisively intervene in favour of the Assam Pradesh Congress Committees (APCC) view, and against Nehrus. The authors conclusively show that the issue of preservation of separate identity of Assam was mishandled by the Nehru administration to make it an issue of Assamese independence. It is indeed ironic then, that the book was launched at the The Nehru Memorial Museum Library (NMML). Nehrus mistakes are interestingly related to those of his great-grandson, Rahul Gandhi, when he preferred to play with his dog at a meeting with top Congress leaders from Assam. The authors critique the Indian model of federalism under the Constitution, on how its centralising tendency fuelled separatism in states like Assam, which has been one of the persistent criticisms of our Constitutional framework, even within the legal community. The purpose of invoking so much history, as claimed by the authors, is that the Assam election was not fought on the issues of development, caste or corruption but on historical narratives. It has been emphatically demonstrated that the issue in Assam has always been that, as evidenced by the fact that debate over illegal migration has been consistent in all elections in Assam post-independence, even till today. The issue of Bangladeshi illegal migration, though very much present in the national consciousness is filled with interesting details. For instance, one wouldnt know that the chief escretary of the then East Pakistan could just come to Shillong for spending his summer holidays, without any official documentation at all. The Nehru led union government wouldnt object to it. The book accurately documents the failure of idealism of Nehru in Assam, which is also visible elsewhere. The authors dedicate a full chapter on the enormous role of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), in the present success of the BJP. It is interesting to note that the RSS had put in decades of hard work, since independence, to bring forth the nationalistic narrative which eventually resulted in a win for the BJP in Assam. The book offers us a refreshing perspective on how elections should be fought and won, where issues are based on historical narratives and not on vote banks. If someday this were to happen across the country, then indeed our democracy would be a better one. Lastly, the foreword by Ram Madhav, who is the national general secretary of the BJP, in charge of the North-east region, is also very enlightening, where he reveals the key to success for his party: Even in the desire to look and sound national, one should not disrespect or discard (this) diversity and uniqueness. Although well-written, the book lacks editing at some places. It also cuts short a lot of interesting historical accounts; however, this must be condoned because the relevance to the main subject matter of the book has to be maintained. Anyone who is even slightly interested in the history and politics of the region, must read this book. Precise and short, it is as quick a read as it is informative. The Bharatiya Janata Party's clean sweep in the Uttar Pradesh civic polls did not exactly come as a surprise. Given the scale of the BJP's campaign, it was expected to make it to the top. However, not many would have predicted a respectable second place finish for Mayawatis Bahujan Samaj Party. Behind the BJP's massive win was a gigantic poll-winning machinery: The largest and strongest army of foot soldiers in form of BJP and RSS cadres, over 300 sitting MLAs were deployed to reach out to voters, and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath criss-crossed the state to campaign for civic elections. This was perhaps the first time ever that the ruling party came out with a full-fledged manifesto for a local body election, and the chief minister himself campaigned on a war footing. Add to it the fact that the BJP has traditionally performed well in civic elections in Uttar Pradesh. BSP in contrast made little noise. Mayawati, its national president, did not even campaign for the civic poll, and was in Madhya Pradesh when the saffron party was going all out in UP. BSP scored two mayoral seats as against BJP's 14 and finished third in ward-level polls. Party Mayoral seats Municipal Corporator Nagar Palika Adhyaksh Nagar Panchayat Adhyaksh BJP 14 596 70 100 SP 0 202 45 83 BSP 2 147 29 45 INC 0 110 9 17 The shifting fortunes of the BSP The BSP and its chief Mayawati have seen extreme highs and lows in politics. Mayawati still holds the record of being a four-time chief minister of Uttar Pradesh. She was also the first chief minister in decades to complete a five-year term in the state, without the crutches of an alliance government. In 2012, when she lost to a massive sweep by the Samajwadi Party, she only just managed to retain the position of the main Opposition party in the state Assembly. BSP was limited to 80 of 403 seats as opposed to 206 seats in the previous state elections. In 2014 Lok Sabha polls, things went from bad to worse for the BSP as it could not secure even a single seat in the Lower House, and ceded most of its traditional bastions to the BJP. Then came the 2017 Assembly elections, in which BSP had just 19 seats in its account. After two consecutive and crippling defeats, the party which had once seen dizzying heights by working the unworkable combination of Dalits + Muslims + OBC voterswas tottering on the brink of dissipation. Its loyal old guards too slowly abandoned ship, chipping off the party's support base further. Experts and political pundits had completely written off the party, some going as far as advising the feisty Dalit leader to quit politics with grace, while she could. Therefore, it wasn't a surprise when there wasn't much noise around the party's campaign for the civic poll, despite the fact that it was for the first time contesting the local body election on its symbol. The road to silent recovery Although the BSP is a far second in mayoral polls, and trails at the third spot in the municipal councils and nagar panchayats, its performance is marked by signs of revival, especially after it slid down to become politically non-existent in the Lok Sabha. BSP was the only party to have registered a presence in crucial mayoral polls, amid a BJP sweep. According to Amar Ujala, even in ward level polls, BSP candidates were often found defeated in a neck-to-neck competition, at several places where the BJP faced tough competition. The BSP has managed to unseat BJP in Aligarh and Meerut mayoral polls and it lost to the saffron party in Jhansi with a sleek margin. Traditionally, Aligarh has been a BJP bastion, which has never lost this seat ever since the system of direct voting was introduced for the mayoral post in 1995. Aligarh city has since the past quarter of a century mostly witnessed direct contests between the BJP and the Samajwadi Party, with the third and fouth place going either to the Congress or the BSP. But this time around, the BSP's Mohammad Furqan defeated BJP's Rajiv Agarwal by a margin of 11,990 votes, becoming the first Muslim to occupy the post since independence. Not only the party's traditional Dalit vote bank, but Muslims too seem to be returning to the BSP. The party has done reasonably well in areas with its traditional Dalit voter basesBudelkhand and Western Uttar Pradesh. In Meerut, where the mayor seat was reserved for an SC woman candidate, BSPs Sunita Verma defeated BJP candidate Kanta Kardam the state party vice-president with a slim margin, according to The Indian Express. The results will surely infuse new life into the BSP because in the very first instance of contesting civic polls officially, it beat both the Samajwadi Party and the Congress. Reacting to the party's impressive show, Mayawati exuded confidence that the party's performance would extend on to the results of 2019 Lok Sabha polls. She even challenged the BJP to hold elections through ballot papers, alleging that EVM malfunctions were the reason behind poll route in 2017 Assembly elections. If BJP is honest & believes in democracy then discard EVMs & conduct voting on Ballot papers. General Elections are due in 2019. If BJP believes people are with them, they must implement it. I can guarantee if Ballot papers are used, BJP won't come to power.: Mayawati, BSP Pres pic.twitter.com/NYveJeuSDb ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) December 2, 2017 However, the road to recovery was paved silently. Ever since her resignation from the Rajya Sabha, Mayawati was constantly working at the organisational level. She replaced several party office bearers, and in many places old and trusted faces have been re-assigned responsibility to fortify the party at grassroots level. Unlike Yogi Adityanath, Mayawati refused to campaign for local body elections. "She is a national level leader. She has been instructing party cadre through internal meetings," a party leader close to Mayawati, told The Times of India. However, her efforts to resurrect the party can be estimated from the fact that even as counting was underway in Uttar Pradesh, Mayawati was busy campaigning in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, for the nearing state Assembly polls. Concentrating on regaining strength at the ground level, Mayawati asked her party leaders to counter the narrative that the BSP has lost control over urban areas and is confined only to certain rural pockets. We need to show that we are very much present on the ground. This can be proved if we contest municipal polls on the party symbol. This will also give us an opportunity to make a self-assessment about our strengths, she was quoted by Hindustan Times as saying. She has also decided to rule the party with an iron fist. When the decision to fight polls on the national symbol was taken, the BSP national president made it clear that any party members entering the fray as Independents will be expelled. She had, for the first time, formed city-level committees to organise poll campaigns and reach out to its voters. Reports suggest that Mayawati is also open for an alliance in the upcoming election, but not at the cost of her party's original votebank. She believed that alliances have always harmed her party, and therefore she would not rush into any such arrangements but first concentrate on improving her party's prospects in her own backyard. "Our party is in favour of fighting the Assembly and Lok Sabha elections in alliance with any secular party, but only when it gets a respectable number of seats in seat sharing or else it would go alone," Mayawati said, as quoted by PTI. Referring to recent efforts at seat sharing, she said that the Congress did not approve sharing 25 seats in Gujarat and 10 in Himachal Pradesh, all of which it had lost in the previous polls. Meanwhile, the decision to fight polls on the elephant symbol was also a well thought out strategy. The BSP has been fighting elections without directly fielding any candidate, for decades. The Hindu reported that a senior BSP leader said that the party had refrained from distributing tickets as it had to deal with multiple contenders and feared that favouring one would alienate the others. However, this time around Mayawati was ready to take the plunge and has shown the doggedness to challenge the BJP in the civic elections. Israeli missiles struck a military position near Damascus and Syria's air defence system responded on Saturday, destroying two of them, Syrian state television said. "The Israeli enemy launched...several surface-to-surface missiles towards a military position," it said, adding there had been "material losses at the site. An Israeli military spokeswoman had declined to comment on earlier reports of such an attack overnight. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said missiles, probably fired by the Israeli military, struck an arms depot of the Syrian army or its allied forces after midnight. The Britain-based group, which monitors the war through a network of contacts in Syria, said the attack hit near al-Kiswa town south of the capital Damascus, causing loud explosions. The Israeli air force has said it struck arms convoys of the Syrian military and Lebanon's Hezbollah nearly 100 times during more than six years of the Syrian war. Israel has grown deeply alarmed by Iran's expanding clout during the conflict, and has warned it would act against any threat from its regional foe Tehran. Iran has provided critical support to President Bashar al-Assad's military in fighting Syrian rebels and Islamic State militants. Iran-backed Shi'ite militias, including Hezbollah, have helped Damascus regain control of swathes of the country. On a visit to Damascus in October, Iran's military chief warned Israel against breaching Syrian airspace or territory. Search Keywords: Short link: Lucknow: The Samajwadi Party (SP) on Saturday accused the ruling BJP of intimidating polling officials and Opposition party candidates, bungling in voter lists and manipulation of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) in the civic polls. Talking to media a day after the results, Naresh Uttam, the state unit chief of the SP, said that the BJP indulged in all undemocratic acts to ensure that it sailed through the crucial poll. "The ruling party should realise that we have got good seats despite the fact that our chief Akhilesh Yadav did not canvas for support," he said. Uttam added that had the former chief minister campaigned extensively, the results would have been much different and that the BJP would have been wiped out in the urban body polls. The BJP had nothing to project about its government and hence they not only engaged in electoral malpractices they also pressed into service the entire government machinery, including the cabinet, the SP leader said. State spokesman of the party, Rajendra Chowdhary said the BJP had trumpetted the results as its victory though this "was neither the truth nor the exact reality". "BJP has done extensive bungling and now is telling the incomplete results," he added. Earlier in the day, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) had also alleged the same and demanded that the 2019 general elections be held through ballot papers. Reuters Britains main cybersecurity agency on 1 December warned British government agencies to avoid using anti-virus software from Russian companies, the latest in a series of moves targeting Moscow-based security software maker Kaspersky Lab. In a letter to departmental permanent secretaries, the director of the UK National Cyber Security Centre, Ciaran Martin, said Russian-made anti-virus software should not be used in systems containing information that would harm national security if it was accessed by the Russian government. He said his agency is in talks with Kaspersky Lab to develop a system for reviewing its products for use in Britain. Kasperskys anti-virus software was banned from U.S. government networks earlier this year on concerns the company has close ties to intelligence agencies in Moscow and that its software could be used to enable Russian spying. We are in discussions with Kaspersky Lab ... about whether we can develop a framework that we and others can independently verify, Martin said in the letter, which was publicly released. Kaspersky Lab said in a statement that it looked forward to working with the NCSC on the issue. Kaspersky has strongly denied allegations about the safety of its products or ties to the Russian government, saying it has become a scapegoat in the midst of rising tensions between Washington and Moscow. PTI Cautioning the youth about the pitfalls of technology, former US president Barack Obama today said its overuse can actually "isolate people", even as he urged them to engage more offline rather than just being an "Internet activist". Addressing a Town Hall in New Delhi, attended by a few hundred changemakers from the country, he also asserted that modern gadgets cannot replace the importance of teachers in education. "Technology is not a not a magic fix for everything... And, what we are finding now is the dangers of technology, that it can actually isolate people. So that they become so hooked to their devices that they no longer have conversations. "And, because of the algorithms that are being used often online, when people are searching information, what we are discovering now, is that people start having their pre-existing biases constantly reinforced through the devices, and they never hear information that diverges from what they already believe in," Obama said. The 44th US president, who held office between 2009 and 2017, charmed the young achievers, drawn from different parts of the country, with his oratory skills and trademark humour. During the interactive session that lasted over two hours, Obama delivered a profound message to the youth, while punctuating his response with a disarming candour, sharing anecdotes from his own life and an eventful career at the White House. "They (people using too much technology) stop listening to all the people they don't agree with. And, that is not how you become a leader. It simply would mean, surrounding yourselves with opinions that fit your own. You don't challenge yourself or push yourself out of your comfort zones. And, such situations, do not push you to empathise or think about other people," he cautioned. The 56-year-old said technology is a powerful tool that can be leveraged for bringing development, but it does not work if a teacher is not incorporated into the social context in which the student is going to learn. "When it comes to technology and education, it doesn't replace the importance of teachers. What I have seen sometimes is, people think we are going to put computers in classrooms and somehow, magically kids are going to be better educated "Any training, any leadership development, if it is just relying on technology, and nothing about how, when you have somebody online, how you form communities offline, it is not going to work...If there is no offline interaction, mere online engagement is probably going to be a failure," he said. The Town Hall, held at the Teen Murti Bhawan Auditorium in New Delhi, was organised by the Chicago-based Obama Foundation and was broadcast live on the Internet. "And, so, I am really focusing on how to build a digital network in the Obama Foundation, that allows people to meet, converge, shares ideas, and also forces people to act offline after meeting online. For people to have conversation outside of the Internet, forces them to meet, engage with people who are not already part of the converted," he added. He urged the youth that if they seek a social revolution then they "cannot be just Internet activists". "If all you do is be online, then it will be difficult to reach out to people who do not agree with you," he said. tech2 News Staff It has been barely two weeks since the launch of the OnePlus 5T, and the company is already all set to release special edition of its latest flagship phone. The company has been sending out teasers of its upcoming variant of the 5T. At the ongoing Bengaluru Comic Con festival, the 'OnePlus 5T Star Wars Limited Edition' was teased. OnePlus has just said that the Star Wars Limited Edition phone will be launched in the coming weeks. Considering Star Wars: The Last Jedi is expected to release on 15 December, it is safe to assume that the release of the OnePlus 5T will coincide with that date. Although nothing is confirmed on that front yet, all we see in the teaser is a 'Coming Soon' promise. There were rumours of the OnePlus 5T Star Wars edition floating on the internet on 16 November. Those teasers showed a red-coloured OnePlus 5T. But the Star Wars edition teased in Bengaluru Comic Con has a white back. The OnePlus 5T features a 6.0-inch FHD+ Optic AMOLED display panel with 18:9 aspect ratio and 1,080 x 2,160 resolution updating the screen to match the near bezel-less design that has gripped the smartphone industry in 2017. The display will be protected by Corning's Gorilla Glass 5. Similar to the OnePlus 5, the company has packed an Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 chipset with an octa-core processor clocked at up to 2.45 GHz along with Adreno 540 GPU to handle graphics-intensive tasks. OnePlus 5T will come in two variants, the first one with 6 GB RAM and 64 GB storage while the second variant will come with 8 GB RAM and 128 GB internal storage. The OnePlus 5T retails at Rs 32,999 for the 6 GB RAM and 64 GB storage variant and at Rs 38,999 for the 8 GB RAM and 128 GB storage variant. There are no indications about the pricing of the Star Wars Limited Edition phones though. We will find out soon. Reuters An arbitration court ordered smartphone pioneer BlackBerry Ltd to pay $137 million to Nokia to settle a payment dispute and the Canadian company said it would pursue a separate patent infringement case against the Finnish firm. The International Court of Arbitration ruled earlier this week that BlackBerry had failed to make certain payments to Nokia under a patent license contract, BlackBerry said on Friday. The ruling, in a previously undisclosed disagreement over a smartphone technology licensing deal signed in 2012, highlights the financial risks technology companies face from disputes over intellectual property, which are sometimes resolved through confidential arbitration processes unknown to investors. BlackBerry won a $940 million payout from chipmaker Qualcomm Inc earlier this year in a similar case of disputed payments. BlackBerry has previously said it is looking to generate more revenue from its portfolio of some 40,000 patents by licensing them to other technology companies, and in November said that U.S.-based Marconi Group would help it license out a broad range of its patents. It is often difficult for investors to value a companys patent portfolio given the opaque nature of licensing deals and disputes. Patent issues are going to come up from time to time and as one-offs, said Todd Coupland, an analyst at CIBC World Markets. Getting in front of them, unless there is some detail, is going to be tough. BlackBerry shares were down 1.9 percent in midday Toronto trading, Nokia closed 2 percent lower in Helsinki. BlackBerry disclosed in February that it had filed separate patent infringement complaints against Nokia, alleging that several of the Finnish network equipment makers base stations and related software infringed on 11 of its patents. Nokia, which sells these products to telecom operators, said in a statement on Friday that it believes those infringement claims are without merit. BlackBerry said it would take a GAAP charge on its results, but did not say when the ruling would hit its financials. Nokia said a significant portion of the amount awarded had already been recognised in its financials. Nokia sold its once-dominant phone business in 2014, sticking to its network equipment business and broad patent portfolio. It has licensed technology to smartphone makers Samsung Electronics, Apple, Xiaomi Technology and LG Electronics. PTI Amidst bitcoin crossing the USD 10,000 mark in recent days, the White House today said it is monitoring the development while the International Monetary Fund underscored the need of regulations of cryptocurrencies. Being billed as an alternate digital currency, cryptocurrency is a medium of exchange using cryptography to secure the transactions and to control the creation of new units. Bitcoin, the first of these cryptocurrencies, over the Thanksgiving weekend has seen a major surge with a single unit being traded at more than $10,000. "I know this is something that is being monitored by our team here," White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders told reporters at her daily news conference. The IMF spokesman Gerry Rice said cryptocurrencies, including ICOs; including the initial claim offerings, should be subject to appropriate regulation and supervision. "A key challenge for country authorities will be to contain risks without stifling the innovation associated with cryptocurrencies," he told reporters in response to a question. "We also believe that greater international discussion and, indeed, cooperation would be helpful, and as you may have noted, we, the IMF, have been trying to play a role in that regard," he said. Cryptocurrencies and their underlying technologies can have potential benefits, including the promotion of financial inclusion and more efficient payment and settlement processes, he said. Investors in the US and globally have been investing massively in cryptocurrencies, bitcoin in particular. "On the other hand, we have also alerted for, cautioned, that cryptocurrencies can also pose considerable risks as potential vehicles for such things as money laundering, terrorist financing, tax evasion and so on. So theres a need for a balanced assessment of cryptocurrencies," Rice said. The White House said the development on the bitcoin front is being monitored by its homeland security team. "I know its something that hes keeping an eye on. And well keep you posted when we have anything further on it," Sanders said. Andal K Quarles, member, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, in his address to the Fintech Conference said that the financial industry is increasingly recognizing that it should separate the concept of digital currencies from the innovative new technologies that they have employed to transfer assets. "As part of the new technology associated with fintech, we are now seeing the emergence of privately developed digital currencies using new decentralized technologies," Quarles said. Jerome H Powell, Federal Reserve Board chairman nominee said that they are paying close attention to it. "From our standpoint, cryptocurrencies are something we monitor very carefully. We actually look at blockchain as something that may have significant applications in the wholesale payments part of the economy, something we pay close attention to," he told lawmakers during his confirmation hearing this week. Dhaka: A Catholic priest whose disappearance in Bangladesh days before a visit by Pope Francis raised fears among minority Christians has been found safe and well, police said on Saturday. Walter William Rosario, a 40-year-old priest and school headmaster, went missing on Monday from a village in northern Bangladesh where suspected Islamist extremists last year hacked a Catholic grocer to death. His disappearance followed a rise in Islamist extremism in the Muslim-majority country, where at least three Christians, including two converts from Islam, have been hacked to death in recent years. Police said Rosario had been found in the northeastern city of Sylhet, adding the disappearance was likely for personal reasons. "He has been found unscathed," said Biplob Bijoy Talukder, police chief in Rosario's home district of Natore. The news came as Pope Francis met with Rohingya refugees in Dhaka at the end of a visit dominated by the plight of the Muslim minority who have fled ethnic unrest in Myanmar and taken refuge in Bangladesh. Christians make up less than 0.5 percent of Bangladesh's 160 million people. Hanoi: Global burger behemoth McDonald's opened its first branch on Saturday in the historic heart of communist Hanoi, a conservative city renowned for its traditional - and cheap - Vietnamese staples beloved by food-obsessed locals. Hungry customers lined up for Big Macs and Chicken McNuggets at the Vietnamese capital's first location overlooking the tree-lined Hoan Kiem lake, which draws millions of tourists annually to see French-era colonial buildings and sample street-food favourites like pho noodle soup and banh mi sandwiches. The restaurant is the first outside of the southern commercial hub Ho Chi Minh City, where 16 branches have opened since McDonald's first came to Vietnam in 2014 to much fanfare, especially among the rapidly-growing middle class and American-obsessed youth. The global fast food chain received a similarly warm welcome in Hanoi on Saturday, as hungry diners crammed into the two-storey eatery for a first taste of the Golden Arches. For 84-year-old Tran Dinh Luyen, who fought against the US in the Vietnam War, the restaurant was a sign of warming ties with a former enemy. "I am happy that McDonald's has opened a restaurant in Hanoi. It's a very famous American brand, so it shows how far US-Vietnam relations have come," he told AFP after mowing down on a Big Mac with his daughter and granddaughter. But not everyone agreed. "It's a rip-off ... this fast food is for kids only, it's not good at all," 90-year-old Ta Xuan Huong said, espousing his love for traditional cuisine. Some curious tourists stopped to see what all the fuss was about, perplexed that a brand ubiquitous in the West would draw so much attention. "It's kind of random to see McDonald's opening ... it's an interesting cultural experience to see how important it is that the store is opening here," American Dan Moore told AFP, after his wife remarked she might not have expected to find one of the most salient symbols of capitalism in the communist country. The one-party state has seen dizzying economic growth in recent years as it has opened its doors to foreign investment -which has included an influx of western chains like Starbucks, KFC and Burger King. Growth in the fast food sector has been buoyed by rapidly rising incomes - annual per capita income has more than doubled in the past decade to about $2,100 today -especially among under-30s, who make up half of Vietnam's population of 93 million people. The fast food industry in Vietnam has seen double-digit growth annually for the past five years, and the country has the highest 2017 growth in Asia-Pacific for fast food chains, according to market research firm Euromonitor International. Though meals can cost as much as three times the local fare, customers are still showing strong appetite. "Young people like to hang out in fast food restaurants as they are seen as a cool and nice place ... and these customers also like the taste of the food," Euromonitor analyst Samuel Huynh told AFP. Havana: Cuba is working on fixing chronic medicine shortages that started appearing a year ago due to its cash crunch, health officials said in an article published late on Thursday in ruling Communist Party newspaper Granma. Cubas healthcare system, built by late leader Fidel Castro, is one of the revolutions most treasured achievements, having produced results on a par with rich nations using the resources of a developing country and in spite of the decades-old US trade embargo. But more than 85 percent of the resources its pharmaceutical industry uses are imported, BioCubaFarma director of operations Rita Maria Garcia Almaguer was cited as saying in Granma, and Cuba has been struggling to pay foreign providers. Lower exports and aid from key socialist ally Venezuela caused a liquidity crisis that prompted Havana last year to slash imports, helping tip it into recession. Medicine production therefore stalled in 2016 and some of 2017 due to lack of inputs, according to Garcia Almaguer. "The production of some forms of pharmaceuticals was stalled because the resources were not available on time, which means we were unable to fulfill the demands of the national health system," she was quoted as saying. Many common medicines, for example contraceptives or those treating hypertension, have been scarce or lacking altogether over the past year, Granma wrote. BioCubaFarma and the government had been working together since the start of last year to fix the issue and ensure the availability of at least one medicine per pharmacological group, Garcia Almaguer said. "In August we started holding meetings at the highest level, taking an important series of measures to help resolve or at least alleviate the shortages," Cristina Lara Bastanzuri, head of the Medicine Planning Department at the health ministry, said in the article. She said these meetings helped solve an issue with Chinese providers and raise the availability of imported medicines. "The industry has been recovering, and most production is stable now," said Garcia Almaguer, adding that it had focused on medicine for serious ailments like cancer and HIV. The government had also tightened its control of pharmacies nationwide given it had detected some corruption, such as the illegal sale of medicine, Granma wrote. Many Cubans complain that when there are medicine shortages, some pharmacists sell the little they have at several times the subsidized state prices on the black market. Washington: US president Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have expressed satisfaction over the recently concluded Global Entrepreneurship Summit co-hosted by the US and India this week in Hyderabad, the White House said on Saturday. .@POTUS & PM Modi discussed #GES2017-another example of our successful #USIndia collaboration.The summit brought together hundreds of entrepreneurs &investors from all over the world -an important step toward fostering innovation, growth & prosperity & creating jobs. #RoadfromGES pic.twitter.com/NMEGsivhjZ Ken Juster (@USAmbIndia) December 2, 2017 President Trump's daughter Ivanka, who is also his senior advisor, had led the US delegation at the three-day event. Trump spoke to Modi on Friday on the phone. "The leaders expressed satisfaction with the recent Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES), co-hosted by the United States and India, which brought together entrepreneurs and investors from around the world, including 38 US states, the District of Colombia, and Puerto Rico," the White House said in a brief readout of the call. This year's summit focused on supporting women entrepreneurs and fostering economic growth globally. "For all of our progress, gender divides on access to technology, nutrition, and health, preventing women, their families, and their communities from reaching their full potential," State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert said on Thursday. George Bernard Shaw once said that "England and America are two countries separated by the same language". When the UN conference on the Montreal Protocol on the substances that deplete the ozone layer ended in Montreal on 24 November, albeit in the wee hours of 25 November, I thought this could also be said for Paris and Montreal, not only because of the French language but also the agreements signed there on global action on the climate. The UN meeting in Montreal celebrated the 30th Anniversary of the success of the phase-out of Ozone Depleting Substances (ODS). The meeting in Bonn a week before, after its 25 years of global efforts, was still wondering how to even finalise the rulebook to stabilise the climate and keep the temperature rise to not more than to 2 degrees Celsius before 2100, while making efforts to limit that rise to 1.5 degrees the objective of the Paris Climate Agreement. While US President Donald Trump is walking out of the keenly-negotiated Paris pact, he has surprisingly decided to support the Montreal Protocol, including its 2.0 version that now includes full-blast action against climate change. He has even agreed to take a nearly 25 percent share of funding of over $500 million pledged by the developed countries to provide to the developing countries. The deal to provide $500 million over the next three years for the purpose was sealed in Montreal last week. It was warm news in the freezing temperatures at Montreal in contrast to the cold winds blowing from the Bonn climate conference. The extraordinary success story of the Montreal Protocol never seems to have a full stop. Though Trump never tweeted about it, this multilateral environmental accord, brokered by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in 1987, was signed by the Republican President Ronald Reagan and fully supported by the Democrats. Under the treaty, developed countries pledged all the incremental financial support to the developing countries during their transition away from ODS. More importantly, that pledge was honoured year after year without interruption, even during the global financial crisis. It has now reached a cumulative amount of $3.5 billion. Developing countries responded by implementing the transition to ozone-friendly technologies. The protocol has already achieved its goal of phasing out nearly 100 percent of millions of tonnes of more than 90 man-made ODSs like Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and Hydro chlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs), used mainly in refrigeration, air conditioning, foams and solvents. The factories producing these chemicals have literally shut down. If the slogan "Yes We Can" has a real-life example, it is this one. In one single generation, these ozone depleting chemicals were invented, their catastrophic impact on the stratospheric ozone layer that shields life on the Earth was scientifically identified, global action to phase them out was agreed through an international agreement, developing countries were provided by the developed countries all the incremental costs and technologiesand the phase-out of these chemicals was achieved exactly on the targeted year and day. Never before has such an astonishing chain of actions been triggered and taken to its completion. Former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan called it "...the single-most successful international environmental agreement to date". Erik Solheim, Executive Director, UN Environment, during the opening ceremony on 24 November, called the Montreal Protocol "a testimony of the spirit of togetherness of nations and humans". That "togetherness" has carried the Montreal Protocol's success beyond the phase-out of ODS. Major ODS like CFCs are also Green House Gases (GHGs). Thus, their phase-out under the Protocol has, as a side benefit, also resulted in the permanent cumulative emission reduction of GHGs to the extent of 130 giga tonnes equivalent of carbon dioxide by 2010, compared to just about one giga tonne of GHGs reduction aimed by 2012 under the Kyoto Protocol. In reality, GHGs increased during this period. While the Montreal Protocol did successful market transformation to an ozone-friendly world, the Kyoto Protocol remained fatally flawed. The 2015 Paris pact, a follow-up to the unfinished Kyoto Protocol, is still faltering and fudgy. The "togetherness" highlighted by Solheim is conspicuous by its absence from climate agreements. However, it was ever evident under the Montreal Protocol. The latest achievement came when, in 2016, all 197 countries agreed to deploy the institutions nurtured under the Montreal Protocol for the last 30 years to now phase-down the deadly GHG-hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs)some of which are more than 10,000 times more powerful than carbon dioxide. The developed countries, led by the US, pledged financial and technology support. That was an unprecedented decision, because the seminal objective of the Montreal Protocol was to get rid of ODS and not GHGs. "It was like using Non-Proliferation Treaty for nuclear weapons to control the trade in drugs and crime," said an African environmental law expert, commenting on the decision in Kigali. The Montreal Protocol, in other words, was used as a "surrogate mother" to carry the seeds of the Paris pact to deliver a climate-friendly baby. There are two-fold reasons for that unusual action: First, HFCs were introduced as substitute for CFCs and other ODS due to their zero-ozone depleting potential. The countries therefore considered that getting away from HFCs would correct their unintended error and contribute to mitigation of climate change. Second, the developed countries agreed to the incremental funding for the developing countries for theiryet anothertransformation from HFCs to non-HFCs. Thus, the Montreal Protocol has now entered its version 2.0 and became the treaty to reduce the emissions of the most potent global warming gasHFCwhich, incidentally, is also one of the six groups of the GHGs under the Paris pact. Developed countries will start reducing HFCs as early as 2019, while developing countries will start later. Phasing down HFCs under the Protocol is expected to avoid up to 0.5 degrees of global warming by the end of the century, while continuing to protect the ozone layer. If the energy efficiency improvements due to use of non-HFCs in refrigeration and air conditioning appliances are taken into account, then the avoided warming would be even more. That will be equivalent of achieving at least 25 percent of the objective of the Paris pact. The world should now concede some cool points to President Trump and his administration amidst the hot chaos. BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union expects to offer a first signal next week that enough progress has been made in Brexit talks to warrant opening new negotiations with London in December on future trade relations, diplomats said. A Union Jack flag and a European Union flag are seen ahead of a bilateral meeting between Britain's Prime Minister and European Council President during the Eastern Partnership summit at the European Council Headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, November 24, 2017. REUTERS/Christian Hartmann The sources saw that happening even though no detailed agreements are likely to have been made by then on the post-Brexit Irish border, a key outstanding issue after what diplomats in Brussels describe as a breakthrough on the divorce bill London will pay the EU as it leaves. Instead, a document the EU and Britain are due to sign after British Prime Minister Theresa May and Jean-Claude Juncker, the head of the blocs executive Commission, meet in Brussels on Monday will spell out both sides commitment to sorting out the Irish border conundrum, as well as some rules to follow on that. We are all optimistic. The signals we are getting are that we are getting there. There will be more contacts over the weekend, a senior EU diplomat said. Sometimes you think you have it and then things go wrong at the last minute but right now it seems we are almost there. Everyone wants to make it happen now, both we and the Brits. Another EU diplomat also said the 27 remaining EU states were willing to give Britain what it had been asking for a long time -- a start to negotiations on a future trade pact -- after the makings emerged of a deal on the divorce bill. The EU and Britain this week agreed on a financial settlement under which London would pay a set share of the blocs budgets after it has left. Everyone knows we have to honour politically what the Brits have accepted on money, a second senior EU diplomat said. So on Monday they will sign this document. And then on Wednesday (27 EU envoys) will say its good enough and start working towards sufficient progress at the December summit and short guidelines for trade talks. The guidelines is a term the 27 EU states use to describe their unified stance on Brexit matters, which they prepare between themselves in advance before engaging with London. Diplomats have described intense behind-the-scenes talks in recent days, although nothing is yet set in stone. The other potential spoiler for the Monday document is agreeing on the exact wording on the role of the EUs top court, the European Court of Justice, whose jurisdiction Britain wants to escape while the bloc insists it is essential. Its not unknown in European Union business for deadlines to slip a bit. Clearly there would be great anxiety on the part of all involved if the situation wasnt clear by (the end of) next week, said a fourth EU diplomat. But theres a keen enthusiasm to get it all sorted. IRISH BORDER If things go according to the plan, 27 EU leaders will officially open trade talks with Britain at their final meeting this year in Brussels on Dec. 15. In a series of steps leading up to that decision, Junckers European Commission is also due to give its own view next Wednesday on whether sufficient progress has been made in Brexit talks, which started last June. After that and the Wednesday talks among EU ambassadors in Brussels, the sherpas -- the EU negotiators of the 27 blocs leaders -- will also meet to discuss the topic on Dec. 11. The EU has made covering enough ground on the divorce a precondition to discussing future trade arrangements. Another EU diplomat on Friday stressed the vague concept of sufficient progress did not stipulate a comprehensive or exhaustive deal. Irelands Foreign Minister Simon Coveney signalled separately on Friday there was still some time to iron out details on what will become the new EUs external border before Decembers top-level summit. The chairman of EU leaders meetings, Donald Tusk, visited Dublin on Friday to reassure Ireland of its right to veto any deal it finds unacceptable. The history of violence on the island of Ireland makes the future border arrangements particularly sensitive. Both sides desire to avoid putting physical border infrastructure on the island is complicated by the fact that Britain will be leaving the EUs single market and customs zone. For its part, Britain says the border deal cannot erect new divisions within the country. Mays government also depends on the backing of Northern Irelands pro-Brexit Democratic Unionist Party, which has hinted at limits to concessions to Dublin. One of the sources stressed the basic concept of no regulatory divergence between Northern Ireland and EU member Ireland was crucial for the bloc to have in the Monday document, while another said it would have to be quite specific on what sort of money London will pay on leaving. This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. CAIRO (Reuters) - Former Egyptian prime minister Ahmed Shafik, who last week announced his intention of running for the presidency in 2018, has been taken from his home in the United Arab Emirates and is being deported to Egypt, his family told Reuters on Saturday. Egypt's former prime minister Ahmed Shafik speaks during an interview with Reuters at his residence in Abu Dhabi February 6, 2013. REUTERS/Jumana El Heloueh/File PhotoShafik, a former air force commander and government minister, is seen as the strongest potential opponent of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi should the latter, as expected, decide to run for a second term in an election set for around April 2018. UAE news agency WAM said Shafik has left the Emirates, an ally of Sisis government, for Egypt without giving any details on why or how he departed. It said his family had remained behind in the Emirates. A Gulf source familiar with the matter said earlier: Shafik has publicly asked to go to Egypt and his wish will be met. Shafiks daughter May Shafik, told Reuters that authorities had come for him at his home on Saturday and sent him to Cairo. We were about to leave to travel to France. They came and took him. They deported him in a private plane. They said they will deport him to Egypt, May said. Just because he announced he will run for president they deported him to Egypt and I dont know what will they do to him.. No one is allowed to run for president she said. Shafiks lawyer on her Facebook page also said he had been taken from the family home. A spokesman for Egypts foreign ministry did not immediately answer a call seeking details. But an Egyptian judicial source said Shafik was not wanted in any criminal cases at the moment, but he had several cases, including for corruption, against him in the past that either ended in aquittal or were dropped. We have no information about a deportation order, the judicial source said. Shafik said on Wednesday he would run for president in a surprise announcement from the UAE, where he has been based. Sisi has not yet announced a bid for a second term, but is widely expected to run again. Apart from Shafik, several other low-profile candidates have said they will run. Shafik narrowly lost to Mohamed Mursi of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypts 2012 election before fleeing overseas. May Shafik said on Friday he was preparing to depart, first for Europe and the United States before returning to Egypt to start his campaign. She said Shafik had been prevented from leaving the UAE in previous days but had then received assurances that he could travel freely. She did not specify who gave the assurances. The UAE denied placing movement restrictions on Shafik. The UAE, an ally of Sisi, has been officially silent on Shafiks candidacy announcement. Sisi as a military commander led the ousting of former president Mursi in 2013, before his own landslide election a year later. Sisis supporters see him as key to stability following the upheaval that followed the 2011 Egyptian revolt that toppled president Hosni Mubarak. But his government is fighting a stubborn Islamist militant insurgency in the Sinai region and has also enacted painful austerity reforms over the last year to revive the economy but that critics say have dented his popularity. This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Backers of a U.S.-Russian plan to build nuclear reactors across the Middle East bragged after the U.S. election they had backing from Donald Trumps national security adviser Michael Flynn for a project that required lifting sanctions on Russia, documents reviewed by Reuters show. FILE PHOTO: Then White House National Security Advisor Michael Flynn arrives prior to a joint news conference between Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House in Washington, DC, U.S. on February 13, 2017. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File PhotoThe documents, which have not previously been made public, reveal new aspects of the plan, including the proposed involvement of a Russian company currently under U.S. sanctions to manufacture nuclear equipment. That company, major engineering and construction firm OMZ OAO, declined to comment. The documents do not show whether Flynn, a retired Army lieutenant general, took concrete steps to push the proposal with Trump and his aides. But they do show that Washington-based nuclear power consultancy ACU Strategic Partners believed that both Flynn, who had worked as an adviser to the firm as late as mid-2016, and Trump were firmly in its corner. Donald Trumps election as president is a game changer because Trumps highest foreign policy priority is to stabilize U.S. relations with Russia which are now at a historical low-point, ACUs managing director, Alex Copson, wrote in a Nov. 16, 2016 email to potential business partners, eight days after the election. White House officials did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment. ACU declined comment and also declined to make Copson available for an interview. Previously they told a congressional committee that they had not had any dealings with Flynn since May 2016, before Trump became the Republican Partys presidential candidate. Flynns lawyer, Robert Kelner, did not respond to a request for comment. Flynn pleaded guilty on Friday to lying to the FBI about a discussion with the former Russian ambassador to Washington, Sergey Kislyak, in late December 2016 regarding sanctions.[nL1N1O10XZ] The documents also show that ACU proposed ending Ukraines opposition to lifting sanctions on Russia by giving a Ukrainian company a $45 billion contract to provide turbine generators for reactors to be built in Saudi Arabia and other Mideast nations. The contract to state-owned Turboatom, and loans to Ukraine from Gulf Arab states, would require Ukraine to support lifting US and EU sanctions on Russia, Copson wrote in the Nov. 16 email. A Turboatom spokeswoman said she did not have an immediate comment on the matter. The email was titled TRUMP/PUTIN ME Marshall plan CONCEPT. ME stands for Middle East. The title, evoking the post-World War Two plan to rebuild Western European economies, reflected the hopes of the plans backers that Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin could cooperate on a project that would boost Middle East economies. The email can be seen here: tmsnrt.rs/2ALdoCY The ACU documents reviewed by Reuters include emails, business presentations and financial estimates and date from late autumn 2016. READY TO GO As part of their investigation into the Trump election campaigns ties to Russia, Special Counsel Robert Mueller and Democrats on the House of Representatives Oversight Committee are probing whether Flynn promoted the Middle East nuclear power project as national security adviser in Trumps White House. Flynn resigned after just 24 days as national security adviser after it became known he had lied to Vice President Mike Pence by telling him he had not discussed U.S. sanctions on Russia with Kislyak in late December. In response to questions about the emails and documents, ACU referred Reuters to letters written in June and September by ACU scientist Thomas Cochran to the House Oversight Committee. Former U.S. National Security Adviser Michael Flynn arrives for a plea hearing at U.S. District Court, where he pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his contacts with Russia's ambassador to the United States, in Washington, U.S., December 1, 2017. REUTERS/Jonathan ErnstIn those letters, Cochran had laid out the projects strategy, describing a ready-to-go consortium that included French, Russian, Israeli and Ukrainian interests, without naming specific companies. The nuclear reactor plan aimed to provide Washingtons Middle East allies with nuclear power in a way that didnt risk nuclear weapons proliferation and also helped counter Iranian influence, improve dismal U.S.-Russian relations, and revive the moribund U.S. nuclear industry, according to the documents seen by Reuters. The Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post reported this week that Flynn pushed a version of the nuclear project within the White House by instructing his staff to rework a memo written by a former business associate into policy for Trump to sign. Two U.S. officials familiar with the issue told Reuters the policy document Flynn prepared for Trumps approval proposed working with Russia on a nuclear reactor project but did not specifically mention ACU. The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said they did not know if Trump had read the memo or acted upon it. THIS IS A BIG WIN On Nov. 18, 2016, 10 days after Trump won the presidential election, ACUs Copson received an email from nuclear non-proliferation expert Reuben Sorensen saying that he had updated Flynn on the nuclear projects status. Sorensens role in the project was not clear from the emails. Flynn is getting closer to (being named) National Security Advisor. Expect an announcement soon. This is a big win for the ACU project, Sorensen wrote. Spoke with him via backchannels earlier this week. He has always believed in the vision of the ACU effort ... We need to let him get settled into the new position, but update him shortly thereafter, Sorensen added. The email can be seen here: tmsnrt.rs/2zTqxcZ Reuters could not independently confirm a briefing took place. Sorensen did not reply to an email seeking comment. On Nov. 30, 2016, Copson briefed U.S. Representative Ed Royce, Republican chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, on the nuclear project, an email shows. Copson was joined by Jim Hamel, a senior official from Curtiss-Wright Corp. (CW.N), which has a nuclear division based in Royces California district and was eager for a role in the multi-billion dollar project. In a follow-up email on Dec. 5 to a Royce aide, Hamel wrote, We hope that the Chairman will follow-up on Alexs suggestion to reach out to General Flynn to discuss the project. Royces spokesman, Cory Fritz, confirmed the briefing to Reuters. No action was ever taken by the chairman or the committee, he said in an email. Hamel and Curtiss-Wright declined to comment. Flynn was an adviser to ACU from April 2015 to June 2016, according to amended financial disclosure forms he filed in August 2017 to the Office of Government Ethics. Democrats on the House Oversight Committee say that when Flynn applied last year to renew his government security clearance, he failed to disclose a June 2015 trip he made to Egypt and Israel to promote the reactor project. Flynn has not commented on the trips. This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. Special counsel Robert Mueller is tightening the noose around the Trump administration just as the Christmas season goes into full swing at the White House. President Trumps former national security adviser, Michael T. Flynn, pleaded guilty on Friday to lying to the F.B.I. about conversations with the Russian ambassador last December, becoming the first senior White House official to pledge cooperation in the special counsels wide-ranging inquiry of election meddling. The deal reflects the strength of Muellers hand against the former NSA and therefore the Trump train. Legal experts weighing in on a sensational Friday story say this is just the beginning and that Mueller will have bigger bombshells in store. Link: Flynns guilty plea in court, December 1, 2017 Two questions arise from this - If Flynn is the first fall guy, whos next? Does this mean Flynn has agreed to testify against Trump? Bloomberg is reporting that the US Presidents son-in-law Jared Kushner is possibly the senior Trump aide Flynn is referring to. Slate is reporting that yes, Flynns deal with Mueller has Trump in the crosshairs. James Comey, the FBI chief famously fired by Trump after he refused to bend, tweeted powerful lines from the scriptures soon after the Flynn news broke. But justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream Amos 5:24 https://t.co/o89PSY1YBd James Comey (@Comey) December 1, 2017 JUST IN: @BrianRoss on @ABC News Special Report: Michael Flynn promised "full cooperation to the Mueller team" and is prepared to testify that as a candidate, Donald Trump "directed him to make contact with the Russians." https://t.co/aiagnvr8eS pic.twitter.com/r8u2LWAd0O ABC News (@ABC) December 1, 2017 Flynn has admitted that he lied to the FBI about his role in delaying a crucial vote on sanctions the Obama administration had imposed on Russia following evidence of alleged meddling in the 2016 election. With the headline srceaming Kushner Is Said to Have Ordered Flynn to Contact Russia, Bloombergs view is that the first person it will jeopardize is the reigning Prince of the White House and husband to Trumps favourite daughter Ivanka - Jared Kushner. Robert Mueller describes Flynns lie thus: "On or about December 22, 2016, Flynn did not ask the Russian Ambassador to delay the vote on or defeat a pending United Nations Security Council resolution." Bloomberg is reporting that this was the result of Kushers directive to Flynn - to get everyone on board to delay the vote. Stunned and reeling, the White House is reacting in a predictable manner - divert, distract, find a nativist agenda to flog. Time and again, that formula has been to rile the Trump voter into a mad fit over immigration. On this shocker of a Friday too, the White House is trying hard to play that card. Yet, the Flynn story refuses to be put out, its flames licking the walls of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue on a cold December night. To get a sense of where the Flynn timeline begins and ends, relevant excerpts from this chronology by Associated Press are timely: Dec. 21, 2016: The government of Egypt submits a resolution to the U.N. Security Council on the issue of Israeli settlements. A vote is planned for the next day. Dec. 22, 2016: A "very senior member" of the presidential transition team directs Flynn to contact officials with several foreign governments, including Russia, about the resolution. According to court papers, the transition official tells Flynn to see what the governments' positions were on the resolution and to try to get them to delay the vote on the resolution or defeat it. Flynn then calls Sergey Kislyak, Russia's ambassador to the U.S., and asks him to have Russia vote against or delay the resolution. Dec. 23, 2016: Kislyak tells Flynn that Russia would not vote against the resolution if it came to a vote. Dec. 28, 2016: President Barack Obama imposes sanctions on Russia in response to the Kremlin's interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. According to court papers, Kislyak contacts Flynn. Dec. 29, 2016: Flynn calls a "senior official" on the presidential transition. Flynn and the official, who is with Trump and other senior advisers at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, discuss what, if anything, to tell Kislyak about the U.S. sanctions. Flynn also discusses the potential fallout from the sanctions and the view of members of the transition team at Mar-a-Lago that they "did not want Russia to escalate the situation." Immediately after the call, Flynn calls Kislyak and requests that he not escalate the situation. Flynn reports the content of that call back to the transition official. Dec. 31, 2016: Kislyak tells Flynn that Russia has decided not to retaliate over the sanctions. Flynn conveys this back to senior members of Trump's transition team. Jan. 15, 2017: Vice President Mike Pence says in an interview on "Face the Nation" that Flynn did not discuss U.S. sanctions with Kislyak. Jan. 20, 2017: Trump is inaugurated as president. Flynn formally becomes national security adviser. Jan. 24, 2017: Flynn is interviewed by FBI agents investigating Russia's interference in the 2016 election and contacts with Trump associates. According to court papers, Flynn lies to the agents about his contacts with Kislyak regarding the U.S. sanctions and the U.N. Security Council resolution. Jan. 26, 2017: Acting Attorney General Sally Yates alerts White House counsel Don McGahn that Flynn was potentially compromised and vulnerable to blackmail because of discrepancies between public assertions including by Pence that Flynn and Kislyak had not discussed sanctions and the reality of what occurred. Feb. 13, 2017: Trump forces Flynn to resign from his White House post. White House officials justified the firing by saying Flynn had misled them, including Pence, about whether he had discussed sanctions with Kislyak. Flynn's firing came only after media reports about his contacts with Kislyak. Feb. 14, 2017: In an Oval Office meeting, Trump tells Comey he hopes that he can "let go" of an investigation into Flynn. Comey later says he interpreted the statement as a presidential directive. At the time, the FBI had an active investigation into whether Flynn had lied to its agents. March 7, 2017: Flynn and his firm, Flynn Intel Group, register with the Justice Department as foreign agents. The registration stems from Flynn's lobbying and investigative research work for a Turkish businessman. Flynn's firm was paid $530,000 for the work that he acknowledged could have benefited the government of Turkey. May 9, 2017: Trump fires FBI Director James Comey. June 8, 2017: Comey testifies before the Senate intelligence committee about his meetings with Trump and what he interpreted as the president's efforts to pressure him regarding the FBI investigation into Flynn. Comey also tells the committee that he believes Trump fired him to interfere with his investigation of Russia's ties to the Trump campaign. Dec. 1, 2017: Flynn pleads guilty to a felony charge of lying to the FBI about his contacts with Russia. He also admits that he lied to the Justice Department about aspects of his Turkish lobbying. He also said he omitted the fact that the lobbying was directed and supervised by Turkish government officials. POTSDAM, Germany (Reuters) - German police on Friday secured a device full of wires and nails found near an outdoor Christmas market in the city of Potsdam, but could not establish whether it had contained explosives. Police have evacuated a Christmas market and the surrounding area in the German city of Potsdam, near Berlin, Germany, December 1, 2017, to investigate a suspicious object. Reuters/Fabrizio BenschGermany is on high alert for militant attacks, nearly a year after a Tunisian Islamist rammed a hijacked truck into a Christmas market in central Berlin, killing 11 people as well as the driver. Police evacuated a large area of Potsdams old town centre on Friday, including parts of the market, and closed stores while they investigated the package, which had been delivered to a pharmacy. Karl-Heinz Schroeter, interior minister of the state of Brandenburg, which surrounds Berlin, said the area would remain shut while police searched with sniffer dogs for any other similar packages. He told reporters that several hundred grams of nails had been found in a metal cylinder inside the package, but added: We just dont know at this point if this was a device that could have actually exploded, or a fake, or a test. Police have evacuated a Christmas market and the surrounding area in the German city of Potsdam, near Berlin, Germany, December 1, 2017, to investigate a suspicious object. Reuters/Zoltan BertaA robot using water jets was used to ensure the device was safe, officials said. Potsdam police said X-rays had shown wires, nails and batteries inside the package, but that no detonator had been found. Slideshow (3 Images)Christmas markets opened across Germany on Monday at the start of the holiday season, fortified with concrete barriers and security staff to protect shoppers. Germany has around 2,600 such markets, filled with sparkling Christmas trees and wooden stalls serving candied nuts, sausages, mulled wine and handicrafts. Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said this week that Germany had increased information-sharing between federal and state officials and taken other steps to increase security after a series of missteps in the Berlin case. A ministry spokesman said this week that the risk of an attack in Germany and Europe remained high. This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. Tegucigalpa: Fresh clashes broke out on Saturday as the counting of votes in a cliff-hanging presidential election rolled into a fifth day. Police said at least two officers and 12 civilians were injured, some by gunfire, after violence erupted in several parts of the country sparked by opposition candidate Salvador Nasralla claiming fraud and calling his supporters onto the streets. Thousands of Nasralla supporters across the country blocked roads with viral footage of confrontations with police, who attempted to disperse demonstrators with tear gas, circulating on social media. Meanwhile, in the capital Tegucigalpa, protesters lit bonfires of sticks and tires on boulevards and on exit routes out of the city. The unrest sparked panic, with people rushing to supermarkets and gas stations to stock up after stores were closed on Friday. "On Thursday, we were closed because of the protests, and today when we opened the store was full of people," an employee at Tegucigalpa's La Colonia supermarket. In a statement police announced the arrest of 50 people participating in looting between Friday and Saturday. President Juan Orlando Hernandez seeking re-election despite a constitutional ban on a second term held a 1.5 percentage point lead over his leftist rival, TV personality Nasralla, with 94 percent of the vote counted, the Supreme Election Tribunal (TSE) said. Security forces said rioters had damaged vehicles and businesses, some of which had been doused in gasoline and set on fire. One Opposition leader, Juan Barahona, said the protests would continue despite the violence appearing to subside on Friday. "Day and night we are going to go out into the streets, because only then will the theft of the presidency be reversed," he said. Hernandez broadcast a statement calling for calm and telling his supporters to wait for the result later Friday. "By the way we are going, we are going to do very well," he said. He also called on his supporters to not react to the violence, and instead "act by setting an example, as citizens with dignity, citizens with maturity who respect others." The TSE said on Friday it was carrying out a special count with officials from both camps present to review ballots with inconsistencies, blurs and other errors which must be counted before a result can be declared. The Organisation of American States observer mission urged the authority in a letter on Friday to ensure that 100 per cent of the ballots were processed before declaring a result. Washington: A former United States Navy veteran charged with killing an Indian engineer and injuring two others in a racially motivated hate crime at a bar in Kansas city earlier this year has pleaded not guilty. Adam Purinton, 51, was charged with first-degree murder in the February shooting at the Austins Bar & Grill in Olathe that killed 32-year-old Srinivas Kuchibhotla. He also faces two counts of attempted first-degree murder for wounding another Indian, Alok Madasani and American man, Ian Grillot. The Kansas City Star reported that Purinton on Thursday waived his preliminary hearing and the not guilty plea was entered on his behalf. His next hearing is scheduled for 8 May. Purinton also faces hate crime charges. According to prosecutors, Purinton targeted Kuchibhotla and another Indian man because of their race or ethnicity. He reportedly got into an argument with the victims and hurled racial slurs saying, "get out of my country" and "terrorist" before shooting them. The third man was shot when he tried to help the two victims. Purinton left the bar after the shooting and was arrested some 70 miles away in Clinton, Missouri, at an Applebee's restaurant after allegedly telling a bartender he shot the victims. The incident led to several vigils for the victims and the Indian American community in Olathe as well as throughout the country. Kuchibhotla of Hyderabad and his colleague Madasani from Warangal district in Telangana were working as aviation programme managers at Garmin, an MNC. London: London mayor Sadiq Khan will be arriving in Mumbai on Sunday as part of his first official tour to three Indian cities to promote the British capital's resilience and strengths post-Brexit. Apart from Mumbai, Khan will be visiting Delhi and Amritsar in India and then fly to Lahore, Islamabad and Karachi in Pakistan on his six-day tour to six cities. As part of the Indian leg of the trade mission aimed at promoting new business links between India and London, the London mayor has a series of meetings planned with senior politicians, business leaders, regional leaders as well as Bollywood personalities. His central message will be that the British capital remains open to Indian talent post-Brexit. "Following last year's EU referendum, it is far more important to get the message of London is open out far and wide and I will be taking that message to India and Pakistan," he said on the eve of his visit. Khan would be taking the Jet Airways' recently launched third direct London-Mumbai flight. The mayor of London will be accompanied by his Deputy Mayor for Business, Rajesh Agrawal. Their packed itinerary in India will include discussions on business and investment, infrastructure and the environment as well as visas and other opportunities to work together more closely. By Nisha Susan When you marry into a family, often you have no idea whats coming. But Meghan Markle is in the unusual position of just having to buy a few school-level textbooks. Markle and Kate Middleton can also look back at a long line of their female royal predecessors and see that it hasnt been mostly laissez les bon temps rouler but mostly heads rolling. You dont have to go all the way back to Anne Boleyn, though. Most recently, the two women India TV once called Kate ki asli saas (Diana Spencer) and Kate ki doosri saas (Camilla Parker Bowles) have had their varying shares of public misery. One of the first things I thought when I heard of actor Meghan Markles engagement to Prince Harry was, What is Hilary Mantle thinking now? Double Booker-winner and all-round literary marvel, Mantle has grappled with the complications of women in the British royal family over and over again. In her 2005 novel Beyond Black, Diana makes an appearance as a cheerful and confused ghost. In the first two books of her Cromwell series Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies, the fascinating Anne Boleyn soars and crashes. In 2013, soon after her second Booker, Mantle gave a lecture at the British Museum about Anne Boleyn, the nature of monarchy and the media circus around Kate Middleton, and particularly her body. She said, Cheerful curiosity can easily become cruelty. It can easily become fatal. We dont cut off the heads of royal ladies these days, but we do sacrifice them, and we did memorably drive one to destruction a scant generation ago. In this and other ways, Mantle argues in favour of kindness to the nicely brought up young woman with the dead eyes, aka Middleton. Mantle added, Kate seems to have been selected for her role of princess because she was irreproachable: as painfully thin as anyone could wish, without quirks, without oddities, without the risk of the emergence of character. I am not sure how to say that it was astonishingly brave of Mantle to make these remarks without sounding like I, in turn, am being bitchy to Mantle. So here it is to be an overweight woman and call Kate Middleton too thin was to invite the guillotine. The Daily Mail immediately called Mantle venomous and vicious and reminded everyone that Mantle was infertile and dreamt of being thin. Mantles discussion of the latest version of Royal watch was pushed under the bus even by those with greater intellectual claims than The Daily Mail coz, you know, Mantle is a fatty. And this, as everyone who is not living under a rock knows, is what it is in this millennium to live in the public eye as a woman. I wonder what Mantle makes of Meghan Markle, a thoroughly modern creature with biographical details that would have made her a royal no-no until even fairly recently. Her biographical and anatomical details have been simultaneously lauded by a section of observers and fans as a sign that the royals are getting woke-ish. What details? That Markle is American, Catholic, divorced, biracial and has a solid career. A career that she is reportedly quitting to be part of a household that costs $368 million a year, $48 million of which comes from the British government, an annual payment made to the Royals for nothing more than being already gloriously rich and well-dressed. Its as if the nation of UK had figured out Instagram a few hundred years before everyone else and, having figured it out, continues to throw millions of pounds at it to retain a proto-Kardashian household to provide pageantry, fashion, anxiety, affection and rage. I mean, Instagram is free, Brits, you can still choose to exit (ahem) this arrangement. Why is it considered all right to be particularly brutal to the young women of the British royal family? The British press has helpfully told its readers that Markles ancestors were slaves when her fiances were kings and earls. It has retrieved astonishing anachronisms like saucy divorcee to describe her. Saucy divorcee was already dated back when the name Hotmail made middle-aged Brits giggle. The media harassment escalated to a point that the Palace had to issue a statement claiming that a line has been crossed and the press should back off Markle. For its full impact, this statement should be read alongside what Harry said in a documentary made on the 20th anniversary of his mothers death: Shed had a severe head injury. Those that had caused the accident were then taking photographs. Instead of helping, [they] were taking photographs of her dying on the backseat. And then those photographs...made their way back to news desks in this country. Its tough enough to be just about any kind of woman in the public eye, as one story about a husband-and-wife pair of reporters in The Washington Post demonstrated (short version: she got trolled, he didnt). And its not like fame protects you from private assaults, as the Weinstein epic has taught us. The particular nature of their celebrity throws Middleton and Markle under the juggernaut of global rage and a profound lack of empathy. When Kim Kardashian was held at gunpoint and robbed in a Paris hotel last year, she faced heavy trolling, disbelief and online comments that wished she had been killed. Many of the celebrities who did offer Kardashian solidarity felt it necessary to remind the world that she was a wife and a mother of two. A year later Taylor Swift, sister suffragette, made a reference to the robbery in her new song 'Look What You Made Me Do', also mocking her. Middleton and Markle are likely to gain even less sympathy in a similar situation. In 2012, photographs of Middleton sunbathing topless in France were taken from nearly a kilometre away using special lenses and published in tabloids. I found myself in heated arguments with friends, even feminist friends, who felt that these are just rich people problems and Middleton deserved no sympathy. Are they really? This week, American television journalist Matt Lauer was fired for serial sexual harassment and at least one complaint of sexual assault. Now we can draw lines connecting the dots between his alleged assaults to his edging out female colleagues to his giving Hilary Clinton a hard interview and Trump a soft one in 2016, all the way to his asking incredibly malicious questions to Anne Hathaway about paparazzi taking upskirt photos of her. The same logic that makes the royal women fair game made Anne Hathaway fair game back then. Even now, some would argue that Lauers sexism to Hilary Clinton more geopolitically significant, and hence more deserving of indignation, than his sexism to Anne Hathaway, aka frivolous Hollywood type, who shouldnt feel bad about any public invasions of her body. As Rebecca Onion points out in this post-Weinstein essay gloriously titled, Weve Got the 70s-Style Rage. Now We Need the 70s-Style Feminist Social Analysis, most capitalist institutions are death to female ambition and encourage male domination. Which makes me think, arent the stories of Lauers systemic edging out of female colleagues as horrific as the stories of his sexual assault? As Onion writes, Beyond creating a climate where harassment could thrive, capitalism reaped the benefits of this dynamic, since many women left male-dominated fields with higher-paying jobs for lower-paying positions in teaching, nursing, or social work where they would be less likely to have to deal with a harasser Are men still taught to dominate, and to respect those who perform dominance? You betcha. And the behaviour continues to function as a check on womens ambitions. Does Onions dose of feminist theory seem far away from our lives? Not so much. Just this week Scroll reported on economist Girija Borkers study that has shown how women applicants often pick lower-ranked Delhi colleges if they are considered to be a safer commute. All this is to say that Middleton and Markles royal job is a jobless sort of job, like many jobs acquired through nepotism and family connections. But its not without some of the risks taken on by women in the public eye everywhere, and a tiny bit of the risks taken by a spectrum of working women. So a little kindness wont hurt anyone. It isnt as if they are going to stop bringing up the bodies, Markles, Middletons, yours or mine. The Ladies Finger (TLF) is a leading online womens magazine Suspected Boko Haram suicide bombers have killed at least 13 other people in an attack on a market in the northeast Nigerian town of Biu in Borno state, officials said on Saturday. The blasts struck while aid workers were distributing food to people affected by the eight-year conflict with Boko Haram, said Aliyu Idrisa, a community leader. In addition to the 13 victims, 53 people were injured and two bombers were killed, said Victor Isuku, police spokesman for Borno state. Saturday's attack bore the hallmarks of Boko Haram, which uses suicide bombers, often women and girls, to attack crowded public spaces. Last week, a suicide bombing at a mosque in the northeastern town of Mubi killed at least 50 people, one of the deadliest attacks in recent years. The government has said its long-term plan for the northeast is to corral civilians inside fortified garrison towns and effectively cede the countryside to Boko Haram. That plan and a string of deadly attacks have raised questions about assertions by the Nigerian government and military that Boko Haram's Islamist insurgency has been all but wiped out. Search Keywords: Short link: Washington: Michael Flynn was President Donald Trump's favourite general, and he rapidly vaulted to prominence by his fiery speech at the 2016 Republican National Convention about jailing Hillary Clinton and by Trump's decision to reward him with a plum job as his top national security aide. Flynn's plunge was even faster. He was fired by Trump after just a month in the White House and left to contend with a mounting criminal probe that led to his decision to plead guilty on Friday to lying to the FBI about his contacts with the Russian ambassador. Flynn, 58, is the first person who served in the Trump White House to be charged in the wide-ranging investigation led by special counsel Robert Mueller into possible coordination between the Trump campaign and Russia. He also becomes the first former national security adviser to be charged with a felony since the fallout from the Iran-Contra affair of the mid-1980s. Flynn came to the fore as the stern, hawkish persona of the tough national security image Trump sought to project to the nation and the world during last year's campaign. Trump admired "my generals," as he described the military men he brought into his campaign, and for Flynn, the growing bond with the insurgent GOP candidate was life-altering. Flynn was a familiar presence on the Trump campaign trail, his appearance intended to lend national security gravitas to an election effort short on established names. At campaign events, and at the Republican convention, Flynn led cheers of "Lock her up" about the Democratic candidate and her email practices. Flynn's vaunted military career as an intelligence specialist had ended in a forced dismissal by senior Obama administration officials. As a retired U.S. Army lieutenant general, he had to scramble for opportunities advising cybersecurity companies and starting up his own consulting firm. But Trump's growing admiration provided Flynn with the promise of a pivotal national role and a public forum for his increasingly defiant screeds against "radical Islam" and the Obama administration. Trump lauded Flynn as an "invaluable asset" in November 2016 as he named him his national security adviser. And even after Trump fired him in February, the president continued to hold Flynn in high esteem, grousing that such a "wonderful man" had been laid low by leaks and pesky media. Flynn's path to the courtroom can be traced back to two events on the same day Election Day 2016. That morning, Flynn published an op-ed in The Hill newspaper, trumpeting the talking points of the Turkish government. That evening, Trump won the election, thrusting the retired general known for his attacks on Islam into position for a top national security post. Within weeks, Flynn had been named national security adviser and the Justice Department had taken an interest in the op-ed as possible evidence of unregistered foreign agent work. While Flynn's attorneys began the process of determining whether he would need to register under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, Flynn had a phone conversation with the Russian ambassador to the United States that was recorded by the U.S. government and that swiftly caught the attention of the Justice Department. He was interviewed by FBI agents on 24 January about his communications with the ambassador, Sergey Kislyak, and about whether they had discussed sanctions imposed on Russia following its election interference. Days later, then-acting Attorney General Sally Yates warned White House counsel Don McGahn that Flynn had been compromised because of discrepancies between the White House public narrativethat Flynn and Kislyak had not discussed sanctionsand the reality of what occurred. White House officials took no immediate action against Flynn, and he was not forced to resign his position until after news reports indicated that he had discussed sanctions and that Justice Department officials had raised concerns. In the weeks after his firing, Flynn registered retroactively with the Justice Department, disclosing that $530,000 worth of lobbying his company did for a Turkish businessman could have benefited the government of Turkey. Flynn's business partner, former Export-Import Bank board member Bijan Kian, also registered. In the filings, both men laid out a contract Flynn signed in the final months of the presidential campaign that called for his firm, the Flynn Intel Group, to gather information that could support a criminal case against a Turkish cleric living in the US. The cleric, Fethullah Gulen, has been accused of being behind a failed coup last year, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called for his extradition. The US has rebuffed those calls for lack of evidence. But Flynn's retroactive disclosure of the work did not satisfy federal prosecutors. A grand jury in the Eastern District of Virginia soon began investigating, and FBI agents began asking questions about how much Flynn and Kian knew about Ekim Alptekin, the Turkish businessman who hired them. When Mueller was appointed in May, he incorporated that investigation. The Turkish contract landed by Flynn's consulting firm was the first significant promise of business success since he had left the military. Flynn had won plaudits as a military intelligence officer in combat zones in Afghanistan and Iraq and was rewarded in July 2012 with a post as director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, the military's spy organization. He lasted two years, criticized by Obama administration officials for his management and temper, and was forced to retire in August 2014. Flynn's post-military career was a succession of consulting gigs and directorships at small defense contractors. He traveled to the Mideast in 2015 to lend credibility to a proposal for a US-Russia private nuclear partnership that has yet to work out. And he took payments from several foreign firms that have come back to haunt him. Congressional committees investigating Flynn earlier this year found that he had been paid more than $37,000 by RT, a Russian state-sponsored television station, to attend its anniversary gala in Moscow in December 2015. Flynn was given a dignitary's welcome, seated beside Russian President Vladimir Putin at the network's lavish dinner. The Russian network has since been identified by a US intelligence community assessment as a propaganda arm of Putin's government. Flynn is also under investigation by the Defense Department's inspector general to determine whether he failed to obtain government approval before accepting payments from foreign governments. Flynn's rise in prominence in conservative circles came as he became an outspoken critic of President Barack Obama's handling of terrorism. Flynn called for a more aggressive campaign against the Islamic State group and turned his fire on Islam itself, calling it a "cancer" and a "political ideology" that "definitely hides behind being a religion." Flynn harped on similar themes on the campaign trail, joining Trump at rallies and working his way into the campaign inner circle. Most notably, Flynn also became the face of Trump's calls for Clinton to be jailed over her use of a private email server. "If I did a tenth of what she did, I would be in jail today," Flynn said at the Republican convention. Washington: The United States on Saturday strongly condemned the terrorist attack on an agriculture training institute in Pakistan's northwestern city of Peshawar in which at least 12 people, including six students, were killed. Three burqa-clad heavily-armed Taliban militants, who arrived on an auto rickshaw, on Friday attacked the students' hostel of the Directorate of Agriculture Extension on the University Road in the city, the capital of the restive Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province. The institute was closed for the Eid-e-Milad holiday, but about 70 students were present in the hostel. "We offer our deepest condolences to the families of the victims, and wish a speedy recovery to those injured in the attack," State Department Spokesperson Heather Nauert said. "We stand with the people and Government of Pakistan, and we will continue to work with our partners in Pakistan and across the region to combat the threat of terrorism," she said in a statement. According to police chief of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province Salahuddin Mehsud, the attack claimed by the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan left six students, a security guard and five civilians dead, and 32 others injured. He said the terrorists were killed by security forces after a gunfight which lasted for an hour. Dhaka: Pope Francis is wrapping up his Asian trip with a visit to an orphanage and home for the disabled run by Mother Teresa's order and a meeting with Bangladeshi priests and nuns. At the "Mother Teresa" home on Saturday, two little girls in floral dresses grabbed Francis' hand and walked him through the courtyard. He was nearly mobbed by nuns in the Missionaries of Charity trademark blue-trimmed saris. Francis' final day in Bangladesh came after his emotional encounter with Rohingya Muslim refugees on Friday. Pronouncing "Rohingya" in public for the first time on the trip, Francis begged their forgiveness for the "indifference of the world" to their plight. He said, "The presence of God today also is called 'Rohingya.'" ROME (Reuters) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Friday that a U.S. threat to destroy North Korea in the event of a war was a bloodthirsty tirade and military action against Pyongyang would be a big mistake. Russia Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov attends a meeting with his Italian counterpart Angelino Alfano in Rome, Italy December 1, 2017. REUTERS/Remo CasilliSpeaking on a visit to Italy, Lavrov strongly condemned comments made by U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, who earlier this week warned North Koreas leadership it would be utterly destroyed if war were to break out after Pyongyang test fired its most advanced missile. If someone really wants to use force to, as the U.S. representative to the United Nations put it, destroy North Korea ...then I think that is playing with fire and a big mistake, Lavrov told reporters. He called Haleys speech on North Korea, which she made at an emergency U.N. Security Council meeting, a really bloodthirsty tirade. We will do everything to ensure that (the use of force) doesnt happen so that the problem is decided only using peaceful and political-diplomatic means, said Lavrov. Later, addressing a Rome conference, Lavrov said Russia and the United States both wanted North Korea to disarm, but said Washington would send a bad message if it walked away from a 2015 nuclear deal with Iran. U.S. President Donald Trump said in October he would not certify that Tehran was complying with the 2015 deal and warned he might ultimately terminate it, accusing Iran of not living up to the spirit of the accord. If the United States drops out of this deal, it wont be very credible in the eyes of those who are now requested to drop their (own) nuclear programme like North Korea, Lavrov said. He added that most serious analysts ... and many officials in Washington understood this. This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. Seoul: Six American F-22 Raptor stealth fighters arrived in South Korea on Saturday for a joint flying exercisein a show of strength following North Korea's missile test earlier this week. The fifth-generation, single-seat, twin-engine, all-weather stealth tactical fighter aircraft will take part in the 'Vigilant ace' exercise with the South Korean air force from 4 to 8 December. The US also plans to deploy F-35 and F-16 fighters and the B-1B strategic bombers. This is the first time that the US has deployed six F-22 at one time in the Korean peninsula, which serves as another warning to Pyongyang after the latter launched a Hwasong-15 intercontinental ballistic missileits most sophisticated missile to dateon Wednesday. This deployment, as well as the three US nuclear aircraft carriers deployed last month near the North Korean waters, falls under the agreement in October between Seoul and Washington to increase rotational deployment of strategic assets of the US in the Korean peninsula. South Korea and the US seek to pressurise North Korea to return to the negotiating table to abandon its nuclear programme. WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump said on Friday that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is not leaving the administration, contradicting news reports that the White House was planning to replace the top U.S. diplomat. U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson (L) listens to U.S. President Donald Trump speak during a meeting with his Cabinet at the White House in Washington, U.S., November 20, 2017. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque The media has been speculating that I fired Rex Tillerson or that he would be leaving soon - FAKE NEWS!, Trump wrote in a post on Twitter. He is not leaving and while we disagree on certain subjects (I call the final shots) we work well together and America is highly respected again! This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is not leaving, President Donald Trump tweeted on Friday, after U.S. officials on Thursday said the White House had a plan for CIA Director Mike Pompeo to replace him. U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson (L) listens to U.S. President Donald Trump speak during a meeting with his Cabinet at the White House in Washington, U.S., November 20, 2017. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque The media has been speculating that I fired Rex Tillerson or that he would be leaving soon - FAKE NEWS! Hes not leaving and while we disagree on certain subjects, (I call the final shots) we work well together and America is highly respected again! Trump said on Twitter. The tweet linked to a picture of Tillerson being sworn in as secretary of state with Trump and Vice President Mike Pence looking on. Senior administration officials on Thursday said that Trump was considering a plan to oust Tillerson, whose relationship with the president has been strained by the top U.S. diplomats softer line on North Korea and other policy differences, as well as by reports in October that he called the president a moron. Tillerson has not directly addressed whether he made the comment, though his spokeswoman denied it. The New York Times on Thursday first reported the White House plan to replace him. Asked to comment on some White House officials wanting him to resign, how the matter was being handled and what his plans were, Tillerson replied: Its laughable. Its laughable. His comments came as he posed for pictures with Libyan Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj of the United Nations-backed government in Tripoli. Tillerson visits Europe next week to attend NATO meetings in Brussels on Tuesday and Wednesday, an Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) meeting in Vienna on Thursday and talks with French officials in Paris on Friday. He is tentatively scheduled to meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Vienna on Thursday on the sidelines of the OSCE meeting, a senior State Department official told reporters. This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. ANKARA (Reuters) - Courts in the United States cannot put Turkey on trial, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday, in reference to the case of a Turkish bank executive who has been charged with evading U.S. sanctions on Iran. FILE PHOTO: Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan addresses members of parliament from his ruling AK Party (AKP) during a meeting at the Parliament in Ankara, Turkey, November 7, 2017. REUTERS/Umit Bektas/File PhotoAlready strained ties between NATO allies Ankara and Washington have deteriorated in recent weeks as Turkish-Iranian gold trader Reza Zarrab, who is cooperating with U.S. prosecutors, detailed in court a scheme to evade U.S. sanctions. Over three days of testimony, Zarrab has implicated top Turkish politicians, including Erdogan. Zarrab said on Thursday that Erdogan personally authorized two Turkish banks to join the scheme when he was prime minister. Ankara has cast the testimony as an attempt to undermine Turkey and its economy, and has previously said it was a clear plot by the network of U.S.-based Fethullah Gulen, who it alleges engineered last years coup attempt. Reuters was not immediately able to reach representatives for the ministers implicated by Zarrab in the trial. Turkey has repeatedly requested Gulens extradition, but U.S. officials have said the courts require sufficient evidence before they can extradite the elderly cleric, who has denied any involvement in the coup. Erdogan, who has governed Turkey for almost 15 years, told members of his ruling AK Party in the northeastern province of Kars on Saturday that U.S. courts can never try my country. Although he has not yet responded to the courtroom claims, he has dismissed the case as a politically motivated attempt to bring down the Turkish government and on Friday the state-run Anadolu news agency said Turkish prosecutors are set to seize the assets of Zarrab and his acquaintances. Turkey has stepped up its pressure on the U.S. and on Saturday Anadolu quoted Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu as saying that Gulens followers had infiltrated the U.S. judiciary, Congress, and other state institutions. The United States says its judiciary is independent of any political or other interference. CRACKDOWN Some 150,000 people have been sacked or suspended from their jobs over alleged links to Gulen since the attempted coup, while close to 50,000 people from the military, public and private sector have been jailed. And in a further blow to Turkish-U.S. ties, Turkish authorities on Friday issued an arrest warrant for former U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) officer Graham Fuller over suspected links to the abortive putsch. Rights groups and Turkeys Western allies have voiced concerns that Erdogan is using the crackdown to muzzle dissent, but the government says the purges are necessary due to the gravity of the threat it faces. This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. United Nations: United Nations Security Council ministers will meet on 15 December to discuss North Koreas nuclear and missiles programs and the body will also meet separately in December to discuss human rights abuses in the North Asian country, an annual meeting that its ally China has tried to prevent for the past three years. Japans UN ambassador Koro Bessho, president of the 15-member council for December, said several ministers were confirmed to attend the 15 December meeting. He also said the meeting on human rights in North Korea could be held on 11 December. China has unsuccessfully tried to stop three previous human rights meetings by calling a procedural vote. A minimum of nine votes are needed to win such a vote and China, Russia, US, Britain and France cannot wield their vetoes. This years meeting has the backing of nine members - the United States, France, Britain, Italy, Japan, Senegal, Sweden, Ukraine and Uruguay. In 2016, the United States angered North Korea by blacklisting its leader Kim Jong Un for human rights abuses. A landmark 2014 UN report on North Korean human rights concluded that North Korean security chiefs and possibly Kim himself should face justice for overseeing a state-controlled system of Nazi-style atrocities. Michael Kirby, chairman of the UN Commission of Inquiry that drew up the report, said at the time that the crimes the team had catalogued were reminiscent of those committed by the Nazis during World War Two. "Some of them are strikingly similar," he told Reuters. North Korea has repeatedly rejected accusations of human rights abuses and blames sanctions for a dire humanitarian situation. Pyongyang has been under UN sanctions since 2006 over its ballistic missiles and nuclear programmes. "Despite persistent sanctions and pressure by the US and other hostile forces, my government concentrates all its efforts on improving peoples livelihood and providing them with a better future," the North Korean Permanent Mission to the United Nations said in a statement on 14 November. WHY DONT YOU READ THESE? Washington: The US wants Pakistan to act in "its best interest" and take action against terror safe havens, Jim Mattis said on Saturday, ahead of his first visit to Islamabad as America's Defence Secretary. Mattis embarked on a four-nation tour on Friday which will take him to Egypt, Jordan, Pakistan and Kuwait. During the tour, he will re-affirm the US' enduring commitment to partnerships in the Middle East, West Africa and South Asia. "In Afghanistan, we have heard from Pakistan leaders that they do not support terrorism. So I expect to see that sort of action reflected in their policies," Mattis told reporters travelling with him to Egypt. "They have said that they do not support havens for any terrorists, and Pakistan has taken significant casualtiesboth innocent people and their armysignificant casualties from them. So we expect them to act in their own best interest, and in support of peace and regional stability," he said. Mattis will visit Pakistan on Monday where he is expected to meet Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and Army Chief Qamar Javed Bajwa, the Pentagon said. "I'm making my first trip to Pakistan as secretary of defense...The US remains committed to a pragmatic relationship that expands cooperation on shared interests while reinforcing President Donald Trump's call for action against terrorist safe havens," he said. Responding to a question on Pakistan's failure to take actions against terrorists, Mattis said Pakistan has to act in its own best interest. "They know this. In many cases, they are. But what we're looking for is to broaden the common ground and make certain that no terrorist organisation is seen as able to operate from a haven there," he said. Observing that 39 nations have troops on the ground in Afghanistan fighting terrorism, Mattis said the US was looking to make a common cause with them. "There's plenty of collaborative areas, right now, still in effect. There's been some areas that we have lost over the years, because of disagreements about what we need to do," he said. "So this is an effort by the new American administration, to go in and set the conditions for future collaboration that leads to reconciliation in Afghanistan and a denial of safe havens for any terrorist group that would attack anyone in the region or elsewhere in the world, which a number of countries have suffered from," Mattis said. On 21 August, Trump announced his South Asia strategy in which he had criticised Pakistan for providing safe havens to terrorists. Caracas: A cousin of former Venezuelan oil czar Rafael Ramirez was arrested in an investigation into a series of accounts in an Andorran bank suspected of being used to launder about $1.6 billion in corrupt funds, the chief prosecutor has announced. The arrest of Diego Salazar comes amid a widening corruption probe into Venezuela's state-run oil industry that some see as an attempt by President Nicolas Maduro to consolidate power within his socialist party ahead of next year's presidential elections. Many proteges of Ramirez have been detained, including former Oil Minister Eulogio del Pino and Nestor Martinez, ex-president of state oil company PDVSA. Ramirez himself has not been arrested though there are unconfirmed reports he has been dismissed from his current post as Venezuela's ambassador to the United Nations. Some observers see him as the ultimate target of the purge. In a telephone interview broadcast on state-run television, Attorney General Tarek William Saab said Salazar is accused of money laundering and association to commit a crime. Salazar and others would be linked to a corruption scheme in the bank in Andorra, a nation of 85,000 inhabitants between Spain and France, Saab said. In 2015, Andorra intervened in the Banca Privada d'Andorra, or BPA, after the US Treasury Department accused it of laundering money from groups in China, Russia and Venezuela. Saab said that documentation obtained by Venezuela's Public Ministry includes contracts between the parties and bank transfers that suggest attempts to defraud state companies and agencies, and launder about $1.6 billion in funds. One of the attractions of investing in British drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline plc (NYSE: GSK) is its generous dividend yield, which lately has hovered at just a bit less than 6%. A yield that's so far out of whack with peers in the industry is an indication that the market is discounting trouble ahead. How likely is a dividend cut, and is the recent drop in the stock price a warning or a buying opportunity? GlaxoSmithKline's shares have slumped since early summer, and the biggest concern has been the safety of the dividend. At a July 26 investor event, Glaxo CEO Emma Walmsley and her team stirred up new worries about the dividend when they announced a change in policy coming after 2018. The company is committed to maintaining the current dividend through 2018, but after that, Glaxo will return to its pre-2015 practice of declaring the payout on a quarter-by-quarter basis rather than committing to it in advance. After 2018, Glaxo will have a goal to have 1.25 to 1.5 times coverage of dividend payments with free cash flow. That's totally reasonable, and is a financial conservatism that dividend investors love to see. The problem is, despite improving cash flow in recent quarters, the company isn't anywhere near that now. When questioned by analysts, the company admitted that it will probably take several years before free cash flow amounts to 125% to 150% of the current dividend, leaving open the question of whether there will be a dividend cut after 2018. When Glaxo executives refused to rule that out and stated that growth investments will be prioritized over the dividend, the market immediately started assuming a cut was in the offing, bidding down the stock price and therefore driving up the yield. In 2016, free cash flow amounted to 80% of the dividend payout. Free cash flow is particularly lumpy because of the timing of various payments and inventory builds, but so far in 2017, it's up 29% from last year, and the guidance is that Q4 cash flow will be strong. If the 29% growth holds up for the whole year, 2017 free cash flow would edge up just over 100% of the cash need for the dividend. Assuming 2018 also is a growth year for cash, Glaxo could afford to maintain the dividend without increasing debt and may actually get close to the coverage goal. Maintenance of the current dividend during a transition to the long-term goal is a strong possibility. If free cash flow is above 100% dividend but below the long-term goal of 125% to 150%, will Glaxo cut the dividend? I don't think so. The company hopes to grow into its goal over a period of years, but it recognizes how important the dividend is to its shareholders. If management had any doubt about that, it should have been erased with the 14% decline in the share price since the July event, when the issue moved to front and center. Fast-forward to about a year from now. All things being equal, if Glaxo indicates that it will maintain the current dividend into 2019 and beyond, the shares are likely to rebound the 15% they have fallen since the day before the July investor event. That would be a nice gain for patient investors. But there's one problem with this assumption. Glaxo may go shopping In October, Pfizer announced that it was looking into options to spin off or sell its $3.4 billion consumer products business, which includes two of the top 10 global brands, Advil and Centrum. GlaxoSmithKline would be the obvious buyer in such a big deal, having traded assets for the consumer business of Novartis in 2015 to create a joint venture. In the third-quarter conference call, Walmsley, who had led the consumer business before taking the top job earlier this year, confirmed that the company is interested. Analysts immediately expressed concern that any deal to pick up Pfizer's consumer business would jeopardize the dividend. A deal seems very possible, with Walmsley saying the company wanted to build up its consumer business and having declared that investments for long-term business growth will be the highest priority for capital allocation. Even if a deal with Pfizer could be structured in such a way keep the balance sheet intact, it is likely to have some cash requirement. And there is an additional complication, in that part of the deal with Novartis involved granting that company a "put option" to sell its 37.5% stake in the consumer joint venture to GlaxoSmithKline at any time, starting on the third anniversary of that deal, coming up next year. Should Novartis decide to exercise the option, the buyout could be a huge cash requirement for Glaxo. The essential dilemma for GlaxoSmithKline investors is that, as of today, the company can't afford the current dividend. And while it probably has the ability to grow into affording it, there are other competing needs for cash. Even if precious capital isn't spent on bolstering the consumer business, the company wants to be ready for an acquisition opportunity to strengthen its drug pipeline, should one appear. GlaxoSmithKline may be able to navigate these waters without lowering the dividend, but it would probably come at the price of passing up opportunities that would ratchet up growth. With the lack of flexibility and uncertainties that come with Glaxo's shortage of cash, conservative investors would be better off ignoring the high yield and putting new money into dividend payers with stronger finances. 10 stocks we like better than GlaxoSmithKlineWhen 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 GlaxoSmithKline wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys. Click here to learn about these picks! *Stock Advisor returns as of November 6, 2017 Jim Crumly 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. Social Security has been paying retirement benefits to seniors for nearly eight decades, and its importance to retired workers has seemingly grown with each passing year. Today, according to the Social Security Administration, 34% of elderly recipients rely on their monthly stipend for 90% or more of their income, while 62% lean on the program for at least half of their income. It's simply that important to the financial well-being of our nation's 42 million-plus retirees currently receiving a monthly benefit. But this all-important program is about to run into a brick wall. The ongoing retirement of baby boomers has allowed roughly four million new people each year to become eligible for retirement benefits, and there simply aren't new workers to take their place without the worker-to-beneficiary ratio falling. Also, life expectancies have risen steadily for decades. Between 1960 and 2016, life expectancies rose by nearly nine to 78.8 years. We have more retirees living longer than ever before, and it's putting a lot of pressure on America's most important social program. According to the annually released report from the Social Security Board of Trustees, Social Security is expected to begin paying out more in benefits than it's generating in revenue beginning in 2022. By 2034, its $3 trillion in asset reserves are forecast to be completely exhausted. Should this happen, across-the-board cuts to current and future beneficiaries of up to 23% may be needed to sustain payouts through 2091. That's a pretty grim forecast. A head-scratcher: 60% of seniors claim benefits before age 65 Yet, something that might be just as mind-boggling is the layout of when most seniors sign up for Social Security benefits. For those unfamiliar with how Social Security works, you can claim benefits at age 62 or any point thereafter, but you're incentivized to wait, with your benefits growing by approximately 8% a year until age 70. In other words, the longer you wait, the more you'll be paid per month, based on your work and earnings history. Your full retirement age, or the age at which you're entitled to receive 100% of your retirement benefit, is also critically important. Claiming benefits at any point before reaching your full retirement age means accepting a permanent reduction in your monthly payout. Conversely, waiting until after your full retirement age to enroll can increase your monthly payout above 100%. On paper, you'd think the logical move for most seniors would be to maximize their payout, but the data shows we're seeing that in very few instances. The Center for Retirement Research at Boston College found (using 2013 data) that 45% of seniors claim benefits at age 63, and 60% in aggregate claim before age 65. Depending on your full retirement age, we're talking about permanent monthly payout reductions of up to 30%. Worse yet, these are probably conservative estimates since the full retirement age is 66 years and two months in 2017. Blame Congress for many of these early enrollments Why on earth would seniors be willing to accept lower payouts for life, you ask? For some it could be a logical decision. For example, if you're in poor health and don't expect to make it to the average life expectancy, waiting to claim benefits won't do you any good. Spouses with a substantially lower lifetime income may also choose to claim benefits early in order to generate income for the household while the higher-earning spouse's benefit grows over time. But there's no way that these two instances encompass why three out of five seniors have claimed Social Security benefits early. My take is that Congress is to blame for many of these early claims by retired workers. We have to go back 34 years to 1983 to find the last time Congress initiated a major overhaul of the Social Security program. Putting aside changes to the taxation of benefits in 1993, and adjustments to the retirement earnings test for those at or above the full retirement age in 2000, things have remained relatively static for 34 years, which is a prime reason why Social Security is on a collision course with disaster. Therefore, a big reason why seniors might be choosing to take benefits now as opposed to waiting is the aforementioned possibility of a 23% cut to future benefits. By claiming as soon as possible, even with a permanent reduction in lifetime payouts, seniors would at least get up to 17 years of unaltered benefits (sans cost-of-living adjustments) before they'd be reduced. Some retired workers may rightly believe that waiting up to eight years, once eligible, just isn't worth it with benefit cuts looming. Congress remains apathetically deadlocked on how to fix Social Security Congress' lack of action certainly isn't because of a lack of ideas. There are, in fact, two core proposals that work to fix Social Security's funding problem. The issue is that Democrats and Republicans both have proposals that work, and neither will back down to find a middle ground with the other party. Plain and simple, Democrats want to see the rich pay more. Currently, Social Security's payroll tax is levied on earned income between $0.01 and $127,200 (as of 2017). This means any earned income above and beyond $127,200 is clear of Social Security's payroll tax. Democrats want to end this perk for the well-to-do, either by removing the maximum taxable earnings cap completely or perhaps reinstituting it on earned income above, say, $250,000 or $400,000. Doing so could completely cover the projected $12.5 trillion cash shortfall between 2034 and 2091 for Social Security. Of course, it'd provide the rich with no extra benefits since monthly retirement benefits at full retirement age are capped at $2,687 in 2017. As for Republicans, they want to adjust the full retirement age to reflect increased longevity. They'd do this by gradually raising the full retirement age from 67 as of 2022 to 68, 69, or 70 in the years to come. It would, in effect, mean a reduction in benefits for future generations of workers, but it would protect the benefits of those already retired. Like the Democrats' idea, the GOP may be able to completely eliminate the cash shortfall with adjustments to the full retirement age. Until we witness a major overhaul of Social Security -- which is code for "until both parties can learn to work with each other" -- we're likely to continue seeing a majority of seniors claiming benefits well before their full retirement age. Embattled NBC News President Noah Oppenheim told employees Friday that he had launched an investigation into who knew about fired "Today" host Matt Lauer's bad behavior and didn't report it -- and promised harsh retribution for any employee who had kept silent. The New York Post reported that Oppenheim made the comments at a tense meeting with the staff of NBC's prestigious "Nightly News" program. "I can tell you, on a personal level," Oppenheim said, "that if there is anyone who works here, who still works here, who knew about this and didn't report it, this is going to be dealt with in the most severe way possible. And that is why were are conducting this review." Lauer was fired late Tuesday after he was found to have carried on "inappropriate sexual behavior" with a female colleague. The next day, a shocking report in Variety detailed multiple claims of crude behavior by the morning show star. Among the allegations: that Lauer once gave a colleague a sex toy with an explicit note about how he wanted to use it on her; that he exposed himself to another female co-worker; that he would question female producers about their sex lives; and that he would talk about which co-hosts he would like to sleep with. Variety also said Lauer had a secret button under his desk that allowed him to lock his office door remotely, affording him privacy for his sexual conquests. The New York Times later reported that Lauer allegedly "summoned" a married co-worker to his office for sex in 2001 and had sex intensely with her over the back of his chair until she fainted and had to be taken to a nurse. Oppenheim and his boss, powerful NBC News chairman Andy Lack, have insisted that they had no idea Lauer was engaged in sexual improprieties with staff, despite the two executives having career-long close ties to the now disgraced TV icon. According to the Post report, Oppenheim told the "Nightly News" staff that he was only aware of reports "in the National Enquirer and other places ... that Matt had relationships with other celebrities [and] those people had denied it, as had he." "In terms of what I personally knew, I think I knew what anyone who has walked into a supermarket for the last 20 years knew," Oppenheim said. Lack, who does not appear to have been at the "Nightly News" meeting, issued a corporate memo earlier in the day announcing that NBC News would be holding sexual harassment training. His statement took no personal responsibility. Lack has been otherwise silent since he announced Wednesday morning that Lauer had been let go. Since then, Lack and Oppenheim have been the subjects of a barrage of media accounts claiming they were well aware of Lauer's peccadilloes, but along with their predecessors had allowed NBC's biggest star -- who was worth hundreds of millions in revenue -- to run rampant inside 30 Rock. The Post reported that Oppenheim's words on Friday fell flat. "There is a lot of anger among the NBC News staff," one anonymous staffer told the paper. "Noah tried to calm the situation and failed. He came to the 'Nightly News' meeting Friday afternoon and had a lot of nothing to say." NBC insiders told Fox News that Oppenheim was very much "on the defensive" in Friday's meeting and that Oppenheim's investigation was being greeted with incredulity. "Why don't he and Andy look in the mirror and deal with themselves 'severely'?" one insider said. "This is a desperate joke." Media insiders speculated to Fox News that Lack and Oppenheim may be trying to pass blame to other executives who formerly oversaw "Today". Many of those executives no longer work at NBC, having been dismissed in the shakeups that followed Comcast's acquisition of NBC Universal. These insiders also told Fox News they believe Oppenheim's comments to the "Nightly News" staff were actually designed to mollify Lack's bosses at Comcast, who are under pressure to commission an independent review, one that Lack would presumably not control. During Friday's meeting, Oppenheim also told NBC staff that because Lauer had been fired for cause, he would not receive any severance or payout of his contract, said to be worth around $25 million per year. NBC, Lack and Oppenheim have not responded to Fox News' requests for comment. Click for more from the New York Post. New York Times reporter Yamiche Alcindor either thinks President Donald Trump has the ability to communicate with the deceased, or she made an embarrassing mistake on live TV, and claimed he still can communicate with the late Fox News founder Roger Ailes. The reporter appeared on MSNBCs Hardball with Chris Matthews on Thursday evening and said that Trump speaks to Ailes on a regular basis when discussing who the president takes seriously and respects. Who he actually pays attention to are all the people he calls up on the phone. Roger Ailes. All these other people that are just kind of out in the world. Steve Bannon ... , Alcindor said. Alcindor, who is also an MSNBC contributor, covers Congress, race and social justice issues for the Times. She was quickly corrected by Matthews, who chimed in, years ago Roger Ailes. Alcindor and Matthews briefly laughed at her on-air gaffe before the MSNBC host told another guest to go ahead with her point. Its possible that Alcindor simply meant to say a different name, or perhaps she didnt realize that Ailes died at age 77 on May 18 from complications of a head injury. If she has some sort of scoop that involves Trump practicing mediumship, well, that would be major news. Ailes suffered the injury during a fall at his Florida home. According to the Palm Beach County medical examiner, Hemophilia contributed to his death and his manner of death was accidental. There was no evidence of foul play. Prior to Ailes' death, conversations between Ailes and Trump were frequently reported despite the fact that their relationship was sometimes contentious. Alcindor did not respond to a request for comment. Matt Lauers wife has reportedly left their New York home and jetted to her native country the Netherlands amid the bombshell sexual misconduct allegations against the former Today show co-host. Annette Roque, a former model, was last spotted at their home in the Hamptons, Long Island, Wednesday, the same day NBC News announced they were terminating the Today show co-host for inappropriate sexual behavior, Page Six reported. MATT LAUER WANTS $30 MILLION FROM NBC AFTER HIS FIRING FOR SEXUAL HARASSMENT, REPORT SAYS A source told Page Six Roque has left for her familys home near Amsterdam. It was not clear if the couples three children went with their mother or remained in New York. Roque, who has been married to Lauer for 20 years, has not released a statement or comment regarding her husbands termination and alleged sexual misconduct. Lauers representatives have not commented on the state of the former anchors marriage. Lauer and Roques marriage has been rocky since 2006. Roque filed for divorce in 2006 but did not follow through, People reported. A source told Page Six the TV host offered Roque a post-nuptial agreement as she filed for divorce. He reportedly offered the former model $5 million to stay in the marriage. Matt needed to stay in the marriage to keep his reputation as Americas nicest dad. He is in fact a great, and very doting dad to his kids, but he is also a terrible husband, a source told Page Six. Earlier this week, People released a report stating it was no secret that Lauer cheated on his wife. MATT LAUER TO SANDRA BULLOCK IN 2009 INTERVIEW: I HAVE SEEN YOU NAKED He regularly cheated on his wife, one source told the magazine. Everyone knew. His wife lives in the Hamptons and he lives in the city, but we never heard he made unwanted moves. Lauer told People in 2010 that he and Roque have not had a perfect marriage. Have we had a completely perfect, easy marriage? No, Lauer said. But the stories youve read over the years are not true. The accusations (of infidelity) are ridiculous and Im not going to (dignify) them with an answer. Its not true. In what some Texas doctors are describing as a breakthrough in medical research, a baby was recently born from a mother who had a uterine transplant, the medical center said on Friday. The delivery of the child is believed to be the first of its kind in the U.S. Baylor Scott & White, a health care system in the state, released the news of the baby boys birth in a video post on Twitter. The delivery at Baylor University Medical Center at Dallas is a breakthrough in medical research and a major milestone in a landmark clinical trial, the video post said. Congratulations to the family and care team on the birth of a baby boy! UMASS AMHERST DECLARES MENINGITIS OUTBREAK AFTER 2 CONFIRMED CASES Craig Civale, a spokesman for the hospital, also confirmed the news and added that a news conference is scheduled for Monday to further discuss the case. Baylor has had a study underway for several years to enroll up to ten women for uterus transplants. In October 2016, the hospital said four women had received transplants but that three of the wombs had to be removed because of poor blood flow. The hospital gave no further information on how many transplants have been performed since then. But TIME Magazine, which first reported the U.S. baby's birth, said eight have been done in total, and that another woman is currently pregnant as a result. EUROPES HIV EPIDEMIC GROWING AT ALARMING PACE, WHO WARNS The first successful trial took place in Sweden and as of last year, five babies were delivered from women with transplant wombs. The American Society for Reproductive Medicine issued a statement Friday calling the Dallas birth "another important milestone in the history of reproductive medicine." For women born without a functioning uterus, "transplantation represents the only way they can carry a pregnancy," the statement said. The group is convening experts to develop guidelines for programs that want to offer the service. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Democrats have a lot to say about the Republican tax-reform plan, including that it is a middle class con job and is going to cost the GOP its congressional majorities. Thats quite the bold claim, coming from the party that is in fact in uncharted tax-politics territory. Americans have short political memories, which means it is no longer possible to remember a world in which Democrats didnt hate tax cuts. And in the mainstream mediawhich shares the lefts penchant for class warfareits also no longer possible to read an analysis that doesnt assume Democrats are on the right side of history, that these tax cuts are unpopular, and that this reform holds grave political risks for Republicans. In short, there is very little to suggest Democrats benefit politically from sitting out this tax debatebeyond their saying so. And theyve certainly done themselves no favors from a policy perspective. Based on what? Democrats certainly have no modern evidence of these propositions, since theyve never uniformly opposed tax cuts. In fact, its been 16 years since the party even engaged in a big tax brawl, during George W. Bushs first year as president. Whats striking is just how many Democrats enthusiastically signed on to Mr. Bushs tax bill, and just how far off the political rails the party has gone in the intervening years. While the Bush tax package was hardly as sweeping as todays reform, it contained similar provisions. It cut marginal rates across the board, even knocking nearly 5 points off the top marginal rate for the 1 percent. It cut capital-gains taxes and lowered the estate tax to zero in 2010, before the reductions expired. These are all cuts that House and Senate Democrats today uniformly decry as giveaways to the rich and powerful. Keep reading Kimberley Strassel's column in the Wall Street Journal. The ubiquitous caveat of the Twitter era retweets are not endorsements may finally have demonstrated its worth, after President Trump retweeted three anti-Muslim videos Wednesday that had been posted by the leader of a far-right British group. Lacking the famous caveat, the presidents retweeting caused a transatlantic incident and now threatens the U.S. relationship with Britain, our closest ally, we are told. Its so bad that the presidents working trip to Britain planned for January to formally open the new American embassy in London has now been postponed indefinitely, according to a report and there are calls for a more formal state visit to be cancelled. Well, I sure hope the visit is off. But not for the reason you might think. The right response to President Trumps retweets clearly an impulsive mistake by the president rather than some calculated strategy would have been for all concerned to try and lower the temperature, not raise it. Lets look first at the immediate trigger for this weeks Anglo-American spat. Surely, all reasonable people would agree that endorsing extremism or even giving the appearance of endorsing, extremism of any kind is a bad idea. Not just wrong in principle, but unhelpful from a practical point of view. We are in a generations-long war against Islamist extremism. It doesnt help us win that fight to blur the distinction between the Muslim faith as practiced by its many millions of law-abiding adherents and the brutal, backward and barbaric ideology that emerged from it. The terrorists have spread death and destruction around the globe, helped in no small measure by our friends the Saudis. The right response to President Trumps retweets clearly an impulsive mistake by the president rather than some calculated strategy would have been for all concerned to try and lower the temperature, not raise it. To move on, rather than digging in. But thats not the world we live in, alas. So, fittingly enough for the holiday season, we see a familiar pantomime acted out: Trump is a fascist (Boo, hiss!); and Theresas soft on terror (Oh yes she is!). In line with previous occasions where the current occupant of the Oval Office has caused offense in the United Kingdom, there were calls led by London Mayor Sadiq Khan of the Labour Party to cancel President Trumps planned state visit. And heres where something positively useful could emerge from this latest dispute. If President Trump has any sense, he himself should pull out of the visit. Absolutely no good will come of it. Those who hate him in the U.K. (a sizeable majority) are already planning what they describe as the biggest protest in British history. President Trump shouldnt give them that satisfaction. Stay at home and save American taxpayers the money that would be spent on the airfare and security (not forgetting the random pointless gifts that are required on these occasions). But do one more thing as well. The British people who most hate Donald Trump are the ones who hate Brexit too. If you really want to annoy them, Mr. President, dont just rain on their hate parade by not showing up for it. Give the British a big, beautiful trade deal (to coin a phrase), thus helping make Brexit a success. And if you really want to rub your opponents noses in it, threaten to throw up some trade barriers against the rest of the European Union unless the EU nations promise a clean and generous Brexit process. Such a threat from America would definitely cause offense but of exactly the right kind. The political stunt that former Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Director Richard Cordray tried to pull recently in a failed attempt to name his successor was the culmination of a five-year reign at a rogue agency marked by incompetence and malfeasance. I and many other CFPB critics believe that newly appointing Acting Director Mick Mulvaney who retains his job as director of the Office of Management and Budget is the right person, in the interim, to head the CFBP. However, the only way we are going to completely undo the years of pain and punishment the CFPB has inflected on consumers, businesses and our economy is to simply shut the place down. While putting the CFPB out of business is certainly much easier said than done, one way the bureau could pursue this avenue is to settle lawsuits calling into question the constitutionality of it own existence. A supposedly non-partisan government agency shouldnt be bankrolling a decidedly partisan advertising agency. In the five years that Cordray directed the CFPB, the agency has been the worst nightmare for community banks and small businesses across the country. Through a constant churn of punitive regulations, the CFPB has put the financial squeeze on Americans as well as Main Street small business owners. Even worse, the CFPB has become a partisan political operation to help left-wing supporters of the Democratic Party and advance Cordrays political ambitions back in his home state of Ohio. Although the CFPB was created to protect consumers from financial abuses, Cordray molded the organization into a partisan agency aided in large part by the fact that its unaccountable structure protects it from oversight by Congress and the president. Under Cordrays watch, the agency has issued thousands of pages of rules and regulations, impacting everything from credit cards to auto and student loans, ATM services and more. Over the summer, Ohio Supreme Court Justice Bill ONeill told reporters that he heard Cordray was planning a run for governor and that Cordray is basically trying to get as many projects done in Washington as he can before he leaves. There is ample evidence pointing to the fact that CFPB enforcement actions were directly tied to this effort, because Cordray has steered tens of millions of dollars to Democratic consultants. The CFPB recently finalized rules governing short-term loans that would negatively impact financially underserved consumers and those who need funds in times of emergencies. It turns out that this rule was written by and for the left-leaning Center for Responsible Lending (CRL), dating back to 2013. As reported in 2015 by Politico, at one point in the rule drafting process David Silberman, associate director for research, markets and regulations at the CFPB, requested an outline on payday lending from CRL President Mike Calhoun. Calhoun replied feel free to improve it! In addition, the CFPB has directed millions of dollars to Democratic-aligned firms. Under Cordray, the CFPB funneled $43.7 million to GMMB, a Democratic advertising firm that famously created President Obamas campaign ads in the 2008 and 2012 elections. The CFPB funds given to GMMB represent almost 75 percent of the GMMB budget. A supposedly non-partisan government agency shouldnt be bankrolling a decidedly partisan advertising agency. These examples, unfortunately, dont even begin to tell the full story of this agencys egregious behavior. Which brings us to today. On Tuesday a federal court ruling by Judge Timothy Kelly upheld President Trumps constitutional and legal authority to appoint Mulvaney to be the acting director of the CFPB. The judge made the right decision. So far, Mulvaney has taken action to clean this cesspool of an agency by announcing a freeze on CFPB hiring and on all new regulations. But while this is welcome news, Mulvaneys appointment should not lessen Congress resolve to end the unconstitutional delegation of funding oversight authority that created this regulatory monstrosity of an agency. In October the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled that the leadership structure of the CFPB was unconstitutional. The decision was part of the lawsuit PHH Corporation v. CFPB, which challenges the constitutionality of the bureau. Unfortunately, the appeals court decision was a short-lived victory for anti-CFPB forces because the decision was nullified when the CFPB was granted the right to have the case heard again before the entire Court of Appeals. A final decision on the case could come any day now. There is also a similar case that has been filed, State National Bank of Big Spring v. CFPB. The CFPB doesnt just need a fix-up. It is beyond repair. It needs to be shut down and I believe one of the best ways the agency can begin that process is for Mulvaney to simply deny the constitutionality of the CFPBs very existence by settling these lawsuits. Mulvaney said that rumors that Im going to set the place on fire or blow it up are completely false. Well, action doesnt always need to be that drastic. Belk has given Salvation Army bell-ringers and their iconic red kettles the heave-ho --- just in time for the Christmas season. Click here for a free subscription to Todd's newsletter - a must-read for Conservatives! The national department store chain will no longer allow Salvation Army volunteers to man kettles outside their stores -- a move that is expected to result in a $1 million drop in donations. "It's a huge impact for us," Salvation Army Lt. Rob Dolby told the Todd Starnes Show. "Those funds go to operate Christmas programs serving tens of thousands of kids. Dolby works with the Salvation Army in Anderson, South Carolina. He said the money dropped into those kettles also funds the operation of shelters, addiction and treatment facilities and youth programs. The Salvation Army said they were told the department store ban had something to do with a change in Belk's "social consciousness." The Salvation Army said they were told the department store ban had something to do with a change in Belk's "social consciousness." To continue reading Todd's column from ToddStarnes.com, click here. Michael Flynn lied. Not once, but twice. He lied to Vice President Mike Pence about his conversations with Russia. For that, he was fired by President Trump as national security adviser. Flynn also lied to the FBI about the same subject. For that, he was charged and pleaded guilty in federal court Friday to a single count of making false statements. As part of his plea, Flynn agreed to cooperate with Special Counsel Robert Muellers investigation. This inexorably invites two questions: Will Flynn implicate anyone else in the Trump administration, including the president? And if so, for what crime? There is nothing in Flynns plea agreement or Statement of the Offense that implicates President Trump in these conversations with Russia during the transition. Some insight is offered in the Statement of the Offense that Flynn signed on Friday during his guilty plea. In the statement, Flynn identifies two separate conversations he had with Sergey Kislyak, Russias ambassador to the United States. According to the statement, one conversation involved Russias reaction to a United Nations resolution on Israeli settlements. The other, a week later, dealt with Russias response to President Obamas executive order on Russian sanctions. Each time, one or more senior officials on the Trump transition team conferred with Flynn on what information to convey. The only conceivable crime these communications with Russia could constitute falls under the Logan Act. But that antiquated law has no application for several reasons. First, the Logan Act was enacted in 1799. It makes it a felony for a private citizen to interfere in international disputes between the U.S. and foreign governments. But no one has ever been prosecuted under the act, principally because most lawyers, legal scholars and judges agree that it is likely unconstitutional. Since no one has ever been convicted of violating the Logan Act, no court has ever ruled on its constitutionality directly. However, courts have commented on the Logan Act from time to time. In 1964, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York (Waldron v. British Petroleum Co., 231 F. Supp. 72) stated that the act was likely unconstitutional because it is vague, overly broad and ambiguous. Numerous scholarly publications have argued that the Logan Act also violates the right to free speech under the First Amendment. So its legal efficacy is doubtful. Second, Flynn was not acting as a private citizen, as the law defines it. He was serving in a wholly different capacity as a government representative of a president about to assume office. Flynn was preparing the incoming administration for the foreign policy challenges that lay ahead and establishing the kind of vital contact that assists a new president in formulating effective relationships and policies. In other words, Flynn was doing his job. He did it in the same manner that other transition officials have in previous administrations. Several months ago I spoke with Professor W. David Clinton, chairman of the Political Science Department at Baylor University, who co-authored the seminal book Presidential Transitions and American Foreign Policy. Clinton stated that it is quite normal and routine for incoming transition teams to have lengthy and detailed conversations with foreign government officials about forthcoming changes in policies. Indeed, Clinton said it would be abnormal if this did not happen. It is common for representatives of other governments to get in touch with the incoming presidential administration to begin informal relationships and address relevant issues, Clinton said. It is not unusual. Transitions are fairly long. The incoming administration needs to inform itself of foreign policy. Getting to know people and foreign governments is widely done and beneficial to the U.S. Finally, it appears that Flynn and the transition team did not interfere with a diplomatic dispute, under the meaning of the Logan Act. To the contrary, Flynn sought ways to de-escalate tensions over U.S. sanctions by asking the Russian government to limit its response in a reciprocal manner. By doing this, Flynn was acting for the benefit of the U.S. government and in a manner not inconsistent with the Obama administrations wishes and policy. He can hardly be criticized for it, much less prosecuted. On the other matter, Flynn admits he urged Russia to either delay or veto a United Nations resolution that condemned Israels settlements as a flagrant violation of international law. This surely came as no surprise to the Russians or the Obama administration, since it conformed with the same public statement President-elect Trump issued that very day Flynn contacted the Russians about the pending vote. Trump tweeted: The resolution being considered at the United Nations Security Council regarding Israel should be vetoed. Thus, there was nothing secret, nefarious or illegal about Flynns communications with Moscow. And in the end, it didnt matter. Russia ignored Flynns request and voted in favor of the resolution, which passed with 14 votes. Officially, the U.S. took no position on the resolution. By abstaining, it neither supported the resolution nor opposed it. And since the measure imposed no sanctions, it was nothing more than an idle diplomatic statement. Even if Trump reached out to the Russians in an effort to find common ways to fight the scourge of ISIS in Syria, as ABC is reporting, such actions are entirely commensurate with longstanding U.S. goals in the war on terrorism and in no way impede the policy of the man he was chosen to succeed. Are these, therefore, violations of the Logan Act? Absolutely not. An incoming president has every right to voice his position on matters of foreign policy. There is no evidence that Flynns actions interfered with anything that wasnt already in the interests of the United States or otherwise altered the course of a diplomatic dispute. This is probably why Flynn was not charged under the Logan Act. The U.S. has never criminalized the conduct of foreign policy by incoming presidents. Others have sought to change overseas policy before taking office, sometimes quite openly. Significantly, there is nothing in Flynns plea agreement or Statement of the Offense that implicates President Trump in these conversations with Russia during the transition. Nor is there any accusation or evidence that Trump or others conspired with Moscow to influence the presidential election during the campaign. This is supposed to be what Special Counsel Mueller is investigating. Yet, he has uncovered only ancillary wrongdoing that is entirely unrelated to so-called collusion. Flynns guilty plea to a single count of making false statements is the least serious of any the offenses he could have faced. It is likely he will be given probation. Still, it is inexplicable why a distinguished retired general like Michael Flynn would lie to the FBI about something that is not, by itself, a crime. Sometimes, smart people make stupid choices. But it would be a mistake to conclude that Flynns commitment to cooperate with the special counsel means that President Trump is in legal jeopardy. The president is certainly not under the Logan Act. Retired Lt. Gen. Mike Flynn on Friday pleaded guilty to lying about a non-crime. Even Adam Schiff, the House Democrat most determined to ride the Russia collusion story to bigger and better things, acknowledged that conferring with a representative of Russia about the incoming administrations Russia policy is not illegal or improper. These discussions concerned a United Nations Security Council vote on Israel (in effect the Trump team was asking Moscow for a favor on behalf of a U.S. ally, Israel). The discussions concerned Russias response to President Obamas lame-duck sanctions for Russian meddling in the U.S. election. Such talks, we learn from Robert Muellers investigation, were directed by a very senior member of the transition team. Why shouldnt that be President-elect Donald Trump or somebody directly conversant with his viewsa k a Jared Kushner ? Voters may remember Mr. Trump saying during the campaign that he wanted improved relations with Russia. He would be doing nothing illegal here. Then why make Mr. Flynn plead guilty to a crime related to a non-crime, unless Bob Mueller thinks hes enlisting Mr. Flynns cooperation in pursuit of real crimes? Well, Mr. Muellers job is to get to the bottom of the Russia question, and it doesnt help to have people lying about even things that are non-crimes. Whats more, as Mr. Flynn would have known better than most, Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak was a prime target for U.S. surveillance. American voters will remember that Obama officials illegally leaked contents of some of these conversations to the press during the transition. Lying about these very same conversations to the FBI wouldnt seem to have made much sense for Mr. Flynn. But if a key witness and former high-ranking official persists in a disproven and unnecessary lie, how do you not charge him? To continue reading this column from The Wall Street Journal, click here. Sexual misconduct allegations are continuing to reduce the ranks of men in the anti-Trump media. Charlie Rose of CBS and PBS, left-wing filmmaker Harvey Weinstein, Mark Halperin of NBC and MSNBC, and Michael Oreskes of NPR were joined just this week in the ranks of the unemployed by NBC Today co-host Matt Lauer and Garrison Keillor of Minnesota Public Radio. Keillor also lost his newspaper column distributed by the Washington Post syndicate. And New York Times White House reporter Glenn Thrush remains suspended. These were hardly the only media figures affected as the industry wrestles with how to handle the crisis. NPR Chief News Editor David Sweeney and a CNN staff member on the Sunday morning program State of the Union both also lost their jobs. Three staffers at Vice media were also let go, amid an ongoing investigation into sexual harassment and misconduct in the workplace, according to The Hill. But for prominent names like Lauer and Keillor to be fired within days of one another stunned an already staggering media industry. Lauers case was horribly disturbing. The allegations and creepy on-air incidents were bad enough. The New York Times reported that Lauer invited one woman into his office and locked the door and sexually assaulted her. The woman told the newspaper she passed out and had to be taken to a nurse. Lauer had been a reliably liberal voice over the years. He loved chiding Donald Trump, wondering in 2016 if the Access Hollywood tape would cause Trump to lose the presidential race and asking: Is this the final, final straw in this campaign? Another time, Lauer hectored Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., asking if Trump has damaged the credibility of the office of the presidency. He also questioned whether Trump had the gravitas for the job. As with Rose, old video clips were also damning. Former Today co-anchor Katie Couric said Lauer pinches me on the ass a lot in a 2012 clip. Another 2012 tone-deaf skit depicted Lauer as the victim of sex harassment by co-host Willie Geist. Lauer seemed to make reference to an embarrassing, partially naked photo of actress Anne Hathaway during one controversial interview. And TMZ found one where former Today co-host Meredith Vieira mentioned that Lauer had a huge bag of sex toys" in his office. Vanity Fair reported that Lauer had also tried to keep NBC from firing the shows long-standing booker, also over sexual harassment allegations. Lauer is reportedly trying to squeeze $30 million from the network in a settlement, essentially paying off his remaining contract. Its likely neither Lauer nor NBC want that trial and the discovery it would include, so a settlement is probable. 2. Lake Woebegone Is Now Just Gone: On Nov. 28, Garrison Keillor wrote a column for The Washington Post headlined Al Franken should resign? Thats absurd. The column defended Franken, a Democratic U.S. senator from Minnesota who has been accused of sexual misconduct. But Keillor was fending off his own accusations and watching his career crash within hours afterward. The former Prairie Home Companion host was accused of inappropriate behavior with someone who worked with him, according to Minnesota Public Radio, reported NPR. Public radio cut ties with Keillor and he found himself defending his own career, not Frankens. I meant to pat her back after she told me about her unhappiness and her shirt was open and my hand went up it about six inches. She recoiled. I apologized, Keillor said, according to The Minneapolis Star Tribune. MPR and American Public Media have dropped Prairie Home Companion because Keillor has the rights to the program, although he retired earlier as performer. Washington Post Editorial Page Editor Fred Hiatt skewered Keillor for his column on Franken and vowed it would be Keillors last for the paper. Knowing he was under investigation for his workplace behavior, he should not have written a column on that subject, wrote Hiatt in a statement posted above the Keillor column. Keillor had been a consistent Democratic donor and a frequent anti-Trump voice. In one column he seemed to urge a military coup against President Trump, writing in the Washington Post that we are looking to generals to save us from democracy. One wonders if they can also save Keillors career. 3. Is Conyers Still An Icon?: House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has a way with words. She called Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., an icon on NBCs Meet The Press. Conyers resigned his leadership post on the House Judiciary Committee within hours. The reaction was harsh and Pelosi changed her tune. By Thursday she was calling for Conyers to go. Congressman Conyers should resign," she said. Not all of his supporters gave up on Conyers, however. Democratic Rep. James Clyburn of South Carolina compared Conyers accusers to a child killer who falsely accused African-Americans of her crime. The broadcast networks dutifully ignored his allegation. Over at MSNBCs Morning Joe the dynamic duo of Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski used the term icon at least five times to refer to Conyers. As happens in most of these sexual misconduct cases, suddenly reporters got honest about the accused. Veteran journalist Cokie Roberts said Conyers had a reputation with the female members of the press. Dont get in the elevator with him, you know, and the whole every female in the press corps knew that, right, dont get in elevator with him, Roberts said. Of course, that information about the prominent Democrat wasnt news until now. 4. Is The Times Neutral? Again, Nope: The New York Times opinion section has an opinion: Support Democrats, stop Republicans. The papers Twitter feed was darn obvious about it, too. Now is the time to contact senators, if you havent done so already, about this tax cut plan. Find yours here. It followed with a list of senators and phone, phone numbers and the hashtag. #thetaxbillhurts. Editorial page writer Vikas Bajaj defended the unusual practice and the papers Twitter feed retweeted him. It is the job of editorial writers & editorial boards to advocate for policies we agree with and against proposals we don't. That's what we were doing on @nytopinion today. 5. Were Havin A Party! CNN Isnt!: The White House is having its annual Christmas Party and the petulant folks at CNN didnt miss the chance to remind the world that CNN = #Resistance. So the network refused to attend in light of the President's continued attacks on freedom of the press. There was a time when professional journalists used such events to improve ties instead of grandstand. This is the same network that employs American Radio Networks Washington Bureau Chief April Ryan as a political analyst. Ryan was a pecan pie truther just days before. Newsweek whipped out its spinning wheel and crafted this gem of a headline: WHITE HOUSE BARS ONE OF FEW BLACK JOURNALISTS FROM ATTENDING CHRISTMAS PARTY. Newsweeks not biased at all. White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders got the last laugh. She retweeted the CNN announcement with this snarky comment: Christmas comes early! Finally, good news from @CNN. Sometimes you have to take a step back, remove yourself from the moment, and try to ground yourself in what is true, elevated, even eternal. Lets do that. The week has lent itself to a feeling of instability. The president has deliberately added to the rancor and tension of his nations daily life, lurching in his tweets from mischief to malice to a kind of psychopathologypersonal attacks, insinuations, videos from a group labeled racist by the British government. You always want to say he has reached peak crazy, but you know theres a higher peak on the horizon. What will Everest look like? He has no idea how to be president. More men of the media have fallen in the reckoning over sexual abuse, most famously a bright, humorous, ratings-busting veteran anchorman, who reportedly had a switch on his desk that locked his office door so he could molest the women hed trapped inside. He had no idea how to be a man. Here is something to ground us in the good: Pope John Paul IIs 1995 Letter to Women, sent to the Fourth World Conference on Women, in Beijing. As a document it has more or less fallen through historys cracks. Here is something to ground us in the good: Pope John Paul IIs 1995 Letter to Women, sent to the Fourth World Conference on Women, in Beijing. As a document it has more or less fallen through historys cracks. But its deeply pertinent to this moment and was written with pronounced warmth by a man who before he became a priest hoped to be a playwright. To continue reading this column from The Wall Street Journal, click here. A former National Security Agency employee pleaded guilty Friday to keeping top secret U.S. defense material at his home the latest in a series of breaches involving workers at the nation's largest spy shop. Nghia Hoang Pho, 67, of Ellicott City, Md., pleaded guilty to willful retention of national defense information, according to federal law enforcement officials. The guilty plea said that between 2010 and March 2015, Pho removed and retained at his home paper and digital copies of U.S. government documents and writings containing national defense information. Starting in April 2006, he worked as a developer in the National Security Agency's Tailored Access Operations unit, which is involved in cyber operations. The charges carry a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, but prosecutors are recommending he serve eight years, according to his attorney, Robert Bonsib. Pho, who was born in Vietnam and is a naturalized U.S. citizen, is free pending his sentencing, which is set for April 6, Bonsib said. He declined to give further details about the case. The New York Times quoted unnamed government officials as saying Pho took the classified material home to assist him in reworking his resume. The officials told the newspaper that Pho's home computer was using antivirus software made by Kaspersky Lab, a top Russian software company, and that Russian hackers are thought to have exploited the software to steal the documents. Bonsib declined to answer questions about Kaspersky. The guilty plea was announced by Stephen Schenning, acting U.S. attorney for the District of Maryland; Dana Boente, acting assistant attorney general for national security; and Gordon Johnson, special agent in charge of the FBI's Baltimore Field Office. NSA has suffered a series of setbacks in recent years. Most notably, former NSA contractor Edward Snowden disclosed a cache of classified material in 2013 exposing U.S. government surveillance programs. In August 2016, Harold Thomas Martin III, 51, of Glen Burnie, Md., was arrested by the FBI after federal prosecutors said the former NSA contractor illegally removed highly classified information and stored the material in his home and car. Reality Winner, 25, a former Air Force linguist who worked as an NSA contractor at a facility in Augusta, Ga., was charged in June with copying a classified U.S. report and mailing it to a news organization. Former White House national security adviser Michael Flynn pleaded guilty Friday to lying to the FBI about contacting Russian officials on behalf of then-President-elect Donald Trump. The plea by Flynn, the first White House official to be charged in special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation, electrified Washington and set off intense debate among legal minds about what it portended for the future of the Trump White House. Andrew McCarthy, a former Assistant U.S. Attorney, argued that Flynn's admission may not be a significant break in Mueller's investigation. "[Flynn], like [former Trump campaign adviser George] Papadopoulos ... is being permitted to plead guilty to a mere process crime," McCarthy wrote on National Review Online. "[F]or for all the furor, we have a small-potatoes plea in Flynns case ... despite extensive 'collusion' evidence." McCarthy went on to argue that "[i]t is becoming increasingly palpable that, whatever 'collusion' means, there was no actionable, conspiratorial complicity by the Trump campaign in the Kremlins machinations." McCarthy also noted that Mueller's other significant criminal case, against Trump's former campaign chairman Paul Manafort, "has nothing to do with the 2016 election." However, Los Angeles defense attorney Ken White, himself a former assistant U.S. attorney, posted on Twitter that he was not as confident as McCarthy in the absence of a wider conspiracy. "You generally spell out the entire conspiracy in a cooperator's guilty plea -- in many cases," White wrote. "With more sophisticated cooperators ... you play the cards closer to the vest. "Yes, you'd get a drug mule to spill to the whole conspiracy in the plea to lock them in," White added. "A Flynn? Maybe not." National security lawyer Steve Vladeck echoed White, tweeting that "the story isn't that Michael Flynn is pleading guilty. It's what he's giving Mueller in exchange for such a minor charge ..." "We may not know the answer to that for some time," Vladeck added, "but I have to think it's substantial." Fox News judicial analyst Andrew Napolitano was less circumspect, characterizing Flynn's plea as "a nightmare for Donald Trump" and "probably the tip of a prosecutorial iceberg." However, Napolitano also told "Shepard Smith Reporting" that if Trump told Flynn to reach out to Russian officials after his election last year, that may not be an impeachable offense, though "they certainly are in the category of offenses that are impeachable." "Beyond this, the president of the United States has steadfastly, repeatedly and consistently denied that he had any knowledge of any involvement with the Russians," Napolitano added. "If Gen. Flynn contradicts that in a credible way under oath, we have a very serious problem on our hands." H.R. McMaster, President Trumps national security adviser, said Saturday that the possibility of war with North Korea increases every day the problem over its nuclear program isnt solved. I think its increasing every day, McMaster told Fox News Bret Baier at the Reagan National Security Forum in California. It means were in a race. Were in a race to be able to solve this problem. Added McMaster: There are ways to address this problem short of armed conflict, but it is a race because hes getting closer and closer and theres not much time left. Last week, North Korea fired its highest-ever intercontinental ballistic missile, flying 1,000 miles higher than during its first ICBM launch in July. McMaster told Baier that North Korea dictator Kim Jong Uns nuclear ambitions are the gravest national security threat that America faces. The greatest immediate threat to the United States and to the world is the threat posed by the rogue regime in North Korea and his continued efforts to develop a long range nuclear capability, he said. McMaster added, So its immensely important that we work together with all of our allies, partners, everyone internationally, to convince Kim Jong Un that the continued pursuit of these capabilities is a dead end for him and his regime. TRUMP ON NORTH KOREA MISSILE LAUNCH: 'WE WILL TAKE CARE OF IT' A senior U.S. official told Fox News on Saturday that the North Korean ballistic missile fired last week did not survive the re-entry to the Earth's atmosphere, but broke up on reentry. Still, the presidents national security adviser said North Korea is improving every time it conducts a test, even when it fails. What is clear is every time every time -- he conducts a missile launch, a nuclear test, he gets better, McMaster said. And whether its a success or failure isnt as important as understanding that over the years hes been learning from failures, improving, thereby increasing his threat to all of us. During the forum at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California, McMaster denied that the recent guilty plea of his predecessor, former national security adviser Michael Flynn, on Friday has rattled allies. Speaking of special counsel Robert Muellers investigation into Russias meddling in the election, McMaster said: Ive seen no evidence of the investigation in any way impeding the important work were doing. Fox News Jennifer Griffin contributed to this report. Tax reform won Senate approval in a 51-49 vote shortly before 2 a.m. ET on Saturday, Dec. 2. The White House and Senate GOP leaders announced before the vote that they believed they had enough votes to pass their sweeping tax overhaul plan. In order to get enough support, GOP lawmakers considered different measures to include with the bill. Republicans only had two votes to spare in the Senate, where they held a 52-to-48 edge. Vice President Mike Pence would've broken the tie, if needed. Heres a look at some key Republicans who needed to be persuaded to get on board with the plan. Steve Daines Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., had some concerns about the tax reform legislation, but his spokesperson told Fox News Friday morning that he now supports the measure. Daines previously said he was optimistic that the improvements could be made to the bill before its time to vote. And he said Wednesday he'd vote yes to move the motion. Ron Johnson Wisconsins Sen. Ron Johnson originally wasn't too big of a supporter of the tax bill, but after meeting with Senate leadership and Trump, he voted it through the Budget Committee. He told Fox News that Trump promised to fix some of the problems he had with the measure and would work with them as the bill moves to the full Senate. Johnson's spokesperson said the senator would vote for the bill because of concessions made on pass through taxes. Susan Collins When it came to Republicans efforts to overhaul the health care system, Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, was not on board. Now Republicans are looking to see if shell join them on taxes. Collins has reportedly said there are things she is trying to change regarding the current legislation. But after meeting with the president Tuesday, Collins said she was feeling "optimistic" about tax reform. Bob Corker Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., was the only Republican who joined Democrats in voting against the proposal. Previously, Corker's stance on the bill was vague -- at least publically. He has said hes concerned about how the legislation will impact the national debt, but he did vote it through the Senate Budget Committee Tuesday. Corker wants to include a backstop or trigger in the legislation that would increase revenues even if the plan falls short. After Trump's meeting with Senate Republicans, Corker said, "I think we're getting to a very good place on the deficit issue." While we are still working to finalize the details, I am encouraged by our discussions. Jeff Flake Like Sen. Bob Corker, Jeff Flake has been publicly at odds with the Trump administration especially since he announced his impending retirement from the Senate. But Flake, R-Ariz., said Friday that he would vote for the Senate's tax reform plan. Jerry Moran At a town hall event last week, Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., refused to commit to the current tax legislation but did say that he is for some tax bill. Can we find taxes to cut that grow the economy? We dont want to increase the debt and deficit as a result of tax cuts, Moran said, according to the Topeka Capital-Journal. My goal is to find out which taxes you cut can actually help create more jobs, better jobs, higher-paying jobs and which ones dont do that. Not all of them do that. Marco Rubio Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., told WFOR-TV that when it comes to tax reform, hes looking for two components: a proposal that will make the U.S. more competitive and take care of workers. SENATE REPUBLICANS CONSIDER TAX BILL FIGHT, EYE LIGHTER TRIM TO CORPORATE TAX RATE Rubio has pushed for an expansion of the child tax credit and wants to make it fully refundable against payroll taxes. He introduced an amendment to the bill along with Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, that would raise the proposed corporate tax rate to offset costs by strengthening the child tax credit. John McCain Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said Thursday that he would support the tax plan. "I believe this legislation, though far from perfect, would enhance American competitiveness, boost the economy, and provide long overdue tax relief for middle class families," he said in a statement. Like others, McCain is also considered a deficit hawk when it comes to the tax bill and was worried about its impact on the federal deficit. Finally, I take seriously the concerns some of my Senate colleagues have raised about the impact of this bill on the deficit. However, its clear this bills net effect on our economy would be positive. This is not a perfect bill, but it is one that would deliver much-needed reform to our tax code, grow the economy, and help Americans keep more of their hard-earned money. James Lankford Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., wants to make sure the legislation doesnt increase the federal deficit but finally said Tuesday he was "on board with" the plan. "Yes, I am on board with this bill because I want to see the good economic growth that's coming with it," Lankford told CBS News. He had previously been seen as someone whose support was uncertain. Lisa Murkowski A more moderate Republican, Sen. Lisa Murkowski put speculation regarding her feelings on the tax measure to rest as she tweeted that she would support the bill due to certain provisions that she said will benefit her state of Alaska. We still have work to do on this legislation and I look forward to debate on the Senate floor and my colleagues ideas to further improve it, Murkowski said. The bill before us has a number of features that are very attractive to Alaskans. It lowers tax rates, doubles the child tax credit, and provides tax relief for many families by doubling the standard deduction, she said. Murkowski also praised the tax bill as it comes with a provision that would allow drilling in Alaskas Arctic National Wildlife Refuge something that shes long pushed for. Fox News Peter Doocy and The Associated Press contributed to this report. More than a year after Michael Flynn, President Trump's former national security adviser, pleaded guilty to making false statements to the FBI, he still hasn't been sentenced. Flynn, 60, pleaded guilty in December 2017 to making false statements to the FBI regarding his talks with a Russian ambassador. Flynn was scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 18, but Judge Emmet G. Sullivan delayed it after tearing into Flynn. "Arguably, you sold your country out," Sullivan told Flynn, saying he would not hide his "disgust" or "disdain" for the offense. Ahead of his sentencing, Flynns lawyers maintained he had devoted his career to his country and taken responsibility for an uncharacteristic error in judgment. Flynn is a retired three-star Army general who served as Trumps national security adviser for nearly a month at the beginning of his administration. SHOCKING SCALE OF RUSSIA'S SINISTER SOCIAL MEDIA CAMPAIGN AGAINST US REVEALED Special Counsel Robert Mueller released key documents on Dec. 14 regarding the FBI's interview with Flynn. The documents include then-FBI deputy director Andrew McCabes notes after talking with Flynn to arrange his interview with the FBI. "The seriousness of the defendants offense cannot be called into question, and the Court should reject his attempt to minimize it. While the circumstances of the interview do not present mitigating considerations, assuming the defendant continues to accept responsibility for his case ... his cooperation and military service continue to justify a sentence at the low end of the guideline range," Mueller concluded in a document replying to Flynn's sentencing memorandum. Heres a look at how Flynn who was one of the more polarizing characters in Trumps administration is involved in the Russian investigation. Why did Flynn leave the White House? Flynn resigned as Trumps national security adviser in February 2017 over revelations that he misled Vice President Mike Pence about his communications with Russias former ambassador to the U.S., Sergey Kislyak. I have nothing to be ashamed for and everything to be proud of, Flynn told Fox News at the time. How is he connected to the Russia investigation? Despite earlier statements to the contrary, Flynn discussed sanctions former President Barack Obama imposed on Russia with Kislyak. He pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about conversations he had during the presidential transition period and is expected to become the first White House official punished in the special counsels ongoing probe into whether the Trump campaign colluded with Russia during the 2016 election. Muellers team filed a memorandum suggesting Flynn deserved a lenient sentence with possibly no prison time because of the substantial help he offered as part of several ongoing investigations. Overall, Flynn sat for 19 interviews with the special counsels office and other Justice Department officials. MCCABE REVEALS 'ONE THING' THAT STOOD OUT FROM HIS FATEFUL CALL WITH FLYNN Given the defendants substantial assistance and other considerations set forth below, a sentence at the low end of the guideline range, including a sentence that does not impose a term of incarceration is appropriate and warranted, the memo states. Flynns lawyers said he has expressed genuine contrition for the uncharacteristic error in judgment and has a deep respect for the law. What do we know about his lobbying work? Aside from Russia, Flynn is also involved in a separate investigation into Turkish lobbying work headed by prosecutors in Virginia, according to The New York Times. Flynns former lobbying firm is being probed for work they did on a campaign against Fethullah Gulen, a Turkish cleric and green-card holder living in Pennsylvania. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has accused Gulen of being behind a botched coup and has sought his extradition. Gulen has denied the allegations, and U.S. officials have rebuffed Turkey's extradition demands, citing a lack of evidence. Flynn Intel Group, Inc., carried out $530,000 worth of lobbying and research work for several months, including during the end of the 2016 campaign. Anything else? Flynns attorneys have pointed out that two FBI officials involved in interviewing Flynn have since been investigated themselves for misconduct. FBI counterintelligence agent Peter Strzok, who interviewed Flynn, was fired a year later over anti-Trump text messages. Then-FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, who had arranged the interview but wasn't present for it, was fired for what the Justice Department called a lack of candor involving a media leak. Fox News Alex Pappas, Gregg Re and The Associated Press contributed to this report. Robert Mueller, the special counsel leading the Justice Departments Russia collusion investigation, removed an FBI agent from the case over possible anti-Trump text messages, Fox News confirmed Saturday. The agent has been identified as Peter Strzok, one of the agencys most experienced and trusted counterintelligence investigators, said the New York Times, which first reported the dismissal. The allegations came to light after the Justice Departments inspector general started examining Strzok's messages. Immediately upon learning of the allegations, the Special Counsels Office removed Peter Strzok from the investigation, Peter Carr, a spokesman for Mueller, confirmed to Fox News. Strzok also worked on the FBI investigation last year into whether then-Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton mishandled classified information through her use of private email servers while secretary of State. During this investigation, Strzok was allegedly involved in an extra-marital affair with FBI lawyer Lisa Page, according to The Washington Post. Lisa Page completed her brief detail and had returned to the FBI weeks before our office was aware of the allegations, Carr also said in his statement, though it was not immediately clear to which allegations he was referring. Mueller was appointed in May to lead the Justice Department's investigation into whether President Trump or any of his associates colluded with Russian during the 2016 White House race. Mueller took the assignment after Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself from the probe because of campaign involvement, per DOJ regulations. Strzok was reportedly reassigned this past summer from the Mueller investigation to the FBIs human resources department, according to The Times. A lawyer for Storzok declined to comment. Fox News' Brooke Singman and Jennifer Bowmen contributed to this report. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has called on a Nevada Democratic congressman to resign following allegations of sexual harassment. BuzzFeed News reported Friday that the female finance director for U.S. Rep. Ruben Kihuen's 2016 election campaign left her job after he allegedly made repeated sexual advances toward her. Across the nation, in every industry, brave women are coming forward to share stories of harassment that must be heard," Pelosi wrote. In Congress, no one should face sexual harassment in order to work in an office or in a campaign. The young womans documented account is convincing, and I commend her for the courage it took to come forward. "In light of these upsetting allegations, Congressman Kihuen should resign. Kihuen was believed to be a rising star in the party and flipped a district in Nevada last cycle from Republican to Democrat. He is also a DREAMer. Kihuen is accused of sexually harassing the former staffer by asking her for dates and twice touching her thigh. In a statement, Kihuen said that he did not remember the incidents with the aide, and that she was a valued member of his team. "I sincerely apologize for anything that I may have said or done that made her feel uncomfortable. I take this matter seriously as it is not indicative of who I am," Kihuen said. "But I want to make it clear that I don't recall any of the circumstances she described." Following the BuzzFeed report, U.S. Rep. Ben Ray Lujan, D-N.M., chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, issued a statement Friday. "Congressman Kihuen should resign," Lujan wrote, adding that House members and candidates should be held to the highest standard, and anyone guilty of sexual harassment or assault should not hold elected office. Fox News' Chad Pergram and the Associated Press contributed to this story. Senate Republicans negotiated through early Saturday morning to pass their sweeping, trillion-dollar tax reform bill, putting the GOP and President Trump on the threshold of a major legislative victory this year. This is a great day for the country, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said at about 2 a.m., after the measure passed by the minimum, 51-vote majority. We have an opportunity to make America more competitive and provide relief to the middle class. Tennessee Sen. Bob Corker was the lone Senate Republican to vote against the bill, joining the 48 Senate Democrats who voted nay. The eleventh-hour vote-wrangling and related, last-minute changes were highlighted by hand-written, barely legible revisions in the margin of one page of the 478-page document, a situation that Democrats criticized on social media. GOP senators will now meet in conference with their counterparts in the Republican-led House which last month passed its tax reform bill to negotiate a compromise bill for Trump to sign before years end. "We are one step closer to delivering MASSIVE tax cuts for working families across America," the president tweeted soon after the vote. "Special thanks to @SenateMajLdr Mitch McConnell and Chairman @SenOrrinHatch for shepherding our bill through the Senate. Look forward to signing a final bill before Christmas!" Trump is eager to score his first, major legislative victory after the Senate failed this summer to pass legislation to repeal and replace ObamaCare. But both chambers still must agree on a final measure, which includes compromises on such issues as property tax deductions, with support for fiscal House conservatives still a challenge. I applaud my friends and colleagues in the Senate for completing step 2 of 3 in the process, said North Carolina GOP Rep. Mark Meadows, chairman of the conservative House Freedom Caucus. This job is not done. Now is the moment in which both chambers must come together, work out our differences, and finish what weve begun." In a second tweet on Saturday morning, Trump acknowledged the final congressional hurdle. Biggest Tax Bill and Tax Cuts in history just passed in the Senate, he wrote. Now these great Republicans will be going for final passage. Thank you to House and Senate Republicans for your hard work and commitment! Trump told reporters before leaving the White House for New York: "Now we go to conference. Something beautiful is going to come out of that fix." The Senate measure focuses its tax reductions on businesses and higher-earning individuals, gives more modest breaks to others, and offers the boldest rewrite of the nation's tax system since 1986. Republicans touted the package as one that would benefit people of all incomes and ignite the economy. Even an official projection of a $1 trillion, 10-year flood of deeper budget deficits couldn't dissuade GOP senators from rallying behind the bill. The GOP views passage as crucial to retaining its House and Senate majorities in next year's elections. Democrats derided the bill as Republicans gift to its wealthy and business backers at the expense of lower-earning people. They contrasted the bill's permanent reduction in corporate income tax rates from 35 percent to 20 percent to smaller individual tax breaks that would end in 2026. Congress' nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation has said the bill's reductions for many families would be modest and said by 2027, families earning under $75,000 would on average face higher, not lower, taxes. The bill is "removed from the reality of what the American people need," said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. The New York Democrat also said the last-minute bill changes shows "the Senate is descending to a new low of chicanery." Still, Democrats won enough GOP support to kill a provision by Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., that would have bestowed a tax break on conservative Hillsdale College in Michigan. The bill hit rough waters after the Joint Taxation panel concluded it would worsen federal shortfalls by $1 trillion over a decade, even when factoring in economic growth that lower taxes would stimulate. Trump administration officials and many Republicans have insisted the bill would pay for itself by stimulating the economy. But the sour projections stiffened resistance from some deficit-averse Republicans. But after bargaining that stretched into Friday, GOP leaders nailed down the support they needed in a chamber they control 52-48. Facing unyielding Democratic opposition, Republicans could lose no more than two GOP senators and prevail with a tie-breaking vote from Vice President Mike Pence, but ended up not needing it. Leaders' changes included helping millions of companies whose owners pay individual, not corporate, taxes on their profits by allowing deductions of 23 percent, up from 17.4 percent. That helped win over Wisconsin's Johnson and Steve Daines of Montana. People would be allowed to deduct up to $10,000 in property taxes, a demand of Sen. Susan Collins of Maine. That matched a House provision that chamber's leaders included to keep some GOP votes from high-tax states like New York, New Jersey, and California. The changes added nearly $300 billion to the tax bill's costs. To pay for that, leaders reduced the number of high-earners who must pay the alternative minimum tax, rather than completely erasing it. They also increased a one-time tax on profits U.S.-based corporations are holding overseas and would require firms to keep paying the business version of the alternative minimum tax. Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz. -- who like Corker had been a holdout and has sharply attacked Trump's capabilities as president -- voted for the bill. He said he'd received commitments from party leaders and the administration "to work with me" to restore protections, dismantled by Trump, for young immigrants who arrived in the U.S. illegally as children. That seemed short of a pledge to actually revive the safeguards. The Senate bill would drop the highest personal income tax rate from 39.6 percent to 38.5 percent. The estate tax levied on a few thousand of the nation's largest inheritances would be narrowed to affect even fewer. Deductions for state and local income taxes, moving expenses and other items would vanish, the standard deduction -- used by most Americans -- would nearly double to $12,000 for individuals and $24,000 for couples, and the per-child tax credit would grow. The bill would abolish the "Obamacare" requirement that most people buy health coverage or face tax penalties. Industry experts say that would weaken the law by easing pressure on healthier people to buy coverage, and the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office has said the move would push premiums higher and leave 13 million additional people uninsured. Drilling would be allowed in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Another provision, knocked out because it violated Senate budget rules, would have explicitly let parents buy tax-advantaged 529 college savings accounts for fetuses, a step they can already take but which anti-abortion forces wanted to inscribe into law. There were also breaks for the wine, beer and spirits industries, Alaska Natives and aircraft management firms. The Associated Press contributed to this report. 1:35 a.m. ET -- The Senate has voted to eliminate a tax break for a politically-connected conservative college in Michigan. Democratic Sen. Jeff Merkley of Oregon proposed the amendment to eliminate the tax break for Hillsdale College in southern Michigan. He noted that Hillsdale has connections to powerful Republicans, including Education Secretary Betsy DeVos. Merkley says, "Isn't that just the type of insider deal for the wealthy and well-connected that we should oppose?" The Senate Republicans' sweeping tax package would impose a new tax on investment income earned by some private universities and colleges. Republican Sen. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania added a provision exempting certain colleges that don't receive federal funds. Democrats say Hillsdale was the only college that would benefit. Merkley's amendment was adopted by a 52-48 vote. 1:20 a.m. ET -- The Senate has given a green light to opening Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling. In a vote early Saturday morning, Republicans rejected an effort led by Democratic Sen. Maria Cantwell of Washington state to block drilling. The vote was 52-48. Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska has pushed for oil and gas drilling in the refuge. Opening the remote refuge to oil and gas drilling is a longtime Republican priority that most Democrats fiercely oppose. The 19.6-million acre refuge in northeastern Alaska is one of the most pristine areas in the United States and is home to polar bears, caribou, migratory birds and other wildlife. 1:16 a.m. ET -- Word in the U.S. Capitol is that a vote on final passage of the tax reform bill may begin within 20-30 minutes. So final passage could happen by 2 a.m. ET or so. 12:26 a.m. ET -- There could be about five or six more votes tonight before the Senate gets to the final passage of the tax bill. That should take at least an hour to an hour and a half, so long as votes on other amendments/motions arent required. So at the earliest, we are looking at 1:45 to 2 a.m. ET before they start the final vote to finish the tax bill. 12:09 a.m. ET Vice President Mike Pence quickly moved to the Senate chamber to preside over a vote on an amendment offered by U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, about 529 savings plans. The vote ended in a 50-50 tie, so in his capacity as president of the Senate, Pence cast a vote to break the tie. Pence voted in the affirmative to make the vote 51-50 and the Senate agreed to the amendment. The amendment would allow parents to use 529 college funds to pay private school tuition for students in kindergarten through high school. Parents could also use the tax-exempt funds on home-schooling expenses. All Senate Democrats opposed the measure. Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska were the only Republicans who voted against it. Original story: Vice President Mike Pence arrived at the U.S. Capitol late Friday as the U.S. Senate debated a tax-reform bill in hopes of getting a finalized proposal to a vote early Saturday. If any votes are tied, then Pence in the VPs role as president of the Senate would cast the deciding vote. An unspecified number of prelimary votes could be held before the final vote on the full bill. No Democrats were expected to vote in favor of the tax bill, meaning Republicans need to convince skeptical members of the party to support the tax proposal in order to ensure passage. One Democrat from a battleground state who faces a challenging re-election next year told Fox News its likely that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., intentionally crafted the bill to make it impossible for any Democrat -- even a moderate -- to vote yes. That way, Republicans can use this weekends roll call vote on the tax bill against vulnerable Democrats in next years midterm elections. Fox News Chad Pergram, Jason Donner and Joe DeFrank and the Associated Press contributed to this story. President Trump on Saturday lamented that his former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, lied about his conversations with Russias ambassador after the 2016 election, arguing there was nothing improper about those interactions. There was nothing to hide! the president tweeted Saturday, a day after Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his conversations with Russia's ambassador, Sergey Kislyak, in December of last year. Trump said he fired Flynn because he lied about those conversations which were about the Obama administrations sanctions on Russia -- to Vice President Pence and the FBI. He has pled guilty to those lies, Trump said. It is a shame because his actions during the transition were lawful. TRUMP SAYS NO COLLUSION WITH RUSSIA IIN FIRST PUBLIC COMMENTS SINCE FLYNNS GUILTY PLEA The presidents tweet was also notable in that it suggested he knew Flynn lied to the FBI when he fired him, something Trump had not previously said. Flynns guilty plea follows his decision to strike a deal with Robert Muellers investigation into the Russias attempted interference in the election. His plea to a single felony count of false statements made him the first official of the Trump White House to be charged so far in the criminal investigation by special counsel Mueller. The plea turns Flynn into a potentially key government cooperator as prosecutors examine whether the Trump campaign and Russia worked together to influence the election in Trump's favor. The conversations detailed by prosecutors between Flynn and Kislyak took place after the election but before Trumps inauguration. If the Trump transition made secret back-door assurances to Russian diplomats, that could potentially run afoul of the Logan Act, a 1799 law that bars private American citizens from attempting to intervene in disputes or controversies between the United States and foreign powers without government approval. In his first comments since the Flynn plea, Trump told reporters Saturday morning that no collusion occurred between Russia and his 2016 presidential campaign. No collusion, Trump said in brief comments from the White House South Lawn before departing for New York. There was absolutely no collusion. So we are very happy. Friday's developments don't resolve the paramount question of possible Trump-Russia coordination in the campaign, but they do show that Flynn lied to the FBI about multiple conversations last December with the Russian ambassador to the United States. Court papers make it clear that senior Trump transition officials were fully aware of Flynn's outreach to Russian officials in the weeks before the inauguration. The officials were not named in court papers, but people familiar with the case identified two of them to The Associated Press as Jared Kushner, the president's son-in-law, and former Deputy National Security Adviser KT McFarland, now up for an ambassadorship. Fox News Joseph Weber and The Associated Press contributed to this report. President Trump reiterated Saturday morning that no collusion occurred between Russia and his 2016 presidential campaign, in his first public comments since former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn pleaded guilty in a federal investigation into possible collusion between Moscow and Trump associates. No collusion, Trump said in brief comments from the White House South Lawn before departing for New York. There was absolutely no collusion. So we are very happy. Flynn, a retired general, pleaded guilty Friday to lying to the FBI about reaching out to the Russians on Trump's behalf and said members of the president's inner circle were intimately involved with -- and at times directing -- his contacts. His plea to a single felony count of false statements made him the first official of the Trump White House to be charged so far in the criminal investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller. The plea turns Flynn into a potentially key government cooperator as prosecutors examine whether the Trump campaign and Russia worked together to influence the election in Trump's favor. Friday's developments don't resolve the paramount question of possible Trump-Russia coordination in the campaign, but they do show that Flynn lied to the FBI about multiple conversations last December with the Russian ambassador to the United States. Court papers make it clear that senior Trump transition officials were fully aware of Flynn's outreach to Russian officials in the weeks before the inauguration. The officials were not named in court papers, but people familiar with the case identified two of them to The Associated Press as Jared Kushner, the president's son-in-law, and former Deputy National Security Adviser KT McFarland, now up for an ambassadorship. The Associated Press contributed to this report. President Trump celebrated the Senates middle-of-the-night passage of a sweeping tax overhaul by calling it the the largest tax decrease in the history of our country by far and predicting Democrats could be harmed in future elections for not backing it. It's the largest tax decrease in the history of our country by far, Trump said during a fundraiser in New York on Saturday morning. Not even close. The Senate bill passed early Saturday after last-minute changes were made to the legislation to win the support of nearly every Republican. All Democrats voted against the bill, and only one Republican, Tennessee Sen. Bob Corker, opposed it. Republicans needed at least 50 votes to win approval for the bill; it ended up with 51. SENATE Oks SWEEPING TAX REFORM BILL, TRUMP PREDICTS FINAL PASSAGE BEFORE CHRISTMAS The president said he was called at about 3 a.m. to tell him the Senate had passed the bill. Out of 52 Republican senators, 51 voted and we ended up doing it and we didn't need our great vice president to break the tie, Trump said Saturday. The legislation isnt heading to Trumps desk, yet. It still needs to go to a conference committee where the Senate bill will be reconciled with the House version passed last month. In a tweet Saturday, Trump signaled he wanted that process to occur quickly. Look forward to signing a final bill before Christmas! Trump tweeted. During his speech Saturday, the president argued that unified opposition from Democrats to the bill could be used against them in the midterms. We got no Democrat help and I think that's going to cost them very big in the election, he said. Because, basically, they voted against tax cuts. Trump, the master brander, also discussed his preference for using the phrase tax cuts instead of tax reform to win over the public. For years, I said I wonder why they use the word reform, Trump said. Because nobody knows what reform means. Reform could mean your taxes are going up. And I said to my guys. I called everybody and we had a meeting. Senators, Congress, everybody. I said we have to use the word tax cuts. The tax overhaul would lower the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 20 percent and double the standard deduction for individuals and families, among other things. Ahead of the vote, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell worked throughout the week to win over skeptical Republicans by making changes to the bill. Sen. Susan Collins of Maine said she won an agreement from leaders to add a $10,000 deduction for local property taxes, one of her key demands. The original Senate bill wouldn't have allowed the property tax deductions. There would also be lower taxes on companies with owners that pay individual tax rates on profits, and a more gradual elimination of tax breaks for firms buying equipment. To pay for these changes, the new plan doesn't fully repeal the alternative minimum tax on high-income families. And it would increase a one-time tax on profits held overseas by U.S.-based corporations. Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., initially was the first Republican senator to oppose the tax reform package -- but Friday, Johnsons spokesman told Fox News he flipped to a yes vote. Johnsons support came after negotiating an improved treatment for pass-through entities, which account for about 95 percent of U.S. businesses. Fox News' Brooke Singman and The Associated Press contributed to this report. This is a rush transcript from "Your World," December 1, 2017. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated. NEIL CAVUTO, "YOUR WORLD" HOST: All right, we're getting news right now that the Justice Department is going to be filing a warrant for Jose Ines Garcia Zarate in the case of the Kate Steinle death. Remember that a jury essentially let him off scot-free in that murder that goes back a couple years ago, first of all, claiming that it wasn't a murder, and that it was accidental. And that did not fly well with a number of immigration enforcers who say that his being here prompted her death in the first place, shouldn't have been here. She's dead. Her family is outraged, and, right now, this move on the part of the Justice Department to arrest him. First on Fox is the acting ICE Director Thomas Homan. Director, very good to have you, sir. What did you think of this, this move, first off, on the Department of Justice? THOMAS HOMAN, ACTING U.S. IMMIGRATION AND CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT DIRECTOR: Well, I was on the phone last night with representatives from the Department of Justice on this very issue. Look, I was sickened by what I heard last night and the verdict. These sanctuary cities have got to be held accountable. This person needs to be held accountable. So, I was on the phone last night with the Department of Justice trying to do whatever we could, as a federal government, to hold this person responsible. CAVUTO: All right, he was -- U.S. immigration officials originally, sir, were looking at getting him deported back to Mexico. Then, all of a sudden, this move on the part of Justice. Who has authority here? HOMAN: Well, we want him prosecuted further. So, he will be deported to Mexico when we're done prosecuting him. But we want to hold him accountable for his crimes first. So let him spend some time in prison. Then, when he's done there, we will deport him to Mexico. There's no doubt about that. CAVUTO: All right, so you're both on the same page. And the fact that they originally wanted to deport him, you're saying, yes, deport him but, not before we deal with him? HOMAN: Absolutely. That's why we spent a lot of time last night on the phone working together on how we can hold this criminal responsible and how we can ensure that he gets removed from this country, with no help from San Francisco, by the way. CAVUTO: Yes, what happened in this case? What fell through? In the end, it was deemed, she died. He even said, you know, it's because of me, but it wasn't intentionally because of me. Explain what happened. What fell through? HOMAN: What fell through is, the city of San Francisco, a so-called sanctuary city, ignored our request to turn this person over to us. He should have been in Mexico, rather than killing this young lady. The city of San Francisco knew he had a criminal history. They knew he had seven prior felony convictions. They knew he was in the country illegally. They knew that we requested to turn him over to us, so we could remove him from the country. They ignored all of that and released him back in the community, releasing a public safety threat back into the public. It was just wrong. It was stupid. CAVUTO: All right. So when San Francisco says its sanctuary city policies had nothing to do with that, you say? HOMAN: Sanctuary city policy had everything to do with this. They knowingly released a public safety threat that was here in the country illegally back into the community, rather than turning him over to ICE, so we can deport him. Sanctuary city policy is the reason this young lady is not with us today. CAVUTO: The family was obviously shocked, very disappointed. Many, many others were as well. The president tweeted on this earlier today as an opportunity to once again look at this idea of building a wall. How do you feel about that? HOMAN: I'm 100 percent behind building the wall. Let me tell you something about President Trump. Since he's been in office, he's allowed ICE and the Border Patrol to do our jobs. The numbers just came out a few days ago that the illegal crossings on the border are at a 45-year low. That's not a coincidence. That's because this president has let the officers do their jobs. The wall worked when they built it in San Diego. It worked when they built it in Arizona. It worked when they built it in certain parts of Texas. Every place they have built the wall, it worked. The numbers dropped significantly in illegal crossings. Why would we not want the wall? CAVUTO: Director, I was thinking, knowing you were coming here, when I heard how this was characterized by the defense attorney, Matt Gonzalez, who said that Zarate ultimately was not guilty of murder and assault with a firearm in the Steinle case, but was of having a possession of a gun. And for that, he will be sentenced, I guess, at a future date. But here's what I want you to react to here. When Gonzalez said -- and I quote -- "For those who might criticize the verdict, there are a number of people who have commented on the case in the last couple of years," referring to the attorney general of the United States, the president and the vice president. "Let me just remind them," he goes on. "They are themselves under investigation by a special prosecutor in Washington, D.C." What did he mean by that? HOMAN: You know, he's comparing apples and oranges. He's trying to lessen the injustice that occurred within his hands. This person was in the country illegally. Entering this country illegally is a crime in itself. He was convicted of seven other felonies. He should have been removed from the country. Sanctuary city policies, they're a threat to the public safety, as we can see. Any sanctuary city policy saying we're going to protect the public safety, this improves public safety, Kate Steinle is an example. It doesn't work. It threatens public safety. It threatens officer safety. And by sending this message that we're a sanctuary city and we're not going to work with ICE, they're enticing more people to enter this country illegally, enticing more people -- this person himself, this alien said he was in San Francisco because he knew it was a sanctuary city, and he would be shielded from immigration. San Francisco is going to be in a lot of trouble the next few years, because more and more aliens are going to work their way to sanctuary cities. Now, if they don't think that alien smugglers down in Central America and South America and Mexico isn't using sanctuary cities as a selling point, they certainly are. You better believe they're selling it. I will get you into the United States, I will get you to San Francisco. And even if you get arrested, we are not going to turn you over to ICE. That's a big selling point. Sanctuary cities are any smuggler's best friend. CAVUTO: And they're not changing any policy now, as you know. Director, thank you very, very much, Thomas Homan, the acting ICE director in Virginia. Thank you, sir. HOMAN: Thank you, sir. CAVUTO: Thank you. END Content and Programming Copyright 2017 Fox News Network, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Copyright 2017 CQ-Roll Call, Inc. All materials herein are protected by United States copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of CQ-Roll Call. You may not alter or remove any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of the content. American Airlines has vowed to take steps to combat racism, including teaching implicit bias training to its employees, following a meeting with the NAACP. While we are proud of our longstanding commitment to equality and diversity from the team members we hire to the communities we serve discrimination and implicit bias sometimes create outcomes that are less than ideal for many of our team members and customers, American Airlines CEO Doug Parker said in a statement on Thursday. Parker outlined a four-part approach: implementing company-wide implicit bias training, conducting diversity and inclusion analysis, improving internal oversight, and revamping their discrimination claims process. The changes in policy come after the second meeting with the NAACP following an October incident in which a prominent African-American activist claimed she was removed from an American Airlines flight because of her race. Tamika Mallory, an activist and one of the co-chairs of the Women's March, was kicked off a flight to New York in October following a dispute with a gate agent over her seat assignment. After the dispute was seemingly resolved, a white male pilot had her removed from the plane when she had already boarded. She recounted in a tearful Facebook video how several security officers escorted her and a companion off the plane. Following the incident, the NAACP issued a travel advisory October 24 warning African Americans about their safety when flying on American Airlines. The civil rights group cited other incidents in addition to Mallorys case, calling the situation a pattern of disturbing incidents. Leadership from NAACP congratulated the airline on the change but said the organization would not reverse its travel advisory until it saw significant change. This is a good start to changing internal processes that allow for discrimination, racism and implicit bias to continue to exist within companies, said NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson in a statement. We think that the steps taken by American Airlines, if fully implemented, will not only change the way they engage their customers and employees but will serve as a model for other companies. This article originally appeared on Travel + Leisure. The military has identified 100 sailors and Marines killed when the USS Oklahoma capsized during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor 76 years ago, officials said Friday. The milestone comes two years after the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency dug up nearly 400 sets of remains from a Hawaii cemetery. Officials exhumed the bodies after determining that advances in forensic science and genealogical help from families could make identifications possible. The buried Marines and sailors have been classified as missing since World War II. The agency has said it expects to identify about 80 percent of the battleship's missing crew members by 2020. The most recent identification came last week, the agency said in a news release. The family hasn't been notified yet, however, so his name hasn't been released. Many of those identified have been buried in their hometowns. Others were reinterred at the National Memorial Cemetery in the Pacific, which is located in an extinct volcanic crater in Honolulu. One reburial is planned for next week: Navy Radioman 3rd Class Howard W. Bean of Everett, Massachusetts, will be buried Wednesday in Arlington National Cemetery. Bean was 27 when he was killed. Altogether, 429 people on board the battleship were killed in the Dec. 7, 1941, bombing that plunged the United States into World War II. Only 35 were identified in the years immediately after. Many remains buried in Hawaii were comingled with other sailors and Marines. The 388 men disinterred in 2015 were buried in 46 plots. The agency has been studying dental records and DNA to make identifications. It sent exhumed remains to a lab at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, for analysis. The lab sent some 5,000 samples to a military DNA lab. The agency has family DNA reference samples for 85 percent of the unaccounted for Marines and sailors. More than 2,400 sailors, Marines and soldiers were killed in the attack on Pearl Harbor. The Oklahoma's casualties were second only to the USS Arizona, which lost 1,177 men. The Arizona is still resting at the bottom of the harbor with most of its crew entombed on board. AP fact checking over the past week found distortions in President Donald Trump's claims on taxes and the economy. He's also compounded his growing legacy of false tales on Twitter by spreading a British fringe group's factually twisted propaganda against Muslims. At his recent Missouri rally, Trump claimed the tax cuts he's supporting would be the largest ever. But they are nowhere near a record. A nonpartisan analysis by the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget in October found that the tax cuts would be the eighth biggest since 1918, far from No. 1. Trump also retweeted a trio of anti-Muslim videos. One is said to show a Muslim migrant beating a Dutch boy. But the attacker was Dutch, too. A man wielding two firearms was shot by police Friday at a hospital in Bakersfield, Calif. Police confiscated a rifle and a handgun from the suspect, who was listen in stable condition, the Bakersfield Californian reported. No other injuries were reported, police said. Bakersfield Heart Hospital was on lockdown for several hours after police arrived, as officers searched for other possible suspects, the newspaper reported. The gunman had entered through the hospital's emergency room, according to reports. Soon a hospital custodian alerted everyone about the gunman, including telling administrators to stay in their offices, hospital CEO Michelle Oxford said. Bakersfield police, fire crews and other first responders quickly arrived, KGET-TV reported. According to reports, the gunman fired through an emergency room window then left the building. Bakersfield police officers then shot and wounded him during a gunfight, Bakersfield police Chief Greg Terry said. The confrontation between the gunman and police occurred within two minutes of the officers arriving at the hospital. The hospital was eventually declared safe. Sometime after 8 p.m., ABC 23 tweeted the hospital has been cleared and no other individuals were shot aside from the suspect." Hospital CEO Oxford the hospital's staff for doing a phenomenal job getting both themselves, patients and families to safe locations until the BPD arrived." She also thanked the local police for "their quick response and the work they did to keep us safe. The Bakersfield Police Department is continuing to investigate. Authorities in North Carolina say they have arrested and charged a suspect in connection with the disappearance of 3-year-old Mariah Woods, a girl whom they believe is probably dead. Earl Kimrey, 32, the boyfriend of the child's mother, was apprehended Friday, the Onslow County Sheriffs Department and FBI announced early Saturday. Kimrey was charged with concealing of death, obstruction of justice, second-degree burglary, felony larceny and possession of stolen property. He was being held in the Onslow County Detention Center under a $1 million bond, a news release stated. Mariah's mother, Kristy Woods, reported the Jacksonville, NC, girl missing Monday morning. She said she last saw her daughter Sunday night when she put her to bed. Kimrey, who lived with Woods, reportedly checked on the infant around midnight. Mariah's father, Alex Woods, questioned his ex-wife's story. He has been involved in a custody dispute with Kristy Woods and claimed he has not seen his daughter in about a year. "Someone just walked right up in there, grabbed the 3-year-old out of the bed and she didn't cry, she didn't scream?" Woods told WCTI-TV in New Bern earlier in the week. "Nobody heard anything? Four people in the house, two adults and two kids someone just comes up and snatches the baby and walks out?" Additional charges may follow as the investigation continues, authorities said. Authorities did not immediately say what led to arrest Kimrey. Because authorities believe the girl is dead, the focus of the investigation will shift to the recovery of her body, the news release stated. On Friday morning, hundreds of volunteers organized a search party to look for the girl, ABC 11 reported. The search was organized in connection with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Brock Turner, a one-time college swimming star whose six-month sentence for a sexual assault conviction sparked national outrage, appealed his guilty verdict Friday. In their filing, Turner's attorneys said their client was denied due process at a trial they described as a "detailed and lengthy set of lies." "What we are saying that what happened is not a crime," John Tompkins, Turner's legal adviser, told KNTV. "It happened, but it was not anywhere close to a crime." In addition to overturning the guilty verdict, Turner's lawyers also hope to overturn his mandatory lifetime requirement to register as a sex offender. Turner was convicted of three felony counts of sexual assault after he was accused of raping a woman outside a Stanford fraternity party in January 2015. Santa Clara County Judge Aaron Persky sentenced him to six months in jail, citing the "extraordinary circumstances" of Turner's youth, clean criminal record and other considerations in departing from the minimum sentence of two years in prison. Prosecutors had asked for a six-year prison sentence. Facing a recall push, Persky voluntarily removed himself from hearing criminal cases. The case drew national attention after the victim's 7,200-word letter to Turner that she read in the courtroom during sentencing was published online. Turner was released from prison in September 2016 and returned to his home state of Ohio, where he registered as a sex offender. He is required to register as a Tier III sex offender each 90 days for the rest of his life. The Associated Press contributed to this report. A community college employee involved in an altercation with a conservative commentator at the University of Connecticut during his speech titled "It's OK To Be White" is reportedly receiving death threats. Quinebaug Valley Community College President Carlee Drummer said Friday the school removed a photo of advisor Catherine Gregory from its website after the emailed threats. Drummer contacted police and says the school has "beefed up security." Gregory's attorney, Jon Schoenhorn, said his client took paperwork off commentator Lucian Wintrich's lectern during his speech, but it didn't constitute theft. Cellphone videos show Wintrich running up and grabbing her. Wintrich was charged with breach of peace. Schoenhorn has said Gregory hired him after Wintrich said publicly he'd press charges against her. A message seeking comment was left Saturday at Schoenhorn's office. Thanks to advances in DNA technology, Theresa Corleys family may finally discover who brutally murdered her nearly 39 years ago. On Friday, seven months after state police exhumed Corleys body in search for DNA, a Norfolk County assistant DA told Corleys family that technicians retrieved a DNA sample from her clothes, Boston 25 News reported. "They came back with a complete DNA profile from a sample gotten off of her jeans," Gerri Houde, Corleys sister, told the station. "I don't know if I should be really jubilant about this, but just the fact that after 39 years they got a complete DNA profile off of an old sample, it gives hope not only to Theresa's case, but to other cases," she added. Investigators waited for DNA technology to improve before exhuming her body, the station reported. The sample will now be sent to a national DNA crime database for further testing. If theres a match, a suspect could be determined and the case could finally be solved. Corleys body was found naked and strangled along the side of Interstate 295 in Bellingham, Mass., in December of 1978. The then 19-year-old had gone out with friends a couple of nights before in Franklin, Mass. Police said that a group of men gave Corley a ride to an apartment in Franklin where she was sexually assaulted, according to Boston 25 News. Early the next morning, Corley was reportedly seen hitchhiking about a mile away from her home in Bellingham. She was found dead two days later. An undocumented immigrant, with a history of arrests and deportations, was sentenced to 35 years in prison Friday after his sexual assault conviction earlier this year. KATU News reported that Mexican national Sergio Jose Martinez, 31, attacked two women in Portland, Ore., on the same day. The first was a 65-year-old whose car he stole, and a younger woman. He was arrested July 24, the report said. Prior to the attacks, Martinez had been deported 20 times, had a series of probation violations for illegal crossings into the United States and had a felony burglary conviction, KGW.com reported, citing court documents filed in March. Martinez faced charges of kidnapping, assault, robbery and sodomy, KATU News reported. He was released from Multnomah County Jail last December despite the objection of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials. ICE had asked local authorities to alert the federal agency prior to Martinez's release, the paper reported. However, the agency told KATU News in July that local authorities released Mr. Martinez back into the community the following day without providing any notification to ICE. Multnomah County (Ore.) Sheriff Mike Reese and county officials penned a letter addressing the issue, saying the Sheriff's Office does not hold people in county jails on ICE detainers or conduct any immigration enforcement actions, KGW.com reported. Martinezs sentencing came a day after the acquittal of San Francisco murder defendant Jose Inez Garcia Zarate, an undocumented immigrant, in the death of Kate Steinle. Police say an Ohio high school canceled classes after two teenage girls made threats similar to ones on the television show "Pretty Little Liars." Piqua police say the girls, ages 14 and 15, have been arrested and charged in Juvenile Court for threats that led to an early dismissal Thursday and the cancellation of classes Friday at Piqua High School, about 85 miles (137 kilometers) west of Columbus. Police say the 15-year-old created a Snapchat account using the letter "A'' and posted threats about exposing classmates' secrets, prompting false rumors about a school shooting. "A'' is a "Pretty Little Liars" character that sends threatening messages. Police say the posts prompted the 14-year-old to write on a bathroom mirror: "I'm still going to shoot up the school. A." Searchers recovered the bodies of a missing Army veteran and her dog in the southern California desert Friday, the woman's brother told a local news station. Fox 5 San Diego reported that the remains of Julia Jacobson and her box terrier, Boogie, were found in rural Riverside County. Ontario, Calif. police said a cadaver dog helped discover the shallow grave containing the bodies just south of Interstate 10. Julia Jacobson and Boogie had not been seen since Sept. 2. Her SUV was found near her San Diego home with her keys in the ignition less than a week later. Detectives said forensic analysis of the car led police to conclude that she had been murdered. ARIZONA MAN ARRESTED ON SUSPICION OF MURDERING ARMY VETERAN EX-WIFE Jacobson's ex-husband, Dalen Ware, was arrested at his home in Phoenix on Oct. 13 and faces a murder charge. Ware's attorney told The San Diego Union-Tribune in an email that he showed investigators "the place he had buried" Jacobson without the promise of a plea bargain. A motive for Jacobson's murder has not been made public. Jon Jacobson said the family received the news that his sister's body had been recovered during a memorial service in North Dakota Friday. "The church was absolutely packed and halfway through the service, we got a call from the detective in San Diego letting us know her remains had been found and they were quite confident it was her," he told Fox 5 San Diego. Jacobson served two tours of duty in Iraq and was employed at a 7-Eleven corporate office. Click for more from Fox5SanDiego.com. The House Intelligence Committee approved a bill Friday to crack down on political unmasking, or unlawfully revealing the identities of private citizens linked to intelligence operations. The new protections are part of a broader bill that would effectively renew Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, a program used by the government to collect communication data from foreign agents and potential terrorists. Though collecting information on Americans is prohibited without a warrant, Americans' information can be collected if they are communicating with a foreign target. The panel approved the bill along party lines, in a 13-8 vote. Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act is reauthorized for four years until 2021, Reuters reported. Democrats reportedly complained of intermingling of the unmasking fight with the efforts to renew the Section 702 powers which are due to expire at the end of this year. Both Republicans and Democrats generally agreed on the need for greater transparency and the more restrictions on the act of collecting Americans data, the Washington Times reported. But the two parties disagreed on the practice of "unmasking." Republicans accused the Obama administration of abusing the practice of "unmasking," pointing to Samantha Power, a former U.S. ambassador to the U.N., who reportedly asked for 300 unmaskings during her tenure. Section 702 was supposedly instrumental in helping thwart multiple terrorist plots, including a 2009 conspiracy to bomb the New York City subway. Cat owners in England may be hoping that their pets really do have nine lives. That's because a grotesque series of cat mutilations has been taking place there since 2015. At least five cats have been found mutilated in Northampton, England, just since August of this year. The recently slain cats were each found in similar circumstances: They had been dismembered and decapitated, and left for their owners to find. In one instance, a 14-year-old girl found her dismembered cat dumped on her doorstep, BBC reported. The pattern of killings has prompted authorities to investigate their possible link to at least 400 related animal deaths -- including rabbits and foxes -- in other parts of England for the past two years. "I want to reassure the public that we are taking these crimes seriously and will continue to work closely with the Metropolitan Police who are investigating similar offenses, a spokesperson for the Northamptonshire police said. "We understand how important pets are to their owners and that cats are part of the family. So its important to us that we investigate these crimes in order to bring the person/people responsible to justice." Authorities began investigating cat killings in Croydon a town in south London in 2015, after an animal charity group raised concerns. The suspect became known as the Croydon cat killer. The suspect is believed to have killed hundreds of cats and rabbits across England, BBC reported. An investigation was launched to find any links connecting the animal deaths. In September experts at a forensic lab in Surrey began to re-exame some of the corpses for new evidence. Northamptonshire police have since issued warnings to pet owners to keep their animals indoors during the night. Clashes between rival factions in Yemen's rebel-held capital have continued for the fourth day as forces loyal to the former president and Shiite rebels known as Houthis face off in the streets of Sanaa. Local residents say it's been like a "street war" as tensions peak between the two sides. They say ambulances have been ferrying the wounded to hospitals. There has been no official word on casualties. The residents say loud explosions were heard overnight across the city and into Saturday morning. They spoke on condition of anonymity, fearing reprisals. Yemen fell into chaos following a 2011 uprising that deposed longtime President Ali Abdullah Saleh. He later joined the Houthis to drive his successor out of Sanaa. A Saudi-led coalition has been battling the Houthi-Saleh allies since March 2015. North Korea's latest intercontinental ballistic missile did not survive re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere after it was tested this week, a U.S. official told Fox News Saturday. The official added that U.S. allies are searching for the remnants of the warhead after it splashed down close to the Japanese coast Wednesday. The news suggests that even if North Korea's latest missile, dubbed the Kwasong-15, could not make impact on U.S. soil even if it has the range to reach American shores. South Korea's Defense Ministry said Friday that the two-stage liquid-fuel missile potentially capable of striking targets as far away as 8,100 miles, which would put Washington within reach. South Korean President Moon Jae-in shared his country's assessment with President Donald Trump in a telephone conversation Thursday night. The leaders reaffirmed their commitment to strengthen pressure and sanctions on Pyongyang to discourage its nuclear ambitions, Seoul's presidential office said Friday. Eugene Lee, spokeswoman of South Korea's Unification Ministry, which deals with affairs related to North Korea, said the Seoul government thinks the North hasn't crossed the "red line" in weapons development yet because it hasn't perfected its ICBMs. North Korea said the missile on Wednesday reached an apogee of 2,780 miles and flew 600 miles, flight data similar to what was announced by South Korea's military. Pyongyang described its new ICBM as "significantly more" powerful than the Hwasong-14, which the North flight tested twice in July. The Hwasong-15 is longer than the Hwasong-14 by 6.56 feet and also thicker, particularly its second stage, which is 2.62 feet wider than Hwasong-14's second stage, Seoul's Defense Ministry said. Hwasong-15's 9-axle transport vehicle, which the North also revealed for the first time, was also 6.56 feet longer than the 8-axle truck the North used to carry the Hwasong-14s. The Hwasong-15's first stage is powered by a pair of engines that were also used in the single-engine first stages of the Hwasong-14, the ministry said. It was still working to analyze the construction of the second stage. Fox News' Jennifer Griffin and The Associated Press contributed to this report. next Image 1 of 2 prev Image 2 of 2 Former U.S. President Barack Obama is ending a five-day international trip in Paris, where he is lunching with French President Emmanuel Macron and scheduled to give a speech to business leaders. Obama arrived at the presidential Elysee Palace at midday on Saturday. The area was placed under high security. The French presidency said the private lunch was expected to include a presentation about the Obama Foundation. No journalists were allowed at the meal. Earlier Saturday, Obama discussed climate issues with Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo. He also planned to meet with former French President Francois Hollande. His evening speech organized by a club for leaders from the internet and communications industries is on the theme, "Fear Less, Innovate More." Obama was in China and India before he arrived in France. A Spotsylvania County jury is recommending a 21-year prison sentence for a man convicted of two drug-related offenses. Khalil Abdel Salahuddin, 28, was found guilty Thursday of possession of cocaine and possession of heroin, both with the intent to distribute. Both were charged as third or subsequent offenses. Salahuddin was convicted even though no drugs were on him when he was arrested on Oct. 20, 2016, and the drugs that were found were in someone elses car. According to the evidence presented by prosecutor Colleen Barlow, Salahuddin approached a police informant and asked if he wanted some brown, which witnesses said was a street term for heroin. An agreement was reached to meet at a county 7Eleven to complete the deal. The informant has a prior drug conviction and has a pending charge in Spotsylvania General District Court. Barlow requested that his name not be printed because he may be involved in other undercover drug investigations. Salahuddin was in the store when investigators took him into custody. A car belonging to Kimberly A.R. Smith was in the parking lot, and packaged heroin and cocaine were found in a cigarette pack in the car. No one saw Salahuddin get out of the car that day, but detectives testified that he was associated with Smith and the car. Smith is charged with possession of illegal drugs with the intent to distribute and conspiracy and has a trial scheduled for next month. Defense attorney Ian Whittle argued that the informants testimony was inconsistent and vague and suggested that he was lying to enhance his own legal position. Whittle said there is clearly reasonable doubt in this case and asked the jurors not to hold Salahuddins prior convictions against him. Barlow said investigators saw Salahuddin on his phone while the informant was solidifying the deal and that he had more than $3,000 on him when he was arrested. If it looks like a duck, its a duck, Barlow said. Spotsylvania prosecutors have spent considerable time on Salahuddin-related cases over the years. In addition to his two prior distribution convictions, Salahuddin was convicted of possessing cocaine with the intent to distribute in September 2015. A jury recommended a 25-year prison sentence, but that conviction was overturned on a technicality before his formal sentencing. That case was later dropped. The charges Salahuddin was convicted of Thursday were also temporarily dropped after a key witness failed to appear for a trial, but Barlow later reinstated them. Salahuddin will be formally sentenced on the new convictions on March 2 by Judge Joseph Ellis. He will also be sentenced that day on two probation violations that he was convicted of Thursday. He is facing the possibility of having more than 20 years of previously suspended time reinstated. Over lunch with more than half a dozen future teachers at the University of Mary Washington on Friday, Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney made a case for why classrooms in his city are the coveted place to be. It was a hard sell, with Stoney telling how he was raised by a father and grandmother who hadnt graduated from high school but made sure he did. How the support of educators who believed in himlike the third-grade teacher who made sure he had a ride home from the after-school social studies clubensured his success. I would not be here today without my teachers, Stoney said during a stop at UMWs College of Education, one of several campuses the mayor has visited around the state to recruit teachers to the Richmond school system that he has made a priority. The district has 360 positions it needs to fill for the upcoming school year, he said. He told of the more than $44,000 salary the school system now offers starting teachers and its recently hired superintendent, Jason Kamras, a former National Teacher of the Year who comes from the D.C. public school system. Stoney talked about how nearly half of Richmonds population is made up of people 20 to 45. He talked about all it has to offer them, from restaurants and breweries to an atmosphere that has the feel of a city but the closeness of a town. Stoney said he wanted families to move to Richmond because of its schools rather than in spite of them. Teachers did things they didnt have to do that changed my life, he said. Those are the types of teachers I want. Those are the kind of future teachers Stoney found at UMW Friday afternoon. And it turned out they didnt need a hard sell to consider moving to Richmond after earning their teaching degrees. Often, the students from the College of Education made it for him. I love Richmond, said studentteacher Natalie Griffin. She said as a first-generation American who speaks Spanish, she is looking for a place in need of bilingual educators. Katy Tucker, a UMW senior studying elementary education, talked about teaching homeless students on a service trip, and how that inspired her to want to work in an inner city. She recalled how teachers told her she was smart despite a learning disability. She said she knew teaching in a city presented a unique set of challenges. If I live an uncomfortable life, but I can help in the classroom, Im OK with that. And there was Yasmin Cox, a UMW junior and mother of four who described teaching as her purpose on earth. She said she went to a school in what amounted to a windowless box in New York City, where there were few resources. That didnt slow down student success, she said, because we had teachers who believed we could do it. Cox wants to teach in a school system like Richmonds where my background matches their background, she said. If I graduated with a masters in education and went to a shiny new school, I would be unhappy. IF YOU want to know a persons true character, friend him on Facebook. I am not one of those people who live on Facebook, but I do check out the news feed at least once a day. Ive learned a lot about the several hundred friends I have on this popular social media site. Some of what I have discovered is not good. On Facebook, you see people at their very best and their very worst. And they usually dont change from one aspect to the other. Those who are bad stay bad and those who are good stay good. For some, Facebook is a battleground. These are angry people who seem to hate the world and everyone in it. They criticize everything and everyone. No matter the president or the politician, he is an evil person. Hate seems to consume these people. A few I have unfriended for this reason. I cant stand their negative attitudes. Others I have kept as friends just to see how mad they will get. Some friends post only alcohol-related topics. From their Facebook pages, one would assume that they live in bars and are pickled from head to toe. Every picture has a beer, wine or whiskey glass or bottle in it. Some use the foulest of language on Facebook. People I have never heard use a curse word write posts that I read in disbelief. Their personalities change dramaticallyor really show themselveson social media. There is sadness on Facebook. Some friends use this social media to express their sorrow and seek sympathy. Thats fine. I can understand that and often I feel their pain. Some obviously lonely people try to show their lives in an upbeat fashion, but their loneliness always shows through. I cannot help but feel sadness for these friends. They seem to be searching for some happiness that always eludes them. Often it is obvious they are looking in the wrong places, but it is not my place to judge or make suggestions. I just read and move on. In the midst of all this anger, sadness and loneliness there are always a few uplifting moments. My favorite Facebook friend is a woman I have never met and maybe never will. She is always positive, upbeat and full of fun. She turns daily tragedies into short blurbs that never fail to make me smile. I dont recall ever seeing one of her posts that wasnt warm and friendly. She is the kind of friend that makes Facebook fun. I make very few posts on Facebook. I try to stay out of the drama and I fully understand that anything I write on social media can end up traveling around the world. My words can also be misinterpreted and misrepresented. I dont need the hassle of getting people all riled up. I do that enough in this newspaper column. But some deliberately use Facebook to stir up trouble and make people angry. The investigation into last years presidential election showed that untrue stories were posted just to promote hate. Reports also indicate that it was hate-inspired posts that help fuel last summers Confederate statue protests. If you dont believe what you read in the newspaper, then you certainly shouldnt believe what you read on Facebook. But some people do. I have several friends who say they dont watch TV or read the papers but get all their news from Facebook. Thats dangerous. The thing about social media is that it is not regulated. News doesnt have to be true and you can use any language you want. You have to be suspicious of everything you read and be careful of everything you post. Your words can come back to haunt you. Still, Facebook is a good way to keep in touch with friends, renew old acquaintances or just pass the time while sitting around in the doctors office. And it can be addictive. Just remember that on Facebook you will find out what your friends are really like and you may not like what you read. But if you like hate and anger, Facebook is the place to be. It wont take long to realize that there are some mean people out there. Just try not to become one of them. Stafford County residents who pay for flood insurance will see a discount in their policies thanks to rating bump in the National Flood Insurance Program. The discount will apply to flood insurance policy holders in Special Flood Hazard Areas, according to a news release from the county. Residents are expected to save a total of $39,187 a year, which amounts to nearly $196,000 countywide over the next five years. The Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which issued the rating, will review it again in 2022. The savings are a result of the countys floodplain-management efforts, according to the news release. Stafford is one of only 25 communities in the commonwealth that voluntarily participates in the program, which incentivizes cities and counties for being more disaster-resistant. The ratings are similar to those for fire insurance, and help decide discounts on flood insurance premiums. Communities are rated 9 to 1, according to FEMA. The lower the rating, the higher the discount. Staffords new rating is 7, which entitles policy holders to a 15 percent savings on their premiums. Free Freightnet Membership List your company in the Freightnet directory. It's Free, it's Easy and your company can be displayed in front of potential freight buyers within 24 hours. 1st December 2017 Global warming could increase volcanic eruptions A study by the University of Leeds finds that shrinking glacier cover across Iceland could lead to increased volcanism in the region, by reducing pressure on the Earth's surface. Eruption at Holuhraun, Iceland, in September 2014. By peterhartree [CC BY-SA 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons Shrinking glacier cover could lead to increased volcanic activity in Iceland, warn scientists. A new study, led by the University of Leeds, has found that there was less volcanic activity in Iceland when glacier cover was more extensive and as the glaciers melted, volcanic eruptions increased due to subsequent changes in surface pressure. "Climate change caused by humans is creating rapid ice melt in volcanically active regions," Dr Graeme Swindles, from the School of Geography at Leeds, explains. "In Iceland, this has put us on a path to more frequent volcanic eruptions." The study examined Icelandic volcanic ash preserved in peat deposits and lake sediments and identified a period of significantly reduced volcanic activity between 5,500 and 4,500 years ago. This period came after a major decrease in global temperature, which caused glacier growth in Iceland. The findings, published in the journal Geology, found there was a time lag of roughly 600 years between the climate event and a noticeable decrease in the number of volcanic eruptions. The study suggests that perhaps a similar time lag can be expected following the more recent shift to warmer temperatures. Iceland's volcanic system is still in the process of recovering from the 'Little Ice Age' a recorded period of colder climate roughly between the years 1500 to 1850. Since the end of the Little Ice Age, a combination of natural and human-caused climate warming has been causing Icelandic glaciers to melt again. Icelandic volcanic ash cloud that closed European air space in April 2010. By Reisio, derivative work: Cogiati [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons. "The human effect on global warming makes it difficult to predict how long the time lag will be, but the trends of the past show us more eruptions in Iceland can be expected in the future," said Dr Swindles. "These long-term consequences of human effect on the climate is why summits like COP are so important. It is vital to understand how actions today can impact future generations in ways that have not been fully realised such as more ash clouds over Europe, more particles in the atmosphere and problems for aviation." Icelandic volcanism is controlled by complex interactions between rifts in continental plate boundaries, underground gas and magma build-up and pressure on the volcano's surface from glaciers and ice. Changes in surface pressure can alter the stress on shallow chambers where magma builds up. "When glaciers retreat, there is less pressure on Earth's surface. This can increase the amount of mantle melt as well as affect magma flow and how much magma the crust can hold," said co-author, Dr Ivan Savov, from the School of Earth & Environment at Leeds. "Even small changes in surface pressure can alter the likelihood of eruptions at ice-covered volcanos." Eruption at Fimmvoruhals, close to Eyjafjallajokull, Iceland, in April 2010. By Boaworm (Own work) [CC BY 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons --- Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Facebook Subscribe to us on YouTube Comments A Pinch of Salt: The election is over, I think, so what now? I was falling. I was flailing. I was lost and lonely. I could barely find my breath, but I kept breathing. And so I said it: God! Where are you? The answer came instantly: I am in your breath. In. My. Breath. This was a reminder, and not a newfound fact. I grew up going to church: God is always with you! Coffee (cookie) hours, handmade Bible character puppets, white angel choir robes and bringing cans for the food pantry was the air I breathed. And, certainly, a youth director looking me straight in the eyes and proclaiming, You know, God REALLY does love you! is one of my most profound life experiences. However, I also was taught God created the whole world and that I was made in Gods image. And so, I saw God in colorful Colorado mountain trails and sunsets. I felt resurrection life in my graceful, changing, moving middle school ballet body. Gliding through water, my heart pounded awareness of sacred presence and peace in a pool. In yoga, moving with breath, my mind was still, my heart receptive and my feet grounded in the certainty of Sacred presence and love. Not just around me. But within me. Now, the church, it is true, has spent centuries being suspicious of and even downright hostile to bodies. (We have Greek-influenced Paul to thank for that.) What we know and believe is God. And god. Faith is a chin-up proposition. This is rather ironic. Today we begin counting down to the celebration of God becoming flesh. Air breathing, bare foot feet walking, lake trotting, mountain climbing, touching healing eyes and hearts, lap holding children, water-into-wine Holy. Jesus. Our society, whether churchgoing or not, has a strange relationship with bodies. We love and worship them. We hate and despise them. While we may be into bodies we are not in them. We spend lots of time in our heads, our monkey minds running, our thinking, thinking, thinking! Meanwhile, our bodies carry us around, for better or worse, longing to impart wisdom and longing to communicate the state of our deepest selves. But, we are often too hard-headed to hear. And, to the original subject at hand: It is the body that comprehends and communicates to our awareness the mysterious presence of God. Body, mind, spirit, emotions, memories, all of it, (all of us) is entangled, entwined, interacting and this newfound knowledge leads us to greater knowledge, power and wholeness. This exciting evolution is happening in medicine, education and religion. I am part of a church and denomination that, from its origins, had a sense of this truth. Hospitals and schools have always been built right beside churches all over the world. We support Health Care for All and work at Stone Soup. Soul Hikes are offered to receive the healing gifts of nature and moving together. Yoga, not in the pews, but with mats, bolsters and chairs, gives new life to bodies and souls. Reiki, healing prayer, involves gentle touch as a means to instill wholeness and well-being. While there is not a whole lot of moving going on during worship, we do breathe together. We breathe in peace. We breathe out love and kindness. Now is a season that takes our breath away, sometimes for its beauty and other times for its grief. I invite you to consider how you can honor your own body during this time. Give gifts that contribute to the health of others bodies. And above all else: Breathe! Sacred life is in your breath. Here is a look at public meetings scheduled for the coming days. Monday The Corvallis City Council meets at 6 p.m. at the downtown fire station, 400 NW Harrison Blvd. On the agenda are a new contract for the city attorney, a new fee schedule for ride-share and taxi firms and the annual utility rate review. Tuesday The Benton County Board of Commissioners will hold a work session at 9 a.m. in the county boardrooms, 205 NW Fifth St. in Corvallis. The agenda includes fee changes, the vacation of Water Lane, right of way and easements on Evergreen Road, authorization of debt for building improvements and the North Albany Master Plan. The Benton County Board of Commissioners will meet at noon in the county boardrooms, 205 NW Fifth St. in Corvallis. The agenda includes formally adopting the Asbahr-Pilkington Road District and authorizing debt for $7 million in building improvements. A public forum on the Move to Amend campaign is set for 7 p.m. at the Corvallis-Benton County Public Library, 645 NW Monroe Ave. The group aims to overturn the Citizens United Supreme Court decision on election financing. The guest speaker is Kaitlin Sopoci-Belknap, national director of Move to Amend. The Philomath Park Advisory board meets at 5 p.m. at City Hall, 980 Applegate St. The Marys Peak Alliance is hosting an event at 6 p.m. at the Old World Deli, 341 SW 2nd St. Reporter Bennett Hall and photographer Anibal Ortiz of the Gazette-Times will discuss their coverage of the solar eclipse, and teachers Jen Davis and Vicki Hurlak and Marys Peak guides Phil Hays and Bob Lillie will talk about a project that has brought 1,500 students to the peak in the past four years. The Adair Village City Council meets at 6 p.m. at City Hall, 6030 William R. Carr Ave. to discuss contracts for the community service office and the city administrator. The Corvallis Parks, Natural Areas and Recreation Advisory Board meets at 6:30 p.m. at the fire station. The board will discuss a proposal to make the Majestic Theater a permanent part of Parks and Recreation Department operations. Wednesday The Corvallis Police Review Advisory Board meets at 3 p.m. at the Walnut Community Room, 4950 NW Fair Oaks Drive. The Community Involvement and Diversity Advisory Board meets at 5 p.m. at the Madison Avenue Meeting Room, 500 SW Madison Ave. On the agenda are discussions of its empowerment grant program and a proposed land-use requirement for predevelopment neighborhood meetings and a recommendation on free meeting space for neighborhood associations. The Corvallis Planning Commissions meets at the special time of 5:30 p.m. at the fire station to discuss annexation proposals that might result in houses on 118- and 16-acre parcels off of Southwest West Hills Road and an expansion of Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center. See Tuesdays Gazette-Times for a preview of the meeting. A public forum on legislative efforts to produce a clean energy jobs bill is set for 7 p.m. at the Corvallis-Benton County Public Library, 645 NW Monroe Ave. On hand will be Oregon State Sen. Sara Gelser, Shilpa Joshi, coalition director of Renew Oregon, Nicole Hams, Oregon State University student representing the NAACP and Greg Creal of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. The Corvallis-Benton County Library Advisory Board meets at 7:30 at the library and will continue its discussion of a study of library space needs and possible plans for expansion. Thursday The Corvallis City Council will meet in a 4 p.m. work session at the Madison room. Councilors will receive a report on the transportation system plan update and discuss a council self-evaluation. The city of Corvallis has lost a major battle in the fight over development on Timberhill. A Benton County Circuit Court judge has ordered the city to comply with a state enforcement order that would remove a planned development overlay from more than 200 acres of property in the Timberhill area north of the Kings Boulevard-Walnut Boulevard intersection. Removing the overlay will make it easier for the property owners, GPA1 and Forest Heights, to develop the parcels, which constitute the largest chunk of undeveloped land zoned for residential use inside the Corvallis city limits. The state Land Conservation and Development Commission issued the enforcement order March 23, but the city has appealed that decision to the state Court of Appeals. The enforcement order is a valid order from a state agency, Benton County Circuit Court Judge Locke Williams noted in his order, dated Nov. 27. Because the Land Conservation and Development Commission and the state Court of Appeals have denied to stay the order while the appeal is pending the order, therefore, is effective and binding upon the city. Williams ordered the city to comply no later than its Dec. 18 City Council meeting. Williams also noted that the property owners may petition the court for an award of reasonable attorney fees, costs and disbursements. The city, meanwhile, has pulled back or voluntarily remanded its Oct. 20 decision to remove the planned development overlay under protest. That decision was before the state Land Use Board of Appeals because neighbors who organized to oppose development plans in the region have appealed it. Sean Malone, attorney for the Northwest Alliance of Corvallis, said that the group's LUBA appeal is on hold for the time being. But he added that the decision in circuit court does not address a variety of issues that place the enforcement order on tenuous grounds on appeal. Dale Kern, a broker with Commercial Associates, which is working with the property owners, said that development plans for Timberhill are winding their way through the city on the clear and objective track. GPA1 will continue to assert its rights to develop the Timberhill property. It is increasingly likely that in the relatively near future new homes will begin to be built at Timberhill. Kern also said that GPA1 is tabulating its costs and will be applying to the court for an attorney fee award against the city. Corvallis City Attorney Jim Brewer said that the city action at the Dec. 18 council meeting will need to comply with (the Williams) decision. When asked for further comment on the court order Brewer said: No, I think it speaks for itself. A lawsuit filed Friday in Benton County Circuit Court alleges the Monroe fire department negligently allowed a volunteer to sexually assault a minor participating in its junior firefighter program. The lawsuit seeks $3.5 million in damages from the Monroe Rural Fire Protection District, claiming it failed to properly train and supervise the volunteer in charge of the junior firefighter program, allowing the volunteer to groom a minor female over time and eventually sexually assault her a number of times. The lawsuit also alleges Monroe fire officials failed to adequately investigate and notify law enforcement when given information about the alleged abuse. A claim filed by the plaintiff's attorney, the Portland-area law firm Crew Janci LLP, said the volunteer was put in a position of authority over the participants in the junior firefighter program. The lawsuit alleges that the volunteer used that authority to direct the alleged victim to engage in sexual contact with him. The law firm said that the "sexual molestation and abuse" cited in the lawsuit "constituted harmful and offensive touching of the plaintiff, to which plaintiff did not and could not consent." When contacted Friday, Monroe Fire Chief Rick Smith said he was unaware of the lawsuit. Smith said the department did have an internal investigation last year involving the volunteer named in the lawsuit. Smith added that the volunteer was no longer with the department, but declined to elaborate on the outcome of the internal investigation. Smith said the lawsuit was a difficult situation. The volunteer named in the lawsuit does not appear to have faced criminal charges in connection with the incident, and calls from the Gazette-Times to the Benton County Sheriff's Office and the Benton County Attorney's Office seeking additional information on the matter were not immediately returned. Because no criminal charges were apparently filed in connection with the incident, the Gazette-Times has elected not to print his name at this time. The volunteer is not listed as a defendant in the suit. The minor victim is identified only by a pseudonym in the lawsuit, to protect her identity. Recall at Lidl, Rewe and Real : Consumers warned of contaminated chicken breast, shrimp and figs BONN/COLOGNE/DUSSELDORF The three supermarket chains Lidl, Rewe and Real have published a warning for consumers who may have purchased certain products at their stores. A recall campaign has been started. Teilen Teilen Weiterleiten Weiterleiten Tweeten Tweeten Weiterleiten Weiterleiten Drucken The manufacturer of the Lidl chicken breast fillet "Landjunker Familien-Packung" has recalled some of its products. "It cannot be ruled out that there are metal foreign bodies on the surface of the product," said the Lower Bavarian company Frischland Premium Spezialitaten on Thursday. There is a risk of injury to consumers. Affected is the product "Landjunker Familien-Packung, 1,000 g" with the expiration date 04.12.2017 and the identity number DE NI 11101 EG (see oval symbol on the back of the packaging). It had been sold to Lidl in Hesse, Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate and Thuringia. The product can be returned in all Lidl stores, the purchase price will be refunded. Rewe takes shrimp off the shelves After discovering residues of antibiotics in individual samples, Rewe has recalled the following product as a precaution: "ja! King Prawns Garnelen 225g TK ". This recall is for all Rewe stores nationwide. Affected is the product with the identification number EAN 4388840222964 and expiration date 14.04.2019, lot VN 786V 088, informed the company on Wednesday evening in Cologne. It advises against the consumption of this product. Customers can return the goods to their local REWE market. They will refund the purchase price. Mushroom toxins discovered in figs at Real GA listing : Unusual Christmas markets Bonn Are you looking for a different kind of Christmas market - one that is out of the ordinary? These unusual Christmas markets might be a little further away but definitely offer a twist on the traditional. Teilen Teilen Weiterleiten Weiterleiten Tweeten Tweeten Weiterleiten Weiterleiten Drucken Medieval Siegburg Christmas market Visitors to the medieval Christmas market in Siegburg embark on a journey through time: jugglers, jesters of the court and artisans add color to the Christmas market in the town square in the middle of the city. The highlight of the market is a medieval Christmas concert. And there are over 50 stalls offering a wide range of traditional food, drinks and medieval crafts. Here you can forget electricity and artificial light; the medieval life is authentically represented. Address: Markt (city center), 53721 Siegburg Opening hours: Sundays to Thursdays from 11am to 8pm, Fridays and Saturdays from 11am to 9pm International Christmas Market in Essen Christmas traditions from 20 countries come together at the big international Christmas market in Essen. More than 250 stalls offer food, drinks and other special items from around the world. Besides the conventional German punch, visitors can enjoy French Vin chaud or Scandinavian Glogi. In addition, international merchants present art from all over the world: ceramics from Bunzlau, handicrafts from Africa, jewelery from the Baltic States or fashion accessories from Nepal. Then there are the Essen Light Weeks, which shine a unique light with modern technology. Address: Rathenaustrae 2, 45127 Essen Opening hours: Sundays to Thursdays from 11am to 9pm, Fridays and Saturdays from 11am to 10pm Mosel Wine Night Market In Traben-Trarbach visitors explore the former wine cellars of the city underground. At the Mosel-Wein-Nachts-Markt (Mosel Wine Night Market), the cellar rooms from the 16th century turn into a cozy Christmas market, where mulled wine, almonds and many other culinary specialties spoil hungry guests. The Mosel-Wein-Nachts-Markt is currently the only underground Christmas market in Germany. Address: An der Mosel 14, 56841 Traben-Trarbach Opening hours: from 24th November to 17th December: Fridays to Sundays from 11am to 9pm; from 18 December to 1 January: Monday to Thursday from 11am to 7pm and Fridays to Sundays from 11am to 9pm Advent town of Quedlinburg The city of Quedlinburg in the Harz is transformed during the Christmas season into an Advent town, which consists of a traditional Christmas market, Germany's largest Advent calendar and the "Advent in the courtyards". More than 20 courtyards open their doors, giving visitors a glimpse of antiques, decorative items and regional delicacies. Every day in December, little doors open on the Schlossberg, revealing 24 festively decorated little houses. Address: Marktstrae, 06484 Quedlinburg Opening hours: Sundays to Thursdays from 11am to 8pm, Fridays from 11am to 10pm and Saturdays from 10am to 10pm Christmas Village Waldbreitbach Waldbreitbach in the district of Neuwied in Rhineland-Palatinate calls itself the "Christmas City". Around 3,500 lightbulbs ensure the small town is bathed in Christmas light during the holiday season. A huge star - the "Star of Bethlehem" - points the way for hikers on a forest slope above the village. The path is two kilometers long and leads from the tourist information location in the village to the monastery of the Waldbreitbach Franciscans and back again. Along the way are small nativity scenes that illustrate the Christmas story. There is also a floating nativity scene on the Wied, an eight-meter-high Christmas pyramid, a large Advent calendar on a half-timbered house, a floating Advent wreath, life-size Christmas figures from the Erzgebirge (Ore mountains), a carillon with 60 songs and a manger in a snow-covered landscape. On the various Advent weekends there is a Christmas market and a Christmas bazaar with homemade items. Address: 56588 Waldbreitbach, Rhineland-Palatinate Opening hours: 1st and 2nd Advent weekends: Christmas Bazaar with self-made items; 2nd and 3rd Advent weekends: Christkindchenmarkt Christmas market in the Ravenna Gorge in the High Black Forest On all four Advent weekends, the organizers of the Christmas market in the Ravenna Gorge in the High Black Forest invite visitors for a romantic experience. A small Christmas village made of wooden huts plays host to a Christmas market at the foot of a viaduct, which is illuminated by colorful light installations. More than 40 exhibitors present handicrafts and unusual gift ideas. There is also no lack of food and drink here in the Christmas village. Address: Ravennaschlucht, 79874 Breitnau Hours: Fridays from 3 - 9pm, Saturdays from 2 - 9pm and Sundays from 1 - 7pm Granite Christmas in the Bavarian Forest The Granite Center Bavarian Forest invites you to a unique Christmas market: Located in the midst of a decommissioned quarry, the vendors present traditional crafts from the region and demonstrate traditional handicraft techniques. Also gifts of different materials such as stone, wood, glass, linen, wool, straw and wax are available here. Guests are spoiled with traditional Christmas market cuisine from the region. A life-size manger gives it a special atmosphere; its designed in the form of a petting zoo for the little visitors. Also on the program are concerts and a cinema on the face of the cliff and the illuminated quarry. Address: Passauer Strae 11, 94051 Hauzenberg Opening hours: 30th November to 3rd December, 7th to 10th December, 14th to 17th December and 21st to 23rd December; from 2 pm to 8 pm Santa Pauli Christmas Market in Hamburg Even the organizers call their market "Hamburg's hottest Christmas market". Here, Christmas traditions are reinterpreted and adorned with a twist, a mix of conventional Christmas tradition and frivolous red-light district life. Visitors enjoy a wide range of shows, such as live music on the stage and angels in the Santa Pauli Strip tent. Nobody needs to be hungry either, because "highlight" waffles or a hot "nutcracker" are on the menu here. And there is unicorn mulled wine, Santa Pauli's Heimacher and other things that are difficult to translate. Address: Spielbudenplatz, 20359 Hamburg Opening hours: Mondays to Wednesdays 4pm to 11pm, Thursdays 4pm to 12pm, Fridays and Saturdays 1pm to 1pm and Sundays 1pm to 11pm Scandinavian Lucia Christmas Market in Berlin At the Lucia Christmas Market in Berlin, visitors immerse themselves in the traditions of Scandinavian countries. Its situated with a romantic backdrop of a 19th century building ensemble which once hosted a brewery, but today is a creative location called the Kulturbrauerei (Culture Brewery). Guests can sample 20 different mulled wines from the far north and enjoy the Scandinavian cuisine. Flickering Swedish fires and fur coats warmed up are available for rent, providing cuddly warmth in the market in the midst of the vibrant capital. Address: Sredzkistrasse 1, 10435 Berlin Opening hours: Mondays to Fridays from 3 - 10pm, Saturdays and Sundays from 1 - 10pm Pink Christmas Market in Munich This colorful Christmas market can be found in Munich: On the Stephansplatz in the trendy Glockenbachviertel, the Munich gay community organizes its extravagant Christmas market every year. In white pagoda tents visitors can purchase a wide range of food, drinks and unusual items. And everything shines in pink light and decoration. The highlight is a creative show with travesty stars and cabaret artists, who present their art every day from 7 pm. The Christmas market is also called the "pink star among the Christmas markets in Munich". Address: Stephansplatz, 80337 Munich Opening hours: Mondays to Fridays from 4pm to 10pm, Saturdays and Sundays from 12 to 10pm This is a listing of unusual Christmas markets, and it is not an exhaustive list and does not follow any objective criteria. It is also not a ranking. The order is arbitrary. Is an unusual Christmas market missing in this list? Please send us an e-mail to online@ga.de. kacylee at 2-12-2017 08:19 AM (4 years ago) (f) The time was 9.10pm. A Buraq Airs Boeing 737 with tail number 5A-DMG landed on the tarmac of the cargo terminal of the Murtala International Airport and out came 20-year-old Clement Chibuzor, along with 149 other Nigerians whose ghoulish appearances told of the horrific experiences they must have experienced in Libya. The time was 9.10pm. A Buraq Airs Boeing 737 with tail number 5A-DMG landed on the tarmac of the cargo terminal of the Murtala International Airport and out came 20-year-old Clement Chibuzor, along with 149 other Nigerians whose ghoulish appearances told of the horrific experiences they must have experienced in Libya. Over the past two weeks, Nigerians have added their voices to the global uproar over the exposed tales of slave trade, torture and killings of migrants in Libya. Over 5,000 Nigerians have been repatriated from Libya by the International Organisation for Migration since the beginning of 2017. Each time a new batch of returnees arrive, they bring with them tales of horror from the transit country, where they hoped to take the treacherous journey through the Mediterranean Sea. Saturday PUNCH spoke with many of the returnees as they touched down on Thursday night. They told the tales of mans inhumanity to man. Chibuzor, a Delta State indigene, was just a teenager working as a Plaster of Paris artisan when his father met a trafficker, who told him he could get his son to Europe. The young lad had worked as a POP artisan for eight months with little money in his pocket, his father told him not to worry about the money. I never thought about going to Europe. My father was the one who brought the idea. He sold his land and raised N450,000 which he gave to my burger (trafficker). He did not tell my mother until I was already in Libya, Chibuzor said. The young man spent 18 months in Libya. He left the country, a hopeful man. On Thursday, he returned like a mere cargo, thankful to be back to safety. As he stepped off the plane, Chibuzor looked nothing like a 20-year-old. His hollow cheeks told of starvation while his skin told of suffering in disease-ridden cells. After many of my co-travellers died in the desert, I was kidnapped as soon as I got to Libya. I was in prison for four months until my father sent N300,000 for my release. In the prison, our food was a piece of bread every day. When I got out of the prison. I was on the street one day when I met a Nigerian who promised to help me. I worked in his house for some weeks until he sold me to a gang. They kept me in a cell. I was there for a very long time. I cannot count the number of people who died in the cell. The police were raiding different places where black people were kept and I willingly surrendered to the police. That was how I got an opportunity to come back to Nigeria. While working on the streets of Libya, if the gangs saw you, they would grab you and put you in a cell. They put you in a cell with many others where you would either be sold or made to call your people to pay for your freedom. While I was trying to get money the to free myself from the prison, I spoke with my father two months ago. He then told me that if I had the chance, I should return home. I told him that I might die before I had the opportunity to return home because I saw people die every day. We drank urine, fuel in desert Kelvin, 21 Many of the returnees who shared their experiences like Chibuzor, vowed never to attempt the dangerous journey again. But experts say that so far as there are few success stories amidst the deaths, some of the returnees may try again when the shock of their time in Libya wear off. Kelvin Sunday, 21, an Edo State indigene, who returned with Chibuzor, told Saturday PUNCH that he was in Libya for seven months. He spent N965,000 to get to Libya after raising the money with the help of friends and his my sister. Sunday explained that a friend of his, who made it to Europe, convinced him to embark on the journey. According to him, 41 of them set out in Kano for the journey through the desert but only 10 made it to Libya. He said their fate was sealed when their vehicle developed an engine fault in the desert. Sunday said, We were in the desert for three days without food or water. We were drinking our urine to survive. It got to a point that when there was no more urine to drink, we started to drink fuel. When we got to Libya, I was working in my burgers house. I spent two weeks there before I went to the seaside (in Tripoli) where we would cross. From Sabha to the seaside in Tripoli, I spent two weeks. On the way, some traffickers kidnapped us. They beat and loaded us into their Hilux van, but few of us jumped down and I broke my leg. I managed to escape as they were shooting. We spent two days in the desert again after that escape. We later saw a motorist whom we begged to help us get to the seaside. We were camped at the seaside for three months without any opportunity to cross through the seas. People trying to cross the sea told me to avoid Nigerians helping Libyans to sell people. But later our camp was raided by soldiers, who took us to prison. He had spent four months in the cell before luck smiled on him and IOM officials effected his repatriation along with many others. I return home as a one-eyed man Okotie, 35 Less than a year after Harrison Okotie, 35, got to Libya, he was kidnapped by some violent traffickers, who hit him in the eye with the butt of a gun. He lost his left eye to that attack. Now, I dont know if my wife and two children would ever recognise me when I get back home. I left Nigeria a whole man but I am returning with one eye, Okotie said. He explained that before leaving Nigeria in 2014, he worked as a painter after graduating from the Delta State University. After paying N600,000 for the journey through the desert, he got to Libya where he was grabbed off the street by some traffickers who sold him for 2,000 dinars (about N529,000). When you got to the person you were sold to, he sold you again for double the previous amount. Many Nigerians have gone mad and cannot even say where they are in Libya right now. The day officials came to register us for repatriation, we were in a queue when one of the Libyan officials shot a Nigerian dead right there. They said he was trying to run, whereas he was desperate to return home. Another returnee, Esosa Osas, 25, who was a hairdresser before he left Nigeria, spent six months in Libya. She told tales of many women being raped. It is either rape or death. Nobody could refuse being raped, she said. A fellow Edo State indigene, Odion Saliu, 26, told Saturday PUNCH that the Nigerian trafficker who facilitated her trip lied to her. She said, She told me that once in Kano, we were going to take a plane to Libya. I was shocked when we were loaded into a vehicle. We spent nine days crossing the desert to Libya. I was kidnapped and sold at least three times before God brought me back to my fatherland. I am really thankful to God that I am alive. The Nigerian traffickers fueling the trafficking industry in Libya seems to have attracted the attention of the government. The Senior Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on Foreign and Diaspora Affairs, Mrs. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, said there was a need for Nigerians to report human traffickers in the society. She said the Federal governments whistleblower policy against human trafficking would ensure a handsome reward for credible information about human traffickers . Traffickers must be prosecuted, must be arrested and they must be known. There is a whistle-blower policy by NAPTIP; report traffickers, they are amongst you An official of the Edo State task force on illegal migration, Mr. Okoduwa Solomon, told Saturday PUNCH that since November 7, the state had taken custody of at least 897 Libyan returnees who are indigenes of the state. He explained that the exercise to help them resettle in Nigeria would continue so far as there were still Nigerians trapped in Libya. We are using the returnees to raise awareness about the dangers of illegal migration in Edo State, he said. Over the past two weeks, Nigerians have added their voices to the global uproar over the exposed tales of slave trade, torture and killings of migrants in Libya.Over 5,000 Nigerians have been repatriated from Libya by the International Organisation for Migration since the beginning of 2017.Each time a new batch of returnees arrive, they bring with them tales of horror from the transit country, where they hoped to take the treacherous journey through the Mediterranean Sea.Saturday PUNCH spoke with many of the returnees as they touched down on Thursday night. They told the tales of mans inhumanity to man.Chibuzor, a Delta State indigene, was just a teenager working as a Plaster of Paris artisan when his father met a trafficker, who told him he could get his son to Europe.The young lad had worked as a POP artisan for eight months with little money in his pocket, his father told him not to worry about the money.I never thought about going to Europe. My father was the one who brought the idea. He sold his land and raised N450,000 which he gave to my burger (trafficker). He did not tell my mother until I was already in Libya, Chibuzor said.The young man spent 18 months in Libya. He left the country, a hopeful man. On Thursday, he returned like a mere cargo, thankful to be back to safety.As he stepped off the plane, Chibuzor looked nothing like a 20-year-old.His hollow cheeks told of starvation while his skin told of suffering in disease-ridden cells.After many of my co-travellers died in the desert, I was kidnapped as soon as I got to Libya. I was in prison for four months until my father sent N300,000 for my release.In the prison, our food was a piece of bread every day. When I got out of the prison. I was on the street one day when I met a Nigerian who promised to help me. I worked in his house for some weeks until he sold me to a gang. They kept me in a cell. I was there for a very long time. I cannot count the number of people who died in the cell.The police were raiding different places where black people were kept and I willingly surrendered to the police. That was how I got an opportunity to come back to Nigeria.While working on the streets of Libya, if the gangs saw you, they would grab you and put you in a cell. They put you in a cell with many others where you would either be sold or made to call your people to pay for your freedom.While I was trying to get money the to free myself from the prison, I spoke with my father two months ago. He then told me that if I had the chance, I should return home. I told him that I might die before I had the opportunity to return home because I saw people die every day.Many of the returnees who shared their experiences like Chibuzor, vowed never to attempt the dangerous journey again. But experts say that so far as there are few success stories amidst the deaths, some of the returnees may try again when the shock of their time in Libya wear off.Kelvin Sunday, 21, an Edo State indigene, who returned with Chibuzor, told Saturday PUNCH that he was in Libya for seven months.He spent N965,000 to get to Libya after raising the money with the help of friends and his my sister.Sunday explained that a friend of his, who made it to Europe, convinced him to embark on the journey.According to him, 41 of them set out in Kano for the journey through the desert but only 10 made it to Libya.He said their fate was sealed when their vehicle developed an engine fault in the desert.Sunday said, We were in the desert for three days without food or water. We were drinking our urine to survive. It got to a point that when there was no more urine to drink, we started to drink fuel.When we got to Libya, I was working in my burgers house. I spent two weeks there before I went to the seaside (in Tripoli) where we would cross. From Sabha to the seaside in Tripoli, I spent two weeks. On the way, some traffickers kidnapped us. They beat and loaded us into their Hilux van, but few of us jumped down and I broke my leg. I managed to escape as they were shooting.We spent two days in the desert again after that escape. We later saw a motorist whom we begged to help us get to the seaside.We were camped at the seaside for three months without any opportunity to cross through the seas. People trying to cross the sea told me to avoid Nigerians helping Libyans to sell people. But later our camp was raided by soldiers, who took us to prison.He had spent four months in the cell before luck smiled on him and IOM officials effected his repatriation along with many others.I return home as a one-eyed man Less than a year after Harrison Okotie, 35, got to Libya, he was kidnapped by some violent traffickers, who hit him in the eye with the butt of a gun.He lost his left eye to that attack., who was a hairdresser before he left Nigeria, spent six months in Libya. She told tales of many women being raped.It is either rape or death. Nobody could refuse being raped, she said.told Saturday PUNCH that the Nigerian trafficker who facilitated her trip lied to her.She said,The Nigerian traffickers fueling the trafficking industry in Libya seems to have attracted the attention of the government.The Senior Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on Foreign and Diaspora Affairs, Mrs. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, said there was a need for Nigerians to report human traffickers in the society.She said the Federal governments whistleblower policy against human trafficking would ensure a handsome reward for credible information about human traffickers .An official of the Edo State task force on illegal migration, Mr. Okoduwa Solomon, told Saturday PUNCH that since November 7, the state had taken custody of at least 897 Libyan returnees who are indigenes of the state.He explained that the exercise to help them resettle in Nigeria would continue so far as there were still Nigerians trapped in Libya.he said. Post Reply I have been reporting for several years now and I am very interested in visual news reportage with strong inclusion of photos and video multimedia. Posted: at 2-12-2017 08:19 AM (4 years ago) | Addicted Hero kacylee at 2-12-2017 10:12 AM (4 years ago) (f) In the midst of the uproar over revelations that Libyan nationals are buying and selling migrants as slaves in Libya, Saturday PUNCH has learnt that Nigerians based in the country also sell their fellow countrymen. This emerged as more Nigerians are repatriated by the International Organisation for Migration with the backing of the European Union in an ongoing exercise that has seen 1,295 retrieved from Libya in November alone. In the midst of the uproar over revelations that Libyan nationals are buying and selling migrants as slaves in Libya, Saturday PUNCH has learnt that Nigerians based in the country also sell their fellow countrymen. This emerged as more Nigerians are repatriated by the International Organisation for Migration with the backing of the European Union in an ongoing exercise that has seen 1,295 retrieved from Libya in November alone. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WoYsopLu91Q Since the beginning of 2017, IOM-facilitated repatriation has brought back 5,578 Nigerian migrants, who were trapped in and outside prisons across Libya. On Thursday night, 150 migrants from mostly Edo and Delta states arrived the country aboard a Buraq Airplane at the cargo terminal of the Murtala International Airport, Lagos. It was two days after 239 migrants had also been brought into the country. Many of the returnees, who were thankful for being back, confirmed to Saturday PUNCH that they were sold by their fellow countrymen, who were getting rich in Libya. One of them, 26-year-old Odion Saliu, a hairdresser from Edo State, said she was kidnapped and handed over to a Nigerian, who forced her to call her mother. According to her, her mother in Benin paid N200, 000 but she was again sold by the same Nigerian for 3,000 dinars (about N794, 000). Saliu explained that the Nigerians spoke Pidgin English and some Nigerian languages. She said, When I was kidnapped with others and held for some weeks, the Arabs asked if I wanted to be taken to a Nigerian and I readily said yes. I was very happy that I was going to someone from my country. But it was a lie. The Nigerian they took me to locked me in a cell and told me to call my mother and ask for N60, 000. The man said he would sell me to a connection house if my family did not get the money. I called to inform my mother and the trafficker who facilitated my journey from Nigeria. But the trafficker spoke with them on the phone and told them the amount they demanded was too small. They increased it to N200, 000. My mother paid into an account after they provided her with the account number over the phone. The Nigerian said if I wanted to cross the sea, I had to pay him again. But when we got to the seaside, he sold me again. Another Edo State indigene, Sunday Anyaegbunam, left Nigeria along with his wife in April. He said during their nine-day journey through the desert, they were sold twice by Nigerians. According to him, when their Nigerian burger (trafficker) sold them to another set of Libyan traffickers at Agadez, Niger, the traffickers sold him and his wife to a Nigerian who took them to Sabha, Libya, where they were separated in different cells. We were made to contact our families on the phone and I had to ensure the payment of N400, 000 for my release and N300, 000 for my wife, Anyaegbunam said. Like others, he could only identify the Nigerians trading in their countrymen in Libya through the Nigerian languages they spoke and their accent. He said, The Nigerians selling people in Libya are more wicked than many of the Arabs. I have never seen people so heartless as the Nigerians who bought and sold me. There are many of them in Agadez and Sabha, who are making so much money from selling their own people. But there are other West Africans doing the business too. When you approach them and say, Please, my brother, help me. They would tell you, No brother in the jungle. A 25-year-old woman, Esosa Osas, who was in Libya for six months, said she also met many Nigerians selling their countrymen. You dare not talk to them, else they would beat you and lock you up. They sell women for 5,000 dinars and men for N4, 000 dinars. I noticed that the connection houses were also controlled by Nigerian women. All these accounts were corroborated by 35-year-old Harrison Okotie who lived in Libya for three years until his repatriation. Nigerians and Libyans are doing the business like they are one big happy family, he said. Most of the migrants who arrived Nigeria on Thursday were from Edo State. Officials of the states task force on illegal migration were on hand with luxurious buses to transport their people back home. A member of the task force, Mr. Okoduwa Solomon, told Saturday PUNCH that his team had made six such journeys to the airport within the last one month to take their indigenes repatriated from Libya back home. He said, The first process is to take them through counselling, then we profile them. After that, we put them in a home that the state government has provided for the returnees. The Edo State Government is paying each of the returnees from the state a stipend. They are going to undergo a training in agriculture, poultry, fishery and others to make them useful to themselves and the system. Officials of the National Emergency Management Agency coordinate the reception of the returnees at the airport.South West Zonal Coordinator of the agency, Mr. Yakubu Sulaiman, said the returnees would be lodged in a hotel where they would have the chance to clean up before their journey back home. Meanwhile, President, Women Arise and Centre for Change, Dr. Joe Okei-Odumakin, has called on the Federal Government to use all diplomatic channels to prevail on the Libyan authorities to ensure the dignity of our people. She said in a statement on Friday that it was an embarrassment that Nigerians who were treated like royalty in the past were being dehumanised in a foreign land. We must build a country where our people have opportunities to prosper and lead useful and productive lives and will only travel on leisure and business and not as illegal migrants desperate to live anywhere other than Nigeria, she said. Over 400,000 Nigerians, others still stranded in Libya AU Commission Meanwhile, Head, African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, has said that over 400,000 Nigerians and others remain stranded in Libya. Hundreds of thousands more 400,000 to 700, 000, according to Mahamat remain stranded. European and African leaders have set themselves a tall order to stamp out horrific abuse of African migrants, some of them are Nigerians in Libya, where thousands are suffering in a vast, lawless territory. On Thursday, a summit of the African Union and the European Union set a goal of immediately repatriating 3,800 migrants languishing in a camp near Tripoli. But experts pointed to a daunting array of hurdles, from extracting migrants in perilous situations to giving them incentives to stay put when they return home. Even so, the summits commitment, initiated by outrage over a CNN television report on black Africans being sold as slaves in Libya, is being welcomed. It is a step in the right direction, International Organisation for Migration Europe Director, Eugenio Ambrosi, told Agence France Presse by phone from Brussels. It is a little bit too much to think it will solve the slavery issue, but it would definitely mitigate (it) to some extent, Ambrosi said. He said the summit also showed there was now international watchdog pressure that could be brought to bear on the criminal gangs, but it must be sustained. The drive was announced at a meeting on the summit sidelines organised by French President, Emmanuel Macron. It brought together eight other EU and African countries as well as the AU, EU and United Nations representatives. Macron said the UN-backed Libyan government of Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj had identified and granted access to the worst camps to enable the returns of people who want to go home. The Macron group also decided to work with a task force, involving the sharing of police and intelligence services, to dismantle the networks and their financing and detain traffickers, he said. They pledged to freeze the assets of identified traffickers. The AU is expected to set up an investigative panel and the UN could take cases before the International Court of Justice. Since the beginning of 2017, IOM-facilitated repatriation has brought back 5,578 Nigerian migrants, who were trapped in and outside prisons across Libya.On Thursday night, 150 migrants from mostly Edo and Delta states arrived the country aboard a Buraq Airplane at the cargo terminal of the Murtala International Airport, Lagos. It was two days after 239 migrants had also been brought into the country.Many of the returnees, who were thankful for being back, confirmed to Saturday PUNCH that they were sold by their fellow countrymen, who were getting rich in Libya.One of them, 26-year-old Odion Saliu, a hairdresser from Edo State, said she was kidnapped and handed over to a Nigerian, who forced her to call her mother.According to her, her mother in Benin paid N200, 000 but she was again sold by the same Nigerian for 3,000 dinars (about N794, 000).Saliu explained that the Nigerians spoke Pidgin English and some Nigerian languages.She said, When I was kidnapped with others and held for some weeks, the Arabs asked if I wanted to be taken to a Nigerian and I readily said yes. I was very happy that I was going to someone from my country. But it was a lie.The Nigerian they took me to locked me in a cell and told me to call my mother and ask for N60, 000. The man said he would sell me to a connection house if my family did not get the money. I called to inform my mother and the trafficker who facilitated my journey from Nigeria.But the trafficker spoke with them on the phone and told them the amount they demanded was too small. They increased it to N200, 000. My mother paid into an account after they provided her with the account number over the phone.The Nigerian said if I wanted to cross the sea, I had to pay him again. But when we got to the seaside, he sold me again.Another Edo State indigene, Sunday Anyaegbunam, left Nigeria along with his wife in April.He said during their nine-day journey through the desert, they were sold twice by Nigerians.According to him, when their Nigerian burger (trafficker) sold them to another set of Libyan traffickers at Agadez, Niger, the traffickers sold him and his wife to a Nigerian who took them to Sabha, Libya, where they were separated in different cells.We were made to contact our families on the phone and I had to ensure the payment of N400, 000 for my release and N300, 000 for my wife, Anyaegbunam said.Like others, he could only identify the Nigerians trading in their countrymen in Libya through the Nigerian languages they spoke and their accent.He said, The Nigerians selling people in Libya are more wicked than many of the Arabs. I have never seen people so heartless as the Nigerians who bought and sold me.There are many of them in Agadez and Sabha, who are making so much money from selling their own people. But there are other West Africans doing the business too.When you approach them and say, Please, my brother, help me. They would tell you, No brother in the jungle.A 25-year-old woman, Esosa Osas, who was in Libya for six months, said she also met many Nigerians selling their countrymen.You dare not talk to them, else they would beat you and lock you up. They sell women for 5,000 dinars and men for N4, 000 dinars. I noticed that the connection houses were also controlled by Nigerian women.All these accounts were corroborated by 35-year-old Harrison Okotie who lived in Libya for three years until his repatriation.Nigerians and Libyans are doing the business like they are one big happy family, he said.Most of the migrants who arrived Nigeria on Thursday were from Edo State.Officials of the states task force on illegal migration were on hand with luxurious buses to transport their people back home.A member of the task force, Mr. Okoduwa Solomon, told Saturday PUNCH that his team had made six such journeys to the airport within the last one month to take their indigenes repatriated from Libya back home.He said, The first process is to take them through counselling, then we profile them.After that, we put them in a home that the state government has provided for the returnees. The Edo State Government is paying each of the returnees from the state a stipend.They are going to undergo a training in agriculture, poultry, fishery and others to make them useful to themselves and the system.Officials of the National Emergency Management Agency coordinate the reception of the returnees at the airport.South West Zonal Coordinator of the agency, Mr. Yakubu Sulaiman, said the returnees would be lodged in a hotel where they would have the chance to clean up before their journey back home.Meanwhile, President, Women Arise and Centre for Change, Dr. Joe Okei-Odumakin, has called on the Federal Government to use all diplomatic channels to prevail on the Libyan authorities to ensure the dignity of our people.She said in a statement on Friday that it was an embarrassment that Nigerians who were treated like royalty in the past were being dehumanised in a foreign land.We must build a country where our people have opportunities to prosper and lead useful and productive lives and will only travel on leisure and business and not as illegal migrants desperate to live anywhere other than Nigeria, she said.Over 400,000 Nigerians, others still stranded in Libya AU CommissionMeanwhile, Head, African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, has said that over 400,000 Nigerians and others remain stranded in Libya.Hundreds of thousands more 400,000 to 700, 000, according to Mahamat remain stranded.European and African leaders have set themselves a tall order to stamp out horrific abuse of African migrants, some of them are Nigerians in Libya, where thousands are suffering in a vast, lawless territory.On Thursday, a summit of the African Union and the European Union set a goal of immediately repatriating 3,800 migrants languishing in a camp near Tripoli.But experts pointed to a daunting array of hurdles, from extracting migrants in perilous situations to giving them incentives to stay put when they return home.Even so, the summits commitment, initiated by outrage over a CNN television report on black Africans being sold as slaves in Libya, is being welcomed.It is a step in the right direction, International Organisation for Migration Europe Director, Eugenio Ambrosi, told Agence France Presse by phone from Brussels.It is a little bit too much to think it will solve the slavery issue, but it would definitely mitigate (it) to some extent, Ambrosi said.He said the summit also showed there was now international watchdog pressure that could be brought to bear on the criminal gangs, but it must be sustained.The drive was announced at a meeting on the summit sidelines organised by French President, Emmanuel Macron.It brought together eight other EU and African countries as well as the AU, EU and United Nations representatives.Macron said the UN-backed Libyan government of Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj had identified and granted access to the worst camps to enable the returns of people who want to go home.The Macron group also decided to work with a task force, involving the sharing of police and intelligence services, to dismantle the networks and their financing and detain traffickers, he said.They pledged to freeze the assets of identified traffickers. The AU is expected to set up an investigative panel and the UN could take cases before the International Court of Justice. Post Reply I have been reporting for several years now and I am very interested in visual news reportage with strong inclusion of photos and video multimedia. Posted: at 2-12-2017 10:12 AM (4 years ago) | Addicted Hero CHARLOTTESVILLE A police officer radioed for help as angry protesters swarmed around her: They are pushing the crowd my way and I have nobody here to help me. Tammy Shiflett, who had just returned to active duty as an elementary school resource officer after two months recovering from a shoulder surgery, was the only person assigned to block traffic at the intersection where a deadly car attack began in Charlottesville on Aug. 12. Instead of sending reinforcements, a superior instructed her to abandon her post and move the car that had been positioned in the intersection, leaving a wooden sawhorse as the only barrier keeping vehicles out of the area. Roughly an hour and a half later, a white nationalist drove his car down that very street, striking a crowd of counterprotesters and killing 32-year-old activist Heather Heyer. The decision by police officials to set up only minimal barriers in preparation for the white nationalist rally and then, in one particularly grave case, to withdraw from a crucial intersection was among the dozens of mistakes, missteps and failures cited in a damning report commissioned by the city and publicly released Friday. Supervisors devised a poorly-conceived plan that under-equipped and misaligned hundreds of officers, the report says. Execution of that plan elevated officer safety over public safety. The review, led by Tim Heaphy, a former federal prosecutor who now works for Hunton & Williams, also found: Despite repeated public statements by state and local officials that officers were not instructed to stand down, police had in fact been instructed only to intervene in conflicts between white nationalists and counterprotesters in the event of serious injury. A Virginia State Police commander made an off-plan decision to keep state officers behind barricades instead of sending them into the streets to break up fights and make arrests. After clashes began, Police Chief Al Thomas was heard by several people in the command center saying to let them fight, it will make it easier to declare an unlawful assembly and shut down the rally. Thomas attempted to obstruct the citys investigation, deleting relevant text messages, attempting to hide his use of a personal email account to conduct some official police business, and creating planning checklists that were not actually used to plan for the rallies. The 220-page document is based on hundreds of thousands of documents, video and audio recordings, photos and interviews. It represents the most comprehensive account yet of how public officials handled the Unite the Right rally. Overconfident local force The racist, far-right groups that organized the rally said they intended to protest the citys planned removal of a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee. But the event quickly devolved into chaos, culminating in the car attack that made the rally a national news story and led political leaders to promise a full exploration of what went wrong and how future violence might be prevented. At a news conference Friday in Charlottesville, Heaphy said city police were overly confident as they planned for the event and did not consult with other localities that had dealt with similar protests despite offers of assistance. There was a sense (among local police) that weve got this, he said, saying officials cited to him previous experience handling a large block party as an example of their expertise. The report is particularly critical of the traffic plan, noting that city personnel had proposed using jersey barriers or dump trucks to block intersections, but that the idea was inexplicably discarded. And despite having more than 700 police officers on hand to respond to the event, police decided in some cases to assign unsworn police personnel, including a lab technician, to secure the event perimeter and keep vehicles out. They were told when it gets violent, go inside your car, lock your door, Heaphy said. When Shiflett, the school resource officer, left her post, the commander in charge of traffic control was never notified and, at some point, the wooden sawhorse was moved and vehicles began crossing into the downtown mall on the street where the car attack would later take place. Leaving that intersection unguarded was a tactical error that should not have been allowed to happen, the report says. The report also says that while the city did not have authority under state law to ban firearms, it did have the power to ban weapons such as sticks and bats, but opted against pursuing such a prohibition based on incorrect legal advice from the local commonwealths attorneys office. In addition to criticizing police planning, the report criticizes City Council members for what it characterizes as last-minute interference. Ten days before the rally, the council asked for the event to be moved to a different park away from the downtown area, over the objections of city staff members, including the police chief and city manager. The decision by elected officials to wade into the operational planning was a dangerous overreach with lasting consequences. A federal judge ultimately overruled the attempt to cancel the permit, ordering the city to allow the rally to proceed at the originally planned location. Passive police response Instead of intervening in violent street clashes occurring around Emancipation Park, the site of the rally, police were instructed to take largely passive positions and were slow to change into riot gear. Its a finding that starkly conflicts with prior assertions by both state and local authorities that police were not told to avoid getting involved in the clashes. VSP directed its officers to remain behind barricades rather than risk injury responding to conflicts between protesters and counter-protesters, the report says. CPD commanders similarly instructed their officers not to intervene in all but the most serious physical confrontations. Police commanders said they were hesitant to send officers into the crowds to break up fights because doing so could result in a deadly force situation, according to the report. The report includes statements from several Charlottesville police officials who said they were frustrated by their inability to act. We were sitting there with our thumbs up our asses, said Lt. Jim Mooney. Instead of taking a more aggressive posture to prevent violence, the report says, commanders focused on declaring an unlawful assembly to clear the park. When violence broke out, Thomas, the Charlottesville police chief, said, Let them fight, it will make it easier to declare an unlawful assembly, according to the recollections of Emily Lantz, an executive assistant in the police department. The report says Thomas did not recall making the remark, and an attorney for Thomas denied he said it. Faulty coordination The report says local officials were taken aback by Virginia State Police adopting a far more limited range of law enforcement activities than expected. State police Lt. Becky Crannis-Curl told a local police captain Aug. 12 that she was making an off-plan decision to not send arrest teams into the street. The idea that state police officers were not expected to police serious incidents of lawbreaking, the report says, was never communicated to city police during the planning process. Their inaction in the face of violence left the City unprepared and unaware that it was unprepared to address one of the predictable risks of the event: brief but serious incidents of interpersonal violence and mutual combat, the report says. In discussions after the rally, Gov. Terry McAuliffe and Virginia State Police Superintendent W. Steven Flaherty characterized the state police role as park security, according to the report. Overall, the report concludes, the city of Charlottesville was unable to protect the right of free expression and facilitate the permit holders offensive speech. This represents a failure of one of governments core functions the protection of fundamental rights. Law enforcement also failed to maintain order and protect citizens from harm, injury, and death, the report says. Charlottesville preserved neither of those principles on August 12, which has led to deep distrust of government within this community. In a statement responding to Heaphys report, Flaherty said the state police appreciate the time and effort that went into it. Calling thorough after-action reviews invaluable to preparing for the future, Flaherty said hes waiting to see final reports from his own agency and one from a task force convened by the governor. Both the extreme right and the extreme left, Flaherty said, went to the rally with the sole purpose of provoking violence from the opposing side. In that kind of volatile and rapidly evolving environment, it is difficult for any one police plan to account for every possible circumstance and resulting scenario, Flaherty said. Investigators obstacles The team of lawyers conducting the review also said Thomas and other officials resisted their efforts to investigate what happened Aug. 12, but maintained that the review gathered enough information to paint a comprehensive picture. The report accuses Thomas of making several attempts to obstruct the process, including trying to control what information subordinates gave to investigators, deleting text messages related to the review, trying to hide his use of a personal email account to conduct some official police business, and creating post hoc planning checklists that were not actually used to plan for the rallies. Chief Thomass attempts to influence our review illustrate a deeper issue within CPD a fear of retribution for criticism, the report says. Many officers with whom we spoke expressed concern that their truthful provision of critical information about the protest events would result in retaliation from Chief Thomas. Thomas lawyer, Kevin E. Martingayle, denied the claims, saying its unfair to focus on Thomas. This report criticizes everybody, Martingayle said, but he did not offer a detailed rebuttal. He said Thomas received a copy of the report only when it was made public Friday morning and that he would offer a more detailed response in the future. In a statement, Charlottesville City Manager Maurice Jones said city officials do not agree with every aspect of the reports findings, without elaboration. On a number of fronts, as the report acknowledges, we succeeded in protecting our City to the best of our abilities, Jones said. But in other areas we, and our law enforcement partner in the Virginia State Police, undoubtedly fell short of expectations, and for that we are profoundly sorry. The city managers statement gave no indication of displeasure with Thomas. Jones said the police chief and his department are dedicated to protecting our city every day. Virginia State Police also refused to provide some information to the Hunton & Williams team, according to the report, an attitude consistent with the agencys relative independence before and during the rally. The report says the state agency did not share its formal planning document for the Aug. 12 rally with city police, conducted separate trainings and convened an exclusive briefing for its on-scene personnel on the morning of the event, and used a separate radio channel to communicate as events unfolded. State report forthcoming McAuliffe convened a state-level task force that has prepared its own report on what happened in Charlottesville and what policies should change as a result. That report was due to be submitted to the governor Friday, but is not expected to be released to the public until next week. The helicopter crash that killed two state police pilots appeared to be an accident, according to the report. The cause of the helicopter crash was outside the scope of the review, but the report points out that almost all of the state police left the Charlottesville command center to go to the scene of the helicopter crash. The report came in at 4:49 p.m., well after the rally appeared to be over. McAuliffe and other state officials have said they wished the state had more control over tactical decisions instead of serving in a supporting role behind local police. His spokesman, Brian Coy, said the governor will evaluate Heaphys report in conjunction with the report he received from the state task force. Though the report is filled with stinging criticisms, Heaphy credited first responders for a rapid reaction to the car attack. No question these events could have been substantially worse, Heaphy said. That is a success. In a statement, Republican leaders in the General Assembly expressed dismay over Heaphys report and said they will ask him to present his findings to the legislatures public safety committees next year. Del. C. Todd Gilbert, R-Shenandoah, said the findings were certainly inconsistent with statements from public officials immediately after the rally. Its very troubling to learn that law enforcement was effectively told to stand down, even if those werent the words that were used, Gilbert said. The Department of Energys Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Strangpresse LLC of Youngstown, Ohio, have signed a non-exclusive licensing agreement on a portfolio of ORNL patents related to large-scale additive manufacturing. Under the agreement, Strangpresse, a Hapco Inc. affiliate, may make, use, or sell the labs patented developments of materials, processes and controls that enable the manufacture of parts much larger than current standards. ORNL is leading advances in the production of large-scale 3-D printed materials, refining industrial processes to decrease costs and increase efficiency. The additive manufacturing agreement is the latest in a series of ORNL advances following printing of a Shelby Cobra at DOEs Manufacturing Demonstration Facility at ORNL. The Cobra debuted at the 2015 North American International Auto Show. Lonnie Love, leader of ORNLs Manufacturing Systems Research group, said the speed of next-generation additive manufacturing offers new opportunities for the automotive, aerospace and prototyping industries. Our goal is to demonstrate the potential of large-scale additive manufacturing as an innovative and viable manufacturing technology. We want to improve digital manufacturing solutions for the automotive industry. Lonnie Love Strangpresse LLC, founded in 2014, was formed to research, develop, and commercialize fully controllable, lightweight, thermoplastic extruders that are the cornerstone of 3-D printing. Strangpresse supplies extruders and other equipment for research and development in additive manufacturing to industry leaders. Kim Jong-nam, the estranged half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, had antidotes in his possession when he was assassinated in Malaysia in February. According to Malaysia's Bernama news agency on Wednesday, 12 glass vials containing antidotes for poisons were found in his sling bag. Kim died in February after being smeared in the face with VX nerve agent at Kuala Lumpur International Airport, apparently at the orders of his half-brother. The discovery suggests that he had been warned there was a price out on his head. As British prime minister, Theresa May is custodian of her countrys special relationship with the United States. So she was put in a terrible position by the U.S. president this week. Donald Trump retweeted inflammatory, anti-Muslim propaganda videos posted by a leader of a right-wing, nationalist political party called Britain First. This group, May said during a visit to Jordan Thursday, stands in fundamental opposition to the values that we share as a nation values of respect, tolerance and, dare I say it, common decency. She added an admonishment: Im very clear that retweeting from Britain First was the wrong thing to do. May did not, however, yield to calls from members of Parliament to rescind an invitation to host Trump for a state visit. It was astonishing and sad that the leader of a close ally had to publicly rebuke the president. But Trumps action was so repugnant it was praised by racists on both sides of the Atlantic. Of course, he tweeted back at May: Dont focus on me, focus on the destructive Radical Islamic Terrorism that is taking place within the United Kingdom. We are doing just fine! Britain does focus on Islamic terrorism but not by demonizing Muslims. As its U.S. ambassador, Kim Darroch, tweeted: British people overwhelmingly reject the prejudiced rhetoric of the far right, which seek to divide communities & erode decency, tolerance & respect. British Muslims are peaceful and law abiding citizens. And I raised these concerns with the White House yesterday. Darrochs words probably fell on deaf ears at the White House, where press secretary Sarah Sanders incredibly said that Trump had elevated the conversation, but they would have been understood by previous administrations. Even after 9/11, then-President George W. Bush did not portray Muslims as the enemy. There are more than a billion Muslims in the world and several million in the U.S. Its foolish to make enemies of them. Its disturbing that Trump, who cant seem to distinguish ordinary Muslims from terrorists, had no trouble seeing good people among the neo-Nazis and Ku Klux Klansmen who sparked a deadly clash in Charlottesville, Va., in August. Now, hes elevated a similar group in Britain. Jeremy Corbyn, leader of Britains Labour Party, which gained seats in national elections earlier this year, was harder than May on Trump. The presidents tweets are abhorrent, dangerous and a threat to our society, Corbyn said, according to Reuters. May wouldnt discuss a Trump visit, except to say it has not been scheduled. Many others did. But on one of the darkest days for the transatlantic special relationship, an emergency debate in parliament heard MPs from all parties criticise the president as questions continued about whether he should be accorded a state visit as planned in 2018, The Guardian reported. Justice Minister Sam Gyimah told the BBC: I am deeply uncomfortable because he is deliberately divisive, and this would be divisive at a time when we are trying to unite our country. Trump has gone out of his way to offend the British government and other officials, including the Muslim mayor of London, over terrorism issues. His tirades raise more questions about his judgment, just when the threat of war with a nuclear-armed North Korea has increased again. The hostile regime test-fired its most powerful missile yet, ignoring Trumps threats and insults. Two important players in the region, China and Russia, dont support military action against North Korea, which raises concerns about their response if Trump orders a unilateral first strike. The presidents state of mind is a real worry. While Defense Secretary James Mattis and National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster are sober, experienced counselors, they havent stopped Trump from harming relations even with our strongest ally. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is ignored. North Korea is unpredictable and dangerous. Our country and our friends cant afford irrational mistakes by the president. GREENWICH Greenwich is the kind of community where philanthropy runs deep, but a group in town is looking to both broaden its collective giving circle and find local women who really want to make an impact. Impact Fairfield County is looking for new members to become a part of its growing area presence. Each woman who joins pledges $1,000, and every year, members consider applications from non-profits, conduct site visits, hear presentations and ultimately vote on awarding grants. The more women become who part of Impact Fairfield County, the more money there will be to fund $100,000 Impact Grants. Co-presidents Wendy Block and Vicki Craver say they seek members who are not just willing to write checks, but get involved in a hands-on giving process. We need women who want to dive right in and be a part of the review process for the grants, Block said. Last year, we had more than 80 women doing that. But as much as that, we need women who are just willing to support the work that Impact does. We need a mix of those who are heavily involved, and those who are similarly invested, but might not have the time to do that deep dive. The membership drive will continue until Dec. 31. Craver said many women have been signing up, pushing membership above 100. Block said their lofty goal of 200 members will be continually pursued, so may be be able to give out two $100,000 Impact Grants in the spring instead of just one. We feel like the word is getting out and people know what it is were doing and want to be a part of it, Craver said. Thats a big positive. This is a chance to take $1,000 and make it part of a much bigger grant. A $100,000 grant is something you might not do on your own. Craver said people interested in joining Impact, which is part of a national organization, can see the work it has done throughout the community and they will know they can make a difference. Impact Fairfield County is entering its third year of giving grants, with 57 non-profits having submitted proposals to be considered in 2018. We empower women to be able to make transformational change in the community and weve seen it from the first two grants weve given, Block said. We on our own would not have the opportunity to effect change in the same way we can do it together. $100,000 can make significant change. Weve seen it and we want to keep going. In May, Impact Fairfield County announced its second round of grants, as it awarded $100,000 to The Center for Sexual Assault Crisis Counseling and Education. The money is being used to help fund the centers new Lower Fairfield Sexual Assault Forensic Examiners program, which is a partnership between the center and Greenwich Hospital, as well as Stamford and Norwalk, to provide timely and trained sexual assault forensic exams to victims of sexual violence. Additionally, Building One Community, The Center for Family Justice, International Institute of Connecticut and SoundWaters, all finalists for the $100,000 grant, each received $20,000 general operating grants. In 2016, Impact provided a $100,000 grant to Inspirica to fund its EarlyChildhood and Parenting Program, which provides a pre-literacy program for homeless children up to age 5 and a parenting skills class for adults. People have been very moved in hearing the stories from Inspirica and the center and can see what the grant money does, Craver said. That gets more people involved. The grant review process for 2018 is underway. Applications for the next $100,000 Impact Grant were closed off on Nov. 15. Impact is looking to fund very specific project the $100,000 has to be used to launch a new program. Block said what the Impact membership is looking for in a non-profits application are initiatives that are transformative for the beneficiaries and the organizations themselves, allowing them to improve their mission and help the community at large. They are also looking for initiatives that are sustainable, where the grant can help set them up as long-term. Impact is also looking to focus on underserved communities in the area to make sure unmet needs can be addressed. And while the focus is on attracting new members at the moment, soon it will be a full examination of the non-profits whose proposals meet those key criteria. Once our membership drive ends, thats when people can jump into the process and see the full proposals from those non-profits that have been invited to move on in our consideration process, Craver said. We want to put out quality Impact grants over the years and be able to see what effect that has on our community, Block said. This year, we want to be able to give two ($100,000 grants). Were thinking cautiously, effectively and not necessarily taking in as many women as absolutely possible. We want to find the best grantees we can find. People can sign up online at www.impactffc.org and the annual meeting to decide on which non-profit will receive the Impact grant is set for May 2. kborsuk@greenwichtime.com This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Legislative leaders who thought the states longest budget stalemate was finished are now planning for one more special session of the General Assembly. This one is to help about 113,000 elderly residents retain eligibility for the popular Medicare Savings Program before Jan. 1. For seniors like Kathy Sivertsen, 69, of New Milford, the new budgets eligibility guidelines -- cutting income requirements in half have created concern, fear and stress as they precariously balance household budgets that depend on Social Security income. Either I dont go to the doctor or I dont get food, said Sivertsen, who is retired from the retail industry and is president of the resident association at the Butter Brook Hill Apartments, a community of more than 100 senior-citizen units, where she moved six years ago after a hip replacement. Who says these are the golden years? At least 95 or more residents are wondering whats going to happen. Elderly from throughout Connecticut say state lawmakers either didnt care or forgot about them in October when a two-year $41.3 billion budget was crafted that cut income thresholds for the savings plan by about 50 percent. The state Department of Social Services recently notified them of the eligibility. Under one of the three tiers of the savings program, called Qualified Medicare Beneficiaries with monthly income levels of $2,854 for a couple and $2,120 for singles, they would be limited to incomes of $1,374 and $1,025, respectively, next month. More Information Senior health care will change unless General Assembly acts Up to 86,000 individuals will lose eligibility in the Medicare Savings Programs, as a result of the new state budget. About 27,000 would move from one level of the Medicare Savings Programs to another, with the effect being they will still get their Medicare Part B premiums paid, but not out-of-pocket costs. The exact numbers are still being calculated as officials review individual-incomes. The final figures depend on federal funding programming that has not yet been determined. Source: The General Assembly's Office of Fiscal Analysis. See More Collapse Future unsure Many say the extra $134 they will have to pay each month starting January will be a hardship if lawmakers dont amend the budget. This whole situation is extremely upsetting to me, said Patricia Kolwicz, a 67-year-old retired dental-surgery assistant, who said she is cutting back on food and delaying work on her car. I worked hard all my life, said the four-year resident of Butter Brook Hill. I never asked the state of Connecticut for help until now. Its really affecting my health. I do without a lot now. There is an aspect of elder abuse to this, said Diane Albert, resident service coordinator at the Butter Brook Apartments. Emotionally, it is the same model when a senior is abused. There is the powerlessness, hopelessness and fear. And Connecticut is supposed to be a huge advocate for preventing elder abuse. While Albert acknowledged that both the General Assembly and the governor are culpable, she points the finger at Gov. Dannel P. Malloy for signing the budget into law. Hes the one who made the final decision, she said in an interview. Connecticut is more-generous than the vast majority of states, Malloy told reporters last week. And beyond those programs, Connecticut extends other forms of relief that many other states dont put forward. Ultimately the legislature made a decision and passed a budget that required the reduction of those expenditures. Thats not an easy thing to do. He said it is up to General Assembly leaders to decide how to proceed either this year or next. There are different pots of money that are being looked at and put together as a total, Malloy said. Leaders of the legislature last week were unanimous is supporting a return of the income thresholds to give as many as 113,000 senior citizens some breathing room. We all recognize that we should look at the issue and see what should be done, said Senate Republican Leader Len Fasano, R-North Haven. I think a lot of our caucuses have gotten a lot of calls. We are very concerned by the number of calls. I would say it is probably the one issue that has gotten the most calls, said House Minority Leader Themis Klarides, R-Derby. Medicare Savings is a big deal. It has crossed all socio-economic lines and it has crossed urban, suburban, rural areas. numb to it all Medicare savings and also municipal aid are obviously in the two biggest areas of concern that wed like to find some way to mitigate, said Senate President Pro Tempore Martin M. Looney, D-New Haven, indicating the Jan. 1 effective date of the eligibility cuts. I think its more likely that we need to do something before the end of the year, at least on that point. The leaders will meet with Malloy on Wednesday to discuss the elderly issues and the projected $200 million budget deficit in the first year of the biennium, which runs through June 30, 2018. Were going to try to work together to find a resolve for this situation, said Speaker of the House Joe Aresimowicz, D-Berlin. Sivertsen and about 113,000 seniors are hoping for it. Otherwise things are going to get a lot tighter for me, she said, adding that many of the people shes known for decades have already left Connecticut for Florida, Texas, Georgia, Missouri and other lower-cost states. Im numb to all this, Sivertsen said. I hope theyll continue to help us. "I felt drawn to a real life story that viewers can easily relate to," said Lee in an interview in Samcheong-dong, Seoul last week. "When I was in my 20s, I was often pessimistic about myself and my life. But after I turned 30, I started to enjoy everything, and I value teamwork and harmony. Many negative thoughts disappeared, and I no longer get stuck in a world of my own. I let my guard down while at work, and I try to meet a lot more people." "The Package," which recently ended its 12 episodes, allowed Lee to blossom in the role with compliments for her acting. Asked how she felt as she got compliments after enduring years of criticism over her acting since her debut in the early 2000s, she said, "It felt so good because I got a lot of praise." "I went on a trip all by myself for the first time four years ago, and I thought a tour guide is such a charming occupation," she added. "I could feel how much they love the job and how passionate they are about what they do. Before filming the series, I went on a package tour to prepare for the role, which helped me to better portray the role." When asked if she actually believed in a perfect match made in heaven, she said, "While doing this TV series, I learned that I should cherish and care for people around me more." "A person who passes me by could turn out to be fate or destiny," she explained. "You never know when you will meet that person and where. Whether such an encounter can be meaningful depends on how we treat every person we meet and each moment we embrace." If she had not become an actress, what would she be doing now? "I think I would be running a B&B in France," she said. "Paris was the first place I traveled during my first solo trip, and I was captivated by the charms of France and always longed to live there. I still dream of that. I want to spend half the year in France and the other half in Korea." Blood and bile splashed across a white stage had not triggered the gag reflex I was feeling, even as I watched one man pretend to drag another through what we in the United States consider enhanced interrogation but others call torture. When I left a Broadway theater where actors brought George Orwells 1984 to life and into modernity, some of the plays most gruesome visuals lingered ... how could they not? But unlike other attendees, who reportedly passed out and vomited during the show, gone are the days when witnessing violence whether feigned or real can make my stomach squirm. Only words can do that: Orwells revisited words that speak to our historical moment. I first read 1984 as a sophomore in high school. With the advent of social media, the surveillance state was a trending topic, and most of our in-class conversations concentrated on what it meant to live in a world where we could always be watched by our own government. But while I experienced a theatrical dystopia first-hand at the Hudson Theater in New York City, not even the eerie similarities between Airstrip Ones fictional reconnaissance and the screens that surround us today could pull my focus from another theme: alternative facts, and how we conceive them. Kellyanne Conway may have invented the term, alternative fact, only months ago, but historical distortions are a tale as old as time. In the United States, where we have an unusually strong savior complex for a nation that has so often played the villain, alternative fact has seeped into our education system, influencing our learned narratives that frame our patriotic sense of reality. If we know one thing, as Americans, it is that the United States is an arsenal of democracy. We are soldiers who fight on the right side of history, for freedom. That mythology conveniently discards covert operations from the 1950s, when the CIA undermined democratically elected governments in Iran and Guatemala to benefit our Cold War aims. It ignores genocide in Bangladesh in 1971, and again in Rwanda in 1994, when we turned a blind eye to massacre because intervention didnt suit our political needs. And it forgets hundreds of civilians who have died in drone strikes launched by our presidents in Pakistan, where any boy old enough to carry a gun is labeled a militant, regardless of his allegiance. We see ourselves as superheroes in a democratic, utopian dream-state, eradicating injustice while serving as a role model for those around us. But if we rearrange the facts and put them together as the rest of the world sees them, we look more like Orwells OBrien a government crony who brainwashes residents of Oceania to believe that Big Brother is good and the larger political schema he represents. After seeing the Broadway rendition of 1984, which has since closed, one of OBriens monologues stuck with me. He spoke to the perpetuity of violence, war and enmity in Oceania, just as in the United States, friend and foe constantly fluctuate, but both must exist to justify the state. For Oceania, two other super-nations, Eastasia and Eurasia, are interchangeable and can take the role of villain or sidekick depending on the day. The enemy has shape-shifted far more for us: Mexico in the 1840s; Spain at the turn of the 20th century; the Germans in World War I and II; the Russians, who quickly turned from ally to rival superpower, until the fall of the Berlin Wall; and finally, the Islamic world. A PhD student at Columbia once told me that in the 1990s, Bill Clintons administration struggled to define its foreign policy without the opposition of an other. We need someone whose truth diverges from our own to give us purpose by branding them as evil so we can be the good guys. In the end, like any dystopia, we are a nation built on ignorance, spin and alternative fact, strengthened by our constant faith in the cruelty of an enemy, whomever that might be at the time. But the only way for us to avoid a reality like Orwells, where freedom of speech and criticism of the government are thought crimes, is to recognize that a truth fabricated from our own narratives may not be the only truth. When Conway, or President Donald Trump, or Sarah Huckabee Sanders provides misinformation, it is not enough to juxtapose their ideas with those espoused by other American politicians, such as President Barack Obama or President Ronald Reagan, who stood on podiums before them. We must instead consider and criticize these assertions within the larger pool of facts taught in Germany, and Syria, and Russia, and France, and Canada, and even North Korea to come to a conclusion that takes us further from dystopia and closer to understanding. When I left the Hudson Theater, I, like other audience members, felt physically ill hands shaking, mind swimming. My brain pounded with the storys urgency. I knew how easily we could fall into an Orwellian social structure, and how difficult it would be to dig our way out of a culture where alternative fact was normalized, and even believed. Today, America stands on a precipice, prepared to dive headfirst into that fabricated reality. 1984 is a reminder that it is our job, as patriots, to ensure that we never do. Alexandra Villarreal is a Hearst Fellow at Greenwich Time. During her time at Columbia University, she covered the New York arts scene for publications such as Huffington Post and the Ballet Review. She can be reached at avillarreal@greenwichtime.com. The new Greek yogurtfree labels. Photo: Chobani After ten years of culturing Greek yogurt, Chobani has apparently started to think bigger. To convey the new ambitions, the company is rolling out redesigned packaging this week that features artisanal-esque curvy font, a matte label, and watercolor fruits a 180 from the glossy containers it used to sell. The changes are supposed to distinguish the brand from the rest of the field in Chobanis words, to bring the magic back to the yogurt shelf, where sales have been sliding lately. But one of the first things that stand out about the new logo is that its banished Greek Yogurt from labels entirely. Founder Hamdi Ulukaya cryptically calls this a beautiful translation of their values about food as a force for good: coming up on 10 years as a national brand.. so proud to share this beautiful translation of @chobani. reflects all the values weve had since day 1.. craftsmanship & food as a force for good. https://t.co/MLXIakn9Ti pic.twitter.com/q0XqAIlrUL Hamdi Ulukaya (@hamdiulukaya) November 28, 2017 The AP reports that the contents will stay the same, but Chobani suggests the removal is also teasing things to come. What this new identity enables us to do is start to seed, if you will, us going into other areas beyond yogurt, chief marketing officer Peter McGuinness says. The company gave no examples of which other areas its thinking of going into, or when. Keeping up the air of mystery, McGuinness clarifies that the move will help Chobani realize its goal of becoming a food-focused wellness company. Still, enigmatic or not, Chobanis next 10 years its term for this makeover are clearly about more than just continuing to control 40 percent of the U.S. yogurt market. Some argue that the million copycats on the Greek-yogurt aisle have spoiled the product category in Chobanis eyes, so the times come to branch out. Coincidentally, it just broke ground on a $21 million research center in Twin Falls, Idaho a small dairy town Ulukaya has started calling the Silicon Valley of food. And the companys COO, meanwhile, is busy declaring snack foods bigger than anything else, disclosing to a trade mag last week that theyre eager to join the most exciting trend in food. Some of the fun stuff hes quoted as being into includes products flavored like smores and PB&Js as well as deconstructed candy bars. Korean beauty products are selling like hot cakes in Japan, the world's third-largest market for cosmetics after the U.S. and China. According to recent data by the Cosmetics Importers Association of Japan, imports of Korean color cosmetics in the first nine months of this year rose 10.5 percent compared to the same period of 2016 to 2.68 billion yen. Imports of Korean skincare products rose 14.6 percent to 10 billion yen. Last year, Japan imported a record US$182.6 million worth of Korean cosmetics, but that is expected to be broken this year. The Yomiuri Shimbun referred to the popularity of Korean beauty products as the "Third Korean Wave," after the craze for K-pop and Korean TV soaps. Markle smiled and looked confident as she basked in the adoration of a crowd that had waited for hours in the cold to catch a passing glimpse of the couple. Dozens waved British and American flags. The couple's visit to Nottingham was their first official commitment since they announced their engagement on Monday. They plan to tour Britain over the next six months to give Markle an opportunity to learn about the country before their May wedding in the chapel at Windsor Castle. Chanting "Harry, Harry!" and "Meghan, Meghan!" hundreds of people lined the streets of a central English city Friday to welcome Britain's Prince Harry and his American fiancee, actress Meghan Markle. A few were lucky enough to see the engagement ring up close as Markle shook hands. But the ring was old news for British commentators, who instead focused on her handbag -- a Strathberry tri-color leather tote designed in Scotland and handcrafted in Spain. The couple traveled to the east Midlands in England to visit to a youth project and to raise AIDS awareness. Their fans followed, including Irene Hardman, 81, who brought a gift bag with fridge magnets and candy for Markle. Hardman wept with joy after handing the bag to the bride-to-be. "I cried, she's wonderful, and it's fantastic," Hardman said. "They're so genuine." The trip was Prince Harry's third to Nottingham since October 2016. The prince has long championed AIDS charities, following in the footsteps of his late mother, Princess Diana. Holly Burdett, who is originally from West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, but now lives in Sydney, Australia, returned home on the "gamble" that the couple would announce their engagement while she was there. "I always thought I'd marry Harry, but you can't win them all," Burdett joked. "As long as they're happy, that's all that matters." Haiti - Environment : Development of the beekeeping industry in the South With the support of UN Environment-Haiti, the Artisanal Fisheries and Integrated Development Organization (PADI) is developing the beekeeping sector in the South, more specifically in the immediate environment of the mangrove ecosystem of St Jean Sud / Abacou. In fact, given the precarious socio-economic situation of the residents of the area, who slaughter the mangroves in their mangroves to build their houses and make charcoal for subsistence, the PADI initiative contributes to reduce the cutting of mangroves, protect environment while providing residents with an alternative income-generating activity. PADI technicians organized training sessions for new beekeepers while placing an apiary of propagation and offering them the opportunity to have other hives. According to Romere Laurent, agent dealing with apiaries, these changes are very beneficial for the area. "Not only does the development of beekeeping provide another source of income, but it also offers the opportunity to understand the importance of mangroves for this sector." Renaud Joseph, apiculture expert and PADI consultant, explained that "mangroves produce nectar and pollen [...] Honey from mangroves is in great demand by consumers for its light color and sweet taste. This plant blooms in abundance during dry seasons. Moreover, he emphasizes that to teach cabinetmakers in the workshop of St Jean du Sud / Abacou to build different types of hives has helped strengthen their professional capacity "We have also implemented breeding apiaries for the propagation of bees across the area, which are beginning to feed bee producers for the development of beekeeping. Remember that to stop the damage that mangroves suffer and to offer an alternative activity to those who act negatively on the ecosystem, the PADI Organization, accompanied by the UN Environment-Haiti, launched last April awareness sessions for the charcoal producers and fishermen and other inhabitants of the area, on the importance of mangroves in the environment of a geographical area, that of beekeeping, the modern apicultural techniques, the establishment of apiaries, their exploitation, management and marketing of honey. Renaud Joseph said that his team, together with UN Environment Haiti, has already worked on a methodological guide to duplicate this experience across the other mangrove ecosystems of the South Department, highlighting that Aquin is a key area for the beekeeping industry in the South Department. With the support of UN Environment / Haiti and the Ministry of the Environment, a range of activities aimed at developing this sector have already been carried out. In January 2018, the PADI Organization will duplicate the experience of St Jean du Sud / Abacou in the mangrove ecosystem of Cahouane, communal section of Tiburon. HL/ HaitiLibre Haiti - REMINDER : Photo contest on the inclusion of people with disabilities As part of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, the International Disability and Development Consortium (IDDC) has launched the EDDW17 (European Disability and Development Week 2017) Photo Contest whose deadline for submission is December 10, 2017 so you have only a week to participate. The goal of this contest is to change attitudes towards people with disabilities. The photos submitted to this competition must reflect the idea of inclusion under a positive day and highlight the challenges facing people with disabilities, reflecting the idea of inclusion under a positive day. All photos submitted must be originals, taken by the author and must be accompanied by a short text explaining why the photographer believes that his photo reflects the motto "Together for Inclusion" - The competition is open to all those who wish to participate, both organizations and individuals. - All photos must show disability and development under a positive aspect. - Photos must be sent to eddw@iddcconsortium.net with subject "EDDW17 Photo Contest - Your Name" For more information about the contest, technical specifications and regulations visit the website : www.iddcconsortium.net/news/launch-eddw17-photo-contest The ten photos that best reflect the idea of inclusion will be exhibited in the cafe of the IDDC building. A longer-term exhibition will be held in February and March 2018. The winning photo will also be posted on the IDDC website, on the European Commission's website and on social media in the form # EDDW17 and on websites of organizations participating in EDDW. TB/ HaitiLibre Haiti - News : Zapping... Hijacked on the courtyard of the Lycee F. Soulouque Friday, a delegation of the Ministry of National Education and teachers were stuck for several hours on the court of Lycee Faustin Soulouque of Petit-Goave... High school students, victims of the strike had closed the main barrier. The situation returned to normal around 4:00 pm, when some high school students decided to open another barrier, allowing people, hostages of this situation, to finally get out. IH/ iciHaiti / Guyto Mathieu (Correspondant Petit-Goave). Payment of nearly 50 million monthly to political parties The Monitoring Committee for the Financing and Institutionalization of Political Parties presented its working report to the public on Thursday. Submitted to the Executive, this document will facilitate the application of the law on political parties. The most representative political parties will collect more than 6.6 million gourdes per month from the Haitian state and nearly 100 thousand gourdes for the least representative. Each month the state will pay more than 47.65 million Gdes to 58 political parties in Haiti including the PHTK (6.62 million): Verite (4.49 million); KID (3.49 million); OPL (3.34 million); Lavalas (2.00 million); Pitit Dessalines (1.42 million) and LAPEH (1.40 million)... Jacmel : evacuation operation Following an operation of the town hall of Jacmel, of sanitation and eviction of the occupants of the sidewalks of the Main Street of the Market of Beaudouin, this street is again free of street vendors and motorcycles and the traffic has become fluid and clean again. Remember that the market extension works, street vendors had created a chaotic situation all along the main street, making traffic difficult. Mirlande Manigat passes the torch Mirlande Manigat during the 17 years of celebration of "Women in Democracy", passed the torch to Edmonde Supplice President of the Fusion of the Haitian Social Democrats (FUSION), as an honorary member of the organization "I will try to continue to provide my technical support as in the past," said the President of FUSION. Haiti will chair the CARICOM On Thursday, CARICOM Secretary General, Ambassador Irwin LaRocque, met with President Jovenel Moise who will assume the Presidency of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) on January 1, 2018. President Moise will succeed Dean Barrow, Prime Minister of Belize who has been in this position since January 2016. World AIDS Day Friday at the Montana Hotel, under the patronage of the First Lady, Martine Moise, the Ministry of Public Health organized a morning of celebration as part of the World AIDS Day around the theme "La vi m, se sante m, se dwam !" in the presence of important personalities of the healthcare system in Haiti and international partners. "The challenge is to promote, in collaboration with the Ministry, effective programs that encourage young people to cope with HIV-AIDS in any way possible by combining Awareness, Training, Prevention," said Regine Lamur, Minister of Youth. HL/ HaitiLibre Published on 2017/12/02 | Source Added episode 4 captures for the Korean drama "Prison Playbook" (2017) Advertisement Directed by Sin Won-ho Written by Jeong Bo-hoon-I, Lee Woo-jeong-I Network : tvN With Park Hae-soo, Jung Kyung-ho, Sung Dong-il, Kim Sung-cheol, Jung Jae-sung, Lee Ho-cheol,... 16 episodes - Wed, Thu 21:30 Also known as "Wise Prison Life" Synopsis Set in a prison, this is a drama about the lives of the prisoners and prison staff. Broadcast starting date in Korea : 2017/11/22 More New M Wine Bar ups stakes in London's wine by the glass offer By Andrew Catchpole The hybrid M Restaurant and Wine Store in Victoria has further evolved its vinous offer with the introduction of a wine bar and what it says is the largest collection of perfectly preserved wines by the glass in London. M Wine Bar, presided over by group sommelier Lenart Cernelic, offers 120 wines by the glass, of which 22 are exclusive to M, with Enomotion preservation and dispense machines, plus Coravins on hand, to help allow customers to indulge in a wealth of styles without splashing out on a bottle. In the battle to beat the boundaries of the bottle, this exceeds the 110 by-the-glass offer at rival London restaurant Les 110 de Taillevent, although falls short of the 700 available at 67 Pall Mall - an exclusive private members' club for wine lovers, which is not open to the public. At M we believe in making the so-called inaccessible, accessible, said M operations director Andre Maninni. Guests can have a tasting ranging from 1.30 all the way to 130 for a sample of 2005 Petrus. In addition to democratising access to expensive or esoteric wines that guests may otherwise shy away from trying, M Restaurants is also beginning to open a handful of bespoke restaurants in Londons suburbs, with the first M Bar and Grill already up and running since September in leafy Twickenham. The aim is for these neighbourhood outposts of the Victoria and City-based M restaurants, owner Martin Williams has told Harpers, is to deliver the quality of the original concept, but in a slightly more affordable and relaxed style for local people in outlying areas. Two or three further M Bar and Grill openings can be expected during 2018 as and when appropriate sites arise. MULTI-AGENCY EFFORTS CREATE STATEWIDE STRATEGY News Release from Office of the Governor, December 1, 2017 HONOLULU The Hawaii State Department of Health today announced the unveiling of the Hawaii Opioid Initiative action plan, a statewide road map for prevention and treatment of opioid and other substance misuse issues. The plan was created through a collaborative, multi-agency approach that began in July. To view the full plan, go to >>> Substance-abuse/survey . Fortunately, Hawaii has not yet experienced the magnitude of the opioid crisis seen in other parts of the country, said Gov. David Y. Ige. While emerging issues and concerns in the state are on the rise, we have been given a relatively unique opportunity to proactively respond, prepare and prevent the crisis from reaching the same magnitude. The Statewide Action Plan is a comprehensive strategy to aggressively counteract the increased abuse and misuse of opioids in Hawaii. The plan is designed to sustain a system-wide, coordinated and proactive response to not only opioids, but also methamphetamine and other prevalent drugs. The collaborative effort is led by the Department of Health, together with the Department of the Attorney General, Department of Human Services Med-QUEST Division, Department of Public Safety Narcotics Enforcement Division and a wide range of community groups. To halt the looming opioid threat, the state is moving forward with the Statewide Action Plan on opioids, portions of which have already been implemented. The plan identifies six key focus areas: Treatment Access : Improve and modernize healthcare strategies and access for opioid and other substance misuse treatment and recovery services. Prescriber Education : Improve opioid and related prescribing practices by working with healthcare providers and payers. Data Informed Decision Making : Implement system-wide routine data collection, sharing and dissemination to increase knowledge and inform practice. Prevention and Public Education : Improve community-based programs and public education to prevent opioid misuse and related harms. Pharmacy-based Interventions : Increase consumer education and prescription harm management through pharmacy-based strategies. Support Law Enforcement and First Responders: Coordinate operations and services, support specialized training for first responders and assure effective laws and policies. The plans objectives include establishing a coordinated entry system to process substance use disorder treatment referrals for primary care providers; implementing year-round drop-off and take back sites at a minimum of two county police stations within the state for safe and secure disposal of unused medications; and implementing a standing order to allow pharmacists to dispense Naloxone to reduce the incidence of opioid deaths due to overdose. This plan is a living document and should be viewed as a beginning rather than an end, said Edward Mersereau, chief of the Hawaii Department of Health Alcohol and Drug Abuse Division. To maintain momentum, working groups will continue to meet to track progress and to expand or adjust the plan as additional data and outcomes are obtained. Opioids are highly-addictive narcotic substances commonly prescribed to treat pain. Opioid pain relievers are generally safe when taken for a short time as prescribed by a doctor. However, regular use of opioids can lead to psychological dependence, and when taken in combination with alcohol and other depressants may stop a persons breathing and heart altogether, resulting in death. Nationwide, 140 Americans die each day from drug overdoses, with 91 caused by opioids, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In Hawaii, drug overdose deaths account for 23 percent of all fatal injuries which include deaths from prescription opioids, according to the Hawaii Department of Health Emergency Medical Services and Injury Prevention System Branch. Hawaii currently ranks 43rd in the nation in drug overdose deaths. # # # PDF: Hawaii Opioid Initiative Sept 2017: Risky, Overused Medications Prescribed Far Less Often in the Aloha State Republicans Seek to Limit Courts Nationwide Injunctions by Tim Ryan, Court House News, December 1, 2017 WASHINGTON (CN) Mirroring the Trump administrations recent complaints, congressional Republicans grasped Thursday for ways to block courts from handing down nationwide injunctions against federal policies. Nationwide injunctions allow federal district courts to block laws across the country rather in just their own jurisdiction. Such injunctions have issued this year to block Trumps immigration policies and travel bans on people from Muslim-majority countries. Republicans claim that nationwide injunctions foster forum-shopping for sympathetic judges, who many cause confusion if issues are before judges in multiple jurisdictions. At a Thursday hearing of the House Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property and the Internet, Republicans peppered law professors with suggestions on how to stop courts from taking such steps. They received some pushback on the idea and no clear solution emerged. So as we look at the problem today in this testimony, I hope you will all recognize this is a problem in need of a solution, one that should be narrowly crafted, solve the problem, and not deny the appropriate remedies of parties when they come before the court, Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., said at the hearing. Irony pervaded the event, as the Trump administration and congressional and Cabinet-level Republicans have acknowledged they are packing the courts with conservative judges to try to remold the country under a solidly Republican Congress that has not managed to achieve much legislatively. Republicans also have forum-shopped, particularly immigration cases, which they often file in Texas. Trump also announced, by Twitter, that transgender people would be barred from serving in the military, a de facto nationwide order that also has been blocked by court order. In a November speech to the Heritage Foundation, Attorney General Jeff Sessions said nationwide injunctions make judges super-legislators for the entire United States. A single judges decision to enjoin the entire federal government from acting is an extreme step, and all too often, district courts are doing it without following the law, Sessions said in the speech. He criticized a Hawaii federal judge who blocked Trump executive order barring people from entering the United States from six Muslim majority countries, asking how a judge sitting on an island in the Pacific could do such a thing. On Thursday, Samuel Bray, a professor at the UCLA School of Law, told the committee that nationwide injunctions gained currency in the 1960s and 1970s, then became more common in recent years when Republican state attorneys general weaponized the practice against Obama administration policies. Bray told the committee that nationwide injunctions can be problematic because they give legal remedies to people who are not directly a part of a case. He said they can be an end-run around class-action requirements and may force the Supreme Court to decide cases with a thinner record built on fewer court decisions. But the Republican-led committee faced pushback from Democrats and from Amanda Frost, an American University Washington College of Law professor who testified that nationwide injunctions are necessary in cases involving immigration, where enforcing a decision in some states but not in others could lead to absurd results. She said that if courts are limited in these cases, their injunctions essentially have no effect. For example, a Texas courts injunction against Obama-era immigration programs that gave protections to certain people in the country illegally would have carried little meaning if it only applied to Texas, because people would still receive the protections in other parts of the country and could move to Texas if they wanted. It just seems unfair and arbitrary to have a law apply to some but not all, Frost told the committee. All at the hearing agreed courts have issued nationwide injunctions against the policies of both parties. Professor Bray warned Republican lawmakers not to craft legislation on the issue simply because the trend has swung back against them since Trump took office. We dont have to be distracted by the latest national injunction, Bray said. We can take a longer view; we can get the law right. Democrats pointed out that Republicans cheered nationwide injunctions under the Obama administration, but changed their tune when Trump took office. It seems like its gotten to the point where were deciding our case law based on who is in the executive branch, said Rep. Hank, D-Ga. While Republicans received several suggestions from the legal experts on how to stop courts from issuing nationwide injunctions, none seemed particularly popular. Bray suggested Congress pass a law that simply states courts cannot issue an injunction against a nonparty. Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., suggesting returning to a system in which requests for nationwide injunctions must be heard by a panel of three judges. Congress passed a law in 1910 that did just that, but repealed it in 1976 after several constitutional challenges, deciding the requirement put an unduly large burden on federal judges. The legal experts agreed that approach will be burdensome for a federal bench that is already overtaxed. Frost cautioned against legislation flat-out eliminating nationwide injunctions, saying lower courts are carefully weighing the factors in deciding when to hand down nationwide injunctions Stating that no university is above the norms of the University Grants Commission, the HC found Priya lacking the required teaching experience to be considered for the post of associate professor. Marcus McCall, the South Carolina-based developer of The Bristol Hotel, was arrested earlier this week and charged with first-degree criminal sexual conduct. McCall, 59, of Greenville, was arrested Tuesday by the Greenville County Sheriffs Department in South Carolina. An attorney representing McCall issued a statement Friday, saying that this situation would have no impact on the $20 million boutique hotel project being developed in the former Executive Plaza. A report filed on Oct. 25 alleged that McCall gave a woman a date rape drug without her knowledge and then engaged in sexual intercourse with her, according to a written statement from the sheriffs office. The victim was offered a glass of wine and became disoriented and felt herself going in and out of consciousness, according to the affidavit. The victim stated when she woke up she had been sexually assaulted. The affidavit was dated Oct. 10. Magistrate Judge Jonathan Horne issued an arrest warrant for McCall on Nov. 27. He is currently free on $50,000 bond. Attorney Ryan Beasley issued the following statement on behalf of McCall: A complaint was made to law enforcement more than ten days after the alleged incident. Mr. McCall has cooperated fully with law enforcement to include meeting with investigators and providing a statement without legal representation on the day he first learned of the complaint. He maintains his innocence, is confident through due process the truth will prevail and is most thankful for the support of his family, friends, and colleagues, Beasley wrote. Beasley also addressed questions about The Bristol Hotel, which McCall and his firm McCall Capital are developing in the former Executive Plaza building in downtown Bristol, Virginia. Work on the $20 million project is well underway, and the hotel is scheduled to open next year. This allegation is a personal matter of Mr. McCall, and therefore will have no impact on the construction and operations of The Bristol Hotel project, according to Beasleys statement. J.A. Street/Weaver Cooke JV [construction partners] commenced construction in April 2017, will soon achieve 50 percent completion with 100 percent completion scheduled for June 2018. The project then will be placed into service by Charlestowne Hotels, our operating partner, and will be fully operational. Mr. McCall appreciates the continuing support of the Bristol community and other stakeholders in making The Bristol Hotel project a significant asset for the Bristol community. McCall cannot provide any further comments at this stage, Beasley wrote. Bristol Virginia City Manager Randall Eads sounded a similar note. I have been in contact with McCall Capital this morning. The Bristol Hotel project will proceed as planned. The hotel is scheduled for completion in June 2018, Eads said in a statement. He declined comment on the criminal investigation. The people of Washington County, Virginia have spoken, and the controversial case of the rezoning proposal for Sugar Hollow Park can itself be zoned as closed. Tuesday nights Washington County Board of Supervisors meeting ended the rezoning discussion around roughly 121 acres in the park for a rock quarry operation. Public support for the rock quarry had been sparse at best, with many residents close to the park decrying the resulting pollution and jeopardized traffic safety. Years of multi-hour meetings, questions and follow-ups have come to a close (albeit somewhat satisfying, as we will come to discover). But that conclusion represents more than just a culmination of grassroots efforts, consistent messaging and regular meeting attendance. The decision symbolizes the power of communal voice and the efficacy of the public comment period in board meetings. Many residents close or adjacent to Sugar Hollow took advantage of every opportunity to reiterate their dismay and the potential adverse effects of the project. Board meetings with standing-room-only werent the exception when the evenings agenda included the rock quarry. Opponents also reached out beyond those meeting walls. They submitted letters to the editor and even a recent op-ed to us. The board couldnt ignore its constituents and rightly so. Even if more residents advocated the project for its economic potential than otherwise, their meager presence at board meetings in the very last public comment period, only two proponents spoke to the oppositions 15 did little to convey a majority opinion. The rezoning decision is a worthy example of the integration of political representation and citizen input doing exactly what its intended to do. But whats the takeaway from the split 3-3 vote by the board? Of course, that vote illustrates the divisiveness of the project. But lets take another look at that vote: 3-3. Those numbers didnt exactly tip the scale in favor of the overwhelming public opinion. And consider that seven supervisors constitute the board but that seventh member abstained from voting for an unrevealed reason. Though we applaud the process, the 3-3 vote emphasizes the sensitivity of the outcome; that the possibility of additional jobs and economic development or the conservation of the parks beauty could easily have swayed one way or another; and that the communitys welfare and integrity for perhaps the next decade hinged completely on one persons opinion: Supervisor Eddie Copenhaver. Copenhavers vote would have been the tie-breaker. Curiously, his comments to a news outlet the day before the vote implied his support for the quarry. Casting his vote would have pushed the project into certainty despite mass opinion. Did Copenhaver bow out to avoid the potential backlash from constituents? Did the presence of a conflict of interest appeal to his decision to abstain? Did his abstaining coincide with a reprimand for speaking to media about his opinion, since Chairman Randy Pennington is the point of contact for the board? Though a decision on the rezoning has been reached, the fragility of that outcome is unnerving and that sentiment is completely lost on Copenhaver, whos refused to comment after several attempts from one of our reporters. For someone who works for the people, we apparently dont even deserve an answer. But that criticism extends to all three supervisors who recently voted in favor of this project. Vernon Smith, Randy Pennington and James Baker all voted in June 2016 to deny the rezoning. Two weeks after that vote, Smith asked the board to reconsider that decision. A year later 2017 all three supervisors composed Tuesdays yea vote. What changed? Aside from the additional information provided to the board per a previous request, both Smith and Baker lost their re-election efforts to two new supervisors, and both will hand their duties over at the end of this month. Did Smith, Pennington and Baker have a change of heart? Were some or all of them always pro-quarry but withheld that opinion for either the common good or fear of retaliation? Does the impending exit of Smith and Baker suggest their dismissal of responsibility to constituents, hence leading them to vote in favor of the rezoning? Would either have voted differently if theyd been re-elected? What changed for Pennington, who campaigned for re-election and will maintain his seat? Its unclear if we will obtain answers soon or at all. Nevertheless, Sugar Hollow will remain a pristine, locally loved jewel and haven for wildlife but with Copenhavers no-vote and Smiths, Bakers and Penningtons no-but-yes vote, that almost didnt happen. And we just dont know why. Watching the Republican tax plan race through Congress, one is reminded of a big apparent difference between Donald Trumps program and other populist movements in the Western world. In America, Trump is leading something that is best described as plutocratic populism, a mixture of traditional populist causes with extreme libertarian ones. Congress own think tanks the Joint Committee on Taxation and the Congressional Budget Office calculate that in 10 years, people making between $50,000 and $75,000 (around the median income in America) would effectively pay a whopping $4 billion more in taxes, while people making $1 million or more would pay $5.8 billion less under the Senate bill. And that doesnt take into account the massive cuts in services, health care and other benefits that would likely result. Martin Wolf, the sober and fact-based chief economics commentator for the Financial Times, concludes, This is a determined effort to shift resources from the bottom, middle and even upper middle of the U.S. income distribution toward the very top, combined with big increases in economic insecurity for the great majority. The puzzle, Wolf says, is why this is a politically successful strategy. The Republican Party is pursuing an economic agenda for the 0.1 percent, but it needs to win the votes of the majority. This is the issue that University of California, Berkeley political scientist Paul Pierson discusses in a recently published essay. Writing in The British Journal of Sociology, Pierson notes that Trumps program does have strong populist aspects, especially on trade and immigration. But, he points out, On the big economic issues of taxes, spending and regulation ones that have animated conservative elites for a generation he has pursued, or supported, an agenda that is extremely friendly to large corporations, wealthy families and well-positioned rent-seekers. His budgetary policies (and those pursued by his Republican allies in Congress) will, if enacted, be devastating to the same rural and moderate-income communities that helped him win office. Pierson argues that Trump entered the White House with a set of inchoate ideas and no real organization. Thus, his administration was ripe for takeover by the most ardent, organized and well-funded elements of the Republican Party its libertarian wing. Nurtured and built up over the years, this group of conservatives decided to ally with the Trump administration to enact its long-standing agenda. Pierson quotes Grover Norquist, the fiercely anti-statist GOP operative, explaining in 2012 his views on the selection of a Republican presidential nominee. We are not auditioning for fearless leader. We dont need a president to tell us in what direction to go. We know what direction to go. ... We just need a president to sign this stuff. Is it that the Republican Party is cleverly and successfully hoodwinking its supporters, promising them populism and enacting plutocratic capitalism instead? This view has been a staple of liberal analysis for years, most prominently in Thomas Franks book Whats the Matter with Kansas? Frank argued that Republicans have been able to work this magic trick by dangling social issues in front of working-class voters, who fall for the bait and lose sight of the fact that they are voting against their own interests. Both Wolf and Pierson believe that this trickery will prove dangerous for Republicans. The plutocrats are riding on a hungry tiger, writes Wolf. But what if people are not being fooled at all? What if people are actually motivated far more deeply by issues surrounding religion, race and culture than they are by economics? There is increasing evidence that Trumps base supports him because they feel a deep emotional, cultural and class affinity for him. And while the tax bill is analyzed by economists, Trump picks fights with black athletes, retweets misleading anti-Muslim videos, and promises not to yield on immigration. Perhaps he knows his base better than we do. In fact, Trumps populism might not be as unique as its made out to be. Polling from Europe suggests that the core issues motivating people to support Brexit or the far-right parties in France and Germany, and even the populist parties of Eastern Europe, are cultural and social. The most important revolution in economics in the last generation has been the rise of the behavioral scientists, trained in psychology, who are finding that people systematically make decisions that are against their own interests. This might be the tip of the iceberg in understanding human motivation. The real story might be that people see their own interests in much more emotional and tribal ways than scholars understand. What if, in the eyes of a large group of Americans, these other issues are the ones for which they will stand up, protest, support politicians and even pay an economic price? What if, for many people, in America and around the world, these are their true interests? HICKORY Each year when the holiday season rolls around, many folks show their generosity by way of gift-giving. At Hartmans Haven Dog Rescues Santa Paws fundraiser, folks can find unique gifts and help a local cause. The fundraiser will feature various crafts that include woodwork, paintings, essential oils and more. Hartmans Haven is asking vendors to donate at least 10 percent of their profits to the rescue in order to pay for vet bills for dogs in need. We are excited to be hosting this event to not only raise money for the dog rescue but also support small businesses in the area, organizer Crystal Hopson said. We are looking forward to lots of shoppers and a great turnout. Hartmans Haven is an all-volunteer-based, nonprofit dog rescue organization and operates through a foster home system, since it does not currently have a physical location. Additionally, the rescue operates solely on donations and time dedicated by volunteers to help dogs in need of medical attention and forever homes. We have high vet bills. We need to pay $7,688.54 currently, organizer Regina London said. Although Hartmans Haven is faced with a large bill, London said it is worth it knowing the rescue is saving innocent animals. That debt has helped four puppies with parvo, two dogs with heartworms and some dental work, so that money goes a long way, London said. Because of the large vet bill, the rescue has had to close its intake of dogs and puppies in need of medical attention until the bills are paid in full. To help meet vet expenses like these, Hartmans Haven holds numerous fundraisers throughout the year. London said this is the inaugural year for the Santa Paws fundraiser, and hopes it continues for years to come. There will be a lot of unique gifts that you wont be able to find anywhere else, London said. The fundraiser is set to take place Saturday, Dec. 9, from 11 a.m. until 6 p.m. at the VFW Post 1957, 1615 12th St. Drive, NW, in Hickory. For more information on Hartmans Haven, visit www.hartmanshaven.org/ . CLAREMONT Bunker Hill High students recently got hands-on with their education and an up-close look at some practical STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) related skills. Science teacher Tricia Rushing invited Summer Cortinas, a scientist from BioNetwork, to visit her anatomy class and teach the students how to detect the Zika virus. They learned how to analyze a patient sample for evidence of Zika in an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) simulation based on the protocol used by Centers for Disease Control epidemiologists. I like for my students to see a real scientist, Rushing said. We read scientific studies and talk about scientists of the past, so its good for them to get more exposure instead of me just being a teacher telling them about scientists, they actually get to see it. She said this kind of experience is a good review for them as well and gives them a chance to use new equipment and relate it back to other projects theyre working on in the classroom. Rushing has invited BioNetwork to her class every semester for three years. Along with her anatomy class, Cortinas worked with Rushings biology classes. The students learned about the basic structure of cells and deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) as they extract DNA from their own cheek cell. Cortinas discussed potential applications for DNA extraction as well. DNA is the hereditary material in humans and almost all other organisms, according to the U.S. National Library of Medicine website. All of Rushings students delved into the world of tiny volumes and gained hands-on experience using micropipettors. They learned how to pipette different microliter volumes with accuracy and precision. Our goal is to inspire future STEM employees. We want kids to get excited about science, Cortinas said. BioNetwork was established in 2004 through funding from the Golden LEAF Foundation. It was charged with addressing the growing education and training needs of the state as it transitioned from a traditional manufacturing economy to a high-tech, skill-intensive biomanufacturing economy, according to ncbionetwork.org. We we want to make (students) aware that they dont have to go to school forever to be a scientist, Cortinas said. They can get a real solid STEM job with a one-year or two-year degree. From 2001 to 2012, the life science industry rose in North Carolina 30.9 percent compared to 1 percent for total private sector employment in North Carolina, according to a report at digital.ncdcr.gov. In employment, the total economic impact from the life science industry stands at 228,259 jobs. Fun is part of the experience as well, Cortinas said. We make sure theyre doing something gross or cool or learning about this neat equipment, she said. We always provide PPE (personal protective equipment) for them to wear like gloves and goggles because that makes them feel more authentic. Rushing said she saw students in her biology class who usually dont feel excited about science get excited about their DNA experiment. Maybe thats a student who doesnt enjoy bookwork or worksheets but when they get to do something hands on, they see that maybe science is OK, Rushing said. Bunker Hill High senior Caroline Hilliard was one of those students who is already a fan of science. She was in the anatomy class learning how to detect Zika. I take more science classes than I have to, Hilliard said. I plan on majoring in exercise science and then hopefully going on to physical therapy, so a lot of this I will be using. She thinks the hands-on experience in class helps her understand what a procedure is really like rather than just hearing about it. Its more fun to actually do something, Hilliard said. For her, watching the reaction when they mixed ingredients was the most exciting moment in her classs experiment. Fellow senior Harley Tremain was equally excited to learn how to use the micropipettor in the anatomy class and said science is his favorite subject. I enjoyed learning about how people look at diseases, and how scientists figure out what they need to do, how they need to combat it, Tremain said. He wants to get a degree in the health field, so he said the experience BioNetwork brought to the class might put him a step ahead or give him the skills to know what hes doing a little better than other students. Theres science in everything. Every day you use science, so its fun to figure out how stuff works in your body and in the world, Tremain said. For more information about BioNetwork visit ncbionetwork.org. This domain has expired. If you owned this domain, contact your domain registration service provider for further assistance. If you need help identifying your provider, visit https://www.tucowsdomains.com/ Gujarat, BJPs bastion and Narendra Modis home turf, goes to the polls next week. There is more at stake here than just another term in control of the state. For the BJP, a decisive win will boost the conviction that Modi is still very much in the drivers seat for 2019. The Congress will be hoping that even if they lose, there will be enough cracks in the verdict to suggest that the gap is narrowing and they are back in the mix. All opinion polls point to a BJP victory and that seems like a high probability outcome, yet it seems like the side with more to lose. While caste equations are as salient in Gujarat as most Indian states, it is a society where business sentiment plays a pivotal role. This could weigh against the BJP as the going has not been good for Gujarati businessmen and traders over the last one year. The states textile industry is in very bad shape, with a prolonged demand slump that doesnt seem to be getting better neighbouring countries like Bangladesh are making more headway in the global marketplace. The ceramic hub of Morbi in Saurashtra had been hit hard by demonetisation and is barely limping back to life. While rates in many product categories were lowered recently, huge compliance difficulties remain filing alignment with the informal segment still poses a huge challenge. October GST collections, well short of targets, underscores this issue. The festive season did little to lift sentiment; Diwali sales, across sectors, was one of the weakest in many years. The mood is grim in Gujarats business community. This may be a problem as the BJPs traditional stronghold has been urban and semi-urban Gujarat. In rural areas, its gap with the Congress is very slender. On the caste front too, it isnt exactly smooth sailing. The emergence of new caste leaders from the Patels, Dalits and OBCs may chip away at the BJPs vote share in quite a few constituencies. Some anti-incumbency after 22 years, significant headwinds for the business community and tricky caste arithmetic all this may easily have added up to a treacherous electoral wicket for the ruling party. Yet the BJP will probably go on to win, because of the oppositions inability to capitalise effectively on its weaknesses. Winning, as they say, is a habit; and right now, only one side knows how to do it. The Congress senses an opportunity in Gujarat. In the BJPs recent hyper reactive behaviour, it may also detect fear. Its gameplan, though, lacks a knockout punch. Teaming up with all caste leaders, who themselves cannot look each other in the eye, has a familiar, tried and failed all unite against Modi ring to it. It is unlikely to work. While Rahul Gandhi, in his recent forays, has cut a less ineffective figure, he hasnt been able to present an alternative vision to the citizens of Gujarat. What exactly is the Congress partys proposed solution to the economic and social disaffection that may have crept in? Can it put up a strong candidate who towers over the pedestrian BJP chief ministers that have ruled Gujarat since Narendra Modi moved to Delhi? Does it even possess the political finesse to harness the apparent angst among many communities in Gujarat to its advantage? If the answers to these are not in the affirmative, all that the opposition is doing is to hope for a negative verdict against the BJP. The old two-horse race of Indian politics if you feel let down by one, you choose the other. Till the other lets you down. But this is a dangerous ploy for a party which is becoming less relevant with every passing election. Without a more proactive approach, the Congress may lose better, but the BJP will keep winning. Gujarat now and India in 2019. Udayan Mukherjee in consulting editor, CNBC TV18 The views expressed are personal For two months post GST implementation, Vishal Gadhiya was forced to shut his cotton sari dyeing and printing unit in Gujarats Rajkot district as orders had dried up. Reason The entire supply chain has been taxed (5% at every stage). So, GST gets built up and passed on to consumers, he said. When he resumed the unit in October, business had taken a 50% hit. There is also confusion about the taxation system and so demand is low, he pointed out. Gadhiyas factory is one among the 1,500 small units employing 20,000-odd workers having an annual turnover of Rs 2,000 crore. In Rajkots Jetpur taluka, primarily an agriculture belt, the cotton sari printing and dyeing industry is nearly four decades old and has been supplying low cost clothes to domestic and global (Africa) markets. Majority of the unit owners had entered the trade to augment their farm incomes. The high GST and the apparent confusion has led to discontent against the ruling BJP, and Gadhiya hopes Prime Minister Narendra Modis party will do more to protect small businesses like ours, not just big corporate houses. HT spoke to influential leaders in the three business clusters sari printing and dyeing (textile processing), ceramic tiles, road engineering and agriculture implements spread across Rajkot and Morbi districts in Saurashtra region and Mehsana in North Gujarat, all dominated by Patidars to gauge the mood of the industry. Morbi, the ceramic cluster built largely on Patel thrift, is among three of the biggest such manufacturing hubs in the world after China and Italy, and employs over 13 lakh people, and had a turnover of Rs 25,000 crore in 2016-17. But trade was hit on account of 28% GST. The governing council later reduced the rate to 18%, but all tile producers are not happy. A ceramic tile producer, not willing to be named, said despite the rate reduction, stockists were not taking their supplies, forcing him to halve production. Post demonetisation and now GST, we have suffered, and the trust factor with BJP is low, he said. Despite governments efforts, GST implementation has not been smooth. I am paying advance taxes of Rs 2 crore and I am not sure when this will be offset, owner of six ceramic tile factories, Rajubhai Patel told HT. However, others like Vipul Lokhil of Selza Ceramic believe their industry will see a turnaround due to the rate reduction. Those who complain have other political agendas. The BJP government has been very supportive towards the industry, he said. Mehsanas road engineering and agro implements cluster, also dominated by Patels, is divided over support to the ruling party. While the large and medium road engineering firm owners had no complains about either demonetisation or GST, small fabrication unit owners are wary of the government as they did not pay any tax before and have to do so now. They are also in a limbo over how much to pay. Maintaining that they did not face any trouble due to demonetisation or GST, Ramesh Rajput, founder and CEO of Himalaya Engineering Company, a major manufacturer in the cluster, said, In fact, for our industry, the single tax has been a boon because it replaces Value Added Tax (VAT) and excise, besides arbitrary demands made when our goods cross state borders. The road engineering cluster here supports Prime Minister Modi, Rajput asserted. The smaller steel and engineering fabrication units, part of Mehsana cluster, however, are not on the same page, and say the GST is the second blow to them after demonetisation. We are reeling under a tax regime that we cannot understand, lamented Bharat Patel, a farmer-turned-fabrication unit proprietor. Post demonetisation, many of us were out of business for three months. It took six months for the business to recover, and now it seems we are back to the square one, he said. The mood is also glum in the agriculture implements sector despite the reduction of tax rates on tractors from 28% to 18%. Manufacturers say there still needs to be more clarity on which components of tractors will face less tax and which wont. Prior to GST, the central and state VAT worked out to around 17.5% roughly. The agrarian sector is not doing great across the country. Demand has dropped by more than half over the last one year since demonetisation, said a founder of one of the big agro firms based in Mehsana, wishing anonymity. He also pointed out that there was not enough clarity about this slashing of the tax rate so far. There is an indication that election spoils could get split between the BJP and the Congress in these traditionally BJP dominated constituencies. In Rajkot, out of the eight constituencies, six are with BJP and only two with the Congress. In Mehsana, BJP has five of the seven seats and Congress has two, and in Morbi, two out of the three seats are with the BJP. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON As the countdown for the first phase of Gujarat assembly elections begins, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will launch a carpet bombing campaign from Sunday with Prime Minister Narendra Modi leading the charge. Apart from Modi, several top BJP leaders will be on a whirlwind tour to the poll-bound state, where the party is trying to defy anti-incumbency after 22 years of its uninterrupted rule. The main challenger Congress will be almost entirely depending on its vice-president Rahul Gandhi to take on the BJP might. The Prime Minister will address election rallies on Sunday in Bharuch in south Gujarat and Surendranagar and Rajkot in Saurashtra that will go to poll on December 9, kicking off the two-phase elections for the states 182 assembly constituencies. In the first phase, 89 constituencies will elect their representatives. Modi will also visit Ahmedabad in the evening to inaugurate the newly built hospital on the campus of the Shree Swaminarayan Gurukul Vishwavidya Pratisthanam (SGVP), state BJP in-charge Bhupender Yadav said. This will be the second visit of the Prime Minister to an event of Swaminarayan sect, which has huge followers from the Patidars community. Patidars are up in the arms against the BJP government seeking reservation benefits in government jobs and college admissions. Earlier on November 2, Modi presided over silver jubilee celebrations of Akshardham Temple in Gandhinagar. On Monday Modi will address poll rallies at four places, starting from Dharampur in Valsad, followed by Bhavnagar, Junagadh and Jamnagar in Saurashtra, Yadav said. The prime minister addressed eight rallies on November 27 and 29 in Saurashtra and south Gujarat. Among other senior party leaders to take part in the BJPs high-pitched campaigning include, BJP national president Amit Shah, Union ministers Rajnath Singh, Smriti Irani and Purshottam Rupala, UP deputy chief Minister Dinesh Sharma and former Gujarat CM Anandiben Patel among others. Rahul Gandhi will be back in the state for a three-day tour, starting Tuesday. On that day he will cover Kutch, Morbi and Surendranagar districts. The next day he will be travelling to Tapi, Surat and Narmada districts to woo voters and on the last day of the tour he will campaign in central Gujarat. Gandhi already travelled across all four zones of Gujarat, taking part in his four-phases Navsarjan Yatra. This was followed by two-day tour to Amreli and Bhavnagar on November 29 and 30. The second and final phase of the elections will be held on December 14. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is the original pro-Hindutva party and voters in Gujarat will not pick a clone, Union finance minister Arun Jaitley said on Saturday, taking a shot at Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi who has recently visited several temples as part of his campaign in the election-bound state. During a speech in Surat, Jaitley also targeted former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who was in town addressing a meeting. It was a leaderless government. It was said that the then prime minister is in office, but not in power. Policy paralysis was the order of the day, Jaitley said, labelling the previous government most corrupt. Singh, during his programme, had accused his successor Narendra Modi of failing to understand the pains brought on by demonetisation and the rollout of the Goods and Service Tax (GST) in industrial belts such as Surat. Your business works on trust and relationships. Without trust in each other, Surat will collapse. You extended this trust to the prime minister and his promise of acchhe din (good days). The hope symbolised in those dreams now lies shattered, he said. Singh also lamented the BJPs low-level rhetoric, saying it hurt the discourse in the country. Surat, known as the hub of diamond trade in India, votes in the first of the two-round elections due on December 9 and 14. PM Modi is set to address four rallies on Sunday and Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi is likely to be back in the state for three days from December 5. Referring to the recent visits Gandhi made to temples in Gujarat, Jaitely said: BJP has always been seen as a pro-Hindutva party and if someone wants to mimic us, I do not have any complaint. But there is a basic principle in politics, if an original is available why would anyone prefer a clone. Gandhi visited 21 temples in Gujarat, with the latest trip to Somnath temple on Wednesday. The BJP asked him to come clean on his religious leanings after accusing him of writing his name in a register meant for non-Hindus in the temple. Congress denied that Gandhi made the entry, and a day later, the party vice-president said he and his family members were Shiv Bhakts but they did not discuss their faith for political mileage. On the recent Uttar Pradesh civil election results, finance minister Jaitley said it indicated Congress was on the cusp of extinction, and it was headed for a bitter defeat in Gujarat. While BJP has maintained its credibility, Congress is slowly becoming extinct, he said. Manmohan Singhs criticism was largely centred around the Modi governments economic policies. In Surat alone, 89,000 powerlooms were sold as scrap and it led to a loss of 31,000 jobs, he said referring to the note ban and the GST that, according to him, benefited China. Imports from there increased by over 23% in a year. The prime minister is from Gujarat, and he claims to understand Gujarat and the poor more than anyone else. How is it that he never understood the pains his decisions will unleash on you? Singh asked. Singh also said it was too early to conclude that the economic slowdown has reversed since the 6.3% growth rate in the July-September quarter did not take into account the small and medium sector, which suffered huge losses in the aftermath of demonetisation and hasty implementation of GST. He welcomed the 6.3% growth but cautioned that it was too early to conclude that the economy had recovered. (With agency inputs) Opposition attacked the state government in the state assembly on Friday during the winter session on Bhopal gang rape in particular and crimes against women in state in general alleging corruption and political interference in posting of a section of police officers on key positions in districts were two major reasons behind rise in crime against women in the state during the BJP regime. Home minister Bhupendra Singh, however, denied the allegations and dubbed it as baseless. As the House discussed admissibility of the Oppositions adjournment motion on Bhopal gang rape an Opposition MLA Sunderlal Tiwari referred to the NCRB report for the year 2016 released on Thursday and went to the extent of dubbing Madhya Pradesh under the BJP rule as a bowl of rape just as Punjab and Chhattisgarh exist as bowl of rice in the country. Leader Opposition Ajay Singh alleged polices morale was down in the state as corruption played a major role in posting of a section of police officers on key positions in the districts and there was political interference in the postings too. He said if chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan cared to implement his own announcements he had made after Nirbhaya gang rape in Delhi in 2012 the situation in the state would have been better. But unfortunately, the CM repeated most of his announcements after Bhopal gang rape that took place 5 years later on October 31 suggesting he had forgot to implement his own announcements. He said CM had dubbed rape as a bigger crime than murder in 2012 demanding capital punishment for the crime and taken decisions at a high level meeting to sack the convict of rape and molestation from the government job, if any, setting up of fast track courts, necessary law for harsher punishment, medical report of the victim to be prepared within 24 hours etc. The then home minister had talked of setting up of call centres, constituting of special task force and cancelling the driving licence of the convict. He said how the decisions were implemented could be gauged from the fact that the government was now trying to identify crime prone areas in Bhopal, install CCTV cameras at such places. Bhopal gang rape victim was not raped once but thrice. First, when she was gang raped by criminals, second when police stations refused to lodge her report and third, when her medical examination report was botched up, he alleged. Minister of state for cooperative Vishwas Sarang objected to the term like bowl of rape being attached with the state and requested the deputy speaker to expunge the term. Furnishing figures of rape incidents in Madhya Pradesh right from 1993 home minister Bhupendra Singh said Madhya Pradesh had topped the crime chart on rape in the country during the Congress regime too but unlike the Congress government BJP government took a number of measures like woman helpline 1090, self-defence training to girl students, constitution of Shourya dal, mobile app for help in emergency etc. As the speaker Sitasharan Sharma ruled against admissibility of the adjournment motion after the discussion the Opposition Congress MLAs staged a walkout. Hema Malini, Bollywood diva-turned-Parliamentarian, claims shes a bit scared of author and columnist Shobhaa Des sharp columns. Yet, when the two gorgeous women and old friends meet for a special chat and photo shoot for HT Brunch at the JW Marriott, Mumbai, they get on like a house on fire. When I was young I thought, if I live to be 80, Id be wrinkled and shrivelled. But I dont feel like that woman from my nightmare! - Hema Malini They already have something in common: both women, the epitomes of glam, and divas of doing exactly what they want to do, are facing their 70s with glee, each with a book about her life. Shobhaas book, 70 And To Hell With It, reflects her feisty attitude to everything. But Hema, one of Bollywoods most commercially successful heroines, had to be coaxed into telling her story by film journalist and critic Ram Kamal Mukherjee and finally agreed to do Hema Malini: Beyond the Dream Girl only so that people like us stop begging her for interviews. Read on as Indias most badass women choke with laughter at the concept of turning into harmless old ladies, and promise to keep us on our toes as they leap into their 70s. Sizzling at 70 Because...sizzling at 70 is the new black! (Prabhat Shetty) Shobhaa De (SD): Sexy at 60? Puhleez thats so passe. Sizzling at 70 is the new black! At 70, one reaches that fantastic stage when all the unimportant things in life magically melt away and you finally come into your own. At 70, I have finally sprouted wings and I am ready to fly...explore any and every fresh opportunity and adventure. Its too late to qualify as a nuclear scientist. But I am up for other creative options and avenues. However, I will draw the line at bungee jumping. But lets not kid ourselves 70 is 70! I definitely dont think of it as the neo-50. Hema Malini (HM): These days, I have to take approval from Esha and Ahana for the smallest of things! They are like my mini mummy! (She giggles) At 70, I have finally spouted wings and am ready to fly I cant become a nuclear scientist, but I could still bungee jump! - Shobhaa De SD: I call mine my in-house censor board. Anything I do, say, write, eat or wear is analysed and advice is given whether I ask for it or not. The chief of this in-house censor board is my husband Dilip. I am very proud of him at the age of 77 he found his new love painting! In fact, he is now a prolific artist with a new exhibition coming up next January. But it is strange how much we both have in common, Hemaji! We are the same age and so are our daughters. And we are both becoming naanis again at almost the same time! HM: My daughters say I am over protective about them. Maybe I am! SD: My children also complain that I am over-involved in their lives. I say, darlings, be glad! It is far better to be over-involved than indifferent. Perhaps, one day you will thank me for this. I am totally involved in my daughters lives. Maybe not that much in my grandchildrens though. Grans of glam Why Hema Malini is Indias Dream Girl ...forever! Dream Girl Hema Malini is one of the best known actresses in Bollywood and is today a BJP MP working in the Mathura constituency. As a 16-year-old, she made her Bollywood debut opposite Raj Kapoor. And in the films publicity posters she was projected as Raj Kapoors Dream Girl. Eventually she became the Dream Girl for the entire nation. She almost married Jeetendra. But it was the much-married Dharmendra she was really in love with. Rumour had it that the couple converted to Islam to get married after Dharmendras first wife refused to sign the divorce papers. She was one of the top heroines of Bollywood and one of the very few at the time to do her own stunts. She played the protagonist in Kamal Amrohis Razia Sultan (1983) and her scene with Parveen Babi is credited as the first to suggest lesbian love in Hindi cinema. In 2003, she was elected as a Rajya Sabha member and in 2014 she defeated the Mathura incumbent of RJD and stormed her way into the Lok Sabha. HM: My little Darien loves to paint. He came into my room yesterday and he had paint all over him. I sat him next to me and started telling him stories and he fell asleep listening. It is these simple things that warm the cockles of your heart. SD: Ahilya, the little one, is fascinated with make-up. I have a small make-up pouch, which is nothing great, but she loves it. She digs into it and experiments, first on her own face and body, and then on mine. Its crazy! We both look like Red Indians at the end of her make-up session. But I enjoy it. The very word naani has something so very sweet and tender about it. I prefer it to the Marathi aji. HM: When Darien first called me naani, people were not sure how I would react. My mother didnt like the word. In Tamil we call our grandmother paati. But I love naani. And, yes, you are right; we cant be as involved with our grandkids as we can be with our own daughters. SD: The mother-daughter relationship is complex beyond belief. It is incomparable. Intensely demanding and a bit maddening. Nobody else can love me as much and nobody else can hurt me as much. We argue and fight because we are all strong women. It is probably the most challenging relationship on this planet, but also definitely the most fulfilling.I also feel that every woman in the world is a working woman. More so, a full time homemaker. We must place a value on ourselves. Did you just say old? Ha! Why Shobhaa De says it with a bite...always Shobhaa De is one of the most controversial writers/columnists that India has ever had: funny, sarcastic, scathing, irreverent, brutally honest, and occasionally outrageous. It is said one tweet from her can shake up the parliament and frequently does! Shobhaa De, born Shobha Rajadhyaksha, ventured into journalism after a brief stint as a model, and edited magazines like Stardust, Society and Celebrity, inventing a new language Hinglish along the way. She was one of the few Indian woman authors to write erotic novels 30 years ago. One of her most controversial books was Starry Nights, which took a cold, hard look at Bollywood shenanigans. The female characters in her novels are always unorthodox and unapologetic. her non-fiction is equally hard hitting. Her bold column, The Sexes for The Week acted as a catalyst for a sexual revolution of sorts. She has never been afraid to take on celebrities and politicians, fearlessly chastising chief ministers and Bollywood stars when she feels they need a rap on the knuckles. HM: Today when I look back, everything looks fine. You should be happy in whatever you are doing, or do things that make you happy. So many transitions have happened in my life, but as life threw challenges I kept figuring my way out. One should embrace each stage of life with open arms and mind. SD: I think its time to challenge the stereotype. But I have always broken stereotypes, and here I am! HM: When I was young, my parents would consult astrologers for various things, and every time I would be told that I will live very long. Then, I thought, my god! What if I lived to be 80, and how wrinkled and shrivelled I would be, and Id shudder. But as I slowly inch towards that age, I dont look or feel like that old woman of my nightmare. I am just me; I am the person I was. SD: Each decade has its own relevance, its own highs and lows, and life is about how you deal with the low period. How you conduct yourself when the tide is ebbing and the seas are rough. I have, in fact, enjoyed swimming against the tide. If nothing else, it makes you a better swimmer. It has tested my strength, I have accepted the challenge and come out stronger. It is tough enough being a woman at any age. Tougher still, when you get older. Hema and I belong to a good vintage! HM: I was the top heroine when I got married and the offers started to wane. The industry had this mindset that a married lady is only fit to play a mother to the hero, not his love interest. So sometimes, when I went to Dharamjis shoots with Esha, I would see actresses much junior to me at work, while I sat with my daughter on my lap, watching. It was a strange feeling. I kept thinking, what should I do now? Then I had a chat with Gulzar saab. I told him I didnt know where I was headed. He listened to me very carefully and then told me to broaden my horizons. One door shuts so that you can try the other doors, he said. Suddenly I got a strange kind of strength, and I got into dance ballets and that became such a big part of my life that I never looked back. Today, sitting on the verge of 70, when I look back at each decade of my life, I smileit looks beautiful from here. Just do it! Shobhaa, who had refused an offer to act in Satyajit Rays Ghare Baire, says that today at 70 she is finally ready to even give acting a shot. Shobhaa wears a top by Payal Khandwala and crushed silk skirt from Nayika (Jaipur) (Prabhat Shetty) SD: I think the 70s is when you start recognising your true passions, your commitments and capabilities. There is a very distilled and pure focus. At 70, you should become the Nike spokesperson and just do it! No force on earth can stop us at this stage in life. You take total control of your life for better or worse. You finally own it. At 70, its important to discard vanity and focus on productivity. I hope to remain as prolific in my seventh decade as I have always been throughout my 45 year old writing career. Hema is a fine example. Nobody had thought she would be able to nurture the Mathura constituency as well as she has. Look at her level of involvement. In fact, I see Hema in the Cabinet in the near future. Hema Malini divides her time between her dance performances and her political career, but the role she loves playing the most today is that of a doting grandmother (Prabhat Shetty) HM: (Looking mock-scared) Arre, kitna kaam karna padega! It is too time-consuming. I dont want to get so busy that I cant look out for my babies. And now they are having babies! But, you know what? I think if you want to try something new at this point, you should definitely give acting a thought. SD: (Laughing heartily) Maybe it is about time I give that a shot! Thats the fun of being 70. Its time to do things we never thought we could do! So people, the message is out there: dont mess with these two! Follow @ananya1281 on Twitter From HT Brunch, December 3, 2017 Follow us on twitter.com/HTBrunch Connect with us on facebook.com/hindustantimesbrunch SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Nearly everything tastes better with butter. Of all the worlds natural (that is to say, basic and ancient) ingredients, butter is the best-tasting and the most versatile. Take a good quality butter (and as we shall see, not all butters are created equal), spread it on some warm toast, let it melt so completely that it seeps into each pore of the toast and then take a large bite. The rich, creamy, slightly sour taste will fill your mouth with a dazzling range of flavours. But you dont need to eat butter with bread. Melt some butter and pour it over a sweet waffle. Squirt a little lemon on a piece of grilled fish and then ladle on the melted butter. Take a normal dal and add just one knob of butter. Take lightly cooked vegetables asparagus or broccoli perhaps and dip them into melted butter. Slice a boiled potato while it is still warm, sprinkle a little salt and pepper on it and then pat a dab of butter. No potato will ever have tasted as good. Luxury ingredients need butter. Caviar tastes wonderful on a base of butter. White truffles should be served with buttery noodles. But even the simple things of life are elevated to new levels once butter is added. The best scrambled eggs should be scented with the butter they were cooked in. Ordinary white rice is transformed once you add a knob of butter. A thin, anaemic tomato soup gets a steroid boost when you spoon in a little butter. Butter poured over a sweet waffle makes it divine (Shutterstock) And that is excluding dishes that are cooked with butter. French cuisine is nothing without butter. As they say, the three great secrets of French cooking are butter, butter and more butter. This is not a joke: the mother sauces that are the basis of classic French cooking (hollandaise, bechamel, etc.) all need butter. The roux that the French use to thicken their gravies is made with butter. All French pastry depends on high quality butter. Skimp on the butter and you ruin the croissant. Indian food has, traditionally, been less dependent on butter we use ghee. But that has changed too as refrigeration has made it easy to transport and store butter. Think of the great dishes invented and popularised in the second half of the 20th century: Butter Chicken, Dal Bukhara (or any variation thereof) or Pav Bhaji. All three have only one thing in common: they depend on large quantities of butter for their appeal. Obviously, there was an ancient butter tradition in India. Otherwise Lord Krishna would not be called makhan chor and butter would not be part of his legend. According to the food historian K.T. Achaya, the Vedic Aryans treated butter as one of the five cow-based components of panchagavya, the supreme purificatory concoction. There were special vessels used to hold the butter and it was common, in households, for the ladies to churn butter regularly. It was this butter navaneetha that the young Lord Krishna used to steal from his mothers churning pot. The problem with butter is that it does not keep and can spoil easily. So while people who lived in cold climates (say the Tibetans and the Bhutanese) incorporated butter into their cuisine, Indians had problems relying on supplies of butter. (Hence the regular churning of fresh butter.) Indians love ghee and many Indian dishes and sweets do not taste right unless we use our own ghee (Shutterstock) Our ancestors got around this by creating ghee from butter. Not only is ghee better for cooking (you can subject it to higher levels of heat), it also tends to keep without spoiling for long periods of time. All over South India, where the weather is rarely cold, ghee was always preferred to butter, being poured onto rice, spread onto breads, and used as a garnish and condiment. Ghee is clarified butter and while other societies also clarified their butter for cooking, nobody had our skill. Till about the second century, India would export ghee to ancient Rome. So well established was the trade that the Roman literature of the period refers to butyron or Indian ghee, transported in leather bags. Eventually, the West gave up on ghee, but the phenomenon was more recent than we realise. As late as the 1930s, India exported nearly 2,000 tonnes of ghee every year. Now, Western chefs who need to clarify butter for cooking make their own and the global market for ghee is largely restricted to people of Indian origin. Indians still love ghee. It is our base fat and many Indian dishes and sweets do not taste right unless we use our own ghee. The chef Manish Mehrotra insists on using Indian ghee whenever he cooks abroad because he believes that Indian food cannot be made without the flavour of our ghee. In India, however, there is a vague prejudice against both butter and ghee because we have been brought up to believe that they cause heart attacks or are, at the very least, unhealthy. Better to use other fats, we are told. Melted butter on a piece of grilled fish with some lemon makes for a yummy dish (Shutterstock) This belief has strange origins. In the 19th century, a French chemist argued that as even starving cows created full-fat milk, the fat must be coming from their tissues. Raw beef fat came from cows bodies so therefore it should be possible to extract dairy fat from it. Chemists mixed oil extracted from beef fat with milk and salt and created the first margarine. The French were too sophisticated to eat this rubbish, so a US conglomerate bought the rights to the process and beef-based margarine became popular in America. Eventually (after the Second World War) manufacturers started making margarine from vegetable oil not beef. Its chief attraction was that it was much cheaper than butter and thanks to artificial flavours and food colours it could also be make to look like butter. In India, the same kind of process was used to create vanaspati, a vegetable oil-based cooking fat that took the place of ghee. It original appeal was purely economical: it was a lot cheaper than ghee. But soon margarine and vanaspati would get powerful boosts from medical opinion that treated butter and ghee as health hazards. In the 1950s, American doctors declared that dairy fat caused heart disease. The evidence for this came from a flawed statistical analysis of fat consumption in seven countries where dairy fat was consumed and rates of heart disease were high. Bizarrely, this analysis left out countries like France, Germany, Holland and Switzerland, where the populations got 30 to 40 per cent of their calories from fat but had half the rate of heart disease of the US. But while American doctors (and soon enough, Indian doctors) were telling us to switch from dairy fat to margarine (and vanaspati), scientists made a devastating discovery. Trans fat, the fat found in margarine and vanaspati accumulated in tissues all over the body and especially near the heart. This conclusion was not based on manipulated statistics but on actual human biology: margarine and vanaspati caused heart attacks. Butter chicken is one of the dishes invented and popularised in the second half of the 20th Century (Shutterstock) Though this research was available by the 1960s, it took two or three decades for the message to go out. Fortunately, Indians have finally given up on vanaspati but you will still find kindly family doctors who issue misguided warnings about the dangers of ghee and butter. The truth is that butter, if you dont take it in excess, does very little harm. And as that conclusion has sunk in, worldwide butter sales have gone up to the extent that demand now exceeds supply and for all of the last few months, Europe has coped with high butter prices and shortages. In India, butter still means Amul, created by a cooperative in Gujarat to break the hold of Polson, once the reigning butter in India. I like Amul and Elaine Khosrova, author of the recent, highly-praised book Butter A Rich History, rates Amul Ghee as being among the best she has tasted. Amul is good quality basic butter. It is not particularly special or memorable. To try really good butter you need to go West and sample the artisanal butters of France, Ireland and America. Alternatively, see if you can get hold of some freshly churned butter from a small dairy farm in India. The contrast with commercial butter is striking and the taste will feel fresh and different: as though you have never tasted real butter before. You will suddenly realise that as wonderful as all butter is, the best butter is even more utterly, butterly delicious. And you can get it from a dairy farm near you! From HT Brunch, December 3, 2017 Follow us on twitter.com/HTBrunch Connect with us on facebook.com/hindustantimesbrunch SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Infosys, Indias No.2 IT services company, named Salil S Parekh as chief executive on Saturday, picking an outsider for the job a second time and handing him the twin challenges of reviving growth and making peace between its founders and board. Parekh, who will join from consultancy firm Capgemini where he is currently an executive, has been given a 5-year term effective January 2, an Infosys filing to exchanges showed. UB Pravin Rao who was serving as the interim CEO has been re-designated as chief operating officer from January 2, Infosys said. After a comprehensive global search effort, we are pleased to appoint Salil as the CEO & MD, said Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, chairperson of the nomination & remuneration committee at Infosys. He was the top choice from a pool of highly qualified candidates. With his strong track record and extensive experience, we believe, we have the right person to lead Infosys. Parekh has Master of Engineering degrees in Computer Science and Mechanical Engineering from Cornell University, and a Bachelor of Technology degree in Aeronautical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay. Former CEO Vishal Sikka announced a sudden exit in August after a protracted public spat with the companys founding executives, led by Narayana Murthy, over strategy and alleged corporate governance lapses. Sikka, who joined from German software maker SAP SE in 2014, was the first outsider to be appointed CEO of the Bengaluru-headquartered company. His exit and the prolonged public row led to a reshuffling of the Infosys board with Nandan Nilekani, a co-founder and former CEO, returning as non-executive chairman. Nilekani, credited with four-fold growth in Infosys revenue to $2 billion during his tenure as CEO, had said at the time that cultural fit would be an important criteria for the top job, making internal candidates very strong contenders. South Koreas Hyundai Rotem signed a 720-million-euro (USD 856 million) deal with Iran on Saturday to manufacture 450 railbuses for suburban trains, Iranian state media reported. The deal was signed in Tehran between Hyundai Rotem, a unit of Hyundai Motors, and Railways of Islamic Republic of Iran at a ceremony attended by Iranian Transport Minister Abbas Akhoundi. The deal, financed by the South Korean side, will create 1,000 direct jobs and 1,700 indirect jobs in the Islamic republic, state news agency IRNA quoted Akhoundi as saying. Iranian Rail Industries Development Company will build 300 rail buses, under Hyundai supervision, with the remaining 150 to be manufactured in South Korea, IRICO executive director Nasser Soufi told state television. The project is to last last six years and a half with the first batch of self-propelled suburban rail buses to be delivered in a year and a half, according to Said Mohammadzadeh, CEO for the state railways. In August, Iran secured an eight-billion euro credit line from South Koreas Eximbank, which was the Islamic republics biggest loan deal since its 2015 nuclear accord. At the time a spokesman for South Koreas export credit bank said the deal would finance projects in Iran by companies from the Asian country That deal was followed by a USD 10 billion credit line for Iranian banks in September from CITIC investment group, a Chinese state-owned investment firm. The Babri Masjid was demolished 25 years ago this week. Many Indians, this writer among them, viewed the demolition as an act of vandalism; whereas many others saw it as an act of vindication. The act, however, was divisive not merely in terms of perception. Preceding and following the demolition of the Babri Masjid were a series of riots, in which tens of thousands of innocent Indians lost their lives. No single event in independent India has so polarised public opinion; no single event has so adversely affected life on the ground, generating widespread suspicion and hostility between groups of citizens and leading to much violence and suffering too. Two politicians contributed significantly to the deepening of the Hindu-Muslim divide in the 1980s and beyond. The first was Rajiv Gandhi, who as prime minister, first appeased the Muslim fundamentalists by overturning the Supreme Courts judgment in the Shah Bano case, and then appeased the Hindu fundamentalists by opening the locks of the small Ram shrine in Ayodhya. The second was LK Advani, who, as the leader of the BJP (then in opposition) conceived, organised and led the Rath Yatra which galvanised Hindutva sentiment across northern and western India. Thousands of young men flocked to Advanis call, forming the bedrock of the army which sought to demolish the Masjid unsuccessfully in October 1990, before achieving success two years later. Advanis march was not, of course, the first yatra undertaken by an Indian politician. Mahatma Gandhi himself had undertaken three major yatras; the salt march of 1930, aimed at undermining British colonial rule; the anti-untouchability tour of 1933-34, aimed at awakening Hindus to the iniquities of the caste system; and the peace marches of 1946-47, aimed at bringing Hindus and Muslims together. After Independence, lesser politicians have used the medium of the yatra to promote themselves. In 1983, the Janata Party leader Chandra Shekhar walked across the country, seeking to show that he cared more for the aam admi than the person who was then prime minister, Indira Gandhi. Before the last Karnataka assembly elections, Siddaramaiah undertook a padayatra to project himself as the alternative to the ruling BJP. Now, before the next state elections, with the BJP in opposition, BS Yeddyurappa is touring the districts of Karnataka in pursuit of his ambition to become chief minister once more. However, of the many tours undertaken by politicians before and since Independence, Advanis yatra of 1990 remains in a class of its own. Hindu-Muslim relations were already more fragile than they had been for many decades. In late 1989, Vishwa Hindu Parishad activists organised brick worship ceremonies for their proposed Ram temple, provoking riots in many places. In Bhagalpur, more than a thousand Indians, mostly Muslims, perished as a result. I visited Bhagalpur in the wake of the 1989 riots, to see villages burnt, looms destroyed, and thousands of my fellow citizens, now without homes and livelihoods, living in refugee camps open to the sky. I do not know if LK Advani visited Bhagalpur himself. But he surely knew of what had happened there. And yet, a few months later, he led this provocative and divisive rath yatra. The symbols of Advanis march, wrote one observer, were religious, allusive, militant, masculine, and anti-Muslim. The rath yatra provoked further rioting. The yatra was a major contributory factor to the horrific communal violence of the 1990s and beyond. As Khushwant Singh bluntly told Advani to his face, you have sowed the seeds of communal disharmony in the country and we are paying the price for it. To be sure, the Republic had witnessed major riots both before and after L K Advanis rath yatra. They included the anti-Sikh riots in Delhi in 1984, and the anti-Muslim riots in Gujarat in 2002. A great deal has been written of the complicity of the top political leadership in both. Rajiv Gandhi, as prime minister of India in 1984, and Narendra Modi, as chief minister of Gujarat in 2002, have both been criticised for , first, not doing enough to stop the rioting; and second, with using the riots to polarise majority voters in their favour, riding to electoral victory on the backs of dead bodies. Both these criticisms are fair. Rajiv Gandhi, in 1984, and Narendra Modi, in 2002, could and should have done more to stem the rioting, and much more to provide succour and relief to those who suffered. However, neither Rajiv Gandhi, in 1984, nor Narendra Modi, in 2002, actually initiated the riots that occurred under their watch. By this token, LK Advani is far more culpable. For, with hate and violence already in the air, he set out to capitalise on it. To quote Khushwant Singh on Advani once more: He, more than anyone else, sensed that Islamophobia was deeply ingrained in the minds of millions of Hindus; it needed a spark to set it ablaze. When faced with growing animosity between Hindus and Muslims, Mahatma Gandhi went on long walks and undertook long fasts to promote tolerance and harmony. On the other hand, when confronted with a similar situation, LK Advani seemed to have worked to intensify rather than contain religious conflict. And, as the recent attacks on minorities across northern India show, the politics that Advani promoted is still exacting its price. LK Advani has been,in my opinion, the most divisive politician in the history of independent India. Ramachandra Guhas books include Gandhi Before India The views expressed are personal SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The police have discovered a Chinese national who had been living on the outskirts of the Uttarakhand capital in violations of the visa rules. He had been working at a local company even though hes visiting India on a tourist visa. The discovery was made Friday when the Dehradun police was conducting a checking and verification drive at hotels in view of the upcoming Passing Out Parade of the Indian Military Academy (IMA) scheduled on December 9. According to the police, Wenchang Xie had been living at The Competent Palace hotel at Selaqui, around 20 km from Dehradun, since November 24. Although he had gained access into the country via an e-tourist visa, it was found that he had been working as a mechanic at Amber Enterprises, a private company based at Selaqui Industrial Area, since November 25. This is in violation of the visa rules. We are sending a notice to him and also to the employer to seek clarification on this. We are also sending letter to the home department in this regard for further action, Dehradun senior superintendent of police (SSP) Nivedita Kukreti Kumar told HT on Saturday. Later in the day, a leave India notice was also issued to the said national, under which he will be required to leave the country within three days. In August this year, two women from Thailand had been found working at a city mall, even though they were here on a tourist visa to India. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Bus stands in the city are soon going to be under surveillance. The Delhi government has begun a trial run of CCTV cameras at two places. Cameras have been installed at the bus stand at Tilak Marg and near Delhi Secretariat this week and will be tested for two months. The plan is to install CCTV cameras at 100 bus queue shelters (BQSs) in the first phase of the project. We hope the ongoing trial run is successful, and that the cameras are not stolen or damaged, said transport minister Kailash Gahlot. The 100 stops will be mostly those located in deserted or obscure locations. The cost of installing the cameras is estimated to be Rs 1.87 crore. The move, he said, will not only ensure public safety, especially that of women but will also help transport agencies to check the practices of bus drivers and conductors. Not halting the bus at the designated spot, but close to the bus stop not only leads to chaos and congestion on roads, but it also poses a challenge to the differently abled, senior citizens, women and children. The cameras will help us correct these errors, the minister added. This will be in addition to the project of fixing CCTV cameras inside buses which was approved in June by the Delhi Cabinet. New bus stands The national capital may soon have new bus stands as the Delhi Transport Infrastructure Development Corporation (DTIDC) Limited has floated fresh tenders for building 1,397 bus queue shelters across the city, said a transport department official. At present, the capital has 1,864 BQSs, of which 1,321 are managed by the DTIDC, 346 by the Delhi Integrated Multi-Modal Transit System (DIMTS) and 197 by the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC). This time, tenders for the bus shelters have been divided into four clusters. In 2015, the Aam Aadmi Party government had announced it would build 1,200 modern stainless steel BQSs across the national capital, but the tender failed to attract bidders. Bidders were not coming forward despite floating multiple tenders. So, it was felt that the cost of bus shelters should come down, as a result of which they are being redesigned now, the official said. Usually the cost of building a BQS is Rs 22 lakh. Earlier too, two tenders were floated one in November 2013 and the other in June 2014. But, none worked out as bidders were not happy with the revenue model which relied primarily on advertisements. Bus stands in Delhi were last developed ahead of the Commonwealth Games in 2010 by the then Sheila Dikshit government. Over 1,500 shelters were developed and modernised at that time. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON On an average, Delhi lost goods worth around Rs 9 crore to thieves, burglars, robbers and extortionists every day through 2016, a four-time jump compared to the previous year. However, the huge number of complaints particularly of thefts that were registered with the police meant the investigators could recover only a miniscule percentage of these goods, revealed data by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB). Of the goods worth Rs 3,279 crore lost to criminals, only 4.8% (Rs 157-crore worth) of items were traced, making the Delhi Polices performance worst among all states and Union Territories. In 2015, Delhi Police had recovered nearly 17.5% of the Rs 720-crore worth of stolen or robbed goods. Responding to HTs questions on these figures, Dependra Pathak, Delhi Polices chief spokesperson, said the high value of stolen goods was due of the e-FIRs, the facility to register theft cases online. A majority of the theft cases were registered online, said Pathak. While the e-FIR figures were not immediately available, the NCRB data showed that nearly 1.31 lakh thefts were reported in Delhi last year, a 25% jump from the year before that. The officer attributed the poor recovery rate to the inflated value of lost products pegged by complainants and the large number of cases being probed by each investigating officer. He said all effort was being made to speed up the probe and make the best possible recoveries. Many of these investigators are burdened with as many as 200 cases, he added. A senior police officer, on condition of anonymity, explained that a large number of people inflate the value of their lost products while registering FIRs online. Also, people have started carrying more expensive belongings. Only these can explain how the worth of the stolen items rose by 4.5 times when the increase in these crimes was only 20-25%, said the officer. Victims often complain that there is a delayed police response when they report a theft online. On occasions, investigators have contacted victims nearly 20 days after a theft occurred, thus greatly reducing the possibility of recovery. While the 1.31 lakh thefts contributed to the majority of the goods in question, while calculating the worth of the stolen goods, the NCRB also considered items lost to robberies, burglaries, dacoities and extortion. These added crimes, which also caused people to lose their belongings, caused the number of such cases to bulge to 1.89 lakh. According to the rules, a theft involving the use of force amounts to robbery. When five or more persons are involved in a robbery, it is classified as a dacoity. Overall, Delhi accounted for one-third value of all the goods and properties that were stolen or robbed across India last year. In terms of sheer worth of the items, Delhi figured closely behind only Maharashtra, which has been leading the chart for the last three years. The NCRB data on Thursday had showed Delhi the leader among all 19 metropolitan cities in terms of number of criminal cases registered. Nearly two lakh FIRs were registered in Delhi in 2016, significantly more than the second-placed Bengaluru that witnessed around 45,000 crimes. When contacted on Friday, Delhi Police commissioner Amulya Patnaik had attributed the high figures mainly to thefts, highlighting that the heinous crimes like rapes and robberies had dipped. Dependra Pathak said that many people choose to report even lost belongings as thefts while using the online facility, thus leading to a substantial increase in the cases and overall value of the missing goods. All those cases were not necessarily thefts. Moreover, the large floating population of NCR chooses to lodge a case in Delhi because of the ease of getting a FIR registered here, said Pathak. The officer said that the ease of registering FIRs in the national capital also led to many people from the neighbouring NCR cities reporting the thefts of their vehicles in Delhi. Those living along the border areas choose often choose to describe Delhi as the location of theft, said Pathak. Of the 1.31 lakh thefts reported in Delhi last year, nearly 39,000 cases were of vehicles. The Supreme Court-appointed Environment Pollution Control and Prevention Authority (EPCA) will send Delhi Police a map of 17 turnaround points ahead of the Capitals border, for better implementation of the ban on entry trucks, if and when required next. These turnaround points are at Siwah in Panipat, Sonepat, Bahalgarh, Rohtak, Sampla, Bahadurgarh, Panchgaon and Rajiv Chowk in Gurgaon, Bawal, Badkhal, Kithwari Palwal, KMP and Ballabgarh in Haryana. In Uttar Pradesh, the points are Loni Tiraha, Bhopura Border, Seema Border and UP Gate. The ban on the entry of trucks in Delhi was imposed for the first time from 11pm on November 9 after the pollution levels touched the severe plus category. The notification issued by the Delhi Pollution Control Committee after EPCAs nod asked the Delhi traffic police and the municipal corporations of Delhi to prohibit the entry of heavy and medium goods vehicles, except those carrying essential commodities, in the national capital. According to the graded response action plan (GRAP) implemented in Delhi, the ban on entry of truck in Delhi comes into force when PM2.5 levels the measure of particulate matter in air cross 300 microgramme per cubic metre and PM10 levels rise over 500 microgramme per cubic metre, the severe plus or emergency levels. However, in a recent review meeting of the GRAP, authorities pointed out the problems they had in sending trucks back from the border. There are no turnaround points on the borders which resulted in massive traffic jams the last time the ban was enforced. If police in NCR help us, then this ban can be carried out smoothly, a Delhi Police official said in the meeting. EPCA members said Delhi Police will have to co-ordinate with cops from bordering NCR towns, who will have to send these trucks back as preventive action before they reach the borders of the city. This measure is for Delhi. Over 80,000 trucks enter the city daily. This is designed to protect Delhis air shed but the city government and police have to implement it. We will write to the police commissioner to co-ordinate with his counterparts in Haryana and Uttar Pradesh and have enclosed a map of the turnaround points before the Delhi border, EPCA member Sunita Narain told Hindustan Times. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Officials and students at IIT Delhi had reason to rejoice on Saturday the second day of the placements as quite a few students had been made offers worth over a crore in two days. There have been quite a few offers that with more than 1-crore package, said Anishya Madan, industrial liaison officer for training and placement at IIT Delhi. Though she refused to specify the number of such students, she confirmed the highest package of approximately 1.4 crore was offered to a student by Microsoft on the first day of placements on Friday. In terms of CTC, it is the highest offer this year, said Madan. The placements, a yearly activity at the IITs which sees many a dream being materialised, will go on till May 2017. The first rounds are expected to be completed by December 15, before recommencing in January. Different companies are expected to reach the campus to pick their newest recruits. According to student volunteers at the Lecture Hall Complex, where the placement interviews were being held, more than 15 companies, including Microsoft, had turned up for the recruitment exercise. On the second day, 16 companies, including NVIDIA, American Express, Oracle India, are interviewing students. Though data has not been collated yet, it looks like the placements this time will be better than the last year. In 2016, there was a slight dip in the number of selections though we were not sure of the reasons. All major companies had turned up, but they seemed more selective last year, said an official who works closely with training and placement at the premier engineering and technology institute. Last years placement session had seen around 200 companies offering around 350 job profiles. Around 20 students had received international offers with a base pay of over $100,000. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Delhi Police on Friday arrested a man for allegedly cheating 30 teachers of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) on the pretext of selling them land in the city. The accused has been identified as Hitesh, a resident of Gurgaon. According to the police, Hitesh told them that there was agricultural land in Kheda Dabar village South West Delhis Jafarpur Kalan, which he sold to different people in a fraudulent manner. Shibesh Singh, DCP, Dwarka, said he had set up an office in Dwarka where he would meet customers. On the alleged sale to a group of JNU professors, Singh said police registered a cheating case on the complaint of a society named Noble-Socio Scientific Welfare Organization (NSSWO), comprising 30 teachers of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), main campus, Delhi. The society entered into a joint development agreement with the accused to purchase residential flats in proposed L Zone in Delhi Master Plan. Hitesh assured the complainant that the said ancestral agriculture land of accused is free from all encumbrances and he can sell it to the society for residential purposes, said Singh. The complaint was filed on November 23 and a case of cheating registered. During investigation, it was revealed that other than the statement given before court, the accused had already sold his same land five times and on every occasion received a handsome amount. Since the first deal in 2012, the accused received Rs 6 crore (approx) from different parties in lieu of the same property, said Singh. They too had filed police complaints against him. He was arrested earlier this week, he added. With the money made from the alleged multiple sales, the arrested man Hitesh lived an extravagant life style and spent the money on foreign trips, luxury cars and living in rented houses in posh localities. Investigations revealed that accused had already given a statement in court during proceedings of a civil suit filed by his alienated wife that he would not sell the land. A day after NCRB data showed Delhi topping the crime charts in 19 metropolitan cities in 2016, police commissioner Amulya Patnaik said Delhi cannot be compared to these cities because of its typical policing problems and the floating population. Delhis crime statistics can only be compared to the last years record of the city. It cant be compared to other cities because Delhi Police is also involved in a lot of other works such as VIP security and maintaining law and order, which doesnt happen in other cities, Patnaik told HT. The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data released on Thursday showed that Delhi contributed 38% of all the crime cases registered across 19 metropolitan cities. The city was ranked the most unsafe among the 19 cities all with a population of over two million, including Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore, Jaipur, Kochi, Nagpur and Patna. Patnaik, however, admitted that the large number of vehicles being stolen everyday is a worry. Data showed that half of all 74,293 vehicles stolen across India last year were in the national capital. In 2015, we launched online reporting of thefts. This encouraged people to report all kinds of thefts. Earlier, people often chose not to report loss of small items because they did not want to go through the trouble of visiting a police station. So, thefts have not really increased, reporting has gone up, said Patnaik. We actually see this reporting of crime as a healthy trend. It means people are making greater use of this online facility, he said, adding that free and fair registration of cases also led to an increase in FIRs. The commissioner claimed that most heinous crimes and offences against women have dipped this year. Heinous crimes such as kidnapping and robberies have gone down by 24% this year. Rapes, molestations and cases of outraging the modesty of women have dipped by 25%, said Patnaik. According to the NCRB data, in 2016 Delhi accounted for one in every three crimes against women as well as 40% (1,996) of rapes in the metropolitan cities. With 182.1 of every one lakh women being targeted in Delhi last year, the national capital scored poorly in terms of crime rate. The national average stood at 77.2. Sushil Tekriwalthe lawyer fighting the case of Pradhyumn Thakur, the seven-year-old boy killed in Ryan International School Bhondsi, Gurgaon was allegedly assaulted by three policemen in uniform outside The Ashok hotel in Chanakyapuri on Saturday evening. His wife, Mamta, alleged that the policemen brandished guns while assaulting him even as they allegedly referred to the Pradhyumn case he has been handling. But the police dismissed his allegations and accused him of intruding into a VVIP route. The prime ministers cavalcade was passing by around that time, they said. The policemen at the spot were doing their job professionally. The policemen requested him to stop for a brief while but he refused to oblige. His allegations are bereft of truth, said Dependra Pathak, Delhi Polices chief spokesperson. According to Tekriwals wife, Mamta, the family was returning after dinner to their car parked opposite the hotel around 8.30 pm on Saturday when three policemen in uniform approached them and allegedly started misbehaving with the lawyer. They asked my husband if he was fighting Pradhyumns case. They said my husband was trying to act smart, Mamta alleged. When my husband questioned their behaviour, they took out their gun and started assaulting him. I took out my mobile phone and began recording them, but one of them tried to snatch my phone and I fell down, Mamta said. She said one of the policemen dragged her some distance before all of them fled the spot. The family dialled the PCR, but not only did they receive a delayed response, the policemen also allegedly refused to help, she said. But police refuted these allegations and said no physical force was used. None of the policemen on that VIP route knew who the man was. Even if they got to know his name, there was no reason they would know of his profession or the case he was handling. He himself began mentioning his name and the case he was associated with, said BK Singh, DCP (New Delhi). No case was registered when this report was filed. The Delhi Medical Council is probing charges of negligence by a private hospital that allegedly declared dead a newborn who was alive, an incident that has sparked outrage in the country. The baby was one among twins delivered by a woman at the Max Hospital in Shalimar Bagh on Thursday. While one was stillborn, doctors declared the other dead a few hours later, the family said. The family discovered one was alive while taking them for burial. Based on the reports where a newborn baby was declared dead along with his stillborn twin and handed over to his parents at Max Hospital Shalimar Bagh, Delhi, Medical Council has taken cognisance of the case and suo moto decided to examine the case, the council said in a statement. State health minister Satyendra Jain has asked the his department to submit a preliminary report on the incident within 72 hours and a final report by next week. Union health minister JP Nadda also directed the state government to look into the matter and take necessary action. Praveen Kumar, the maternal grandfather of the infants, said his daughter Varsha was admitted to the hospital on Tuesday afternoon. Two days later, following a C-Section delivery around 7-30pm, she first delivered a baby boy and then a girl 12 minutes later, he said. Doctors later told the family that the girl had died and the boy was alive but critical and needed ventilator support, added Praveen. Later, the doctors told the family that the boy too had passed away and they handed over the bodies packed in plastic bags to the family. When we were on our way for carrying out the last rites, we noticed movement in one of the packets. This was near Madhuban Chowk and we opened the packet we found the boy was breathing. He was taken to another hospital in Pitampura where he was admitted and is currently under treatment, said Kumar. The family approached the police after burying the girl child. Meanwhile, Max has also initiated an inquiry into the matter. We are shaken and concerned at this rare incident. We have initiated a detailed enquiry, pending which, the concerned doctor has been asked to proceed on leave immediately. We are in constant touch with the parents and are providing all the needed support, said the hospital in a statement. DCP north-west Aslam Khan said they have received a complaint from the parents of the child. As per procedure we will carry an inquiry and submit our findings to the Delhi Medical Council and Medical Council of India seeking further directions from them, said Khan. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Riding in an intoxicated state, creating a scene or using abusive language inside the premises of a Metro network could lead to a Rs 5,000 fine, according to sweeping changes proposed in the law to govern mass rapid-transit systems in India. The Union housing and urban development ministry has sent the draft Metro Rail (Construction, Operation and Maintenance) Bill, 2017 to the law ministry for vetting, and it contains clauses that will overhaul not only rules and regulations for passengers but the way Metro projects are built and fares revised. The bill also proposes stiff fines for staffers, who could be fined Rs 10,000 for general offences and Rs 30,000 and jail term of up to two years if their actions endangers passengers. It has suggested a permanent authority be set up to revise metro fares whenever required, an issue that was at the centre of the controversy sparked by a steep increase in Delhi Metro fares that for long went without a hike. Metro is a distinct system from the rail system and with networks expanding, a host of issues related to safety, operations and maintenance have come up, which were not addressed in the current law, said M Ramachandran, former urban development secretary, who welcomed the proposed bill. Once cleared by the law ministry, the bill will go to the cabinet for approval before being tabled in Parliament. The current law, which covers 8 metro projects across India, came up in 2002 and was amended in 2009. The hefty new fines being proposed (see box) range from Rs 1,000 for littering to a maximum of Rs 50,000 and four-year jail term for taking dangerous material such as guns inside the metro. The harshest punishment proposed is for any act of sabotage with the intent to cause death. This can be punished by a death sentence or a life term, according to the bill. CLEARING TRACKS The bill empowers the Centre to appoint commissioners of metro rail safety to inspect new projects and determine if they are fit to be opened. Currently, the Commission of Railway Safety falls under the civil aviation ministry and safety inspections are often delayed due to red tape, pushing back opening of new stretches. The draft bill also empowers state governments to invoke the urgency clause in the 2013 land acquisition law to acquire space for metro projects. The urgency clause is reserved for matters that are normally seen as more pressing, such as defence and for emergency response. Land acquisition issues are often blamed for delays in metro projects and states could invoke the urgency clause prior to 2013. The land acquisition law passed in 2013 did not include metro projects as a matter of urgency. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Taking a late-night cab? Worried about facing trouble with the driver if youre a woman? To put such fears to rest, Delhi Police have initiated a campaign aimed at changing cabbies attitude and behaviour. With the help of the Delhi-based NGO, Society for Promotion of Youth and Masses (SPYM), police personnel are teaching basic etiquette to cab drivers near Delhis Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport. The programme will cover some 5,000 drivers of kali-peeli (black-and-yellow) taxis that operate in the vicinity of the airport. Were training the cab drivers on how to interact with clients, [and educating them on] the negative effects of alcohol. Training classes are held thrice a week Sanjay Bhatia, DCP, Airport, Delhi Police Giving details of the programme, Sanjay Bhatia, DCP, Airport, Delhi Police, says, Weve observed that the cab drivers wait for at least six-seven hours (around the airport) to get a passenger. In the meantime, most of them take to drinking alcohol, watching pornographic content, and getting into fights with each other. We feel that such habits can prove to be a security threat, especially to women passengers, because anyone can lose their senses in an inebriated state, and so can the cab drivers. Though no case has been registered in this regard, we cant wait for an untoward incident to happen. So, were training the cab drivers on how to interact with clients, [and educating them on] the negative effects of alcohol. Training classes are held thrice a week. The training programme, which began a few days ago, will run for a year. Delhi Police have plans to assess its effectiveness at the end of that year. It has been just a week since we started training the cab drivers. After one year, we will do a survey to evaluate the impact of the training, informs Bhatia. In their free time, the taxi drivers have now started reading books and studying useful things. (Prabhas Roy/ HT Photo ) Rajesh Kumar, founder of SPYM, says, Cab drivers are the first to encounter tourists and play a major role in the image-building of our country, India. So, we decided to make them realise how important it is to have the right manners and behave politely, and to not drink during duty hours, among other things. He adds, We also ask cabbies about their side of the story, and if they have any personal issues, we organise separate counselling sessions, alongside the scheduled training sessions. In the four-five classes that have taken place in the past one week, more than 200 drivers have been trained. Cab drivers are the first to encounter tourists and play a major role in the image-building of our country, India. So, we decided to make them realise how important it is to have the right manners and behave politely Rajesh Kumar, founder, SPYM The cab drivers are happy to receive the training. Abdul (name changed), a cab driver who used to regularly drink and was introduced to alcohol by fellow cab drivers at the airport, gave up the habit after the counselling. There are many others who have quit or cut down on drinking and improved their habits overall. Ved Prakash, a cab driver for the past nine years, says, Classes like these should be conducted regularly. We have ample time in between trips. Through these sessions, we get to learn a lot of new things. Also, counselling really helps us in releasing stress. Mukesh Kumar, another cab driver in the vicinity, says, Something is better than nothing. If were getting trained in [correct] manners, its for our good and we are quite positive about it. Now, I read books and study in my free time. Follow @htTweets for more SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia has asked Delhi University to send a larger panel of names from which the government can nominate members to governing bodies of colleges funded by it. The government and Delhi University have been engaged in a tussle over formation of the governing bodies (GB) in government-funded colleges for over a year now. In July, the government had stopped funding 28 colleges as the university had not formed governing bodies for the last ten months. It is unacceptable that the University of Delhi should withdraw a panel of 387 names, and replace it with a panel of merely 157 names. Moreover, names of many eminent academicians, journalists, civil servants, artistes have been removed from the panel, the minister said in a note dated November 30. Sisodia, who is also the education minister, said that he held a meeting with the DUs dean of colleges on Friday where it was decided that the university will send a larger panel of names to the government. from where members may be nominated by the government to the GB of 28 government funded colleges. Moreover, the list should include eminent persons from different fields such as academicians, civil servants, lawyers, artistes, journalists, etc, he said. Devesh K Sinha, dean of colleges, said that a panel with additional names will soon be sent to the government. We will send another panel in addition to the one sent earlier, he said. In October, the government had announced it would release funds for one month after colleges complained they will not be able to pay salaries to teaching and non-teaching staff. The move was an interim relief and government has maintained no more funds will be released till formation of GBs. Twelve DU colleges are fully funded by the government and 16 are partially funded by it. In June, the government had asked the colleges to not go ahead with faculty appointments till college GBs are formed. The government has asked DU to duly constitute the governing bodies, which will include five members nominated by the government, before making any appointments. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Students at Delhi Universitys School of Open Learning (SOL) are yet to receive printed study material while personal contact classes are yet to be started, teachers from the institute have alleged. The students are usually given their study material at the time of admission between July and September. Teachers from SOL held a protest on Friday against the administrations alleged mismanagement resulting in administrative and financial irregularities. Students are yet to receive printed study material which has happened for the first time in the 55-year history of the institution. Students are at a loss. Postgraduate students were issued photocopies of the material only a week before their semester examination, said J Khuntia, president, SOL Teachers Association (SOLTA). The situation may be particularly problematic for postgraduate students as they appear for exams under the semester system, which means their first exams are held in December or January. The first exams for undergraduate students are usually scheduled in May-June. The Teachers Association alleged that the personal contact programme (PCP) committee consisting of teachers of SOL had submitted its recommendations to start contact classes for students in October 2017. But the administration paid no heed to the same and no PCP classes have commenced yet. PCP classes are outsourced and internal faculty members have been kept away from the programme in which they had been involved since the inception of the institution, a statement from SOLTA said. SOL director CS Dubey said that the delay in giving study material to students was caused as SOL was planning to move to choice-based credit system (CBCS) which would have required different study material. But since the proposal could not get approval at the last stage, we are continuing with the existing system. This caused the delay in printing the study material, he said. Khuntia said that the SOL staff council has been made redundant and the teachers are completely alienated from the decision-making process. The association said that no study centre for the students has been constructed yet at Tahirpur even though more than a decade has passed since the DDA allotted land free of cost for the purpose and this has resulted in penalties. School of Open Learning has been converted into a school closed for learning as students interest has been compromised by not giving them study materials and contact classes in time, DU teachers association (DUTA) president Rajib Ray, who led the teachers delegation to meet the director Dubey, said. Mosquitoes have no passports and recognize no borders, but the environmental health officer at Kazungula Port Health Office 70-km away from the Victoria Falls at Livingstone, Zambia, has the seemingly impossible mandate to stop malaria sneaking in from across the border. The borders of four countries Zambia, Bostswana, Zimbabwe and Namibia come close to meeting at Kazungula, where Dr Kenneth Banda zealously guards his country against an invasion by the malaria parasite, from a makeshift office inside a shipping container on the north bank of the Zambezi river. Everyone crossing the border is screened for fever using a thermal body scanner and those with fever are tested for malaria using a rapid diagnostic test, he says. If they are positive, an ambulance takes them to a clinic half a kilometre away, where they are treated, to stop the infection from spreading. One of the biggest threats to Zambias goal of becoming malaria-free is cross-border importation of cases from its eight neighbours Democratic Republic of Congo, Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia and Angola which between them account for more than 20% of the worlds malaria cases. We get several cases of fever, but there is not much malaria here now compared to five years ago. The DR Congo in the north is a problem, Dr Banda says. Yet the landlocked country is staying the course. Eliminating malaria by 2021 is a legacy goal that will be achieved through several measures -- indoor residual spraying before the rainy season, mosquito nets for every bedspace, legal powers to nurses to prescribe anti-malarial drugs for treatment, larva-source control in rivers, ponds and dams in remote parts, and strong cross-border initiatives with neighbours, among others, says Chitalu Chilufya, health minister of Zambia. A global effort Sri Lanka and Kyrgyzstan were certified malaria-free in 2016, and 21 countries are on track to eliminate malaria by 2020, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO) World Malaria Report 2017, released this week. Africa accounted for 90% of the 216 million cases, which has put the spotlight on Zambias zambitious goal to be malaria-free by 2021. Globally, there were an estimated 5 million more malaria cases in 2016 than in 2015, with deaths hovering around 445,000, a similar number to the previous year, the report states. Progress since 2000 has proven that malaria control is one of the best humanitarian investments in the world today, creating $20 in economic benefits for every $1 invested. But to realise these benefits, we need to invest current resources more efficiently and expand overall financing, both by malaria-affected countries and donors, says Martin Edlund, CEO of Malaria No More, a Seattle-based humanitarian organisation focused on malaria. This report presents a clear choice: either we do what is necessary to end this disease, or we risk backsliding on previous investments and letting malaria resurge at the cost of millions of lives and trillions of dollars in economic benefits, Edlund says. An estimated 75% of all malaria cases recorded in South-East Asia occur in India. To overcome the challenges that malaria poses, a multi-pronged approach, focusing on high-burden areas and vulnerable groups is essential, experts say. (HT File Photo) Where we stand An estimated 75% of all malaria cases recorded in South-East Asia occur in India. Weak surveillance is the biggest hurdle to elimination. Countries with weak malaria surveillance systems include India and Nigeria, two major contributors to the global burden of malaria, with 8 per cent and 16 per cent of cases, respectively, detected by the surveillance system, says the WHO report. About 10.9 million people contract the infectious disease in India every year. To overcome the challenges that malaria poses, a multi-pronged approach, focusing on high-burden areas and vulnerable groups, and supporting some of the states in their efforts to eliminate malaria in the medium-term, is imperative, said Dr Henk Bekedam, WHOs representative to India. Scaling up the use of long-lasting insecticidal nets, indoor residual spraying and other mosquito-control measures are important tools in this context. As important is getting the numbers right. Robust surveillance and data collection is essential to end malaria and for India, the challenge is the large number of cases treated in the private sector, which are not reported to the government, says Dr Benjamin Rolfe, executive director and CEO of Asia Pacific Leaders Malaria Alliance. Cambodia registered a decline in malaria last year but it turned out it was because health workers were not reporting cases because they hadnt been paid. Going micro Work has begun, but it needs to be accelerated to meet Indias target to eliminate malaria by 2030. Were focusing on better surveillance and point-of-care diagnostics to capture more cases. Early diagnosis and effective treatment has helped in reducing deaths, said Dr Neena Valecha, director of National Institute of Malaria Research at the Indian Council of Medical Research. Involving the private sector, both formal and informal, is a challenge but efforts are on to build partnerships. With 80% of malaria cases occurring among 20% of Indias population in 200 high-risk districts, how Indias National Strategic Plan for Malaria Elimination (SPME) pans out will depend on how well states implement it. Complicating matters is the emergence of a drug-resistant strain of the malaria parasite in south Vietnam. First identified in Cambodia in 2008, it has now become the dominant strain in parts of the Greater Mekong sub-region, which is close to Indias north-eastern border. India reported its first chloroquine-resistant P. falciparum near the India-Myanmar border in 1973, and chloroquine-resistant P. vivax in 1995. Since then, resistance is so entrenched across India that only a fast-acting combination called artemisinin combination therapy (ACT) can treat malaria. Despite challenges in India, public health specialists remain upbeat. Setting a target is a start and India is on track to meet the goal, says Dr Valecha. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Tamil actor Vishal would take the political plunge by contesting the R K Nagar Assembly bypoll, which is scheduled to be held on December 21, his office said on Saturday. The by-election to the assembly seat was necessitated after the death of legislator and chief minister J Jayalalithaa. The actor made the surprise announcement on Saturday. Besides opposition DMK, ruling AIADMKs E Madhusudhanan and the partys sidelined leader T T V Dinakaran are contesting for the prestigious seat. Vishal, chief of the Tamil Film Producers Council (TFPC) and general secretary of South Indian Artistes Association (SIAA) will file his nomination on Monday, his office said, adding that he will be contesting as an Independent candidate. Last year, Vishal was elected general secretary of SIAA, an actors body, in a bitterly fought election. Later, he was also elected as the head of the TFPC and has been actively campaigning against piracy, one of the major issues in Tamil cinema. Dotted with lush green fields, ponds and bamboo groves, Gacha is a deceptively idyllic village of North 24 Parganas district of Bengal. Located on the Bangladesh border, about 75km from Kolkata, it is now under the scanner of security forces since some Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT) elements took shelter here before their arrest from Kolkata on November 21. Samsad Mian, Riazul Islam, Sahadat Hossain, Mohammad Aftab crossed a porous border and took shelter in the village for a few days, said Muralidhar Sharma, deputy commissioner of Special Task Force, Kolkata police. ABT, a banned outfit of Bangladesh, has links with al Qaeda and was accused of killing a few bloggers. Porous borders, similarity with local population in language, dress, food habits, practices and linkmen create a matrix that offers a safe haven to these elements in Bengal. Every day, around 15,000 Bangladeshis enter Bengal and go back through the borders. About five years ago, this figure could have been around 5,000. Some come for work. But a large section among them are criminals or terrorists, BJP Bengal general secretary Sayantan Basu said. Bangladeshi infiltrators settling down in Bengal has stopped in the past five-six years. The new trend is infiltrators entering the state, staying here for some time, engaging in insurgency and illegal activities and going back again, claimed Basu. Villages such as Gacha offer the first crucial link. An officer of the Border Security Force contingent posted at Ghojadanga border pointed out that stretches covering around 1.5km in villages such as Gacha, Akahrapur, Itinda and Uttarpara are totally unfenced. Sitting at Gobardaha camp near Joypur border, BSF commandant RK Kanojia said, We are trying our best. We have increased vigil in the area, especially night patrolling despite infrastructure problems. North 24 Parganas and Nadia have vast stretches of borders without fences. Infiltration is not a problem unique to Bengal. But unfenced borders make the problem more acute, said former commissioner of police, Gautam Mohan Chakraborty. The free movement of terror elements across the border was confirmed by National Investigation Agency (NIA) probing the 2014 Burdwan blast case in which two people died following an IED blast in a rented house. The agency said Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (banned militant outfit) members infiltrated and established a network in Nadia, Burdwan, Murshidabad and Birbhum districts. They carried on indoctrination in madrasas, imparted training in weapons, made IEDs at rented houses and took them back to Bangladesh. The gang that looted a church and raped an aged nun on March 14, 2015 at the border town of Ranaghat came and went back to Bangladesh several times. Retired Lieutenant Colonel B K Sahay, a former military intelligence officer, also pointed to the crucial role of linkmen. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON A Jharkhand BJP leader was shot dead and two of his family members were injured when a group of around 20 armed men fired indiscriminately at his Khunti residence on Friday late night, police said. This is the third such killing of a leader of ruling BJP in the state in less than three months. Two of the three attacks were allegedly executed by the Peoples Liberation Front of India (PLFI), a banned left-wing rebel outfit. The PLFI is suspected to be also behind the Fridays attack on Murhu blocks BJP vice president Bhaiya Ram Munda at Bagma village, some 50 kilometers from state capital Ranchi. Munda died on the spot, while his wife and brother sustained bullet injuries. At least 20 rebels fired indiscriminately at Mundas residence, killing him on the spot and injuring his wife and brother, police sources said. The two injured were rushed to the Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) in Ranchi for treatment on Saturday. No arrest has been made yet. The PLFI is responsible for the killing and we have launched a manhunt to nab the culprits, said Khunti superintendent of police Ashwini Kumar Sinha. Chief minister Raghubar Das condoled the death of Munda and announced Rs1 lakh as compensation to the bereaved family under the home ministrys scheme of compensating for left wing extremist incidents. Rs.50, 000 will also be paid to each of the injured for treatment, a communique from the chief ministers office said. The state BJP too announced to pay Rs 2 lakh to the family. Earlier on October 6, Maoist-turned BJP leader Manoj Nagesiya was shot dead in Simdegas Lachragarh village by PLFI rebels. On October 29, 45-year-old Rajendra Mahato, a block level office bearer of the party was shot dead at a stones throw from his residence in Darla village, around 60 kilometers from state capital Ranchi. The PLFI is one of the 17 splinter Maoist groups active in Jharkhand, where 21 of the 24 districts are left wing extremism-affected. The splinter groups split from the main CPI (Maoist) organisation and formed their own groups with different ideologies and purposes. The police, however, claim that a majority of these splinter outfits are ragtag groups, who have unleashed a reign of terror on innocent villagers. They are involved in killing for fun, extorting money, trafficking children and even raping women, police say. The criminals who thrive on lawlessness and lack of development are the ones who are executing the killings to prevent the BJP from bringing development in the rural areas, said state BJPs media in-charge Shivpujan Pathak. State rural development minister and Khunti legislator Neelkanth Singh Munda visited the injured family members of the deceased at RIMS on Saturday and asked doctors to provide best possible health facilities to them. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON On a day notification was issued for the election to choose the next Congress president, a party functionary from Maharashtra on Friday raised more questions over the election process. Maharashtra Congress secretary Shehzad Poonawalla alleged that partys spokesperson Manish Tewari had told him during a conversation that the Congress was a proprietorship like every other political party in India. The audio clip of the purported conversation between Poonawalla and Tewari was also played out by TV news channel Times Now. Tewari is heard telling Poonawalla that his remarks against the election process were one way ticket out of the party. Poonawalla tells Tewari during the conversation that organisational elections right from the booth level were supposed to be held on secret ballot but that was never the case. Poonawala also says he did not have problem with surnames but merit should be rewarded, and talks about Ajay Maken continuing as Delhi Congress chief despite the party losing several elections. Tewari then purportedly comments that this is a proprietorship and not a political party and no political party in India is a political party, they are all proprietorships. He also says that it was second wave of reforms which are very essential for democracy. When contacted for a response, Tewari said: I am not aware of any audio clip. Union information and broadcasting minister Smriti Irani took a dig at the Congress over the issue and said there had been conversations for the past two years in the Congress about how Rahul Gandhi was to be elected the party chief. It is perpetual thing in the Congress party, she said and added that nothing that Tewari was saying is new. The last date of filing nominations for the organisational polls in which Rahul Gandhi is slated to be elected party chief is December 4. Poonawalla had on Thursday said that the Congress and its vice president Rahul Gandhi must answer questions raised by him about delegates being fixed or about one family-one ticket rule. The Congress had raised questions over Poonawallas stature in the party and slammed him for showing disgruntlement on the eve of election. Haryana has not only registered a sharp increase in crimes committed by juveniles (aged below 18) between 2014 and 2016, but the number of cases are much more when compared to the neighbouring states of Punjab and Himachal Pradesh. The statistics released by National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) reveal that 1,186 cases of heinous crimes, including murder and rapes, involving juveniles were reported in the state in 2016, against 1,098 and 1,041 cases in 2015 and 2014, respectively. The number of crimes committed by juveniles in Punjab was 117, 111 and 277; and 204, 195 and 272 in Himachal Pradesh for the same period. In Haryana, juveniles were allegedly involved in as many as 62 cases of rape whereas the number in HP and Punjab was 13 each. Haryana stood on the ninth rank in the country when it came to juvenile crimes. Last year, 55 cases of murder were registered against juveniles in Haryana l, while the figure was three and eight in HP and Punjab. Also, 89 cases of grievous hurt were registered against juveniles while neighbouring Punjab and HP recorded only two and a single case. Last year, 48 cases were reported wherein juveniles were accused of assaulting women with an intention to outrage their modesty, while the number was nine in HP and four in Punjab. The NCRB report says there were 39 cases of kidnapping/abductions by juvenile accused in Haryana last year while the figure for the same in HP and Punjab was three and five. CRIMES AGAINST CHILDREN The incidence of crimes against children in Haryana was also higher than the neighbouring states. As many as 3,099 cases were reported in the state last year, against 3,262 and 2,540 cases in 2015 and 2014. In Punjab, the figure was 1,843 in 2016, 1,836 in 2015 and 1,762 in 2014. In HP, it was 467, 477 and 467 for the same period, respectively. As many as 58 children were murdered in Haryana, 55 in Punjab while three kids were killed in HP last year. Also, there were over 1,356 alleged kidnappings/abductions of children in Haryana last year, as compared to 1,052 and 252 cases in Punjab and HP. When it comes to sexual offences involving children, 1,020 cases were reported in Haryana, 596 in Punjab and 205 in HP. Also, 532 children were allegedly raped in Haryana against 411 and 150 kids in Punjab and HP. MISSING CHIDLREN Haryana registered almost three times more cases than Punjab when it comes to incidents of missing children. As many as 3,575 children, including 1,787 girls, are still untraceable with 1,768 gone missing in 2016 alone, the figure in Punjab was 1,290, including 699 girls. In HP, a total of 280 kids, including 158 girls, reportedly went missing till 2016 while 170 children, including 93 girls, went missing in 2016 alone. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The first time Seemas* husband hit her, she remembered what her mother had told her about marriage: girls have to bear these things quietly. Especially girls who do not bring enough dowry. It started with yet another jibe from her mother-in-law over household work. Seema had made it a habit to keep quiet. That day she replied softly, But now I even work and earn money. Her mother-in-law flung a plate full of food on the ground in anger for her rudeness. In silence, Seema picked up the plate and cleaned the floor. Then she went upstairs to the bedroom with her three-year-old son. Within minutes, her husband and mother-in-law came rushing behind her. Her husband held her hands and slapped her repeatedly. With each slap, her eyes stung with tears. He only stopped when the child began crying in fear. After that day, violence became routine. Once he beat me when I asked him to put a tubelight in place of a zero-watt bulb in the room when I was preparing for my government job exam. If I had to count, maybe once or twice every week. It became a way for my husband to vent his frustration, Seema recalls. She finally walked out of her husbands home the day he used a wooden stick to beat her. That day, she feared for her life. The overarching concern is on the family and marriage as an institution. The womans well-being is subordinate to the preservation of the family. While this can be a socio-cultural construct, a court bound by the rule of law cannot subjugate the rights of women to family and marriage, says lawyer Vrinda Grover. Seemas story is not easy to narrate neither the slow drip of venom she was subjected to since the day of her wedding 13 years ago, nor the physical violence which it morphed into. When she didnt bring a car in her dowry, she was turned into an unpaid maid. Her position remained the same even after she started working, though her salary was taken from her by her husband. The violence never broke her bones or gave her bodily injuries. What it did do was to break her spirit and once, even her will to live. Back at her parents home now, she has spent the last few years battling to get justice for the abuse she faced. She chose to file a criminal complaint under section 498A of the Indian Penal Code which deals with mental and physical cruelty towards wives (including dowry-related harassment). This week section 498A is back in focus as the Supreme Court expressed reservations over an earlier order of the court which had laid down guidelines to prevent misuse of the law. What The Other Half Says Over the years, section 498A has come under relentless attack from mens rights groups, which have argued that it gives wives undue power over hapless husbands or in-laws and is used to exact money or revenge. The non-bailable, cognisable (police have the authority to arrest people without a warrant from a magistrate or court) and non-compoundable (charges cannot be dropped by the complainant at will) nature of the section have also been cited as reasons behind its misuse. But this view disregards the tragic history of dowry deaths which preceded the legislation. Though the practice was outlawed in 1961, dowry harassment leading to deaths or suicides continued unabated, with news reports in the early 1980s suggesting as many as five deaths every day in Delhi alone. The womens movement argued for an expanded legislation that could provide an avenue for victims while alive. The law was expanded in 1983 to include two more sections: 304B to deal with dowry deaths; and 498A dealing with any form of violence in the domestic sphere. The narrative now, however, is of a draconian provision at whose stake is not only the fate of men but the entire Indian family. A slew of court judgments over recent years, too, have brought into this view. In 2010, the Supreme Court asked the Law Commission of India to examine whether the section should be made compoundable. The court stated, It is a matter of common experience that most of these complaints under section 498-A IPC are filed in the heat of the moment over trivial issues without proper deliberations. In 2014, the Supreme Court directed that no automatic arrests should happen in 498A cases and before any arrest, the police need to furnish reasons for doing so. The court said, The institution of marriage is greatly revered in this countryThe fact that Section 498-A is a cognizable and non-bailable offence has lent it a dubious place of pride amongst the provisions that are used as weapons rather than shield by disgruntled wives. In July 2017, the Supreme Court stopped all arrests, instead forming Family Welfare Committees to determine whether arrest was required for every case. The court ruled, Many of such complaints are not bona fide. At the time of filing the complaint, implications and consequences are not visualisedUncalled for arrest may ruin the chances of settlement. In July 2017, the Supreme Court stopped all arrests, instead forming Family Welfare Committees to determine whether arrest was required for every case. This week the Court expressed reservations over the earlier order . Questioning the reasoning, lawyer Vrinda Grover says, These court orders have not merely diluted but decriminalised the provision, effectively. The latest order obstructs womens access to justice by removing them from the legal sphere and creating a parallel track of family welfare committees. The allegation of misuse of the section is also a claim repeated by organisations like the Save Indian Family Foundation (SIFF). On its website, the organisation states it fights for mens human rights and seeks to protect men and their families from Government sponsored undemocratic social experiments. Rajesh Vakharia, one of the founders of the organisation, asks HT on the phone from Pune, Are mens rights not human rights? Dont men have hearts? Why is the power to file a complaint only with the married woman, not mother-in-law cant she be mentally tortured? Contrary to the patriarchal language and logic used in courts and by organisations like SIFF, the data doesnt suggest wide-ranging misuse. According to figures from the National Family Heath Survey, 2015-16, every third married woman (between 15-49 years) faced spousal violence. Ten years ago, every second woman in the country had faced this. In real numbers, this means that a staggering 5.5 crore women in India have faced violence in marriages (based on 2011 census figures). When read in conjunction with the number of 498A cases registered, it in fact highlights how rarely women file such cases. In 2016, there were 1.1 lakh cases filed under section 498A. So fewer than 0.5 per cent of all women who faced abuse went to the police to register a case. Though at 32 per cent, cruelty cases form a majority of all crimes against women higher than rape and assault. Chaitali, a project officer at the violence intervention team in Jagori a womens rights organisation says most of the women who approach them have faced domestic violence, but barely any want to go to court. Breaking the family is taboo even for women. Where will she go once she files a case? What about the children? Not everyone can go back to their parents home. Filing a case only happens when there is no other option. Of these cases, six per cent were reported as false, while 2.6 per cent ended due to mistake of fact or law, as per the latest Crime in India report. Chaitali argues that false cases cannot be the sole benchmark. False cases maybe filed under any law but that doesnt mean we discontinue the law. The focus should be on strengthening the system so this doesnt happen. Fake Cases? It is also pertinent to point out that chargesheets were filed in 83 per cent cases in 2016. This means that the police investigation found sufficient prima facie evidence in most cases or else they could have filed a closure report. Of the chargesheets filed, only about 2,000 people were discharged pre-trial for lack of evidence. The rather contentious arrest figures too belie the misuse charge. Eighty five per cent of the individuals arrested were chargesheeted by the police. The other allegation made about the unfair arrest of aged in-laws at the behest of the daughters-in-law is also not supported by data. Only three per cent of all arrests under 498A are of people above the age of 60. Despite the high chargesheet rate, the conviction rate is a paltry 12 per cent. But low convictions plague many crimes in India, not just those under section 498A. From general problems like overburdened courts, ineffective prosecution, poor investigation to more specific reasons like settlement between the two parties to lack of fool-proof evidence (since the offence is committed within the confines of a home) to cases withdrawn by women given the financial burden and arduous nature of judicial process, the reasons are varied. Low conviction rate should not be read as a sign that cases are fake, according to Grover. Cops file a chargesheet after investigation. Why are they doing it if a woman is filing a false case? Why is the trial initiated by the magistrate if its false? Does this mean the entire criminal justice system is corrupt or compliant? Conversations with police sources, too, point to how the emphasis is on reconciliation than criminal complaint. When women approach a police station for filing a 498A complaint, the first step is counselling. Three sessions are held between the couple to try and resolve the marital dispute. The most common advice dispensed is to live separately from the in-laws. If those fail, another three sessions of mediation are held which aim to bring a formal resolution to the dispute, including monetary settlements. It is only after these options are exhausted with no resolution that an FIR is filed. After this years July judgment, before the police proceeds with its investigation, it will be required to send the case to the Family Welfare Committees (FWC) made up of citizens who may not even have a legal background. The judgment made one exception: if there are tangible physical injuries or death, the directives can be disregarded and arrests made. But emphasis on physical injuries ignores violence which scars the person deeply without any visible marks, like in the case of Seema. Grover questions this Nirbhaya-like standard when it comes to violence against women inside homes. The overarching concern is on the family and marriage as an institution. The womans well-being is subordinate to the preservation of the family. While this can be a socio-cultural construct, a court bound by the rule of law cannot subjugate the rights of women to family and marriage. What Lies Ahead In October 2017, Nyayadhar, an NGO from rural Maharashtra, filed a petition demanding that the new three-member family welfare committees include two women. In reply, the Supreme Court observed that they were in fact not in agreement with the July judgment, which had suggested the formation of FWCs. This week the Court questioned the need for these guidelines, as it is an IPC provision. The final arguments on whether these guidelines will hold or not will be heard in January. Seema gets angry when I tell her about the court decision over arrests. The woman is not given notice when there is cruelty, so why should there be any notice given to the culprits? She admits, though, that she did not want to drag the matter to court. I put up with everything for the sake of my son, she says. And still, after four years of torture, her husband asked for a divorce. Even at that moment, she hoped he would come around. At the hearing, she was shocked when her husband cited her misbehaviour to in-laws as grounds for divorce. That is when I realised I had to stand up for my rights, she says. She registered an FIR in 2009 and the trial which began in 2013 is dragging on in one of the district courts in Delhi. She doesnt know how long it will continue. There are moments when she wants to give up. Even if I win the case in the future, so much of my life, money and effort would have been spent in this fight. But at least the courts will not question women like me. * Name changed to protect identity SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON A woman in Andhra Pradeshs Chittoor district was brutally assaulted with a knife, bitten all over the body and punched on her face and sensitive parts indiscriminately by her husband on their first night after marriage. The incident happened at Motharanganapalle village in Gangadhara Nellore block on Friday night. The 24-year-old victim was admitted to Chittoor government hospital and later shifted to Apollo Hospital, Chennai, as she turned critical. Her husband was arrested and sent to judicial remand on Saturday. Police said the man, who was working as a teacher, got married to the woman, a postgraduate in business administration, on Thursday. Her family said they gave Rs 1 crore to him as dowry. On their first night on Friday, her husband pounced on her and started beating her indiscriminately as soon as she entered the room. He punched me on my face and kicked me on sensitive body parts, besides biting me all over and inflicting injuries with a knife, she said. Fearing threat to her life, she managed to come out of the room. She was in a state of shock. Her face was swollen and she had bruises and cuts all over. We immediately took her to the hospital, her mother said. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan slammed rumour mongers on Saturday after it came to light that Fridays reports of a Japanese merchant ship rescuing 60 Kerala fishermen caught in the deep seas, was fake. Vijayan called those spreading the rumours mad. It was Thiruvananthapuram district Collector S.Vasuki who told the media, on Friday evening, that she wished to thank the Japanese government as one of their ships had rescued 60 fishermen after Cyclone Ockhi struck the Kerala coasts. She said they would arrive at the Vizhinjam coast. Following which, a huge crowd of anxious fishermen waited in Vizhinjam expecting to welcome their missing relatives. Many ambulances were also asked to be stationed at the port. Later fresh news came that the Japanese ship since it was on its way to Kochi, it would drop the fishermen there. It was only late in the night that truth surfaced: It was a fake news. Dont you know, some people are mad, who make use of bad times to spread such things, said Vijayan and pointed out around 400 fishermen have so far been rescued, while around 100 are yet to be traced. State Fisheries Minister J Mercykutty was also upset over the false news being spread, especially related to rescue operations. The state government is doing its best and all the agencies are fully engaged in rescue operations and its unfortunate that at this time, some trouble makers are coming out with false news... We will never blame the anxious people who are waiting for their near and dear ones, Mercykutty, however, added. The rescue operations jointly launched by the Indian Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard after Cyclone Ockhi hit the southern districts of Kerala and Tamil Nadu, resumed on Saturday with 102 Kerala fishermen yet to return home, a top state official said. London mayor Sadiq Khan will be arriving in Mumbai tomorrow as part of his first official tour to three Indian cities to promote the British capitals resilience and strengths post-Brexit. Apart from Mumbai, Khan would be visiting Delhi and Amritsar in India and then fly to Lahore, Islamabad and Karachi in Pakistan on his six-day tour to six cities. As part of the Indian leg of the trade mission aimed at promoting new business links between India and London, the London mayor has a series of meetings planned with senior politicians, business leaders, regional leaders as well as Bollywood personalities. His central message will be that the British capital remains open to Indian talent post-Brexit. Following last years EU referendum, it is far more important to get the message of London is open out far and wide and I will be taking that message to India and Pakistan, he said on the eve of his visit. Khan would be taking the Jet Airways recently launched third direct London-Mumbai flight. Jet Airways is doing their bit to ensure that the London-India relationship really takes off. The new flight comes as a major boost for the relationship between our two countries and an opportunity to not only deepen and expand our economic ties but to forge even closer social and cultural ties too, he said. Mumbai-headquartered Jet Airways recently added a third direct flight between London and Mumbai, taking the total number of direct flights between London and India to four with two existing direct routes to Mumbai and one to Delhi. Jet Airwayss CEO, Vinay Dube, said it reflects the confidence the company has in the robustness of the UK market. Whenever people in India think about travelling abroad, the very first city that comes to mind is London. At Jet Airways, we try and follow our customers, and want to play our part in bringing India and the UK closer together, he said. The UK is very important to us. The mayor is going on a trade mission and there is a wide spectrum of travellers on this circuit who are flying Jet. Every aspect is growing, he said. The mayor of London will be accompanied by his Deputy Mayor for Business, Rajesh Agrawal. Their packed itinerary in India will include discussions on business and investment, infrastructure and the environment as well as visas and other opportunities to work together more closely. How many lower court judges does India need, is one of the key questions that the second national judicial pay commission notified by the Law ministry in mid November has been asked to provide an answer to. The higher judiciary and the executive have been at variance over what should be the exact strength of the subordinate judiciary. India currently has less than 22,000 sanctioned posts for judicial officers in the subordinate judiciary, of which nearly 5,000 are vacant. The differences between the two sides came to the fore during the tenure of former Chief Justice of India TS Thakur who retired in January. In his address at the conference of chief ministers and high court chief justices on April 24, 2016, Justice Thakur, had said in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi that India needs 70,000 judges to clear the backlog of cases which currently stands at approximately at 3.2 crore. Inadequate number of judges has been cited by the judiciary as the main reason for the backlog. The ministry, which drafted the terms of reference for the commission has also tasked the commission headed by former Supreme Court judge and Law Commission of India chairman Justice PV Reddi with reviewing the work environment for the lower judiciary and rationalising the cadre to promote efficiency in judicial administration and optimising the size of the judiciary. In October, Law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad had written to the chief justices of all 24 high courts seeking their views on creating a separate cadre of officers for handling the administration and finances of lower courts. These functions are currently performed by judges. It will also recommend a permanent mechanism to periodically review the pay and perks of lower court judges. The last pay hike, which was a three-fold increase, was given to the subordinate judiciary in 2010 and was applied retrospectively from January 1, 2006, Justice Thakurs claim is strongly contested by law ministry officials who say it is probably based on the law commissions 120th report of July 1987 that says India should have 50 judges for every 50,000 people, like the US. The 245th report of the Law Commission has already said that the criteria of rate of disposal and not the judge-population ratio should determine the number of judges, a senior official in the ministry said. The 245th report was released in July 2014. The SC had directed the government on May 9 to set up the commission to review the pay scales, emoluments and service conditions for judicial officers of the subordinate judiciary. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON RJD leader and former Bihar chief minister Rabri Devi met officials of the Enforcement Directorate on Saturday, responding at last to repeated summons for questioning in an alleged corruption case. Devi, accompanied by her eldest daughter Misa Bharti and her husband, met the officials at the EDs zonal office after, sources said, the investigators heeded to her request for the questioning to be done in Patna instead of Delhi. The case has been registered in the national capital. The Rashtriya Janata Dal leader had ignored summonses from the ED at least six times. Her questioning began at 11:45am and it went on till last reports came in at 5pm. The investigation is connected to a decision taken by Devis husband Lalu Prasad, who is accused of having abused his position as the Rail minister in 2004 to illegitimately hand over the maintenance of two Railway hotels to a private company after receiving a prime piece of land as bribe. Most of Prasads family who wield influence in Bihar are named as suspects in the case. Prasad and his son Tejashwi Yadav have already been questioned by the ED, which is probing the money laundering aspect of the case. The corruption charges are being investigated by the CBI. It was this case that led to a split between Prasad and his foe-turned-friend Nitish Kumar, who decided to break the so-called Grand Alliance coalition and realign with the Bharatiya Janata Party in July, within weeks of the investigation being opened. The Enforcement Directorate is investigating the alleged proceeds of crime generated by the accused, purportedly through shell companies, according to officials. Others named in the CBI FIR include Vijay Kochhar, Vinay Kochhar (both directors of Sujata Hotels), Delight Marketing company, now known as Lara Projects, and the then IRCTC managing director P K Goel. Prasads family has denied the allegations. In a setback to the Centre, the Supreme Court rejected its plea seeking an extension of the deadline for publishing the updated National Registry of Citizens (NRC) for Assam, further fuelling the ongoing debate about separation of judiciary and executives powers. The central government had asked for the deadline to be extended from December 31, 2017 to July 31, 2018, arguing that if the apex court rejected its demand then it would violate the doctrine of separation of powers and also give rise to a possible law and order problem. A bench of Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice RF Nariman pulled up the government for delaying finalisation of the NRC, which would help weed out illegal migrants from Assam, and fence the porous Indo-Bangla border. What we are asking you is to protect the country we are asking you to protect India and what you are doing is stopping the progress even in border fencing, the bench told central government law officers present at the hearing. The exercise to update the NRC was undertaken in 2014 after the top court gave Centre and Assam three years to complete the entire process. The order was passed on the basis of an earlier assurance from both the governments that ?288 crore had been sanctioned for the task, which would take three years to conclude. As per the top court order, those who came to the eastern state on or after January 1,1966 and before March 25, 1971 and were declared foreigners by the foreigners tribunals and after the declaration got themselves registered with the registering authority, were eligible to be included in the consolidated list of Indian citizens. Those who have been declared bonafide Indian citizens by the foreigners tribunals too were eligible. However, apprehensions were raised before the top court last week over meeting the December 31 deadline. According to the state coordinator 1.23 crore applicants for inclusion are yet to be verified. Should we leave the fate of this country to your governance? When we interfere you talk about separation of power, Justice Gogoi, who was heading the bench, said. When Venugopal requested more time for publishing NRC, Justice Nariman quipped: ..suppose we extend the deadline till April, 2018, you will again come then and say please extend the deadline further. Bharatiya Janata Party national president Amit Shah said on Friday that his partys victory in the Uttar Pradesh mayoral polls was nothing compared to what was going to happen in Gujarat on December 18, when the state assembly election results would be declared. In the Uttar Pradesh municipal corporation election, the Congress did not win a single seat. On the other hand, the BJP flag has soared higher under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and (UP) chief minister Yogi Adityanath, he said, while addressing an election rally at Somnath in Gir Somnath district. The BJP bagged 14 of the 16 mayoral seats in Uttar Pradesh on Friday. The Congress has been shouting for the last three months that Congress aave chhe (Congress is coming in Gujarat), while today, the people of Uttar Pradesh said Congress jae chhe (Congress is going), Shah said. The Congress loss is such that the BJP won all the municipal corporation seats even in (Congress vice president) Rahul babas (Gandhis) Amethi constituency, he said, adding, Whatever has happened in Uttar Pradesh today is nothing compared to what is going to happen in Gujarat on December 18. After the (vote) counting on December 18, the BJP will emerge victorious and form the government with 150 seats. Shah attacked the Congress over the GDP data, saying that its leaders had fallen silent after the new GDP figures were announced Thursday. Three months back, the GDP had come down due to some effects of the GST, and the entire Congress leadership started appearing on TV, shouting that an economic slowdown had descended on the country. Yesterday, a new GDP figure says it is 6.3 and the Congress leaders have fallen silent. The Uttar Pradesh results today have made them even more silent, he said. Shah also attacked the opposition party, saying it was contesting the Gujarat polls on the agenda of casteism and dynastic rule, while the BJP is fighting on the basis of development. The Congress will never win if it tries to contest on the agenda of development, he said, adding that since 1995, when the BJP came to power in Gujarat, 19,000 villages got 24 -hour electricity and there were very few incidents of curfew. He said the government helped solve the water problems of the Saurashtra region and accused the Congress of stalling the Narmada Yojana for 50 years after the then prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru had laid its foundation stone. Rahul baba, you ask us what did we do? I would like to ask you as to what did you do to Gujarat and its people? Why did your party not allow the Narmada Yojana to be completed for 50 years? But instead of replying, you will ask questions on why is there so much unemployment in Gujarat, he said. Shah added that 13,672 people from Amethi, Gandhis Lok Sabha constituency, were working in Gujarat and that they would take out a rally to tell the people about the real condition of Amethi. Even after 70 years of independence, there is no collectors office in Amethi and he (Gandhi) comes to teach us development, he said. A day after the BJP feted itself for winning 14 of the 16 mayoral seats in the state, allegations of bungling in voter lists and manipulation of electronic voting machines (EVMs) arose from the opposition parties. BSP supremo Mayawati said with full confidence that the saffron party would lose the general elections in 2019 if ballot papers are used, instead of EVMs. She was speaking to reporters after paying tribute to Buddhist monk Bhadant Pragyanand, who died on November 30. If the BJP claims that they enjoy the mandate of the people, and the entire country is with them, then they should set aside the EVMs and hold the elections through ballot paper. And, I can say with full confidence that if the 2019 Lok Sabha polls are held by ballot paper, (the BJP) will not come to power, she declared. Elsewhere, Akhilesh Yadav, president of the Samajwadi Party, took to Twitter to point to a discrepancy in the BJPs voteshare. BJP has only won 15% seats in Ballot paper areas and 46% in EVM areas, he tweeted. At many places like Meerut, Kanpur and Lucknow, there have been reports of candidates who voted for themselves ending up with zero votes, raising questions about the process. EVMs have been tampered with to ensure victory of BJP candidates. This is clear from results of seats where ballot papers were used. The BJPs performance on EVMs and ballot papers is different, claimed senior Congress leader Pradeep Mathur. Even the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), a first time entrant into the UP civic polls, has raised doubts on BJPs results. Vaibhav Maheshwari, the partys state spokesman said the BJP should definitely be worried as the urban body polls have not been exactly in their favour, as the party was claiming. BJPs UP general secretary Vijay Pathak however launched a counter attack on the opposition saying instead of introspecting after the results, these parties were blaming EVMs for their poor performance. SP was voted out of power only eight months ago and the civic poll outcome has shown that the party is on a decline. The BSP should clarify how the party won two seats of Mayor in Aligarh and Meerut if the EVMs are faulty. Both the parties are distorting facts to blame the EVMs, said Pathak. Uttar Pradesh state election commissioner Satish Kumar Agarwal refused to comment on the issue. Tension prevailed in the Soorsagar area in Jodhpur following a clash between members of two communities in which at least 12 people were injured, police said on Saturday. The incident took place on Friday night. Members of two communities hurled stones at one another after a fight over a petty issue between two youths, they said. They also set fire to a few vehicles and a shop in the area. At least 12 people, including six policemen, were injured in the incident, police said. Members of one group also targeted houses of people belonging to the other community, they said. The injured people have been hospitalised. None of the groups has so far approached police in connection with the incident, police commissioner Ashok Rathore said. The market in the locality remained shut on Saturday due to tension in the area. Rathore claimed there was peace and no restrictions were in force in the area. ACP Swati Sharma said adequate police force had been deployed in the area, a tight vigil was being kept and patrolling had been intensified. Senior police officers are camping in the area. Stern action would be taken against any person trying to disturb peace and harmony, Sharma said. Shri Rashtriya Rajput Karni Sena (SRRKS) will organise a big protest at Ajmers Patel Stadium on December 21 to demand a ban on the film Padmavati and a CBI inquiry into the encounter of Anandpal Singh, the organisations president said in a press conference here on Saturday. Sanjay Leela Bhansalis Padmavati has elicited strong protests from some sections, Rajput outfits chiefly, which allege that the film presents a distorted history. On the other hand, Rajput outfits say that the gangster Anandpal Singh was killed in a fake encounter by the special operations group of Rajasthan police in June this year and have repeatedly asked for a CBI probe in the case. Sukhdev Singh Gogamedi, the SRRKS president, said that the government was delaying the release of the film keeping in view the Gujarat elections. We dont want cuts or edits in the film. We want a complete ban. If the government allows the release of the film after the elections, we will publicly oppose the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), said Gogamedi. He also said that the government promised a CBI probe in the Anandpal encounter case but has defaulted on the promise. The martyrdom of Anandpal will not go waste. Our brother wanted to surrender but he was killed in a fake encounter, said Gogamedi. Commenting on the recent statement by former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullah, Gogamedi said that SRRKS will unfurl the tricolour at Lal Chowk in Srinagar on August 15, 2018, and challenged Abdullah to stop him. Abdullah had dared the central government to hoist the national flag at Lal Chowk before hoisting it in Pakistan occupied Kashmir. Speaking under the banner of Savarna Aarakshan Adhikaar Manch, Gogamedi also raised the demand for increasing the upper age limit for upper castes in government jobs to 45 years. In addition, a CBI inquiry must also be initiated in the arrest of Rampal Maharaj from Haryana in 2014, he said. Rajasthan has made rapid strides in building roads and improving transport facilities as the BJP government has given infrastructure a priority, public works department and transport minister Yunus Khan said on Saturday. We are proud that Rajasthan is emerging as a model state in development of roads, Khan told reporters on the completion of four years of the BJP government in the state. Rajasthan has 2.26 lakh kilometres of road including national highways, state highways, and district and rural roads; in these four years, 47,760km roads were built, widened and renovated with Rs 15487 crore. The Centre has approved Rs 23403 crore for building 6060km roads. Work on 23577km is in progress, for which the Centre will spend Rs 28826 crore and the state Rs 15330 crore, he said. In all, the Centre and the state government are spending Rs 80,000 crore for building roads, of which many have been laid and many are in progress, which is a record in the state. Under the Gramin Gaurav Path scheme, cement-concrete roads have been built or work is in progress at 6587 gram panchayats, for which Rs 3587 crore has been allotted, the minister said. In the remaining 3364 gram panchayats, work will start this year. Missing links are being built in those gram panchayats, which do not need cement-concrete roads; 3700 villages have been connected with an expenditure of Rs 1280 crore, Khan said. Under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana, 3988 habitations have been connected by building 11363km roads with Rs 2907 crore. Under PMGSY, the state bears 40% of the cost and the Centre 60%. In the second phase of PMGSY, 3356km roads will be built with Rs 1423.37 crore and work will start this month, the minister said. He said, Rajasthan Roadways has been the best compared to other states and is the pride of Rajasthan. There is no question of closing it down. Efforts are on to supply compressed natural gas (CNG) to Jaipur, Kota, Ajmer and Jodhpur, the minister said. After public outrage over Padmawati and the demand to ban it, another film based on the sacrifice of the Vishnoi community is now in news. However, this time the community is upset as the film has not been released. The film, Saako-363, is based on a 287-year-old incident in which 363 men and women from the Vishnoi community laid down their lives while protecting Khejri trees in erstwhile Jodhpur state. According to community sources, the film is ready but its release is getting delayed as the director, Kalyan Ram Sirvi, has gone into hiding with the films copy. The community, led by its religious head, Swami Ramanand, sat on a dharna on Friday outside Nagaur collectorate demanding the arrest of Sirvi and recovery of the film. According to Himmat Ram Bhamu, a community elder and president of Vaishno Jeev Kalyan Sewan Samiti, Sirvi put two demands before the producer he wanted the film to release under his companys banner and 15% of the total profits. According to the contract between the producer and director, Sirvi was paid his due amount. The film was completed around six months ago and Sirvi took to submit it to the Central Board of Film Certification in August but since then the Vishnoi community has not been able to contact him, said Bhamu Putting his weight behind the communitys demand, the religious head of Vishnois demanded a solution. The government should intervene and resolve the matter amicably before it is too late, said Swami. The community members charged police with inaction in the case. The police have failed to arrest the films director even though five months have passed. The FIR was lodged against Sirvi in August, said Ramratan Vishnoi, producer of the film. The community contributed over Rs 4 crore for the project. It took five years to complete the film on the communitys sacrifice and contribution in safeguarding the flora and fauna of the region, said Vishnoi. The community has its religious sentiments attached to the project, he added. If the government doesnt act in the next 15 days, we will intensify our agitation, Ramswaroop Vishnoi, a community elder warned. Meanwhile, the police said that it had sent teams to Mumbai on November 7to nab the director but could not find him. We are making every possible effort to catch him, said SHO Sribalaji police station. On paper, Indias organic movement looks fantastic. Were home to almost 6 lakh organic farmers, the highest tally in the world. We rank ninth in terms of area under organic agriculture. This financial year, well spend a record Rs 350 crore on organic farming. Our educated middle class is already convinced that food grown with pesticides, hormones, chemical fertilisers and bio-engineered genes harms both the body and the earth. All the farms in one state, Sikkim, are now organic. And urban organic farmers are all over the place, smiling out of news reports about how they quit their corporate jobs to grow tomatoes. Yet, in bazaars, supermarkets and restaurants, its hard to find certified organic fruit and vegetables. A shops organic section stocks tea, spices, honey, even organic peanut butter and chocolate the smallest components of our meals. Most product labels carry leafy logos. But no can quite recall one from memory, let alone explain what it represents. Why hasnt the party reached our plates? Because Indias organic revolution, well-meaning and steadily growing, is a bit of a mess. Sure we have the most farmers. But the vast majority are on tiny holdings, whose output isnt big enough to push up production numbers. The acreage that puts us in the top 10 constitutes only 1.1% of our fields. In contrast, 11 nations have 10% or more organic farmland. Our Rs 350 crore record pales against this years Rs 70,000 crore spend on chemical fertiliser subsidies. Sikkims journey took 15 years. And those urban farmers from the headlines? There simply arent enough of them to make a difference. Meanwhile, Indias largest organic producers, companies with thousands of farmers and hectares, sell the bulk of their processed food abroad, where profits are higher. But domestic interest is growing. In Goa, Karan Manral and his wife, Yogita Mehra, have been helping local farmers go organic and find buyers. I get 25 calls a month in Goa from yoga studios, wellness farms, restaurants, and families who want produce. I can barely meet the demand, he says. Manrals challenge echoes one that Indias farmers, sellers and even policymakers increasingly face: how to get fresh organic food from growers to buyers quickly, safely, cheaply and consistently. I feel Im standing atop a hill, with the farmer and the consumer on either side. Neither can see the other, Manral says. Seed capital Organic fruit and vegetables need a separate supply chain down to their own delivery trucks and crispers in the local supermarket because you cant label every cabbage. In cities, weekly farmers markets have met with some success. But theyre less convenient than the anytime trip to the bazaar or supermarket. There are also subscription services that home-deliver farm-fresh greens. But you cant choose, or even know in advance, which veggies youll get. The lack of assured sales is probably why farmers prefer to grow produce for companies that will process them into non-perishable, high-profit foods: mango jam, kale chips, ready-to-drink soup and white turmeric powder. Surya Shastry, who heads the Bengaluru-based company, Phalada Agro, sells everything from organic tur dal to pasta sauce online. His company was started in 1999 and catered to exports until he found enough local demand to launch his processed-food brand, Pure & Sure, in 2011. The trick to getting farmers to go organic and stay organic, he believes, is to make it financially worth their while. Our focus has been to first create a market and a robust distribution channel, he says. If a farmers yield does not reach you and me, even for a year, he will go back to his old ways. We have 1,500 farmers and 8,000 acres small for a company as old as ours. But keeping them engaged is what builds sustainability. Processed-food companies even help their farmers get organic certification from the government expensive, but globally recognised proof that the yield was obtained without chemical shortcuts (see box). But those who grow for direct consumption, typically the small farms at the edges of your city, have a tougher task of proving their produce is clean. They end up clustering to qualify for accreditation, get little expert advice and even after certification, struggle to find buyers themselves since there are no agricultural produce market committees set up to channel organic food into bazaars. From the beginning, the governments focus has been on exports rather than its own people, says environmentalist Claude Alvares, director of the Organic Farming Association of India who helped organise the Organic World Congress (OWC) in November in Greater Noida. It took us nearly 15 years to develop domestic certification, and this has cost us credibility. At the inspection and organic certification firm Ecocert-India, Amol Nirban, a regional sales manager, says theyre now in the process of certifying an organic pineapple farm in Meghalaya the best quality you can find. But the logistics of delivering them inexpensively to even Delhi are still proving close to impossible. There are plenty of government schemes for the organic grower, few for the supplier, he says. Bio-fertiliser is subsidised, theres help to build a compost pit. Loans to set up a farm come easier too. But there are no incentives for anyone building a separate fleet of refrigerated vans or brokering deals with supermarkets. Green turn The world is intensifying its efforts to convert more land to organic farming. This isnt fuelled by the desire to eat better. Its fuelled by fear that soon, there wont be enough to eat at all. Decades of fertiliser and pesticide use (to grow the high-yield hybrid seeds that fed the exploding population) have created farms where the soil simply cant regenerate itself. A UN report predicts that by 2050, 33 years from now, we may have 2.1 billion more mouths to feed. For many, the salvation rhetoric is to go organic rotating multiple crops on the same field, using natural pest-control and fertiliser, and adapting to climate to keep the soil useful. The catch: Large scale conversion costs money. And it takes a while before soil regenerates, before farms create their own compost and pollination and recover their costs of production, says Jacob Zachariah, who grows fruit and vegetables along with his wife Mini Pant at their 12-acre farm in Gholwad, outside Mumbai.. Its a long wait. Even organic farmers find it hard to eat organic food at every meal. For Zacharia and Pant, having an on-site orchard means theres always enough fruit for two, but they have organic veggies only four days a week, organic rice twice a week. Eating all organic is only if its available and can be sourced easily, Pant says. We must yield But things are changing. Alvares recalls starting out in the 1980s, when neither farmers nor officials were interested in the issue. In contrast, the Union minister for Agriculture inaugurated the OWC, and top-ranking state ministers attended. Ministers used to ask What does organic mean?, now they ask How do we go organic? he says. At the Congress, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, announced new steps towards making organic food easier to buy, sell and understand. It launched new regulations for safety and standards for the category, a common logo to identify organic food across both certifications (it comes into effect next year) and a portal help consumers verify the authenticity of organic foods. The initiatives will not only help build consumer confidence, but also accelerate the growth of trade and commerce in organic foods within India and abroad, says Pawan Agarwal, CEO, FSSAI. Indias first university for organic studies is being planned in Gujarat and Alvares estimates that over the next five years, more urban consumers will take an interest in how their food is grown. Meanwhile, says Manral, the bulk of our farmers are in need of high-quality knowledge dissemination, to unlearn the chemical-heavy techniques of the past. A better assessment of Indias organic footprint is needed, says Alvarez, one that accounts for the countrys many uncertified organic holdings, tribal and regional crops, and traditional knowledge. Zachariah hopes that urban consumers make a start by committing to eat fresh, seasonal food grown within a 60 km radius of their city so theyre better able to track the source. But Manral has an even simpler suggestion: Create a market for organic food, make it reach people consistently, get people to trust it and the problem will take care of itself. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Its the corner table right in the middle of the restaurant, blocked by a wooden wall on one side, and a curtain of beads on the other. Guests at the table get a generous view of the entrance and the rest of the hall, but they themselves remain mostly out of sight. Its been a favourite table of some of Ashok Bajajs most celebrated and frequent power diners. Thats the seat Michelle Obama sat in, Bajaj says one afternoon recalling the first time the First Lady dined at Rasika, a restaurant that has come to define Indian cuisine for Washington DCs power elite. She ordered a sampler platter, paired with wine. She came back twice, and took the same table. Who would have thought Michelle Obama would one day come to my restaurant, Bajaj says, still a little surprised after all these years. Starting out in the 1980s, Bajaj says he used to wonder if he would ever get a chance to host a President or a First Lady. He had heard about the then First Lady Nancy Reagan being a regular at The Jockey Club, a French-American restaurant very popular with Hollywood celebrities visiting Washington. But there she was, a First Lady, dining at his restaurant. Who would have thought this Delhi boy would come to Washington DC in the 1980s, start an Indian cuisine restaurant across a park from the White House, turn it into a city icon and go on to establish 10 more restaurants, covering the whole range from Italian to American to French-style brasseries? Bajaj opened his 11th, and his second street food restaurant, called Bindaas, in November capping a growing career that won him a prestigious lifetime achievement award from fellow restaurateurs recently the Duke Zeibert Capital Achievement Award . In the intervening years, Bajajs restaurants starting with his first, Bombay Club have become favourites of some of the most powerful people in the world. President Bill Clinton, a natural glad-hander, once took 45 minutes to make it to his table, in one of Bajas eateries, as he had to greet so many people on the way. President George H W Bush was less effusive during his visit to one of his restaurants and chose something different from what he had ordered earlier lamb chops with chutney. Recently, former President Barack Obama celebrated his 56th birthday at Rasika with Michelle Obama, just as they had celebrated his 53rd when he was still in office. Chefs from Bombay Club and Rasika there are two Rasikas often cooked for the Obamas using the White House kitchen, says Bajaj. President Donald Trump hasnt crossed the street yet but his daughter Ivanka Trump and son-in-law Jared Kushner have been to the Rasikas several times. And so have the presidents national security adviser HR McMaster and chief economic adviser Gary Cohn. The boom President Bill Clinton, a natural glad-hander, once took 45 minutes to make it to his table, Bajaj says. Bajaj was born and grew up in Delhi Gate area of Delhi and after finishing school and college with a degree in Commerce he started training at Hotel Ashok. He joined the Taj group subsequently, which was then planning a new restaurant in London, the Bombay Brasserie. He came to DC in the late 1980s with dreams of starting an Indian cuisine restaurant, to showcase Indian food, which was then a minor blip on the larger eating out culture and was light years away from its present celebrity status. He wanted a place where Americans could go, and also take their friends. It had to be a first-class establishment in an A class building. But none of the landlords he contacted would have him. They did not want an ethnic restaurant on their premises, he says. They thought Indian food would smell in the lobby and were happy to put me in the basement. But that was never an option. For a year, Bajaj went around making presentations, holding meetings. With no success. I then told one of them to go to London and check out one of the Indian cuisine restaurants there, he says. He wanted the man to see for himself what he had in mind, not a small mom-and-pop joint there will be no smell I am going to have the right exhaust system. Bajaj asked him to go to Londons Taj-run Bombay Brasserie, where he had worked before deciding to strike out on his own. The landlord undertook the trip, and wiser by the experience, agreed to let the young restaurateur from India start working on his dream, which he christened Bombay Club. Bajaj tells the story of his journey from Bombay Club to Rasika the latter, he said, would not have been possible without the former in a book that was released in October, called, what else, Rasika, which he has co-authored with David Hagedorn, a restaurateur-turned-travel and food writer, with recipes of some of the restaurants innovative dishes by Vikram Sunderam, the chains celebrated chief chef who won the James Beard award, the Oscars of the food world, in 2014. After the Bombay Club, Bajaj waited 16 years to open his next Indian cuisine restaurant, Rasika at Penn Quarter, a buzzing downtown DC neighbourhood. Why such a long gap? There was not that much demand for Indian food, he says matter-of-factly. So he turned to other cuisines, and kept growing: 701, which serves continental cuisine; The Oval Room, for modern American food with a touch of Lebanese; Ardeo+Bardeo, two restaurants now merged into one serving American fare; NoPa, a brasserie serving American food; and the chains solitary Italian food eatery, Bibiana. They are together owned by Bajajs privately-held company, the Knightsbridge Restaurant Group. Food for fame It was 1994, President Clintons second year in the White House. Across the Lafayette Park, Bajajs Bombay Club was coming along nicely. He was pleasantly surprised one day to receive an invitation to join the first family at the annual Christmas Party. I was not even a naturalized citizen then, Bajaj says, re-living the rush he probably felt then. The president had dined at the Bombay Club a few times, and so had the rest of the family Chelsea also, he says, referring to their daughter. While he refused to name his favourite president, Bajaj did reveal a special warmth for Clinton whom he mimics exceptionally well. On one occasion, he remembers asking Clinton when he came by for a meal with his family and friends if he could spare a few minutes to meet his parents, who were visiting from India and happened to be in the restaurant then. Clinton rose immediately, and with an arm around Bajajs shoulder, walked towards his parents. My father was stunned, he recalls. Relations between India and the US were still improving, and the US president, then as now, was a big deal. Clinton sat down with Bajajs parents and spent some time with them. I reminded him that his food might get cold, Bajaj says, and doing his best impersonation of Clinton, the president replied the food can wait. The restaurateur, who never talks about his age and looks of indeterminate antiquity with his slight build neatly packed in smart suits, has seen multiple White Houses, starting with Clintons, which he agrees was every bit as chaotic as Trumps, hit by the same frequency of leaks, exits etc. But the most disciplined? The Obamas? No, the George W Bush the junior Bush White House. Very businesslike. He counts off the aides who made it so vice-president Dick Cheney, a stern figure who was wrongly perceived to be the real power behind the Resolute Desk, the presidents table in the Oval Office; chief of staff Andy Card and so on. And then, he adds, the President had learnt from his father, the first President Bush, George H W Bush, seeing things through his eyes as well. So, is India calling? No plans yet. Bajaj has no restaurants outside DC. A shortage of trained personnel, he says. In a makeshift newsroom made from bamboo sticks and brightly painted gunny bags, 10-year-old Dheeraj Bhatt is talking into a microphone. Hello and welcome to the childrens scrapping, err scrappy news service, says the chirpy anchor. Todays show is about reclaiming our lost playgrounds... The newsroom is in a fishing village in Mumbai; the walls are covered in glitter and fairy lights. A rickety red car seat serves as the couch for guests, who typically include electricians, plumbers, carpenters and local parents. This is the headquarters of the Scrappy News Service, an initiative of the Delhi-based non-profit organisation Going To School (GTS). It has two anchors, including Bhatt, who lives in a Mumbai slum, and a team of 2,100 reporters spread across Mumbai; Bengaluru, Tumkur and Mangaluru in Karnataka; 22 towns in Bihar; and Jalandar in Punjab. Anchors and reporters are all aged 10 to 14, from underprivileged families and impoverished areas. What started out as a confidence-building exercise is now a website and an app, both of which were launched on Childrens Day (November 14). So far, 50 videos have been uploaded on the Scrappy News YouTube channel (which has 1,066 subscribers), and 10 on the website. To be scrappy means changing the world with whatever you have. You dont need to speak English or have top-notch gadgets, you just need to have a head full of ideas, says founder Lisa Heydlauff. The launch saw well-known TV journalists like Rajdeep Sardesai, NDTVs Nidhi Razdan and The News Minutes Dhanya Rajendran send in videos of how delighted they were to see children engaging with TV, and their communities, in fresh new ways. Scrappy news is typically what you would call Made in India although I am not, says British-American Lisa Heydlauff, founder and director of GTS. Everything from the issues and solutions to the newsrooms themselves is made in India and revolves around the many good and little bad things about this country. Their hour-long news-cum-talk shows explore issues such as sanitation, climate change, waste segregation or just how to help out your not-so-tech-savvy grandparents. The scripts are written by the kids, with help from GTS employees, and most shows end with a Scrappy Campaign where kids brainstorm for solutions that can be implemented offline for the problem of lonely grandparents, a simple get-together was organised in a government school in Bhagalpur last year, with a movie screening, snacks and socialising time. How it all began Heydlauff came to India from the UK 19 years ago to write a childrens book, and stayed on. She set up GTS in 2003, to promote innovation and entrepreneurship among underprivileged children. We started with children from the poorest communities, the idea being that while education is important, kids also need to know how to tackle issues, come up with sustainable ideas, work as a team and take the initiative, says Heydlauff. Scrappy News started with the idea of showing parents that their kids were fearless, full of creativity and could break down complex issues to come up with their own solutions. Then we realised that we needed to take this out to the world,' says Lisa Heydlauff, the British-American founder of the NGO Going To School. (Satish Bate / HT Photo) In 2012, the NGO signed an MoU with the Bihar government to work with students across 2,500 government secondary schools in the state. They now have a presence across three states in India. We soon realised that although the kids were brimming with ideas to bring about a change in the world, their own parents at home did not seem to understand their potential, says Heydlauff. Scrappy News started with the idea of showing parents that their kids were fearless, full of creativity and could break down complex issues in their own way to come up with solutions. Then we realised that we needed to take this out to the world. To be Scrappy, means changing the world with whatever you have, Heydlauff adds. You dont need to speak English or have access to top-notch gadgets, you just need to have a head full of ideas and the enthusiasm to execute it, she adds. The training In Mumbai, the Team Scrappy kids recall how, two years ago, a big truck painted in rainbow colours with Be Scrappy scrawled all over it showed up in their slums, and began holding auditions. We just repurposed an old truck and decided to take our crew and drive around, inviting kids to try out. The results were fantastic. We ended up auditioning some 1,500 kids and four were finally selected in that first round, says Padmini Vaidyanathan, 33, director for Scrappy News. Reporters in Muzaffarpur, Bihar, host a talk show in a makeshift outdoor studio. We were taught how to speak clearly, practice in front of the mirror and most importantly, and know that it is okay to fumble, but not to stop, says anchor Valeska Jacinto, 12. Then began the training sessions, with reporters and anchors from major media houses pitching in. In Bihar and Karnataka, we trained the kids ourselves, Vaidyanathan says. We talked to them about identifying local issues, finding local heroes who were taking on those issues, and coming up with campaigns to solve them. In Mumbai, they had industry expert help from people like TV journalist-turned-businesswoman Mahruk Inayet, actor Siddhant Behl and stand-up comedian Nitesh Shetty. Valeska Jacinto, 12, who co-anchors the show with Dheeraj says, We were taught how to speak clearly, practice in front of the mirror and most importantly, and know that it is okay to fumble, but not stop. She talks about how she was learnt the tricks of the trade, by putting a pen beneath her tongue and talking loudly so that every word was clear. Marukh maam told us how she covered the 26/11 attacks amid the sound of shooting and grenades blowing up parts of The Taj, says Valeska. It was really inspirational for us, because it told us the life of a regular reporter is like. Inayet, held ten training sessions with the little anchors and reporters in 2015, during their summer vacation. It was an eye-opener, she says. The kids are all quite young and I was amazed to see how they truly had their own perspective to everything. It was not about making them memorise lines by rote, but about understanding what they grasp from a situation. They werent inhibited, or conscious of gawking strangers during outdoor shoots. The freshness they bring to the screen is what makes the idea of Scrappy News tick so well. When theyre not arguing about whos stealing whose lines and taking up more screen space, Dheeraj and Valeska are good friends. But once Mumbai reporters Samad Sheikh and Rajlakshmi Sapkale join them, it gets difficult for the NGO staff to handle the energy in the newsroom, says Scrappy News director Padmini Vaidyanathan. (Satish Bate / HT Photo) For Mumbai reporter Rajlakshmi Sapkale, 14, from Worli Koliwada, her biggest high point was when she sent a YouTube clip of her interviewing people on the city streets to her parents back in her village in Maharashtra. My parents saw it on a computer there and called their neighbours to show how smart I had become. They were proud because they feel now their little girl has become confident enough to go looking for stories and get answers out of strangers, she laughs, shyly. When they are not arguing about who is stealing whose lines and who is taking up more screen space, Dheeraj and Valeska are good friends. But once Mumbai reporters Samad Sheikh, 14, and Rajlakshmi join them, it gets difficult for the show producers to handle the energy in the newsroom. They are usually ganging up against Dheeraj, who claims he doesnt need a script to anchor. I can ever stick to the script they give me because I forget, he grins. But it is the job of the anchor to improvise and add his bit isnt it? he laughs. On the ground The Scrappy kids are divided into teams anchors and reporters, videographers, script-writers, even producers who brainstorm on how it will all be put together. Volunteers do the editing. The tricky part, the kids say, is looking for news. One of their stories, Horn please, was about the high-decibel horns in Bhagalpur, Bihar. During investigation, the reporters found out that a lot of people went to garages to get make their vehicle horns changed to a few decibels louder. That was a big scoop. Reorters in Bengaluru interview vegetable vendors about rising prices. My daughter recently did a story on the lack of toilets. When we visited our village, she spoke to girls there about keeping toilets clean. I was really proud, says government school teacher Ajeet Bhanu. The end result is that all the kids are doing something they have never done before, and living the life of professional journalists, says Vikas Dheer, 32, who works with GTS in Muzaffarpur. Jarang-based government school teacher Ajeet Bhanu, whose daughter Tanu Shri, 14, is a Scrappy News reporter, says he has noticed a huge change in his daughters confidence in the last seven months. She recently did a story on the lack of toilets in the homes of people in Jarang and was very concerned. When we visited our village, she spoke to girls there, telling them about sanitation and how to keep the toilets clean in their own homes and I was really proud. In one episode, Valesca and Dheeraj will discuss the lack of playgrounds in India, with inputs from reporters in Bihar and Karnataka. In Mangaluru, students discussed the lack of places to swim; in Tumkur, they talked to farmers about organic farming. Prajwal C, 12, a Scrappy news reporter from Bengaluru, says he had no idea about how civic issues were solved, till he stepped out onto the streets to report on them. I was used to a set up where grown-ups asked us questions in class. Today I am the one asking important questions to people I had never met in my life. I was scared of being scolded, people have walked away also, but once I do get a story and come home and see the final cut on YouTube, I feel like Im doing something big for society, he says. Fitting it all in school, training sessions and homework is sometimes a challenge, the kids admit. But we dont get tired or cranky, says Dheeraj, fiddling with his microphone. We feel grown up and important, like this is our job. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON To avoid flooding during monsoon at Andheri subway, one of the spots notorious for water logging and traffic jams, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) plans to construct an underground box drain there. This is expected to help discharge water logged at the mouth of the subway through a culvert at the mouth of SV Road, and into Mogra Nullah. Before the monsoon of 2016, the BMC had identified a total of 185 flooding spots which needed mitigation measures. Of these, 66 were categorised as chronic flooding spots. The western suburbs have eight chronic water logging spots. The BMC first set up 313 dewatering pumps as an immediate measure to check water logging during monsoon. On a waterlogged day, the civic body has about 14 dewatering pumps functioning in the Andheri area. The most notorious water logging spots include Andheri subway, Milan Subway, Khar Subway, Malad Subway, Borivali Subway, Dahisar, and Hindamata and Parel in south Mumbai. . As a long-term step, the BMC plans a two-km box drain between Dharavi and Mahim, to check water logging at Hindmata, Parel, and Dharavi slums. The civic body has an alternative plan to construct an underground box drain parallel to the subway. Both plans require permissions from the railways, owing to their proximity to the railway station. If all goes according to plan, work on the box drain will start within the next three months. A civic official said, "The Andheri subway is already very narrow, so we do not want traffic to be hampered during construction. So we will proceed with good planning." The Bombay high court recently appointed a nine-year-old boys paternal aunt and her husband as his guardians, asking his biological mother, who lives in the US, to develop an emotional bond with the child before applying for custody. Justice SC Gupte directed the aunt and her husband to facilitate Skype calls and other electronic communication between the mother, who lives in Nashville at Tennessee, and the child after his school hours, during week-offs and vacations. He added that both parties can decide upon the frequency and duration of the calls so as to better the bonding between mother and child. The court said the mother is at liberty to apply for guardianship of her child once they have bonded. This, however, is subject to the childs willingness to be her ward. The childs father was a non-resident Indian (NRI). The boy was brought to India in January 2010, in accordance with a practice prevailing among certain NRIs especially those belonging to the Patel community of bringing children to India and leaving them here till they attain school-going age, meant to help them understand their roots. The child has thus been living with his paternal aunts family for the past seven years. During his stay in India, his father was diagnosed with cancer and his parents thus decided to let him stay with the aunt for a while. The childs father came to India for treatment and died in April 2014. The mother stayed in the US during this time, owing to personal reasons. In 2015, the aunt and her husband approached the high court, seeking to be appointed as the childs guardians as they wanted to admit him to school. Pursuant to court orders, the child was admitted to an ICSE school in Goregaon. His mother opposed the plea for guardianship, but in September 2016, another high court judge refused to hand over custody to her. I do not think that it is possible or even reasonable to pluck a child of eight from one country and plant him in another wholly alien environment overnight, justice Gautam Patel had said. When Pooja Bisht, a resident of Mumbais western suburbs, discovered a small sachet of white powder in her 19-year-old son Amits wallet early last month, she was forced to confront her worst fears. Amit, a first-year B.Com student from a suburban college in the city, would miss his morning lectures frequently as he would get up only by noon. Pooja, a 45-year-old single mother and a top executive in a finance company in south Mumbai, could do little to change his schedule as she had to get to work in the morning. The college refused to promote him to the second year owing to his lack of attendance. She also noticed many behavioural changes in Amit, but for a while she bought his excuses. There were many nights when he would not come home at all - he would explain his absence by saying he had group study sessions with friends - and at other times, he would lock himself in his room to work on projects. With the discovery of the sachet of white powder, much of his behaviour fell in place - Pooja realised her son was doing drugs. Early signs of drug addiction Changes in sleep pattern. Your child sleeps for much longer at times, and is almost an insomniac at other times. Isolation. Your child may not interact with you, not eat with the family, lock himself in a room, become reclusive. Changes in daily schedules and habits. For instance, skipping classes. Changes in behaviour. Your child is suddenly more argumentative, more irritable about small things, demands for more money. Changes in appearance. Things go missing from home. Also, be wary of excuses such as repeated loss of mobile phones or laptop. Slip in academic performance. Fearing peer criticism and social backlash, Pooja chose not to confide in her family and friends, but as she deliberated on what to do, she came upon the Narco Line (9819111222), a helpline run by the Mumbai polices Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC). Besides tackling drug-related crimes, the ANC also offers advice for drug-deaddiction and rehabilitation programmes. Pooja fixed an appointment with the ANC to begin with, she wanted to verify the substance she had found on Amit. The white powder was identified as Mephedrone (MD), a banned powerful synthetic drug that is known for its extremely addictiveness and toxicity. Now, Amit is among the 60 odd youngsters who are part of the rehabilitation programme under the departments aegis. All these youngsters are from urban, well-educated and economically well-off families, the ANC said. And 80 per cent of them have one more factor in common: they are from disturbed or broken families. It is sad, but true, said Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Shivdeep Lande, who heads the ANC. Majority of the youngsters going through our rehab programmes seem to have slipped into a drug habit owing to lack of parental attention or emotional insecurity. This problem is endemic in countries where families are breaking down, or in case of parents who are too busy and dont have enough time for their children, says psychiatrist Dr. Dayal Mirchandani. Not all children suffering from emotional neglect opt for drugs, but some get into other dangerous habits, such as motorbike racing, he added. By the time their problem is understood and some kind of therapy starts, their addiction is deep-rooted. Almost as responsible are factors such as television and social media. Many parents are scared to allow children to go out and play for a host of reasons. Though their fear is not unfounded - there are so many crimes against children being reported these days - they are also depriving their children of physical exercise and social interactions, both healthy outlets that can help build emotional strength. In some cases, children who are sexually abused develop addictions such as drugs, Mirchandani added. While parents of youngsters from educated, affluent families may identify the problem in time, get professional help and do expensive de-addiction treatments, substance abuse among children from slums and lower middle-class households often ends in a tragedy, said a senior ANC official, who did not wish to be named. Because of lack of awareness and poverty, these parents use coercive techniques such as beating and locking them up to stop them from drug use. Very few of them approach doctors. And many such youngsters, faced with guilt and social pressure, commit suicide. This statement is not unfounded. As per the latest data released by the National Crime Records Bureau, in the year 2015, the maximum number of suicide cases related to drug abuse was reported from Maharashtra - 1,271 of the total 3,670 cases from across the country. The second state on the list is Madhya Pradesh, which reported 567 cases. Noted clinical psychiatrist Dr. Yusuf Machiswalla said all children, especially boys, need a father figure. In cases of legal separation, the child usually stays with the mother till he is 11, and then can choose which parent to live with. The absence of the father in the formative years affects the child, and he may end up choosing a father figure who is inappropriate, he said. Working parents should be particularly careful to not feel guilty and over-compensate for their lack of time with pocket money, he said. Excess money makes it easier for youngsters to access drugs. Parental responsibility apart, Dr. Machiswalla said, schools could play a strong role in helping children cope with some of their emotional distress. Classes on moral education, values and even spirituality could help the child overcome emotional trauma, he said. A change in the childs behaviour, like becoming more aggressive or withdrawn, a drop in academic performance, or lack of interest in old friends and hobbies can be warning signs, Lande said. If parents observe any sudden change in behaviour, they should pay more attention, and, try through friendly conversations, or by spending time together, to identify the problem. It may be another issue altogether, but it could also be a result of drug abuse. Volunteers working with non-profit organisations that are involved in de-addiction and rehabilitation programmes said cases of success are around 50 per cent. Machiswalla said such programmes follow three steps. Its a long process and requires patience. The first phase involves correcting the damages, both physical and psychological. Then begins the de-addiction programme. Thirdly, and importantly, the issues that led to substance abuse have to be resolved. Otherwise, there is the danger of relapse, he said. The time taken for complete de-addiction varies depending on the history of addiction, from six months to two years, and in cases of severe addiction, even three years. (Name of parent and child in case study changed to protect identity.) SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The Central Railway will soon move its headquarters from its iconic heritage building in Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) to P DMello Road. The structure, which was tagged as a Unesco world heritage site, will house a rail museum instead. It is not clear when the CR headquarters will leave the building, but sources said it would happend before May. Built by Frederick William Stevens in 1888, CSMT has been a popular tourist attraction. It had served as the headquarters of the erstwhile Great India Peninsula Railway from 1849 during the British rule, and the zonal railway since 1951. Railway minister Piyush Goyal had on Monday inspected the CSMT building and directed the administration to convert it into a world-class transport museum. Three days after Goyals intervention, CR general manager DK Sharma wrote a letter to Ashwani Lohani, chairman of the Railway Board, informing him that they had designed a proposal for new headquarters and they would submit it for sanction in 2018-2019. The railway is likely to kick start the museum project in May 2018 when the CR will celebrate the 130th anniversary. The CR plans to rent 8,000 square meters of office space within 1-2km periphery of CSMT until the new building comes up at P DMello Road, according to Sharmas letter. An expression of interest (EOI) has been floated by the CR for the office space in south Mumbai. The discussion on conversion of the CSMT building into the rail museum is happening at the railways ministry level. We have started process to rent an office. Once a final decision is taken by the ministry, we will vacate the heritage building and shift to a rented office till a new building is built,said a senior CR official. In his letter, Sharma has also suggested that the project of converting the building into a museum should be done through the Railway Boards executive director of heritage. The work (of rail museum) is highly specialised in nature. The heritage directorate of the Railway Board may be asked to invite EOI (expression of interest) and thereafter getting the work sanctioned and executed based upon the report of the eminent experts, states the letter. While the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is under tremendous pressure to keep Mumbai clean with the buzz around Swachch Bharat Abhiyan, a look at the working conditions of 2,700 conservancy workers, who are an integral part of the task, paints a sorry picture. These workers are taken on by BMC on contractual basis and are paid as little as Rs6,000 to Rs9,000 a month. While conservancy workers, who have been fighting for the status of permanent civic employees for the past year, the civic body has not given them their salaries for the past three months. The workers are deprived of basic facilities, such as the mandatory Provident Fund (PF) and health insurance. More than 1,000 employees organised a bheek maango andolan, a protest where several conservancy workers begged on the street in front of BMC headquarters on Thursday, to protest against the delay in salaries. Vijay Dalvi, secretary of Kachra Vahatuk Sramik Sangh (KVSS), the union of conservancy workers, said, When we questioned BMC about the delay in salaries, we were told it is because the BMC does not have funds to pay the workers. So we begged on the street to collect funds and give them to BMC. According to Dalvi, not only has the BMC delayed the workers salaries for three months, but contractors have also consistently paid them less than the promised wage. Ganesh Devendra, a conservancy worker in Andheri, said, The contractor pays us around Rs1,000 less than our actual salary. We are told the deducted amount is contributed to employees provident fund and employees state insurance (ESI). But till date we have not been able to access or use this amount. One of our colleagues fell ill and is hospitalised. He should be able to encash the insurance, but we have no idea where the money went. Every employee is given an employee identification number by the contractor. Money deducted towards PF and ESI is contributed towards the specific employee id. However, contractors change every year, and do not pass on the employee id to the worker. When the same workers are employed by another contractor, a new employee id is generated, and the information linked to the old one is lost. Out of total 2,700 workers indentified in 2007, the BMC first shortlisted 1,600 to employ on a permanent basis. It revised this list in 2016, and took 191 employees on a permanent basis. It rejected applications of the others based on reasons such as a spelling mistake in the name of the employee on his salary card. Microsofts annual package of Rs1.39 crore turned out to be the highest on the first day of the placement season at Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (IIT-B) on Friday. App-based taxi aggregator Uber came a close second with an offer of Rs99.87 lakh a year. Microsofts will be the highest offer made this year, said sources Microsoft offered $2,14,600, while Uber offered a student $1,55,000, said a source from the placement department of IIT-B. The first session of interviews started at 8am on Friday and lasted till 4pm. The second session, which started in the evening, went on till 2am on Saturday. The first session brought 52 job offers from 17 companies, with eight offers from Goldman Sachs, seven from consulting firm Boston Consulting Group. Consulting firm Strategy& (earlier known as booz&co) and Texas Instruments Inc offered five jobs each in the first slot. Other companies that came up with offers were Morgan Stanley (Investment Banking), Deutsche Bank, Procter & Gamble, Millennium and the ITC Group. READ: IIT-Bombay placements: Salaries slightly better this year The first phase of placements at IIT-B will last for two weeks and will be attended by more than 250 companies this year. IIT-B will see participation of 15 Japanese firms. At around 50 lakh Japanese Yens per year, Sony is expected to make the biggest offer for a Japanese company. TEX E.G., Murata and Toyo Engineering is likely to offer gross annual salaries in the range of around 27 lakh-36 lakh Japanese Yens. IITs across the country have noticed a considerable hike in the number of offers coming in during the first session on the first day of placements. A spokesperson of the placement department at IIT-Madras said, We got a total of 99 offers from 17 companies. These included nine international offers from companies namely Microsoft, Uber, Rubrik and Indeed. Students at IIT-Roorkee received 68 offers from 11 companies in the first slot on Friday. At the time of going to press, most IITs had not compiled information from the second slot. No preferential slots for start-ups at IIT-B placements Not a single start-up hired students in the first session on Day 1 of placements at Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (IIT-B) on Friday, which was dominated by companies from consultancy, finance, software and engineering sectors Students are said to be wary of joining start-ups, as many of them had withdrawn the job offers made in 2015. As students are wary, we have not allotted them any preferential slots, said the source Last year, IITs had blacklisted and banned 31 start-ups from campus placements for withdrawing their offers. The ban was revoked earlier this year, allowing the companies to participate in the recruitment process. IIT-B considers various factors such as students preference, job profile and salary, while deciding the roster of companies on the first day of the placements. Placements are conducted in two slots a day Once placed, students are required to secure their job the same day. The source said while the number of start-ups participating in the process will be more compared to last year, it has dropped compared to 2015 To give a breathing space to inmates, the state government has cleared decks to build a prison at Mankhurd. In a meeting recently held by chief secretary Sumit Mullick, the revenue department has agreed to soon hand over a five-acre plot to the home department. The Bombay high court had in March directed the state government to finalise land for new jails in Mumbai within three months. Though the home department had demanded more than 20-acre from a 54-acre plot in Mankhurd, the revenue department agreed to kick start the process of handing over only five acres of the plot owing to the proposed car shed of the Metro-2 corridor. The home department was given three options on the same plot to choose from. A major part was being allotted to the car shed. Other parcels come under the no-development zone. The five-acre plot is reserved for correctional activities in the proposed development plan 2034. The reservation will allow seamless transfer of land, said an official from the home department. The decision to hand over the land for jail has been taken. I think construction will begin once the transfer of ownership is completed and budgetary allocation approved, Mullick told HT. Currently, Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (Mhada) and the revenue department have locked horns over the ownership of the plot . The dispute is pending in the court.The dispute will not hamper the transfer owing to the reservation. Once chief minister Devendra Fadnavis signs the proposal and a joint team of the departments inspects the land, an order will be issued for the transfer. The home department can simultaneously plan design, take over possession and make budgetary provision for the construction, a revenue official said. The proposal to build a new jail had taken off for more than two years. The prison manual mandates one jail for every district. In addition, the overcrowding of Arthur Road jail is another reason for the push for a new jail in the suburbs. Arthur Road currently houses 2,600 inmates against its capacity of 804. Meanwhile, the public works department has conveyed to the home department that two barracks at Arthur Road jail will be completed by in next four months. Maha had 16 custodial deaths in 2016, highest in the country Maharashtra recorded 16 custodial deaths the highest in the country last year, according to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data. The state recorded 19 custodial deaths in 2015 and 21 in 2014, which was also the highest. The state stood first in deaths of people (12) at the pre-remand stage, and second (4) in case of those who were in custody, preceded by Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh ( 6 each). Last year, Maharashtra was followed by Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat (9 custodial deaths), Madhya Pradesh (5), Punjab (4) and Chhattisgarh (3). India recorded 60 such deaths. According to the NCRB, the reasons for these deaths are suicide (8), physical assault by police (1), illness outside hospital (2), illness inside hospital (3), natural deaths (1) and escaping from police custody (1). The statistics reveal that four people died during police remand, while the rest deaths were owing to different reasons, said MN Singh, former Mumbai police commissioner. The statistics give a false impression that the police brutally use third degree. Strict actions are taken against policeman when it comes to custodial deaths like the recent case in Sangli. The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) is currently investigating the case of an alleged murder of 26-year-old Aniket Kothale, who was arrested under the suspicion of robbery. He was allegedly killed earlier this month in Sangli. Sub-inspector Yuvraj Kamte and four constables were suspended. Kothale, 26, and two others were arrested along with another person for robbing a bike-borne man of Rs2,000 at knifepoint. In Maharashtra, magisterial enquiry was conducted in all 12 cases, of them three cases were registered against police personnel SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON A day after the attack on the Congress headquarters, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) continued its tirade against the party.The MNS put up a hoarding bearing derogatory remarks about Mumbai Congress chief Sanjay Nirupam, outside his office on Saturday. The Congress condemned the hoarding, saying it was in bad taste. This is low-level politics which is not worth commenting upon, said Nirupam. A few unidentified people also blackened a board of the Bandra Congress office on Friday. MNS leader Shalini Thackeray said the party was against Nirupam as he was responsible for the attacks on party workers. This man instigates illegal hawkers to attack our party workers. In two instances, the attacks were fatal. By contrast, our attack was just a warning, meant to convey that we will not take things lying down. It was not done to hurt anyone,she said. I told the hawkers to defend themselves if they are attacked and the police does not intervene, said Nirupam. For the past few weeks, the Congress and the MNS have been at loggerheads over the issue of the illegal hawkers. MNS workers have been thrashing hawkers at railway stations, while the Congress has stood by the vendors, citing their right to livelihood. On Friday, around eight MNS workers entered the Mumbai Congress office and smashed glass panels in the cabins and reception. They also broke the windshield of a car belonging to a party worker. Congress workers protested by burning the MNS flag, along with an effigy of MNS chief Raj Thackeray. Nirupam alleged that the MNS has the support of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). There is a hidden partnership between the BJP and MNS. The chief minister did not condemn the attack on the headquarters of his main Opposition party, he said. Shiv Sena attacks Fadnavis over migrants remark On Saturday, the Shiv Sena trained its guns on chief minister Devendra Fadnavis over his remarks that north Indian migrants had majorly contributed to making Mumbai what it is today. An editorial in Saamana, the Sena mouthpiece, asked Fadnavis to withdraw his statement. It rued that he had joined the ranks of people who insult Maharashtrians. Mumbai was already prosperous, which is what drew migrants to settle here and become successful. The statement that migrants have a major role in its affluence is irresponsible, said the editorial. At a public meeting in Ghatkopar on Wednesday, Fadnavis said migrants, especially those from North India, played a pivotal role in making Mumbai great. The editorial took potshots at the BJP, saying Fadnavis made this statement as outsiders rule the roost in his own party. The MNS had also slammed Fadnavis for his remark, terming it votebank politics. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Mumbai: A 25-year-old accused fled from a court in Vasai on Thursday afternoon with his handcuffs on, and was arrested by the DN Nagar police in Andheri a few hours later. The accused, identified as Akash Ramesh Dedhiya, 25, a resident of Flower market in Dadar West, has multiple cases of theft registered against him. He was arrested by the Vasai Government Railway Police (GRP) officials in an alleged robbery case on Wednesday and was produced at the Vasai court on Thursday. After fleeing the court premises, he took a local train to Andheri. He was headed to Kapaswadi in Andheri West, where he intended to get his handcuffs cut. his handcuffs were not visible as he was wearing a full-sleeves shirt. The Vasai GRP sent a wireless message to all police stations in Mumbai, Thane, and Navi Mumbai and provided them with description of the accused. The DN Nagar police nabbed Dedhiya from Kapaswadi and handed him over to the Vasai railway police. An FIR has been registered against Dehiya under the relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for fleeing from custody. Unidentified people broke into a shop in Fort on Thursday night and stole Rs10.05 lakh in cash. The theft came to light on Friday morning when a neighbour noticed that the shutter of the shop, which deals in printers, had been tampered with, said Sukhlal Varpe, senior police inspector, MRA Marg police station. Businessman Moti Bhatiya, 52, approached the police, who registered a complaint. Police said the accused managed to sneak into the shop, even though it was locked. The accused pulled the shutter up from the bottom and entered the shop, said Varpe. They stole the cash from a drawer on the second floor. Police have not ruled out the involvement of an insider. The shops CCTV cameras were switched off. Bhatiya said he had kept the key to drawer near it, as was his routine, said Varpe. Police are examining CCTV camera footage of the neighborhood to find clues. A case has been registered against the accused. Imagine a world in which rich and poor alike have unlimited food, live in excellent health, and can zip through the streets of Delhi, Bangalore, or Mumbai in minutes in driverless cars and enjoy affordable clean energy, education, and comfortable housing. This seems like a dream, doesnt it? It isnt. It is a future that can be created within two decades. Technology advances are literally making science fiction a reality. Take the smartphones that even rickshawallahs can now afford. These are powered by computers many times more powerful than the Cray Supercomputers that could not be imported to India (because of an arms embargo imposed on India in the late 1980s; and this was a dual use technology). The accelerometers and gyroscopes in these are more precise than those that Americas nuclear missiles once contained. The photographs that NASAs rover Curiosity (launched in 2011) is sending from Mars are taken with a 2 MP camera something even the poor would scoff at now. That is how rapidly technology is advancing. Computers are doubling in their capabilities every year on a trajectory known as Moores Law. And everything they touch is advancing on the same exponential curve, including sensors, artificial intelligence, robotics, genomics, and energy technologies. India has long been held back by the cost of energy and the reliance on high-polluting fossil fuels. But the price of solar power generation has been falling by 10 to 20% a year for the past 40 years, and with every 20% reduction, total installed capacity has doubled. In 1980, solar-generated electricity in the US cost $1.50 per watt. In May, a solar power auction at Bhadla Solar Park in Rajasthan yielded a bid of Rs 2.44 per unit for a 500-megawatt installation, a greater than 99% reduction in cost. The trend is accelerating; by 2030, energy will be as inexpensive as cellphone minutes are now and available to all. With inexpensive energy, the problem of water shortages and waterborne viruses can be solved because boiling all of the water needed will be economical and India is surrounded by oceans. Along with advances in LED lighting, which are already as economical as tungsten-based lightbulbs, and breakthroughs in optimising light frequencies for growing plants, the falling price of energy makes vertical farming economical. Using sensors and artificial intelligence software to monitor crop growth in glass-enclosed buildings, India can grow all the organic food it needs. And then there is health care. World wide, more than four billion people lack access to quality diagnostics, so ailments that could be cured if diagnosed lead instead to suffering and death. But with the declining cost of micro-electromechanical- and nanofluidic-based sensors, a new generation of inexpensive medical devices are possible. Forus Health, for example, has developed a portable eye-screening device, called 3nethra, that can detect eye pathologies such as cataract, diabetic retinopathy, and cornea-related problems. Health Cubed has built an inexpensive medical-grade device that provides 32 measures and tests, including blood pressure, blood sugar, blood haemoglobin, and urine protein and is able to diagnose diseases such as HIV AIDS, syphilis, dengue, and malaria. MapMyGenome analyses genome data to provide insights into the genetic bases of various aspects of individuals health, including traits, lifestyle, drug responses, and inherited conditions. These are all Indian startups that will soon help people all over the world. With 3D printing, within 15 years, we will be able to digitally manufacture household goods and clothing and even buildings and electronics goods. The 3D printers of today are still slow and clumsy and do little more than produce device prototypes and toys. But exponentially advancing technologies move slowly before they do amazing things. It will also become economical to synthetically produce meat. What if you were offered cooked protein which had the appearance, texture, and taste of beef or pork but was designed on a computer and produced in a 3D printerand no animals were even touched. Would you eat it? That is a question you may have to answer in 2027. In education, it is already possible to watch educational videos on the same smartphones that one is gawking at Sunny Leone on. With AI-based learning apps and virtual reality headsets, which will also become affordable within five years, Indias entire education system could be transformed. Imagine learning Sanskrit by conversing with the inhabitants of ancient India, or learning mathematics by building pyramids in ancient Egypt in virtual reality. This will be possible. It is not going to be smooth sailing to this amazing future, though. Every technology creates new risks, disrupts industries, and destroys old-line jobs. Technologies can be used for good and for evil. The challenge for India will be to ensure that the benefits of technology are shared equally, that the rewards of each technology outweigh the risks, and that there is greater freedom and autonomy for the people. If this is done right, it could open up the era of knowledge and enlightenment that we have dreamed of. Vivek Wadhwa is a distinguished fellow at Carnegie Mellon University in Silicon Valley. The views expressed are personal The Indian Army is prepared to carry out another round of surgical strikes in the enemy territory and those lethal attacks need not be similar like previous ones so that the enemy will not know about them, said Army Chief General Bipin Rawat while addressing a gathering of students, defence strategists and intellectuals during the release of the book Securing India the Modi Way, authored by journalist and national security analyst Nitin Gokhale at the College of Engineering Pune (COEP) auditorium on Friday. There are various options before us when it comes to surgical strikes. It is based on the element of surprise which means to keep the other side guessing and must be something new, Gen Rawat said when asked about whether India was ready to go for the next round of surgical strikes if required. Gen Rawat said that Myanmar surgical strike sent the right message across to the adversaries. Regarding the infrastructural development in China border area, Gen Rawat said that road infrastructure was being developed and work was being done with faster pace. We are also getting sophisticated surveillance and reconnaissance devices and have abundant ammunition to tackle our enemy, he said. Referring to the cadre review of other ranks (OR) personnel, Gen Rawat said that 1.40 lakh OR personnel will be promoted with effect from January 1, 2018. Rawat said, Its very tough to get promotions in the Army and a meagre 0.18 per cent officers rise to the rank of a two star general. For the junior commissioned officers (JCO) and other ranks, the pyramid is even steeper. The cadre review of JCOs was pending with the government for over 10 years. It has now been approved and will be implemented from January 1, 2018, which includes promotion of 1.40 lakh JCOs. Besides, 457 new Subedar Major vacancies will be filled, he said. The programme was organised by Pune International Centre (PIC), a think tank based in Pune engaged in carrying out in bringing out cutting edge policy research papers and engaging in meaningful conversations with intellectuals from different walks of life for achieving national goals of social innovation, progress and development. The book was launched by Gen Rawat in the presence of dignitaries like newly appointed Lt Gen DR Soni, GOC in Chief, Southern Command; Air Chief Marshal (retd) PV Naik; Lt Gen (retd ) DB Shekatkar, Air Marshal (retd ) Bhushan Gokhale and Prashant Girabane, honorary director PIC. Digitisation a boon but human touch is important: Gen Rawat Chief of Army Staff, General Bipin Rawat, on Friday said that digitisation of defence accounts has proved to be boon for the armed forces defence accounting system but the human interaction between the facilitator and beneficiaries will always remain. He was speaking at the inaugural function of the launch of Interactive Voice Response System (IVRS) at Principal Controller of Defence Accounts (Officers), PDCA (O), at Golibar Maidan in Pune Cantonment. The function was attended by Army Commander, Southern Command, Lt Gen DR Soni; Additional Controller General of Defence Accounts, Upendra Sah, Indian Defence Account Service ( IDAS), senior Officers of the Army and defence accounts department. Gen Rawat applauded the initiatives taken by the Pune Controller of Defence Accounts PCDA (O) office in rendering prompt and efficient services to the Army officers. He said that use of information technology (IT) in the form of IVRS would ensure additional communication channel for officers posted to areas having no internet connectivity. The Indian Army chief said that though IVRS has been launched and was a digital platform, the human touch must be continued between the army officers and the office of PCDA. General Rawat also appreciated the role of officers and staff of PCDA (O), Pune for implementation of 7th Central Pay Commission (CPC) orders in time bound and efficient manner. A booklet on the implementation of 7th CPC was also released by the General on the occasion. The General was confident that the synergy between the army officers and PCDA (O) continues in the coming years. The IVRS system was earlier inaugurated in May 2016 on pilot basis for testing and security clearance purposes. The IVRS has received security clearance from Integrated Head Quarters, Ministry of Defence (Army), New Delhi. The information is being provided in Hindi and English wherein the officer may login through landline/mobile numbers and T-Pin will be generated to access the IVRS system. The information can be obtained through 9 menus which includes details of salary, adjustment of part II orders, details of various claims and TA/DA advances drawn by the army officers. Upendra Sah, IDAS, Addl. CGDA emphasised the need to continuously upgrade the system as per inputs from Army Headquarters. PCDA (O) is the first office to launch its official website. He also commended PCDA (O) for the professionalism in official functioning. He said that through IVRS, all army officers can get up to date information 24 X 7, 365 days. The welcome address was delivered by Avinash Dikshit, IDAS, PCDA (O). PCDA (O) highlighted the need for processing of part-II orders online for real time adjustment of pay and allowances. The Chief of Army Staff awarded commendation card to Dr Khumkar Mahesh Suresh, Addl.CDA for his dedication and meritorious services to Indian Army Officers. Its homage to a teacher, a mentor, to someone who believed in teaching by practising. That is how Sangeeta Bagga, the principal of Chandigarh College of Architecture, describes their two-day commemoration of the legacy of Pierre Jeanneret, the first chief architect of the city who built it from the brick, on his 50th death anniversary. Step into the college, and you will see the self-effacing architect everywhere. Hes there on the brochures, the invites, the tall panels, and even in the courtyard, where a dozen students are sitting on the grass in fading light, working assiduously to recreate his living room. The bushy-haired Kanav Kaushal, a final-year student with the luxury of a chair, says, The stage will have the facade of Jeannerets house, complete with a fish-eye window, a big conical window, brick jaaliWe are also making a replica of his iconic kangaroo chair. Both teachers and students of the college are unanimous that Jeanneret has been in the shadows of Le Corbusier for far too long, its time he comes into his own. As Kanav puts it, He is the forgotten architect of the city even though he was on the ground when it was being built. He deserves an ode. Pierre Jeanneret (Wikicommons) LIVING ARCHIVES They are scripting it in the principals office with its lemon yellow chairs and the high ceiling, working past midnight to coordinate with Montreal in Canada, from where they are getting images, which are on loan for the exhibition, An Architectural Odyssey, from December 3 to 20, and will be destroyed thereafter. The final year students have made 14 panels curating his work. We are getting many images from architectural historian Maritella Casciato, who has curated Jeannerets archives in Montreal, explains Bagga. The 14 eye-catching panels sum up Jeanneret and his works, beginning with an introduction to the man, the timeline of his architectural journey, and works, titled Centres of Learning. These are a testimony to wonders of collaboration among three teachers and 14 students, says Bagga. The students are also conducting walking tours of the Capitol Complex, Old Architects Office in Sector 19, Pierre Jeanneret museum and Panjab University campus. You can see Jeannerets imprint all over the city, be it the modest government houses, Panjab University or the assembly, says Bagga. ON CHAIRS AND TABLES Third-year students are paying homage to Jeannerets furniture. It was a modern, no-frills furniture, which is remarkable for its simplicity and comfortable design. He was good at improvising and made use of locally available material such as timber, cane and jute, says Amrit Panwar, a lecturer. Showing you a Lilliputian bed, Millind, a third-year student, says he is fascinated by Jeannerets fuss-free, classic furniture. But making the replicas takes time. Tamanna Sethi, a third-year student, says it takes about an hour and half to draft, cut, and glue a piece of furniture. We make nine pieces in a day, says Millind. Students also designed the brochure, says Priya Gupta, a lecturer. Its inspired by the geometrical shapes employed by Jeanneret. Gupta, who is coordinating the tours, says its a great way to connect with the first foot architect of the city. The beauty of his work is that it has endured so long and is as contemporary now as it was then. Bagga says Jeannerets work is so ubiquitous that its easy to miss it. Like the man himself, his work is not overpowering. There are simple elements such as sun-breakers, cross ventilators when I look at a building, I can see Jeannerets watermark on it. Bagga hopes the college will help locals see it too. The Punjab and Haryana high court has sought response from Punjab Police on a petition moved by a Moga resident alleging torture of UK national Jagtar Singh Johal, arrested in connection with targeted killings of right-wing leaders. The petition was filed by Balwinder Singh seeking constitution of a medical board for the examination of Johal, who the petitioner claimed was being tortured by police. Balwinder Singh is the father-in-law of Johal, who married his daughter on October 19. Police have claimed that Johal was not only a key conspirator but also a fund-raiser and used to send money to one of the accused Tarlok Singh for buying arms. He was arrested on November 4. The trial court in Jalandhar had rejected a plea for constitution of board on the grounds that when he appeared before it, he appeared fit. The court was told that he was not only tortured physically but mentally as well to obtain confessions. It is not necessary that if there was no visible physical injury mark on the body of a person, he had not been tortured, his counsel RS Bains had argued. The court has sought response from Punjab Police by March 22. Meanwhile, a Ludhiana court gave police a two-day custody of Jimmy Singh, one of the accused of targeted killings. An actors journey is all about expressing creativity, and learning and evolving as a human being, says actor and playwrite Pankaj Kapur. He is in Chandigarh to stage a play, Dreamz Sehar, with his wife and co-actor, Supriya Pathak, at the Tagore Theatre on Saturday. About the plays content, he says the one-hour-long act focuses on the difference between dreams and reality. Set in the hill town of Kasauli in Himachal Pradesh, the story depicts a one-night encounter between Sehar, played by Supriya, and professor Sanjay Mishra, played by Pankaj. Need to contemporise ancient text Speaking on the trend of adapting foreign work into theatre in India, Pankaj says, Though there have been many adaptations, but this is irrelevant. We need to have something that is related to our land and culture. We have works of amazing writers like Kalidas and Bhas. All we need is to contemporise them in an entertaining way. About the scarcity of playwrights in India, he stressed that we need to pay them better to encourage them to continue. In India, writers are underpaid. Universities should start new courses to create more opportunities for them, he said. I became a writer out of the desire to express myself. Drama should be taught in schools to have more artistic people, he added. Artiste should responsibly shoulder responsibilities The Karamchand fame actor also believes that creative people should shoulder their responsibilities towards the society with an honest approach instead of getting deliberate and political. Speaking about his association with Punjab, Pankaj says, If offered a good role, I would like to work in a good Punjabi film. This land has produced great writers, poets and actors. Half of the film industry comes from Punjab. A native of Ludhiana, he says Punjabis are distinct because they have a good sense of humour and every household here has an interesting story to tell. Reminiscing his first performance in Chandigarh, Pankaj says after excerpts of his novel Dopahar were published in a Bhopal-based magazine, the director Ram Gopal Verma asked him to read a part of it at the National School of Drama. This brought me to Chandigarh, a city which provided me a learned audience and a memorable experience, he says. On the other hand, when asked about her relationship with her spouse, who is also a colleague, Supriya said, I have worked for so many years and Pankaj always motivates me with his hard work and the ability to do something different every time. Our chemistry has just got better, she adds. About her Gujarat connect she said, I have a strong attachment with the state and after being inspired by mother Dina Pathak, a veteran actor, I performed my first play in Gujarati. As for Pankaj, he will be seen in Ketan Mehtas film Toba Tek Singh that is likely to be released later this year. Arya Samaj scholar and social activist Swami Agnivesh, who was at the Chandigarh Press Club on Friday, said, The word Rashtra is being used in a very narrow and wrong sense. In the Vedas, it does not mean only India but the whole world. Agnivesh, who termed the entire world as home, had been a former member of legislative assembly of Haryana. He was also instrumental in the formation of Commission of Sati (Prevention) Act of 1987. Human is the only caste There is no word called Hindu in the Vedas. There is only one caste that is human. The Vedas teach you to be humans, he said. Humans have divided the God into Hindu, Muslim and what not. God created man but the man in turn created several Gods and created factions by doing so, said Agnivesh, who will be holding a three-day Veda convention in New Delhi from December 15. He said that over $1,700 billion is being spent on armies and ammunition across the world. If only 10% of this amount is spent on education, poverty and development, all of our problems will vanish, he said. The activist, while discussing the ritualistic nature of religion, said that godmen such as Ram Rahim should be kept in check. He said that the need of the hour was to promote scientific temper so that the youth did not fall into the clutches of ritualistic babas. Speaking on the Padmavati row, Agnivesh said, Those who are speaking against the film have not even watched it. If they want to protest, they should create another film or move court. Action should be taken against those who have sought beheading of people, he added. Forced conversions in name of ghar wapsi should be banned Agnivesh also spoke on Kerala conversion case and said that Hadiya should have the freedom to choose her own life. Anyone who wishes to convert to any other religion should have the right to do so. However, there should be a ban on forced conversions in the name of ghar wapsi, he said. The Jharkhand government has directed the local administration on Saturday to evacuate villagers from Burha Pahar region, which has been witnessing repeated bombardments following the heavy offensive over a month by the security forces aimed out at rooting out top Maoist commanders. A joint team of Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh forces and para-military personnel are conducting a major anti-insurgency operation in the hilly and heavily-forested Burha Pahar, located in Garhwa district of Jharkhand bordering Chhattisgarh. The area is said to be a safe hideout for top ultras, who are fortified by the land mines surrounding it. Nearly a dozen security personnel have been injured in at least two cases of landmine blasts in the past month. Chief secretary Rajbala Verma and director general of police DK Pandey held a review meeting in Garhwa on Saturday. Sources said the top officials thrashed out strategies for the offensive, besides deliberating on the development projects the government is planning for the area. Officials said the local administration was directed to get the area cleared even as the Jharkhand police chief warned top Maoist commander Arvindji, who is reportedly holed up in Burha Pahar, to surrender or be ready to face bullets. The chief secretary has directed senior district officials to ensure that the villagers from the Burha Pahar region were shifted out at the earliest, a senior official told HT. Verma has also asked the officials to draw out a detailed development plan for the area, the official said. The state officials also reiterated the governments resolve to get Burha Pahar liberated from the Maoists by December end while reviewing the administrations support to the operation. The CPI (Moist), however, described the anti-Maoist offensive a conspiracy to displace locals from their jal, jungle and zameen (water, forest and land). In a statement released on Saturday in neighbouring Palamu district, CPI (Maoists) spokesperson for Bihar-Jharkhand special area committee (BJ-SAC), Gopal said: The present offensive at Burha Pahar that began on October 29 is aimed to terrorise local villagers so that they abandon their right on jal, jungle and zameen without resistance, thus paving way for the construction of pending Kutku Dam. Criticising the security officers for attributing the sounds of heavy blasts to the landmine explosions triggered by the Maoists, Gopal added, They used light Bofors-like long-range heavy artillery gun to shell the area for four days from October 23 and put the blame on us. We condemn the use of weapons used on borders against us. Meanwhile, speaking to media here after the review meeting, DGP Pandey said, Arvind should come out of forests and surrender. We will extend all benefits as per our surrender policy. But if he continues to hamper development, he will be terminated with bullets. Actor Suriyas upcoming Tamil release Thaana Serntha Kootam (TSK), which has been on the floors for many months, finally got wrapped up on Friday. Keerthy Suresh took to twitter to share the news. She wrote: And thats a wrap up for #ThaanaaSerndhaKoottam #TSK. Thank you @Suriya_offl sir @VigneshShivN bro @dineshkrishnanb bro @anirudhofficial @kegvraja sir @StudioGreen2 @meramyakrishnan maam. Pongalukku varrom (sic) Directed by Vignesh Shivan, the film is confirmed to hit the screens during Pongal 2018. Rumoured to be the remake of Akshay Kumars Special 26, TSK is a heist comedy featuring an ensemble cast of Karthik, Keerthy Suresh, Senthil and Baahubali fame Ramya Krishnan. Going by the first poster of the film, it can be assumed that audiences will get to see vintage Suriya in an avatar thats very close to his real self. The makers have released four posters so far and all of them have been received very well, especially the second one being complimented for its creative touch. The second poster befits the title and does full justice to the films basic premise. Suriya will be seen in two different looks in Thaana Serntha Kootam, in which he has tried his hands at comedy after a long time and this shift from regular action films might work in his favour. The film has been dubbed in Telugu and is most likely to have a simultaneous release. Produced by Studio Green, the film has music by Anirudh Ravichander. Follow @htshowbiz for more ott:10:ht-entertainment_listing-desktop Backers of a US-Russian plan to build nuclear reactors across the Middle East bragged after the US election they had backing from Donald Trumps national security adviser Michael Flynn for a project that required lifting sanctions on Russia, documents reviewed by Reuters show. The documents, which have not previously been made public, reveal new aspects of the plan, including the proposed involvement of a Russian company currently under US sanctions to manufacture nuclear equipment. That company, major engineering and construction firm OMZ OAO, declined to comment. The documents do not show whether Flynn, a retired Army lieutenant general, took concrete steps to push the proposal with Trump and his aides. But they do show that Washington-based nuclear power consultancy ACU Strategic Partners believed that both Flynn, who had worked as an adviser to the firm as late as mid-2016, and Trump were firmly in its corner. Donald Trumps election as president is a game changer because Trumps highest foreign policy priority is to stabilize US relations with Russia which are now at a historical low-point, ACUs managing director, Alex Copson, wrote in a Nov. 16, 2016 email to potential business partners, eight days after the election. White House officials did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment. ACU declined comment and also declined to make Copson available for an interview. Previously they told a congressional committee that they had not had any dealings with Flynn since May 2016, before Trump became the Republican Partys presidential candidate. Flynns lawyer, Robert Kelner, did not respond to a request for comment. Flynn pleaded guilty on Friday to lying to the FBI about a discussion with the former Russian ambassador to Washington, Sergey Kislyak, in late December 2016 regarding sanctions. The documents also show that ACU proposed ending Ukraines opposition to lifting sanctions on Russia by giving a Ukrainian company a $45 billion contract to provide turbine generators for reactors to be built in Saudi Arabia and other Mideast nations. The contract to state-owned Turboatom, and loans to Ukraine from Gulf Arab states, would require Ukraine to support lifting US and EU sanctions on Russia, Copson wrote in the Nov. 16 email. A Turboatom spokeswoman said she did not have an immediate comment on the matter. The email was titled TRUMP/PUTIN ME Marshall plan CONCEPT. ME stands for Middle East. The title, evoking the post-World War Two plan to rebuild Western European economies, reflected the hopes of the plans backers that Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin could cooperate on a project that would boost Middle East economies. The email can be seen here. The ACU documents reviewed by Reuters include emails, business presentations and financial estimates and date from late autumn 2016. READY TO GO As part of their investigation into the Trump election campaigns ties to Russia, Special Counsel Robert Mueller and Democrats on the House of Representatives Oversight Committee are probing whether Flynn promoted the Middle East nuclear power project as national security adviser in Trumps White House. Flynn resigned after just 24 days as national security adviser after it became known he had lied to Vice President Mike Pence by telling him he had not discussed US sanctions on Russia with Kislyak in late December. In response to questions about the emails and documents, ACU referred Reuters to letters written in June and September by ACU scientist Thomas Cochran to the House Oversight Committee. In those letters, Cochran had laid out the projects strategy, describing a ready-to-go consortium that included French, Russian, Israeli and Ukrainian interests, without naming specific companies. Representative Elijah Cummings, the committees top Democrat, said the panels Republican chairman, Trey Gowdy, has for months rejected Democrats requests to ask the White House for documents pertaining to the ACU proposal. Gowdy has blocked all efforts to allow committee members to vote on issuing subpoenas, Cummings told Reuters. Gowdy did not respond to requests for comment. The ACUs nuclear reactor plan aimed to provide Washingtons Middle East allies with nuclear power in a way that didnt risk nuclear weapons proliferation and also helped counter Iranian influence, improve dismal US-Russian relations, and revive the moribund US nuclear industry, according to the documents seen by Reuters. The Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post reported this week that Flynn pushed a version of the nuclear project within the White House by instructing his staff to rework a memo written by a former business associate into policy for Trump to sign. Two US officials familiar with the issue told Reuters the policy document Flynn prepared for Trumps approval proposed working with Russia on a nuclear reactor project but did not specifically mention ACU. The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said they did not know if Trump had read the memo or acted upon it. THIS IS A BIG WIN On Nov. 18, 2016, 10 days after Trump won the presidential election, ACUs Copson received an email from nuclear non-proliferation expert Reuben Sorensen saying that he had updated Flynn on the nuclear projects status. Sorensens role in the project was not clear from the emails. Flynn is getting closer to (being named) National Security Advisor. Expect an announcement soon. This is a big win for the ACU project, Sorensen wrote. Spoke with him via backchannels earlier this week. He has always believed in the vision of the ACU effort ... We need to let him get settled into the new position, but update him shortly thereafter, Sorensen added. The email can be seen here. Reuters could not independently confirm a briefing took place. Sorensen did not reply to an email seeking comment. On Nov. 30, 2016, Copson briefed US Representative Ed Royce, Republican chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, on the nuclear project, an email shows. Copson was joined by Jim Hamel, a senior official from Curtiss-Wright Corp., which has a nuclear division based in Royces California district and was eager for a role in the multi-billion dollar project. In a follow-up email on Dec. 5 to a Royce aide, Hamel wrote, We hope that the Chairman will follow-up on Alexs suggestion to reach out to General Flynn to discuss the project. Royces spokesman, Cory Fritz, confirmed the briefing to Reuters. No action was ever taken by the chairman or the committee, he said in an email. Hamel and Curtiss-Wright declined to comment. Flynn was an adviser to ACU from April 2015 to June 2016, according to amended financial disclosure forms he filed in August 2017 to the Office of Government Ethics. Democrats on the House Oversight Committee say that when Flynn applied last year to renew his government security clearance, he failed to disclose a June 2015 trip he made to Egypt and Israel to promote the reactor project. Flynn has not commented on the trips. North Korea held mass celebrations for its latest successful long-range missile test, Pyongyangs state media said Saturday, with a propaganda-filled display of fireworks and dancing in public squares. The ruling Workers Party official daily Rodong Sinmun covered its front page with colour photographs showing thousands of tightly packed soldiers and people applauding in Pyongyangs Kim Il-Sung square, which was decorated with large portraits of the Norths late leaders. We heartily celebrate the successful test launch of the Hwasong-15 which showed Chosun (North Korea)s power and greatness to the whole world, read one banner held up by the crowd, referring to the missile. North Korea on Wednesday successfully tested a new intercontinental ballistic missile, with leader Kim Jong-Un declaring his country had now achieved full nuclear statehood. The US in response warned that Kim Jong-Uns regime would be utterly destroyed if its pursuit of a long-range nuclear missile arsenal provokes a military clash, and has battled to maintain international solidarity in the face of North Koreas nuclear threat. North Korean soldiers and Pyongyang residents holding a rally to celebrate the North's declaration on November 29 it had achieved full nuclear statehood. (KCNA/AFP Photo) In this undated photo provided by the North Korean government, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspects an intercontinental ballistic missile test in North Korea. (AP Photo) Kim himself was absent from the celebrations -- he usually stays away from such events -- but Fridays gathering drew key military, party and government leaders. Long Live the General Kim Jong-Un who has brought us the great historic cause of nuclear statehood, another banner read. Vice-chairman Pak Kwang-Ho of the partys decision-making Central Committee told the crowd that, after Wednesdays test launch, now no one can infringe our sovereignty and rights to survive and develop, according to the daily. He said that the United States had been jolted at the strengthening of North Koreas nuclear force and could attempt to commit robber-like provocative acts. He repeated Kims warning that the North would respond with the highest level of hard-line countermeasure in history. Kim first made the threat in September in response to US President Donald Trumps UN speech threatening to destroy the North and mocking him as Little Rocket Man. North Korean soldiers watch a fireworks display put on to celebrate the North's declaration on November 29 it had achieved full nuclear statehood, during a mass rally on Kim Il-Sung Square in Pyongyang. (AFP Photo) North Korean soldiers watch a fireworks display put on to celebrate the North's declaration. (AFP Photo) The ICBM Hwasong-15 type weaponry system used in Wednesdays test is an intercontinental ballistic rocket tipped with super-large heavy warhead capable of striking the whole mainland of the US, the North said. But analysts remain unconvinced that the North has mastered the technology required to launch and direct a missile, and ensure it survives the difficult re-entry into the Earths atmosphere. Tensions are expected to rise further in the coming week as South Korea and the United States launch a massive air force drill mobilising some 230 aircraft including six US F-22 Raptor stealth jet fighters. As explosive as the former national security advisor Michael Flynns guilty plea was, it did not establish collusion by Trump campaign with Russian meddling in the president elections. What it did do, was take the Russia probe right into the presidents inner circle of campaign aides and advisers who went on to hold crucial positions in his administration. Flynn was a close adviser to candidate Trump on national security and went on to hold the crucial White House job as NSA, briefing the president daily on national security issues around the world, with access to highly restricted information and deliberations. And Jared Kushner, who is reportedly the very senior official of the transition team who directed Flynn to contact Russia and other countries on a UN Security Council vote on Israel last December, became, and remains, a senior adviser to the president, holding the lead post on West Asia and relations with China, Mexico and Canada. Flynn has pleaded guilty to the charge of making false statements to FBI investigators about his contacts with Russians, which is a felony, but not to colluding with their alleged meddling, which would nail the case being probed by Special Counsel Robert Mueller. That said, President Trump and his legal team would be very worried about several issues arising out of Flynns admission of guilt, according to experts and observers. First, prosecutors only accept a plea deal when the information being offered by the defendant could lead to a bigger catch, someone more crucial in the food chain, someone who perhaps holds the key to the next level. Flynn has already given Muellers investigators two names, who have only been identified in court documents as very senior official and senior official, and who have since been reported to be Kushner and former deputy national security adviser K T McFarland. And Kushner is as close as it can get to the president, which raises the question if the president knew about these contacts, how much did he know, and did he authorise them? Trump, who has denied there was any collusion by him or campaign aides with the Russian meddling, has not said anything about his own role in the contacts. Second, most worrying for the president would be the fact that Flynn is cooperating with the probe under a plea deal and who knows what information or who would be given up. He was, after all, an early supporter and trusted adviser of the candidate. Read more: Trump's former NSA Flynn pleads guilty to lying to the FBI Trumps legal team sought to diminish his role in the Trump circle, describing him in a statement, as a former national security advisor at the White House for 25 days during the Trump Administration, and a former Obama administration official. He did serve in the Obama administration, as head of the defence intelligence agency, but was ousted. In the statement, Ty Cobb, who heads Trumps legal defence team in regard to the Russia probe, went on to say, The false statements involved mirror the false statements to White House officials which resulted in his resignation in February of this year. And, critically, Nothing about the guilty plea or the charge implicates anyone other than Mr. Flynn. For now, probably. There is also George Papadapoulos, a Trump campaign aide, who has also pleaded guilty to lying to FBI and is cooperating with investigators under a plea deal, which would not have been agreed to if he did not have anything useful to offer. Donald Trumps former top advisor Michael Flynn pleaded guilty Friday to lying to the FBI over his contacts with Russia, in a dramatic escalation of the probe into possible collusion between the presidents campaign team and Moscow. The 58-year-old retired three-star army general is the most senior figure indicted in special prosecutor Robert Muellers sprawling investigation into Russian interference in last years election. Heres a list of key players relevant to the Special Counsel investigation into former national security adviser Michael Flynn: Michael T Flynn: A retired US Army Lt. General and former director of the Defense Intelligence Agency during the Obama administration, Flynn served for less than a month as President Donald Trumps first national security adviser. He was fired in mid-February by Trump for misleading vice-president Mike Pence and other officials about his phone discussions with Russias ambassador, Sergey Kislyak. Flynns misleading statements about his Russia contacts and his 2016 consulting work for a Turkish client both came under scrutiny by Special Counsel Robert Muellers investigation. Flynn admitted Friday to one count of making false statements about his contacts with Kislyak. Sergey Kislyak: As Russias ambassador to the US, Kislyak attended the 2016 Republican national convention in Cleveland, where Trump was nominated as the partys presidential candidate. During the campaign, Kislyak met several Trump aides, including then-Senator Jeff Sessions and foreign policy adviser Carter Page. After Trumps election, Kislyak spoke by phone several times with Flynn in late December, and reportedly discussed economic sanctions put in place by the Obama administration. The calls were monitored by US intelligence agencies and days after Trump took office in January, Flynn reportedly lied to FBI agents interviewing him about the Kislyak talks. Kislyak was replaced as Russias ambassador in July. Vice-president Mike Pence: After media revelations in mid-January of Flynns talks with Kislyak, Flynn told Pence that his conversations with the Russian did not address US sanctions against Russia. In several television news show appearances, Pence said that Flynn had assured him that he and Kislyak did not discuss sanctions. The White House later explained Flynns firing by saying he had lost the trust of both Trump and Pence. Official portraits of US President Donald Trump and vice-president Mike Pence are seen at the Government Publishing Office in Washington. (Reuters Photo) President Donald Trump: After naming Flynn to head the National Security Council in January, Trump reluctantly fired him less than a month later. FBI director James Comey later testified that during an Oval Office meeting the day after Flynns firing, Trump appeared to ask him to end the FBIs inquiry, reportedly saying: I hope you can let this go. Trump has repeatedly denied the comment or that he tried to interfere in the probe. Jared Kushner: Trumps son-in-law Jared Kushner is believed to be a major target of the Mueller probe for his contacts with Kislyak, with a powerful Russian banker and with a Kremlin-linked Russian lawyer, Natalia Veselnitskaya, who was offering damaging information on Hillary Clinton. According to reports, Kushner was the very senior transition team official who directed Flynn to contact Russians last December in relation to a UN Security Council vote on Israeli settlements. James Comey: The former FBI director, whose firing in May precipitated the appointment of Robert Mueller as special counsel, has said that Trump asked him during a private Oval Office encounter if he could see his way to letting the Flynn investigation go, and told him that Flynn was a good man. Comey has said he found the request concerning and documented it in an internal memo, summaries of which were later disclosed to members of the media. The White House has denied that the conversation occurred as Comey described. Sally Yates: As acting attorney general, Yates and another Justice Department official went to the White House on January 26 to warn White House counsel Don McGahn that Flynn was potentially compromised and vulnerable to blackmail because of discrepancies between the public accounting of the Kislyak conversation and what actually occurred. White House officials, including Pence, had stated publicly that Flynn had not discussed sanctions with Kislyak but Yates has said she advised McGahn that there were factual problems with that account. She has said she expected the White House to take action. Michael G Flynn: Michael Flynn Jr., as he is known, accompanied his father on his 2015 trip to Moscow. Flynn Jr. worked for his fathers company as part of its 2016 research aimed at developing a criminal case against Fethullah Gulen, a Turkish Muslim cleric whose extradition from the US has been sought by Turkeys government. Flynns son was paid $12,000 for unspecified administrative support under the Turkish contract. Flynn Jr. also acted briefly as his fathers chief of staff during the transition, but was forced to resign after his frequent tweets on conspiracy theories. KT McFarland: The former deputy national security adviser in the Trump administration, and former Fox News analyst, was nominated in May to be ambassador to Singapore. According to two former transition officials, McFarland was referenced in court papers Friday as the unnamed Trump transition team member who spoke with Flynn last December about what, if anything, to say about sanctions that had just been imposed by the Obama administration in response to election meddling. Russias foreign minister has accused the US ambassador to the United Nations of a bloodthirsty stance on North Korea that could significantly worsen tensions. Sergey Lavrovs statement at a Rome news conference with his Italian counterpart on Friday came two days after Ambassador Nikki Haley said that if war breaks out over North Koreas missile tests, the country would be utterly destroyed. Russian news agencies quoted Lavrov as saying: If somebody is very eager to use force to wipe out North Korea, as the United States UN envoy said, it was a very bloodthirsty tirade. Haleys remarks followed Pyongyangs latest ballistic missile test. Lavrov also spoke of having the impression over the last two months that there is someone in Washington who wants to provoke new actions by North Korea. Amid the H1B visa row in India, the US government on Friday said there has been no change in law regarding the H1B regime and the system continued to be as before. Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for State for South Asia Thomas Vajda said no legislation has been passed so far on the particular category of visa. (There is) no change in the law today for H1B (visa) regime or system in the United States... President (Donald) Trump asked for review of the H1B system...but no steps have been taken. Many changes in law, so many cases, require changes of legislation. But so far no legislation has been passed on H1B. For the moment, the system remains as it has in the past, Vajda told reporters after an interactive session with members of the Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Following Trumps election as US president on a protectionist platform, the US has announced stricter norms for issuing the H1B and L1 visas. Indias Commerce Minister Suresh Prabhu said in October that the issue of H1B and L1 visas, which have facilitated the entry of Indian IT professionals, has been raised strongly with Washington. Responding to a query regarding reducing pet coke imports from the US, Vajda said the US sees energy as the most potential area for increasing economic activities. The US is committed to increase energy export and support for Indias economic development, he said. Vajda said both the governments of India and the US have been hopeful and supportive for completion of contract between the Westinghouse Electric Company and the Nuclear Power Corporation of India to build six nuclear reactors in India. On the Rohingya refugee crisis, he said the US has been providing financial support for humanitarian purposes to the Bangladesh government through international organisations to help out over 600,000 Rohingyas who have fled to Bangladesh from Myanmar since August. We also continue to urge the governments of Myanmar and Bangladesh to have conversations and discussions that will facilitate the safe, voluntary and dignified return of Rohingyas to Myanmar, he added. As many as 512 died in an October truck bombing in the Somali capital Mogadishu, an emergency committee investigating the terrorist atrocity has found. An earlier death toll of 358 already made the October 14 bombing the deadliest terrorist attack in Somalias history. No group claimed responsibility, but the Al-Qaeda-aligned Shabaab militant group has been blamed. The overall number of people we have recorded involved in the casualty are 869 persons: 512 are dead, 295 wounded and about 70 others are not yet confirmed if they were dead and or missing, Abdulahi Mohamed Shirwac, chairman of the Somali Emergency Operation Centre told AFP Saturday. The 11-member board was established to look into the October 14 bombing. The government has not commented on the report, which it received this week. The Shabaab has been fighting to overthrow successive internationally-backed governments in Mogadishu since 2007 and frequently deploys car and truck bombs against military, government and civilian targets. The huge October explosion levelled buildings in the capitals busy Kilometre 5 neighbourhood. Since then the United States -- which supports Somalias fledgling army as well as carrying out its own operations against the Shabaab and a separate self-proclaimed Islamic State group in the north of the country -- has increased the frequency of air strikes targeting jihadist leaders. Michael Flynn was President Donald Trumps favourite general, rapidly vaulted to prominence by his fiery speech at the 2016 Republican National Convention about jailing Hillary Clinton and by Trumps decision to reward him with a plum job as his top national security aide. Flynns plunge was even faster. He was fired by Trump after just a month in the White House and left to contend with a mounting criminal probe that led to his decision to plead guilty Friday to lying to the FBI about his contacts with the Russian ambassador. Flynn, 58, is the first person who served in the Trump White House to be charged in the wide-ranging investigation led by special counsel Robert Mueller into possible coordination between the Trump campaign and Russia. He also becomes the first former national security adviser to be charged with a felony since the fallout from the Iran-Contra affair of the mid-1980s. Flynn came to the fore as the stern, hawkish persona of the tough national security image Trump sought to project to the nation and the world during last years campaign. Trump admired my generals, as he described the military men he brought into his campaign, and for Flynn, the growing bond with the insurgent GOP candidate was life altering. Flynn was a familiar presence on the Trump campaign trail, his appearance intended to lend national security gravitas to an election effort short on established names. At campaign events, and at the Republican convention, Flynn led cheers of Lock her up about the Democratic candidate and her email practices. Flynns vaunted military career as an intelligence specialist had ended in a forced dismissal by senior Obama administration officials. As a retired U.S. Army lieutenant general, he had to scramble for opportunities advising cybersecurity companies and starting up his own consulting firm. But Trumps growing admiration provided Flynn with the promise of a pivotal national role and a public forum for his increasingly defiant screeds against radical Islam and the Obama administration. Trump lauded Flynn as an invaluable asset in November 2016 as he named him his national security adviser. And even after Trump fired him in February, the president continued to hold Flynn in high esteem, grousing that such a wonderful man had been laid low by leaks and pesky media. Flynns path to the courtroom can be traced back to two events on the same day Election Day 2016. That morning, Flynn published an op-ed in The Hill newspaper, trumpeting the talking points of the Turkish government. That evening, Trump won the election, thrusting the retired general known for his attacks on Islam into position for a top national security post. Within weeks, Flynn had been named national security adviser and the Justice Department had taken an interest in the op-ed as possible evidence of unregistered foreign agent work. While Flynns attorneys began the process of determining whether he would need to register under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, Flynn had a phone conversation with the Russian ambassador to the United States that was recorded by the U.S. government and that swiftly caught the attention of the Justice Department. He was interviewed by FBI agents on Jan. 24 about his communications with the ambassador, Sergey Kislyak, and about whether they had discussed sanctions imposed on Russia following its election interference. Days later, then-acting Attorney General Sally Yates warned White House counsel Don McGahn that Flynn had been compromised because of discrepancies between the White House public narrative that Flynn and Kislyak had not discussed sanctions and the reality of what occurred. White House officials took no immediate action against Flynn, and he was not forced to resign his position until after news reports indicated that he had discussed sanctions and that Justice Department officials had raised concerns. In the weeks after his firing, Flynn registered retroactively with the Justice Department, disclosing that $530,000 worth of lobbying his company did for a Turkish businessman could have benefited the government of Turkey. Flynns business partner, former Export-Import Bank board member Bijan Kian, also registered. In the filings, both men laid out a contract Flynn signed in the final months of the presidential campaign that called for his firm, the Flynn Intel Group, to gather information that could support a criminal case against a Turkish cleric living in the U.S. The cleric, Fethullah Gulen, has been accused of being behind a failed coup last year, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called for his extradition. The U.S. has rebuffed those calls for lack of evidence. But Flynns retroactive disclosure of the work did not satisfy federal prosecutors. A grand jury in the Eastern District of Virginia soon began investigating, and FBI agents began asking questions about how much Flynn and Kian knew about Ekim Alptekin, the Turkish businessman who hired them. When Mueller was appointed in May, he incorporated that investigation. The Turkish contract landed by Flynns consulting firm was the first significant promise of business success since he had left the military. Flynn had won plaudits as a military intelligence officer in combat zones in Afghanistan and Iraq and was rewarded in July 2012 with a post as director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, the militarys spy organization. He lasted two years, criticized by Obama administration officials for his management and temper, and was forced to retire in August 2014. Flynns post-military career was a succession of consulting gigs and directorships at small defense contractors. He traveled to the Mideast in 2015 to lend credibility to a proposal for a U.S.-Russia private nuclear partnership that has yet to work out. And he took payments from several foreign firms that have come back to haunt him. Congressional committees investigating Flynn earlier this year found that he had been paid more than $37,000 by RT, a Russian state-sponsored television station, to attend its anniversary gala in Moscow in December 2015. Flynn was given a dignitarys welcome, seated beside Russian President Vladimir Putin at the networks lavish dinner. The Russian network has since been identified by a U.S. intelligence community assessment as a propaganda arm of Putins government. Flynn is also under investigation by the Defense Departments inspector general to determine whether he failed to obtain government approval before accepting payments from foreign governments. Flynns rise in prominence in conservative circles came as he became an outspoken critic of President Barack Obamas handling of terrorism. Flynn called for a more aggressive campaign against the Islamic State group and turned his fire on Islam itself, calling it a cancer and a political ideology that definitely hides behind being a religion. Flynn harped on similar themes on the campaign trail, joining Trump at rallies and working his way into the campaign inner circle. Most notably, Flynn also became the face of Trumps calls for Clinton to be jailed over her use of a private email server. If I did a tenth of what she did, I would be in jail today, Flynn said at the Republican convention. US President Donald Trumps son-in-law Jared Kushner was the very senior official who directed former national security adviser Michael Flynn to contact Russians over a UN Security Council vote on Israeli settlements, according to US media reports. Flynn, who pleaded guilty on Friday to lying to FBI about his conversations with the then Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak, has told investigators he was directed by a very senior official of the Trump transition team in December 2016 to contact Russians and officials of other countries to stop or delay the vote. Multiple news organisations have reported the very senior official could have been Kushner. The New York real estate mogul, is the administrations lead official on the West Asia peace process and in charge of an evolving portfolio of responsibilities that includes everything from the Middle East to relations with Canada, Mexico and China. Kushner has close ties to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who had reportedly reached out to the Trump campaign to help stop the vote on Israeli settlements in the West Bank or delay it as Obama was prepared to let it go through and not veto it. On or about December 22, 2016, a very senior member of the Presidential transition team directed Flynn to contact officials from foreign governments, including Russia, to learn where each government stood on the resolution and to influence those governments to delay the vote or defeat the resolution, prosecutors said in a court document. Flynn spoke to the Kislyak the same day and informed him of incoming administrations opposition to the resolution, taking a position contrary to that of Obama, and requested Russia vote against or delay the resolution. Flynn and Kislyak spoke again on December 23, and this time the Russian ambassador told him if the resolution came for a vote, Russia will not oppose it. Eventually, on December 28, the UNSC resolution passed 14-0 in the 15-member security council, with the US abstaining. Flynn, who is cooperating with investigators in a plea deal, also mentioned a senior official at Trumps Florida resort Mar-a-Lago, whom he had consulted on the conversation he had with Kislyak on sanctions imposed by then president Barack Obama in retaliation for Russian meddling in the presidential election. The identity of the senior official remains unclear, with some indicating it was former deputy national security adviser KT McFarland. US defence secretary James Mattis has said that his upcoming visit to Pakistan was part of an effort to set the conditions for future collaboration that would lead to denial of safe havens for any terrorist group that would attack anyone in the region. Mattis reaches Islamabad on December 4 and will meet Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa in an attempt to fix a relationship on a downward spiral, which has come under renewed scrutiny of the Trump administration. This is an effort... by the American administration to go in and set the conditions for future collaboration that leads to reconciliation in Afghanistan and a denial of safe havens for any terrorist group that would attack anyone in the region or elsewhere in the world, which a number of countries have suffered from, Mattis said. He said the US would like to broaden the focus to ensure no terrorist organisation is seen as able to operate from a haven there. President Donald Trump has warned Pakistan that the US will not be silent about Pakistans safe havens for terrorists and that it has much to lose by continuing to harbour criminals and terrorists. That message seemingly not reached the Pakistani leadership. After a court ended Lashkar-e-Taiba chief Hafiz Saeeds house arrest, the White House issued an angry warning, threatening Pakistan with repercussions for the bilateral relationship if it did not immediately re-arrest him. However, Hafiz remains free, despite that explicit warning. In October, Mattis told US lawmakers that the administration was willing to work with Pakistan one more time before rolling out punitive measures to compel it to act more decisively against terrorists. When asked what those measure might be, he did not rule down withdrawing Pakistans major non-NATO ally status as an option. The US wants Pakistan to act in its best interest and take action against terror safe havens, Jim Mattis said on Saturday, ahead of his first visit to Islamabad as Americas defence secretary. Mattis embarked on a four-nation tour on Friday which will take him to Egypt, Jordan, Pakistan and Kuwait. During the tour, he will re-affirm the US enduring commitment to partnerships in the Middle East, West Africa and South Asia. In Afghanistan, we have heard from Pakistan leaders that they do not support terrorism. So I expect to see that sort of action reflected in their policies, Mattis told reporters travelling with him to Egypt. They have said that they do not support havens for any terrorists, and Pakistan has taken significant casualties - both innocent people and their army - significant casualties from them. So we expect them to act in their own best interest, and in support of peace and regional stability, he said. Mattis will visit Pakistan on Monday where he is expected to meet Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and Army Chief Qamar Javed Bajwa, the Pentagon said. Im making my first trip to Pakistan as secretary of defense...The US remains committed to a pragmatic relationship that expands cooperation on shared interests while reinforcing President Trumps call for action against terrorist safe havens, he said. Responding to a question on Pakistans failure to take actions against terrorists, Mattis said Pakistan has to act in its own best interest. They know this. In many cases, they are. But what were looking for is to broaden the common ground and make certain that no terrorist organisation is seen as able to operate from a haven there, he said. Observing that 39 nations have troops on the ground in Afghanistan fighting terrorism, Mattis said the US was looking to make a common cause with them. Theres plenty of collaborative areas, right now, still in effect. Theres been some areas that we have lost over the years, because of disagreements about what we need to do, he said. So this is an effort by the new American administration, to go in and set the conditions for future collaboration that leads to reconciliation in Afghanistan and a denial of safe havens for any terrorist group that would attack anyone in the region or elsewhere in the world, which a number of countries have suffered from, Mattis said. On August 21, US President Donald Trump announced his South Asia strategy in which he had criticised Pakistan for providing safe havens to terrorists. American Airlines reached an agreement Friday with its pilots' union to avoid having to cancel thousands of flights during the Christmas holiday season because of a glitch with the pilots' schedules. The two sides had disagreed on how to overcome the glitch, which had left thousands of flights scheduled without a captain, a co-pilot or both between Dec. 17 and Dec. 31 at dozens of airports including hubs in Dallas, Chicago and Miami. Fort Worth-based American said the two sides "have put that worry to rest to make sure our flights will operate as scheduled." American, the world's biggest airline, has about 15,000 active pilots and expects to operate more than 200,000 flights in December. The airline discovered the problem last week in its scheduling system, in which pilots bid each month for flying assignments based on seniority. The glitch let pilots drop scheduled flights - to take a vacation over Christmas, for example - even when there were no other pilots available for that flight. Normally such a request would be denied, especially during busy travel periods. The airline had said it would avoid canceling flights by paying overtime and using reserve or on-call pilots. But the Allied Pilots Association lodged a protest, saying American was violating its labor contract by imposing a solution without union input, and was improperly restricting premium pay. The union said it dropped its grievance after a day of talks that addressed the needs of both the pilots and the airline. "With this agreement in principle, we anticipate that American Airlines will be able to maintain a full December schedule as planned for its passengers," the union said. Union spokesman Dennis Tajer said details will be released after pilots see the deal. "Both sides got together to figure this out and now we are going to be flying jets over the Christmas holidays," Tajer said. The trouble comes two months after Irish low-cost carrier Ryanair said it would cancel more 20,000 flights between November and March after admitting it "messed up" the transition to a new system for scheduling employee vacations. Nuclear and coal-fired power plants are fighting to stay in business across the country as they compete with rock-bottom natural gas prices and surging renewable energy. In Texas, some of the nation's largest merchant power companies, struggling with the same economics, are pushing for changes to the state's wholesale power market to boost their earnings. Energy Secretary Rick Perry is championing the cause of coal and nuclear plants nationally. He has argued that keeping them in operation is critical to protecting the integrity of the power grid and called on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to boost wholesale prices paid to coal and nuclear plants to keep them from shutting down. FERC, an independent agency, is scheduled to make a decision on Perry's proposal next week. Texas' grid is not connected by traditional transmission to those of other states, so it does not come under the jurisdiction of FERC. But some Texas-based power companies - including Houston's Calpine Corp. and NRG Energy - have argued that the state's grid faces the same reliability issues raised by Perry. Unless the state's wholesale power market is changed in a way that keeps them profitable, the companies argue, they will have no choice but to scale back investment in both existing and new power plants that provide the steady flow of electricity into the grid. That has already begun. NRG this summer said it would divest up to $4 billion of its assets, and laid off workers around the country. Calpine sold itself to a private equity company and other investors in a $17 billion deal. This fall, Dallas-based Vistra Energy announced the shutdown of three coal-fired power plants in Texas. Calpine and NRG have asked the Public Utility Commission to consider changes to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas' pricing structure to allow them to make more money when they sell power to the grid. Their earnings, they argued, have been hurt by competition from wind power, low natural gas prices and Texas' lack of a capacity power market, which in other states pays companies for keeping power in reserve to handle surges in demand. But the Texas Industrial Energy Consumers, a group representing some of the biggest power users in the state, isn't buying arguments of the power generators that integrity of the grid is at risk. The industrial users say the alarms raised by power companies are a ploy to boost profits and thwart competition from wind and solar energy. For customers, that means higher costs. Texas' grid and wholesale market, run by ERCOT, is "performing exceptionally well" and faces no reliability concerns, the business group said in a September filing with the Public Utility Commission. The group adds that there is no evidence that power generators would use additional revenues to build new plants or improve existing ones if regulators changed the pricing structure. There's more than a little irony in this debate. It wasn't so long ago that power companies in Texas and across the nation were championing deregulated markets and the benefits of competition. But now that they're getting more competition, a little regulatory intervention doesn't seem like such a bad thing. The airline Emirates has served more than 4.2 million eggs, 6 million bread rolls and 537,000 pounds of vegetables while flying customers between Houston and Dubai for work or play. On Sunday, the carrier marks its 10-year anniversary for offering nonstop flights at Bush Intercontinental Airport. Emirates has welcomed roughly 1.8 million passengers during that time. More recently, it has weathered a prolonged oil-price slump. "We are very confident looking into the future related to the Houston route," Matt Schmid, Emirates' senior vice president for North America, recently told the Chronicle. The local energy market prompted Emirates to select Houston as its second U.S. destination in December 2007. Schmid said the airline's route network, connecting through Dubai, is well suited to reach key energy markets in the Middle East, Africa, Far East or even the west coast of Australia. "That was really the key reason that we saw a very, very viable business opportunity to fly into Houston," Schmid said. Service began with five flights a week, increasing to daily flights just six months later. Notably, it began flying the behemoth Airbus A380 in 2014. The iconic double-decker increased Emirates' capacity by nearly 40 percent. More Information Emirates' top overall destinations from Houston: 1. Dubai, UAE (nonstop) 2. Hyderabad, India 3. Cochin, India 4. Chennai, India 5. Mumbai, India 6. Karachi, Pakistan 7. Delhi, India Emirates' top leisure destinations from Houston: 1. Dubai, UAE (nonstop) 2. Cape Town, South Africa 3. Bangkok, Thailand 4. Nairobi, Kenya 5. Sri Lanka 6. Maldives 7. Johannesburg, South Africa See More Collapse Houston Airport System Director Mario Diaz said the carrier has proved "an important partner" in boosting the city's international profile. "Since making that commitment in December 2007, Emirates has seen steady growth in business and leisure travelers," Diaz said in a statement. Business has been more turbulent in recent years. The oil-price crash slowed corporate travel, and Emirates downgraded the A380 to the smaller Boeing 777-300ER. Schmid described this as a "one-to-one link to the development in the energy sector." In the early months of this year, the airline's U.S. network took an overall hit following President Donald Trump's repeated calls for travel restrictions. Schmid said a separate ban on large electronics in carry-on luggage from certain airports, most of them in the Middle East, further hurt passenger counts. Schmid noted that travel has picked up in the past six months for the U.S. and Houston. He said the energy sector's recovery played a large role in Houston's resurgence. "The objective is to bring back the A380 capacity in the future, but there is no defined timeline at this point," he said. Houston-based airline consultant Pete Garcia expects Emirates to have a strong future in Houston. He said the airline gets good customer-service reviews and a strong balance sheet. He expects the A380 to return after the energy sector recovers further. "To be in any market for 10 years and survive the downfall of oil prices shows how strong the airline is," Garcia said. Schmid added that Emirates serves more than just energy executives. Members of the Indian, Vietnamese, Pakistani and Nigerian communities in Houston often fly Emirates when visiting friends and family. Medical tourism, part of the airline's efforts to diversify its customer base, has likewise become an increasingly large market niche. "We see a lot of international passengers that come to the Texas Medical Center for some very complicated and high-level treatments," Schmid said. Hauling cargo is another key part of Emirates' Houston business. Each passenger flight can carry cargo, and Emirates has a cargo-only plane that calls on Houston once a week. Key exports include drilling equipment and food. Key imports include drilling equipment, household products and mangoes. Oil prices surged closer to the threshold of $60 a barrel on Friday, one day after OPEC and its partners renewed a pact aimed at shrinking the global oil glut and supporting prices. Traders pushed crude prices higher on the news that two major OPEC producers Libya and Nigeria agreed to cap output at current levels, joining the coalition's deal to cut production by 1.8 million barrels a day through the end of next year. The extension of OPEC's agreement comes against the backdrop of rising tension in the Middle East, as Saudi Arabia fights a proxy wars with Iran and internal ones as Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman consolidates power. "The extension of the cuts will give the market additional time to rebalance as oil demand continues to grow," said Andy Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates in Houston. "We're also seeing increasing amounts of geopolitical risk enter the market. And we're going to see a continued decline in Venezuelan oil production." Venezuela's production has plunged during an economic and political crisis that has driven foreign energy companies and investment from the country. Lipow said it's likely U.S. oil prices will hit $60 a barrel in 2018 as global crude inventories continue to decline. Since OPEC began cutting production in January, the amount of oil stored in developed nations has dropped from 338 million barrels above historically normal levels to 138 million barrels. On Friday, U.S. crude rose 94 cents to $58.36 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. A week earlier, the price had climbed up to $58.95 a barrel, the highest point in more than two years. At the same time, Baker Hughes reported the fourth consecutive weekly rise in the number of working U.S. drilling rigs, a sign that the oil rally in recent has enticed oil companies to pump more oil. U.S. drillers added two oil rigs to the active fleet of 749 this week, and the number of gas-hunting rigs rose by four to 180. All told, the number of working rigs has climbed from 898 in early November to 929 this week. In Texas, drillers put four rigs to work in the prolific Permian Basin, bringing the state's count up to 454. Meanwhile the Haynesville Shale, which stretches across East Texas, Louisiana and Arkansas, gained three, for a total of 43. The Williston Basin in North Dakota gained one more rig, up to 48. "Sixty-dollar oil will encourage the drillers here to get more oil out of the ground but they also need to show better profitability than they did in 2017," Lipow said. "They're going to be more focused on profitability than volume." WASHINGTON - During a walk through a park in Switzerland this fall, with reporters in tow, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was drawn to a sphere-shaped sculpture of two figures huddled together, embracing. Only two weeks earlier, the former Exxon Mobil CEO had gone before cameras to deny he was resigning his post as his relationship with President Donald Trump soured over tweets undercutting Tillerson's foreign policy agenda and reports that Tillerson, in a moment of frustration, had called the president a "moron." Looking at that sculpture, Tillerson quipped: "Some days I feel like I need to do that. Curl up in a ball." After a career spent through the ranks of the Texas oil industry to arrive at the CEO's suite at one of the world's largest oil companies, Tillerson's grand attempt to transition into political life has run repeatedly into turbulence, most recently shaken by a White House leak that chief of staff John Kelly has drawn up a plan to replace Tillerson with CIA Director Mike Pompeo, a former congressman who has developed a close relationship with the president. Both Tillerson and Trump - Tillerson in a brief comment to reporters, Trump in a tweet - have denied efforts are afoot to push the secretary of state out of office, but many in Washington believe its only a matter of time, perhaps weeks, before Tillerson makes his exit. "I'm surprised he's lasted this long with the personality he has," said Rep. Gene Green, D-Houston, who knows Tillerson from his days running Exxon Mobil. "He is very serious and matter of fact, and President Trump is more theatrical, I guess is the word." This latest round of palace intrigue has raised the question of whether Tillerson's struggles were inevitable, given the vastly different personalities of the taciturn Texan and the flamboyant New Yorker, or of Tillerson's own making. An engineer by training who spent his entire professional career at Exxon, Tillerson struck many in the foreign relations community as an odd choice from the start. Unlike his predecessors, Tillerson, 65, had never worked in Washington, a town with its own rules and mores, and a world away from the technocratic culture of Exxon. He has struggled to make allies in Congress and among the State Department's career diplomats, who can help ensure success, analysts said. Headquartered outside Dallas, away from massive operations in Houston and other global energy centers, Exxon has operated for decades under a strict management strategy that promotes efficiency and the relentless pursuit of minimizing risk - the legacy of the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill. Tillerson came up through the executive ranks of Exxon under that strategy, and when he arrived in the State Department's historic Foggy Bottom headquarters, on the banks of Washington's Potomac River, he set about overhauling a bureaucracy more than 200 years in the making with almost 70,000 employees worldwide. Department grumblings In a speech to State Department staff in September, Tillerson told staff, such a "redesign" would "enable this organization to be more effective, more efficient, and for all of you to take great satisfaction in what you do day in and day out." But so far, Tillerson has been short on details, and delays in hiring and promotions while he carries out his grand strategy have turned many within the State Department against him, prompting condemnation from former top department officials and members of Congress from both parties. "I've talked to a lot of people and its really sour" at headquarters, said Ronald E. Neumann, a former ambassador in Africa during the administrations of George W. Bush and Bill Clinton and president of the American Academy of Diplomacy. "He talks about he wants to make everything better and then there's a bunch of management gobbledygook. There has been no coherent briefing of the Hill, and Congress is frustrated." As the head of one of the world's largest oil companies, Tillerson had both experience working abroad and longstanding relationships with leaders in parts of the world that have long occupied an outsized share of U.S. attention abroad. Foreign policy analysts particularly saw the potential for Tillerson to have an impact in the Middle East, where civil wars are raging in Syria, Yemen and Libya. Tillerson's relationships within Middle East players like Russia and Saudi Arabia raised expectations among diplomats that might be able to help move the warring factions toward peace talks. But this summer, after Tillerson urged the Saudis and other Middle East leaders to resolve differences and end a blockade of Qatar, Trump threw Tillerson's peace broker strategy into question, tweeting that Qatar was a "funder of terrorism at a very high level" and "the time had come to call on Qatar to end that funding." "Once that happened, U.S. neutrality fell by the wayside," said Jim Krane, a fellow in energy geopolitics at Rice University's Baker Institute of Public Policy. With Trump taking sides, it undermined Tillerson's chances for what might have been an early foreign policy accomplishment in a region that has long bedeviled secretaries of state. Trump also has undercut Tillerson on North Korea with belligerent "fire and fury" statements and tweets as Tillerson sought to calm escalating tensions around North Korea's nuclear program situation through quieter diplomacy. Department's budget cut Meanwhile, Tillerson's attempts to conciliate the rank and file at Foggy Bottom were complicated by the White House's call for an 8 percent cut in the State Department's budget, a move that would inevitably force large-scale layoffs in the diplomatic corps. And any hope Tillerson might have had of getting his restructuring completed quickly were likely dashed by the announcement that Maliz Beams, the former CEO of a retirement services firm hired to help execute Tillerson's plans, quit after just three months on the job. "There's going to be a lot of stories trying to fathom what happened, but 90 percent of this is going to be [Tillerson] just wasn't up to doing the job," said Gary Schmitt, a former intelligence official in the Reagan administration and now a scholar with the conservative American Enterprise Institute. "He didn't get people hired. People wouldn't work for him. It was chaos. A new CEO can come in and decide we're going to have four divisions instead of 10, and that's fine. But Washington doesn't work that way." In a media briefing last month, State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert acknowledged a morale issue, but defended Tillerson's overhaul efforts as a collaborative one involving veteran members of the department. "That's why I say, you know, 'Folks, hang in there,' " she said. "'We have a lot of work to be done. Please don't give up.'" Foreign affairs analysts say that Trump, whose contradictions of the secretary of state's policy positions have little precedent, shares the blame for the turmoil at State. Early on, Tillerson and Trump seemed to share a rapport, with Tillerson a regular visitor to the White House, but those visits have diminished in recent months, with Pompeo instead the more regular guest, Schmitt said. Kelly, who was long seen as an ally of Tillerson's, along with Defense Secretary James Mattis and National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster, is believed to have tired of the drama coming from Foggy Bottom. "Tillerson has made some enemies at State," Krane said. "People usually quiet, under the radar are speaking out about the gutting of the department, which put him in an impossible situation. He's lost the confidence of the folks above him, and if you're antagonizing the people below you, it's a pretty tough working environment." BEIJING - The Chinese company that is the world's biggest maker of commercial drones is denying claims in a U.S. government document circulated online that it gives Beijing information about American law enforcement and utility companies. DJI Ltd. denied suggestions in the document, posted on technology news websites, that it shared information about U.S. utility companies and other "critical infrastructure" with the Chinese government. A company statement said it doesn't look at flight logs, photos or video "unless customers actively upload and share them with us." The dispute highlights growing concern among governments about potential risks associated with the flood of data generated by smartphones, social media and other technology. China has ordered companies to store data about its citizens within this country, which prompted Apple to announce plans in July to set up a data center in southern China. Unidentified source The U.S. document, citing an unidentified source in the unmanned aerial systems industry, says data from DJI drones are transmitted to computers in China to which the government might have access. The document says it was issued by the intelligence program of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in Los Angeles. The American Embassy in Beijing said it had passed to ICE questions about whether the document was genuine. The agency has "moderate confidence" that DJI "is providing U.S. critical infrastructure and law enforcement data to the Chinese government," the document says. "A foreign government with access to this information could easily coordinate physical or cyber attacks against critical sites." Founded in 2007 DJI, or Da Jiang Innovations Science and Technology Co., was founded in 2007 by an engineer named Frank Wang and dominates the global market for remote-controlled drones used by photographers. It increasingly markets them for use in surveying or to monitor farms and industrial sites. The DJI statement said the U.S. report was based on "clearly false and misleading claims." "DJI does not send data on DJI cloud servers to the Chinese government. Nor does it allow access to such data by the Chinese government," said a company spokesman, Kevin On, in an email. "DJI is not aware of an instance in which the Chinese government has accessed user or drone data for operators determined to be in the United States." On said DJI has added features to give commercial or government users the option not to upload data to its servers or connect to the internet. The DJI statement said the company submitted a rebuttal of the report to the ICE. It urged the agency to consider whether its source "may have had a competitive or improper motive" to hurt DJI by making false claims. The U.S. military suspended use of DJI drones in August over concerns that its data might not be secure. Australia's military followed suit in September. Authorities are searching for a suspect involved in an aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon in southwest Houston. The robbery occurred around 8:30 p.m. on Oct. 9 under a bridge near the 10200 block of Club Creek Drive, according to a news release from Houston Crime Stoppers. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate The last member of the '3 Stooges' crew who caused more than a half-million dollars in damage to several schools in and outside Montgomery County was sentenced Friday. Ronnie Frank Morris, 22, will likely spend the next 10 years in prison after pleading guilty in September to a first-degree felony charge. Judge Phil Grant, in the 9th state District Court, handed the sentence down Friday afternoon after hours of testimony, according to prosecutors. Morris joins Paul Clark, 21, in being convicted for the vandalism. Clark pleaded guilty in July in exchange for a 20-year prison sentence. Chad Eaton, 21, was also facing a first-degree felony charge in connection with the vandalism but died in May, according to court documents. All three were facing up to life in prison. The Incidents Court documents show Conroe ISD's Moorhead Junior High, located in the 13400 block of FM 1485, was the first school hit around midnight Aug. 27, 2016. The three attempted to break into the school through a door near the school's bus ramp, but custodial staff members on scene scared off the individuals. Law enforcement officials believe the second break-in happened about an hour later at The Woodlands High School 9th Grade Campus in the 10000 block of Branch Crossing Drive. Someone pried open a door by the bus ramp and ransacked parts of the building by smashing in computer monitors with a pry bar, breaking windows and damaging a vending machine. The perpetrators also flooded part of the school by clogging a sink drain and turning on the faucet, court records show. The individuals responsible scrawled "3 stooges" on a wall in the teacher's lounge, right next to a knife that was left in the wall. School officials estimated the cost to repair the school was close to $27,000. Next hit was Coldspring-Oakhurst High School in Walker County on Sept. 4, 2016, where there was $30,000 in damage, followed by Splendora, New Waverly and New Caney high schools all in one night on Sept. 18, 2016. About a week later, the three broke into the Conroe High School 9th Grade Campus around 1 a.m., causing close to $13,000 worth of damage and stealing an undisclosed amount of money from the school's safe. A fire extinguisher also was discharged throughout the building and multiple windows and doors were broken. That same night, the three allegedly broke into Conroe High School and The Woodlands College Park High School. At College Park High School, there was a broken glass door with estimated damages at $5,400, as was as $12,000 in cash stolen from a safe, court records show. The final two reported hits caused the most damage, detectives said. Waller High School and Rosehill Christian Academy, west of Tomball, were broken into Oct. 2, causing a collective $130,000 worth of damage to both schools. It was at Waller High School where the three allegedly spray-painted "3 Stooges hits (sic) again," court records show. On all of the reported break-ins, detectives said three assailants wore dark clothes, some sort of head covering to conceal their identity and dark shoes. They all had crow bars. Arrest Using surveillance camera footage, police said they were able to capture part of Eaton's face. Eaton, a former student at Caney Creek High School, was positively identified by a principal there, court records show. From that identification, Conroe ISD detectives searched social media and found photos of Eaton, Clark and Morris together, according to an affidavit. The detectives pulled surveillance footage and credit card data from a gas station near Waller High School and found that Clark and Morris were at the gas station together around the same time of the burglaries at Waller High School and Rosehill Christian Academy, court records show. The group was arrested after a traffic stop by Conroe ISD police, court and jail records show. Donald Trump's young presidency entered a new dimension of surreality on Friday, with his 315th day in office delivering both his greatest achievement to date and his darkest omen of peril ahead. At the very moment the Senate was poised to pass a $1.5 trillion tax cut bill - a big step toward Trump's first major legislative victory - word came that his former National Security adviser, Michael Flynn, had pleaded guilty to a single count of lying to the FBI. The development was read across Washington to mean that Special Counsel Robert Mueller III likely has a bigger target in his sights, and that Flynn has agreed to provide the evidence that could help him make the case. Adding to that speculation was Flynn's stipulation in court documents that a "very senior member of the Presidential Transition Team" directed Flynn to contact officials from foreign governments, including Russia. According to court records and people familiar with the contacts, that was a reference to Jared Kushner, the president's son-in-law and close adviser. Like a Greek chorus appearing from the wings came a tweet by James Comey, the FBI director fired last February after Trump allegedly asked Comey to let his former national security adviser off the hook. "But justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream," Comey wrote, citing words of the Old Testament prophet Amos that the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. once spoke from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. Within Trump's orbit, there was concern Friday about how the president will react to Flynn's plea agreement, with what one adviser worried there would be "a full freakout." Instead, Republicans hope Trump will concentrate on a badly needed victory on taxes, and help them turn it into momentum as they head into next year's midterm elections. "The enactment of a comprehensive overhaul - complete with a lower corporate tax rate - will IGNITE our ECONOMY with levels of GROWTH not SEEN IN GENERATIONS . . .," the president tweeted as the bill moved toward Senate passage, after which it must be reconciled with a measure already approved by the House. Their progress on the tax legislation comes after they failed to deliver on a signature promise to "repeal and replace" the Affordable Care Act, although the tax bill goes partway with a provision that eliminates the law's requirement that individuals buy health insurance. The repeal would leave an estimated 13 million more people uninsured. Things at the White House on Friday were tightly buttoned up. Officials abruptly canceled a photo session with Libyan Prime Minister Fayez Serraj that might have provided reporters an opportunity to ask Trump questions about the Flynn news. Long-established rituals of the holiday season proceeded, however, among them an annual reception for the news media that the president regularly pummels. Trump's uncharacteristically perfunctory remarks were declared off the record. Flynn's plea was an especially heavy blow to the president, who had been telling friends for weeks that his "brilliant" legal team was confident that the investigation was wrapping up and that Christmas would bring the gift he wanted most - a letter of exoneration. "He wasn't worried about it," said one person who heard from Trump during a Thanksgiving weekend spent at his beloved Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. Another associate, however, discerned that anxiety was still tickling somewhere in the back of Trump's mind, when the president made a speech at a Coast Guard station Thanksgiving morning. The hint was a seeming non sequitur to a point he was making about military equipment sales overseas: "You never know about an ally. An ally can turn. You're going to find that out." And as Air Force One was preparing to bring Trump back to Washington on Sunday, he tweeted: "Since the first day I took office, all you hear is the phony Democrat excuse for losing the election, Russia, Russia, Russia. Despite this I have the economy booming and have possibly done more than any 10 month President. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!" Over and over again in his career, Trump has dealt with bad developments by proclaiming something else to be true. He has insisted that those around him do the same - or at a minimum, put a hygienic distance between the president and reality. On Friday, Trump lawyer Ty Cobb described Flynn as "a former National Security Advisor at the White House for 25 days during the Trump Administration, and a former Obama administration official." However, Flynn had been a fixture on Trump's 2016 campaign from its earliest days, and was given a prominent speaking role at the GOP convention in Detroit, where he led the crowd in chants of "lock her up" against Trump's Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton. "If I did a tenth of what she did, I would be in jail today!" Flynn said of Clinton, in a declaration now heavy with irony. Before the inauguration, Obama reportedly warned his successor not to hire Flynn, who in 2014 had been ousted as head of the Defense Intelligence Agency after a stormy tenure. Flynn lasted less than a month as national security adviser, resigning in February after revelations that he had had potentially illegal contact with Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak. But Trump continued to defend him, saying at a news conference the day after Flynn's departure: "General Flynn is a wonderful man. I think he's been treated very, very unfairly by the media - as I call it, the fake media, in many cases. And I think it's really a sad thing that he was treated so badly." Trump has reached a delicate moment that would seem to call for discipline and focus. "The really smart presidents just float above it," presidential historian Douglas Brinkley said. When things were going roughly for Franklin D. Roosevelt, he would disappear - for instance, taking a 24-day cruise to the Galapagos during the recession and rocky midterm election season in 1938. At low points, Ronald Reagan would simply turn off the television and quit reading the newspaper until things turned around. It is hard, however, to imagine Trump doing that. If anything, pressure seems to make him even more obsessive about everything that is said about him in the media or by his critics. And the timing of Flynn's plea on the very day that the tax bill moved out of the Senate may well feed his penchant for conspiracy theories. And Trump has long had difficulties letting go of grievances. Moreover, the convergence of positive and negative developments comes at the end of a week in which his behavior has been outside the norm, even by his standards. He disseminated on social media three inflammatory, unverified anti-Muslim videos produced by an ultranationalist British fringe group, drawing a rebuke from Prime Minister Theresa May. Trump replied to May on Twitter: "Don't focus on me, focus on the destructive Radical Islamic Terrorism that is taking place within the United Kingdom. We are doing just fine!" At a ceremony honoring Navajo heroes from World War II, he interrupted his tribute to take a jab at one of his favorite antagonists, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.: "We have a representative in Congress who has been here a long time . . . longer than you - they call her Pocahontas!" His comment was a reference to a controversy that occurred during her 2012 Senate campaign over the fact that she claims Native American heritage but cannot document it. And on Friday Trump denied reports, confirmed by his own advisers, that he is readying plans to get rid of Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. Trump tweeted: "The media has been speculating that I fired Rex Tillerson or that he would be leaving soon - FAKE NEWS! He's not leaving and while we disagree on certain subjects, (I call the final shots) we work well together and America is highly respected again!" Brinkley said of Trump: "He has no Zen mode. He's simply a person marching on roads of bones in warrior mode." - - - The Washington Post's Josh Dawsey and Philip Rucker contributed to this report. WASHINGTON - After six months of work, special counsel Robert Mueller III has indicted two top advisers to President Donald Trump and accepted guilty pleas from two others in exchange for their cooperation with his probe into Russian meddling in the 2016 election - a sign of mounting legal peril for the White House. With the guilty plea Friday by former national security adviser Michael Flynn - one of Trump's closest and most valued aides - the investigation has swept up an array of figures with intimate knowledge of the campaign, the transition and the White House. It appears to have swiftly expanded beyond Russia's interference in the campaign to encompass a range of activities, including contacts with Russian officials during the transition and alleged money laundering that took place long before Trump ran for office. And Flynn's agreement to fully cooperate with investigators suggests that Mueller is not done yet. Both Flynn and George Papadopoulos, who served as a foreign policy adviser to Trump's campaign, acknowledged lying to the FBI about their contacts with the Russians. Now, both are cooperating with Mueller, according to prosecutors, potentially providing evidence against other Trump aides. "Mueller has proceeded with professionalism, deliberation and without delay to build a case with a wall of substance," said Richard Ben-Veniste, who was a lead member of the Watergate special prosecution team. "This plea today is another brick in that wall." Mueller has moved so swiftly that it has left Trump's team grasping for answers about how far the probe might ultimately reach. Along with Flynn and Papadopoulos, former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and his deputy, Rick Gates, have been charged with money laundering and other crimes related to political consulting they did in Ukraine prior to joining Trump's effort. They pleaded not guilty. On Friday, the news about Flynn's deal broke after the regular senior staff meeting at the White House, startling top officials and leaving many feeling helpless. "We don't know really what is going on," according to one adviser who speaks to Trump often and requested anonymity to describe private conversations. "Who's it going to implicate? What are they going to say?" Flynn's cooperation poses particular risks for the White House. Unlike Papadopoulos, who had minimal contact with top aides and met Trump just once, Flynn was a key member of Trump's inner circle, considered at one point for the vice-presidential nomination. There have been signs for months that Trump was particularly nervous about the possibility of the investigation ensnaring his former national security adviser. Former FBI director James Comey testified in June that Trump urged him in February to back off an investigation of Flynn. Their one-on-one conversation in the Oval Office came three weeks after Flynn was interviewed by FBI agents and lied about his foreign contacts. If anyone on the campaign coordinated with the Russians in their efforts to interfere with the election, Flynn would probably have been aware. Court documents filed Friday show that Flynn did not operate independently in his contacts during the transition with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak - which he then lied about to federal agents. According to the filings, Flynn consulted with multiple senior Trump officials during the transition. One adviser, described in court documents as a "very senior member" of the transition team, directed Flynn in December to reach out to Kislyak and lobby him about a United Nations resolution on Israeli settlements. People familiar with the investigation identified the adviser as Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner. Kushner lawyer Abbe Lowell declined to comment. Likewise, Flynn spoke to Kislyak about new U.S. sanctions imposed on Russia by President Barack Obama in late December only after discussing the matter with a senior Trump official who had accompanied him on a trip to his private Mar-a-Lago club, according to the documents. The senior official was Flynn's deputy, K.T. McFarland, according to two people familiar with the conversation. McFarland, who has been nominated to be ambassador to Singapore, did not respond to a request for comment. Mueller is now expected to explore who knew what in the White House about Flynn's interactions with the Russians - and whether any other Trump aides lied about that knowledge. Legal experts said Mueller could be looking at whether Trump's team violated a more-than-200-year-old law known as the Logan Act that prohibits private citizens from working with foreign governments against the U.S. government. Court filings show that Flynn was actively working to undercut Obama's foreign policy before formally entering government, in consultation with other Trump officials. "It sure looks like this is a Logan Act violation," said Stephen Vladeck, an expert in national security law at the University of Texas. Still, use of the Logan Act, which has not been used to prosecute a U.S. citizen since the Civil War, would face strong legal challenges. The constitutionality of the law - particularly whether it imposes unacceptable restrictions on freedom of speech - has never been tested. Vladeck also said defense lawyers could argue that presidential transition officials act with the authority of the U.S. government and are not subject to the law. But Mueller has shown a willingness to be aggressive when it comes to using obscure federal statutes, as seen in his use of the Foreign Agents Registration Act, which is rarely prosecuted in criminal cases. Mueller charged Manafort and Gates with violating that law. Aside from the legal implications, Flynn's account could ratchet up the political pressure on the White House, which will now face more questions about why incoming Vice President Mike Pence, chief of staff Reince Priebus and then-spokesman Sean Spicer insisted that Flynn did not discuss sanctions with Kislyak when other senior officials knew otherwise. At the time of Flynn's conversations with the Russian ambassador, Obama was weighing how to respond to the U.S. intelligence community's conclusion that Russian President Vladimir Putin had ordered cyberhacking and propaganda operations to help Trump win the White House. In those same weeks, Obama's team had been discussing what to do about the failure to jump-start Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations. That question abruptly required an answer on Dec. 21, when Egypt unexpectedly introduced a U.N. Security Council resolution criticizing Israel for its West Bank settlements and called for a vote the next day. On both issues, the policies chosen by Obama ran counter to those preferred by Trump and his team. But long-standing U.S. tradition, supported by the Logan Act, has held that a president-elect take a back seat to the serving president until after taking the oath of office. On Dec. 28, Obama announced the expulsion of 35 Russian intelligence officials from this country and the closure of two Russian diplomatic facilities as punishment for what U.S. intelligence said was Moscow's interference in the election. The next day, Dec. 29, court documents show that Flynn called Kislyak and asked that Russia avoid escalating tensions with the United States and refrain from responding in kind to Obama's actions. Just one day later, Dec. 30, Putin announced that he would take no action, prompting Trump to tweet that Putin had made a "great move." "I always knew he was very smart," Trump tweeted. In mid-February, four days after The Washington Post reported that Flynn had discussed the sanctions with Kislyak, Trump fired him. But the new court documents show that some Trump aides had been aware of the nature of Flynn's contact with the Russian ambassador. He spoke to other aides before and after the conversation with Kislyak on Dec. 29, as well as after a conversation he had with Kislyak on Dec. 31 in which the ambassador said Putin had decided not to retaliate specifically in response to Flynn's request. Events surrounding the Dec. 23 Security Council vote condemning Israeli settlements as illegal marked the most overt interference in U.S. foreign policy by the Trump team, and Trump personally, between his election and inauguration. Egypt's abrupt introduction of the resolution on Dec. 21 - and the scheduling of a vote for the next day - took much of the council, and the Obama administration, by surprise. As Obama consulted with aides on the U.S. vote, Israeli officials mobilized to head off passage. Trump's position was the same as Israel's: The resolution should be vetoed, he tweeted before dawn on Dec. 22. According to court documents, that same day, the senior official directed Flynn to contact foreign leaders, including from Russia, and urge them to do what Obama had decided the United States would not: oppose the resolution or at least delay it. Trump himself called Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sissi to discuss the resolution, the Egyptians announced at the time. At first, Trump's gambit appeared to have worked. Just before the vote was to take place, Egypt withdrew the resolution. But by the next morning, it had been reintroduced by New Zealand and other co-sponsors, and a vote was quickly held. The United States abstained, and the resolution was adopted with the vote of all other 14 Security Council members. Trump publicly fumed, tweeting, "We cannot continue to let Israel be treated with such total disdain and disrespect." - - - The Washington Post's Alice Crites, Josh Dawsey and Jenna Johnson contributed to this report. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate MEXIA - Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and hundreds law enforcement officers from across the state paid tribute Friday to a trooper who was shot and killed during a traffic stop on Thanksgiving Day in Texas. Crowds filled the Mexia High School stadium for the funeral of Trooper Damon Allen. He was buried at the Salem Cemetery in Freestone County. Allen, a married father of four children, was a trooper for 15 years and was the first to die in a shooting incident since 2008. "He was just a class-act guy," Pastor Brian Hallmark told mourners, according to KWTX. "He'll never be forgotten and he'll be spoken of here for many, many years." Authorities say Allen was in his car after making a traffic stop when the driver of the other vehicle stepped out and fired a rifle at him. Allen died at the scene. Investigators have identified the shooter as Dabrett Black, who's being held on a charge of capital murder of a police officer. He was captured after an hourslong manhunt that ended in Waller County on Thanksgiving night. Officers came from as far away as Canada to pay tribute. "It doesn't matter what color uniform you wear, whether you work for a local, state or federal law enforcement agency, every day we put on the badge, and we go to work to protect America and protect the citizens of this great state, this great country," Dan Harris Jr., chief patrol agent for the U.S. Border Patrol Academy, told KXXV. "Now, there'll be an empty plate, an empty seat at that table for Trooper Allen's family, and so it's hard to breathe. It's hard to think about the tragedy that they're suffering... and knowing a loved one will always be gone from Thanksgiving dinner now." Cleveland ISD Police Chief Rex Evans read from a letter that he wrote the day after Allen's death, according to one local TV station. He wrote that the "thin blue line" - the sense brotherhood and sisterhood felt between members of law enforcement - extends beyond Earth. "While his life may have ended, his life story remains alive," Evans said. About 750 blue ribbons were placed along the procession route in Mexia, about 150 miles north of Houston and a makeshift memorial was built at the shooting site. "This is the memorial at the spot along I-45 where #TrooperAllen was killed during a traffic stop on Thanksgiving. #RIP sir. You're service will not be forgotten," the Oklahoma County Sheriff's office tweeted along with a photo of the American flags and flowers. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate WASHINGTON - The White House is readying a plan to oust Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and install loyalists to President Trump in two top national security positions, laying the groundwork for another seismic personnel change in an already turbulent presidency, two administration officials confirmed Thursday. The emerging strategy to stabilize the floundering State Department, which is under active consideration by the president and might change further, could have CIA Director Mike Pompeo replacing Tillerson and Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) being elevated to succeed Pompeo. The plan, first reported by the New York Times, was confirmed by the officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the White House has not publicly announced any moves. Pompeo has become one of the most personally loyal and politically savvy members of Trump's national security team, while Cotton is one of Trump's most steadfast congressional defenders and a confidant to national security adviser H.R. McMaster and other top officials. For Tillerson, being forced out of the administration would represent a dramatic fall for the former ExxonMobil chief executive, who has struggled to transition from overseeing one of the world's most powerful - and most secretive - corporations to managing a complex bureaucracy and serving a mercurial boss. Tillerson's anticipated departure could come as part of an exodus of administration officials at the one-year mark of Trump's presidency. There has long been speculation that a number of senior staffers who have had difficulties with Trump, including National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn, could bolt in the new year. The plan to remove Tillerson, which is being directed by White House Chief of Staff John Kelly, is expected to be set in motion over the next few weeks and has broad support within Trump's inner circle, the officials said. Through Trump's relationship with Tillerson has soured in recent months, with the president privately bristling at and publicly undermining his secretary of state, it was unclear whether Trump had signed off on the plan. The president has been known to change his mind before finalizing decisions with public announcements. Asked during a meeting Thursday morning with the crown prince of Bahrain, Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa, whether he wants Tillerson to remain as secretary of state, Trump told reporters simply: "He's here. Rex is here." Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, asked Thursday what he made of the reports on Tillerson, dismissed them. "I make nothing of it," he told reporters. "There's nothing to it." Rumblings of Tillerson's possible ouster add yet another element of uncertainty for lawmakers on Capitol Hill and U.S. allies around the world already anxious about Trump's combativeness and off-the-cuff comments and tweets, especially coming amid tumult at home and abroad. Tensions between the United States and North Korea are escalating. Trump this week has also been feuding with British Prime Minister Theresa May over his Wednesday tweets sharing inflammatory and misleading anti-Islam videos from the far-right Britain First party, a group known for targeting Muslims. In Washington, the White House and Republican lawmakers are scrambling to avert a government shutdown and pass their sweeping tax-cut bill, which would be the president's first major legislative achievement. Throughout the fall, Tillerson's departure has been widely expected, given his rocky relationship with the president - he reportedly called Trump a "moron" after a meeting at the Pentagon - and his shrinking number of boosters inside the administration. Trump has grown frustrated at negative news coverage of Tillerson and has taken to asking others about him, something he often does before cutting ties, according to one senior administration official and one adviser. But while there is almost universal agreement within the West Wing that Tillerson's days are numbered, the timing and circumstances of his exit - as well as his replacement - have not yet been finalized, officials said. The president has spoken with other candidates about the CIA job, including Robert Harward, a retired vice admiral and Navy SEAL who met with Trump recently about the intelligence post, two people with knowledge of the conversation said. Harward had previously been offered - and declined - the national security adviser job after Michael Flynn was forced out of the administration early this year after lying to the vice president about his contacts with Russia. White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders did not dispute reports about the plan to replace Tillerson, saying he is working to "close out what has been a successful year" and "there are no personnel announcements at this time." Asked at her afternoon news briefing whether Trump has confidence in Tillerson, Sanders would not answer explicitly. "When the president loses confidence in someone they will no longer serve in the capacity that they're in," she said. One senior administration official said Tillerson's departure could come in a couple of weeks or in a couple of months but is being actively discussed by Trump and Kelly. "It's just a matter of ripping the Band-Aid off," the official said. Pointing to Trump's management style, one informal adviser said the president is loathe to fire aides outright and instead prefers to publicly humiliate them, hoping they decide to quit on their own. Later, he often tries to repair the relationship - a pattern that played out with several senior advisers, including former chief of staff Reince Priebus and former chief strategist Stephen K. Bannon. At the State Department, spokeswoman Heather Nauert said Kelly called Tillerson's office Thursday morning to say reports about replacing him were "not true." She said that Tillerson was going about his job as usual, including two visits to the White House on Thursday. "Secretary Tillerson enjoys this job. He has a lot of work to do," Nauert said. "He does serve at the pleasure of the president." Asked about her boss's relationship with Trump, Nauert said: "They have had, certainly, a cordial relationship. Where that stands today, I cannot speak to that." A spokesperson for Pompeo at the CIA declined to comment. As for Cotton, spokeswoman Caroline Rabbitt Tabler said, "Senator Cotton's focus is on serving Arkansans in the Senate." Chatter about Tillerson's potential ouster reached a fever pitch in October, after NBC News first reported that Tillerson had called Trump a moron. Though Tillerson had told friends he wanted to make it as secretary of state for a full year in part to protect his reputation, rumors of his impending departure have gained a nickname: Rexit. Tillerson, 65, has alienated onetime allies at the White House and his underlings at the State Department with what many call a highhanded and tone-deaf manner. Trump loyalists inside the administration have largely turned on Tillerson, believing he harbored disdain for the president - as evidenced by his rolling of eyes and sighing in meetings with Trump. Vice President Pence and his staff had also come to believe that Tillerson was ineffective as the chief diplomat and had further undermined his standing by being disrespectful to Trump. Pence was particularly upset when Tillerson's spokesman, R.C. Hammond, told NBC that the vice president raised questions about the role of U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley in the administration - a claim Hammond later recanted. Tillerson's likely successor for a time appeared to be Haley, a Republican former governor from South Carolina who has clashed with Tillerson. Over the past several weeks, however, Haley and White House officials had signaled that she was not likely to be chosen, in part because she is seen as not yet seasoned enough. Haley insisted last month that she does not want the job and would reject it if offered. Tillerson's closest ally in Washington may be Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), who spoke with Tillerson on Thursday and later dismissed reports about the secretary's departure. Corker suggested that Tillerson's rivals inside the administration were "seeking to undermine his presence." "I don't think Secretary Tillerson's getting ready to be ousted," Corker told reporters. "It's been evident to me that, for some time, somebody has been seeking to undermine his presence. I don't know who that is." Tillerson has stressed the importance of attempting dialogue and diplomacy with North Korea, even as Trump undercut him by saying the time for talk is over and that North Korea's leadership understands only the threat of force. On Wednesday morning, Tillerson told reporters that a "long list" of additional sanctions could still be applied to attempt to persuade North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons. "As a diplomat, we keep working on it every day," he said of the nonmilitary pressure campaign. Yet just hours later, Trump again belittled North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as "Little Rocket Man" and a "sick puppy." Tillerson's main project, a downsizing and streamlining of the State Department bureaucracy, has drawn widespread criticism on Capitol Hill, from leading congressional Republicans and from Democrats. Tillerson has been frustrated by the slow pace and inefficiency of government, as well as what he has complained to friends is a culture of backstabbing and self-aggrandizement. Tillerson had never worked in government and was largely unfamiliar with Washington when he accepted the job offer from then-President-elect Trump late last year. He had spent his entire professional career at ExxonMobil, where he built a reputation as a shrewd dealmaker with contacts across the Middle East and in Moscow. He famously accepted an honorary friendship medal directly from Russian President Vladimir Putin. Pompeo has emerged in recent weeks as the top contender to succeed Tillerson at Foggy Bottom. He has developed a close rapport with Trump through the president's regular intelligence briefings, which Pompeo often delivers personally in the Oval Office. A graduate of the U.S. Military Academy and Harvard Law School, Pompeo, 53, served in Congress for six years as a Republican representing a Kansas district. He was first elected in 2010 as part of the tea party wave. Corker - who was considered for the secretary of state job a year ago but whose relationship with Trump has been badly strained in recent months - said of Tillerson's possible replacement, "I could barely pick Pompeo out of a lineup." He added: "I just don't know him. That's not dismissive. I just don't have any frame of reference." --- The Washington Post's Karoun Demirjian, Anne Gearan, Dan Lamothe, Carol Morello, Sean Sullivan and Greg Miller contributed to this report. --- Video Embed Code Video: The White House has a plan to replace Secretary of State Rex Tillerson with CIA Director Mike Pompeo, after months of rockiness between Tillerson and President Trump.(The Washington Post) Embed code: This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate They never mentioned each other's name, but it was clear State Sen. Paul Bettencourt and Harris County Judge Ed Emmett were ready to resume jabbing at one another over tax policies and hurricane recovery at a conference in Austin on Friday. Bettencourt, a Houston Republican, used an almost hourlong speech in Austin - with Emmett watching on from the second row - to blast counties, including naming Harris County specifically, for growing property tax revenues over the years. And he added a not-so-subtle dig at the county for not doing more to cut taxes on Hurricane Harvey-damaged homes. "We have a problem that local property taxation is just rising too quickly," Bettencourt said as he showed slides that included Harris County property tax bills growing 36 percent between 2013 and 2016. Those comments came just three days after Emmett, also a Republican, was blasting state leaders for a broken tax system that leaves urban counties like Harris unable to fully fund its growing needs. But on Friday it was Bettencourt's turn, as he chastised local governments like Harris for keeping tax rates too high even as property values grow. "As values go up, tax rates should be going down," Bettencourt told an annual meeting of the Texas Taxpayers and Research Association with Emmett just a few dozen feet away. 'Stirring the pot' In an interview later, Emmett said it was tough to listen to without being able to offer a real-time rebuttal. "He just keeps stirring the pot," Emmett said of Bettencourt in an interview after Bettencourt spoke. "It's almost personal, he doesn't like Harris County government." But days earlier it was Emmett who unloaded on the state, accusing lawmakers of "narrow-minded" politics that result in mandates pushing down on local governments. On Friday, Emmett addressed the same crowd Bettencourt did. "While it's tempting to give a rebuttal, I don't want to," Emmett told the more than 300 people. Emmett instead used his speech to stress that as an urban county with more than 2 million people in the unincorporated area alone, it has different needs than other more rural counties and shouldn't be subjected to one-size fits all legislation from the Legislature. "We're all different," Emmett said. "That is why it's important to have local decisionmakers making those decisions." 'Shifting the burden' Later, House Speaker Joe Straus, R-San Antonio, seemed to chip into help defend Emmett and other local governments by acknowledge the state's role in increasing property tax bills. "Some will tell you that high property taxes contribute significantly to the growing burden on homeowners, and I agree," Straus said. "I also know why our property taxes keep going up, because the state is paying less and less of the cost of public education, shifting the burden to local school districts and to their taxpayers." Straus said the state used to pay about half of the cost of education and now is paying below 40 percent of those costs. "The Texas House has tried repeatedly to do something about the school finance system that's driving property tax bills to go up but we haven't yet received the cooperation that we need," Straus said. Bettencourt earlier in the morning had accused the House of derailing property tax reform during the Legislature's regular session. Bettencourt panned the House's last offer on property tax reform. "It didn't have measurable property tax relief," Bettencourt said. But House Ways and Means chairman Dennis Bonnen, an Angleton Republican who also spoke at the same even after Bettencourt and Emmett, said it was the Senate that derailed good property tax reforms because of a stubborn refusal to compromise. "It was absolutely: 'You will do it my way or not at all,'" Bonnen said of negotiations with the Senate. Andrea Zelinski contributed to this report. A campus turnaround-plan for Kashmere High School, one of Houston ISD's longest struggling schools, has been approved by the Texas Education Agency, but the state could still close the school if its students' test scores do not improve this year. It's the third turnaround plan HISD submitted to the TEA. The first was submitted in 2016, and another was submitted in October. Board President Wanda Adams said in a statement she was thankful and glad the TEA accepted the plan. "We know there's a lot of hard work ahead, but our students, staff, administrators and the entire Kashmere community are ready," Adams said. "As an alum, it is personal for me to see Kashmere succeed." Kashmere High must still submit an updated implementation plan with data by Dec. 15, and an assigned TEA consultant will work closely with HISD to implement and monitor the plan throughout the 2017-2018 school year. But Kashmere and nine other long-struggling schools could either be closed by the state or trigger a state takeover of the entire district if their performances on standardized tests don't improve this academic year. That's because a 2015 law made it so any school that has been rated as "improvement required" by the state's accountability ratings for five consecutive years would trigger state action. Still, Trustee Rhonda Skillern-Jones said the TEA's acceptance of Kashmere High's turnaround plan left her hopeful. "This approval is an affirmation for the village that will go far in encouraging us to continue the fight," she said. Angels Home Center began helping burnout victims 13 years ago, and last year helped 17 families get back on their feet after losing everything to a house fire. Over the years, the operation (on Peace Chapel Road in the Upton area of Texas County) has expanded from a few boxes of items stored in a shed on founder Betty Adams property, to larger facilities including a double-wide mobile home donated by a local citizen a few years ago. But the task constantly gets greater and more complicated for Adams and company, and donations keep coming in at an ever-increasing rate, and the double-wide is almost always at full capacity Last Saturday, the organizations need for more space was addressed, as several volunteers braved triple-digit temperatures to begin construction on a building adjacent to the current facility Once complete, the 768 square-foot building will primarily be used to store furniture, appliances and beds to be given to future fire victims and their families. Adams said Angels Home had saved enough money from donations to purchase the materials for the building, and that volunteer workers last week included people from St. Paul Lutheran Church, Texas County Farm Bureau, a family that had previously received aid, neighbors and a man from the local Amish community This is so necessary, Adams said. We can hardly find room to store everything people bring us. Adams said Angels Home expects nothing in return when offering assistance to burnout victims. This organization gives freely to these families anything that they want or need at our center, she said. Monetary help, new quilts and prayers are also included. Angels Home Center is open Thursdays and Fridays from May to October. The public is welcome to stop by and donate and shop for anything in stock. Adams said the new building needs a concrete base and donations are hoped for. Our needs are great, she said, but God is greater than our needs so we believe theyll be met. Adams said another construction day is set for Friday (Aug. 12). For information, or to volunteer to help, call 417-458-3298. This week, President Trump returned to the place where he started his push for historic tax cuts three months ago, right here in Missouri. This time, the President spoke in detail about the proposal which I had recently helped advance through the U.S. House of Representatives known as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act our plan to allow American families, small business owners and farmers to keep more of what they earn and more of what they deserve. In August, the President was in Springfield, the home of Route 66 and the birthplace of Main Street. While in Springfield, the President told me he had his pen in hand, ready to sign historic tax cuts and he was depending on Congress to deliver. But his speech wasnt just empty rhetoric for the evening news. With the cameras turned off, the President got to work. Since that speech I have personally met with both the President and Vice President, with their respective tax teams, with First Daughter Ivanka Trump and had late night phone calls with the President and White House all in regards to providing middle income tax relief for American families. The President wants to unleash the full potential of American ingenuity and entrepreneurism, and he knows the best way to get our economy fully humming is to not only reduce burdensome regulations, but to also allow families, farmers and businesses to keep more of their hard earned money than send it to Washington to deliver for them true tax relief. With the full support of the White House, the U.S. House of Representatives got the job done, we delivered historic tax cuts to help families and our economy, and on Wednesday in St. Charles Missouri, the President called on the United States Senate to do the same. As President Trump said in his speech, the Senate must pass tax cuts so we can bring Main Street roaring back to life so that we can help the 97% of businesses in Missouri which are classified as small in size, but are the true drivers of our economy. Its hard to believe that we have not seen true tax reform since Ronald Reagan was President. Realizing reform was near, earlier this year I held a number of public tax roundtables across southeast and south central Missouri to hear from you directly about how the tax code was impacting your family, farm or business and what you wanted to see changed. As a member of the Ways & Means Committee, the tax writing committee in Congress, I knew that the input I would get from you all I could directly take back to Washington and use to get changes in our tax code which would allow you to keep more of your money. During these meetings, I heard from farmers who wanted to stop being punished for buying equipment they need to work their land. I talked to small business owners who told me how their high tax rates prevent them from hiring folks right here at home. I also heard from moms and dads who were worried about how to save for the future when our tax code literally punishes people for starting a family. It is time for a better deal on taxes, and we are finally making much needed changes to our tax code with the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. I completely agree with President Trump, it is not enough for middle-income families to keep getting by, we must create an environment where they can start getting ahead. Thats why, under our plan, if your family of four makes less than $55,000 per year, you will not have to pay ONE SINGLE PENNY in income tax. The bottom line is this, the government should be taking the least amount of money from you as possible. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act will lower tax rates and give folks in southeast and south central Missouri an instant pay raise. I hope we will act quickly to continue move this legislation forward and give all hardworking Americans the tax break they need and deserve. Jason Smith represents Missouris 8th Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives. Contact him at 573-335-0101 or visit https://jasonsmith.house.gov A jury found a Houston woman guilty of second-degree statutory rape Thursday after deliberating for less than 30 minutes. The group of seven men and five women from Texas County also sentenced Sherri Long-Bucchi, 48, to three years in the Missouri Department of Corrections system. That deliberation was under one hour, according to Texas County Prosecutor Parke Stevens Jr. The trial included testimony from the male victim, who was 16 at the time of the July 2016 incident. This woman has forever affected the life of a boy based on her actions, Stevens said. Because of her actions, she will have to register as a sexual offender in addition to the punishment she receives. According to Stevens, Long-Bucchi invited several teenagers to a social event at her home and had sexual intercourse with the victim. The boy was friends with Long-Bucchis two children and had been provided alcohol at the event. The sexual contact between the two was reported to authorities in December 2016. After a Texas County Sheriffs Department investigation which included admissions by Long-Bucchi a grand jury indicted her. She was arrested and held on $200,000 bond. Stevens filed the charges and tried the case for the state. This childs life has forever been changed by this womans actions and as he testified in front of the defendant today, his story never waffled, never changed, even after being cross examined by defense counsels difficult questioning, Stevens said during closing arguments. Judge William Hickle, presiding judge of the 25th Circuit, oversaw over the trial. Upon Long-Bucchis request ordered a sentencing assessment report and set final sentencing for 9 a.m. Feb. 6 in Texas County. She is held in the Texas County Jail. This childs life has forever been changed by this womans actions and as he testified in front of the defendant today, his story never waffled, never changed, even after being cross examined by defense counsels difficult questioning. -PARKE STEVENS JR. As an existing print subscriber it is easy to get FREE access to all our online content. When you click get started below it will walk you through creating an online account to attach your print subscription number to. After your account is created it will ask you to either add a subscription for online access or click on the print subscriber button. Click the print subscriber button header and it will open a dropdown, now click on get started. The page will reload and you will be prompted to enter an account number and a zip code. IT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO USE THE NUMBER OFF OF THE MOST RECENT ISSUE OR ANYTHING AFTER JANUARY 28, 2019 TO GAIN ACCESS! OLD ACCOUNT NUMBERS WILL NOT WORK The account number and zip code are easily available on your most recent issue of the High Plains Journal or Midwest Ag Journal in the address fields as is shown here. Sometimes the account number has extra zero's in front of it, just ignore those. Subscribing to our services is a three step process. First you have to create an account and then you have to pick if you want to subscribe to digital and or print. Some people only want to be a digital subscriber to get access online and others want to also receive the print edition. If you are already a print subscriber and want online access, it is free, you simply have to create an online account and then attach your print subscription account number to the online account you create. Michael Wynn was sworn in as the chief of police on Friday. Chaplain Russell Moody gives the invocation. A number of officers were on hand for the ceremony. Mayor Linda Tyer praises Wynn's professionalism. The room was filled with partners in law enforcement, community organizations, elected officials, and city department heads. Christina Wynn pins the stars onto her husband's uniform. Pastor Joseph Farnes gave Wynn a framed prayer after giving the benediction. Mary Reilly is one of the many supporters to congratulated Wynn on his accomplishment. PreviousNext Wynn Sworn in As Pittsfield's Chief of Police Michael Wynn has served the role in a provisional manner for the last decade. PITTSFIELD, Mass. On Dec. 1, 2007, an officer went into the chief's office to congratulate Michael Wynn on being promoted to "captain in charge." That was the first day Wynn was on the job as the department's top administrator. The officer joked and said, "you only have to do this job for 17 more years." But what Wynn didn't realize then was that he'd serve nearly two-thirds of that time waiting to be sworn in and pinned with four-stars. On Dec. 1, 2017 exactly 10 years later Wynn finally raised his hand and repeated after the mayor to officially become the organization's chief. His wife, Christina, pinned four stars onto his uniform. "There have been a lot of changes. But through it all there has been one constant: the Pittsfield Police Department's commitment to provide the highest quality police service that we can to the community we serve with the resources that are available to us," Wynn said of the last decade during which he oversaw the department in an "acting" capacity. "We've done some great work. We have made some big cases. We've been an early adopter of emerging technologies. We have experimented in new programs. We've strengthened community partnerships." The chief said he's served at the whim of three mayors, has seen the turnover of all but two members of the command staff, and has seen countless new hires. He saw Pittsfield's officers put in thousands of volunteer hours, be recognized for community engagement, and launched many new programs and initiatives. But he also said he's seen gang activities, increases in violence, and the onset and devastation of the opioid crisis, forcing the department to continuously change its tactics. "It had not always been an easy job. However, I have been blessed with an outstanding team of professionals that assisted me every step of the way," Wynn said. The past two mayors had been reluctant to appoint him permanently to the job because they didn't want to go through Civil Service, leaving Wynn with the title captain and one decision away from being reassigned from his acting chief position. This year, Mayor Linda Tyer held an assessment center process through Civil Service. Of three candidates, Wynn's name was certified on top of the list. She made the appointment in November and the City Council affirmed it on Tuesday. "My professional experience with Chief Wynn began when I was first elected to the City Council in 2004. From that day until this day, I've admired his work ethic, his thoughtfulness about the meaning of law enforcement in the community, his willingness to make hard decisions and to stand firm when challenged," Tyer said. Tyer praised the work he did to help bring ShotSpotter to the city and his community engagement and communication. She said she appreciates his lengthy background working with numerous law enforcement agencies, his continual effort to educate himself to better do his job, and his resume of teaching other members of law enforcement throughout the state. And she appreciates the way he manages his personnel. "Chief Wynn cares about every single one of the officers that are under his command. He shows up for them to celebrate their successes and support them through difficult circumstances. He expects greatness and leads by example. At the same time, he has the courage to confront officers when they have not lived up to professional standards or community expectations," Tyer said. Friday's ceremony at the Berkshire Museum was a "momentous occasion," Tyer said. And the crowd filling the Crane Room, with state and local elected officials, law enforcement from numerous agencies, city department heads, and representatives from community organizations "speaks volume to the respect Chief Wynn has earned," Tyer said. "He has earned this appointment through a recognized Civil Service process. And he has earned this commitment through commitment and loyalty to his progression. The city of Pittsfield is beyond fortunate to have a chief of police of this caliber leading the Police Department," Tyer said. Wynn still has years to go on the job and said those community partners will help the Police Department become even better. He said he challenges his officers to learn every day and evolve as an agency. There are new opportunities to collaborate with other law enforcement agencies and community groups that hadn't even been thought of yet, he said. "Today is a new day and the beginning of a new opportunity. It is a chance to commit to a process of continual improvement, to find new ways to be an even better police organization," Wynn said. North Adams, Village Ambulance Services Approve Merger NORTH ADAMS, Mass. The boards of North Adams Ambulance Service and Village Ambulance have cleared the way for the two organizations to become one on Jan. 1. Officials of the two services announced their intention to merger in September. The boards' approval on Nov. 29, an agreement has been signed effective at the start of the new year. The merger was largely driven by the financial difficulties encountered by Village Ambulance, which serves Williamstown, Hancock and New Ashford. In early 2017 it became apparent that, despite the same volume of calls, Village's revenues were decreasing to the level that threatened its sustainability despite significantly decreasing expenses. The reasons for the decrease in revenue are multiple and have similarly affected many small non-profit ambulance companies throughout the nation. A group consisting of representatives of Village, the town of Williamstown, Williams College and the Williamstown Fire Department was formed to explore options for maintaining emergency medical services. With the assistance of a consultant, the group looked at three different proposals and determined that merging with NAAS would "result in a strong, financially stable service." The parent corporation will be North Adams Ambulance Service but the service will be rebranded. There will be no change in the level of service currently provided by either organization. The existing bases in North Adams and in Williamstown will continue in use, fully staffed, with the same number of crews currently housed in each location. Village's non-emergency van transport service will be continued and, it is anticipated, will be made available to more residents in the future. The new organization will continue as a non-profit 501(c)3 corporation and will not require on-going subsidy from the towns it serves. However, the expenses involved in merging the two services are substantial and the process would not have been successful, said NAAS General Manager John Meaney Jr. and Village President Erwin Steubner, "without the significant financial support of Williams College and the town of Williamstown and we are grateful to them." Steubner added that this has been a period of uncertainty for Village's management and employees and he commended them for their professionalism and dedication. Imperial Valley News Center Homelessness among senior citizens is a form of "elder abuse" Washington, DC - Here's a startling statistic from the Department of Housing and Urban Development [HUD]: "the homeless population is aging faster than the general population in the United States." Dan Weber, president of the Association of Mature American Citizens [AMAC], calls it "a shameless embarrassment in a country with a tradition of helping the needy. Growing old is a condition we all have to live with. But too many of America's elderly are aging on the streets. They need our help." Weber points out that there are more than 300,000 seniors who are homeless. It is a daunting number, he says, but it is not hopeless and there may be solutions. He cites University of Pennsylvania Professor Dennis P. Culhane, a recognized expert on the homeless, who is a proponent of Permanent Supportive Housing. "In other words, programs that provide housing assistance can significantly alleviate the impact of homelessness among the elderly. It's a concept with a proven track record, according to HUD. Not only does it deal with the problem of putting a roof over the heads of the homeless but such programs are generally less costly quick fixes and they help deal with the serious health issues associated with chronic homelessness. The good news is that a variety of private sector initiatives are underway to alleviate chronicle homelessness," the AMAC chief notes. For example, numerous private philanthropic organizations such as the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Tipping Point Initiative have set aside tens of millions of dollars in recent years to fund sustainable solutions. Weber believes that a permanent, cost-effective solution in aid of the elderly homeless is a must. He says government cannot do much more than provide Band-Aid approaches to the homeless emergency the country faces. Shelters and street outreach programs do not deal with the underlying issue-the need for a stable home environment. Weber says "we need to wake up to the fact that more seniors are homeless than ever before and to take to heart the needs of these hapless lost souls. And, we need to focus on their plight and let the truth be told, loud and clear. Everyone needs to pitch in if we are to solve this problem, which only grows bigger with each passing day." He says that homelessness among senior citizens is a form of "elder abuse" and dealing with it needs to become a matter of urgency. "We must expand the availability of housing for low income seniors." Weber says that despite the strides that the economy has made over the past year, many citizens - particularly senior citizens - are still struggling with the impact of the Great Recession. "It is particularly difficult for those who are old because their prospects for recovering lost incomes can be futile. Some reports indicate that as many as 30% of people over 65 years of age in the United States have no retirement income or pensions." Professor Culhane, in an article he wrote for the publication, Aging Today, said that "among the more troubling aspects of contemporary homelessness is that the problem has been concentrated among people born between 1953 and 1965. This was true in 1990 when the peak age of adults who were homeless was 30, as it is today, with a peak age of 55. Adults who are homeless have a much reduced life expectancy compared to their housed peers, and can expect to live to a mere 64 years. That means that advanced aging-related illnesses and disabilities are confronting this population in increasing numbers, and end-of-life issues will soon come to the forefront of concerns." Imperial Valley News Center Designation of the Ross Sea Region Marine Protected Area Washington, DC - The Department of State welcomes todays entry into force of the Ross Sea Region Marine Protected Area, the worlds largest marine protected area (MPA). The Ross Sea in Antarctica is an area of unique biodiversity and one of the last unspoiled marine environments on the planet. This MPA will create special long-term opportunities for protecting marine life and for promoting marine scientific research. The Ross Sea MPA was a joint initiative of the United States and New Zealand, and was adopted by the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) in October of 2016. It is 1.55 million square kilometers in size, about twice the size of the State of Texas. Imperial Valley News Center U.S.-Philippines Bilateral Strategic Dialogue 2017 Washington, DC - The United States and the Republic of the Philippines held the seventh Bilateral Strategic Dialogue from November 30-December 1, 2017, in Washington, D.C. Acting Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Susan Thornton and Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for Asian and Pacific Security Affairs David Helvey co-led the U.S. delegation. Department of Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Policy Enrique Manalo and Department of National Defense Undersecretary Ricardo David co-led the Philippine delegation. The Bilateral Strategic Dialogue is a key mechanism for discussing the full range of political, security, and economic cooperation between the United States and the Philippines. Four working groups convened to develop action plans for expanding our joint partnership on Defense and Security; Economics, Development, and Prosperity; Regional and Global Diplomatic Engagement; and Rule of Law and Law Enforcement. The Joint Statement between the United States and the Philippines issued after the meeting in Manila of President Donald J. Trump and President Rodrigo R. Duterte on November 13, 2017 provided the guidance for the Dialogue. During the Dialogue, senior officials discussed a wide variety of issues of mutual interest and reaffirmed their commitment to deepening collaboration in areas including maritime security, humanitarian assistance and disaster response, cybersecurity, countering transnational drug trafficking, countering terrorism, and improving drug prevention and treatment services, as well as combating wildlife trafficking and illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing. The senior officials further pledged to continue working together to effectively eliminate human trafficking. The U.S. and Philippine delegations emphasized the importance of the rule of law, human rights, and fundamental freedoms. The United States congratulated the Philippines on defeating ISIS-supported terrorists in Mindanao and vowed to continue to support the fight against terrorism and the rehabilitation of Marawi. The U.S. and Philippine delegations reaffirmed their commitment to deepening the extensive economic relationship between the two countries. Both sides noted the substantive discussions on cooperating in areas such as science & technology, agriculture and fisheries, and health and environment. They welcomed the bilateral Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) discussions held on November 29, and look forward to more robust discussions on ways to expand free, fair and reciprocal bilateral trade, including through exploring a potential Free Trade Agreement. The United States and the Philippines discussed their shared concerns about security challenges in the region and pledged to work together to end North Koreas unlawful ballistic missile and nuclear programs, and the United States welcomed the Philippines compliance with the relevant United Nations Security Council Resolutions. Both sides reiterated their commitment to uphold freedom of navigation and overflight and other lawful uses of the sea in the South China Sea, and stressed the importance of peacefully resolving disputes in accordance with international law, as reflected in the Law of the Sea Convention. Both sides also expressed their desire to strengthen regional cooperation under the ASEAN-U.S. Strategic Partnership and in APEC, and decided to focus on action plans that would contribute to regional stability, economic integration, and connectivity. The United States congratulated the Philippines on its success as the 2017 ASEAN Chair and for hosting President Trumps successful visit to Manila. The United States and the Philippines reaffirmed the importance of regular high-level consultations. The United States welcomed the Philippines offer to host the next Bilateral Strategic Dialogue in Manila in 2018. Climate Change in the Southern Hemisphere: irrigation efficiency and other adaptations in Chile Sacramento, California - Irrigation efficiency, water conservation and water management are three terms that resonated over and over as we visited specialty crop farms and talked to water managers during our ongoing visit to Chile. These are important issues that Chile and California share, given that both counties have recently experienced historic droughts with significantly reduced snowpacks and greater reliance on groundwater. We visited an avocado grower who pumps water approximately 1,600 feet up steep slopes with electrical water pumps for a highly efficient drip irrigation system. With little rain in the San Felipe region (north of Santiago), using efficient irrigation technologies like those incentivized in CDFAs SWEEP program are critical to ensuring agricultural food production in this region. Providing growers with access to an adequate water supply is a priority shared south of Santiago, as well. A water management agency in the Cachapoal River-area supplies approximately 100,000 acres of agricultural land with water and is investing in cloud seeding to stimulate additional precipitation. The government of Chile is also participating in this project and is assisting this agency and others in an effort to maintain water deliveries not only to agriculture, but to other sectors such as mining and urban areas. Irrigation efficiency and water management are supported through innovative education pathways in Chile. We visited a high school that focuses on teaching its students about irrigation and public/private partnerships. They get hands-on experience with renewable energy use and water pump improvements. Understanding these technologies and providing growers with human resources and expertise to operate efficient irrigation systems is critical to future food production. We also saw that if a grower selects the right plant variety, greater on-farm water efficiency can be achieved. A company we visited called SubSole has planted newer varieties that produce double the yield with half the water use. The company produces specialty crops like table grapes, avocados, kiwis, cherries and pomegranates and has invested heavily in sustainability and food safety programs to provide a high level of environmental and social responsibility certifications to buyers and consumers. SubSole uses very little nitrogen fertilizer for its table grapes because it has built organic (carbon) content in soil through the addition of compost and mulching; management practices that will soon be incentivized in CDFAs Healthy Soils Program. Many specialty crops farms in Chile are supported by agronomic experts from the Instituto de Investigaciones Agropecuarias (INIA). INIA is a government supported organization whose work is similar to the University of California, Agriculture and Natural Resources, Cooperative Extension Services. These extension services are critical to ensuring growers have the right expertise as they invest in efficient irrigation systems and technologies to combat climate change events. What we have learned so far is that Chile is very similar to California and it is working hard to adapt to a changing climate through investment in specific technologies, education and outreach activities. How to Fix ERR_SSL_PROTOCOL_ERROR on Google Chrome Jacksonville, Florida - A quick guide on how to fix Chromes This site cant provide a secure connection or ERR_SSL_PROTOCOL_ERROR. If Google Chrome is your window to the world of the internet, you must have encountered This site cant provide a secure connection or ERR_SSL_PROTOCOL_ERROR message at least once. The thing about this error is that theres no particular pattern behind it. It can pop up on the most popular sites as well as on the least ones. Heck, Ive gotten it on here, on our website, and I can assure you our SSL is up to snuff. As far as the reason that Google sometimes says This site cant provide a secure connection is concerned, its almost impossible to pin it down to a single cause. From an issue as trivial as an incorrect date to a perplexing server issue it could be anything. Lets leave the diagnostic part aside for a moment and focus on what youre here for the treatment. Heres a quick, troubleshooting guide to fix ERR_SSL_PROTOCOL_ERROR on Google Chrome. If one doesnt work, try the next one. Sooner or later, you should get rid of this issue. Fix ERR_SSL_PROTOCOL_ERROR by setting the correct Date & Time Sounds too obvious, doesnt it? Well, most of the time, the simplest solution to a problem is the correct one. In this case, incorrect date & time settings might be causing trouble for you. So, make sure that your system isnt lagging behind or running ahead. Fix ERR_SSL_PROTOCOL_ERROR by clearing Chromes Browsing Data From one obvious solution to another. If you already have the correct date & time, its time to clear Chromes cache and cookies. To do so, press Ctrl + Shift + Delete and erase your browsing data. Even if this hasnt fixed the This site cant provide a secure connection error, we recommend clearing your browsing data on a regular basis. Fix ERR_SSL_PROTOCOL_ERROR by clearing your SSL State If neither of the above works, clearing your SSL State is the next thing you should try. Follow the steps below to do so: First, go to Customize and control Google Chrome, the three dots you see just below the X (close) button. Now click on Scroll down the page and open the Advanced Settings. Go to Open proxy settings by scrolling down or searching in the search bar. A window named Internet Properties will open up. Go to the Content window and click on the Clear SSL State Button. Fix ERR_SSL_PROTOCOL_ERROR by disabling QUIC Protocol QUIC (Quick UDP Internet Connections) provides a TLS/SSL equivalent connection to Googles servers. By default, the QUIC protocol is enabled in Chrome. To disable it, copy chrome://flags/#enable-quic and paste it into the address bar, hit enter. On top of your screen, the Experimental QUIC Protocol would have been set as Default. Disable it and relaunch Chrome. Fix ERR_SSL_PROTOCOL_ERROR by checking your Antivirus Settings Warning: This step isnt entirely safe as it allows the older, insecure SSL/TLS protocols that some of the websites still use. You might not know this, but your Antivirus software keeps an eye on the web pages you visit and protects you against any threats they may pose or contain. It does this by checking the SSL/TLS protocol a website uses. Upon finding the protocol to be unsafe and outdated, it prevents you from visiting the site. There isnt any one particular way to change the settings for all Antivirus software as the UI and settings differ from one software to another. Youd have to find and see if its scanning the SSL protocols. If it does, disable it and see what happens. If the problem persists, revert to the original settings. Fix ERR_SSL_PROTOCOL_ERROR by Enabling all SSL/TLS Versions The Last Resort Warning: This step isnt entirely safe as it allows the older, insecure SSL/TLS protocols that some of the websites still use. When you visit an SSL-enabled website, it uses SSL/TLS protocols to communicate with the server. Sometimes, the SSL/TLS version of a website might not be compatible with your Chrome as Chrome doesnt permit deprecated SSL/TLS protocols to run by default. Therefore, youd need to change those SSL/TLS protocol settings. Heres how you can do it: Click on the three dots you see in the top-right corner of Chrome and click on Settings. Now scroll down and go to Advanced Settings. Find the Proxy settings and open it. Click on Advanced Scroll down till the Security section comes up. Now make sure that you have checked all SSL and TLS versions. Click Apply. Relaunch your Chrome. We hope that this guide has helped you fix ERR_SSL_PROTOCOL_ERROR or This site cant provide a secure connection messages on Chrome. And if it doesnt, share your concerns in the comments section and well try to help you out with it. Sign up to Roisin OConnors free weekly newsletter Now Hear This for the inside track on all things music Get our Now Hear This email for free Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Roisin OConnors email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Selena Gomez broke down in tears while accepting the Woman of the Year award at Billboard's Women in Music 2017 event. The reason for her emotion was because of who had handed her the award: her best friend, actor Francia Raisa, who had given her a kidney earlier this year to aid Gomez in her battle against Lupus. She added, "To be honest, I think Francia should be getting this award." After pausing for a moment to gather her thoughts, she continued: "I feel incredibly lucky. Honestly, I couldn't be more grateful for the position I've been given in my career. I want people to know I respect the platform that I have so deeply. Specifically this year, I would like to thank my amazing team and my family because they stuck with me through some really hard times. I got to do a lot this year, even though I had a couple of other things to do." "When I found out I was a [kidney type] match for Selena, I didn't think twice about it," Raisa said before she handed Gomez the award. "I was honoured, and if I was in the same situation, she wouldn't have thought twice about doing it for me. That's just who she is." Gomez revealed on Instagram in September that she had received a kidney transplant, explaining she had not been able to promote her music over the summer as, "I found out I needed to get a kidney transplant due to my Lupus and was recovering. It was what I needed to do for my overall health. I honestly look forward to sharing with you, soon my journey through these past several months as I have always wanted to do with you." The musician was being honoured for her honest, outspoken attitude; in the April edition of Vogue, she shared that she entered rehab for 90 days. explaining that she was "depressed, anxious. I started to have panic attacks right before getting onstage, or right after leaving the stage." Follow Independent Culture on Facebook for all the latest on Film, TV, Music, and more. Sign up to our free IndyArts newsletter for all the latest entertainment news and reviews Sign up to our free IndyArts newsletter Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the IndyArts email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} I had an interesting day today, Jimmy Kimmel told his ABC late-night show audience on Thursday. I somehow found myself in a Twitter war with Roy Moore. This is true - the US Senate Republican nominee from Alabama fired off a couple tweets at Kimmel after Jake Byrd (a character on Kimmel's show played by comedian Tony Barbieri) crashed his rally at a church on Wednesday. Byrd pretended to be an ardent Moore supporter and defended him against accusations of sexual misconduct with teen girls while he was in his 30s. I'm your No. 1 fan... does that look like the face of someone who hits on teenage girls?! Byrd called out as he was removed from the church by security. Thursday afternoon, Moore tweeted this to Kimmel: If you want to mock our Christian values, come down here to Alabama and do it man to man. Kimmel explained the whole situation during his monologue - and he didn't hold back. Here's the complete transcript. You know, Roy Moore, this guy running for Senate in Alabama, even though multiple women accused him of hitting on them, groping them, etc., before they were 18-years-old? Well, Roy Moore is not happy with me. What happened was, they had a rally for Roy Moore at a church in Theodore, Alabama, last night. Roy is running against someone, who, as far as I know hasn't been accused of child molesting, a guy named Doug Jones. The election is on 12 December. Somehow, according to these new polls they released this week, Roy Moore leads Doug Jones by five or six points, which doesn't say a lot for Doug. Even though Roy Moore was reportedly so creepy around young girls, he was banned from the mall in Gadsden, Alabama. Imagine getting banned from the mall. Just think about that. No Hot Dog on a Stick for you. So they had a rally for Roy, and a number of his supporters were there and one of them just happened to be our friend Jake Byrd, who - Jake Byrd is a character who has a Forrest Gump-like knack for showing up at all the big events. If you're not familiar with his work, this is Jake at a Donald Trump rally in Dallas in 2015. (Shows footage.) He's very passionate. So Jake got on a plane and went to Alabama last night and apparently there was an incident that resulted in him getting kicked out of the rally. We'll show you all the footage of that later. But apparently the commotion touched a nerve because today, Roy Moore lashed out at me. He wrote, Jimmy Kimmel, if you want to mock our Christian values, come down here to Alabama and do it man to man. I responded and he responded back and I responded again, it's all on Twitter. Access unlimited streaming of movies and TV shows with Amazon Prime Video Sign up now for a 30-day free trial Sign up But the bottom line is this: I accept the invitation. I will come down there. What I'm going to do is - I think you're going to like this, Roy. I'm going to come to Gadsden, Alabama, with a team of high school cheerleaders, OK? We'll meet you at the mall. Don't worry, I can get you in. And when the girls and I show up, if you can control yourself and behave, if you can somehow manage to keep little Roy in your little cowboy pants when those nubile cheerleaders come bounding in, you and I, we'll sit down at the food court, we'll have a little Panda Express and we'll talk about Christian values. Because, and I don't know, it doesn't fit your stereotype - but I happen to be a Christian, too. I made my first Holy Communion; I was confirmed; I pray; I support my church; one of my closest friends is a priest; I baptised my children. Christian is actually my middle name. I know that's shocking, but it's true. So if you're open to it, when we sit down, I will share with you what I learned at my church. At my church, forcing yourself on under-aged girls is a no-no. Some even consider it to be a sin. Not that you did that, of course. Allegedly. But when you commit a sin at our church, at our church we're encouraged to confess and ask for forgiveness for the sin. Not to call the women you allegedly victimised liars and damage them even more. To confess. But maybe your church is different. I don't know. Let's figure it out together. I'll be happy to talk it through. I would gladly sit down to interview you about it. Or maybe when you say Come to Alabama and we'll do it man to man, maybe you're challenging me to a fight, which is kind of what it sounds like. And if you are, I accept, by the way. I accept that invitation. There is no one I would love to fight more than you. I will put my Christian values aside just for you and for that fight. So if you are challenging me to a fight, here's what we'll do. Let's find a place to do it. I'll wear a Girl Scout uniform so you can have something to get excited about. And the winner, whoever wins the fight, will give all the money we charge for the tickets to charity. My charity will be the women who came forward to say you molested them, OK? Alright, tough guy, with your little pistol? Roy Moore is never - he's too scared to even debate the guy he's running against, Doug Jones. With me he wants to go man to man. Maybe if he went man to man instead of man to little girl, you wouldn't be in this situation. Allegedly. Allegedly! I feel sorry for the people in Alabama. I go online, people posting things like this about Alabama: They falsely accused Jesus! Vote Roy Moore. Yes, that is completely crazy. But not everyone in Alabama supports this monster. In fact, almost half the people - I remember living in Arizona... I lived in Arizona in the '80s when Ed Mecham was elected governor. He was a nut, he would have fit right in with these guys today, he won with 40 percent of the vote. And I was so embarrassed to be from there, to be from the state he was governor of, I felt I had to explain myself to everyone. I imagine that's how a lot of people in Alabama feel. So if you do have that feeling, know that at least here in Hollywood, we don't hate Alabama. We love Alabama, so much we sent Reese Witherspoon to make a movie about you, OK? We just don't like alleged child molesters. And we hope you can see your way clear to not electing one to the Senate of the United States of America, that's all. That seems reasonable, right? 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 By the way, I understand if you don't, if you're a Republican, you don't want to vote for a Democrat. Just don't vote, then. You'll feel better about yourself. So later on, we will have all of Jake Byrd's exclusive report from Alabama and you can see for yourself what Roy Moore got all worked up about. The Washington Post For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Tech entrepreneur Elon Musk has said he plans to send his own Tesla car into orbit around Mars - with David Bowies Space Oddity playing on the stereo during launch. The SpaceX chief executive has revealed the company is due to put its first Falcon Heavy rocket into space next month, blasting off from the same Florida launch pad as the Apollo 11 mission. But he revealed the spacecraft would be carrying an unusual cargo - the billionaire's own Tesla Roadster, manufactured by his other major business interest. Musk, who has previously stated he wanted to put the silliest thing we can imagine on board the Falcon Heavys maiden voyage, said the car would be playing David Bowies 1969 hit Space Oddity at launch. Space X plan to send the ship into orbit around Mars and Musk suggested his Tesla could be floating in deep space for a billion years if the experimental rocket does not explode. Falcon Heavy to launch next month from Apollo 11 pad at the Cape, he tweeted. Guaranteed to be exciting, one way or another. Payload will be my midnight cherry Tesla Roadster playing Space Oddity. Destination is Mars orbit. Will be in deep space for a billion years or so if it doesnt blow up on ascent. The most incredible space images of Earth Show all 30 1 /30 The most incredible space images of Earth The most incredible space images of Earth Striking Africa Explore ESA astronaut Tim Peake's stunning photos of Earth, taken from the International Space Station during his six month mission (captions by Tom Peake) "The striking colour and texture of Africa Illizi, Algeria" The most incredible space images of Earth Favourite Reef "Every day spent living in space is a great day, but today was particularly special. I got to speak with one of my inspirational heroes Prof Stephen Hawking and his amazing daughter Lucy, who developed the Principia Space Diary to engage children with STEM subjects. As well as talking about dark matter, quantum entanglement, alien life and light beam powered nanocraft we also got to see an amazing pass over the Bahamas and this - my favourite reef smile emoticon" The most incredible space images of Earth Russia's north-east coast "Sunrise approaching Russia's frozen north-east coast" The most incredible space images of Earth Hello London "Hello London! Fancy a run? :) #LondonMarathon" The most incredible space images of Earth Bahamas "50 shades of blue: Bahamas" The most incredible space images of Earth Yinchuan "Snow on the mountains next to Yinchuan in China" The most incredible space images of Earth Rocket flames in Africa "Is it just me or do I see some rocket flames down there? These strange land features are in the Erg Iguidi desert, with its yellow stripes of sand stretching from Algeria to northern Mauritania in the Sahara" The most incredible space images of Earth Stunning colours "Sunlight reflecting the stunning colours of this Himalayan lake" The most incredible space images of Earth The real Everest "The real thing: found Everest! Last picture turned out to be third-tallest mountain Kanchengjunga" The most incredible space images of Earth Go Exomars "Go #Exomars have a great mission. Earth has more in common with Mars than you might think #AfricaArt" The most incredible space images of Earth Tenerife "Amazingly clear view of Tenerife" The most incredible space images of Earth Midday winter sun "Some midday winter sun glinting off Greenlands snow-capped peaks" The most incredible space images of Earth Sand dunes "Great texture in these huge sand dunes, Saudi Arabia" The most incredible space images of Earth Dragon Dam "The dam makes this river look like a dragons tail. Oahe Dam north of Pierre, South Dakota in the United States. (North is to the right)" The most incredible space images of Earth Smoking volcano "Spotted volcano smoking away on Russias far east coast this morning heat has melted snow around top" The most incredible space images of Earth New Zealand "New Zealand looking stunning in the sunshine. Mt Cook centre left with the Grand Plateau to the front and Mt Tasman (3,497m) to the right of the Grand Plateau. Fox Glacier in the middle then Franz Josef curving right. Tasman Lake (largest at front) is at the foot of the Tasman glacier which runs along the front of them. The Hooker Glacier flows out behind Mt Cook coming down to meet the Mueller Glacier on the left of the photo. The Murchison Glacier is at the front of the photo running parallel with the Tasman Glacier" The most incredible space images of Earth Plankton bloom "Another great pass over Patagonia and a swirling plankton bloom off the coast" The most incredible space images of Earth Alaska "We dont often get such clear views of Alaska" The most incredible space images of Earth Lights along the Nile "Lights along the Nile stretching into the distance from Cairo" The most incredible space images of Earth Kamchatka "The Pacific Ring of Fire clear to see amongst the volcanoes of Kamchatka, Russia" The most incredible space images of Earth Cumulonimbus "Im guessing there was an impressive storm going on under that cumulonimbus cloud" The most incredible space images of Earth Night Sahara "Night-time Sahara you can really see how thin the Earths atmosphere is in this picture" The most incredible space images of Earth Japan "Tokyo and Japanese coast. This image shows most of Japan with the largest mass of light corresponding to Tokyo. The white lights on the left are fishing boats" The most incredible space images of Earth Morning sun volcanoes "Morning sun striking active volcanoes in Guatemala" The most incredible space images of Earth Tapajos River "The vast waters of the Tapajos river, Amazonia" The most incredible space images of Earth Patagonia "Beautiful glacial river water flowing from this Patagonian ice field Lake Viedma, West is up" The most incredible space images of Earth Dubai Palms "Minus the #Dragon photobomb this time..." The most incredible space images of Earth Sediment in Ethiopia "Sediment spilling into this mountain lake, Ethiopia" The most incredible space images of Earth Italy "We have phases of short nights on the International Space Station sunlight is nearly always visible right now. No prizes for guessing where this is" The most incredible space images of Earth Panama Canal "From one mighty ocean to another ships passing through the Panama canal" Musks announcement the Falcon Heavy rocket is ready to be tested next month contradicts previous statements by SpaceX that the launch had been pushed back to 2018. Its first flight was originally scheduled for 2013, but has been repeatedly pushed back in the years since. Falcon Heavy is a more powerful follow-up to the companys Falcon 9 rocket, which was first tested in 2010 and has since been launched more than 40 times. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Chrome is going to start crashing less often. Google is making changes to the Windows version of its web browser, which will make it much more stable. It plans to roll these out in three phases, starting next April. 11 hidden Google Chrome features you didn't know existed Show all 11 1 /11 11 hidden Google Chrome features you didn't know existed 11 hidden Google Chrome features you didn't know existed Easter Eggs There are a lot of Easter Eggs hidden in Chrome, and more and more are discovered each year. One of our favourites is the dinosaur game. The next time you fail to connect to the internet on Chrome, tap the spacebar. Its also worth Googling barrel roll, zerg rush, super mario bros (and clicking the question mark graphic), festivus, recursion, askew and atari breakout (and then clicking Images). 11 hidden Google Chrome features you didn't know existed Pin tabs If you tend to browse with a lot of tabs open at once, you can clear up the clutter by pinning the ones youre least likely to close. Right-click them and select Pin Tab. Theyll automatically shrink and slide left. 11 hidden Google Chrome features you didn't know existed Save battery You can save some battery life by sacrificing performance. In Settings, scroll down to the System section and uncheck the box reading Continue running background apps when Google Chrome is closed. We wouldnt recommend having this feature enabled all the time, but it could come in handy if youre nowhere near a charger. 11 hidden Google Chrome features you didn't know existed Browse faster There are loads of Chrome Extensions available, but one of the most useful is Googles Data Saver. It compresses the pages you visit to reduce data usage and speed up loading times. 11 hidden Google Chrome features you didn't know existed Make multiple profiles If you use multiple Google accounts, for work and for personal use, for instance, you can keep your bookmarks and browsing history for each account separate by creating individual profiles. Go to Settings, Manage People and Add Person. This is also handy for when you lend your computer to a friend, and you dont want them to have access to your internet history. 11 hidden Google Chrome features you didn't know existed Downloads Many users would prefer it if Chrome downloaded files straight to the desktop, but by default it sends them to your Downloads folder. You can change this by going to Settings, opening the Show Advanced Settings menu, clicking Downloads and choosing your preferred destination. 11 hidden Google Chrome features you didn't know existed Extra info To see cookies and permissions for every site you visit, click the View Site Information symbol on the left-hand edge of the omnibar. It will also let you quickly control things like Popup and Location settings. 11 hidden Google Chrome features you didn't know existed Task manager You can quickly find out which pages are using up the most memory and slowing down your browsing experience by opening the burger menu, going down to More Tools and opening the Chrome Task Manager. 11 hidden Google Chrome features you didn't know existed Calculator When youre online and need to do a quick sum, you dont have to hunt down your computer calculator or whip out your phone. Just type it into the Chrome omnibar and hit Enter. 11 hidden Google Chrome features you didn't know existed Startup If theres a certain set of pages you always open when you turn your computer on, you can get Chrome to open them automatically when you launch the browser. In Settings, click Set Pages in the On Startup section, and choose the ones you want. 11 hidden Google Chrome features you didn't know existed Search Gmail from omnibar You can search your gmail inbox directly from the omnibar by going to Settings, Manage Search Engines, scrolling to the bottom and pasting https://mail.google.com/mail/ca/u/0/#apps/%s into the box on the right-hand side. According to the company, around two thirds of Chrome users on Windows have other apps on their computers that interact with Chrome, such as antivirus. In the past, this software needed to inject code in Chrome in order to function properly, Googles Chris Hamilton explained in a blog post. Unfortunately, any software that does this makes Chrome 15 per cent more likely to crash, Google says. With Chrome extensions and Native Messaging, there are now modern alternatives to running code inside of Chrome processes, Hamilton added. In April 2018, Google plans to release Chrome 66, which will display a warning after a crash, telling users that another computer program was at the route of the problem and showing them how to remove it. In July, Google will release Chrome 68, which will block third-party software from injecting into Chrome processes. If, however, this blocking stops Chrome from working properly, the browser will restart and allow the injection, but also display a warning message. Recommended Best apps of 2017 revealed by Google In January 2019, Google will release Chrome 72, which will always block Chrome injection. While most software that injects code into Chrome will be affected by these changes, there are some exceptions, Hamilton added. Microsoft-signed code, accessibility software, and IME software will not be affected. As with all Chrome changes, developers are encouraged to use Chrome Beta for early testing. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Thousands of Morrisons staff are due a payout after a court ruled that the supermarket was liable for a huge data leak. Lawyers for the claimants welcomed the landmark ruling, which could have implications for businesses across the country. Employee Andrew Skelton leaked the payroll data of nearly 100,000 staff in 2014, including names, addresses, bank account details and salaries. Skelton, a former senior auditor at Morrisons headquarters in Bradford, posted the data online and sent it to newspapers. Morrisons had denied liability in the case, which was brought by 5,518 current and former staff. They argued that the supermarket chain was responsible for breaches of privacy, confidence and data protection laws, and sought compensation for upset and distress caused. Their lawyers argued that the company had been awarded 170,000 in compensation against Skelton and that his other victims should also be compensated. Morrisons said it was not liable either directly or indirectly for its employees criminal misuse of the data and argued that it had already suffered serious damage, having incurred 2m costs relating to the data breach. The ruling could open the door for the other 94,000 people affected to bring a compensation claim, lawyers said. Following the ruling, Nick McAleenan of JMW Solicitors, acting for the claimants, said: The High Court has ruled that Morrisons was legally responsible for the data leak. We welcome the judgment and believe that it is a landmark decision, being the first data leak class action in the UK. In July 2015, Skelton was found guilty at Bradford Crown Court of fraud, securing unauthorised access to computer material and disclosing personal data, and jailed for eight years. His motive appeared to have been a grudge over a previous incident when he was accused of dealing in legal highs at work. In October, Jonathan Barnes, counsel for the claimants, told Mr Justice Langstaff that the company had already been awarded 170,000 compensation against Mr Skelton. He said the employees should also be compensated for the upset and distress caused by the alleged failure to keep their information safe. Antonis Patrikios, head of cyber-security at law firm Fieldfisher, said the ruling was likely to be a game-changer for firms. What is key to remember is that despite this breach being from within their own company from a trusted employee, even when the company is the victim of criminal activity, the responsibility for keeping personal data secure and confidential still lies with the organisation that decides how the data should be used, such as Morrisons in this case, he said. The key questions for organisations are: are we taking appropriate steps to protect the data and are we appropriately prepared to respond to incidents that put the data at risk. A Morrisons spokesperson said: The judge found that Morrisons was not at fault in the way it protected colleagues data but he did find that the law holds us responsible for the actions of that former employee, whose criminal actions were targeted at the company and our colleagues. Morrisons worked to get the data taken down quickly, provide protection for those colleagues and reassure them that they would not be financially disadvantaged. Sign up for a full digest of all the best opinions of the week in our Voices Dispatches email Sign up to our free weekly Voices newsletter Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Voices Dispatches email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} We all descend from sponge-like creatures that lived 750 million years ago, according to new statistical analysis carried out by a team of scientists. They say their finding ends an ongoing debate in evolutionary biology about the origins of humans and all other animals. Some scientists have claimed that the sister group of animals is not the simple sponges which lack basic features like muscles and nervous systems but a relatively complex group of predatory creatures known as comb jellies. But using cutting-edge statistical techniques, the scientists have deduced that sponges were the first lineage to separate from all the other animals. Blue Planet II in pictures Show all 10 1 /10 Blue Planet II in pictures Blue Planet II in pictures Broadclub cuttlefish "A broadclub cuttlefish (Sepia latimanus) in Indonesia. Its skin contains millions of pigment cells with which it can create ever-changing colours and patterns to apparently mesmerise their prey." BBC Blue Planet II in pictures Coral spawning on the Great Barrier Reef, Australia "Once a year, responding to cues from the cycle of the moon and the temperature of the water, corals simultaneously release their eggs and sperm into the ocean. Tiny coral larvae drift in the ocean currents, some for days, some for weeks, before sinking back down to the ocean floor and settling to become new corals." BBC Blue Planet II in pictures An aggregation of marbled grouper (Epinephelus polyphekadion), French Polynesia "Thousands of groupers gather here in one of the few pristine spawning aggregations for this species remaining in the world. By taking up the position closest to a female, the male stands the best chance of fertilising her eggs." BBC Blue Planet II in pictures Saddleback clownfish (Amphiprion polymnus) "A male saddleback clownfish uses all the strength it can muster to push a coconut shell to its anemone in Borneo. Unlike their reef relatives, saddleback clownfish live around anemones that are found in the sand, far away from the solid structure of the coral reef. Male saddleback clownfish must use their ingenuity to find a hard substrate upon which the females can lay their eggs." BBC Blue Planet II in pictures Peters' monocle breams (Scolopsis affinis) "A group of Peters' monocle breams blow water-jets onto a hiding bobbit worm (Eunice aphroditois) to expose its ferocious jaws. In so doing, they alert other fish to the worm's location, ruining the predators chance of a surprise attack. This new behaviour was published for the first time by Jose Lachat and Daniel Haag-Wackernagel in 2016." BBC Blue Planet II in pictures Green turtles (Chelonia mydas) Green turtles in Sipadan, Borneo, jostling for their place at a cleaning station. Here, turtles are serviced by blennies and surgeonfish who rid them of algal growth, parasites and dead skin. In return, these fish receive a nutritious meal. BBC Blue Planet II in pictures Bumphead parrotfish (Bolbometopon muricatum) "Bumphead parrotfish feeding on coral and algae in Borneo. These parrotfish use their large forehead to ram corals, thereby breaking them into pieces that are more easily ingested. Each fish ingests over 5 tons of structural reef carbonates per year and after they digest the edible portions from the rock, they excrete it as sand, helping to create small islands and the sandy beaches." BBC Blue Planet II in pictures Coral garden "A fish's-eye view of a coral garden on the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. New underwater probe lenses, developed for Blue Planet II, allow the viewer to immerse themselves into the coral reef city like never before." BBC Blue Planet II in pictures A coral grouper (Plectropomus leopardus) "A coral grouper on the Great Barrier Reef in Northern Australia. Groupers use a gesture dubbed the headstand signal to reach across the vertebrate-invertebrate divide and encourage another species to help it hunt. Gestures such as this are thought to only occur in the largest-brained species. The discovery of this behaviour in groupers indicates that some fish are able to think flexibly to achieve their goals." BBC Blue Planet II in pictures Bigeye trevally (Caranx sexfasciatus) "A school of Bigeye trevally gather at the outer edge of the reef wall in Sipadan, Borneo. These trevally are a schooling species, widespread in the tropics and usually found in large- slow moving schools during the day. They eat a variety of smaller fish, crustaceans and marine invertebrates." BBC These results suggest our ancestors were simple creatures like sponges, feeding by filtering tiny particles from the water. Though many millions of years have elapsed since our evolutionary split, sponges have changed relatively little since then, so they provide a window into our past. Now we are very different from sponges, but at some point back in the past we did share a common ancestor, said Professor Davide Pisani, co-author of the new paper and researcher at the University of Bristol. With our own ancestry at stake, this issue has long been a hot topic among evolutionary biologists. Hypotheses about whether sponges or comb jellies came first suggest entirely different evolutionary histories for key animal organ systems like the nervous and the digestive systems, said Professor Davide Pisani. Therefore, knowing the correct branching order at the root of the animal tree is fundamental to understanding our own evolution." Only a few months ago, another paper published in the journal Nature Ecology and Evolution suggested that comb jellies were indeed our evolutionary sisters. Every single data set up until now has been flip-flopping, meaning depending on how you analyse it youll find one solution or the other, so the data is ambiguous. The question is, if we have ambiguous data, do we have to accept ignorance? asked Professor Pisani. Together with his colleagues, Professor Pisani analysed different evolutionary models to explain the flip-flopping effect, and in doing so found that the best models favoured sponges. The advancement in our paper is that in a sense we refused to accept ignorance, he said. While for this team of researchers, their analysis represents the final word on the issue, Professor Pisani acknowledges the pushback from other scientists that has already taken place since their paper was published in the journal Current Biology. Will the row end? I doubt it. I think it will take longer, but clearly we have made a significant advancement, he said. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} A man whose violent attack was so severe his victim is still in hospital seven months later has been sentenced to 13 years in prison. Homeless Jermaine McDonald, 26, subjected the man to an ordeal his girlfriend described as the most terrible thing I have ever experienced. McDonald approached the 31-year-old victim as he was sat with a female friend on the grass at Dulwich Park, London, and in an unprovoked attack which left his victim paralysed, stabbed him in the head and chest with a screwdriver. He then proceeded to kick him while he was lying on the ground. The assault left the victim in intensive care for six weeks and he was placed in an artificial coma for 16 days. He then had to use a ventilator and doctors did not know whether he would ever breathe by himself again, police said. Several months on, the victim continues to suffer from reduced mobility and severe memory loss. The victims girlfriend told Inner London Crown Court of the devastating impact the attack has had on their lives. She said: Watching him lying in a hospital bed, connected to machines, sedated and paralysed is the most terrible thing I have ever experienced. He is still often confused and struggles to remember where he is, why, what he has just done and even whether I have been to visit him. He fully comprehends how his situation is not normal but he cant remember why. Perhaps the hardest thing at the moment is the uncertainty about our future. Every day, I am so grateful that he is still with us and that he can communicate and move and his personality is still in many ways like before. But she added the prognosis was uncertain and that she may have to give up work. I dont know how much he will improve and what our life will be like. I dont know if he will ever permanently remember where he is or what happened. I dont know if I am going to have to make a choice between work and my career or becoming a carer. I do know that things have changed and we can only move forward. Even if this was the result of an accident, it would still be unbearable. The fact it was cause by the violent act of another human being makes it so much harder. The court heard the motivation for the brutal attack appeared to have been robbery, though there was no explanation for the extreme level of violence used. The womans handbag was stolen, and her bank cards later used by McDonald, who spent less than 100 on cigarettes and alcohol in three contactless transactions. UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures 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 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 Leonard Herman, CPS London South reviewing lawyer, said: This was an unprovoked attack in the middle of the day on a defenceless man. McDonald claimed he acted in self-defence after an altercation but the prosecution presented evidence from witnesses who described how he had been acting aggressively beforehand and had approached the victims himself. We were also able to highlight the strong forensic evidence in court showing the victims blood on McDonalds clothing as well as on the weapon he used to inflict injury. McDonald was also caught on CCTV using a bank card belonging to the female victim to buy alcohol after the incident, showing his blase attitude towards his actions. This was a violent attack by a clearly dangerous man who has left his victim with life-changing injuries. He will now serve a prison term where he will no longer be a threat to the public. McDonald was found guilty on 20 October at Inner London Crown Court of assault causing grievous bodily harm, robbery and attempted robbery. He was jailed on Friday. Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Morning Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} The Governments chief veterinary officer has condemned plans to stop selling eggs from caged hens, saying the proposals were regrettable and simplistic. Nigel Gibbens, who advises the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, said the the commitment by leading retailers to stop selling caged eggs by 2025 was misguided because of the threat posed by bird flu. There was a backlash against the comments from other vets and animal welfare campaigners, who called caged eggs unethical. Mr Gibbens told the Egg and Poultry Industry Conference in Newport, Wales, that public demand for free-range hens clashed with the need to protect flocks from bird flu. Allowing hens outside put them at increased risk of infection from wild birds, he said. There were a dozen outbreaks of bird flu in the UK last year after an epidemic spread across Europe. Farmers in high risk areas kept their birds indoors during the outbreak, meaning some eggs lost their free-range status. Colony cages have a lot going for them and there is good evidence that thats the case, he said. Mr Gibbens said in a Twitter post: Colony cages offer welfare benefits and more space than the battery cages that they replaced. Housing is a necessary defence against avian flu at times of high risk. Obliging free range risks disease that is really bad for welfare. In a later post, he said: It is all too easy to promote simplistic solutions to difficult problems and deny the tension between free range systems and disease risk. Free range can be great for welfare if done well, but it isnt the only way and more work is needed on barn production. In response to Mr Gibbenss position, other leading vets wrote a letter to The Times. Such a brazen endorsement by the UKs foremost veterinary adviser is extremely disappointing, they said. Overcrowding and severe space restrictions are seriously detrimental to welfare. They added bird flu could be contained without caging hens and said vets should be pressing for alternatives, rather than promoting dated unethical systems that cause suffering to millions of sentient birds. UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 11 November 2022 City workers attend a Remembrance Day ceremony at Lloyd's of London, in the City of London, to mark Armistice Day, the anniversary of the end of the First World War PA UK news in pictures 10 November 2022 A grey heron lands on the river Dodder in Dublin on a sunny autumn morning PA UK news in pictures 9 November 2022 Australia and Spain play during the Wheelchair Rugby League World Cup group A match at the Copper Box Arena, London PA UK news in pictures 8 November 2022 A migrant attempting to communicate with journalists is pinned against a fence by members of staff, before being taken out of view, at the Manston immigration short-term holding facility, located at the former Defence Fire Training and Development Centre in Thanet, Kent PA UK news in pictures 7 November 2022 Handout photo issued by Just Stop Oil of a protester who has climbed a gantry on the M25 between junctions six and seven in Surrey, leading to the closure of the motorway PA UK news in pictures 6 November 2022 A grey seal with its pup, at the Donna Nook National Nature Reserve in north Lincolnshire, where they come every year in late October, November and December to give birth to their pups near the sand dunes, the wildlife spectacle attracts visitors from across the UK PA UK news in pictures 5 November 2022 Demonstrators with placards calling for a General Election march near the Houses of Parliament AFP via Getty Images UK news in pictures 4 November 2022 A peacock is seen in the early winter sunshine in the Dutch Gardens in Holland Park AFP via Getty Images UK news in pictures 3 November 2022 Florence Kasumba, Letitia Wright, Tenoch Huerta and Lupita Nyongo attend the European Premiere of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever in London Getty UK news in pictures 2 November 2022 A red squirrel gathers nuts in Pitlochry, Scotland Reuters UK news in pictures 1 November 2022 Englands Tara-Jane Stanley scores their sides seventh try against Brazil during the Womens Rugby League World Cup group A match at Headingley Stadium, Leeds PA UK news in pictures 31 October 2022 GBs James Hall competes during the mens parallel bars qualification at the World Gymnastics Championships in Liverpool AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 30 October 2022 People dressed in Halloween costumes paddle board along the river Avon in Christchurch, Dorset PA UK news in pictures 29 October 2022 Members of the public take pictures as police officers remove activists from a road during a Just Stop Oil protest, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 28 October 2022 A cosplayer attends the MCM Comic Con London 2022 at the ExCel Centre in London Reuters UK news in pictures 27 October 2022 98-year-old D-Day Veteran Bernard Morgan, whose story is among those featured on the giant poppy wall, during the launch of The Royal British Legion 2022 Poppy Appeal, at Hay's Galleria in central London PA UK news in pictures 26 October 2022 A meerkat explores a pumpkin in the enclosure at Wild Place, Bristol, where some of the animals are having pumpkin treats as part of their environmental enrichment PA UK news in pictures 25 October 2022 King Charles III welcomes Rishi Sunak during an audience at Buckingham Palace, where he invited the newly elected leader of the Conservative Party to become Prime Minister and form a new government PA UK news in pictures 24 October 2022 Rishi Sunak celebrates with Tory MPs outside the Conservative Campaign Headquarters after becoming the new leader of the Conservative Party Reuters UK news in pictures 23 October 2022 The Green Man at October Plenty, Borough Market's annual Autumn Harvest festival, in London, which returns for the first time post pandemic PA UK news in pictures 21 October 2022 Sculptor Peter McKenna puts the finishing touches to a pumpkin that will form part of the Planet A Hebden Bridge Pumpkin Trail in the West Yorkshire town PA UK news in pictures 20 October 2022 Britains Prime Minister Liz Truss delivers a speech outside of 10 Downing Street in central London to announce her resignation AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 19 October 2022 Salmon leap up Stainforth Force on the River Ribble in the Yorkshire Dales as they swim upriver to their spawning grounds during the annual Salmon migration PA UK news in pictures 18 October 2022 Just Stop Oil protesters continue their protest for a second day on the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge, which links Kent and Essex and which remains closed for traffic, after it was scaled by two climbers from the group PA UK news in pictures 17 October 2022 Hundreds of students take part in the traditional Raisin Monday foam fight on St Salvator's Lower College Lawn at the University of St Andrews in Fife PA UK news in pictures 16 October 2022 A protester holds a placard during a march into central London at a demonstration by the climate change protest group Extinction Rebellion AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 15 October 2022 A member of the public drags an activist who is blocking the road during a "Just Stop Oil" protest, in London, Britain REUTERS UK news in pictures 14 October 2022 Germanys Womens double skulls during day one of the World Rowing Beach Sprint Finals at Saundersfoot beach, Pembrokeshire PA UK news in pictures 13 October 2022 Family and mourners arrive at St Michael's Church, in Creeslough, for the funeral mass of 49-year-old mother of four Martina Martin, who died following an explosion at the Applegreen service station in the village of Creeslough in Co Donegal on Friday PA UK news in pictures 12 October 2022 Motorists in Coventry pass trees showing autumnal colour PA UK news in pictures 11 October 2022 A woman and her dog in the the North Sea at Tynemouth Longsands beach before sunrise PA UK news in pictures 10 October 2022 Police officers remove a campaigner from a Just Stop Oil protest on The Mall, near Buckingham Palace, London PA UK news in pictures 9 October 2022 A drummer plays during the Diwali on the Square celebration, in Trafalgar Square, London PA UK news in pictures 8 October 2022 Timothee Chalamet attending the UK premiere of Bones and All during the BFI London Film Festival 2022 at the Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre, London PA UK news in pictures 7 October 2022 Two young male fallow deer lock antlers in Dublins Phoenix park as rutting season begins PA UK news in pictures 6 October 2022 The Princess of Wales during a cocktail making competition during a visit to Trademarket, a new outdoor street-food and retail market situated in Belfast city centre, as part of the royal visit to Northern Ireland PA UK news in pictures 5 October 2022 Greenpeace protesters interrupt Prime Minister Liz Truss as she delivers her keynote speech to the Conservative Party annual conference PA UK news in pictures 4 October 2022 Prime Minister Liz Truss and Britains Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng wearing hard hats and hi-vis jackets, visit a construction site for a medical innovation campus in Birmingham AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 3 October 2022 British artist Sam Cox, aka Mr Doodle, reveals the Doodle House, a twelve-room mansion at Tenterden, in Kent, which has been covered, inside and out in the artist's trademark monochrome, cartoonish hand-drawn doodles PA UK news in pictures 2 October 2022 Erling Haaland celebrates after scoring Manchester City's second goal against Manchester United at Etihad Stadium. Haaland went on to score a hattrick, his third of the season in the Premier League. City beat United 6-3. Manchester City FC/Getty UK news in pictures 1 October 2022 Protesters hold up flags and placards at a protest in London. A variety of protest groups including Enough is Enough, Don't Pay and Just Stop Oil all demonstrated on the day AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 30 September 2022 British Prime Minister Liz Truss, who has not been seen in days, leaves the back of Downing Street after a meeting with Office For Budget Responsibility following the release of her governments mini-budget Getty UK news in pictures 29 September 2022 The Virginia creeper foliage on the Tu Hwnt i'r Bont (Beyond the Bridge) Llanwrst, Conwy North Wales, has changed colour from green to red in at the start of Autumn. The building was built in 1480 as a residential dwelling but has been a tearoom for over 50 years PA UK news in pictures 28 September 2022 Criminal barristers from the Criminal Bar Association (CBA), demonstrates outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London, as part of their ongoing pay row with the Government PA UK news in pictures 27 September 2022 David White, Garter King of Arms, poses with an envelope franked with the new cypher of King Charles III 'CIIIR', after it was printed in the Court Post Office at Buckingham Palace in central London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 26 September 2022 A gallery staff member poses next to a painting by Lucian Freud - Self-portrait (Fragment), 1956 - on show at a photocall for the Credit Suisse exhibition - Lucian Freud: New Perspectives at the National Gallery in London PA UK news in pictures 25 September 2022 Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer is interviewed by Laura Kuenssberg in Liverpool before the start of the Labour Party annual Conference which he opened with a tribute to Queen Elizabeth II and sang the national anthem PA UK news in pictures 24 September 2022 Handout photo issued by Buckingham Palace of the ledger stone at the King George VI Memorial Chapel, St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle PA UK news in pictures 23 September 2022 A climate change activist protests against UK private jets while lighting his right arm on fire during the Laver Cup tennis tournament at the O2 Arena in London EPA UK news in pictures 22 September 2022 Woody Woodmansey, Lee Bennett, Kevin Armstrong, Nick Moran and Clifford Slapper attend the unveiling of a stone for David Bowie on the Music Walk of Fame at Camden, north London PA Philip Lymbery, chief executive of international farm animal welfare organisation Compassion in World Farming said Mr Gibbens was deeply misguided. Anyone who knows anything about hen welfare knows cages are bad, he added. A Defra spokesperson said: Enriched cages offer less exposure to the threat of bird flu during an outbreak than free range systems, and provide more floor space and more height than battery cages. Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Morning Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Government departments have been warned against using antivirus software made by tech firms with links to Russia amid growing concerns over national security. Ciaran Martin, head of the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), claimed Russia has the intent to target UK central Government and the UKs critical national infrastructure and that there were obvious risks around foreign ownership of companies that produce antivirus (AV) software. In a letter to Whitehall chiefs agreed with MI5, he described Russia as a highly capable cyber threat actor, which uses cyberspace for espionage, disruption and influence operations. The NCSC is in discussion with the largest Russian player in the UK, Kaspersky Lab, in order to develop checks to prevent transfer of UK data to the Russian state, Mr Martin said. Russia stands accused of meddling in the 2016 US election, while MPs have questioned if Moscow has sought to interfere in UK elections and the Brexit referendum. Prime Minister Theresa May used a November speech to issue a message to Russian president Vladimir Putin that the international community was aware of his countrys efforts to spread fake news in an attempt to sow discord in the West. Mr Martin has previously warned that Russian hackers have targeted the UK energy network, telecoms and the media in the past year. However, his letter said most people and companies in the UK were not under threat of state-backed cyber attacks, but rather from criminal gangs. He said: The NCSC advises that Russia is a highly capable cyber threat actor which uses cyber as a tool of statecraft. Hackers step up war on security services Show all 3 1 /3 Hackers step up war on security services Hackers step up war on security services 08-hackers1-PA.jpg PA Hackers step up war on security services 08-hackers2-PA.jpg PA Hackers step up war on security services 08-hackers3-EPA.jpg EPA This includes espionage, disruption and influence operations. Russia has the intent to target UK central Government and the UKs critical national infrastructure. However, the overwhelming majority of UK individuals and organisations are not being actively targeted by the Russian state, and are far more likely to be targeted by cyber criminals. In drawing this guidance to (department heads) attention today, it is our aim to enable departments to make informed, risk-based decisions on (their) choice of AV provider. To that end, we advise that where it is assessed that access to the information by the Russian state would be a risk to national security, a Russia-based AV company should not be chosen. The NCSC is concerned that the hackers backed by the Russian state could exploit AV software and has opened talks with Kaspersky Lab, one of the worlds largest cybersecurity firms, which has headquarters in Moscow. Mr Martin said it is hoped they can develop an independent means of checking the companys products to give the Government assurance about the security of their involvement in the wider UK market. The companys co-founder, Eugene Kaspersky, has denied any wrongdoing by the company, telling the BBC earlier this week: Its not true that the Russian state has access to the data. There are no facts about that. NCSC technical director Ian Levy said the issue was complex and nuanced and urged the public not to panic. We really dont want people doing things like ripping out Kaspersky software at large, as it makes little sense, he said in a blog. Theres almost no installed base of Kaspersky AV in central government, he said. Beyond this relatively small number of systems, we see no compelling case at present to extend that advice to wider public sector, more general enterprises, or individuals. Sign up to our free Brexit and beyond email for the latest headlines on what Brexit is meaning for the UK Sign up to our Brexit email for the latest insight Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Brexit and beyond email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Beginning trade talks with Donald Trump would be a waste of time, a Nobel Prize-winning economist has warned. Joseph Stiglitz has said the UK should not trust Mr Trump and that Britain should not waste its scarce resources attempting to get an agreement. Speaking to the Today programme on BBC Radio 4, Mr Stiglitz highlighted that the President is looking to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement (Nafta). Donald Trump insists 'no collusion' after Michael Flynn admits lying to FBI I think it would be a waste of time to begin negotiations with him, Mr Stigltiz said. If you look at what he has been putting forward as a negotiating position in the Nafta discussions you get a feeling of how much of a waste of a time it would be. He has proposed that Nafta be a five-year agreement. Businesses cant move forward with the confidence that theres going to be another agreement in another five years, it is so absurd even the business community who supported him so much have come down and said this is a non-starter, he added. Mr Stiglitz warned that given the UK has to dedicate large amounts of its resources to negotiating a new trade deal with the UK, it should not waste time with the US. 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 What Trump has done is thrown a hand grenade into international trade relationships. Hes going to renegotiate even WTO and hes put a block in the reappointment of the judges in the WTO. Given the hurdles that the UK has in negotiating with the EU ... I think it would be just a waste of time for you to use your scarce resources to try to have a trade deal with the United States, he added. Sign up to the Inside Politics email for your free daily briefing on the biggest stories in UK politics Get our free Inside Politics email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Inside Politics email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Former police officers responsible for leaking allegations that pornographic images had been found on the computer of Damian Green in 2008 are facing a growing backlash. It comes after Neil Lewis, a former Scotland Yard detective who examined computer equipment in Mr Greens office almost a decade ago, said on Friday that there were thousands of thumbnail images of legal pornography on the politicians computer. But Sir Peter Fahy, the former Greater Manchester Chief Constable, said the retired officers were entering dangerous territory over the allegations, urging the police to stay out of politics. It is very dangerous territory for a police officer to be making judgements about whether a politician is lying or not, he said. That should only happen in a criminal investigation and even then ultimately it is for the court to decide. Police should also be extremely careful about making judgements about other peoples morality when it is not a matter of crime. It is something really central to our democracy that the police are not involved in politics, he told the BBCs Radio 4 Today programme. Asked if the leaks were wrong, Sir Peter added: I personally believe that they were. I think most police officers and police chiefs would think that they were and would be dismayed at the way this case has developed. Following the claims on Friday, David Davis, the Brexit Secretary, rallied to his colleagues defence and even threatened he could quit his cabinet role if Mr Green is dismissed as First Secretary of State following the allegations dating back to 2008. The allegations echoed claims made by former Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner Bob Quick, who went public last month with his account of material discovered during an investigation into Home Office leaks. The development came amid reports of a growing divide within the Cabinet over Mr Greens future as the de facto deputy Prime Minister. Damian might have survived if this was dealt with immediately but the longer this is drawn out, the more there is a sense this is unsustainable, one minister told The Times. There are now so many allegations out there, it is hard to work out how they will be dealt with, they added. Dominic Grieve, a senior Tory MP and former Attorney General, also came to the defence of the embattled cabinet minister. This cant be right, he told BBCs Newsnight. They are in flagrant breach of their own code of conduct and practice. He continued: It has the smack of the police state about it. I find it very worrying. We give the police powers that other people do not have. They are not and must not be allowed to abuse those powers. Friends of Mr Green also said they were gobsmacked by the allegations from the former detective and outraged at the BBC for broadcasting them. Former detective constable found 'thousands' of pornographic images on Damian Green's computer However, the ex-officers decision to go public was defended by former Gloucestershire Chief Constable Tim Brain. Lets just think about this as a workplace computer and think whether we are happy that people, our MPs, can have this kind of material on what is an official computer, he also told Newsnight. Nobody is actually doubting the fact that there is some kind of electronic trace of this material on the computer. So we need to have some answers now this information is in the public domain. Mr Lewis told the BBC he was involved in analysing the then opposition immigration spokespersons computer during a police investigation into Home Office leaks. He said that although you cant put fingers on a keyboard, a number of factors meant that he was sure it was Mr Green himself who was accessing the thumbnail images. The computer was in Mr Greens office, on his desk, logged in, his account, his name, said Mr Lewis. 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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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 In between browsing pornography, he was sending emails from his account, his personal account, reading documents ... it was ridiculous to suggest anybody else could have done it. Tensions are high as the the First Secretary is currently subject to a Cabinet Office inquiry into similar claims but it is not looking directly into whether pornography was found on Mr Greens computer in 2008 as the controversy dates from before he became a minister. However, it has involved establishing whether allegations were part of a pattern of behaviour that might have continued since Mr Green became a minister by taking evidence from his officials in the jobs held since. The inquiry is also looking into separate allegations of sexual harassment towards a young female activist, Kate Maltby. Speaking to reporters outside his home in Kent on Friday, the cabinet minister said: I have maintained all along and I still maintain it is the truth that I did not download or look at pornography on my computer, but obviously while the investigation is going on I cant say anymore. Sign up to the Inside Politics email for your free daily briefing on the biggest stories in UK politics Get our free Inside Politics email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Inside Politics email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} David Cameron has expressed regret he was unable to do more to deal with the huge challenge funding social care for Britains ageing population. The former prime minister who has since become president of Alzheimers Research UK said a way had to be found to meet the catastrophic costs of caring for people with dementia. There is a huge social care funding challenge we have to answer, and I accept that weve made some steps forward, but we didnt solve that problem, Mr Cameron told the Financial Times. Everyone knows its a difficult conundrum. Lots of effort has been made to try and solve it but we havent got there yet. In office Mr Cameron sought to introduce a 72,000 cap on the costs an individual would have to pay towards care home charges with the state picking up any further bills. UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 16 November 2022 Emma Woolf, great niece of British author Virginia Woolf, and her son Ludovic sit next to a new bronze statue of Woolf, unveiled in Richmond, London Reuters 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 Ministers had hoped insurance companies would develop products that would enable people to insure themselves against their care costs up to the 72,000 limit. However the plans were put on hold in July 2015 after insurers proved reluctant to enter the market. The disappointment I had was I was hoping that a combination of the cap on care costs would help to deliver an insurers model, where a market would grow up where everyone could insure themselves against the cost of long-term care. And we just havent cracked that yet, Mr Cameron said. Im not in politics any more but weve got to find an answer. (Given) the catastrophic cost of care that people face from dementia, and I saw this with constituents, weve got to find a better answer there. PA Sign up to the Inside Politics email for your free daily briefing on the biggest stories in UK politics Get our free Inside Politics email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Inside Politics email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Jacob Rees-Mogg met with Donald Trumps former adviser Steve Bannon to discuss how the conservative movement can be victorious in elections in the UK, it has been reported. The meeting took place at a Mayfair hotel and Mr Rees-Mogg described Mr Bannon as an interesting man to have met, it is said. It is thought they spoke about US and UK politics and the former senior adviser to the President also met with former Ukip leader Nigel Farage. Mr Bannon, who is a self-described economic nationalist and populist, was believed to be Donald Trumps right-hand man before he was forced out of the White House in August. He returned to work for the far-right news organisation Breitbart and his meetings in the UK were organised by Raheem Kassam, the editor of Breitbart London. Brexit and the election of President Trump were inextricably linked, so the discussions focused on how we move forward with winning for the conservative movements on both sides of the pond, Mr Kassam told the Guardian. How you build movements, on the ground and digitally, and what Steves brand of economic nationalism which puts the interests of ordinary people first can do in the US and United Kingdom. World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty Mr Rees-Mogg had previously expressed his support for Mr Trump before backtracking during the presidential election. I obviously do not have a vote and believe it is important for the UK to be polite about all US presidential candidates as it is the most important foreign relationship for us. However, I could not personally vote for either candidate so would have to abstain, he said at the time. Sign up to the Inside Politics email for your free daily briefing on the biggest stories in UK politics Get our free Inside Politics email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Inside Politics email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} MPs have been criticised after only a handful turned up for a debate on the growing humanitarian crisis in Yemen. The emergency debate was called by Tory MP Andrew Mitchell, the former International Development Secretary, who used it to raise concerns about the almighty catastrophe of biblical proportions that he said was unfolding in the country. However, he was joined in the House of Commons by only around 30 of Parliaments 650 MPs. Recommended Red Cross forced to buy own fuel in Yemen because of Saudi blockade Social media users voiced criticism when a picture of the near-empty chamber was posted online. Absolutely sickening wrote one. It shows that its not a priority, said another. During the debate, Mr Mitchell told MPs: There is rapidly rising concern in Britain about what is happening in Yemen and the part that Britain is playing in this crisis. There is deep concern that an almighty catastrophe of biblical proportions is unfolding in Yemen before our eyes, and a considerable fear that Britain is dangerously complicit in it. He said Saudi authorities were preventing aid shipments of food and medicine from entering Yemen. At least seven whole cities have run out of clean water and sanitation and aid agencies are unable to get food to starving families, he said. The destruction of clean water and sanitation facilities is directly responsible for the outbreak earlier this year of cholera affecting nearly one million people. Yemen is a country ravaged by medieval diseases and on the precipice of famine. With rapidly dwindling food and fuel stocks and the dire humanitarian situation pushing at least seven million people into famine, it is now vital that there is unimpeded access for both humanitarian and commercial cargo. The situation in Yemen Show all 14 1 /14 The situation in Yemen The situation in Yemen Houthi supporters trample on a US flag during a gathering mobilizing more fighters into several Yemeni battlefronts, in Sana'a, Yemen EPA The situation in Yemen People carry the coffins of men, who were killed in the recent Saudi-led airstrikes during their funeral, in the Old City of Sanaa, Yemen AP The situation in Yemen Pro-government fighters give food to Yemeni children on the road leading to the southwestern port city of Mokha. Yemeni rebels are putting up fierce resistance in a key Red Sea port city where they are encircled by pro-government force Getty Images The situation in Yemen A Yemeni stands in front of a graffiti protesting US military operations in war-affected Yemen, in Sana'a, Yemen. According to reports, US Special Forces troops allegedly disembarked from US helicopters in the Yemeni town of Yakla and attacked several houses belonging to members of the terrorist group Al-Qaeda, killing three high-ranking Al-Qaeda members and nine civilians, six women and three children. One American serviceman has been killed and three injured in the attack EPA The situation in Yemen US Special Forces troops allegedly disembarked from US helicopters in the Yemeni town of Yakla and attacked several houses belonging to members of the terrorist group Al-Qaeda, killing three high-ranking Al-Qaeda members and nine civilians, six women and three children. One American serviceman has been killed and three injured in the attack EPA The situation in Yemen A Yemeni female fighter supporting the Shiite Huthi rebels, and carrying weapons used for ceremonial purposes, takes part in an anti-Saudi rally in the capital Sanaa Getty Images The situation in Yemen Yemeni female fighters supporting the Shiite Huthi rebels, and carrying weapons used for ceremonial purposes, take part in an anti-Saudi rally in the capital Sanaa Getty Images The situation in Yemen A boy shouts slogans next to pro-Houthi fighters, who have been injured during recent fighting, during a rally held to honour those injured or maimed while fighting in Houthi ranks in Sanaa, Yemen Reuters The situation in Yemen Balls of fire and smoke rise from a Houthi-held military camp following alleged Saudi-led airstrikes, in Sana'a, Yemen EPA The situation in Yemen Yemenis search under the rubble of damaged houses following reported Saudi-led coalition air strikes on the outskirts of the Yemeni capital Sanaa Getty Images The situation in Yemen A Yemeni boy looks on as Yemenis search under the rubble of damaged houses following reported Saudi-led coalition air strikes on the outskirts of the Yemeni capital Sanaa Getty The situation in Yemen A Yemeni boy sits amidst the rubble of damaged houses following reported Saudi-led coalition air strikes on the outskirts of the Yemeni capital Sanaa AFP/Getty The situation in Yemen Marine One with US President Donald Trump flies with a decoy and support helicopters to Dover Air Force Base in Dover, Delaware, for the dignified transfer of Navy Seal Chief Petty Officer William 'Ryan' Owens who was killed in Yemen Getty Images The situation in Yemen US President Donald Trump aboard the Marine One to greet the remains of a US military commando killed during a raid on the al Qaeda militant group in southern Yemen on Sunday, at Dover Air Force Base, Delaware, US Reuters Almost 9,000 people have been killed in Yemen and 49,000 injured since March 2015. Twenty-one million people - three quarters of the population - are in need of humanitarian assistance. Mr Mitchell told The Independent he understood that many MPs had constituency commitments on the day of the debate, and that a number had written to him to apologise for not being able to attend. The fact that the Speaker, John Bercow, took the unusual step of granting an emergency debate on the issue underlines the seriousness of the situation, he said. The former International Development Secretary said MPs of all parties were very, very worried indeed about what he called the greatest looming catastrophe in the world in Yemen. Among those present during the debate were Emily Thornberry, the Shadow Foreign Secretary, and her predecessor, Hillary Benn. Ms Thornberry noted the poor attendance in her speech, saying: It is regrettable in many ways that the House is not packed today. On too many occasions the war in Yemen has been described as a forgotten war, and indeed it is. Describing the situation in Yemen as the worlds biggest humanitarian crisis, Ms Thornberry said the UK was partly to blame for the disaster and called on the Government to clamp down on arms sales to Saudi Arabia, which is bombing Yemen. Responding, Foreign Office minister Alistair Burt said UK officials are in Saudi Arabia monitoring air strikes to ensure that UK-made weapons are used appropriately. He said: We have a rigorous legal and parliamentary process, and ensuring that international humanitarian law is not breached is clearly a vital part of that. The information supplied by those liaison officers is crucial to ensuring that our international obligations are observed. That is why they are there. Last week, Saudi Arabia ended a blockade on areas controlled by Houthi rebels and allowed some aid to resume. Riyadh leads an Arab coalition in the civil war, fighting on behalf of Yemens exiled government. The Independent has contacted the Saudi embassy in the UK for comment. Sign up to our free Brexit and beyond email for the latest headlines on what Brexit is meaning for the UK Sign up to our Brexit email for the latest insight Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Brexit and beyond email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Theresa May must accept her enormous folly of hoping that a trade deal with Donald Trump could replace trade and jobs lost by leaving the single market and customs union after Brexit, Nicola Sturgeon has said. The comments from Scotlands First Minister and SNP leader come after an extraordinary transatlantic row between the Prime Minister and the US President after Mr Trump retweeted Islamophobic videos from the far-right organisation, Britain First. After Ms May said it was wrong for Mr Trump to have posted the discredited videos, the US President then publicly rebuked the Prime Minister on Twitter. Referring to Ms Mays appearance with Mr Trump at the White House shortly after his inauguration as President, the Scottish First Minister wrote in a article for The Guardian: The Prime Minister of course rushed to extend the hand of friendship literally to Trump when he was elected, and she is right to ensure the deep, longstanding links between these islands and our friends in the US endure. But surely she must now accept the enormous folly of hoping that a trade deal with the Trump administration will somehow come even close to replacing the lost trade, jobs and investment caused by taking Britain out of the EU single market and the customs union. In the article on Saturday, Ms Sturgeon also called on the Government to negotiate a deal with the bloc that limits the damage as much as possible after Brexit and said the Prime Minister should agree to a transition period inside the customs union and single market. She added that the transition period must not be a two-year postponement of falling over a Brexit cliff edge. Ms Sturgeon said it was time to banish language that characterises the EU as our enemy and approach the next phase of talks in a spirit of cooperation and solidarity. Ms Sturgeon said she remained firmly opposed to Britain leaving the EU, describing Brexit as a monumental act of social, economic and diplomatic harm. She added: If Brexit is to happen, then it must happen in a way that limits the damage as much as possible. She said that decisions so far had been taken in the interests of appeasing Tory Brexiter backbenchers, but said that it was now time for the economy to come first. UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 16 November 2022 Emma Woolf, great niece of British author Virginia Woolf, and her son Ludovic sit next to a new bronze statue of Woolf, unveiled in Richmond, London Reuters 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 European Council President Donald Tusk has given Ms May until Monday to come forward with an improved offer on the terms of the UKs withdrawal, including the divorce bill and future citizens rights, as well as the Irish border, if there is to be progress at the December summit. In her article Ms Sturgeon added: The Prime Minister needs to come away from the EU summit with a clear agreement to move into trade talks and a clear statement that transition will mean remaining in the single market and the customs union nothing less. Warm words and cryptic soundbites will not suffice when companies are beginning to make real decisions that will impact on peoples jobs. And that transition must not be simply a two-year postponement of falling over a Brexit cliff edge. It is an opportunity to recognise a better way forward. Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Barack Obama has said he would not have voted for himself if he watched Fox News, while warning Indian conference attendees about the need to escape their information "bubbles". "Those who watch Fox News and those who read the New York Times occupy completely different realities," the former US President told the assembled crowd at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit. "If I watch(ed) Fox News, I wouldnt vote for me." He elaborated by saying the network portrays him as an "unrecognisable character." "I would watch it [and say] 'Who is that guy? This character named Barack Obama and he's just portrayed in these weird ways'," he said. Current President Donald Trump regularly tweets about segments from Fox's morning show Fox and Friends, while criticising outlets such as CNN, the New York Times and the Washington Post. Meanwhile, his predecessor, Mr Obama, warns that a lack of access to balanced and varied information is a direct threat against democracy. "More and more we're fitting facts to suit our opinions rather than formulating our opinions based on facts, and this poses a great danger because democracies cannot function if we cannot agree on a basic baseline of what is true and what is false," Mr Obama said. "We're more connected than every before but it's also easier now to retreat into our own bubbles." He added that it was also clear the "values of pluralism, of tolerance, the values of openness and the rule of law" were under threat. "We have to promote these values every day because there's a competing narrative, these values are often under attack," he said. 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 "We should feel confident about the progress we've made - in my lifetime and yours - but we shouldn't feel complacent." In a clear reference to the current US president, Mr Obama also advised attendees at the Indian leadership conference not to tweet "the first thing that pops in your head. Have a little bit of an edit function. The former president was also met with laughter when he said there was currently "a little bit of a pause in American leadership." Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} A supply teacher's call to police about a six-year-old Muslim boy with Downs Syndrome led to his family being investigated for terrorism. Officers launched the probe after six-year-old Mohammad Suleiman allegedly kept repeating the words Allah and boom class. His parents from the Texan city of Pearland, around 20 miles south of Houston, have claimed this cannot be true because he doesnt speak at all and has the mental capacity of a one-year-old. The boys father said the family been through hell after becoming the subjects of both a police and social services investigation. The last three or four weeks have been the hardest of my life, Maher Suleiman told the Fox26 news channel. My wife and kids were crying a few days ago and I told them everything is fine. Mohammad was born with Downs Syndrome Chromosome 21. He needs care all the time." He added: "They claim that hes a terrorist. This is so stupid, this is discrimination actually. Its not implied discrimination, its a hundred per cent discrimination. The teacher was covering for a regular member of staff at the CJ Harris Elementary School when he made the call. 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 A spokesperson for the district education authority said it was unable to release information on individual students due to privacy laws. The Pearland Police Department said it has concluded its investigation and found no need for further action. But the region's Child Protective Services department said its investigation is ongoing. Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} The odds of Donald Trump becoming the third US president to be impeached have been cut after Michael Flynn agreed to cooperate with the FBI's investigation into his campaign's link's with Russia. In the wake of the bombshell news that Michael Flynn is pleading guilty to making false statements to the FBI during their Russia investigations, President Trump has hit his shortest price yet to leave office before the end of his term," Naomi Totten, spokeswoman for Betfair, told The Independent. Trading at a low of 1.7 or 4/6, which equates to a 59 per cent implied chance, punters are increasingly confident that this is one mess Trump will not be able to tweet his way out of. "Paddy Power now bet 4/7 that Donald Trump will be impeached. Thats an implied probability of 63 per cent," said Joe Lee, Paddy Power's Head of Trump Betting. "Those odds sat at 11/10 yesterday which would have been a 47 per cent probability," he continued. "Our punters are also very interested in the year of impeachment with 2018 now sitting at even money - making it a 50/50 shot it happens in the next 12 months." However, at least one bookmaker is refusing to make any predictions. "We aren't betting on it," said Rupert Adams, an international PR manager for William Hill. "We're got quite a big operation in the States and we're going to steer clear of it. We don't like betting on that." Former national security adviser and retired general Michael Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his contacts with Russia in the lead up to the US presidential election. Donald Trump insists 'no collusion' after Michael Flynn admits lying to FBI He has agreed to cooperate with prosecutors delving into the actions of President Trumps inner circle before he took office. The dramatic turn of events also raised new questions about whether Mr Trumps son-in-law, Jared Kushner, had a role in those Russia contacts. General Flynn was the first member of Mr Trumps administration to plead guilty to a crime uncovered by special counsel Robert Muellers wide-ranging investigation into Russian attempts to influence the 2016 US election and potential collusion by Mr Trump's aides. Under a plea bargain deal, General Flynn admitted in a Washington court that he lied when asked by FBI investigators about his conversations last December with Russias then-ambassador, Sergei Kislyak, just weeks before Mr Trump took office. Prosecutors alleged that the two men discussed US sanctions against Russia and that General Flynn also asked Mr Kislyak to help delay a United Nations (UN) vote seen as damaging to Israel. On both occasions, he appeared to be undermining the policies of outgoing President Barack Obama. 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 They also said a very senior member of Mr Trumps transition team had told General Flynn to contact Russia and other foreign governments to try to influence them ahead of the UN vote. It has been reported in some quarters that the very senior official was Mr Kushner, Mr Trump's son in law, who was key member of his presidential transition team, who is now one of his senior advisers. Mr Kushners lawyer, Abbe Lowell, did not respond to multiple requests for comment. He has previously said his client has voluntarily cooperated with all relevant inquiries and would continue to do so. General Flynns decision to cooperate with Muellers team marked a major escalation in a probe that has dogged the president since he took office in January. There was nothing in the court hearing that pointed to any evidence against Mr Trump, and the White House said General Flynns guilty plea implicated him alone. Nothing about the guilty plea or the charge implicates anyone other than Mr. Flynn, said Ty Cobb, a White House attorney. General Flynn only served as Trumps national security adviser for 24 days. He was forced to resign after he was found to have misled Vice President Mike Pence about his discussions with Mr Kislyak. But General Flynn had been an enthusiastic supporter of Trumps election campaign and the president continued to praise him even after he left the administration, saying he had been treated very, very unfairly by the news media. Additional reporting by agencies. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Inside Washington email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Barack Obama has urged Donald Trump to think before you tweet as the White House again finds itself defending the Presidents inflammatory online activity. Dont say the first thing that pops in your head. Have a little bit of an edit function, Mr Obama told a New Delhi audience, according to the Washington Post. Think before you speak, think before you tweet. An enthusiastic and frequent Twitter user, Mr Trump has has used the platform to stoke controversy and savage opponents. The most recent tweet-triggered firestorm was ignited by his retweets of a far-right organisation, Britain First, purporting to depict violence by Muslims. Batting away criticism from that included a rebuke from UK Prime Minister Theresa May, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said the retweets helped elevate the conversation around the threats posed by extremism. Joe Biden on Obama memes: "In essence, they're all true" Mr Trump often issues his Twitter proclamations in early morning bursts, at times undercutting the public positions of other administration officials. He has tweeted more than twice as many times as Mr Obama. Barack Obama's best moments in the White House Show all 11 1 /11 Barack Obama's best moments in the White House Barack Obama's best moments in the White House May 19, 2009 The President was leaving the State Floor after an event and found Sasha in the elevator ready to head upstairs to the private residence. He decided to ride upstairs with her before returning to the Oval Office, Peter Souza Barack Obama's best moments in the White House Oct. 26, 2012 President Barack Obama pretends to be caught in Spider-Man's web as he greets the son of a White House staffer in the Outer Oval Office Peter Souza Barack Obama's best moments in the White House A National Security staffer, Carlton Philadelphia, brought his family to the Oval Office for a farewell photo with President Obama. Carltons son, Jacob, softly told the President he had just gotten a haircut like President Obama, and asked if he could feel the Presidents head to see if it felt the same as his. Peter Souza Barack Obama's best moments in the White House March 21, 2010 The President, Vice President and senior staff applaud after watching on television the House vote on H.R. 4872 for health care reform, in the Roosevelt Room of the White House Peter Souza Barack Obama's best moments in the White House Dec. 3, 2009 President Barack Obama fist-bumps custodian Lawrence Lipscomb in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building following the opening session of the White House Forum on Jobs and Economic Growth Peter Souza Barack Obama's best moments in the White House Sept. 22, 2015 "The Obama family and Biden family greet Pope Francis as he arrives in the United States for the first time at Joint Base Andrews," Sept. 22, 2015. Peter Souza Barack Obama's best moments in the White House Feb. 21, 2014 President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden participate in a "Let's Move!" video taping on the Colonnade of the White House, Feb. 21, 2014 Peter Souza Barack Obama's best moments in the White House Feb. 18, 2016 President Barack Obama watches First Lady Michelle Obama dance with 106-Year-Old Virginia McLaurin in the Blue Room of the White House prior to a reception celebrating African American History Month, Feb. 18, 2016 Peter Souza Barack Obama's best moments in the White House Jan. 21, 2013 "The President and First Lady wave to supporters as they ride in the inaugural parade. I had asked the President if I could ride in the presidential limousine and the President joked, 'But Michelle and I were planning to make out," Jan. 21, 2013. Peter Souza Barack Obama's best moments in the White House Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama share a private moment in a freight elevator at an Inaugural Ball, January 2009 all pics: Pete Souza Barack Obama's best moments in the White House Barack Obama rests his hand on the bible that President Lincoln used for his swear-in, being held by his wife Michelle Obama as he is sworn in as the 44th President of the United States of America Rex But the former President has a substantial edge in followers: 97.4 million to Mr Trumps 43.7 million. He winked at that discrepancy, noting he had more followers than people who use it more often. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Inside Washington email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} President Donald Trump has said that there was absolutely no collusion between his election campaign and Russia, in his first comments over a guilty plea by his former national security adviser Michael Flynn in connection with the Russia investigation. Mr Flynn pleaded guilty to a charge of lying to the FBI about his contact with then-Russian Ambassador to the US, Sergey Kislyak about sanctions and a UN vote over Israel, and had agreed to cooperate with special counsel Robert Muellers investigation into possible collusion between Russia and Trumps campaign team. What has been shown is no collusion, no collusion, Mr Trump spoke as he departed the White House to head to New York for political fundraisers expected to raise millions of dollars. Theres been absolutely no collusion, so were very happy". Recommended Trump White House trembles as Flynn starts to spill the beans However, critics jumped on a later tweet that Mr Trump later sent our saying: "I had to fire General Flynn because he lied to the Vice President and the FBI. It is a shame because his actions during the transition were lawful. There was nothing to hide!" Some have suggested that it amounted to an admission that Mr Trump knew that Mr Flynn - who was interviewed by the FBI on 24 January - was lying before the national security adviser was forced to resign on 13 February, having been said to have given inaccurate statements about his interactions with Mr Kislyak to Vice President Pence. Some, including California Democrat Representative Ted Lieu, suggested that the tweet could show obstruction of justice, with former FBI director James Comey alleging during testimony to Congress that Mr Trump had subsequently suggested he drop the investigation into Mr Flynn. That suggestion - which lawyers for Mr Trump have denied the president making - was alleged to have taken place on 14 February during a meeting at the White House. The White House has sought to play doen the tweet, with White House Counsel John Dowd saying that the tweet "simply paraphrases" a statement issued on Friday by Ty Cobb, a White House attorney, which said Mr Flynns guilty plea implicated him alone. Nothing about the guilty plea or the charge implicates anyone other than Mr. Flynn, Mr Cobb said. The statement added that entered a guilty plea to a single count of making a false statement to the FBI. The false statements involved mirror the false statements to White House officials which resulted in his resignation in February of this year. The Washington Post reported that the tweet was potentially drafted by Mr Dowd, while they also quoted unnamed administration officials that called the tweet simply "sloppy" and "unfortunate". Mr Flynn is the first official within the Trump administration to be charged in relation to the investigation, but is the fourth person connected to the Trump campaign. In October, Mr Trumps former campaign manager, Paul Manafort, and his associate Rick Gates, were charged with 12 counts of financial crimes related to their work in Ukraine. All of which they denied. At the same time, Mr Mueller revealed foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos had pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about contacts with Russia-linked individuals a similar charge that Mr Flynn admitted to as part of the plea deal. 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 The federal probe led by Mr Mueller had started as an investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election, but expanded to include possible collusion between Trump officials and Russia. The investigation was originally led by Mr Comey, before he was fired by Mr Trump in May. But, Mr Flynns plea agreement is a milestone for Mr Muellers team, that brings the investigation into the White House and shines the spotlight on other members of Mr Trumps transition team as he moved into the White House. Under a plea bargain deal, Mr Flynn admitted in a Washington court on Friday that he lied when asked by FBI investigators about his conversations with Mr Kislyak in December 2016, in the weeks before Mr Trump took office. Prosecutors said that on 29 December, the two men discussed US sanctions against Russia, which former President Barack Obama had just imposed over the alleged election meddling by the Kremlin. In another communication on 22 December Mr Flynn also asked Mr Kislyak to help delay or vote down a UN vote over condemnation of settlement building seen as damaging to Israel. Court papers made public as part of Mr Flynns plea deal make clear that senior officials for Mr Trumps transition were fully aware of Mr Flynns contact with Russian officials, and helped to direct those communications. They said a very senior member of Mr Trumps transition team had told Mr Flynn to contact Russia and other foreign governments to try to influence them ahead of the UN vote. The official was not named in court papers, but a number of reports in the US media have suggested it is Jared Kushner, a senior White House adviser and the presidents son-in-law. It is believed that Mr Kushner was one of a number of transition team officials who were active in looking to react to the UN vote. Mr Kushners legal team has previously said that Mr Kushner has voluntarily cooperated with all relevant inquiries and would continue to do so. On 29 December, Mr Flynn asked Mr Kislyak to refrain from escalating a diplomatic dispute with Washington over the sanctions, and later falsely told FBI officials that he did not make that request, the court documents show. Prosecutors said Flynn had earlier consulted with a senior member of Trumps presidential transition team about what to communicate to the Russian ambassador, adding that Mr Flynn then called the Trump official again to recount the conversation with Mr Kislyak. They did not name the senior official in the Trump team, but US media reports identified former adviser KT McFarland as the person. Mr Flynn had been an enthusiastic supporter of Mr Trump during the campaign and the president continued to praise him even after he left the administration, saying Mr Flynn had been treated very, very unfairly by the news media. In Russia, where legislators have been watching the case with interest, Senator Alexey Pushkov said Mr Flynns case was being hyped. In the United States they continue to inflate a sack of smoke, he tweeted. Now they are hyping up the ... empty Flynn case. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Inside Washington email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} An arrest warrant has been been unsealed regarding the Mexican man who was acquitted of the murder of Kate Steinle in San Francisco. District Judge Alia Moses of Texas unsealed the warrant for Jose Ines Garcia Zarate, who a day earlier was found not guilty of killing Ms Steinle as she strolled along a pier in San Francisco in 2015. The warrant is for Mr Zarate violating the terms of his supervised release, a Department of Justice official said. Read more Mr Zarate had been released by the San Francisco Sheriffs Department shortly before Ms Steinles death. An immigrant in the country illegally, he had been deported several times and had served time in federal prison for illegally re-entering the United States. While jurors cleared Mr Zarate of homicide and manslaughter, vindicating the defenses argument that Ms Steinle was killed by an accidental shot that ricocheted, they found him guilty of being a felon in possession of a firearm. Mr Zarate said he found the gun that fired the fatal bullet under a bench and picked it up. 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 case became a flashpoint over immigration policy, with critics arguing that San Franciscos status as a sanctuary city limiting cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement contributed to Ms Steinles death. Donald Trump regularly invoked the case as a rationale for more stringent immigration laws. He blasted the verdict on Twitter as disgraceful, and the White House excoriated the decision. Yesterdays verdict in San Francisco underscores the danger to public safety when our Nation fails to enforce its laws. Kate Steinle was killed by an illegal immigrant and convicted felon who had been deported from the United States five times, a White House statement said, adding that Had San Francisco enforced our Nations immigration laws, the Steinle family would be celebrating this holiday with all of their loved ones. US rescinds DACA program for young immigrants The Department of Justice said it was exploring ways to bring federal charges against Mr Zarate. Were looking at every option and we will prosecute this to the fullest extent of the law because these cases are tragic and entirely preventable, Justice Department spokeswoman Sarah Isgur Flores said during an interview on news show Fox & Friends. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Inside Washington email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Michael Flynn used to lead the raucous chorus of lock her up when Donald Trump berated Crooked Hillary in his aggressive, overheated campaign rallies. Now it is the former army general, once one of the most trusted of all the Presidents men, who may start the process which can bring this administration crashing down. Mr Flynns plea of guilty at a federal charge of lying to the FBI is more serious than the indictment of Mr Trumps former campaign manager Paul Manafort. This is someone admitting to a felony who was no less than the National Security Advisor, privy to the most sensitive secrets, in a position to do grave damage to national security. Mr Trump used to take Mr Flynn to the intelligence, defence and foreign policy briefings he received from the CIA, FBI and the Pentagon while running for president. And, as National Security Advisor, Mr Flynn would have direct access to the classified information when his man was in the White House. One key line of special counsel Robert Muellers investigation would be whether any of the material was compromised by clandestine contact with the Russians. Crucially, the indictment of Mr Flynn puts former FBI director Mr Muellers investigation inside the White House, and not just on the campaign trail as had been the case with Mr Manafort. Very little has been released so far from the special counsels team about the charges. But the document does indicate that the investigation is focusing on how the former National Security Advisors liaison with the Russian ambassador, Sergei Kislyak, could have influenced presidential policy. We now know, from Mr Muellers office, that Mr Flynn had talked to Mr Kislyak about Russias response to sanctions imposed by the outgoing Obama administration and the course of action the Kremlin may take at the United Nations. He has now admitted lying to the FBI about these conversations, indicating his apprehension about details coming out. We also know that Mr Flynn was not flying solo in the Mr Trump camp in his dealings with Moscow. The prosecutors state that he called a senior member of the presidential transition team on 29 December last year after Mr Kislyak had contacted him. The message Mr Flynn was asked to pass on to the ambassador was that Moscow should not escalate the situation, with the obvious inference that they will receive something in return. The Russians duly obliged. Mr Trump tweeted the next day Great move on delay (by V Putin). I always knew he was very smart. 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 That was not the first contact between Mr Flynn and Mr Kislyak with the apparent connivance of the Mr Trump team. A week earlier, on 22 December, prosecutors say that a very senior member of the presidential transition team personally directed Mr Flynn to approach a number of countries, to delay or defeat a UN security council resolution on Israeli settlements. Mr Flynn called Mr Kislyak the same day. On this occasion the ambassador could not help, however, and the resolution passed with 14 votes in favour and the US abstaining. All this is emerging with the background of Mr Trump and his team repeatedly denying that there had been any coordination with the Russians during and after the presidential campaign, and this denial has continued even as evidence began to surface of almost 20 meetings between the two sides. Mr Flynn may be in a position to provide Mr Mueller with the ammunition needed to dismantle the position being taken by the Trump administration. There is now little doubt that a plea bargain deal has been reached. There was early notice of that last week when Mr Flynns legal team announced that it will no longer be cooperating with White House lawyers. Mr Muellers decision to accept a guilty plea by Mr Flynn on a fairly low level 1001 violation named after 18 USC 1001, the criminal statute for making false statements, strongly indicated that the former National Security Advisor will provide significant help for the investigation. Defendants do not tend to get much credit for incriminating lesser targets, and Mr Flynns past closeness to Mr Trump means that the potential targets for Mr Mueller are Mr Trumps senior officials, members of his family, or the President himself. Mr Flynn will not be the first to be flipped by Mr Muellers investigators. George Papadopoulos, a Trump campaign aide, is cooperating. Last month the highly respected former US attorney Preet Bharara said that Mr Manafort, too, may go down the same path. And Felix Sater, a former business partner of Mr Trump and an associate of Russian and American organised crime networks, is helping federal authorities with an alleged Kazakh money laundering plot in which a Trump property is involved. Mr Trump had tried hard to save Mr Flynn. The new President asked FBI director James Comey to ease off on pursuing him, allegedly saying during a private dinner: I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting Mr Flynn go. He is a good guy, I hope you can let this go. Mr Comeys refusal to do so and, in effect, abandon the Russia investigation, led to his firing. Steve Bannon, Mr Trumps former chief strategist, called the sacking of Mr Comey one of the biggest mistakes in modern political history as it directly led to the appointment of Mr Mueller with his extensive powers. Mr Trump now waits to see just how damaging this mistake will be for his presidency as the net begins to close in around him. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Inside Washington email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn has pleaded guilty to charges of making false statements to the FBI in special prosecutor Robert Mueller in the investigation into alleged collusion between US President Donald Trumps 2016 campaign team and Russian officials. Given the indictment of other campaign officials like Paul Manafort and Rick Gates, as well as the guilty plea of campaign aide George Papadopoulos, some like lawyer and University of New Hampshire professor Seth Ambramson said on Twitter: "The jig is up, Mr. President. This is the beginning of the end for this administration." Who is Michael Flynn? Michael Flynn is the former National Security Adviser to Mr Trump. He had served just 24 days in the Trump administration. The retired three-star Army Lieutenant General was an ardent and early supporter of Mr Trump despite being a registered Democrat prior to the 2016 election. He gave a fiery speech during the Republican National Convention in July 2016, starting a chant in the crowd to Lock Her Up!, referring to sending opponent Hillary Clinton to jail. He stumped for Mr Trump throughout the campaign, touting the real estate magnates national security and foreign policy abilities despite his total lack of political experience. Mr Flynn had also worked under former President Barack Obama as the Director of the Defence Intelligence Agency in 2012. But by 30 April 2014, Mr Flynn had announced his retirement from the military after 33 years of service. He had been forced out of the DIA a year earlier than planned due to repeated clashes with superior officers and his Flynn Facts, or dubious statements that had a loose relationship with actual facts according to the New York Times. Why is everyone talking about him now? Mr Flynn was charged with making false, fictitious, and fraudulent statements to the FBI about his contact with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak in a 24 January questioning. What happened when he was National Security Advisor? He misled Vice President Mike Pence, then-White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, and then-Press Secretary Sean Spicer about conversations he had with former Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak. The three repeated his false claims to the public on more than one occasion. In an interview with CBS on 15 January, Mr Pence said Mr Flynn told him the conversation was about Christmas wishes and sympathy for the loss of life in the airplane crash that took place the month before. Mr Flynn also spoke with Mr Kisylak again on 21 January to set up a meeting between the President and Russian President Vladimir Putin. 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 According to former acting Attorney General Sally Yates May testimony in front of the Senate, she had rushed to speak to White House lead counsel Don McGahn on 26 January about how Mr Flynn was susceptible to blackmail by Russia because Moscow knew he had been lying about his contact with Mr Kislyak. It took 18 days for Mr Trump to ask Mr Flynn for his resignation on 13 February and he implied in later comments that he felt media pressure to do so. Ms Yates was fired just five days after her dramatic conversation with the President. The White House said it was because she did not support Mr Trumps travel ban on people from six Muslim-majority countries entering the US. Mr Flynn had also been under investigation even before Mr Trump took office. The Army was looking into whether he had received money from the Russian government during a 2015 trip. If he had it would be a violation of the Emoluments Clause of the US Constitution that bars any former military officials from receiving foreign government funds without first getting permission from Congress. What are the charges? The FBI found a transcript of a call Mr Flynn made to Mr Kislyak on 29 December 2016. That was the same day former President Barack Obama had imposed sanctions on Russia for its interference in the US election and they discussed that on the call. He also asked Mr Kislyak to delay the vote on or defeat a pending United Nations Security Council resolution, according to court documents. Mr Flynn was still only a member of Mr Trumps transition team at the time. The day after his resignation, 14 February, Mr Trump had asked former FBI Director James Comey to see your way clear to letting this go, to letting Flynn go" according to Mr Comeys testimony in front of the Senate. The FBI had continued the investigation into Mr Flynn in spite of the Presidents comments. What could happen next? The former Lieutenant General has pleaded guilty to the charge of lying to the FBI. As Daily Beast reported, legally, pleading guilty to an information is the same thing as pleading guilty after being indicted. Mr Mueller and Congress are continuing with their investigations into the campaign teams alleged collusion with Russian officials which could lead to an indictment for Michael Flynn Jr as well. The senior Mr Flynns legal team had cut off communications with Mr Trumps lawyers last week, which could mean he is cooperating with Mr Mueller and offered some information in the investigation. Experts have said he may have offered crucial links between Russian officials and a senior campaign team official given the relatively lenient charge. It remains unclear whether Mr Flynn will face actual jail time Mr Abramson could be correct in his estimation given Mr Trump's lawyer Ty Cobb now calling for a swift end to the Russia investigation. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Inside Washington email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} While much of America has been focused on a massive tax bill making its way through Congress, and developments in the investigation of Russias 2016 election meddling, a bill highly favored by the firearm industry has been creeping quietly closer to becoming the law of the land. The bill, which the National Rifle Association has called its highest legislative priority in Congress, would require every state to recognize concealed carry permits granted by other states even from states that dont barre convicted stalkers or people with histories of domestic violence. The legislation already has strong support from Republicans in the House of Representatives, and is all but guaranteed to pass through that chamber quickly once a vote is held. Republicans in the Senate would then need to accomplish something theyve had trouble with on controversial bills this year, secure several Democratic votes. And, it looks like they may have the leverage to do just that, according to the Daily Beast. Recommended Man whose partner was shot dead on TV wins election race against NRA We have low crime rates, and thats because we actually have people that are carrying weapons, Republican Representative Raul Labrador, who represents a sparsely inhabited district in the western United States, told that news organization. The more people carry, the lower crime will be. Apparently, they like the high crime in their states. The handful of Democratic senators who may be pressured to vote for the bill generally come from states where senators are up for reelection next year, and where voters tend to skew a bit more conservative than in states like New York or California, where conceal carry laws are relatively strict. Id be inclined to support it, but Ive got to look at it, Senator John Tester, a Democrat from Montana, said. I think i makes things a lot more simpler [sic] for folks, but, like I said, I havent studied the bill. Havent really done my due diligence on it. 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 Other Democrats similarly told the Daily Beast that theyd consider it, or that they havent yet taken a look at what the bill said. The bill has considerable support at the state level from attorneys general who have voiced their support for the bill. So far, 23 have signed a letter supporting the legislation. States should not be able to deny citizens of the United States the basic constitutional right to self-defence, Jeff Landry, the attorney general of Louisiana, said. Mr Landry is the latest attorney general to join that movement. Louisiana has chosen to respect the rights of residents and non-residents to carry arms for self-defence. I ask Congress to protect these same rights for law-abiding Louisiana's as they travel throughout the United States. States with strict gun control laws, including concealed carry permits, tend to also have low rates of gun violence. Of the big states that are well known for their restrictive gun control measures, for instance, New York has just 4.2 firearm deaths per 100,000 people (3rd least), New Jersey has just 5.4 deaths per 100,000 people (6th least), and California has just 7.7 deaths per 100,000 (8th least), according to the Centre for Disease Control data from 2016. States like Idaho and Montana, on the other hand both of which are lenient with their gun laws have relatively high rates of gun death. Idaho had 14.7 deaths per 100,000 people in 2016 (15th highest rate), while Montana has 19.2 deaths per 100,000 people (the sixth highest rate). Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Inside Washington email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} The admission of guilt by Donald Trumps former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, as part of the federal Russia probe is a shattering moment for the Trump presidency, Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal has said. Mr Flynn has pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI - an event that top House Democrat Nancy Pelosi has called a dark moment in American history. The guilty plea of President Trumps former National Security Advisor to lying to the FBI about his communications with Russian authorities marks a dark moment in our nations history, Ms Pelosi said in a statement. According to court documents, Mr Flynn admitted to lying when he told investigators that he didnt ask the Russian ambassador to the US, Sergey Kislyak, to moderate Russias response to US sanctions. He was also not telling the truth when he said he didnt ask Mr Kislyak to delay or defeat an unrelated United Nations Security Council vote. The ex-official has been central to special counsel Robert Muellers probe into alleged ties between Trump campaign advisers and the Kremlin. Clearly, Flynn is cooperating, said Mr Blumenthal, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which is conducting its own inquiry into Russian meddling in the presidential election and potential collusion by the Trump campaign. And he must continue to cooperate completely and candidly if he hopes to avoid even more serious criminal convictions, he added in his statement. The exact charge sends a bombshell signal: its about the Russians. Specifically, Flynn lied about issues of preeminent Russian interests sanctions, the United Nations, and Russian exchanges. 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 He continued: Flynns betrayal of national security is an enduring black mark on our countrys history and a stunning violation of his oath of office. Incredibly, he lied to the FBI while he was the Presidents chief national security adviser. Mr Flynn made the false statements during his interview with the FBI in January - just four days after Mr Trumps inauguration. He resigned from his post just a few weeks later - after it was revealed that he had misled Vice President Mike Pence about his conversations with Mr Kislyak. Following Mr Flynns guilty plea, Mr Blumenthal said the Senate Judiciary Committee must pursue its investigation with new urgency. The Judiciary Committee is investigating obstruction of justice directly relating to President Trumps firing of James Comey after Comey refused to drop the very investigation of Michael Flynn now culminating in this conviction, Mr Blumenthal said. Mr Comey, the former director of the FBI, was originally handling the Russia investigation for the Justice Department before being fired by Mr Trump in May. Mr Comey has said the President told him during a private Oval Office meeting: I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting Flynn go. He is a good guy. I hope you can let this go. Mr Trump has told reporters he didn't say this to the ex-FBI chief. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Inside Washington email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} President Donald Trump has insisted that Rex Tillerson is not being fired, despite persistent rumours that the Secretary of State is on his way out. The media has been speculating that I fired Rex Tillerson or that he would be leaving soon - FAKE NEWS! the President tweeted, employing his pet phrase. Hes not leaving and while we disagree on certain subjects, (I call the final shots) we work well together and America is highly respected again! Multiple reports earlier this week suggested Mr Trump was planning to oust Mr Tillerson and install CIA Director Mike Pompeo in his place. Mr Trump has reportedly taken a liking to Mr Pompeos forceful style and strong opinions in the presidential daily briefings. Asked on Thursday whether he still wanted Mr Tillerson in the job, the President replied only: Hes here. Rex is here. White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders also seemed uncertain about Mr Tillersons job status, telling reporters: When the President loses confidence in someone, they will no longer serve here. With his tweet on Friday, however, Mr Trump appeared to be trying to quell the rumours some of which had been swirling for months. Donald Trump's international Presidential trips Show all 22 1 /22 Donald Trump's international Presidential trips Donald Trump's international Presidential trips French President Emmanuel Macron and US President Donald Trump AFP/Getty Images Donald Trump's international Presidential trips French President Emmanuel Macron and US President Donald Trump talk as they leave the Army Museum at Les Invalides in Paris AFP/Getty Images Donald Trump's international Presidential trips German Chancellor Angela Merkel and US President Donald Trump arrive for the group photo at the G7 Taormina summit on the island of Sicily in May 2017 Getty Images Donald Trump's international Presidential trips Mr Trump was pressed on the subject at the G7 summit in Italy Getty Donald Trump's international Presidential trips US President Donald Trump gives a speeech at the Warsaw Uprising Monument on Krasinski Square Getty Donald Trump's international Presidential trips US President Donald Trump and Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May during a ceremony at the NATO headquarters before the start of a summit in Brussels, Belgium Reuters Donald Trump's international Presidential trips Montenegro's Prime Minister Dusko Markovic is seen to the right of Donald Trump at a Nato summit in Brussels REUTERS Donald Trump's international Presidential trips Pope Francis meeting with US President Donald J. Trump EPA Donald Trump's international Presidential trips Pope Francis poses with US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump AFP/Getty Images Donald Trump's international Presidential trips US President Donald Trump arrives at Palazzo del Quirinale ahead of the meeting with Italian President Sergio Mattarella Ufficio Stampa Presidenza della via Getty Donald Trump's international Presidential trips US President Donald Trump is seen during a joint press conference with the Palestinian leader at the presidential palace in the West Bank city of Bethlehem AFP/Getty Images Donald Trump's international Presidential trips Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas meets US President Donald Trump PPO via Getty Donald Trump's international Presidential trips Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks with US President Donald Trump prior to the President's departure GPO via Getty Images Donald Trump's international Presidential trips US President Donald Trump and Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shake hands after delivering a speech at the Israel Museum AFP/Getty Images Donald Trump's international Presidential trips US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump lay a wreath in the Hall of Remembrance as White House senior advisor Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump watch on during a visit to the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial museum AFP/Getty Images Donald Trump's international Presidential trips US President Donald Trump visit to Yad Vashem Holocaust museum in Jerusalem accompanied by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu GPO via Getty Images Donald Trump's international Presidential trips US President Donald Trump takes his seat before his speech to the Arab Islamic American Summit in Riyadh in Saudi Arabia Reuters Donald Trump's international Presidential trips Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud, US President Donald Trump and US First Lady Melania Trump look at a display of Saudi modern art at the Saudi Royal Court in Riyadh AFP/Getty Images Donald Trump's international Presidential trips US President Donald Trump and Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud take part in a signing ceremony at the Saudi Royal Court in Riyadh AFP/Getty Images Donald Trump's international Presidential trips King Salman presents Donald Trump with The Collar of Abdulaziz al-Saud Medal at the Royal Court Palace on 20 May AP Donald Trump's international Presidential trips US President Donald Trump is welcomed by Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud upon arrival at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh AFP/Getty Images Donald Trump's international Presidential trips U.S. President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump walk on the South Lawn prior to their first foreign trip Getty Images In June, Politico reported that Mr Tillerson had blown up at a White House aide, accusing the administration of torpedoing his nominees for State Department positions and leaking damaging information about him to the media. The interaction stunned those who witnessed it, according to four people with knowledge of the situation. In October, multiple outlets claimed Mr TIllerson had considered leaving his job over the summer, and had to be talked into staying by Vice President Mike Pence. He was also accused of calling the President a moron to other officials at a closed-door meeting at the Pentagon. Rex Tillerson evades answering whether he called Trump a moron In a hastily scheduled news conference shortly thereafter, Mr Tillerson claimed there had never been a consideration in my mind to leave". "I serve at the appointment of the President, and I am here for as long as the President feels I can be useful to achieving his objectives, he said. The President and Secretary of State have also sparred on more serious issues, including the diplomatic crisis in North Korea. Mr Tillerson reported last month that he had opened diplomatic channels with Pyongyang, where the military is testing missiles and nuclear weapons with increasing frequency. Shortly afterward, Mr Trump tweeted that he had told the Secretary of State to stop wasting his time with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Save your energy Rex, he tweeted, we'll do what has to be done! Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Inside Washington email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} The federal probe into possible collusion between Donald Trump's campaign team and Russia has now struck at the heart of the White House, with Donald Trumps former national security adviser admitting that he lied to the FBI about contacts with a senior Russian diplomat. In a crucial breakthrough for prosecutors, Michael Flynn appeared in a Washington DC courtroom to plead guilty to one count of making false statements to investigators and announced that he was fully cooperating with Special Counsel Robert Mueller's team. Mr Flynn is the first person within Mr Trump's administration to be charged by the probe in a milestone for investigators, and the details in his plea agreement have turned attention back to officials in the president's inner-circle. Mr Flynn said that in December 2016 - as Mr Trump was preparing to take office - he was instructed to contact Russias Washington Ambassador at the time, Sergey Kislyak, taking direction from a "very senior member" of the transition team. He also said that he had discussed what to say to Mr Kislyak with other "senior members" of the team. While the official was not named in court documents, multiple reports suggest that Jared Kushner, a senior White House adviser and Mr Trump's son-in-law, could be the "very senior member" involved in conversations. Mr Flynn, a former army general, admitted that during telephone conversations with Mr Kislyak, he asked for Russia to try to delay a UN resolution criticising Israeli settlements and not to respond in kind to the expulsion of 35 Russian diplomats by Barack Obama in response to Moscows alleged interference in the 2016 election. A day after the second request to Mr Kislyak, Vladimir Putin announced he was not going to expel US diplomats, a move that was subsequently praised by Mr Trump. Mr Flynn, 58, appeared in court in Washington. He cut a businesslike figure in a dark suit, offering only perfunctory answers to questions from Judge Rudolph Contreras. Mr Flynn acknowledged the governments summary of the charge to which he was pleading guilty was correct. He also said that he understood all possible consequences of his plea agreement and that his sentence could end up being either more, or less than the sentencing guidelines permit. The charge brings a potential sentence of up to five years in prison. After the hearing Mr Flynn issued a statement in which he spoke of the pain of enduring allegations of treason - accusations he denied. Yet he added: I recognise that the actions I acknowledged in court today were wrong, and, through my faith in God, I am working to set things right. My guilty plea and agreement to cooperate with the Special Counsels office reflect a decision I made in the best interests of my family and of our country. I accept full responsibility for my actions. Michael Flynn once said anyone seeking immunity 'probably committed a crime' President Trump's lawyers also moved quickly to assign blame to the former national security adviser. They said he had been fired as soon as it became clear that he had lied about his contacts with Mr Kislyak. Nothing about the guilty plea or the charge implicates anyone other than Mr Flynn, said Ty Cobb, the Presidents lawyer leading the team dealing with the Russia inquiry. Mr Flynn pleaded guilty to one charge of lying to investigators when he appeared in court (AP) Court documents show that Mr Flynn told investigators that on December 29, he called "a senior transition official", who was with other members of the team at Mr Trumps Mar-a-Lago club in Florida to discuss what, if anything, to communicate to the Russian ambassador about the US sanctions. The documents say that on December 22 2016, a "very senior member" of the team contacted him and asked him to speak with the Russian envoy about the UN vote on Israel as well as a number of other countries. Mr Kushner has been handed the task of helping to achieve a peace deal between the Israelis and the Palestinians. It is understood Mr Kushner was in Hawaii on December 29 2016. It is believed he was one of several senior officials within the Trump transition team working to avoid the UN criticism of Israel. Senator Mark Warner, the senior Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said he would wish to interview Mr Kushner again, with Mr Kushner having previously testified in camera. There are a number, like Mr Kushner and others, that were going to want to invite back, said Mr Warner told reporters. He declined to say whether that would include Vice President Mike Pence, who was also among the senior figures within Mr Trumps transition team. 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 Democrats and other critics of Mr Trump were quick to leap on the developments. The guilty plea of President Trumps former national security adviser to lying to the FBI about his communications with Russian authorities marks a dark moment in our nations history, said Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic leader in the House. Mr Flynn was the fourth person connected to the Trump campaign to be charged by Special Counsel Robert Mueller. In October, Mr Trumps former campaign manager, Paul Manafort, and his associate Rick Gates, were charged with 12 counts of financial crimes related to their work in Ukraine. At the same time, Mr Mueller revealed foreign policy adviser, George Papadopoulos, had pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about contacts with Russia-linked individuals - a similar charge that Mr Flynn admitted to as part of the plea deal. Former US national security adviser Michael Flynn arrives at court Mr Trump and his lawyers are likely to be intensely concerned that someone who was a key figure within the campaign, was now cooperating with the federal probe. The fact that Flynn was charged with, and is pleading guilty to, such a minor crime, suggests a bombshell of a deal with prosecutors, said Jens Ohlin, a professor of law at Cornell Law School. Flynn was facing serious criminal liability for a variety of alleged missteps, including his failure to register as an agent of a foreign power. He added: If this is the entirety of the plea deal, the best explanation for why Mueller would agree to it is that Flynn has something very valuable to offer in exchange: damaging testimony on someone else. Who? Thats not clear, but it probably is someone at the centre, or close to the centre, of this criminal enterprise. Mr Trump has yet to publicly comment on developments. He ignored questions as he welcomed the Libyan prime minister to the White House on Friday afternoon and officials cancelled a press event the two leaders were due to hold. Both Mr Warner and Congressman Adam Schiff of California, another Democrat, issued statements saying it would be unacceptable for Mr Trump to try to influence any investigations, including the probes their committees are conducting. Mr Warner referred to an alarming pattern by Mr Trump, including the president's firing of former FBI Director James Comey, who originally led the Russia investigation, in May. Mr Schiff speculated that Mr Flynn's plea may prompt the White House and its allies to try to curtail congressional investigations or try to end Mueller's probe prematurely. Mr Schiff said that the US Congress must make clear that would be unacceptable. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Inside Washington email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} US President Donald Trump has declared that Michael Flynn's actions contacts with Russian officials after the election in 2016 were "lawful" in the wake of his former national security advisers guilty plea for lying to the FBI. Mr Flynn was the first member of Mr Trump's administration to plead guilty to a crime uncovered by Special Counsel Robert Mueller's wide-ranging federal investigation into Russian attempts to influence the presidential election and possible collusion by Trump campaign officials. Mr Flynn - who spent three decades in the military - has agreed to cooperate with the investigation as part of a plea agreement. I had to fire General Flynn because he lied to the Vice President and the FBI. He has pled guilty to those lies, Mr Trump said on Twitter. It is a shame because his actions during the transition were lawful. There was nothing to hide! Recommended Trump White House trembles as Flynn starts to spill the beans Mr Flynn was only in his White House position for 24 days, having been forced to resign after he was said to have "misled" Vice President Mike Pence over his conversations with Russia's then-ambassador to the United States Sergey Kislyak. As part of a agreement with investigators in the Russia probe, Mr Flynn pleaded guilty in a Washington DC courtroom on Friday to one count of making false statements to the FBI over his contact with Mr Kislyak in December - just weeks before Mr Trump took office. The pair were said to have discussed US sanctions against Russia on 29 December, on the same day that former President Barack Obama imposed new sanctions on Moscow over the election meddling - in an apparent effort to undermine Mr Obama's actions. Mr Obama had warned Mr Trump against hiring Mr Flynn - who worked as Defense Intelligence Agency chief during his administration - shortly after the presidential election. Mr Flynn asked Mr Kislyak to refrain from escalating a diplomatic dispute with Washington over the sanctions, and later falsely told FBI officials that he did not make that request, court documents released after Mr Flynn's guilty plea, show. The following day, President Vladimir Putin announced that Moscow would not retaliate against the United States for its latest round of sanctions, a move subsequently praised by Mr Trump as "very smart". 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 According to prosecutors, on 22 December, Mr Flynn discussed with Mr Kislyak an upcoming United Nations Security Council vote on whether to condemn Israels building of settlements and called on him to help delay or defeat the motion. Mr Flynn then falsely told the FBI he dd not ask Mr Kislyak to do so. The guilty plea by Mr Flynn brings the Mueller investigation into the White House, although three other campaign officials have been charged with offences, and one has pleaded guilty. It is a milestone for Mr Mueller's investigation that has turned the spotlight onto to other Trump transition officials. According to the court documents, Mr Flynn said he had consulted with a "senior member" of Trump's presidential transition team before the 29 December call, about what to communicate to the Russian ambassador about sanctions and that that Mr Flynn then called the Trump official, identified in US media reports as KT McFarland, again to recount the conversation with Mr Kislyak. The documents also say that Mr Flynn was "directed" by a very senior member of Trump's transition team to contact Russia and other foreign governments to try to influence them ahead of the UN vote. Multiple reports suggest that the "very senior" official was Jared Kushner, a White House senior adviser and the president's son-in-law. Mr Kusheris believed to be one of a number of officials that had been looking at the UN vote. On Friday, the White House to keep Mr Trump away from the plea with White House lawyer Ty Cobb issuing a statement saying: Nothing about the guilty plea or the charge implicates anyone other than Flynn. Mr Flynn accepted responsibility for his actions in a written statement, though he said he had also been subjected to false accusations of treason. My guilty plea and agreement to cooperate with the Special Counsel's Office reflect a decision I made in the best interests of my family and of our country, he said. Mr Trump broke his silence on the matter on his departed the White House on Saturday morning for a number of fundraisers in New York, before following up with the tweet later. "What has been shown is no collusion, no collusion, Mr Trump said outside the White House. There's been absolutely no collusion, so we're very happy". For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} A 2.5-magnitude earthquake has been detected in North Korea near where the country recently conducted a nuclear test, Seoul's weather agency said. The tremor occurred at 7.45am on Saturday in Kilju, North Hamgyeong Province, around 2.7 kilometres away from the Punggye-ri nuclear site, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA). Kim Jong-Un's regime conducted its sixth and most powerful nuclear test at the site on 3 September, damaging geological structures in the area, the agency said. Four tremors have been detected there since. North Korea announces test of new long-range missile "The quake is a natural one and it is believed to have occurred in the aftermath of the sixth nuclear test," the KMA said. The September atomic explosion triggered an artificial 6.3-magnitude earthquake at the test site, monitors at the time said. It was almost 10 times more powerful than the 10-kiloton test carried out by the North last year, according to South Korean experts. North Korean monitoring group 38 North said the tremors could be an indication of "Tired Mountain Syndrome" a condition where rock becomes increasingly permeable following a below-ground nuclear blast. Reports have speculated the nuclear test site will have to close because of the tremors, but 38 North said "complete abandonment of the test site as a whole remains unlikely". Donald Trump says 'we will take care of it' after North Korea fires missile The isolationist state recently tested a new intercontinental ballistic missile that, it claimed, could reach anywhere on the US mainland. Experts said the Hwasong-15 appeared capable of transporting a nuclear warhead, although it is unclear whether the isolated state is yet capable of making a weapon small enough to be fitted to the missile. North Korea announces intercontinental missile launch Show all 13 1 /13 North Korea announces intercontinental missile launch North Korea announces intercontinental missile launch Pyongyang residents react after the news of the successful launch of the new intercontinental ballistic missile AFP/Getty Images North Korea announces intercontinental missile launch North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un signing an order to test-fire the newly developed inter-continental ballistic missile KRT via AP Video North Korea announces intercontinental missile launch A news broadcast displays Kim Jong Un's signed document AP North Korea announces intercontinental missile launch People cheer as they watch the news broadcast announcing Kim Jong Un's order to test-fire the new inter-continental ballistic missile AFP/Getty Images North Korea announces intercontinental missile launch Residents react after the document signing AP North Korea announces intercontinental missile launch Pyongyang residents celebrate Kim Jong Un's announcement AFP/Getty North Korea announces intercontinental missile launch Cheering Pyongyang residents react AP North Korea announces intercontinental missile launch To counter North Korea's missile test, South Korea fired missiles into the East Sea The Defence Ministry/Yonhap via REUTERS North Korea announces intercontinental missile launch The Hyunmu-2 missiles firing during the drill South Korean Defense Ministry vi North Korea announces intercontinental missile launch The exercise was carried out in an attempt to counter Kim Jong Un's order South Korea Defense Ministry via AP North Korea announces intercontinental missile launch The South Korean army continue to carry out military exercises AP North Korea announces intercontinental missile launch Where K-9 self-propelled howitzers were taking part in a drill Rex Features North Korea announces intercontinental missile launch US soldiers are also present in the border city of Paju AFP/Getty Images At the end of November the US unveiled fresh sanctions against the North, which it said were designed to stop its funding of nuclear and ballistic missile programmes. Donald Trump has also redesignated North Korea as a state sponsor of terrorism. On Friday the US state of Hawaii tested a nuclear attack warning siren for the first time since the Cold War. Some experts believe a North Korean missile could take just 20 minutes to reach the state. Although Hawaii is protected by US anti-missile systems, local people are being told to have an emergency plan if alarms warn a strike is imminent. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} The Philippines is prepared for a "worst-case scenario" after warnings that a vaccine against dengue fever could cause symptoms of the disease to become more severe. French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi Pasteur on Wednesday admitted clinical data showed Dengvaxia the first licensed dengue vaccine could make the disease worse in people who had not previously been infected with the virus. The Government suspended a school-based immunisation programme following the revelations, which came after more than 733,000 children had been immunised. Sanofi Pasteur said Dengvaxia did provide persistent protective benefit in those who had previously had dengue. "The Department of Health is prepared for a worst-case scenario," Department of Health spokesman Eric Tayag told ABS-CBN television. Mr Tayag said the vaccine was only given to children aged nine or older and that the immunisation scheme only operated in areas where dengue was already widespread. Those who had been vaccinated "are being followed up for adverse effects", he said. He added that the health department was checking hospital records for acute cases of dengue. But Sanofi had said it could take around five years for such severe dengue cases to become evident, Mr Tayag added. Out of more than 211,000 suspected cases of dengue fever in the Philippines last year, at least 1,000 people had died, according to government figures. 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 Announcing the suspension of the vaccination programme, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said new recommendations would be released later this month by the Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunisation, an advisory body of the World Health Organisation (WHO). For those not previously infected by the dengue virus, analysis found vaccination prevented severe illness for at least 30 months, Mr Duque said. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} An all-girls robotics team from Afghanistan who hit the headlines when they were briefly denied entry to the US over the summer, have won a major European competition. The Entrepreneurial Challenge at the Robotex festival in Estonia challenged entrants to solve a real-world problem that would also appeal to potential customers. Three of the 12 members of the team from Herat, Afghanistan's third-largest city, won with a robot prototype that used used solar energy to support small-scale farmers manage their land. We are extremely proud of the wonderful accomplishments of the Afghan All-Girl Robotics Team, Afghanistans ambassador to the UK, Said T Jawad, said in a statement. "They are an excellent example for people around the world of what can be accomplished by young Afghans if given the right support and the opportunity to excel in their education. Earlier this year, six members of the team were denied US visas they needed to compete in a Washington-based competition. 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 reason for the denial was unclear, but after an international outcry, the decision was reversed and they were able to enter the country through a parole process that allows otherwise ineligible visitors to enter on humanitarian grounds or because it benefits the public. The teenagers were then allowed to enter the country via a process usually used to allow visitors into the country on humanitarian grounds. They won a silver medal at the competition. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} As winter approaches, the Greek government is being urged to act to prevent the possible deaths of refugees trapped in squalid camps. A dozen human rights organisations, including Oxfam and Human Rights Watch (HRW), have united to highlight the issue, stressing Greece needs the support of EU leaders to end the policy of containment, which restricts asylum-seekers to the islands while their claims are processed. Greeces Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has been urged to transfer the refugees to better living conditions on the mainland by the time winter officially starts on 21 December. This remains a matter of life and death, Jana Frey, Greeces director for the International Rescue Committee, said in a statement. There is absolutely no excuse for the conditions on the islands right now thousands of people crammed into overcrowded and desperately under-resourced facilities. In pictures: Refugees on the Greek island of Lesbos Show all 12 1 /12 In pictures: Refugees on the Greek island of Lesbos In pictures: Refugees on the Greek island of Lesbos Refugee children at the Moria camp in Lesbos In pictures: Refugees on the Greek island of Lesbos Refugees queuing for food at the Kara Tepe camp in Lesbos In pictures: Refugees on the Greek island of Lesbos Refugees' tents at the Kara Tepe camp in Lesbos In pictures: Refugees on the Greek island of Lesbos Refugees at the Oxy transit camp in Lesbos In pictures: Refugees on the Greek island of Lesbos Refugees waiting to board ferries to the Greek mainland in Mytilene, Lebos In pictures: Refugees on the Greek island of Lesbos Refugees waiting to board ferries to the Greek mainland in Mytilene, Lebos In pictures: Refugees on the Greek island of Lesbos Refugees waiting to board ferries to the Greek mainland in Mytilene, Lebos In pictures: Refugees on the Greek island of Lesbos The graves of drowned refugees in Mytilene, Lesbos In pictures: Refugees on the Greek island of Lesbos A building used to house unaccompanied children at the Moria camp in Lesbos In pictures: Refugees on the Greek island of Lesbos Refugees queuing to register at the Moria camp in Lesbos In pictures: Refugees on the Greek island of Lesbos Refugees at the Moria camp in Lesbos In pictures: Refugees on the Greek island of Lesbos Refugees arriving on smugglers' boats from Turkey in Lesbos Migrant hotspots at Lesbos, Chios, Samos, Leros, and Kos are almost 7,200 over capacity, with close to 13,000 people, including many women and children, in facilities with a capacity of just 5,576, according to the groups. The majority of refugees are believed to be Syrians and Iraqis fleeing their war-torn countries. Those stuck in the camps live in harsh and often unsanitary conditions, often sleeping on the ground, exposed to the cold and rain, with limited access to proper toilets and showers, while women are forced to share tents and containers with unrelated men, risking their safety, the groups said. Last winter, at least three men are known to have died on Lesbos, with their deaths attributed to carbon monoxide poisoning from makeshift heating devices used to warm the freezing tents, the umbrella group said. The policy of containment was put in place as part of the EU-Turkey deal in March 2016, forcing asylum seekers arriving on the Greek islands to remain there until their claims are decided. The groups claim forcing asylum-seekers to remain in such poor conditions cannot be justified, with some who arrived in Greece during the early days of the deal having remained there for 20 months. The deal was intended to send back failed asylum seekers to Turkey, but deportations have been far outstripped by the numbers who continue to arrive, they said. Nicola Bay, head of Oxfam in Greece, said that by trying to preserve the EU-Turkey deal, the Greek islands have been transformed into places of indefinite confinement for asylum seekers who have risked their lives in search of safety and a better life in Europe. The EU and the Greek government need to start putting peoples lives ahead of politics and uphold Europes commitment to human rights. she concluded. Responsibility for running the camps now lies with the Greek Government, who took over from the various NGOs in August this year, redirecting EU funding of the refugee crisis from charities to the Greek authorities. The EU announced earlier this year it was cutting emergency funding to Greece in a move that was roundly condemned by groups working to help refugees, who have pointed to surging levels of self-harm among asylum-seekers stuck in the camps. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Remarkable footage has surfaced of a waterspout forming off the Italian coast before tearing through a city. Video shows the vortex being whipped up on Friday near Sanremo, in the north west of the country close to the French border. The huge funnel of water is seen looming over buildings a phenomenon which lasted for several minutes. Recommended Blanket of snow covers mountains in Hawaii The waterspout caused extensive damage to the city, tearing chimneys from rooftops, damaging cars and injuring at least one person, according to local reports. "The waterspouts seem to be over, but there are large problems on the ground and there remains a situation of great care, Sanremo mayor Alberto Bancheri told Italian newspaper Il Tempo. The rescue is in motion. None of the firefighters, municipal police and Civil Defence Volunteers working on the ground have been injured. But, there are several problems in many areas and the danger that unsafe objects, not yet secured, may fall. Animals take shelter from Hurricane Irma at Zoo Miami Show all 8 1 /8 Animals take shelter from Hurricane Irma at Zoo Miami Animals take shelter from Hurricane Irma at Zoo Miami Jennifer Nelson, senior keeper at Zoo Miami, leads a cheetah named Koda to a hurricane resistant structure within the zoo, Saturday, Sept. 9, 2017 in Miami. AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee Animals take shelter from Hurricane Irma at Zoo Miami Ryan Martinez, a trainer at Zoo Miami, places an Eurasion Eagle Owl into a crate AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee Animals take shelter from Hurricane Irma at Zoo Miami Flamingos at Zoo Miami, are shown in a temporary enclosure in a hurricane resistant structure within the zoo, (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee) Animals take shelter from Hurricane Irma at Zoo Miami Brown pelicans and an American white pelican take refuge in a shelter ahead of the downfall of Hurricane Irma at the zoo in Miami REUTERS/Adrees Latif Animals take shelter from Hurricane Irma at Zoo Miami An African crested porcupine is moved into a shelter ahead of the downfall of Hurricane Irma at the zoo in Miami, Florida, REUTERS/Adrees Latif Animals take shelter from Hurricane Irma at Zoo Miami A macaw parrot looks out of it's cage after being put into a shelter REUTERS/Adrees Latif Animals take shelter from Hurricane Irma at Zoo Miami An African grey parrot is moved into a shelter ahead of the downfall of Hurricane Irma REUTERS/Adrees Latif Animals take shelter from Hurricane Irma at Zoo Miami Cheetahs are photographed in a shelter ahead of the downfall of Hurricane Irma at the zoo in Miami, Florida, REUTERS/Adrees Latif Waterspouts are columns of cloud formed over bodies of water, which begin to rotate. The funnels can last for up to an hour, although their average lifespan is around five to 10 minutes. Northern Italy has been hit by snow and storms in the last few days, leading to a weather alerts being issued in the region of Lombardy and the city of Turin. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} President Donald Trump plans to recognize Jerusalem as Israels capital but not to move the US Embassy there for now, people briefed on the deliberations said Friday, a halfway gesture intended to fulfil a campaign pledge while not derailing his peace initiative. Trump is expected to announce the decision in a speech Wednesday, these people said, though they cautioned that the president had not yet formally signed off on it and that the details of the plan could shift. Those details, experts warned, are fiendishly complicated. The diplomatic status of Jerusalem is one of the worlds most contested issues, with both Israel and the Palestinians claiming it as their capital. Its holy sites are sacred to Jews, Christians and Muslims, and any change in its status would have vast repercussions across the Middle East and other Islamic-majority countries worldwide. Trump promised to move the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv as one of his first acts as president a pledge that was wildly popular with his evangelical supporters as well as with powerful Jewish donors, like the casino mogul Sheldon Adelson. US presidents must sign a national security waiver every six months to keep the embassy in Tel Aviv. In June, Trump deferred a decision to move it to Jerusalem, under pressure from Arab leaders, who warned that it would ignite protests, and from advisers, including his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, who worried that it could strangle the administrations attempt to foster peace in the generations long dispute. With another deadline looming Monday, Trump is expected to sign an order keeping the embassy in Tel Aviv. But he will couple that with a statement that the United States recognizes Jerusalem as the capital something that no president, Republican or Democrat, has done since the state of Israel was established in 1948. In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour Show all 39 1 /39 In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 20 May 2017 US President Donald Trump and Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud arriving for a reception ahead of a banquet at Murabba Palace in Riyadh Getty Images In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 20 May 2017 US President Donald Trump, accompanied by First Lady Melania Trump, and Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud being welcomed at Murabba Palace in Riyadh Getty Images In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 20 May 2017 US President Donald J. Trump with King of Saudi Arabia Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud during a welcome ceremony with traditional sword dancers at Murabba Palace, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia EPA In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 20 May 2017 King of Saudi Arabia Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud with US President Donald J. Trump and wife Melania during a welcome ceremony at Murabba Palace, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia EPA In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 20 May 2017 US President Donald Trump adjusts the Collar of Abdulaziz Al Saud Medal, after it was bestowed upon him by Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud at the Royal Court in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 20 May 2017 Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud presents U.S. President Donald Trump with the Collar of Abdulaziz Al Saud Medal at the Royal Court in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 21 May 2017 Palestinians print posters depicting US President Donald Trump in preparations for his planned visit, in the West Bank town of Bethlehem Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 21 May 2017 US President Donald Trump accompanied by first lady Melania Trump, his daughter Ivanka Trump and her husband White House senior advisor Jared Kushner, before delivering his remarks to the Arab Islamic American Summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 21 May 2017 US President Donald Trump looks on as U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Muhammad bin Nayef exchange a memorandum of understanding Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 21 May 2017 First Lady Melania Trump shares a laugh with a child during a visit to the American International School in the Saudi capital Riyadh Getty Images In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 21 May 2017 US President Donald Trump holds a bilateral meeting with Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa AP In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 Israeli soldiers rest during preparations ahead of President Trump's landing in Tel Aviv, Israel Getty Images In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 First Lady Melania Trump makes her way to board Air Force One in Riyadh as she heads with her husband the US President to Israel Getty Images In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump board Air Force One for Israel, the next stop in Trump's international tour, at King Khalid International Airport AP In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 Israeli soldiers wait for the arrival ceremony of US President Donald Trump at Ben Gurion airport near Tel Aviv, Israel AP In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump arrive aboard Air Force One at Ben Gurion International Airport in Lod near Tel Aviv, Israel Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump disembark Air Force One on arrival at Ben Gurion International Airport AP In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US President Donald J. Trump and his wife, US First Lady Melania Trump are welcomed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu upon arrival at Ben Gurion Airport, in Lod outside Tel Aviv, Israel EPA In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sit during welcome ceremony in Tel Aviv AP In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US First Lady Melania Trump chats wife Sara Netanyahu as US President Donald Trump chats to Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a welcoming ceremony to welcome Trump at Ben Gurion International Airport Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US President Donald Trump delivers a speech upon his arrival at Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv Getty Images In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US President Donald Trump gestures during a press conference with Israel's President at the President's Residence in Jerusalem Getty Images In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US President Donald Trump watches as First Lady Melania Trump signs the guest book at the President's Residence in Jerusalem Getty Images In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US President Donald Trump walks with first lady Melania Trump in Jerusalem's Old City Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US President Donald Trump visits the Western Wall, the holiest site where Jews can pray, in Jerusalems Old City Getty Images In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US President Donald Trump stands next to Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz at the plaza in front of the Western Wall, Judaism's holiest prayer site, in Jerusalem's Old City Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and White House senior advisor Jared Kushner leave notes at the Western Wall in Jerusalem Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US First Lady Melania Trump touches the Western Wall, Judaism's holiest prayer site, in Jerusalem's Old City EPA In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 Ivanka Trump, assistant and daughter of US President Donald J. Trump, touches the Western Wall, Judaism's holiest prayer site, in Jerusalem's Old City EPA In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 President Donald Trump visits the Western Wall AP In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 24 May 2017 US President Donald J. Trump arrives in a vehicle to Saint Damaso's Court for a private audience with Pope Francis in Vatican City EPA In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 24 May 2017 Pope Francis walks past Ivanka Trump and First Lady Melania Trump on the occasion of the private audience with President Donald Trump, at the Vatican AP In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 24 May 2017 Pope Francis exchanges gifts with US President Donald Trump during a private audience at the Vatican Getty Images In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 24 May 2017 Pope Francis meets US President Donald Trump and his wife Melania during a private audience at the Vatican Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 24 May 2017 Pope Francis with US President Donald J. Trump EPA In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 24 May 2017 Pope Francis gets into is car after meeting with US President Donald Trump AP In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 24 May 2017 President Donald Trump and his wife Melania look at the frescoed ceilings during their visit to the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican L'Osservatore Romano/Pool Photo via AP In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 24 May 2017 US President Donald Trump security vehicles are seen in front of Air Force One before take off from Leonardo da Vinci-Fiumicino Airport in Rome, Italy Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 24 May 2017 US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump wave to reporters before boarding the Air Force One to Brussels, at the end of a 2-day visit to Italy including a meeting with Pope Francis at the Vatican, at Rome's Fiumicino international airport AP Given the extreme sensitivities surrounding Jerusalem, Middle East experts said Trumps plan was fraught with risk. Even after extensive consultations with Arab leaders, which the White House has done, such a move could provoke volatile reactions. New York Times For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Former Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh has said he is ready for a new page in ties with the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen if it stopped attacks on his country, in a move that could offer a pathway to end nearly three years of war. The apparent shift in position came as forces loyal to Mr Saleh battled Houthi fighters for a fourth day in the capital Sanaa with both sides claiming control of areas of the city. Violent clashes between rival factions in Yemens rebel-held capital signal the disintegration of the rebel alliance at war with a Saudi-led coalition for nearly three years. The coalition has been fighting to defeat the Iran-backed Houthis along with Mr Salehs forces in Yemen since March 2015. The coalition had also imposed a blockade on the country, allowing occasional humanitarian access, with the aim of reinstating the internationally recognised government of Mr Salehs successor, Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi. Recommended Red Cross forced to buy own fuel in Yemen because of Saudi blockade I call upon the brothers in neighbouring states and the alliance to stop their aggression, lift the siege, open the airports and allow food aid and the saving of the wounded and we will turn a new page by virtue of our neighbourliness, Mr Saleh announced in a televised interview with the TV station Yemen al-Youm. We will deal with them in a positive way and what happened to Yemen is enough, he added. The clashes between Mr Salehs supporters and the Houthis underscore the complex situation in Yemen, one of the poorest countries in the Middle East, where a proxy war between the Iran-aligned Houthis and the Saudi-backed Mr Hadi has caused one of the worst humanitarian catastrophes in recent times. Local residents who said that loud explosions were heard overnight across the city and into Saturday morning. Mediation efforts by tribal elders and officials over the past few days have come to nothing. The situation in Yemen Show all 14 1 /14 The situation in Yemen The situation in Yemen Houthi supporters trample on a US flag during a gathering mobilizing more fighters into several Yemeni battlefronts, in Sana'a, Yemen EPA The situation in Yemen People carry the coffins of men, who were killed in the recent Saudi-led airstrikes during their funeral, in the Old City of Sanaa, Yemen AP The situation in Yemen Pro-government fighters give food to Yemeni children on the road leading to the southwestern port city of Mokha. Yemeni rebels are putting up fierce resistance in a key Red Sea port city where they are encircled by pro-government force Getty Images The situation in Yemen A Yemeni stands in front of a graffiti protesting US military operations in war-affected Yemen, in Sana'a, Yemen. According to reports, US Special Forces troops allegedly disembarked from US helicopters in the Yemeni town of Yakla and attacked several houses belonging to members of the terrorist group Al-Qaeda, killing three high-ranking Al-Qaeda members and nine civilians, six women and three children. One American serviceman has been killed and three injured in the attack EPA The situation in Yemen US Special Forces troops allegedly disembarked from US helicopters in the Yemeni town of Yakla and attacked several houses belonging to members of the terrorist group Al-Qaeda, killing three high-ranking Al-Qaeda members and nine civilians, six women and three children. One American serviceman has been killed and three injured in the attack EPA The situation in Yemen A Yemeni female fighter supporting the Shiite Huthi rebels, and carrying weapons used for ceremonial purposes, takes part in an anti-Saudi rally in the capital Sanaa Getty Images The situation in Yemen Yemeni female fighters supporting the Shiite Huthi rebels, and carrying weapons used for ceremonial purposes, take part in an anti-Saudi rally in the capital Sanaa Getty Images The situation in Yemen A boy shouts slogans next to pro-Houthi fighters, who have been injured during recent fighting, during a rally held to honour those injured or maimed while fighting in Houthi ranks in Sanaa, Yemen Reuters The situation in Yemen Balls of fire and smoke rise from a Houthi-held military camp following alleged Saudi-led airstrikes, in Sana'a, Yemen EPA The situation in Yemen Yemenis search under the rubble of damaged houses following reported Saudi-led coalition air strikes on the outskirts of the Yemeni capital Sanaa Getty Images The situation in Yemen A Yemeni boy looks on as Yemenis search under the rubble of damaged houses following reported Saudi-led coalition air strikes on the outskirts of the Yemeni capital Sanaa Getty The situation in Yemen A Yemeni boy sits amidst the rubble of damaged houses following reported Saudi-led coalition air strikes on the outskirts of the Yemeni capital Sanaa AFP/Getty The situation in Yemen Marine One with US President Donald Trump flies with a decoy and support helicopters to Dover Air Force Base in Dover, Delaware, for the dignified transfer of Navy Seal Chief Petty Officer William 'Ryan' Owens who was killed in Yemen Getty Images The situation in Yemen US President Donald Trump aboard the Marine One to greet the remains of a US military commando killed during a raid on the al Qaeda militant group in southern Yemen on Sunday, at Dover Air Force Base, Delaware, US Reuters Its been like a street war, they said, adding that ambulances have been ferrying the wounded to hospitals. They spoke on condition of anonymity, fearing reprisals. There has been no official word on casualties but the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said that dozens were killed and hundreds were wounded in the fighting. The UN urged the coalition in a statement Saturday to fully lift the blockade on Yemens red sea ports saying that partial lifting only slows the collapse toward a massive humanitarian tragedy costing millions of lives. Mr Saleh, who led Yemen for more than 30 years, was deposed in a 2011 uprising. The country has since fallen into chaos and Mr Saleh later joined the Houthis to drive Mr Hadi out of the capital in 2014. In his address, he also blamed Houthis for laying siege to the homes of several officials in the General Peoples Congress, which he leads, and storming a mosque named after him. Broadcasting of Yemen al-Youm was stopped shortly after. Officials working at the TV station say Houthis raided its headquarters. They spoke on condition of anonymity, fearing reprisals. Yemen: More than 50,000 children expected to die of starvation and disease by end of year The Saudi-led coalition welcomed Mr Salehs change of stance. In a statement carried by the Saudi-owned Al-Hadath channel, the coalition said it was confident of the will of the leaders and sons of Salehs GPC party to return to Arab fold. Mr Hadi, in a statement after a meeting with his advisors, also said he was ready to work with Mr Saleh against the Houthis. The meeting calls for turning a new page with all the political sides ... And to form a broad national coalition that will lay the foundations for a new era and unify everyone against the coup militia, the statement said. The coalition accuses Iran of trying to expand its influence into Arab countries, including Yemen by aligning themselves with the Houthis and Mr Saleh. The Houthis accused Mr Saleh of betrayal, and vowed to keep up the fight against the Saudi-led coalition. It is not strange or surprising that Saleh turns his back on a partnership he never believed in, the groups political bureau said in a statement. The priority has been and still is to confront the forces of aggression. The Houthi group leader, Abdel-Malek al-Houthi, had earlier appealed to Mr Saleh to avoid any escalation, saying that the crisis would only serve Yemens enemies. The United Nations envoy to Yemen, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, and the ICRC urged the parties to avoid targeting civilians. Mr Salehs GPC party accused the Houthis of failing to honour a truce and said in a statement on its website that the Houthis bear responsibility for dragging the country into a civil war. It also called on supporters, including tribal fighters, to defend themselves, their country, their revolution and their republic. The GPC appealed to the army and security forces to remain neutral in the conflict. Yemens war has killed more than 10,000 people since 2015, displaced more than two million people, caused a cholera outbreak infecting nearly one million people and led the country on the brink of famine. Associated Press Sign up to Simon Calders free travel email for weekly expert advice and money-saving discounts Get Simon Calders Travel email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Simon Calders Travel email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} British holidaymakers will get more bang for their buck in over two thirds of the most popular holiday destinations compared to 2016 thanks to a stronger pound, reports a travel money specialist. No1 Currency calculates that UK tourists are getting a better exchange rate this year on 29 currencies. In 2016 the pound fell significantly in June, post-Brexit vote, and then again when Theresa May announced a hard Brexit agenda in October 2016. The biggest growth since last year is against Turkish lire the pound is worth 24 per cent more against this currency than in 2016. This is followed by Argentina, where the pound is worth 18 per cent more than the peso, and New Zealand, where sterling has increased by 11 per cent against the NZ dollar. Recommended The pound is up against these 35 currencies Simon Phillips, retail director at No1 Currency, said: On the face of it, its been a rocky year for the pound. Dig a little deeper and youll find that in two-thirds of holiday hotspots, you can actually get more for your currency than you could a year ago. For those planning to get away to one of those destinations where the native currency has dropped by more than 5 per cent against sterling, itll feel like Christmas has come early." He added: On the whole, currencies in countries closer to home will cost you more than last year, yet countries further away will give you better rates so although flights will be more expensive, your daily spending money could well go further. The pound is still struggling against the euro, down 3 per cent since last year. Zloty is one of the most expensive currencies for British tourists right now; the pound has fallen 9 per cent against the Polish currency. No1 Currency's findings are based on the exchange rates on 30 November 2016 and 30 November 2017, as detailed on xe.com. Holiday destinations where the pound has improved Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the View from Westminster email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Im not really the protesting type. Before my wife and I got married, the priest who was to conduct the ceremony asked us each to identify the others best quality. Mine, apparently, was being affable. I took it as a compliment as an affable person would of course. I did once go on an anti-tuition fees march as a student. Id been lucky and just missed paying them so thought it was probably right to go and shout on behalf of future students who at that stage looked like they would be on the hook for a grand a year (a grand!). Not that it made any difference. On the plus side, being out on a breezy morning helped me get over a terrible hangover. That was nearly 20 years ago and Ive not laid hands on a placard or chanted down with this sort of thing in the two decades since. However, if Donald Trump makes his mooted state visit to the UK, I will finally be moved to get back on the streets. Thousands march against Donald Trump in LGBT rights parade Show all 8 1 /8 Thousands march against Donald Trump in LGBT rights parade Thousands march against Donald Trump in LGBT rights parade AP Thousands march against Donald Trump in LGBT rights parade AP Thousands march against Donald Trump in LGBT rights parade AP Thousands march against Donald Trump in LGBT rights parade AP Thousands march against Donald Trump in LGBT rights parade AFP/Getty Images Thousands march against Donald Trump in LGBT rights parade AP Thousands march against Donald Trump in LGBT rights parade AFP/Getty Images Thousands march against Donald Trump in LGBT rights parade AP To be clear, that is not because I intrinsically oppose him coming to this country. True, the speed with which he was invited to pop over for a full on dose of British pomp and ceremony was rather embarrassing. Ultimately though he is the President of the most powerful nation in the world and its not unreasonable that our Government should wish to be on good terms with him hard though that may be after his Twitter row with Theresa May. No, the reason I will protest is because I cannot stand the thought of him believing that a nice trip to Buckingham Palace for some polite chit-chat with the Queen is in any way representative of the feelings that many people in this country have about him. Just because the Prime Minister has decided to roll out the red carpet, doesnt mean the rest of us think he deserves to be lauded. Just over a year since his election as President I still find it hard to comprehend just how staggeringly awful Donald Trump is. His bullying of minority groups; his fear-mongering about the threat posed by Muslims; his full-throated support for the gun lobby; his disregard of climate change science; his apparent readiness to take the word of Vladimir Putin over his own intelligence services; his childish antics on social media; and on and on and on. Frequently I have conversations with friends about Trump that just end up petering out because there are almost no words that can sum up how extraordinary it is that this unpleasant, narrow-minded man is ruling the global roost. For liberal Americans, it is a different kind of nightmare. Indeed, the very fact that Trump has helped to turn the term liberal into an insult is one of the most troubling aspects of his presidency. It is the kind of thing that normally only happens in dictatorships, in which there is no place for tolerating tolerance. To stay silent as Trump demonises the progressive values on which Western civilisation was constructed is to abrogate the responsibility each of us has for making the world a decent place. For all the criticism of Theresa May over the decision to invite Trump to the UK with such haste last year, it is to her significant credit that she was so blunt in saying the President had acted wrongly when he retweeted videos posted by Britain First. Various cabinet ministers and other high-profile figures who had previously expressed support for Trump have been even more damning. MPs are telling Donald Trump to delete his account The truth is, Trump is not going to change. If anything, his attitudes will harden as he continues to divide opinion. What that means for America or for its relations with global partners; or for its enemies is hard to predict. But is incumbent on those who find his presidency repugnant to make sure he knows it. For when it comes to Trump, it is not possible to protest too much. Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the View from Westminster email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Graham Kirby suggested this list and nominated the Palatinate Electoral, asking, Where would we be without it? I had no idea, but it turns out Frederick V was a Calvinist who was chucked out of his patchwork Rhineland territories by the Catholic Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor, and who fled to the Netherlands. But his son Charles I Louis was restored by the Treaty of Westphalia in 1648, and his daughter Princess Sophia was mother of George I of Great Britain. Recommended Top 10 unexpected words in famous songs 1. James I of Scotland. Sent to France for safety at the age of 11 in 1406, he was captured by pirates, handed over by them to Henry IV and held by the English for 18 years before being ransomed. He wrote the beautiful Kingis Quair whilst a prisoner, said John Nicolson. 2. The Pisan papacy of John XXIII, the anti-anti-Pope, 1410-15. The Avignon popes were already a kind of papacy in exile (nominated by Matthew Young), but Baldassarre Cossa complicated matters further. Suggested by Adam Bruce. 3. Portuguese court of Queen Maria I. The Braganza royal family fled Lisbon for Rio de Janeiro in Brazil with 15,000 people to escape Napoleonic forces in 1807. They remained there until the Liberal revolution of 1820 allowed the return of John VI the following year. Nominated by Robert Boston and Jon Patience. 4. Charles IIs court in exile, 1649-60. While Puritans were banning Christmas, Charles had a mandate to have as much fun as possible to show the attractiveness of monarchical government, said ZenoDeadCentre. 5. Rada of the Belarusian Democratic Republic. Provisional parliament that lasted 14 months from 1917 to 1919. When Belarus became independent on the break-up of the USSR in 1990, the Rada refused to recognise the pre-1990 parliament, or the autocratic Alexander Lukashenko, who took power in 1994. Now claims to be the oldest existing government in exile, in various parts of the Belarusian diaspora, including in Britain and the US. Nominated by Catscatscatz. 6. Polish government in exile, in France from 1939 and in London from 1940. Wound itself up in 1990 after the collapse of Soviet domination. From Robert Kaye and Geoffrey Peter. 7. Vichy France. After the liberation of France and the return of the Free French government in exile (nominated by Andrew Lilico and Geoffrey Peter), Vichy in turn became a government in exile in 1944, in the Sigmaringen enclave in Germany. Nominated by Mr Memory. 8. Chiang Kai-shek. Retreated to Taiwan in 1948 and claimed to be legitimate president of China until his death in 1975. Nominated by Broken Columns, who prompted a learned debate about whether Taiwan is exile. Matthew Evans and Andrew Lilico agreed it is a one-off, a kind of internal exile, a way of being differently at home. 9. Sealand Rebel Government, since 1978. The strangest I have heard of, said Matthew Randall. Sealand is a disused anti-aircraft gun platform seven miles off the coast of Suffolk, built during the Second World War, that was seized in 1967 by Paddy Roy Bates and his associates who proclaimed an independent state in 1975. Alexander Achenbach tried to take over with German and Dutch mercenaries three years later, but was taken prisoner by Batess son and then released, setting up a government in exile in Germany. 10. Libyas parliament took refuge in 2014 in a Greek car ferry off the coast of Tobruk. Thanks to Adam Greves. Honourable mentions for The Yorkist, who proposed the Osborne Ministry (2016-); Matt Downey, who suggested the current UK government, with real power wielded by Jeremy Corbyn; Robin Lewis, who nominated Labours backbench departmental committees; German Film Quote, who on similar lines suggested David Miliband, prince of New York; and Dave Gordon, who nominated Kim Il-sungs position as Eternal Leader of North Korea, despite being dead. Next week: Foreign Words That Sound Like Their Opposite in English, such as puxa (pronounced pusha), which means pull in Portuguese Coming soon: Detectives Hobbies, such as Hercule Poirots stamp collecting Your suggestions please, and ideas for future Top 10s, to me on Twitter, or by email to top10@independent.co.uk Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the View from Westminster email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} I can still identify those moments during the presidential race when my stomach churned, among them the first night of the Republican convention during a speech by Michael Flynn. I was on the floor, just in front of the stage, as he spoke. I was startled; a retired three-star general, he was goading the delegates into a rolling chant of Lock her up. They meant Hillary, of course. As news broke this Friday of his entering a guilty plea in a Washington DC court for lying to the FBI about contacts he had had with Russia during the transition following Donald Trumps victory, I was surely not alone in thinking about that night. Flynn could theoretically get five years for his single count. (Martha Stewart was given five months for lying about stock dealing.) Thats right lock her up, Flynn declared, his neck arteries fairly swelling with righteousness. Damn right... And you know why were saying that? Were saying that because, if I, a guy who knows this business, if I did a tenth a tenth of what she did, I would be in jail today. The greater irony is what he said in that same speech about America confronting its enemies, something Barack Obama, he inferred, had failed to do. We should clearly define our enemies ... face them head-on ... and then defeat those that seek to threaten our country and our way of life. Enemies like Russia, perhaps, which at that very moment, we are now all agreed, was trying to do precisely that, if you count being a democracy as part of a nations way of life. Flynn actually served in the last administration as Director of the Defence Intelligence Agency from 2012 to 2104 until he was fired by President Obama, who, we were later to learn, personally cautioned Trump against giving him any kind of important position because he was not be trusted. So Trump made him his National Security Adviser, thumbing his nose at Obama. Michael Flynn's guilty plea a 'shattering moment for Trump's presidency' Big mistake. We knew that even in February, when Flynn, barely a month into the job, found himself fired again for lying to others in the White House, including Vice President Pence, about the nature of contacts hed had with the Russian ambassador to the US. If we hadnt already grasped how big a problem Russia was going to become for Trump before, we did on that day. Just how big a mistake keeping Flynn will turn out to have been for Trump we are yet to find out. Clearly, his guilty plea is the single most shocking public development in the Russian meddling probe to date, not least because the implication of it is that he will now be cooperating with the investigators. Flynn may be spilling the beans as we speak. Or maybe he has been for weeks. It would be hard for anyone to spin this one. When Robert Mueller, the special counsel, revealed he was charging Paul Manafort in the case, the White House evinced a shrug. Yes, Manafort had been campaign manager, and principle architect of the convention, but only for a short time. As for George Papadopoulos, the foreign policy adviser whod plead guilty also to lying to the FBI about Russia, well, his role had been so tiny, hardly anyone could remember the man. None of that will work with Flynn and not just because he was so close to Trump during the campaign, in the transition and for the few weeks when he ran the National Security Council. The greater problem with what happened in court on Friday is this: documents released as part of the plea-bargain state that Flynn was talking to the ambassador, Sergey Kysliak, at the behest of a very senior member of Trumps presidential transition team. Who was that? We dont know, but officials who were in a position to give him directions during the transition period included the Presidents son-in-law, Jared Kushner, who was also recently interviewed by Muellers team. More urgently: was Trump aware of what had been going on? It matters a great deal also that we know, thanks to FBI wire-tapping, the content of the contacts between Flynn and Kysliak during the transition. They spoke first about a pending UN resolution to condemn Israel for building new settlements in the Occupied Territories and second about US sanctions that Obama had imposed on Russia precisely for its supposed attempts to meddle in the elections. Court documents now show that on 29 December Flynn contacted members of the transition at Trumps Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, to discuss what, if anything, to communicate to the Russian ambassador about the US sanctions. 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 Those of us who were disgusted by Flynns 2016 antics, at the convention but also as a warm-up act for countless Trump rallies out on the trail, may have taken a smidgen of pleasure from the 45 minutes he found himself before a judge on Friday, his wife at his side. The one-time three-star general was truly humiliated. And they havent even passed sentence on him yet. But on to the bigger picture. There is nothing in the public domain yet to prove collusion between Trumps campaign and Russia to help him defeat Hillary Clinton and become US president. That, after all, is what lies at the heart of all of this, so it remains important to say that. The White House will doubtless be repeating it over and over all this weekend. But that said, if there has been a cloud over this White House for the past several months, it has now become many shades more ominous. At this point it has swallowed four associates of Trump, including his former National Security Adviser, each charged with felony crimes related in some way or another to Russia. (The fourth is Rick Gates, a close associate of Manafort.) That is bad enough. But this an incubus that is on the move and very soon it may settle over others. The question is when. And whom. Genocidal US Thanksgiving Celebrated Even in Cambodia By Andre Vltchek December 01, 2017 " Information Clearing House " - Thanksgiving at Angkor Royal Cafe, a flier read. And: 23rd November Join us for a traditional Thanksgiving Feast. This was at one of the international hotels inSiem Reap, a Cambodian city near the world architectural treasures ofAngkor Wat and the ancient Khmer capital, Angkor Thom. The same day I read an email sent to me from the United States, by my Native American friends, with a link to an essay published by MPN News, called Thanksgiving Guide: How to Celebrate a Sordid History. It began with a summary: While millions of Americans prepare this week to get into the holiday spirit, beginning with Thanksgiving, how many are prepared to view the day through an accurate lens? While to many Americans the holiday serves as a reminder to give thanks, it is seen as a day of mourning by countless of others. The truth is: European migrants brutally murdered Native Americans, stole their land, and continue to do so today. The day became an official day of festivities in 1637, to celebrate the massacre of over 700 people from the Pequot Tribe. In a hotel, I approached a cheerful French food and beverage managerand asked him whether he was aware of what he was suggesting should be celebrated in one of his restaurants? Oh I know I know, he replied, laughing. It is a little bit controversial, isnt it? Bit controversial? I wondered. It appears more like you are inviting people to celebrate genocide, a holocaust, with free flowing wine and a giant turkey. I am trying to see things positively, he continued grinning at me. Then he summarized: So I guess you wont be joining us tonight? What a pity What a pity, I thought, what a pity.I wont get to eat that famous American pie tonightand turkey and who knows what else, just because I am not eager at all to celebrate the massacres and land grabsperpetrated by the Empire. The manager couldnt help asking: Where are you from? I knew he would ask. No European would say what I was saying. Im Russian, I replied. Oh I see, he gave me that I should have guessed. Russian-American, I added. * Im convinced that the French manager has been sincerely oblivious about what I was stating.He is supposed to be oblivious. There are, after all, our genocides, and the genocides of the others. Our genocides, those that we triggered or committed, should never be discussed. Or more precisely, it is extremely impolite to discuss them. Most of the people dont even know about them, including many of the victims. On the other hand, the genocides committed by the others, particularly by adversaries of the West, are widely discussed, publicized, analyzed, inflated and very often even fabricated. Cambodia is the textbook case of the latter. Here, several decades ago, the U.S. and its allies first supported the hopelessly corrupt and brutal government in Phnom Penh, while triggeringa monstrous carpet-bombing campaign of the Cambodian countryside, mainly near the border with Vietnam. This was supposed to prevent the country from going Communist, or at least Ho Chi Minh style Communist. Hundreds of thousands of villagers were murdered by the bombing. Millions were forced to hit the road, leaving their dwellings, as the countryside was converted into a giant minefield, covered by unexploded ordnance.Further hundreds of thousands died from starvation and diseases.Furious, mad from suffering, the people of Cambodia rose against the collaborators with the West in Phnom Penh. Pol Pot and his Khmer Rouge took the capital virtually unopposed. Recently, deep in the jungle, I spoke to the former Pol Pots personal guards. I asked them point-blank whether they knew anything about Communism. Nothing at all, I was told. The U.S. was murdering our families, for no reason. Corrupt elites were selling the country to the West. We were all outraged, and ready for revenge. We would follow anybody calling for revenge. However, the West is passing the events, to this day, as a Communist genocide. Rwanda is yet another case ofa twisted narrative. I made an entire full-length documentaryfilm Rwanda Gambit on the subject. There, the West turned the historyupside down, reducing the entire tragedy into a primitive and easy-to-digest narrative of bad Hutus killing good Tutsis. Yet even the former U.S. ambassador Robert Flatten told me that his country groomed, armed and supported the deadly RPF, mainly Tutsi army, which had been, before 1994, raiding the Rwandan countryside from neighboring Uganda, burning villages and killing civilians. While a former Australian lawyer and U.N. investigator, Michael Hourigan, supplied me with information about the downing of the plane, which, in April 1994, killed both the Rwandan President Juvenal Habyarimana and Burundian President CyprienNtaryamira, while on the final approach to Kigali airport. The orders to shoot down the plane were given by the RPF leader Paul Kagame, who was in turn sponsored by the West. This event triggered the terrible bloodletting on 1994. The next year, in 1995, the Rwandan army entered the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and participated in the killing of at least 9 million people, mainly civilians, on behalf of Western governments and multi-national companies, making it the worst crime against humanity in recent history. In fact, almost all the major genocides committed by the West or its allies in modern history, are silent ones, including those in Iraq, Syria, Iran, West Papua, East Timor, DRC, Indonesia, Afghanistan, Angola, and dozens of other unfortunate places all over the world. The gruesome genocides committed by the West all over the world, during the last 2,000 but especially during the last 500 years, are never defined as such; never as genocides. Throughout history, European countries have been destroying, systematically, most of the cultures on all continents of the Planet, enslaving virtually all the non-white nations, plundering and looting its colonies (read: almost all the non-white nations of the world), while exterminating hundreds of millions of men, women and children. The death toll has been rising, accumulating, to near 1 billion, according to thetestimony of one of my friends, a senior U.N. statistician. * I will return to the Cambodian story soon, on the pages of this magazine. And I will be returning, again and again, to the genocides committed by Europe and North America, virtually everywhere. Unless the history is understood and acknowledged, the world has no future, and there can be no solutions to the terrible problems that our humanity is facing. But for now, let me conclude this brief essay by saying that I did not participate in the consumption of turkey and American pies on Thanksgiving holiday, in the Cambodian city of Seam Reap. My thoughts went to those 700 people from the Pequot Tribe who rebelled, stood firm and died for freedom, almost 400 years ago. These were some of the first fighters against Western imperialism. These were the Americans that I admire, this is America that had been terribly damaged but not yet completely destroyed. No overly sugary, sentimental and empty words could fully choke its essence, as no gluttony and food orgies could ever fully silence the screams of the pain of those who died in the hands of the European invaders, during and after the conquest of what has been so cynically christened as the New World. Andre Vltchek is a philosopher, novelist, filmmaker and investigative journalist. He has covered wars and conflicts in dozens of countries. Three of his latest books are his tribute to The Great October Socialist Revolution a revolutionary novel Aurora and a bestselling work of political non-fiction: Exposing Lies Of The Empire . View his other books here . Watch Rwanda Gambit , his groundbreaking documentary about Rwanda and DRCongo and his film/dialogue with Noam Chomsky On Western Terrorism . Vltchek presently resides in East Asia and the Middle East, and continues to work around the world. He can be reached through his website and his Twitter . This article was originally published by NEO - ==== Note regarding comments T he UN is a Tool of U.S. Imperialism We Cant Attack North Korea. Its Against the Law By John Burroughs December 01, 2017 " Information Clearing House " - Responding to North Koreas test of an intercontinental ballistic missile that could threaten the United States' mainland, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said in a press release : Diplomatic options remain viable and open, for now. At an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council on Wednesday, U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley said while the U.S. does not seek war, if war comes, make no mistake, the North Korean regime will be utterly destroyed. But diplomacy is not just viable, as Tillerson says; its legally required by the Charter of the United Nations, which, as a treaty ratified by the United States, is the law of the land under the Constitution. This dimension of the North Korean crisis is not getting the attention it deserves. The charter prohibits the threat or use of force except when authorized by the U.N. Security Council or in self-defense against an armed attack. The Security Council is intensively addressing the crisis, including in Wednesdays meeting, and its significant that it has not seen fit to authorize the use of force. Unless and until it does, the U.S. is bound by law to seek a diplomatic solution. Seeking a military one, in addition to its horrific humanitarian consequences, would violate the charter and put the U.S. on the wrong side of the law. Were currently operating under Resolution 2375 of September 11, 2017, which tightened sanctions on North Korea after it tested a powerful nuclear bomb. It was adopted pursuant to U.N. Charter Article 41, which covers measures not involving the use of force, such as economic sanctions. Neither 2375 nor previous Security Council resolutions on North Korea contain any indication whatever that force is authorized. In fact, they emphasize the need for a peaceful settlement, which is also mandated by the charter. Article 2(3) obligates all members to settle their international disputes by peaceful means in such a manner that international peace and security, and justice, are not endangered. There is a reason Security Council resolutions on North Korea are written this way. China and Russia are implacably opposed to a military strike, and have the power to veto resolutions they oppose. They learned their lesson in the run-up to the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq, when the United States interpreted ambiguous language in Security Council resolutions to authorize the invasion. That interpretation was incorrect, but since then China, Russia and other members of the council have taken extreme care to prevent the U.S. from making similar maneuvers. Those inclined to scoff at the idea that the U.N. or international law could restrain the U.S. from using its military might havent really understood the situation. This is not just a matter of international legalisms for policy wonks. The geopolitical stakes are real, and high. China might well intervene militarily if the United States started a war with North Korea. In negotiations on Resolution 2375, China and Russia supported including a provision forbidding military action north of the 38th parallel dividing South and North Korea. That provision was refused by the U.S., but it shows how opposed Russia and China are to use of force in the region. Their position is backed by law, which, as permanent members of the Security Council, they shape by refusing any authorization of force. Article 51 of the U.N. Charter does recognize the inherent right of individual or collective self-defense if an armed attack occurs until the Security Council has taken measures necessary to maintain international peace and security. Never Miss Another Story Get Your Free Daily Newsletter But since the George W. Bush administration, U.S. doctrine has permitted preemptive attacks against serious threats, particularly weapons of mass destruction. While the term is usually avoided, this is essentially a doctrine allowing preventive war. This August, Trumps chief of staff, General H. R. McMaster, broke protocol and referred to a possible preventive war against North Korea. That U.S. position is not backed by law. Preventive war is plainly illegal under the U.N. Charter, which permits military action as a matter of self-defense only in response to an actual armed attack. At most, military action might be allowed in response to the early stages of an attack. Again, this is no wonkish, legalistic fine point of parsing the charter; its of vital practical importance. Preventive war proved profoundly destabilizing and destructive in the Middle East, and would again on the Korean Peninsula. Amid Trumps incendiary fire and fury rhetoric, Congress is also beginning to debate the legality of a conventional or nuclear strike against North Korea, and the limits of the presidents power to order one. At a November 14 hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Brian McKeon, former committee lawyer and former Pentagon official, testified that the Constitution requires any war with North Korea to be authorized by Congress. Two bills were recently introduced in Congress requiring its specific approval of war with North Korea, and two others require Congressional approval of the first use of nuclear weapons or rule it out altogether. Also at the Senate hearing, former Commander of Strategic Command Robert Kehler pointed out that the U.S. military is duty-bound to refuse a presidents order to use nuclear weapons if its illegal. He testified that to be legal, use of nuclear weapons must comply with requirements of necessity, proportionality and discrimination under the international law of armed conflict. What Kehler did not say is that given their uncontrollable and indiscriminate effects, an order to use nuclear weapons would fail those tests, and be illegal. There was zero discussion at the hearing of the illegality of the U.S. attacking North Korea under the U.N. Charter. Yet as we learned from the Iraq War, there is great wisdom in the charter requirement that peaceful solutions, however difficult to achieve, take precedence over resorting to force. This article was originally published by Newsweek - ==== In the Age of Trump, Tom Cotton May Be Americas Most Dangerous Senator Note regarding comments UN General Assembly Calls on Israeli Occupation to Withdraw from Syrian Golan Munzer: Syrias sovereignty over Golan is non-negotiable By Manar, R.Raslan, Mazen December 01, 2017 " Information Clearing House " - New York, SANA-UN General Assembly on Thursday called on the Israeli occupation to withdraw from the occupied Syrian Golan into the line of June 4th, 1967 in line with UN Security council relevant resolutions. The Assembly adopted a resolution entitled the Syrian Golan, submitted to it under the title the State in the Middle East. The Assembly condemned Israels non-abidance by UNSC resolution No.497 issued in 1981, affirming that Israels decision, released on December 14th, 1981, to impose its laws and administration on Golan is null and void. Earlier, Acting Charge daffaires of Syrias permanent delegation to the UN Munzer Munzer said that Israel still ignores international resolutions and refuses to give back the occupied Syrian Golan to Syria. Munzer added that the Israeli occupation authorities are going on in their repressive policies in the occupied Syrian Golan and are preventing its citizens from building their homes on their lands inherited from their ancestors. Syria reiterates that its sovereignty on the occupied Golan is not subject to any negotiation or abandonment and does not fall by prescription, Munzer stressed. He added that the UN General Assembly has, since its 25th session held in 1970 till now, discussed the Situation in the Middle East and demanded Israeli entity to end its occupation of the Arab territories, noting that all Israeli procedures to impose its laws, regulations and authority over Jerusalem and the occupied Syrian Golan are illegitimate, illegal and null. Munzer said that UN General Assemblys resolutions go in line with UN Security Council resolutions No. 487 (1980) and 497 (1981) on the occupied Syrian Golan declaring the Israeli annexation of the Jerusalem and occupied Syrian Golan as null and void. He added that todays meeting coincides with the 100 anniversary of Balfour Declaration issued by the British government whose devastating results on the Palestinian people and the whole region continue till the day as well as the passing of half a century over the Israeli occupation of the Arab territories amid wide support and protection by some UN Security Council member states provided to the Israeli occupation authorities giving them the power to further strengthen their presence in the region, refuse to implement hundreds of UN resolutions and commit crimes and violations of the humanitarian law. Never Miss Another Story Get Your Free Daily Newsletter Munzer referred to the Israeli failure to impose the Israeli identity on the people of the occupied Syrian Golan and its inhumane practices against them like arbitrary arrests, racial discrimination and tightening the siege on them. He stressed the need to remind the international community of Syrias Mandela, prisoner Sedqi al-Maqt who was re-arrested by the Israeli occupation forces in March 2017 after serving 27 years in the Israeli jails and sentenced him to 14 years in jail, urging the international community to spare no effort to release him along with prisoner Amal Abo Saleh and others inside the Israeli jails. The Syrian diplomat said that the worst violation committed by the Israeli occupation authorities against the people of Golan is denying their human rights, including the right to meet and communicate with their parents, families and relatives in Syria the motherland over more than 50years and prevent patients who are unable to pay treatment costs from going to Damascus to receive free treatment at its hospitals. More ironically, the Israeli occupation authorities prevent Golan people from their right to build homes and demolish those existed under the pretext of not having a license, not to mention the cultural and educational violations such as the exploitation of archeological sites and robbing their contents, imposing Israeli curricula to be taught at schools and expelling large number of teachers to be replaced by Israeli teachers. He expressed astonishment over the international silence towards Israeli practices and measures, which encouraged the Israeli occupation authorities to continue its approach in providing all forms of support to the armed terrorist groups including Daesh and Jabhat al-Nusra, noting that Israeli forces, on November 3rd, 2017, transported hundreds of Jabhat al-Nusra terrorists to attack Hadar town claiming the lives of 17 civilians and injuring many others. The Israeli support exceeded the aforementioned details to launch airstrikes against different sites in Syria, he added Munzer said the UN still has a historic responsibility that is to correct things and point the compass in the right direction through taking immediate steps to end the Israeli occupation and force it to withdraw from the Arab territories including the occupied Syrian Golan till the line of June 4th, 1967 and abide by the UNSC resolution 242, 338, 497 and 2334. This article was originally published by SANA - ==== Note regarding comments The Scalp-Taking of Gen. Flynn Exclusive: The Russia-gate prosecutors have taken the scalp of ex- National Security Adviser (and retired Lt. Gen.) Flynn for lying to the FBI. But this case shows how dangerously far afield this scandal has gone, reports Robert Parry. By Robert Parry December 01, 2017 " Information Clearing House " - Russia-gate enthusiasts are thrilled over the guilty plea of President Trumps former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn for lying to the FBI about pre-inauguration conversations with the Russian ambassador, but the case should alarm true civil libertarians. What is arguably most disturbing about this case is that then-National Security Adviser Flynn was pushed into a perjury trap by Obama administration holdovers at the Justice Department who concocted an unorthodox legal rationale for subjecting Flynn to an FBI interrogation four days after he took office, testing Flynns recollection of the conversations while the FBI agents had transcripts of the calls intercepted by the National Security Agency. In other words, the Justice Department wasnt seeking information about what Flynn said to Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak the intelligence agencies already had that information. Instead, Flynn was being quizzed on his precise recollection of the conversations and nailed for lying when his recollections deviated from the transcripts. For Americans who worry about how the pervasive surveillance powers of the U.S. government could be put to use criminalizing otherwise constitutionally protected speech and political associations, Flynns prosecution represents a troubling precedent. Though Flynn clearly can be faulted for his judgment, he was, in a sense, a marked man the moment he accepted the job of national security adviser. In summer 2016, Democrats seethed over Flynns participation in chants at the Republican National Convention to lock her [Hillary Clinton] up! Then, just four days into the Trump presidency, an Obama holdover, then-acting Attorney General Sally Yates, primed the Flynn perjury trap by coming up with a novel legal theory that Flynn although the national security adviser-designate at the time of his late December phone calls with Kislyak was violating the 1799 Logan Act, which prohibits private citizens from interfering with U.S. foreign policy. But that law passed during President John Adamss administration in the era of the Alien and Sedition Acts was never intended to apply to incoming officials in the transition period between elected presidential administrations and in the past 218 years the law has resulted in no successful prosecution at all and thus its dubious constitutionality has never been adjudicated. Stretching Logic But Yates extrapolated from her unusual Logan Act theory to speculate that since Flynns publicly known explanation of the conversation with Kislyak deviated somewhat from the transcript of the intercepts, Flynn might be vulnerable to Russian blackmail. Yet, that bizarre speculation would require that the Russians first would have detected the discrepancies; secondly, they would have naively assumed that the U.S. intelligence agencies had not intercepted the conversations, which would have negated any blackmail potential; and thirdly, the Russians would have to do something so ridiculously heavy-handed trying to blackmail Flynn that it would poison relations with the new Trump administration. Yatess legal theorizing was so elastic and speculative that it could be used to justify subjecting almost anyone to FBI interrogation with the knowledge that their imperfect memories would guarantee the grounds for prosecution based on NSA intercepts of their communications. Basically, the Obama holdovers concocted a preposterous legal theory to do whatever they could to sabotage the Trump administration, which they held in fulsome disdain. At the time of Flynns interrogation, the Justice Department was under the control of Yates and the FBI was still under President Obamas FBI Director James Comey, another official hostile to the Trump administration who later was fired by Trump. The Yates-FBI perjury trap also was sprung on Flynn in the first days of the Trump presidency amid reverberations of the massive anti-Trump protests that had arisen across the country in support of demands for a #Resistance to Trumps rule. Flynn also had infuriated Democrats when he joined in chants at the Republican National Convention of lock her up over Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clintons use of a private email server and other alleged offenses. So, in targeting Flynn, there was a mix of personal payback and sabotage against the Trump administration. The Legal Construct The two-page complaint against Flynn, made public on Friday, references false statements to the FBI regarding two conversations with Kisylak, one on Dec. 22, 2016, and the other on Dec. 29, 2016. The first item in the complaint alleges that Flynn did not disclose that he had asked the Russian ambassador to help delay or defeat a United Nations Security Council vote censuring Israel for building settlements on Palestinian territory. The New York Times reported on Friday that Russia-gate investigators learned through witnesses and documents that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asked the Trump transition team to lobby other countries to help Israel, according to two people briefed on the inquiry. Investigators have learned that Mr. Flynn and Mr. Trumps son-in-law and senior adviser, Jared Kushner, took the lead in those efforts. Mr. Muellers team has emails that show Mr. Flynn saying he would work to kill the vote, the people briefed on the matter said, according to the Times. Breaking with past U.S. precedents, President Obama had decided not to veto the resolution criticizing Israel, choosing instead to abstain. However, the censure resolution carried with Russian support, meaning that whatever lobbying Flynn and Kushner undertook was unsuccessful. But the inclusion of this Israeli element shows how far afield the criminal Russia-gate investigation, headed by former FBI Director Robert Mueller, has gone. Though the original point of the inquiry was whether the Trump team colluded with Russians to use hacked emails to defeat Hillary Clintons campaign, the criminal charge against Flynn has nothing to do with election collusion but rather President-elect Trumps aides weighing in on foreign policy controversies during the transition. And, one of these initiatives was undertaken at the request of Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, not Russian President Vladimir Putin. The second item, cited by Muellers prosecutors, referenced a Dec. 29 Flynn-Kislyak conversation, which received public attention at the time of Flynns Feb. 13 resignation after only 24 days on the job. That phone call touched on Russias response to President Obamas decision to issue new sanctions against the Kremlin for the alleged election interference. The complaint alleges that Flynn didnt mention to the FBI that he had urged Kislyak to refrain from escalating the situation and that Kislyak had subsequently told him that Russia had chosen to moderate its response to those sanctions as a result of his request. Never Miss Another Story Get Your Free Daily Newsletter The Dec. 29 phone call occurred while Flynn was vacationing in the Dominican Republic and thus he would have been without the usual support staff for memorializing or transcribing official conversations. So, the FBI agents, with the NSAs transcripts, would have had a clearer account of what was said than Flynn likely had from memory. The content of Flynns request to Kislyak also appears rather uncontroversial, asking the Russians not to overreact to a punitive policy from the outgoing Obama administration. In other words, both of the Flynn-Kislyak conversations appear rather unsurprising, if not inconsequential. One was taken at the behest of Israel (which proved ineffective) and the other urged the Kremlin to show restraint in its response to a last-minute slap from President Obama (which simply delayed Russian retaliation by a few months). Double Standards While Flynns humiliation has brought some palpable joy to the anti-Trump Resistance one more Trump aide being taken down amid renewed hope that this investigation will somehow lead to Trumps resignation or impeachment many of the same people would be howling about trampled civil liberties if a Republican bureaucracy were playing this game on a Democratic president and his staff. Indeed, in the turnabout-is-fair-play department, there is some equivalence in what is happening over Russia-gate to what the Republicans did in the 1990s exploiting their control of the special-prosecutor apparatus in the first years of Bill Clintons presidency when interminable investigations into such side issues as his Whitewater real-estate deal and the firing of the White House travel office staff plagued the Clinton administration. Similarly, Republicans seized on the deaths of four U.S. diplomatic personnel on Sept. 11, 2012, in Benghazi, Libya, to conduct a series of lengthy investigations to tarnish Secretary of State Hillary Clintons tenure and raise questions about her judgment. Democrats understandably called these attacks partisan warfare in legal or investigative garb. What I have heard from many Hillary Clinton supporters in recent months is that they dont care about the unfairness of the Russia-gate process or the dangerous precedents that such politicized prosecutions might set. They simply view Trump as such a danger that he must be destroyed at whatever the cost. Yet, besides the collateral damage inflicted on mid-level government officials such as retired Lt. Gen. Flynn facing personal destruction at the hands of federal prosecutors with unlimited budgets, there is this deepening pattern of using criminal law to settle political differences, a process more common in authoritarian states. As much as the Russia-gate enthusiasts talk about how they are upholding the rule of law, there is the troubling appearance that the law is simply being used to collect the scalps of political enemies. Investigative reporter Robert Parry broke many of the Iran-Contra stories for The Associated Press and Newsweek in the 1980s. You can buy his latest book, Americas Stolen Narrative, either in print here or as an e-book (from Amazon and barnesandnoble.com ). This article was originally published by Consortium News - ==== Note regarding comments Several students have been shown the exit door for allegedly disrupting the smooth running of academic activities at the higher institution. The authority of Osun State Polytechnic [OSPOLY] Iree has on Thursday, 29th of November 2017 expelled 14 students from the school for protesting against the school registration deadline date. The school management accused the students of involving themselves in disruption of peace on Campus on Monday, 27th of November 2017 and organized, participated in the violent protest. When reacting to the incident, Ogunrinade Olaoluwa, popularly know as Comrade Dudu said We didnt face any disciplinary committee, they just conclude that we protested against the increments and newly introduced fee .a struggle that was led in collation of all HND 1 class governors . He also made it known that Out of 15 departmental governors, 13 was suspended alongside him. The Students Union leaders in NANS, JCC vows to make sure that the expelled students get back to the campus by making using of the 3Cs formula of Aluta. The All Progressives Congress in Etinan Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State has pulled out of the December 2 local government election following violence in the State. A statement signed by the APC leader, Chief Sunny Udo; Vice Chairman, APC Etinan Local Government Area, Mr. Idorenyin Thompson; and APC chairmanship candidate, Dr. Mrs. Esther Etuk, said on Saturday that the party took the decision to pull out of the election as voting materials were in short supply. Udo added that there were also no voting registers or accreditation as required by the law. In view of the widespread violence and irregularities in the ongoing local government elections in Etinan LGA, we the executive members of the APC are left with no choice than to withdraw forthwith from this ongoing sham elections. This is because voting materials are in very short supply and there are no voting registers or accreditation, as required by the law. Where very limited materials are issued at all, well armed thugs of the cowardly PDP government in Akwa Ibom State are going around, shooting, stabbing and snatching empty ballot boxes at gun point. Consequently, we protest vehemently against this brutal and bloody attack on our supporters and on our democracy and therefore unanimously pull out from this fake elections with immediate effect, the statement added. Beautiful 26-year-old Desiree Gibbon, a model from New York was murdered in Jamaica while visiting her family there. Her father is Jamaican and his mother, Desirees grand mother owned an inn in the Island where Desiree was staying for a month. According to local authorities, she was found last week Sunday badly beaten and her throat slashed, on the side of a rural road in the tiny town of Anchovy, near Montego Bay. Read the full story from UK Daily Mail below Desiree Gibbon, 26, was spending about a month on her fathers home island, staying at a hotel that her grandmother owns in the tourist destination of Montego Bay. The model was looking for work as a bartender so that she could go to film school in Europe to hone her craft as a documentary filmmaker. But on Sunday, residents in the town of Anchovy found Gibbons remains in some bushes on the side of the road. She had been badly beaten and her throat had been slashed. Days later, her family are still struggling to come up with an explanation for what happened. Her mother Andrea Gibbon, (pictured above) back in Queens, New York, spoke to reporters and said she thinks that whoever is responsible knew her daughter. My belief is it was a cold, calculated, planned out murder, she told CBS New York. It wasnt a random act of violence. It is somebody she knew, somebody she trusted, and somebody who betrayed her. She added to ABC: She has family down there. She has cousins. She met a lot of new people that she had been hanging out for the last three weeks or so. So, she was comfortable with these new people she had met. Her father, who didnt give his name, told the Jamaica Observer that he believes his daughter was lured from her grandmothers hotel because she had nothing on her. Her mother added that Gibbon was especially safe when travelling. She never traveled by herself. She didnt leave the hotel by herself. She always left with somebody, Andrea Gibbon said. They would take a car service provided by the hotel and the same driver would take them and drop them and bring them back. Her mother is also skeptical that she would have visited a small town like Anchovy, which is about four miles from her grandmothers hotel in Montego Bay. In a bush in the country where she would never have traveled, not ever. It was an isolated desolate area, nothing there, she said. Gibbons uncle Claude also spoke out, and said police officers told him that they were looking for two women they think might be connected to the crime. Claude Gibbon says he was the first person in the family to find out about Desirees death, when a police officer came to the hotel with a picture of her dead body and asked him to identify it. The officer who came here told me he had people to question two young ladies, he told the New York Daily News. Claude added that nothing seemed out of the ordinary in the days before his nieces disappearance. She was gone for a few days, but it wasnt anything that was uncommon, he said. Shed sometimes go in and out. He says he grew worried when she didnt return on Monday. Authorities have released no information on any leads they are pursuing. Gibbons mother hopes that her daughter fought back and has some DNA of her killer left on her body. Im hoping that in her fight, she has obtained some DNA, whether under her fingernails, on her body or her teeth, somewhere, she told NBC New York. Shes pictured with her boyfriend, who didnt go with her to Jamaica And her friends Source: CBS New York The Police in Borno on Saturday said that 13 persons were killed in a suicide bomb attack at Biu Market in Biu Local Government Area of the state. Victor Isuku, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), made the confirmation in a statement issued in Maiduguri. Mr. Isuku said 53 persons sustained injuries while the two female suicide bombers were also killed. He explained that the incident occurred at about 11:40 am on Saturday, when a female suicide bomber infiltrated the market and detonated an Improvised Explosive Device (IEDs) strapped to her body. Mr. Isuku said one other bomber detonated the explosive outside the crowded market and killed herself. Today Dec. 2, at about 11:40 hours, two female suicide bombers infiltrated and gained entry into Biu town, in Biu Local Government Area. One of the bombers detonated IED strapped to her body within the main market, while the other one detonated outside the market square. So far, a total of 13 persons excluding the two suicide bombers, have been confirmed killed in the two explosions, while 53 other persons sustained various degrees of injuries, he said. The police spokesman disclosed that the corpses were evacuated while the injured were referred to the General Hospital, Biu. Mr. Isuku said that police patrol and EOD teams were deployed to sanitise the scene of the attack, noting that normalcy has been restored in the area. Source : (NAN) The time was 9.10pm. A Buraq Airs Boeing 737 with tail number 5A-DMG landed on the tarmac of the cargo terminal of the Murtala International Airport and out came 20-year-old Clement Chibuzor, along with 149 other Nigerians whose ghoulish appearances told of the horrific experiences they must have experienced in Libya. Over the past two weeks, Nigerians have added their voices to the global uproar over the exposed tales of slave trade, torture and killings of migrants in Libya. Over 5,000 Nigerians have been repatriated from Libya by the International Organisation for Migration since the beginning of 2017. Each time a new batch of returnees arrive, they bring with them tales of horror from the transit country, where they hoped to take the treacherous journey through the Mediterranean Sea. Saturday Punch spoke with many of the returnees as they touched down on Thursday night. They told the tales of mans inhumanity to man. Chibuzor, a Delta State indigene, was just a teenager working as a Plaster of Paris artisan when his father met a trafficker, who told him he could get his son to Europe. The young lad had worked as a POP artisan for eight months with little money in his pocket, his father told him not to worry about the money. I never thought about going to Europe. My father was the one who brought the idea. He sold his land and raised N450,000 which he gave to my burger (trafficker). He did not tell my mother until I was already in Libya, Chibuzor said. The young man spent 18 months in Libya. He left the country, a hopeful man. On Thursday, he returned like a mere cargo, thankful to be back to safety. As he stepped off the plane, Chibuzor looked nothing like a 20-year-old. His hollow cheeks told of starvation while his skin told of suffering in disease-ridden cells. After many of my co-travellers died in the desert, I was kidnapped as soon as I got to Libya. I was in prison for four months until my father sent N300,000 for my release. In the prison, our food was a piece of bread every day. When I got out of the prison. I was on the street one day when I met a Nigerian who promised to help me. I worked in his house for some weeks until he sold me to a gang. They kept me in a cell. I was there for a very long time. I cannot count the number of people who died in the cell. The police were raiding different places where black people were kept and I willingly surrendered to the police. That was how I got an opportunity to come back to Nigeria. While working on the streets of Libya, if the gangs saw you, they would grab you and put you in a cell. They put you in a cell with many others where you would either be sold or made to call your people to pay for your freedom. While I was trying to get money the to free myself from the prison, I spoke with my father two months ago. He then told me that if I had the chance, I should return home. I told him that I might die before I had the opportunity to return home because I saw people die every day. We drank urine, fuel in desert Kelvin, 21 Many of the returnees who shared their experiences like Chibuzor, vowed never to attempt the dangerous journey again. But experts say that so far as there are few success stories amidst the deaths, some of the returnees may try again when the shock of their time in Libya wear off. Kelvin Sunday, 21, an Edo State indigene, who returned with Chibuzor, told Saturday Punch that he was in Libya for seven months. He spent N965,000 to get to Libya after raising the money with the help of friends and his my sister. Sunday explained that a friend of his, who made it to Europe, convinced him to embark on the journey. According to him, 41 of them set out in Kano for the journey through the desert but only 10 made it to Libya. He said their fate was sealed when their vehicle developed an engine fault in the desert. Sunday said, We were in the desert for three days without food or water. We were drinking our urine to survive. It got to a point that when there was no more urine to drink, we started to drink fuel. When we got to Libya, I was working in my burgers house. I spent two weeks there before I went to the seaside (in Tripoli) where we would cross. From Sabha to the seaside in Tripoli, I spent two weeks. On the way, some traffickers kidnapped us. They beat and loaded us into their Hilux van, but few of us jumped down and I broke my leg. I managed to escape as they were shooting. We spent two days in the desert again after that escape. We later saw a motorist whom we begged to help us get to the seaside. We were camped at the seaside for three months without any opportunity to cross through the seas. People trying to cross the sea told me to avoid Nigerians helping Libyans to sell people. But later our camp was raided by soldiers, who took us to prison. He had spent four months in the cell before luck smiled on him and IOM officials effected his repatriation along with many others. I return home as a one-eyed man Okotie, 35 Less than a year after Harrison Okotie, 35, got to Libya, he was kidnapped by some violent traffickers, who hit him in the eye with the butt of a gun. He lost his left eye to that attack. Now, I dont know if my wife and two children would ever recognise me when I get back home. I left Nigeria a whole man but I am returning with one eye, Okotie said. He explained that before leaving Nigeria in 2014, he worked as a painter after graduating from the Delta State University. After paying N600,000 for the journey through the desert, he got to Libya where he was grabbed off the street by some traffickers who sold him for 2,000 dinars (about N529,000). When you got to the person you were sold to, he sold you again for double the previous amount. Many Nigerians have gone mad and cannot even say where they are in Libya right now. The day officials came to register us for repatriation, we were in a queue when one of the Libyan officials shot a Nigerian dead right there. They said he was trying to run, whereas he was desperate to return home. Another returnee, Esosa Osas, 25, who was a hairdresser before he left Nigeria, spent six months in Libya. She told tales of many women being raped. It is either rape or death. Nobody could refuse being raped, she said. A fellow Edo State indigene, Odion Saliu, 26, told Saturday Punch that the Nigerian trafficker who facilitated her trip lied to her. She said, She told me that once in Kano, we were going to take a plane to Libya. I was shocked when we were loaded into a vehicle. We spent nine days crossing the desert to Libya. I was kidnapped and sold at least three times before God brought me back to my fatherland. I am really thankful to God that I am alive. The Nigerian traffickers fueling the trafficking industry in Libya seems to have attracted the attention of the government. The Senior Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on Foreign and Diaspora Affairs, Mrs. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, said there was a need for Nigerians to report human traffickers in the society. She said the Federal governments whistleblower policy against human trafficking would ensure a handsome reward for credible information about human traffickers . Traffickers must be prosecuted, must be arrested and they must be known. There is a whistle-blower policy by NAPTIP; report traffickers, they are amongst you An official of the Edo State task force on illegal migration, Mr. Okoduwa Solomon, told Saturday Punch that since November 7, the state had taken custody of at least 897 Libyan returnees who are indigenes of the state. He explained that the exercise to help them resettle in Nigeria would continue so far as there were still Nigerians trapped in Libya. We are using the returnees to raise awareness about the dangers of illegal migration in Edo State, he said. Source Punch President Muhammadu Buhari has been commended by Ex- Niger Delta militants and beneficiaries of the Presidential Amnesty Programme in the region, for allocating N65bn to the amnesty budget. They also gave the President a pass mark for approving the commencement of the Maritime University in Okerenkoko, Delta State. The ex-militant leaders, comprising three phases of the PAP, in a statement on Thursday by the Bayelsa State Chairman, Mr. Bull Ifiemi, said their recent meeting with Coordinator of PAP, Brig.-Gen. Paul Boroh (retd.), was fruitful. They said through the meeting, they were able to strategise on the way forward for the beneficiaries of the programme. The ex-agitators told Southern City News that the meeting was also an avenue for them to pass a vote of confidence on President Buhari and Boroh on their landmark efforts to bring about development to the Niger Delta. They further applauded the far-reaching peace advocacy efforts of the Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, adding that Osinbajos efforts in ensuring the empowerment of the youth were yielding positive results in the region. They noted that the Vice-Presidents efforts and tours of the region had significantly contributed to the current peace being enjoyed in the region. The statement read in part, We commend the Chairman of the Presidential Amnesty Programme, Brig. Gen. Paul Boroh for his continuous peace campaigns and result-oriented negotiations. Prof. Abdullahi Bala, has been inaugurated as the vice-chancellor of the Federal University of Technology Minna, Niger State. The newly appointed Vice Chancellor, Bala Abdullahi, said he would obey the rules of the institution, promote hard work and transparency in an attempt to move the school to greater heights. He said, We shall take decisions that are in the best interest of the university. We shall work assiduously and dispassionately towards assembling the best team to realise our set objectives. Bala pointed that the school had witnessed tremendous growth and development in the last one and a half decade, especially with the institution now ranked 5th among specialised universities in Nigeria and 45th out of 4,245 in Africa. He promised that his administration would work towards improving internally generated revenue so as to augment funds from the government. Earlier in his valedictory speech, the outgoing VC, Prof. Musbau Akanji, expressed confidence that Bala had the pedigree to move the university forward. Akanji, while thanking the Niger State Government, the university community, staff and students for the support during his time, said he was leaving the institution a fulfilled man. Source: ( Punch Newspaper ) Some local miners in Plateau State were attacked by unidentified gunmen on Thursday evening, injuring four of miners. The attack which occurred at a local mining site in Jol Village, Riyom Local Government was confirmed by the police. The spokesperson of the state police command, Terna Tyopev, on Friday said investigations had commenced and promised that the perpetrators will be brought to book. Similarly, the spokesperson of the Special Taskforce on Jos crisis, Umar Adams, a captain in the Nigerian Army, also confirmed the attack. Mr. Umar added that a similar incident was reported on Tuesday in Riyom where Fulani herders were alleged to have attacked a farmer on his farm but ended up being nabbed by villagers. The soldier urged people not take laws into their hands but report any attack to the authorities. Gunmen were also said to have also ambushed travellers near Vwak village, who reportedly escaped unhurt. Some of the suspects were captured by villagers and handed over to the police. Source: ( Punch Newspaper ) The Nigerian Army said on Saturday that its troops killed three Boko Haram insurgents at Gajibo village in Dikwa Local Government Area of Borno State. Onyema Nwachukwu, the deputy director, Army Public Relations, Theatre Command, Operation Lafiya Dole, disclosed this in a statement issued in Maiduguri. Mr. Nwachukwu, a colonel, said the troops killed the three insurgents when a group of terrorists attempted to attack Gajibo community on Thursday. He disclosed that the insurgents, who launched the attack on the village in a Military Personnel Carrier and gun trucks, were repelled by the troops. Troops of the 22 Brigade deployed in Operation Lafiya Dole on Thursday evening killed three Boko Haram insurgents in an encounter that ensued when a group of insurgents attempted an attack on Gajibo community in the fringes of Dikwa Local Government Area of Borno State. The insurgents armed with Armoured Personnel Carrier and gun trucks met with fierce resistance from the troops, who successfully defended Gajibo village after routing the insurgents. Troops also recovered three AK 47 rifles from the insurgents. Currently, troops are further exploiting the success of the counter offensive and are still in pursuit of the insurgents, he said The deputy director said the troops fought gallantly to defend the town and push back the attackers. Source : (NAN) As the world continue to condemn the illegal slave trading in Libya which involves victims across Africa, some returnees from the North African country have made some shocking revelations. The new slave trade-human trafficking in Libya is being carried out by many nationalities, including Nigerians and Ghanaians, according to a Cameroonian returnee, who was abducted in the country. Foka Fotsi, who was trafficked twice, told Reuters that those in charge of one of the places where he was held included Ghanaians and Nigerians. Fotsi story corroborated another testimony by a Nigerian in the southern state of Edo, who identified one Charles, a Nigerian as the trafficking kingpin. Unable to find work to support his family, Fotsi decided to leave Cameroon last year, but fell into the hands of a Libyan kidnap ring before reaching Europe. There was torture like Ive never seen. They hit you with wooden bats, with iron bars, he said, removing the hood of his sweatshirt and showing the still raw red wounds on his skull. They hang you from the ceiling by (your) arms and legs and then throw you down to the floor. They swing you and throw you against the wall, over and over again, ten times. They are not human beings. They are the devil personified. Foka Fotsi- battered in a camp run by Nigerians and Ghanaians Christelle Timdi, another Cameroonian recounted her horrendous experience in the north African country. When uniformed men boarded the overloaded rubber dingy carrying her and her boyfriend to a new life in Europe, she thought the Italian coastguard had come to rescue them. But the men took out guns and began to shoot. Many people fell in the sea, the 32-year-old Cameroonian said as she described seeing her boyfriend, Douglas, falling in the water and disappearing into the darkness. The gunmen took Timdi and her fellow passengers back to Libya where they were locked up, r*ped, beaten and forced to make calls to their families back home for ransom payments to secure their freedom. Timdi, who flew back to Cameroon last week, told her story as international outcry escalated over a video which appeared to show African migrants being traded as slaves in Libya. Libyas U.N.-backed government has said it is investigating and has promised to bring the perpetrators to justice. Timdi said she had not seen the footage broadcast by CNN, but had witnessed the trade in humans while in Libya. I saw it with my own eyes, she said, describing how she had seen a Senegalese man buying an African migrant. Timdi: witnesses serial raping of women in the slave camps Libya is the main jumping off point for migrants trying to reach Europe by boat. Timdi said many traffickers posed as marine guards, police officers and taxi drivers to ensnare victims. There were around 130 other migrants on her boat when the gunmen opened fire in the middle of the night, Timdi said. After being taken back to Libya they were locked in an abandoned factory building where men would grab and rape the girls and women and sometimes even the men. We tried to hide the younger girls among us, Timdi said, describing the terrifying moments when the guards would scour the room with torches, searching for their next victims. I was heavily pregnant thats why I wasnt r*ped. And its all done in front of others they say its so that you know what will happen to you if you dont pay up. Timdi said the facilities used by traffickers appeared to be well organised and guarded, adding that most people inside wore fake police or military uniforms. The place was surrounded by army-style vehicles with guns ready to fire, so we didnt dare try and escape. Timdis family paid 1 million CFA francs ($1,800), frantically collected from relatives and friends, to free her. But she said ransoms were no guarantee of safety. The traffickers work with a network of taxi drivers who are supposed to transfer released migrants to migrant camps but who often re-traffick them, Timdi said. If they send you a good taxi, youll arrive at your destination, but if its a bad taxi the driver will sell you on to someone else, she said. There are people who have been resold twice, three times. And when you call your family to tell them that youve been resold once again, no one will believe you, they wont send more money to free you. Timdi was released by her captors in October and gave birth to a baby girl, Brittanie, in a Libyan hospital just days later. Timdi and Fotsi were among 250 Cameroonians who were flown home this week by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) as part of a voluntary return scheme for migrants stranded in Libya. The programme, funded by the European Union, provided returnees with clothing and medical checks. The most vulnerable, including pregnant women, also received around 400 euros ($475). IOM Cameroon head Boubacar Saybou said it was launching a programme to help migrants set up businesses, and will also provide start-up funding. We need to create opportunities for them here. Thats whats important, he said. Fotsi said he hoped to follow up on the scheme. But for now his most pressing problem was finding a place to sleep. I pray that God gives me work that I can do here, he said. If we dont get work youll find many of us walking the streets again. *Adapted from a Thomson Reuters Foundation report written by Inna Lazareva. A 26-year-old identified as Odion Saliu, a hairdresser from Edo State, said she was kidnapped and handed over to a Nigerian, who forced her to call her mother. According to her, her mother in Benin paid N200, 000 but she was again sold by the same Nigerian for 3,000 dinars (about N794, 000). Saliu explained that the Nigerians spoke Pidgin English and some Nigerian languages. She said, When I was kidnapped with others and held for some weeks, the Arabs asked if I wanted to be taken to a Nigerian and I readily said yes. I was very happy that I was going to someone from my country. But it was a lie. The Nigerian they took me to locked me in a cell and told me to call my mother and ask for N60, 000. The man said he would sell me to a connection house if my family did not get the money. I called to inform my mother and the trafficker who facilitated my journey from Nigeria. But the trafficker spoke with them on the phone and told them the amount they demanded was too small. They increased it to N200, 000. My mother paid into an account after they provided her with the account number over the phone. The Nigerian said if I wanted to cross the sea, I had to pay him again. But when we got to the seaside, he sold me again. Another Edo State indigene, Sunday Anyaegbunam, left Nigeria along with his wife in April. He said during their nine-day journey through the desert, they were sold twice by Nigerians. According to him, when their Nigerian burger (trafficker) sold them to another set of Libyan traffickers at Agadez, Niger, the traffickers sold him and his wife to a Nigerian who took them to Sabha, Libya, where they were separated in different cells. We were made to contact our families on the phone and I had to ensure the payment of N400, 000 for my release and N300, 000 for my wife, Anyaegbunam said. Like others, he could only identify the Nigerians trading in their countrymen in Libya through the Nigerian languages they spoke and their accent. He said, The Nigerians selling people in Libya are more wicked than many of the Arabs. I have never seen people so heartless as the Nigerians who bought and sold me. There are many of them in Agadez and Sabha, who are making so much money from selling their own people. But there are other West Africans doing the business too. When you approach them and say, Please, my brother, help me. They would tell you, No brother in the jungle. A 25-year-old woman, Esosa Osas, who was in Libya for six months, said she also met many Nigerians selling their countrymen. You dare not talk to them, else they would beat you and lock you up. They sell women for 5,000 dinars and men for N4, 000 dinars. I noticed that the connection houses were also controlled by Nigerian women. All these accounts were corroborated by 35-year-old Harrison Okotie who lived in Libya for three years until his repatriation. Nigerians and Libyans are doing the business like they are one big happy family, he said. Most of the migrants who arrived Nigeria on Thursday were from Edo State. Officials of the states task force on illegal migration were on hand with luxurious buses to transport their people back home. A member of the task force, Mr. Okoduwa Solomon, told Saturday PUNCH that his team had made six such journeys to the airport within the last one month to take their indigenes repatriated from Libya back home. He said, The first process is to take them through counselling, then we profile them. After that, we put them in a home that the state government has provided for the returnees. The Edo State Government is paying each of the returnees from the state a stipend. They are going to undergo a training in agriculture, poultry, fishery and others to make them useful to themselves and the system. Officials of the National Emergency Management Agency coordinate the reception of the returnees at the airport.South West Zonal Coordinator of the agency, Mr. Yakubu Sulaiman, said the returnees would be lodged in a hotel where they would have the chance to clean up before their journey back home. Source: ( Punch Newspaper ) A couple have been arrested by the police after they reportedly forced their child into a microwave. Parents of an eastern Missouri infant face child abuse charges for allegedly putting their son in a microwave, and other abuse, USA News has reported. The couple identified as Derick Boyce-Slezak and Mikala Boyce-Slezak of Park Hills were charged Tuesday and are jailed on $500,000 bond. They do not have attorneys. Revealing how the incident was discovered, the report revealed that the baby was taken to a St. Louis hospital in April when he was under four months old. It was during examination that doctors found second-degree facial burns and head injuries. A state social worker said at a hearing Monday that the mother blamed the head wounds on the father for dropping the baby while imitating a TV commercial. The social worker said Mikala Boyce-Slezak believes the burn occurred when her husband put the baby in a microwave and briefly turned it on. A Chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Senator Adeseye Ogunlewe says politics is not a game for the poor and has advised anyone with political ambitions to stay away if they dont have the financial capacity. Mr Ogunlewe opined that for a politician to be able to play any significant role and be recognized in the political sphere, he must have a lot money. He said this on Channels Televisions Politics Today, while clarifying reports that some persons were planning to buy delegates in the upcoming national convention for the party. That is politics politics is not a game to be played by the poor. A poor person has no role in politics. A poor man cannot win election in Nigeria, how will you campaign. If you are poor stay in your house, Mr Ogunlewe asserted. Speaking of the candidate of his choice, the PDP Chieftain endorsed Mr Olabode George because according to him, the aspirant has on several occasions sacrificed himself for the development of the party. I am supporting Chief Olabode George. He sacrificed himself for the development of the party. He had the opportunity of being the minister, he gave it to me and he has given it to six of us in Lagos State alone. He had the opportunity of being an ambassador, he refused. He wanted to be a gubernatorial aspirant, he refused. So he has sacrificed for the development of the party and he has served at the headquarters of the party for 10 years, he added. On the possibility of allowing a younger candidate to take the chairmanship seat, Mr Ogunlewe explained that it is not culturally acceptable to allow the young ones lead the elders; as they may not be well equipped with skills and experience. In the Yoruba culture or the Nigerian culture, a young person cannot lead a family and kill all the elders in the community these are structures that we inherited. There is no politician in PDP anywhere in Nigeria that does not know Chief Bode George for good or for bad. If you talk about effort, he has it, brilliance, he has it, the skill to manage the political party, the skill to campaign, he has it. Let everybody go out and test their popularity. Nobody should step down. If Chief Bode Goerge loses we will congratulate the winner because it is not a do or die matter, somebody must win and somebody must lose; but for you not to try, it is defeatist. Also addressing the issue of zones, he stated that the December 9 election will be a water shed for the future of the party particularly in the zoning of positions. He, however, called for an equal playing ground in terms of distribution of major seats of power to the zones, stating that If the chairmanship seat of the PDP goes to the south-south then there will be confusion. Other candidates in the running include, Mr Jimi Agbaje, Professor Tunde Adeniran among others. Some aspirants had last week accused the party leadership of being partial, despite its efforts to ensure a rancor-free convention. Political observers have, however, remained optimistic that the interests of aspirants will not clash with that of the party and plunge it into another round of leadership tussle. Many, including former president Goodluck Jonathan have described Decemeber 9 as a day that will define the fate of the PDP and its quest to clinch power at the central government in 2019. President Muhammadu Buhari has arrived Aqaba, Jordan for a summit of Heads of State to review strategies in fighting terrorism. The summit, tagged, `Aqaba Retreat, to be hosted by His Majesty, King Abdullah II of Jordan, would also look at ways of reinforcing joint security structures that would be more proactive in preventing attacks. The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the Presidents aircraft landed at the King Hussein International Airport, Aqaba, at about 8.15 pm local time. The President was received at the airport by Jordanian government officials, the Minister of Defence, Brig.-Gen. Mansur Dan-Ali (retd.), National Security Adviser, Maj.-Gen. Babagana Monguno (retd.), and the acting Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency, Mohammed Dauda. Others at the airport to welcome the President were the Nigerian Ambassador to Jordan, Haruna Ungogo, and other Nigerian embassy officials in Jordan. West African Heads of State, including the Presidents of Ghana, Guinea, Mali, Niger and Togo as well as the representatives of governments of 48 countries will be attending the meeting. A number of key non-governmental organisations are also expected to participate in the meeting, slated for December 2 and 3. The Presidents Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, had on November 29, in a statement issued in Abuja, said President Buhari would share Nigerias experience on terrorism and its spread across West Africa during the meeting. According to Adesina, this is with a view to soliciting more support for pre-emptive measures that will neutralise the activities of insurgents in the sub-region. NAN reports that Buhari may speak on the recently inaugurated Nigerias Policy Framework and National Action Plan for preventing and countering violent extremism. The security document is believed to be tailored toward addressing the conditions conducive for the spread of terrorism, while countering the dangerous ideologies that fuel terrorism. President Buhari had on August 24, signed a presidential directive for the implementation of the policy framework and national action plan for preventing and countering violent extremism. Those on the Presidents entourage to Aqaba were the governors of Kogi, Osun and Niger as well as the Ministers of Defence, Foreign Affairs; the National Security Adviser, and the Acting Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency. Source: ( NAN ) A popular Prophet in Port Harcourt, the Rivers state capital, has been captured on camera invoking fire as he delivers his church members from poverty. A Portharcourt-based Prophet, Nyekachi Elechi, has taken to his Facebook page and shared some photos which show him performing deliverance for his members against the spirit of poverty. The popular cleric was pictured invoking fire which will burn and settle all cases of poverty, beginning from this December. He posted the photos and wrote, WOW IT WAS ALL ABOUT GRACE ND POWER LAST NIGHT, FIRE HAS SETTLED D CASE OF POVERTY DIS SEASON. hmmmm I pray for u fire will settle d case of poverty in ur life from dis December hensfort. Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar said on Friday that President Muhammadu Buhari was banned from entering the United States of America because the reservations about the presidents religious views. Critics have long accused Mr. Buhari of holding religious views antithetical to modern democratic principles, a charge the president has repeatedly rejected. In 2001, Mr. Buhari drew nationwide backlash when he was quoted as declaring support for the Islamic doctrine of Sharia and as calling on Muslims to only vote for their fellow Muslims during elections. The president challenged the report saying he was quoted out of context. He has also repeatedly denied being an extremist, saying he tolerates other religions as much as he does his Muslim faith. For about 15 years, Buhari could not enter America on account of religious considerations, Mr. Abubakar said in an interview with Dele Momodu which was published in The Boss Newspaper Saturday. Mr. Momodu had asked Mr. Abubakar why he had not been able to visit the United States for many years, amid speculations that he is wanted in that country for a slew of sharp practices. Mr. Abubakar, who is expected to run for president in 2019, said the U.S. authorities have nothing against him. He said he was able to visit Europe regularly without being arrested for onward extradition to the U.S. The former vice president said if Nigerians elect him president, he would be allowed into the United States just like Mr. Buhari and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, both of whom are now being accorded red carpet treatments in the U.S. after becoming leaders of their respective countries. Mr. Abubakar was named in at least one fraudulent deal in the United States, which involved contract award in Nigeria. An American congressman Williams Jefferson was jailed in 2009 after being convicted by the FBI in relation to that case. A $100,000 cash which federal agents found in Mr. Jeffersons apartment during a raid was said to have been from Mr. Abubakar. Mr. Jefferson acted as a middleman in the deal, which saw him use his political connection to top Nigerian officials to get the broadband contract for iGate, a company linked to his immediate family members. Source: ( Premium Times) While delivering a speech on, Family Value, Human Right and the Challenges of Modernization In Nigeria, the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese called on Catholics to vote out bad government come 2019. The Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Bishop Mathew Hassan-Kukah has, has called on Catholics to vote out bad government. He also blamed the woes of the country on the shunning of politics by Catholic Church and its members, who, he said were natural community builders. Kukah made these remarks in Lagos yesterday, while delivering a speech on, Family Value, Human Right and the Challenges of Modernization In Nigeria, at the 38th Supreme Council Convention of the Order of the Knights of Saint Mulumba Nigeria. He noted that Catholics non participation in politics led to the killing of Christians in the northern part of Nigeria, even as he blamed them for not visiting Christian victims of the dreaded Islamic sect, Boko Haram. The role of religion in restructuring is much and yet we have not tapped into it. Right from time, Catholic Church has always been helping the government to build and organise the society. The church has always offered direction for the society. If Catholics are in politics as Catholics and not using their ethnicity then they can have the Catholic vote. Catholic needs to head this country, even the Federal Government does not have the influence the Catholic has and that has not been put to use to change things in the country. The voting power the Catholics have in this country is enough to have the government listen to their complaints, but since we dont use it, we continue to feel the pain of the thorns of the government policies, Kukah said. He attributed the deterioration of the country to the rot in the family. Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary of Home Affairs, Mrs. Toyin Idowu Awoseni, agreed with Kukah that Christians in the country could install a Christian president in the country. Meanwhile, Governor Ambode thanked the Catholic Church for its effort in helping to build the country. Best International artiste, Mobo Awards 2017, Wizkid, has called South African Airways out on social media following his items missing after he flew with them. According to Wizzy, as he is fondly called, he his lost bag was returned but every item in it was lost. Source: Naijaloaded Tesla switched on the worlds biggest lithium battery in time to feed Australias shaky power grid for the first day of summer, meeting a promise by Elon Musk to build it in 100 days or give it free. South Australia is now leading the world in dispatchable renewable energy, state Premier Jay Weatherill said at the official launch at the Hornsdale wind farm, owned by private French firm Neoen. Tesla won a bid in July to build the 129-megawatt hour battery for South Australia, which expanded in wind power far quicker than the rest of the country, but has suffered a string of blackouts over the past 18 months. In a politically charged debate, opponents of the states renewables push have argued that the battery is a Hollywood solution in a country that still relies on fossil fuels, mainly coal, for two-thirds of its electricity. Supporters, however, say it will help stabilise the grid in a state that gets more than 40% of its electricity from wind energy, but needs help when the wind dies down. Storage can respond within a fraction of a second. It can address those stability issues very quickly without needing to resort to using large power plants, said Praveen Kathpal, vice president of AES Energy, a losing bidder to build the battery. Highlighting industry hopes for the take-up of battery storage, Tesla chief executive officer Elon Musk visited the site some 225km north of the state capital Adelaide in July, hailing the battery as just the beginning. The state has yet to reveal how much it is paying Tesla. Mr Weatherill came under fire last year after the entire state went black following a major storm, and raced to shore up the states grid with a A$510m (325m) plan, including ordering the big battery and installing diesel-fuelled turbines. Mr Kathpal, who is also chairman of the US Energy Storage Association, said South Australias commitment to turn to energy storage was an important step for the rest of the industry. We think thats whats really going to accelerate the uptake of energy storage in Australia, he said. Some of Australias biggest power users, including mining giant BHP, are taking steps to curb the impact of any repeat of crippling blackouts that hit last summer, worried about a grid that increasingly relies on wind power and old coal-fired plants. Australias summer is forecast to be hotter-than-normal in the nations southeast, already helping double wholesale power prices in the wind-dependent state of South Australia to almost A$170 (108) per megawatt hour. People around the country will be braving icy seas today to raise funds for Special Olympics Ireland. The annual Polar Plunge will take place at four locations, the 40ft in Dublin, Clougherhead in Louth, Kinsale in Cork and the Marina in Belfast. The soldiers who survived the Siege of Jadotville will be honoured with a special medal today. The men came under attack in the Congo while on a peacekeeping mission in 1961, they were later taken into captivity and were released over a month later. In one of his last acts as Taoiseach, Enda Kenny announced that the A company of the 35th battalion would receive a special medal to recognise their bravery. Minister with responsibility for Defence Paul Kehoe says it is important they are remembered. He said: "While this attack lasted for over six days, there were no deaths within the Irish battalion. "I think it is very important that we recognise the bravery of these men and that is the reason why the defence forces and the Government will be awarding these people with a valant, defence and courage medal." The cast & crew of The Siege of Jadotville including Jamie Dornan and Jason OMara are delighted that the veterans of A Company are being awarded medals today at Custume Barracks in Athlone. They said:The cast and crew of Netflixs film The Siege of Jadotville feel privileged to have played a small part of this story and are delighted to see this day come for these soldiers and their families. "The untested men of A Company and their untried leader, Pat Quinlan, showed us a different type of Irish hero - comrades who left this island to do their duty in a foreign land. "It was their courage, their hidden courage, their unacknowledged courage that inspired all of us. "The soldiers who are no longer with us are reminders that a company and their families have lived under a disgraceful cloud. "Today, 56 years later, they have finally received the recognition they deserve. Thank you and congratulations. The Siege of Jadotville was released in October 2016 is available to view on Netflix globally by 109 million members. In the Taoiseachs mini-reshuffle Corks Simon Coveney is almost the perfect fit. Hes on familiar territory in Cork opening a hospitals orthopaedic and spine centre today, when he can be sure of a warm welcome home. Coveneys promotion will revive Fine Gaels flagging grass roots support, something that has to be done quickly if and when there is another crack in the thin ice on which Leo Varadkars administration treads. The workers, members of Siptu, are employed in Section 39 companies. Workers in those companies are not public servants, but their employers are grant aided by the HSE to provide services. Traditionally their pay has been linked to rates within the public service, mainly in the HSE. Siptu represents 8,000 Section 39 workers, while Impact represents a further 5,000. While Impact remains in a dialogue phase Siptu has said it is now prepared to up its campaign to a national strike. The Departments of Finance and Health are trying to convince themselves that this is going to go away," said Siptu health division organiser Paul Bell. "Regrettably I think we will see a national strike of social and health service staff in the middle to end of January. He said his members had been trying to secure their monies without impacting on services and service users. However, if the key ministers in Government departments are not prepared to commit to dialogue and a process of restoring our members pay, there is no option but to engage in industrial action which will unfortunately impact services and service users. He also said he believed the HSE have a role to play as he said the HSE was attempting to remain in the shadows when they have mechanisms to resolve this. The Labour Court recently issued a significant ruling in the Section 39 workers battle to secure the pay increases which are worth up to 7%. Through their union Siptu, it was pointed out to the court that workers in the Irish Wheelchair Association had been linked to the public sector rate and the workers had been forced to take pay cuts arising from Budget 2010 under the Haddington Road agreement. However, they were not afforded the increases given to public servants in the most recent agreement. The union argued that HSE had direct influence on the pay levels of the IWA and, as such, if pay is restored to HSE employees and public servants in general, employees of the IWA should also benefit from restoration. The employer argued that it was not in a financial position to meet the unions claim. The employer also stated that it was hindered in facilitating the unions claim as the Department of Health is of the view that individuals engaged by section 39 organisations, such as the IWA, are not employees of the HSE, the court said. Therefore, the Department is of the opinion that employees of the IWA are not entitled to the same terms and conditions regarding pay. The Labour Court ruled that, while it had some sympathies for the difficulties the employer is experiencing, it could not accept that they are a basis for not implementing pay restoration in line with the Public Service agreement. The Court...is clear that the workers pay is clearly aligned with the HSE pay scales". in a statement the Department of Health said it had been advised that notice of industrial action has not been served on any Section 39 employer. "In any event, as the HSE is not the employer, the Executive would not have a direct role in any such industrial action," said a spokesman. Fianna Fail housing spokesman Barry Cowen put forward the new legislation in recent days, saying the issue is contributing to cities deepening housing and homelessness crises. Speaking days after a similar motion was put down by Labour councillors at Dublin City Council, he said Airbnb renters earned an average of 5,000 for every 51 nights they rented out their properties on the website last year. Focus Ireland, the Simon Community and the Peter McVerry Trust have all joined forces to ask people who are about to get their repayment and can afford to do so, to donate it to the Refund Project. The Refund Project was set up by the three charities and is chaired by Kieran Mulvey the former head of Workplace Relations Commission. It has no overheads, no administrative costs, is not party-political and all monies raised go directly towards building permanent homes. The ask is a very simple, we are simply asking people who can afford to, to consider sending their Irish Water refund in the direction of the homeless charities, said Mr Mulvey. Mr Mulvey said the homeless crisis is the biggest challenge facing Ireland right now even ahead of Brexit. I think over the last decade we have had a very difficult issue in Ireland around the recession, emigration, unemployment and the fall in public finances, but the greatest effect this has had is upon Irish people themselves who have been rendered homeless by what has happened over the last number of years. It has got to such a stage that I believe that this is the greatest crisis facing this country at the moment. I appreciate there are other issues regarding Brexit and the European Union and the future of Ireland around other issues, but this is purely domestic, purely relates to our own citizens and those who have come to our country to find employment, he said. There are now more than 8,000 people homeless in Ireland, 3,184 of whom are children. Mr Mulvey said those children are the children of Ireland and unless we arrest the issue, their experience will leave a lasting psychological mark on them. It is incumbent upon us as a country now to arrest this problem by the scruff of the neck and deal with it as a national crisis and a national emergency and devote all our energies, public and private, to its resolution, said Mr Mulvey. He urged people to give even a small amount of the unexpected refund if they could afford it, as it would leave a marvellous legacy after all the appaling mistakes that have been made. A total of 173m will be returned to 1m people from Irish Water before Christmas via a crossed-cheque in the post. Mr Mulvey described homelessness as an appaling spectre that we must not accept. There is no argument rational or otherwise as to why we should accept homelessness. We can resolve this problem. We have the land, the material, the skills why dont we just do it? he said. Focus Ireland CEO, Ashley Balbirnie, said the call to action was not a guilt-trip. This is obviously geared at that number of people who are looking at this as a pleasant surprise, maybe who werent expecting, who are lucky enough to have options in life in that they dont have to grab it and spend it straight away. So no guilt-trip whatsoever, no obligation on people. We just want to offer the opportunity for those this suits, said Mr Balbirnie. He added that the public can switch off from the issue because they just see numbers and lose sight of the people behind them. Ireland was effectively handed a veto by European Council president Donald Tusk yesterday ahead of the cut off point next week for London to satisfy concerns about how to avoid a hard border. Taoiseach Leo Varadkar secured a valuable assurance from the council president after a one-hour meeting in government buildings in Dublin yesterday. Mr Tusk noted that he had given British prime minister Theresa May a deadline of Monday to make a final offer on the border before leaders decide whether there is sufficient progress on a divorce settlement to merit opening talks on the future relationship. He insisted there could be no division between the other 26 EU members and Ireland: The EU is fully behind you and your request that there should be no hard border on the island of Ireland after Brexit, he said. The Irish request is the EUs request. He added: The UK started Brexit, and now it is their responsibility to propose a credible commitment to do what is necessary to avoid a hard border. Crucially, he declared that if Britains offer is unacceptable for Ireland, it will also be unacceptable for the EU. I realise that for some British politicians this may be hard to understand. The Cabinet will now meet on Monday and discuss the talks with Mr Tusk as well as ongoing updates and talks over the weekend, as all sides push for a deal. That meeting will be ahead of the crucial meeting between Ms May and European Council president Jean-Claude Juncker on the Monday afternoon. This is the deadline the EU have given Ms May to come with a solution on the North, among the three areas that progress must be agreed on before all sides move to phase two of the Brexit talks. Meanwhile, the car crash of Brexit is the most scary economic prospect of our lifetime but people including Irelands political leadership still do not realise just how serious it it, the founder of Irish regional airline CityJet has said. Pat Byrne, who was speaking at a conference in Pairc Ui Chaoimh in Cork, said: It almost seems that the Brexit car crash must be allowed to happen before the people of the UK see the folly of it. His comments at the inaugural Harmonia Corporate Advisors conference were echoed by University College Cork economics lecturer Declan Jordan, who agreed with Mr Byrnes characterisation of Brexit as a car crash. There is no appetite in the UK for a second referendum so that scenario is unlikely. I agree we may have to have that car crash to see how bad Brexit really is, Mr Jordan said. He said the most dominant strategy for Ireland and Irish business was to expect the worst outcome. Going behind a WTO tariff wall would be the result of a no deal scenario, he said. Anything less than a hard Brexit at this point would be a bonus for Ireland, he said. If any proposal on the contentious issue of the border for Ireland is unacceptable, it would also be for the EU as a whole, declared Mr Tusk after a meeting in Dublin with the Taoiseach. The statement by Mr Tusk effectively means Ireland will now have the final say on whether the UK can progress to the phase two of the Brexit negotiations. This will be decided in the coming days. Standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the Taoiseach at government buildings last night, Mr Tusk sent out a strong message to London ahead of Mondays deadline to find a solution on the North: Let me say very clearly: If the UK offer is unacceptable for Ireland, it will also be unacceptable for the EU. I realise that for some British politicians this may be hard to understand. This is why the key to the UKs future lies, in some ways, in Dublin, at least as long as Brexit negotiations continue, he said. Resolving concerns about the border with the North, citizenship rights and the UKs EU exit bill are the three issues where sufficient progress must be agreed before moving to phase two of talks. The Cabinet will meet on Monday and discuss the talks with Mr Tusk and updates over the weekend, as all sides push for a deal. Mr Tusk has told UK prime minister Theresa May she has until Monday to come up with solutions to all three issues, ahead of EU leaders meeting on December 14 in Brussels. However, Irelands demands for a frictionless border are the major sticking point. Mr Varadkar yesterday reiterated that the best solution to minimise complications for the border would be for Britain to remain in the customs union and single market. However, as this has been ruled out, the Irish Government wants a solid guarantee that there will be no hard border. If the British government continues to rule out that option, it must offer credible, concrete and workable solutions that guarantee there will be no hard border, whatever the outcome in the negotiations, and whatever the future relationship between the EU and the UK, Mr Varadkar told a packed press conference. Negotiations over the next few days would be crucial, he said, but ultimately Ireland wanted to see relations on this island continue to develop peacefully and respectfully. The Taoiseach then said the EU27 cannot declare sufficient progress without firm and acceptable commitments on the border. Mr Tusk agreed and went further, effectively confirming the Taoiseach now holds a veto on whether or not to allow the UK move Brexit talks onto phase two, on its future trading relationship with the bloc. He also confirmed that, after Ms May meets European Commission president Jean Claude Juncker on Monday, that any proposals she offers will be run by Dublin. Before proposing guidelines on transition and future relations to the leaders, I will consult the Taoiseach if the UK offer is sufficient for the Irish Government, he said. However, the use of a veto or a stop on the UK progressing in the talks is a high-risk gamble, with Brexiteers predicting there could be no Brexit deal with the EU. Such a scenario would see no future trade agreement and would also result in a hard border. The show of unity with Ireland against the UK also comes as Unionists threaten to remove support for Ms Mays Tory government if Irish demands are met. However, Mr Varadkar and Mr Tusk were optimistic that a deal can be done with Ms May to allow Brexit negotiations smoothly continue. Contact between the EUs Brexit taskforce and Downing Street will continue over the weekend. Officials in Iveagh House here expect proposals from London may continue up until Wednesday, but that could be the cutoff point. Theres latitude for negotiations and hard deadlines arent exactly hard, said an informed source. New figures by the Department of Justice show the average daily cost of electronically monitoring a prisoner is 64.72 in 2017 up from 15.51 in 2013 and 47.13 last year. The Criminal Justice Act 2006 allows for the introduction of the electronic monitoring of prisoners, although it has only been used on a limited basis to date. However, electronic tagging still compares favourably with the cost of keeping prisoners in jail as the latest figures show it cost, on average, just over 190 per day per prisoner last year which equates to 69,421 per annum. There are around 4,060 prisoners in custody in the countrys 13 prisons. The figures which were supplied in response to parliamentary questions submitted by Fianna Fail justice spokesman, Jim OCallaghan, show 113 prisoners have been monitored since the electronic tags were first used in 2013. The Irish Prison Service said 42 prisoners have been monitored so far this year which is the highest annual total to date. This includes seven prisoners who are fitted with the devices. A working group on electronic monitoring established by the Department of Justice last year is due to submit its final report in the near future. The group also includes representatives of the Irish Prison Service, the Probation Service, the Courts Service, the gardai and the DPP. It was revealed last month that a pilot programme for the electronic tagging of prisoners in 2010 was beset by equipment malfunctioning. The Irish Prison Service awarded a contract for the electronic monitoring of prisoners in 2014 following a competitive tender. Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan said the service was used to monitor some prisoners who had been granted temporary release including those involved in the Community Return/Support Scheme. The system is also used to monitor some hospital in- patients who have been granted temporary release from prison. It thus allows for a significant reduction in staffing costs for hospital escorts, Mr Flanagan said. The contract allows for a maximum of 50 electronic tags to be fitted to prisoners and requires the prison service to pay for a minimum usage of 20 devices. Mr Flanagan said he was unable to provide estimates for the cost of electronically tagging individuals on bail. He said it would be inappropriate and unhelpful to speculate on the costs when there may be a requirement for a procurement process. The Garda complaints body has had to abandon its own attempts to investigate gardai for potential criminal wrongdoing, telling the Department of Justice the task is too big, the budget too small and the likelihood of successful prosecutions too weak to justify pursuing the matter further. However, Gsoc said members of the force could have been disciplined by their own management for the way in which they cancelled fixed charge penalty notices without proper reason for favoured individuals. Fifty-two members were identified as breaching Garda policy on cancellations in an internal probe into a random selection of cases by assistant commissioner John OMahoney, who has since retired. Only two were lightly sanctioned. The others were simply issued with letters advising them to stay within policy. Gsocs report to the department said: It is of concern to Gsoc that 50 members of such senior rank as inspector or superintendent should need to be issued with letters advising them to abide by Garda policy. Gsoc wonders if a letter was the most appropriate form of action in these circumstances. The OMahoney report was also found to be flawed in failing to refer allegations for further investigation and failure to examine in detail preferential cancellations for individuals of note. Gsocs own investigation began in 2014 and found widescale breaches of policy and procedure across the country. It found that senior officers cancelled notices in districts where they had no authority to do so, including one who cancelled notices in 14 districts. Officers with no authority to cancel notices used the credentials of retired superintendents and 72% of cancelled notices were merely marked cancelled with no supporting documentation to show if there was a reason. Half the cancellations were for speeding including a motorist who drove at 140kph over the speed limit. The penalty points scandal which was brought to public attention by Sgt Maurice McCabe has been the subject of reports by the Comptroller and Auditor General, Garda HQ, the Garda Inspectorate, Public Accounts Committee and Garda Professional Standards Unit but Gsoc was the body with powers to bring about criminal proceedings. It could not take on the probe with its own resources and tried to recruit external investigators but cost quotes ran up to twice the 1m the department allocated. It said yesterday that procedures for dealing with fixed-charged notice cancellations have dramatically changed in recent years and the public would be better served by monitoring those procedures than continuing the investigation. The decision comes after Garda management said no action would be taken against officers for falsifying breath tests. Independent TD Mick Wallace who raised Sgt McCabes concerns said: Once again it is deemed not worth the expense to hold to account those who were engaged in malpractice. Garda HQ welcomed the finding that procedures had dramatically changed and thanked Sgt McCabe for helping reform the system. Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan said he was satisfied there was now a a very robust process in place. Taoiseach Leo Varadkar confirmed the move after concerns were raised over initial plans to ask the Department of the Taoiseachs secretary general Martin Fraser to lead the probe. In an initial statement to the Dail as he announced Frances Fitzgeralds resignation as tanaiste on Tuesday, Mr Varadkar said he was setting up an external inquiry into the dysfunctional Department of Justice with immediate effect. The inquiry was agreed as part of discussions with Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin, but was called into question by opposition parties as it was due to be led by the Department of the Taoiseachs secretary general. In his weekly video message last night, Mr Varadkar said after considering the matter he will appoint an independent senior barrister to oversee the investigation. A senior government source said this is likely to take place over the coming days, and could occur as soon as this weekend. Confirmation of the change came as it separately emerged the protected letter outlining internal Garda concerns about the Garda unit set up to liaison with the Charleton tribunal was sent to the Department of Justice on Tuesday. On Thursday, it emerged Acting Commissioner Donall O Cualain had written a section 41 letter to Mr Flanagan highlighting internal Garda concerns over the unit, which was set up by former commissioner Noirin OSullivan. The issue, and the existence of two initial letters sent to Mr O Cualain, was raised by Garda head of HR John Barrett at last weeks Public Accounts Committee before Mr O Cualain stopped questions. Garda and government sources confirmed to the Irish Examiner last night the 12-page letter was received by the department on Tuesday. However, it was not mentioned by Mr Flanagan during a meeting with the Dail justice committee on Thursday. A department spokesperson said this was because Mr Flanagan was at the committee to discuss Garda overtime funding. The spokesperson said while Mr Flanagan was asked about the liaison unit by Independents4Change TDs Clare Daly and Mick Wallace, he was not asked about the letter. The letter has since been sent to the Charleton Tribunal, which will consider it. A Romanian translator was sworn in to assist with all five cases at Cork District Court yesterday where solicitors, Dennis Healy and Eddie Burke, were appointed to represent the accused on free legal aid. One of the men pleaded guilty to three counts of begging within two days. Judge Olann Kelleher gave this man Grigoie Feraru, aged 23, of no fixed address the benefit of a dismissal under the Probation of Offenders Act on the first count, a 150 fine, on the second, and a suspended one-month sentence on the third. The Irish Examiner can reveal that Mr Claus has joined other big names such as Apple and Amazon in basing his European operations in the Real Capital and Santa has invited the girls and boys of Cork to come visit his workshop to see for themselves how he prepares for Christmas. The addition of the multi-billion toy producing centre to Cork coincides with the city councils Glow festival, which opened in Bishop Lucey Park last night. It is predicted that the relocation will provide a boost to the local economy due to the influx of elves who will be busy sorting, testing and wrapping presents in the workshop, as well as the specialist engineer elves who will be working around the clock to have Santas sleigh in top condition for Christmas Eve. Those wanting to take a break from preparing presents can take in a birds eye view of Cork from the Ferris Wheel, which will be open each day from 12 noon to 9pm. Elsewhere, reindeer will be in intense training for their big night, and the man of the moment, Santa himself, will be paying visits to the workshop to supervise proceedings. The lit up trail through the Glow Festival will run from 4.30pm to 8.30pm every weekend in the build-up to Christmas, and also Christmas week from Wednesday 20 to Friday, December 22. The elves will be available to interact with the public throughout the park, with such meetings facilitated by Dowtcha Puppets, who will oversee 10 costumed performers, six elf puppets, two reindeer puppets and a giant Santa. All this will take place to the soundtrack of original Christmas-themed traditional music commissioned by Edel OSullivan. Dowtcha Puppets will oversee 10 costumed performers, six elf puppets, two reindeer puppets and a giant Santa. Picture: Larry Cummins Meanwhile, elves who work up an appetite will be able to avail of the Christmas Food Markets, which will return to the Grand Parade will be open from noon to 8.30pm. Those wanting to take a break from preparing presents can take in a birds eye view of Cork from the Ferris Wheel will be open each day from 12 noon to 9pm. The Lord Mayor of Cork, Cllr Tony Fitzgerald, welcomed the news of Santas relocation to Cork. Cork is really a special place, and this Christmas and we encourage everyone to come into the city to experience the wonder of Glow, and to shop locally, he said. With fantastic Christmas food markets, choral performances, a 30-meter Ferris Wheel and Santas Cork Workshop in Bishop Lucey Park, there is so much to see and do this year. Whats your background? I did a degree in interiors and furniture in Dublin Institute of Technology. I moved over to London straight afterwards and did a Masters in Goldsmiths in Design Theory. I worked then as a product designer and as a designer in the community. I moved back to Ireland in 2004, and worked as a furniture designer until the recession hit and then I was down to working three days a week. I went to FAS and said: what should I do?, and they said: Why dont you open a business? and I thought thats a good idea, I could do that. So, Christmas 2010, we opened. It was the Christmas of the bad snow, which any other year might have put us out of business, but we didnt have enough stock, so if it had been any busier, wed have been in trouble. We have been running the shop ever since. We have about 80 suppliers. We try to do as much Irish stuff as we can, about half, but it has come down a little. Whats a typical work day like for you? There isnt one these days there used to be a very typical work day because it would be me on the shop floor talking to customers. I suppose thats the thing that I miss the most about the shop getting to be that little bit bigger. I dont have as much interaction with customers, and I miss them. Tell us about a recent project or design you have worked on? We opened our second shop in the Science Gallery in August, so thats exciting. Doing the buying for that has been really fun, especially as its exhibition-based, and theres loads of new toys in there. Whats your design style? With both shops, its not really an aesthetic, its more about ideas, so if a product has a good story either the way that it is manufactured or the kind of perspective behind it thats what makes it part of the collection. What/Who inspires your work? There are lots of very interesting and wonderful designers out there in the world, but if youre asking inspiration, its talking to the customers and asking what theyre interested in. Thats the best information you can have. Whats your favourite trend at the moment (if you have any)? Im really enjoying the move back to analogue from digital. Stationery is a big trend at the minute. The other thing going well for us this year is alarm clocks, which customers started asking us for. We hadnt done them for years. Most people were using their phones as alarms, but with the trend towards digital detoxing now they dont want their phones in their bedrooms. Whats your most treasured possession? At the risk of repeating myself, its all about ideas for me but if I had to pick an actual object that I bought, I have an amazing orange armchair that I got in a flea market a couple of years ago. I had it in my head that I wanted a reading chair. Now, I sit on it and look at my phone, but the idea behind it was that I was going to sit down and read books. Its just such a lovely piece of furniture. Its by a Belfast furniture company that dont exist anymore. Who would be your favourite designer, or style inspiration? I would say that Buckminster Fuller is my absolute design hero. His work is about considering the whole of humanity, and thinking about efficiency and practicality over the look of a thing. What would be a dream project for you to work on? A couple of years ago for Irish Design Year we put in a proposal to do shop of entirely Irish manufactured products. I think that would have been an amazing project to work on the diversity of what we manufacture in Ireland is really interesting. Have you any design tips for us? If you find objects that you love, and that you respond to, particularly emotionally, and that make your life better in some fashion, that would be my design tip, to have those things that you really enjoy around you. THERES a coincidence of pricing, at 850,000, as the show apartment at the spectacular Blackrock House former convent conversion gets launched for sale, at the very heart of old Blackrock village in Cork harbour. Its the same price as the dearest of the 15 detacheds four-bedroomed homes that got launched, and snapped up, at the Botakina house scheme at the far, city end of the Blackrock Road two weeks ago. And, not only are the prices equivalent, at 850,000, so too are the floor areas. This one-off, three-bed apartment in a converted, upgraded and gracious 18th century building, has more than 2,500 sq ft of luxury living space, while Botanikas detacheds have 2,385 sq ft, which equates to around 350 per square foot, and 333, psf at Blackrock House. But, apart from sharing a price tag, approximate floor area and price per foot, plus a Blackrock tag in their addresses, there the comparisons stop. The Botanika houses, due for completion by Christmas 2018, are being bought by trading up families: this singular show apartment, the stand-out one among the 27 within the meticulously-conserved building, will be bought by affluent singles, or a couple, and, most likely, by traders down, or corporate relocaters. Its quite likely itll be someone who has lived outside of Cork, and who will be smitten by the big picture lifestyle option here. Set on the elegant buildings first floor, No 16 has three bedrooms, three bathrooms, and a triple aspect, with lift access and penthouse-like attributes and finishes. It was one of two show units done by Lisney back in August 2016 to launching the 27 apartments in the venerable old building. The open days had hundreds of callers and viewers as the curiosity factor was high, and many who came were former pupils at the Ursuline girls school, and knew the building when it reeked of mansion wax, and possibly a bit of boiled cabbage. Those memories are more than banished by the scent of flowers, candles, and hard cash. More than a year on, 20 of the 27 apartments at the old Ursuline Convent (now rechristened Blackrock House) have been sold, at prices from 210,000 for a one-bed to 625,000 for a three-bed, albeit one smaller than No 16. Not all sales are yet on the Price Register, but it does show several selling in the 450,000/460,000 price bracket also. Now, having been widely admired, but not previously available, No 16 is put up for sale by Trish Stokes, residential director with Lisneys Cork offices, for Dublin-based developer Michael Roden of Merrion Property Group. Its being sold fully furnished, with the interiors done by Helen Roden of Merrion Square Interiors, and is suitably luxe with lush wall papers, deep upholstery, Villeroy and Boch bathrooms with Hans Grohe fittings, and a kitchen by Linehan Design. But, high-end and all as the finishing work is, No 16s essential elegance is thanks to a central position in the historic 35,0000 sq ft building, at first floor level, and its central setting, over the main arched, fan-lit entrance facing north, to Blackrock village. Arches continue internally as a motif within No 16, with a high quality fanlight above double doors dividing the living room from the dining section which faces south, overlooking private grounds and an oratory. The building, with roots to 1720, and subsequent additions in the 1770s, and again in the early 1800s when associated with Nano Nagle, the Ursuline order, nunnery and a school, has architectural elan. Among its finest features are its c 200 original sash windows, painstakingly removed, conserved, and reinstated. One, an oval window on high on the second floor is the design motif for Blackrock House, and it sits above a round-headed window with traceried sash window, flanked by slender square-headed windows: it is the defining look of whats now apartment No 16, the very biggest and best of the 27 delivered here now, and heading toward selling out early next year. Sales so far have been to a wide cross section from first-time buyers to traders down, wanting the convenience a location like Blackrock has to offer and with the launch now of the show apartment, we are confident the interest in the last remaining units will be strong, says Lisney s Trish Stokes. Since the 27 apartments launched in the latter half of 2016, Blackrock villages roll-out of civic-sponsored upgrades have continued: theres new surfaces and seating areas by the harbour, thronged each Saturday with the farmers market; cafe culture has taken hold, and the areas renewal, from dowdy, down-at-heel fishing village to Corks equivalent of Dalkey is now well advanced, with Blackrock House continuing at its core. VERDICT: Utterly special. Blackrock Village, Cork 850,000 Size: 236 sq m (2,546 sq ft) Bedrooms: 3 Bathrooms: 3 BER: Exempt I was visiting a remote village when I spoke to a woman who knew that she was HIV-positive. She told me that the established health guidelines at the time indicated she could not receive treatment until her count of CD4 T-helper cells, a type of white blood cell used by the immune system, had dropped below a certain threshold. After walking several miles to get her count checked, she arrived at the clinic only to find its testing machine broken. The machine was still inoperative the second time she made the long journey. Only months later, after her third trip to the clinic on foot, did she receive her cell count: her levels were far below the necessary threshold. Her treatment should have begun months before. Since HIV/Aids was first identified in 1984, it has killed more than 35m people. Although the number of Aids-related deaths has fallen by almost half since peaking in 2005, there are still far too many people dying from this preventable condition. In 2016 alone, one million people around the world died from HIV-related causes, while 1.8m more became infected. Contrary to popular myth, we have not turned the corner on Aids not by a long shot. World Aids Day, which took place yesterday, is an occasion to honour the millions of victims, and to recommit to ending this devastating disease. According to UNAIDS, just 54% of HIV-positive adults, and only 43% of HIV-positive children, are receiving the antiretroviral therapies that save lives and prevent new infections. With so many untreated patients, the virus will continue to spread. As CEO of a global pharmaceutical company, Im proud of the work we have done to fight HIV/Aids around the world. Today, more than 8m people nearly half of all patients receiving treatment for HIV in developing countries depend on the antiretroviral treatments that we produce. However, for those of us on the front lines of this struggle, our work is far from over. The pharmaceutical industry has a responsibility to expand access to testing and treatment, and to help stop the spread of HIV once and for all. Fulfilling four key commitments will make this goal achievable. For starters, pharmaceutical companies should do more to increase the availability of low-cost, generic medicines. My company, Mylan, introduced the first generic once-daily pill for developing countries in 2009, and we have continually reduced its price to make it more accessible to more people. With this treatment alone, Mylan and other generic manufacturers save the US government, international donors, and national health programs more than $4.5bn (3.8bn) a year. Still, treatment options could be expanded further. In September, Mylan announced a collaboration with UNAIDS, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Clinton Health Access Initiative, and other partners to provide the next-generation single-pill HIV regimen to patients in more than 90 low and middle-income countries for less than $75 (63) per year. These drugs are widely used in high-income countries because they produce fewer side effects. Affordability initiatives like this one should be replicated. Next, drug makers must continue investing in capacity and supply-chain reliability. Since 2005, the number of people on antiretroviral therapies worldwide has grown by a factor of 10, to 21m. However, roughly twice as many people are infected with HIV. Over the last decade, Mylan has invested more than $250m in expanding production capacity, and we now produce four billion tablets and capsules each year. However, further investments are needed if we are to provide access to the other 21m people still not on treatment. A third urgently needed commitment is to increase support for research that accelerates the development of new innovations in effective and efficient treatment delivery. For example, Mylan provides study medications to research trials, like the MaxART trial in Swaziland, which demonstrated that providing treatment to all HIV-positive people is the best way to slow the diseases spread. We also supported the Kirby Institutes ENCORE1 trial, to develop a reduced-dose version of the most commonly used HIV treatment regimen. And we are working with the US Agency for International Development as part of a partnership called Optimize, which aims to accelerate access to new therapies. We do not support trials like these because we hope to gain any marketable intellectual property we wont. Rather, we support them because it is the right way to advance science and improve treatment. Finally, real gains in the fight against HIV/Aids will require drug makers to account for the limitations of healthcare systems and distribution networks in the developing countries they serve. Antiretroviral therapies for children are a good example of these challenges. Drugs for young people produced in the West are often liquids that require refrigeration. However, developing countries often have limited cold- storage capacities or an inability to transport liquid in bulk. Thats why Mylan has developed heat-stable, taste-masked, dispersible tablets that can easily be incorporated into food. Our scientists are now working on the next-generation formula, which comes in the equivalent of a sugar packet that even newborns can take. More innovations like these will be needed to solve the country-specific issues that patients face. The global health community has made remarkable progress in turning the tide on HIV/Aids, introducing new products and advocating for earlier treatment. However, when I think back to the woman I met in Tanzania, I am reminded of how much work remains to be done. Makers of generic medicines have an important role to play in this fight, and we will not stop working until treatment is available to every patient in the world who needs it. Heather Bresch is CEO of Mylan, a global pharmaceutical company that specialises in prescription generic and brand-name medicines. I was about to tell him I didnt know when I remembered. Its December. And December means True Christmas time. True Christmas is what True Movies (a channel devoted to true-to-life movies, if your life is very dramatic and exciting) rebrands itself as between the months of November to January. Movies on True Christmas include such classics as Christmas Oranges Experience the journey of Rose, an orphan who teaches the meaning of hope to all those around her (it had better involve oranges, or Ill be claiming false advertising), A Boyfriend for Christmas Holly is not looking forward to Christmas as she has been single since her ex, Ted, broke her heart. But perhaps Santa can bring two lonely people together? (Single women are gross most of the time, but at CHRISTMAS? Not on Santas watch, young lady) and Christmas Caper After her latest job goes awry, a thief heads to her home to Connecticut to lay low over the holiday. Can the festive spirit, and time babysitting her niece and nephew change her ways? (Because nothing says Christmas like, you know, stealing.) I first became aware of the channel a few years ago. Every time the television was turned on, there would invariably be a) Christmas trees b) a department store Santa Claus looking uneasy about his life choices and c) an inordinate amount of blonde women in cream sweaters baking gingerbread cookies. (Dont worry, alt-right fans, apparently only white and heterosexual folks get to celebrate Christmas in this alternative universe.) Sometimes, I would come down for breakfast and the TV would still be on, freckled child actors over-enunciating every word as they cried All I want for Christmas is world peace, Mommy, like no actual human child said, ever. And then, finally, I caught her in the act. Mother, I said when I went downstairs late at night to get a glass of water. What is going on here? She jumped up from the couch guiltily, trying to find the remote like the reprobate she was. Me: Are you crying? But you... you never cry at movies. You laughed at the end of The Notebook, like a sociopath. Her (crying): Im not crying. Its just that Jimmy went skating and the ice was too thin and he Oh, leave me alone! There you have it. My mother was addicted to the True Christmas channel and I was horrified. (I was in favour of kicking her out until my father reminded me that I was, in fact, living in their home.) But when Jeanne Sutton, former deputy editor of Stellar, set up Roast Chestnuts, a podcast that celebrates the made-for-TV Christmas romcom, and friends on Twitter started to share their own love for these movies, I began to wonder if I had missed something. Thus, in the name of research, I sat down to watch A Christmas Prince on Netflix. The plot is straightforward an American reporter called Amber (yes, shes blonde) goes undercover as a nanny in the royal household of Aldovia in order to investigate the playboy heir to the throne, Prince Richard. Spoiler alert they fall in love. It is two blonde people within fifty yards of each other, who could blame them? Amber does have a couple of friends, one of whom is a woman of colour and the other is a gay man, and the pair have approximately four and a half lines between them. Diversity! There is the obligatory gasp when Amber first sees the palace (a big house with some sort of extension tacked on to it Im going to take a wild guess and suggest there might have been budget concerns), Prince Richard and Amber accidentally falling on top of one another during a snowball fight, and staring mistily into one anothers eyes rather than jumping up, as if scalded from the shame, and a sassy younger sister who likes Amber because, you treat me like Im a normal child. I think one of my favourite scenes is when Amber finds the Prince playing the piano (so sensitive!) and is blown away by his talent. Girl, he was playing Good King Wenceslas. A ten-year-old child with two broken hands could manage that. Everything wraps up a close-mouthed kiss that lasts half of a second, because Wholesome Blonde People do not have sex. That sort of behaviour is for the vampy ex, Sophia, who we know is trouble because she wears red lipstick and is whisper a brunette. Theres also a proposal, which is totally normal behaviour when youve known each other for 14 days, and for 13 of those the Prince thought you were a schoolteacher from Minnesota called Martha. The ring is hideous, obviously, like Richard recovered the Heart of the Ocean from Titanic and welded it on to a platinum band, but Amber is thrilled that all of her blonde dreams have come true. A Prince! At Christmas! Sure, what else could you want? (Id go with bodily autonomy and equal pay, but Im only a humourless feminist so never mind me.) Moral of the story dye your hair blonde. Louise Says LISTEN: Jokes aside, the Roast Chestnuts podcast on the HeadStuff network is wonderful. Jeanne Sutton and Alan Maguire are two of my favourite people to follow on Twitter, and this show displays their trademark wit and empathy. DONATE: After watching the Late Late Toy Show, today might be a good opportunity to remember that Christmas can be a difficult time for many children. If you can afford it, a donation to your preferred charity Saint Vincent de Paul, Simon, Barnardos, Womens Aid, etc could make all the difference. Some within the force have claimed that the current level of oversight is impeding their ability to do the job at hand. Equally though, it could be argued that recent improvements in oversight are making a positive contribution. This was evidenced by one vital event of the last week. As the country awaited the starting gun for a general election, Acting Commissioner Donall O Cualain sent whats known as a Section 41 letter to the Minister for Justice. A Section 41 of the Criminal Justice Act might be described as a Houston, weve got a problem, communication. It obliges the commissioner to inform the minister if something serious appears to be amiss within the force. As such, it is a very unusual communication. This one involved major concerns around the entity known as the Charleton liaison unit operating out of Garda HQ. This group acts as a filter for all the information transmitted from within An Garda Siochana to the Disclosures Tribunal. It was set up in late February in the weeks following the establishment of the tribunal chaired by judge Peter Charleton. The tribunal is examining allegations of a smear campaign against Sgt Maurice McCabe on different fronts. One of the lines of inquiry for the tribunal is the alleged knowledge or input of Noirin OSullivan and her predecessor, Martin Callinan, into any smear campaign. Almost immediately concerns were expressed about the liaison unit. On March 17 this newspaper raised questions as to its operation; its members; and the perception that it had all the appearances of an instrument designed to shield Ms OSullivan rather than assist the tribunal in accessing the truth. The unit includes two retired senior guards who are understood to be close to Ms OSullivan. Another member is close to Ms OSullivans husband, chief superintendent Jim McGowan. Suppose a guard has information that might be unfavourable to Ms OSullivan? Instead of directly informing the tribunal, he or she is obliged to go through this filter staffed by close associates of the commissioner as she then was. If you were a guard in such a position, how would you feel about that setup? Would it encourage you to come forward? What about the whistleblowers? Maurice McCabe is a central party to the tribunal and a serving guard. Ordinarily, he would be obliged to go through the liaison unit. On the basis of his experience, McCabe believes Ms OSullivan was out to attack his character. How could he be expected to liaise with a unit staffed by those close to her? Supt David Taylor is another serving guard who is central to the tribunal. He alleges that Ms OSullivan had knowledge of a smear campaign. How could he be expected to trust the liaison unit? Then there is Garda Keith Harrison, whose claims of collusion between the gardai and Tusla were this week dismissed in a report from Judge Charleton. He is also a serving guard. How could any of these guards have confidence in a unit staffed by close associates of Ms OSullivan, notwithstanding the integrity of those associates? None of them does which raises questions as to a perception that the unit is designed to cater for Ms OSullivan and any parties favourable to her rather than all gardai. Lawyers for McCabe, Taylor and Harrison have all expressed concern at the tribunal about the unit. Another who has expressed concerns throughout this year was the civilian head of human resources in the force, John Barrett. He wrote to the head of legal affairs in the force on five different occasions outlining what he saw as major flaws in the operation of the unit. On the political front, Labour TD Alan Kelly has been asking parliamentary questions about the unit since last May. In total he submitted 25 questions, none of which enlightened him any further on the matter. He did succeed in having the issue raised at a Public Accounts Committee meeting on November 23. Therein it emerged that the setting up of the unit received oral approval from the secretary general of the Department of Justice on February 22. At the PAC meeting, the secretary, Noel Waters, agreed to it following a phonecall from Ms OSullivan. Then, in a highly unusual move, employment contracts for the two retired members were drawn up the very same day. The unit was then staffed ahead of written sanction on May 5, which is contrary to normal procedure. Repeatedly at the PAC meeting, Mr O Cualain attempted to stop further inquiries into the unit. Despite this, Kelly persisted. He asked John Barrett, who was also appearing, whether he had any concerns. I wrote a number of letters setting out my views and it goes beyond resourcing, Barrett said. He was constrained from further comment after repeated interventions from the acting commissioner saying that he was objecting to the questions. Now it would appear that Kellys persistence, and John Barretts public declaration of concern, have paid off. Mr O Cualain referred the matter this week to the minister under the Section 41. The unit is officially a source of concern. This raises a number of questions. Would a Section 41 referral have happened if Ms OSullivan was still in situ? After all, the unit was her creation. Do any concerns about it involve any information provided or not provided to the tribunal thus far? And what exactly is the minister going to do about it? Its another headache for Charlie Flanagan. But more importantly, the episode has demonstrated that the various oversight bodies are ensuring that things will not continue as they were behind the blue wall. Garda management, and, by extension, the Department of Justice, are no longer moving to their own beat. This can only be a positive development for the force and the public whom it serves. n In a column published on July 29 this year on page 17 of the Irish Examiner we stated that a coroners court ruled in 2005 that Mrs Cynthia Owen was the mother of a baby who had been found murdered in Dun Laoghaire in 1973. We further stated that an independent review into circumstances concerning Mrs Owens case was ordered by the then justice minister Michael McDowell and conducted in 2005. In fact, although the inquest into Mrs Owens daughters identity opened in 2005 it was subject to adjournments and did not conclude until 2007. In addition, the independent inquiry launched by Mr McDowell was conducted in 2007, not 2005 as we reported. We are happy to correct these matters and remove any source of misunderstanding. This Week in Review A weekly review of the best and most popular stories published in the Imperial Valley Press. Also, featured upcoming events, new movies at local theaters, the week in photos and much more. Little headway in capitals urban-suburban move VietNamNet Bridge A terrible waste of resources is taking place as a grand plan to shift Government offices, schools and hospitals to suburban enclaves in the capital city fails to materialise, almost three years on. A view of FPT University in Hoa Lac University Town in the western district of Thach That. Photo dantri.com.vn Under an official decision issued in 2015 to reduce pressure on Hanois public infrastructure, Government agencies, public schools, hospitals and manufacturing facilities would be moved to the suburbs. With the plan struggling to get off the paper, population density and traffic congestion in the city has worsened, local reports say. With 96 universities and colleges, Hanoi hosts about 40 per cent of Vietnamese tertiary students. The Hoa Lac University Town in the western district of Thach That was expected to become the common home of institutes under the Viet Nam National University, Hanoi (VNU). The VND7.2 trillion (US$317 million plus) project was planned to be completed in 2015. However, very little implementation has happened. The Duc Tu Mai Lam University Cluster Area in Dong Anh District, approved in 2014, has been postponed due to financial issues. The Ha Noi College of Pedagody and Ha Noi Community College in Cau Giay District, which should have moved to the above-mentioned area, are now asking for funds from the city to reconstruct their present facilities. The Chuc Son University Cluster Area in Chuong My District is facing a similar problem because a lot of colleges are reluctant to move there. Some universities have been active in their compliance with the governments decision even before it was issued. Nguyen Duc Tinh, deputy director of the Trade Union University in Dong Da District, said they have been allowed to build another campus in Hung Yen Provinces Yen My District. The project has been implemented for six years with investment allocated from the State budget and other resources. In 2018, when its first phase will complete, there will be a bus connecting the two campuses. By then, we will only run advanced training courses for Trade Unions officers at the old campus, Tinh said. Pham Duc Vinh, director of the Ha Noi Industrial Vocational College in Dong Da District, said he highly appreciated the decision to move universities and colleges to the suburbs. He said his institutions present 20,000sq.m facility was too small to meet the requirements of a modern environment to study in. However, the college has asked that it maintains a part of its old campus as the admissions office. Should hospitals move? Although the city has invested in constructing new facilities, several hospitals have been reluctant to move outside the urban area. The National Cancer Hospital (K Hospital) and National Hospital of Endocrinology (NHE) are operating in Thanh Tri District, but they have not still handed over their old buildings to the city. To address overcrowding in centrally-administered hospitals including Viet-Duc and Bach Mai, the government has invested in building new branches in Ha Nam Province. Other hospitals like the Central Eye Hospital or the National Hospital of Obstetrics and Gynecology have had plans to construct new facilities, have are yet to make a detailed proposal. According to the Government plan, medical facilities are to be set up in the suburban districts of Long Bien, Hoa Lac, Soc Son, Phu Xuyen and Son Tay. But nothing has happened in this regard yet. Tran Ngoc Luong, director of NHE, said that it was the first public hospital to apply for a bank loan of VND500 billion (US$22 million) to build its second branch in Thanh Tri Districts Tu Hiep Commune. While two-thirds of inpatients are now receiving modern care and treatment in the new facility, others still stay at the old hospital due to its favourable location. In April, 2014, the K Hospital launched three branches on Quan Su, Tam Hiep and Tan Trieu streets. In the near future, it is expected that the hospital on Quan Su Street becomes the National Cancer Research Institution under the K Hospital. However, several city officials are questioning the policy to move hospitals. Nguyen Duc Chung, Chairman of the Ha Noi Peoples Committee, said he was worried about the impact of moving on public healthcare quality. A hospital has to be located within 15 minutes reach of a residential area. Moreover, there has to be one hospital for every 25,000 to 30,000 citizens. Therefore, the city is reconsidering some plans to make sure that both people and medical facilities can benefit, he said. Tran Binh Giang, director of the Viet-Duc Hospital, stressed the significance of hospital expansion. We will continue operating the old hospital even after the new branch in Ha Nam Province opens. The hospital will also find ways to distribute patients to reduce pressure on surroundings, he said. Nguyen Dinh Hung, director of the Saint Paul Hospital, said urban hospitals were necessary to guarantee residents healthcare. He said special medical facilities like mental hospitals and rehabilitation centres should be located in the suburbs with larger areas. Ministries stay put Despite investing in spacious headquarters in the suburbs, several ministries have not yet handed over their old offices to the government, delaying planned infrastructure upgrades. In 2013 and 2016, the Ha Noi Peoples Committee decided to save 55ha in a new urban area south of the Thang Long Avenue and 20ha in the Starlake urban area, west of the West Lake for 13 ministries including Ministry of Planning and Investment, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and Ministry of Industry and Trade to build their offices. Some of these ministries have already transferred to the new areas, but their old headquarters have not been returned to the city. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, for example, is using its old headquarters on Nguyen Chi Thanh Street as the office of its Administration of Seas and Islands. Meanwhile, the erstwhile HQ of the Home Affairs Ministry is now its Officers Training School. Representatives of the two ministries told the Kinh te va Do Thi (Economy and Urban) newspaper that they did not know what the city planned to do with their old headquarters. Nguyen Tan Chinh, head of the Public Assets Management Administration, said that it would tighten management of public constructions in 2018, including withdrawing and rearranging old offices for different purposes. Pham Hong Ha, Construction minister, said that the ministry then was considering all potential plans to meet requirements of governmental agencies and make budget allocations. We encourage ministries to source investment from diverse sources to construct their new headquarters, he said. The VND17 trillion ($750 million) budget proposed by the Finance Ministry for moving 13 ministries headquarters to the suburbs can be raised when bids on their old office buildings are conducted transparently and effectively, the Kinh te va Do Thi reported. Source: VNS GREENSBORO Police are investigating a bank robbery. About 4:30 p.m. Friday, a man walked into the Wells Fargo bank at 4801 W. Market St., pulled out a handgun and demanded money, according to a Greensboro police news release. The man ran off with an undisclosed amount of money. No one was injured. Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at (336) 373-1000. Thanks to nearly impeccable comic timing on the part of actors Mark Walek and Ashley Pearson and Pearsons delirious physical comedy, Welcome to Virginia, an original play by Cameron Kent, slayed in its premiere performance at Theatre Alliance on Thursday night. While its not likely to knock White Christmas off the holiday favorites list, in the hands of Kent, director Jamie Lawson and the able cast, Welcome to Virginia proved a serviceable and warmhearted addition to the regional holiday fare. Its a sweet and funny family-friendly story of redemption with distant echoes of A Christmas Carol, Its a Wonderful Life and the original Christmas. In the play, five people are trapped by a snowstorm in an interstate rest area on Christmas Eve. Their names are intentional. Frank Loudman, played by Stephen Robinson, is a cynical, egotistical self-made gazillionaire. Kristine Nichols, animated by Pearson, is his ditzy but resourceful secretary. They are headed for Aruba because Frank hates Christmas. Of course. Charlie Dickson, played by Mark Walek, is the long-suffering janitor at the rest stop. Jake Messina plays Tom Bitterman, a homeless veteran who aspires to country music stardom. Liz White plays Mary Beth Singletary, a young pregnant woman who is all alone in the world. She napped in her car because there was no room in the inn. In addition to writing the play, Kent has written 10 songs and the music for them for the show. Walek has the first one, and its a doozy called Youre Doing Christmas All Wrong, a challenge to change our attitudes if we are grumpy about getting ready for Christmas. Although its not an original song, attention must be called to Pearsons over-the-top performance of Oh, Come All Ye Faithful, in which we start to get a glimmer of the volume of her talent and moxy. With her voluptuous figure and mega-watt smile, Pearson is the shows indisputable Christmas star. When Robinson makes a slight costume adjustment, which will remain a secret until you see it for yourself, he is revealed to be quite handsome, a lanky blend of Steve Martin and William Hurt. Robinson is at his best when singing and has a fine solo, Money-Making Machine. Thats what Christmas is, he says. Messina is an endearing, dolorous character with a couple of great songs: Redneck Christmas, which catalogs every cliche in country music, and Aint No Problem Merry Christmas Cant Cure, which sounds a little Bruce Springsteen-like. White does a lovely job on her songs, My Precious Earl, and Weary Traveler, a duet with Pearson. David Lane and Tommy Jackson arranged and recorded most of the music. The play only drags in one place, a scene toward the end when Walek and Robinson argue the merits of love and charity as opposed to rugged individualism. It would have seemed less preachy if it were told shorter or in song, such as Franks Song (I Wasnt Always Like This). On opening night, the production values were so-so and not everybody had their lines perfect, but, inevitably, when the playwright and the director are in the same room, re-writes happen right up until curtain time. Its the nature of the beast. That kind of immediacy makes for an exciting evening of theater for the audience. In her wacky re-telling of the Christmas Story, Kristine says that Bethlehem was famous when Mary and Joseph went there, because there was already a song about it. The rest stop is like Bethlehem: The hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight. There is potency in strangers meeting on a bitter-cold night and parting as friends. There is something in the darkness, the night, the isolation, the standing still of time that creates a space for hope to bloom, as it does in Welcome to Virginia. You have permission to edit this article. Edit Close Scorecard panelists rate news events on a scale of 0 to 10, with 0 being negative and 10 being positive. This weeks event: President Trump and GOP congressional leaders pushed their tax plan, which seemed headed for approval late Friday night. Khaetlyn Grindell: 0. There is no doubt that this tax plan will hurt hardworking families. Some provisions are especially discouraging for me and other young people that want to pursue graduate or professional school; the House version of the tax bill counts tuition waivers as income, causing students to be taxed at much higher rates than before. For a party that wants people to pull themselves up by their bootstraps, Republicans seem determined to strip many of us of our boots. Charles E. Wilson: The Congressional Budget Office reported that the GOP tax plan would give substantial tax cuts to the rich -- at the expense of the poor. The plan will leave millions of Americans without health insurance. And add trillions to the national debt. Is the tax plan designed to hurt as many Americans as possible? It scores a 0. Pat Blankenship: 5. The underlying purpose of the GOP tax bill is to reduce corporate income taxes in order to encourage investment in plants and equipment and create more jobs. That is good for America. However, the premise that middle-class taxes will be cut is a mirage. Most people who read this will probably never see a tax cut. The American middle-class continues to be hosed by government at all levels, and the middle-class is being eradicated. Hayes McNeill: 0. Folk like us only can stand and gawk when the Tax Cut Circus rolls into town, its con-man-in-chief puffing and blowing, paving the way for a bunch of barkers, all of them intent on force-feeding a wealth transfer to the filthy rich. We know the whole prancing carney crew are playing us for suckers: the frantic clowns crammed in their little clown cars, the snake oil salesmen assuring us if we rush it through, it will be good for us. And when the show is over, well pat our empty pockets and wonder how we got taken. Tony Gagliardi: 8. I hope the Republicans can get the bill through. As far as the budget, I am so tired of the threat of closing the government down because they cannot pass a budget. Close it down. Fine the Congress for not doing its job. Stop pulling this crap every year. I don't care which political party you represent. Steve Lawson: 0. The GOP tax plan is nothing more than padding the bank accounts of the rich at the expense of the middle class, poor and elderly. This is the same old trickle- down economics that has failed in the past. Ironically, it would significantly harm Trump supporters' demographics. Joe Eskridge Sr.: 1. Americans are simply sheep being led to the slaughter with taxation in America. Weve lost our way with our history British rule with taxation without repre-sentation big government ruling the people. So much baloney coming out of Washington the high income need to pay their fair share (they pay 97 percent of the current income taxes collected); politicians worried about the deficit (doubled under President Obama with Republicans controlling Congress); not one word about cutting spending (President Carter created the Energy Department to make America independent of foreign oil now 10,000-plus employees and were awash in oil reserves and natural gas); And Americans are supposed to be the people ruling the government. Really? Stephen Flynn: 10. After quizzing people I've seen out today, I've found no one who thinks this bill is going to help them or their family after a few years, but they do see that it's going to benefit the very wealthy along with corporations. Our republican representatives in Congress are serving the big donors, not us. Wake up, the lower and middle class are being fleeced by this administration. Don Witte: 0. It shows just how much the GOP hates the middle-class common person and how much they lie about everything. Why should anyone believe what they say? See what happens to your taxes when state/local/income and property taxes and medical deductions go away. Thank you, Rep. Ted Budd and Sens. Richard Burr and Thom Tillis. Carroll Leggett: 0. When Blaze Starr, later to become a famous stripper and the mistress of Louisiana Gov. Earl Long, left home, her mothers last words to her purportedly were, Remember. Never trust a man who says, Trust me. Her ole West Virginia mother knew something about life, thats for sure. Why should we trust congressional politicians who write tax legislation behind closed doors and keep changing it from hour to hour as they toss political bones to colleagues yapping at conference room doors? Trust us. We are going to give you a Christmas present, they say. Yeah. Sounds to me like Americans creme de la creme is going to get a sticking full of goodies for Christmas and the hoi palloi are getting a lump of coal. Enough of Trust Me politics. Back to regular order, as Sen. John McCain has said so many times. Mike Walker: 2. This effort at tax reform appears to be more about politics and a legislative victory than about beneficial fiscal policy. Throwing legislation together for the sake of passage is senseless. Yes, reduce the corporate tax rate, but otherwise leave worse- enough alone. Perhaps our descendants will look at the mess we are leaving them, and elect people who will actually care about governing. Anne Wilson: 0. The White House is ablaze in chaos, Trump has been in office for nearly one year and has nothing positive to show for it. Out of desperation this so-called Tax Reform Bill lunacy is being forced under the guise of economic progress, when in actuality it will gut the ACA, eventually increase taxes on all but the wealthy, as well as add to the national budget deficit. Lets face it, Republicans cannot legislate, and they are fiscally conservative at the expense of the middle and poor classes. We in N.C. are being hoodwinked by Sens. Burr and Tillis, and of course by the House Republican delegation. Sadly, greed rules in this toxic environment. Keith Lyall: 3. The politics of taxation is easily manipulated. Like a leaf in a whirlwind, the truth is hard to pin down. The Democrats are naive to believe that dollars for social programs materialize without investment in businesses which, yes, are often owned by those they vilify as the rich -- even though the majority of stockholders of these companies are the middle-class employees who work there -- and Republicans are naive to believe that there are only upsides to lower and lower taxes. As a small-business owner, I have become wearied by the evil twins of confiscatory taxation and mind-numbing regulation. To both the Democrats and Republicans I say: Get off my back, get out of my way and watch how I can grow my business, hire more employees and contribute in a meaningful way to the economies of my community, state and nation. Until then I am left to ponder whether investing in these things is any longer worth it. Public teat, where are you? John Harrison: 0. This is not Tax Reform. This is a thinly veiled ploy to transfer resources from the middle and working class to give permanent benefits to corporations and the already ostentatiously wealthy. Based on the GOP's usual specious 'trickle down' theory of economics that, despite conservative assertions, has never produced promised growth and revenue. A few temporary dollars in the short term will not compensate for higher health costs and cuts in services being used to fund a bonanza for Donald Trump and his plutocratic friends. Linda Hill: 10. I wish that all Americans would give this a 10, but sadly I think that we have become jaded by the back and forth arguments over tax reform. We need tax reform for sure. Our taxing system is well, taxing. President Trump promised tax reform and he is making headway, slowly. The Republican leadership has been divided on the path to tax reform and, as usual, the Democrats are screaming that the Republican plan cuts taxes on wealthy Americans and further bur-dens the middle class. Whos right? One key element in the proposed tax plan is to do away with the federal mandate included in the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) that forces all Americans to get health care. Judging from the limited plans offered in North Carolina, and the rising cost of those plans, I have to agree that this is a good move. Perhaps now is the time for a flat tax rate. Anybody? Is a government shutdown on the horizon? Anybody? It behooves all of us to pay attention and let our representatives know how we feel. Blaming the rich, starving the poor and screaming from each side that they are the villains is just spinning the wheels. Get real! See the rest of these responses at journalnow.com. JURIST Guest Columnist Jeffrey L. Kirchmeier of City University of New York School of Law discusses diminished capacity standards in recent capital punishment cases The United States Supreme Court in Dunn v. Madison [text, PDF] recently considered whether or not a death row prisoner is competent to be executed if due to mental incapacity the prisoner cannot remember the crime. Ultimately, the Court decided on procedural grounds to let the execution proceed, but the case left unresolved questions. Vernon Madison ended up on death row in Alabama for killing a police officer in 1985. During decades on death row, Madison, who now is in his late 60s, suffered several physical and mental impairments. Additionally, a severe stroke in 2015 affected Madisons vision, his motor coordination, and resulted in memory loss. After another stroke in 2016, guards found Madison unresponsive and incontinent. The second stroke resulted in disorientation and more memory loss. Because of Madisons mental decline, his attorneys requested a hearing to determine if he were competent to be executed. During the hearing, an expert gave unrefuted testimony that Madison had no memory of the murder that had put him on death row. The trial court concluded Madison was competent to be executed because Madison still understood that he was being executed as a punishment for a crime. In habeas corpus proceedings, however, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit ruled in favor of Madison The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously reversed. Ultimately, though, the issue regarding memorys relevance to competence was not resolved due to the Courts application of the habeas corpus standard of review under the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 (AEDPA). The AEDPA Standard The Supreme Court in Dunn applied the highly deferential standard of review under AEDPA. Under Section 2254 of that statute, a state prisoner is entitled to federal habeas relief only if the state courts decision was contrary to, or involved an unreasonable application of, clearly established Federal law determined by the Supreme Court or was based on an unreasonable determination of the facts in light of the evidence submitted in state court. Therefore, the Dunn Court had to evaluate whether the state trial courts finding of competency was unreasonable. In other words, Madison could only win if the Supreme Court had already clearly established that a capital prisoners inability to remember the crime would render the prisoner incompetent to be executed. Competency to Be Executed The current Eighth Amendment standard for determining whether a capital defendant is competent to be executed results from two Supreme Court cases, Ford v. Wainwright and Panetti v. Quarterman. The Ford standard, which came out of a concurring opinion in that 1986 case, prohibits the execution of defendants who do not have the mental capacity to understand the nature of the death penalty and why it was imposed on them.' In 2007, the Supreme Court somewhat clarified the Ford standard in Panetti, concluding that to be competent to be executed, a prisoner must have a rational understanding of the States reasons for execution. The Court explained that capital punishment does not serve its retributive goals if the prisoners mental state is so distorted by a mental illness that his awareness of the crime and punishment has little or no relation to the understanding of those concepts shared by the community as a whole. Thus, the competency issue in Dunn v. Madison centered on whether a defendant who due to mental incapacity does not remember the crime has a rational understanding of the States reasons for execution. Due to the deferential AEDPA standard, the Court concluded that neither Ford nor Panetti clearly required that a defendant remember the crime. Thus, Dunns habeas claim lost. The Court stressed that it was not addressing the merits of the competency issue outside of the AEDPA deferential standard. It did note, however, that Madison did recognize that he was being put to death as punishment because he was convicted of murder; he just did not remember committing the murder. Future Treatment of the Issue? Although the Courts per curiam opinion did little to clarify the standard for competency to be executed, three of the Justices wrote a short concurring opinion stressing that the competency issue eventually needs to be addressed. Thus, in a non-habeas case, several of the Justices appear ready to resolve the question. In addressing the merits of the issue in the future, the Court should consider the underlying reasons for the ban on executing incompetent prisoners. Some of the oft-stated reasons for the ban, such as the fact that incompetent prisoners cannot adequately prepare to meet their Maker, rest on questionable legal policy grounds. For example, some note that it is questionable whether deterrence theory supports the ban. One could conclude that other possible murderers would be deterred just as much by the execution of an incompetent prisoner as by the execution of a competent murderer. Arguably the most solid justification for the ban is grounded on retributive theory. The death penalty only serves retributive goals where prisoners rationally comprehend why they are being executed and understand how they deserve it. Yet, where a defendant does not remember the crime, does the death penalty still serve punishment goals? The Player King in William Shakespeares Hamlet notes, Purpose is but the slave to memory. And where there is no memory, purpose may not be served. More specifically, in the case of a defendant like Madison, who due to mental incapacity has no memory of the crime, the retributive purpose of the death penalty is not served. Mental Health and Capital Punishment The issue in Dunn v. Madison highlights other problems with executing people with mental illness. For example, the American Bar Association, the American Psychiatric Association, American Psychological Association, Mental Health America, and National Alliance on Mental Illness oppose the use of the death penalty for prisoners with severe mental disorders or disabilities at the time of the crime. Although some states have contemplated barring the death penalty for such defendants [PBS], no state yet has barred the execution of people with mental illness. Finally, in a separate concurring opinion in Dunn v. Madison, Justice Breyer provided another solution to the quandary created when courts are forced to ponder how much a prisoner must remember or understand before execution. Referring to a problem he has repeatedly raised, Justice Breyer stressed the fact that death row prisoners now spend unconscionably long periods of time on death row awaiting execution, and he called again on the Court to reconsider the constitutionality of capital punishment. As Justice Breyer noted, it is not that unusual that the 67-year-old Madison has spent more than half his life on death row. With aging prisoners spending long periods of time on death row, courts are likely to have to face more and more questions about competency, mental and physical health, and the rationale for the death penalty. Thus, ultimately, although the Court decided Dunn v. Madison based on the habeas standard, it left questions unresolved. In the future, the Court and legislatures will continue to have to wrestle with mental health and competency issues, as well as with how merely asking those questions may help undermine any remaining asserted justifications for capital punishment. Jeffrey L. Kirchmeier is a Professor of Law at City University of New York School of Law. He is the author of Imprisoned by the Past: Warren McCleskey, Race, and the American Death Penalty (Oxford University Press 2016). Suggested citation: Jeffrey L. Kirchmeier, Memory, Mental Competency, and Capital Punishment, JURIST Academic Commentary, Dec. 1, 2017, http://jurist.org/forum/2017/12/Jeffrey-Kirchmeier-Capital-Punishment.php This article was prepared for publication by Austin Koltonowski, a JURIST Assistant Editor. Please direct any questions or comments to him at commentary@jurist.org African and European leaders, gathered in Abidjan for the 5th AU/EU Summit [official website], condemned in a joint statement [text, PDF] the inhuman treatment of African migrants and refugees by criminal groups. The statement is seen as an response to the recent documentation [CNN report] of human traffickers in Libya selling migrants as slaves in open air markets. The leaders resolved to work together for an immediate end of these criminal practices and to ensure the well-being of the migrants and refugees. [The statement] stressed the imperative need for coordinated action involving all the stakeholders concerned, especially the African Union, the United Nations, the European Union and the League of Arab States, in order to expedite the lasting solution to the crisis. French President Emmanuel Macron detailed [WP report] that the AU, EU and UN will work together to freeze the assets of human traffickers, some of whom may be referable to the International Criminal Court. The current wave of mass migration [BBC report] is widely seen as beginning in 2015. The crisis involves migrants and refugees that pay human traffickers help them reach Europe. Many migrants have died in the process, while others have suffered human rights abuses at the hands of traffickers along the way. In 2016 the UN International Organization for Migration [official website] highlighted that the crisis led to more migrant deaths [JURIST report] than any previous year. According to a UN expert, the depth of the crisis calls for comprehensive solutions [JURIST report] that address the sources of the migration. UK consumer activist group Google You Owe Us [advocacy website] initiated [press release] representative legal action Thursday against tech giant Google, alleging that Google illegally mined private information from consumers. According to Google You Owe Us, the tech giant unlawfully harvested personal information from nearly 5.4 million Apple iPhone users in England and Wales between June 2011 and February 2012 through the consumers use of Safari. Google supposedly mined the data by bypassing Safari privacy search settings, known as the Safari Workaround. Google earns revenue by sending targeted advertisements to users based on their personal information. UK law [text] provides that consumers private data must be obtained in a manner that respects consumer privacy. Google You Owe Us position is that the tech giant violated this law by violating the privacy of its customers. The case will be heard in the UK High Court. The US House Judiciary Committee [official website] on Wednesday approved a bill [text, PDF] that would allow gun owners with state-issued concealed carry permits to carry their guns into other states that also allow concealed carrying. The bill would amend chapter 44 of Title 18 [text] of the federal criminal code and require individuals be eligible to possess and transport a firearm under federal law, obtain a valid concealed carry permit from ones state of residence, and carry a valid photo identification document. Richard Hudson (R-NC), the bills original sponsor, stated [press release] the patchwork of reciprocity laws and agreements between states is confusing and has caused law-abiding citizens Croat war criminal Slobodan Praljaks suicide in court, just as he was being sentenced to 20 years in jail, puts a tragic final end to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY). It is with those images, broadcast on the Internet, that the ICTY will close its doors at the end of December. This is the lowering of the curtain on a courtroom become a crime scene, writes AFP. The ICTY, set up by the United Nations in 1993, was the first international criminal tribunal after the post-World War II Nuremberg trials of Nazi war criminals. Born during the Balkan conflicts, the ICTY leaves a significant but also controversial legacy for international justice. Never has a war been so documented, examined and analysed by judicial authorities since the Second World War, says JusticeInfo editorial advisor Pierre Hazan in an article entitled Justice leaves a bitter taste in the Balkans. Now it is time to analyse the record of this first international criminal tribunal, its successes and failures. This is indispensable, if only to learn lessons for the future of international justice. And beyond the dramatic end of Slobodan Praljak, what is most striking is the huge gap between judicial truth and the way it resonates in the societies most concerned, writes Hazan. With courage, but also with sadness, the ICTY Prosecutor recognizes that those being glorified today are the war criminals and not their victims. This failure calls for deeper reflection on the challenge represented by an international courts capacity to get its message across in divided societies. But Cardinal Dieudonne Nzapalainga, one of the most respected people in a Central African Republic torn by four years of civil war, nevertheless asserts unequivocally that there can be no peace without justice. Saying no to impunity is saying no to the infernal cycle of violence and the fact that torturers will become victims and victims will become torturers, he said in an interview published by JusticeInfo. Those who have acted, divided, killed, must be held accountable, because it is too easy to say now we wipe the slate clean and finish with our broken past. This kind of broken past is expressed with poignancy by children, as shown in a book and travelling exhibition on the drawings of children in war, particularly in Darfur (Sudan). These precise, poignant drawings gathered by Human Rights Watch have been filed as evidence before the International Criminal Court. Francoise Heritier, who wrote the books preface, speaks of the deafening silence expressed by these drawings. Heritier, a French anthropologist who died on November 15 in Paris, speaks in one of her last texts of the obscene reality which must have been made of noise and fury. None of these testimonies are imagined, she says, adding that they are a representation of universal violence. #banks-interest income Banks log record interest income through Sept. on rising rates Banks in South Korea earned record net interest income in the first three quarters of the year, helped by sharp rate hikes by the central bank, data showed Thursday. Their intere... #BTS BTS' Jin to release photo book before joining military Jin, a member of the K-pop megastar BTS, will put out his individual book of photography next month before joining the military, the group's management agency said Thursday. The... PLEASANTON On a cold and windy late November day, a group of Nebraska farmers finished out the corn harvest season the way dad used to do it. The central Nebraska men perched themselves atop five antique tractors and picked corn the mid-20th century way one and two rows at a time. One by one, they traveled down the 40-inch rows of golden stalks and kicked up corn dust into the sunlight with their Oliver, John Deere, New Idea and International pickers. On that eight-acre plot three miles west of Pleasanton, four of the pickers shot out whole ears of corn into following wagons. The Oliver, however, shelled the corn on the spot and spit out the kernels into a wagon. Dozens of children and adults dotted the grassy knolls of Dave Kirschners property to take a gander at the long-gone farming practice. The group has been gathering for the past five or six years since Don Geisler first hosted the antique harvest on his land southwest of Pleasanton. I wanted to buy a corn picker. Pick some corn, I guess like dad did, he said. Geisler, Kirschner, Phil Dixon and Norman and Rex Hand, all of Pleasanton, were all instrumental in first re-enacting the one- and two-row picking that they either remembered practicing as young men or recalled helping harvest as young boys with their fathers. The old guys kind of wanted to get together and do it. We had the equipment, the...shellers, we had the old pickers. So we did, just for fun, Kirschner said. Geisler recalled as a boy in the early 60s helping his dad, the late Gerald Geisler, haul out all the different farm machinery required to harvest their crop. Dad always kept his corn picker in a barn that was 12 miles away from (us), Geisler said. It seemed like forever to go up there, put that picker on and drive it back home. Todays combines pick eight to 12 rows at a time, Kirschner said, and they can go down rows planted 30 inches apart. These days, Kirschner said he picks between 80-90 acres a day, compared to the 10 acres a one- or two-row picker can pick. Today, he said, its all about yield and getting more plants per acre out there. But the nostalgia of days past is what keeps people coming back for the antique harvest. In between shelling and picking corn, a group of farmers talked about old times over brisket sandwiches and side salads in Kirschners quonset. As a teenager in the late 50s, Dixon said he remembered picking corn for his dad, the late Lloyd Dixon, with a Farmall tractor two-row mounted Oliver picker. At that time, he said the countryside was lined with above ground telephone lines. His dad cautioned him against catching the lines while harvesting. And dad told me, When you turn around, make sure to leave the front of the picker in the air because the elevator comes down when the front comes up. And you can go underneath them lines. But when you clear the line, you can get the front end down. Dixon didnt listen, and he kept picking. And pretty soon the tractor just started spinning, he said. Them wires caught on the elevator and I stretched them way out in the field. Subsequently, Dixon said the telephone company had to come back out to restretch the wires. Greg Paitz of Pleasanton recalled using a hook to hand-pick corn in the 40s. Dad used to say if you had a triple wagon box, youd probably get $2, Paitz said of a days wage for picking corn at the time. After lunch the men went back to the field to finish the harvest and returned the cobs to a noisy system of rumbling generators and thrashing chains on conveyor belts that led to loud grumblings that emitted from a corn sheller. Sam Seiler of Grant dumped whole ears of corn from a grain cart on to a drag pull with his 1945 John Deere tractor. The ears then moved up an elevator into another bin, which simulated a corn crib, according to Geisler. In the mid-century, Geisler said the ears of corn would stay in the crib until it was ready to be shelled. Normally people wouldnt shell it all at once like we did, he said. As the ears began to spill out of the bin on Nov. 18, Gary Carmen of Pleasanton regulated the ears of corn with his shovel as it dropped back onto the drag pull. Carmen has done this job every year to make sure the shelling demonstration runs smoothly, Geisler said. The ears of corn then moved up the conveyor and dropped into a sheller donated by Norman Hand. The cobs and shucks spit out the back of the sheller, while the kernels of corn dropped into the back of a 1949 Chevy work truck owned by Kraenow and Son Trucking of Gibbon. The corn from the antique harvest was to then be hauled to KAAPA Ethanol in Ravenna with Kirschners remaining harvest. A local Pleasanton man will burn the cobs in his fireplace just like in the old days. The antique harvest was done just as much for the men working it as it was for the spectators, Geisler said, and he and Kirschner hope to continue the demonstration for years to come. Theres quite a few people here that this is the only place they get to see this kind of machinery working, Geisler said. For Seiler, traveling from western Nebraska to central Nebraska was worth it. Its very humbling when were in a combine all three months, and to think how they did this, Seiler said of the process. @erikadpritchard WASHINGTON, D.C. As the U.S. Senate was considering a major overhaul of the nations tax system, the National Farmers Union (NFU) came out against the current plan because it benefits the nations largest corporations and wealthiest citizens at the expense of family farmers, ranchers and the middle class. The family farm organization sent a letter to members of the Senate last Wednesday, highlighting the detrimental impacts of the legislation. NFU is concerned with the $1.4 trillion increase to the federal deficit, potential elimination of farm safety net funding, worsened quality and affordability of health care for rural Americans, and several provisions important to running a family farm operation. This tax plan is fiscally irresponsible and regressive in nature, and it has very negative implications for our nations farm and ranch families, said NFU President Roger Johnson. While we support efforts to simplify the tax code, we cannot support this flawed legislation that robs family farmers, our future generations, and our nations lower and middle classes to pay for tax cuts to the wealthiest individuals and corporate interests, he added. Chief among NFUs concerns is the impact of the $1.44 trillion that will be added to the federal debt if the current proposal is passed. NFUs grassroots-passed policy expresses deep concern over our nations fiscal well-being, Johnson wrote. Past efforts at tax reform have at least begun with the goal of being deficit neutral. If passed, the $1.44 trillion increase to the deficit would jeopardize family farmers and ranchers safety net, Johnson added, because it could force the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to sequester many farm program payments by 100 percent. Earlier in November, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) confirmed the OMB would be required by law to sequester $136 billion in fiscal year 2018 and similar funds each successive year. Given the limited number of non-exempt mandatory accounts that can be sequestered, non-exempt programs would need to be sequestered at 100 percent, Johnson said. That sequestration would eliminate important aspects of the farm safety net, including the Agricultural Risk Coverage and Price Loss Coverage programs. Such a scenario would be devastating to family farmers. Johnson also highlighted the impact that the current plan would have on the nations health-care system. CBO projects that the number of people with health coverage would drop by 13 million by 2027. Repeal of the individual mandate is particularly troublesome for farmers and ranchers, who are older and more likely to have pre-existing conditions than the average person, Johnson said. Those that cannot risk going uncovered will face premium costs that are 10 percent higher than current baseline projections. Repealing the mandate will make it even more difficult for the congress to stabilize health-care costs for all Americans. KEARNEY Worshipers who enter St. Georges Orthodox Church at 1505 Avenue G find their eyes drawn toward heaven. High on the walls that curve up to the ceiling, 16 large icons depict scenes from the lives of Jesus and Mary. Icon is the Greek word for image, and Orthodox believers say icons are a window into heaven. Icons are the Gospel in color. They inspire us, Father Christopher Morris said. Its the illustrated story of our salvation. Those 16 icons were installed nearly three years ago, and the church hopes to install more before Oct. 29, 2018, when it will celebrate the centennial of the passing of its first priest, Father Nicola Yanney, who died during the Spanish flu epidemic in 1918. He is the father of E. K. Yanney for whom, with his wife Mary, Yanney Heritage Park is named. In preparation for the centennial, weve been beautifying the church, Father Christopher said. Icons have beautified the interior of the 95-year-old church for decades, but five years ago, parishioners began raising funds to install more. Many people made gifts in memory or in honor of a loved one. Each icon costs $7,000, or $112,000 for all 16. To do the work, the church hired Dmitry Shkolnik, a renowned Moscow-born iconographer who immigrated to the U.S. in 1981. A committee had seen his work in other churches and was deeply impressed. Hes one of the best iconographers Id ever seen, Father Christopher said. His work is traditional, but he has a wonderful use of color. Some icons can be severe, but his asceticism and softness set him apart. He was the only one we considered. Shkolnik flew to Kearney for a 24-hour visit to see the church and take measurements. Then he returned to San Francisco, where he painted 16 icons, each measuring six feet by nine feet, on canvasses in his studio. He folded them up, wrapped them in a single tube, stuck them in a suitcase and sent them to Kearney via UPS. Morris was worried about them arriving intact, but as long as theyre not folded up for more than 24 hours, theyll be OK, Shkolnik assured him. Indeed, they were. Shkolnik, then 54, came to Kearney, too, along with his assistant Aleko Mchedlishvili. With the help of parishioners Mike and Darlene Liakos, they spent just 10 days hanging the icons. Adhesive was trowled onto the area where each icon was to be mounted. Then the workers unrolled the large canvases. The icons were positioned and re-positioned, and finally pressed smooth by human hands and a roller. Delicately, the two professionals then added lettering and 24-carat gold touches. A years worth of work in Shkolniks studio was put up in 10 days, Morris said. Shkolnik is known worldwide for his iconography. He became interested in Russian craft art in high school and mastered icon restoration while studying architecture at a university. In 1979-80, he worked for the Russian Patriarchal Workshops. In 1981, at the age of 21, he immigrated to the U.S. with his family and enrolled in The Holy Trinity Seminary in Jordanville, N.Y. He earned a bachelors degree in theology from there in 1988. Since 1981, he has completed over 3,000 icons and 20 iconostasis (walls that separate the sanctuary from the nave in Orthodox churches), and painted numerous church frescoes, murals and wall ornamentations. His work can be seen in churches and private collections all over the world. The icons are a fitting chapter in St. Georges story. It began in the late 1880s when Lebanese and Syrian immigrants arrived in Kearney. Most were traveling peddlers. In 1903, they formed the St. George Society and collected $125 to buy the abandoned Cotton Mill School to use as a church. They moved the building to Third Avenue and 14th Street, near the current location of Pizza Hut. Not only was it Kearneys first Orthodox church; it was just the fifth Syrian Orthodox church in North America and the first west of the Mississippi. That location, however, had its drawbacks. It was far from the so-called Syrian Colony in southeastern Kearney and difficult to reach in bad weather, so on July 4, 1907, in the middle of the night, men in the church physically moved the structure to 14th Street and G Avenue. St. Georges first priest was Father Nicola Yanney. Although based in Kearney, he spent months every year ministering to people throughout the Midwest, Colorado and Arkansas. He baptized 1,000 people, Morris said. Under his leadership, St. Georges congregation kept growing, even after Father Nicola died in 1918. In 1920, construction began on a new church at the current site. It was completed in 1923. Church members have slowly enhanced it ever since. The icons are the latest addition, and the parish hopes to add even more before the centennial celebration next October. Half the congregation lives in Kearney; the other half lives in Holdrege, Minden, Hastings, Lexington and other areas. Between 50 and 60 people worship there on Sunday. The church is part of the Antioch Orthodox Christian Church. Its international headquarters are in Damascus near where the Apostle Paul was baptized. Father Christopher, 45, who has led the church for nearly a dozen years, believes God has His own timetable for the parish. That includes long-term plans for an adjoining social hall. How weve been able to do all this, only God knows, Father Christopher said. Then he grinned. Weve been following Gods plans for more than 100 years. KEARNEY The daughter of a Texas man who was run over two years ago near the Elm Creek Interstate 80 interchange cant understand why the person responsible for his death hasnt come forward. Neither can law enforcement. Whoever did it knows they hit something. ... I wish they would come forward, just so we know, Jessica Stone said of her father Billy Frank Barlow, 57, of Texas. The unknown is just the worst. Sunday marks the second anniversary of Barlows death just north of the interchange in the early morning of Dec. 3, 2015. A motorist reported finding his body. Barlow is believed to have been on foot when he was hit by a northbound vehicle either a large pickup with a fifth-wheel trailer or a semitrailer truck. Heres what the Buffalo County Sheriffs Office knows: Video surveillance from businesses in the interchange area shows the vehicle involved could be a 2010 model year or newer Dodge pickup with dual rear tires. Its not know if the collision was intentional or accidental. Deputies believe the sides of the trailer had amber and red contour lights, and the front of the vehicle was believed to have damage. Its difficult to know if the driver is from the Elm Creek area or if they knew that they hit a person or not. About an hour before Barlow was reported in the road, sheriffs office Investigator Joe Andersen said, Barlow had been dropped off at the Flying J truck stop at the Elm Creek interchange by a Dawson County deputy who had picked him up while Barlow was walking in Dawson County. Buffalo County deputies have received little to no new information on what may have happened to Barlow. According to Stone, Barlow was born in Oklahoma and grew up lower class in Texas with three brothers. Barlow had trouble holding down a job, Stone said, was an alcoholic and had been in and out of jail. I hate to say these terrible things, but thats what he did, she said. Her parents divorced when Stone was 4, and she moved to Georgia with her mother and older brother to be closer to family. For awhile, the children would see Barlow on shared holidays and every other weekend. At the time, Barlow either lived with his mother or brother Michael, both in Texas. After Stone became an adult, she said, her father periodically called. Once in a while, he would send her and her children birthday and Christmas cards, sometimes with a little money tucked inside. It wasnt every year, but he did try, for the most part, she said. As an adult, Stone saw her father only twice. The last time she saw him was eight years ago when he surprised Stone and her family in Georgia around Christmas. Barlow stayed for a few days and had dinner with Stone and her family during his visit. He tried to have a relationship, but it was one of those things that we didnt grow up close, she said. The last time Stone talked to her father was Thanksgiving 2015, two weeks before his death. The call was odd and, looking back, Stone feels Barlow may have been intoxicated. Barlow said he was staying in Nebraska, which wasnt normal because he usually spent most of his time in Texas and Oklahoma. Stone later learned Barlow was staying at some type of homeless shelter. I think he wanted to talk to the kids, and I wouldnt let him because he sounded drunk, she said. Stone believes her father may have been trying to hitch a ride back to Texas with a semi at the truck stop when he was killed. I think thats something he did fairly often, Stone said of Barlow catching rides with semis. Its just the strangest thing. But one thing about him is, if he got something in his head he was going to do it. Anyone with information about Barlows death is asked to contact the Buffalo County Sheriffs Office at 308-236-8555 or Crimestoppers at 308-237-3424. @HubChic KEARNEY For 40 years, Dave Mattson has chaired the Kearney Goodfellows annual one-day drive in the business community. The one-day drive that is planned today (Saturday), continues a tradition that began in the 1940s when Kearney business owners decided they could help make Christmas happier for the citys needy children. I get the enjoyment of helping people, said Mattson, a Goodfellows board member whose father, Ding, and uncle, Gunnar, also were active in Goodfellows. The business drive is the key to a successful fundraising campaign, he said, because business donors set the pace and inspire private donors to support Goodfellows. Last year, the 2016 one-day drive resulted in $21,000 in donations, and by the end of the campaign, Goodfellows had received a total of $67,045 to help buy toys for needy kids on Christmas. The money also helps with warm coats, milk, school supplies and other necessities. Mattson said that since 1960, businesses have donated $477,000 to Goodfellows during the one-day drive. How well todays business drive turns out could depend upon how many volunteers are available to collect donations. Mattson said Friday that 25 volunteers were lined up, but that at least 40 are needed to effectively canvass businesses for donations. He was hoping some surprise volunteers would show up between 8-9 a.m. at the Kearney Eagles Lounge at 17 W. 24th St. and help with the drive, which concludes at noon. Its getting to be more difficult finding people to go, so we might have to split up some teams. I need to get strategic about where I send the guys and their territories, Mattson said. His first business drive was in 1962. He was fulfilling a community service requirement for his fraternity at Kearney State College. In those days, Kearney wasnt so large, so the fraternity members paired up with adults and made the rounds. We had a territory. People knew you were coming, and they would have a check ready, Mattson said. Occasionally a business donor would tell him they grew up in homes that received boxes of toys and food from Goodfellows on Christmas. Mattson said one year his son seemed dissatisfied about the gifts hed be receiving, so he got to ride along while Mattson delivered gifts to needy kids in Ravenna. I made sure my son carried the boxes to the door and saw the families and how they lived, he said. You talk to some of the older guys who delivered around Kearney, and they remember delivering toys to families with dirt floors. Its because many families in Kearney are living in poverty that Mattson has been chairing the one-day drive for 40 years. He said hes thankful Goodfellows is so well-supported. Last year, 1,250 children received Goodfellows gifts on Christmas. Low-income families also receive free milk and warm winter clothing. In addition, Goodfellows helps with the Kearney Kiwanis clubs back-to-school backpacks so all kids are well-equipped at the start of the school year. So far this year, the Kearney Goodfellows tally stands at $2,775. Donors have several options to help support Goodfellows. They can donate the traditional way via the Kearney Hub or during todays one-day drive. They also can contribute Thursday during the Give Where You Live community fundraiser, or they can visit the Goodfellows website at www.kearneygoodfellows.org to donate. Unless otherwise requested, all donors names will be published. Todays donors gave a total of $595. They are: Robert and Eva Green, $100; Mike Brimlow, $100; Gary Walker, $50; Roxanne Swanson, $25; cash, $20; Mike and Jeannie, $50 in memory of Stanley Maciejewski; Stacey and Zachary Schwarz, $25; Big Apple Fun Center, $100; Chris and Marlene Richardson, $100 in memory of W.D. Bill and Helen Richardson; Jordan and Patricia Hawkins, $25. HOLDREGE A reorganization meeting for the South Platte United Chambers of Commerce will start at 11 a.m. Dec. 12 at the Central Nebraska Public Power and Irrigation District office in Holdrege. Discussion topics will include a memorial to SPUCC President Tim Anderson, who died Oct. 12. Also on the agenda are SPUCC finances, membership development, mission, and future meetings and events. For meal planning, people planning to attend must call 308-991-8657 or send an email to info@spuccne.com by Dec. 11. KEARNEY Clapping, music, colorful dancing and the sound of friendly chatter filled the room Nov. 27 as students at the University of Nebraska at Kearney shared their cultures with residents of Brookdale Kearney Northridge. UNK graduate assistants Ryo Suzuki of Tokyo and Reed Bellamy of Kansas helped organize a cultural event for the senior living center residents. Suzuki and Bellamy, both enrolled in a leadership class, wanted to provide an opportunity for community members to interact with people from other cultures. If we can do something at the retirement home, Brookdale, that would-be kind of cool, Suzuki said of her initial thought. Bellamy and Suzuki said their purpose was to connect the university and the community. Suzuki gathered Japanese students from the campus, and Bellamy connected with the UNK multicultural traditional dancing group Danza. The group performed traditional Latin dances, called danza, and also performed dances from the Japanese culture. The residents clapped and smiled as the women spun and twirled their flowing, colorful gowns. Soon after Danza performed, Suzuki introduced five Japanese students to the crowd of about 40 residents. The residents split into groups of five as each student sat down with them and shared a little about his or her culture. Each student wrote the name of the residents at the table in Japanese on a name tag as they answered questions and told stories to the willing listeners. Satsuki Morimoto, a UNK senior interior design major from Osaka, Japan, was one of the five students who shared her Japanese culture. She talked with the residents while dressed in a vibrantly colored-yet modernly styled Japanese kimono. They were surprised how good I can speak English now, even though I couldnt speak when I came here four years ago. Morimoto said. Suzuki and Bellamy hope to have more events in the future to promote different cultures in the community and to bring a variety of groups together. They were thankful for all that participated. We couldnt have done this event without the help of all of the students, Suzuki said. Every year The Late Late Toy Show usually gives us some kind of surprise that just makes the show. We had the kid who met Robbie Keane, the Evelyn Cusack fan and of course, when Aimee met Ed Sheeran. However, we think tonight can take the crown for the most emotional surprise yet. Cork siblings Adam and Kayla Burke joined Ryan on the show to test some toys but he soon got them talking about their dad. Sergeant Graham Burke is in the army and is completing his 6th tour of duty overseas in Mali and they weren't going to see him again until January. Except they were. Because he showed up and surprised them. Then he cried, and then Ryan cried, and then everybody cried. And now you're going to. Have a look: If you missed The Late Late Toy Show, you can see how it all went down on our live blog, while we also went though some of our highlights from the night here. LINCOLN The ACLU of Nebraska is not taking no for an answer. Friday morning, the group filed a lawsuit asking a judge to compel the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services to release information related to the recent purchase of the drugs needed to carry out a lethal injection execution. The civil rights group, in its lawsuit, claims the state violated the Nebraska Public Records Act by not releasing the information. Multiple media outlets, including The World-Herald, have made similar public records requests of corrections to discover the supplier of the drugs. The requests to release of information were denied recently. Danielle Conrad, executive director of ACLU of Nebraska, said the refusal to release such information violates a bedrock Nebraska tradition of open government. Today the ACLU of Nebraska filed suit to force the crisis-riddled Department of Corrections to identify the supplier of recently obtained lethal injection drugs in compliance with our strong open records laws, Conrad said in a press release. She said the states past attempts to obtain lethal injection drugs involved a shady history of backroom deals and attempts to circumvent federal law. The ACLU pointed out that without public records requests in 2015, the public would not have discovered a botched purchase of lethal injection drugs by the state, an effort that wasted $54,000 in taxpayer funds. A spokeswoman for corrections said Friday that the agency does not comment on pending lawsuits. The state last month announced that it had obtained four drugs to allow it to carry out an execution. It did so through a notification to death row inmate Jose Sandoval, a notification required prior to seeking an execution date. The department has said that the drugs came from a source in the U.S., and later, after a public records request, said the drugs cost $10,500. Corrections, however, has denied requests to identify the supplier, citing attorney-client privilege. The agency has also pointed out that a state law prohibits identifying members of the execution team. The ACLUs lawsuit questioned whether attorney-client privilege existed, and said the supplier of the drugs was not a member of the execution team. It said that if members of the execution team were named in any other documents requested, their names could be redacted and the rest of the information released. Lancaster County District Court Judge Jodi Nelson was assigned to the case Friday. It was not immediately clear when the judge might act on the request. The four drugs obtained by the state are diazepam, fentanyl citrate, potassium chloride and cisatracurium besylate. If they are used, it would be the first time such a four-drug protocol is utilized for an execution, national death-penalty officials have said. Nebraska has not carried out the death penalty for two decades, and back then the state still used the electric chair. The Nebraska Supreme Court has since ruled that electrocution is unconstitutional as cruel and unusual punishment. Stay with Omaha.com for more on this developing story. Filmmaker Ken Burns called his 2009 seven-part documentary on our countrys national parks system Americas Best Idea. He traced the history of our parks from the wonders of Yellowstone through contemporary issues such as over-visitation and the decision to protect wolves in the wilderness. The Trump administration has weighed in with an idea, too. The National Park Service hopes to jack up the prices to make sure that visitors pay their fair share when it comes to supporting the parks. During peak times, Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke plans to increase entrance fees from a measly $30 at Yellowstone and similar parks to $70. This increase will provide an additional $70 million for our beleaguered and underfunded national parks. Unfortunately the Park Service estimates that the department needs $700 million each year just to keep the $11 billion backlog of repairs from growing. May I suggest a bake sale or a benefit bingo game to help supply those additional funds? Before everybody gets their backpacks in a wad, lets look at this situation with a cool head. Only 17 of the 58 national parks would see an increase in the fees. The rest, well, Gates of the Arctic National Park in Alaska contains no roads, trails or gift shops. Only 10,000 people visit the park each year. The place is about the size of Belgium, minus the waffles. For families traveling to our national parks, an extra $40 wont break the bank. Thats a little more than an extra tank of gas or a meal of fast food alongside the road. Resorts and theme parks cost much more than that. Hooters Casino Hotel in Las Vegas charges an additional $30 to use their facilities, which include things like a swim pool, a fitness center, internet and in-room bottled water. Can The Tetons possibly compare to that? Will you find bottled water at 13,776 feet atop Grand Teton? I doubt it. As a ski bum who lived in Yellowstone for about 10 years, just before my credit cards dried up, I know the meaning of our National Parks. I witnessed the glory of Yellowstone in all kinds of seasons: winter and tourist season. By that time I knew the rangers well enough that I could talk my way through the gate without much difficulty. As for paying for the everyday needs of the parks, I have a few ideas. First, remember that we already own the parks. By we, I mean the people. Forking over $70 each time we use our national parks just pays for the fluff of the place. Instead of raising the fees, I suggest that we charge on a sliding scale. Visitors driving a vehicle manufactured in the past five years must pay double the price. Cars with at least one broken window, one dangling side view mirror or a busted rear gas shock on the rear hatch get in free. If that seems too complicated, lets just charge $40 for each handheld electronic device brought into a national park, minus $1 for each book. I think visitors will quickly get the idea that our parks offer more than just a quiet place to play Angry Birds. How about naming rights for a couple of the features in our parks? Would it kill us to change the name to Monolithic Corp. of Americas Old Faithful Geyser? A little creativity, a little ingenuity and before you know it poof problems solved. Rick Brown is a Hub staff writer who wads up more than a backpack now and then FILE - In this Nov. 16, 2015 file photo, a worker walks through a section of the Mississippi Power Co. carbon capture plant in DeKalb, Miss. Regulators have reached a settlement with Mississippi Power Co. on how much customers should pay for a troubled $7.5 billion power plant once touted as the future of coal. The unit of Atlanta-based Southern Co. is agreeing to lower the price tag on its Kemper County power plant by $85 million, its second round of concessions in two weeks. Shareholders have already lost $6 billion. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, File) We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on! Go to form File - In this April 21, 2015 file photo, a flag waves in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific where unidentified remains from the USS Oklahoma are buried in Honolulu. The military says it has identified 100 sailors and Marines killed when the USS Oklahoma capsized during the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor 76 years ago. The milestone comes two years after the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency dug up nearly 400 sets of remains from a Hawaii to identify the men who have been classified as missing since the war. (AP Photo/Audrey McAvoy) Family and friends gather around the coffin containing the remains of his sister Kimberly Dayana Fonseca, 19, in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, Saturday, Dec. 2, 2017. As the electoral count entered its sixth day Saturday, Fonseca was shot to death at a protest supporting opposition presidential candidate Salvador Nasralla by gunmen in two vehicles who witnesses say were police. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd) San Francisco public defender attorney, Francisco Ugarte, second from left, answers questions after a verdict was reached in the trial of Jose Ines Garcia Zarate Thursday, Nov. 30, 2017, in San Francisco. Garcia Zarate was found not guilty in the killing of Kate Steinle on a San Francisco pier that touched off a national immigration debate two years ago, rejecting possible charges ranging from involuntary manslaughter to first-degree murder. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez) FILE--In this Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2017, file photograph, Jack Phillips, owner of Masterpiece Cake, speaks to supporters after a rally on the campus of a Christian college in Lakewood, Colo. The small rally was held to build support for Phillips, who is at the center of a case that will be considered by the U.S. Supreme Court in December. The case may determine if business owners like Phillips are having their right of religious liberty and free expression violated by having to offer their wedding services to same-sex couples. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File) Foxconn Technology Group executives and officials from Racine County and Mount Pleasant signed a local development agreement Friday that seals the deal on the companys $10 billion manufacturing complex. The county and village boards approved the development agreement earlier this week. It outlines the responsibilities for the parties involved and includes guarantees and protections for taxpayers. Signed Friday The agreement signing Friday morning was at the Mount Pleasant Village Hall. The Taiwanese-based company plans to construct a 32-million-square-foot flat screen and display panel manufacturing complex that could eventually employ 13,000 people east of Interstate 94. Foxconn has given Mount Pleasant $60 million for land acquisition and a number of Foxconn personnel, including architects and engineers, have been working for months out of the Gateway Technical College campus in Racine. As the formal documents are completed to begin construction, the size and scope of the endeavor has raised eyebrows for at least one investor in Kenosha County developments. Specifically, Gov. Scott Walker said Friday that concerns have been raised about potential limits to its workforce. German candy-maker Haribo was concerned about its ability to find workers for its planned Wisconsin gummy bear factory after news broke that Foxconn Technology Group was building a massive facility nearby. Calming fears Walker said Friday Haribo absolutely was concerned and he met with company officials to calm their fears. Haribo is planning a gummy bear factory that will employ 400 people in Pleasant Prairie. Foxconns big campus will be just 13 miles away in Mount Pleasant. Walker told reporters that Manpower helped make the case to Haribo that, despite the close locations, the two companies are in different markets for workers. He says the meeting left Haribo officials with renewed confidence. (New throughout, updates prices to close, adds details on specific stocks) * TSX ends down 28.51 points, or 0.18 pct, at 16,038.97 * Seven of TSX's 10 main industry groups move lower * Index loses 0.4 percent over course of week By Alastair Sharp TORONTO, Dec 1 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index slipped on Friday, weighed down by losses among some gold miners, technology, telecom and consumer names which offset gains for energy companies as oil prices rose and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce's extended post-earnings rally. * The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index ended down 28.51 points, or 0.18 percent, at 16,038.97. It lost 0.4 percent over the course of the week. * Seven of the index's 10 main groups were lower, with the technology sector down 1.4 percent and the materials group, which includes precious and base metals miners and fertilizer companies, losing 1.3 percent. * BlackBerry Ltd fell 1.7 percent to C$13.69 after agreeing to pay Nokia about $137 million in a contract dispute, while Shopify Inc retreated 3.2 percent to C$130.84. * Gold-focused royalty company Franco-Nevada Corp fell 2.6 percent to C$102.34 and other gold miners also lost ground despite the precious metal getting a boost from safe haven flows after an ABC report that added to concerns about U.S. President Donald Trump's exposure to a probe into Russian meddling in last year's election campaign. * The energy group climbed 1.1 percent, as oil prices rose following a deal among major producer to extend an output curb. * Canadian Natural Resources Ltd rose 2.3 percent to C$44.75 and Cenovus Energy Inc jumped 4.6 percent to C$12.87. * U.S. crude prices were up 1.7 percent to $58.36 a barrel, while Brent added 1.7 percent to $63.7. * The financials group gained 0.2 percent, with Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce up 2.6 percent at C$121.20, extending gains as several analyst upgraded their view on the stock following its Thursday earnings beat. * BRP Inc jumped early before pulling back to end up 1.1 percent at C$47.68 after the Ski-Doo maker posted earnings that beat expectations. (Reporting by Alastair Sharp) Shenandoah, IA (51601) Today Mostly cloudy skies this morning will become partly cloudy this afternoon. High 33F. Winds NW at 15 to 25 mph.. Tonight Mostly clear. Low 12F. Winds NW at 10 to 20 mph. The Wichita Eagle and The Kansas City Star allege in a lawsuit that Wichita officials didn't follow the state's open records law in denying access to police body-camera footage in two cases. The suit filed Friday in Sedgwick County District Court says officials were wrong not to release footage of an Iraqi man being handcuffed while trying to deposit a $151,000 check, which later was determined to be legitimate. The man alleges he was racially profiled. Also rejected was a request for footage of a case involving a Wichita police officer, who is alleged to have been involved in an off-duty hit-and-run crash. Eagle editor Steve Coffman says he hopes the lawsuit will bring clarity. City attorney Jennifer Magana didn't immediately return a request for comment from The Associated Press. (Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.) PRESS RELEASE Duma Leader: North Korea Is Ready To Negotiate with U.S., with Russia as the Third Party Dec. 1, 2017 (EIRNS)According to Vitaly Pashin of the State Duma, the lower house of Russias bicameral Federal Assembly, "North Korea is currently ready to conduct negotiations with the U.S. with the participation of Russia as a third party," Pashin told TASS, commenting on the results of the talks between the Russian parliamentary delegation and the North Korean leadership in Pyongyang, Nov. 27-Dec. 1. Addressing the issue of why North Korea is continuing its missile tests, Pashin said, "According to North Korean representatives, they were forced to demonstrate the ability to adequately respond to any aggression from the U.S., the ability to strike at any territory of America. This is the first missile launch since the last one carried out by North Korea on Sept. 15. Since then, Pyongyang had refrained from military provocations for 75 days awaiting reciprocal steps from the U.S., which, instead of meeting [North Korea] halfway, announced large-scale surprise military drills." Pashin said, "We are against the escalation of the conflict and for a peaceful resolution of the issue through negotiations. That said, I fully support the position of our president and the Foreign Ministry on the issue." Pashin was a member of a delegation of Russian lawmakers led by its coordinator, Kazbek Taisayev, whick visited Pyongyang at the invitation of the North Korean parliament. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang today said that China has called for a global effort to solve the crisis on the Korean Peninsula. "China and Russia have a common stance on the Korean Peninsula issue, maintaining contact with each other. Both countries have come up with initiatives to resolve the issue peacefully, putting forward clear and understandable projects, which may help find a way out of the current situation. We hope that all the interested parties will adopt a sincere and positive attitude, pooling their efforts to ease tensions on the Korean Peninsula in order to return to the negotiating table as soon as possible." Geng also said that North Korea, "fully understands the importance of initiatives aimed at de-escalating the conflict, which were proposed by China and Russia." PRESS RELEASE Where We Stand: LaRouche PAC Statement on the Flynn Plea Dec. 1, 2017 (EIRNS)The following statement was released today by the Lyndon LaRouche Political Action Committee. As the media and their supporters have gone into their usual fevered frenzy, slobbering over the potential of taking down the President of the United States, it is important to situate, for the membership, exactly what the Flynn plea means. It represents Muellers counterpunch to growing momentum from the House Intelligence Committee and the Courts to fully reveal the British hand in this coup, centered in the phony Steele dossier and its adoption by Obama and his criminal coconspirators as the instrument to destroy the Trump presidency. It occurs in the wake of the Presidents enormously successful visit to China and conversations with President Putin. It occurs as the House Intelligence Committee is contemplating contempt proceedings against the FBI and the Department of Justice for failure to disclose how the Steele dossier was used to instigate the illegal investigation of the Trump campaign by the FBI. In a hearing on Thursday before U.S. District Judge Richard Leon, the Judge had also indicated that he thought most of Fusion GPSs claimed rights to protect bank records regarding payments related to the Steele dossier were bogus. The bank records are sought by the House Intelligence Committee. Michael Flynn was fired by President Trump for providing a false account of his conversations with Russian Ambassador Kislyak to Vice President Pence, among others in the Trump Administration. The immediate sequence of incidents leading to his firing arose when his name was illegally unmasked by Obama Administration officials as a result of NSA surveillance. Flynn, however, was already a target, having been fired for dissing Obama when Flynn was head of the DIA and drawing the attention of the British for his attendance at a banquet for RT and his calls for collaboration with the Russians in the war on terror, particularly in Syria. After unmasking Flynns conversations with Kislyak, holdover Obama Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates raced over to the White House to claim that since Flynn had lied about his conversations with Kisylak, and since the Russians knew what was actually said, the Russians had completely compromised Trumps National Security Adviser. Yatess insane demand that Flynn be fired on this basis, was leaked to the news media, and in this atmosphere of media hysteria, Flynn agreed to an interview with the FBI in the White House on January 24, 2017. No lawyer was present. A perfect setup. Since that time, Flynn and his son have been investigated to death by Mueller in an effort to concoct criminal offenses. Amongst them is the bizarre claim by the satanic neo-con James Woolsey that Flynn and company were conspiring to kidnap Fethullah Gulen, and return him to Turkey for a million-dollar fee. Flynn has incurred huge legal fees from the hoity-toity Washington firm Covington and Burling. His lead lawyer, Robert Kelner, publicly joined the Never Trump movement and hates the President. Various articles about the deal point out that Flynn was deeply dismayed by the prospect of his son spending years in prison and about his family being bankrupted by his enormous legal fees. According to his plea agreement, Flynn lied to the FBI in his interview on January 24, 2017 about conversations he had with Kislyak about the Russian response to Obamas December 28, 2016, imposition of sanctions for alleged Russian interference in the 2016 elections. In reality, according to the plea agreement, Kislyak contacted Flynn on the day the sanctions were imposed, and Flynn asked the Russians not to escalate the situation. Kislyak reported back to Flynn that the Russians would follow Flynns advice. Flynn discussed these conversations about Obamas sanctions with senior members of the Trump transition team. A second alleged false statement in the same FBI interview concerned Flynns conversations with the Russians, among other nations, concerning a December 21, 2016, vote in the U.N. about Israeli settlements. Flynn asked the Russians, among others, to delay the vote or delay the resolution. It is to be emphasized that there was nothing illegal in any of these contacts. Flynn was charged with lying or omitting material facts when he spoke to the FBI about them. It is also obviously relevant that the entire premise for Obamas sanctions was fake, since we now know that there was no Russian hacking of the election. Finally, Flynn pled to making false statements in his Foreign Agents Registration Act statement about his lobbying activities on behalf of Turkey. This is Muellers new favorite toy, stretching the use of a vague statute formerly famous for voluntary civil compliance only. Our robot Torquemada, Robert Mueller, has decided to turn the Foreign Agents Registration Act into a criminal bludgeon. Thus, as we said in the Mueller dossier, we face the criminalization of political policy differences and crimes manufactured as the result of lies told under incredible duress. Sounds like a banana republic, doesnt it? As Alan Dershowitz said in reaction to the news that Flynn was cooperating with Mueller, now it is highly probable that General Flynn will lie like crazy, to realize the no-jail-time promise of his plea agreement. Rule of law? Give me a break. The population should be up in arms about this. Mueller must be stopped. PRESS RELEASE President Xi Opens the CPC Dialogue with World Political Parties, for the Community of the Shared Future for Mankind Dec. 1, 2017 (EIRNS)Chinese President Xi Jinping delivered an eloquent opening address today, on the second day of the four-day Communist Party of China (CPC) Dialogue with World Political Parties High-Level Meeting being held in Bejing. "Im delighted to see that the friendly cooperation between China and other countries is increasingly expanding and the concept of a community with a shared future for mankind is gaining support and endorsement from an increasing number of people," President Xi told the more than 600 representatives from nearly 300 political parties from 120 countries. The Belt and Road Initiative, Xi said, is the practice or action of the concept of a shared future, and has become a huge cooperation platform for countries to realize their common development, Chinese media report. President Xi explained that with the initiation of the Belt and Road Initiative, he was introducing a new model of relationship between nations and peoples, a model of relationships oriented to the well-being of all nations and all peoples. He called on the representatives of all the parties to devote themselves to realizing this new model and to work together toward that goal, in spite of the differences they may have in their political and views. Yesterday, on the first day of the forum, representatives paid a visit to the Party School of the CPC Central Committee, and visited an exhibition on Chinas achievements over the past five years. Seminars were also held with guests from Africa and Central Asia. The conference was organized at the request of foreign political parties, which were interested in a briefing on the recent 19th Party Congress in China. Along those lines, the theme of the conference is, "Working Together Towards a Community with a Shared Future for Humanity and a Better World: Responsibilities of Political Parties." Building a community with a shared future for mankind, President Xi said, as reported by China Radio International, is to connect the prospects and destiny of every nation closely together, share weal and woe, and turn planet Earth into a harmonious family. Efforts should be made, he said, to build a safe world free of fear, and that a country cannot gain security at the cost of others. Countries should jointly eliminate the root cause of war and rescue people from pains brought about by war, and strive to eliminate poverty and promote common prosperity. President Xi proposed that there be a new model for party-to-party relations, in which parties seek common ground and shelve differences. He assured the representatives that China will neither "import" foreign models of development, nor "export" the Chinese model. He stressed that the CPC strives for both the well-being of the Chinese people and human progress, and that more opportunities for the world are created by promoting Chinas development. President Xi met with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and Myanamr leader Aung San Sou Kyi, who both spoke at the forums opening session. To move the process forward, in the next five years, President Xi said, the CPC would like to invite 15,000 members of foreign political parties to come to China for exchanges. He also suggested that the CPC Dialogue be institutionalized and develop into a high-level political dialogue platform of broad representation and international influence. Of interest, will be the reaction on the part of the U.S. participants. Tony Parker from the Republican National Committee and, reportedly, a representative of the Democratic Party, were in attendance. For the first chapter of experiential pop-up store and art exhibit The Chronicles of LA, husband and wife duo James Mountford and Leena Similu were inspired by the punkism of fashion designer Vivienne Westwood. Coming from London, there was this huge movement with Vivienne Westwood, said Mountford, who relocated to Los Angeles three years ago. She had this shop called Sex on Kings Road and it had a real punk, no-rules kind of attitude. L.A. feels like its going through that kind of rejuvenation at the moment and that was really inspiring to us. The couple borrowed the theme for the first edition of their immersive concept store which will feature fashion, art, interiors, performance, music and experiential retail from 60 different artists. Advertisement We thought it was quite a fun word to throw around to people and see what they come up with, said Similu. "[We hoped] people would do it with a sense of humor or some people would really go deep into the history of their teenage years. Its really fascinating to see what people came up with. Billed as a weekend of immersive storytelling retail, The Chronicles of LA will take place Friday and Saturday in a vintage hotel in DTLA. While the event is open to the public, the location is being kept secret until guests RSVP. Its the element of surprise, said Similu. We wanted something that was an experience, added Mountford. And it seemed really fitting to have it at a hotel. We felt like if you turn up to a hotel and youre allowed to roam freely from room to room youre given free rein to become a voyeur into all these different worlds of peoples imaginations. The ephemerality of the two-day pop-up is meant to add the experience as well. Theres a tricky balance in that because obviously with just two days youre not getting the sort of traffic you would get through the doors of a regular pop-up, said Mountford. But also its the kind of thing that you can easily miss out on, so I think maybe thats something that might drive people to want to be a part of it. So that was kind of our marketing strategy. And were hoping it will pay off. Participating artists span from friends of the couple to up and coming artists discovered on Instagram. One of the things that was really at the front of our minds when we started this was that it would be a very democratic selection, said Mountford. We tried to find people that were just starting out as well as people that were established in their career. And it was really key that we had a strong female presence. Lately in the news theres been so much talk about well, theres been all sorts of talk, but Im thinking specifically about the fact that art galleries are so male-dominated. Between 65% and 70% of the featured artists in this chapter are women, according to Mountford. It was really, really key that we have a strong female presence, he said. Themes to be explored vary from flesh and bondage to remembrance of the artists sexual awakenings. Another one we have is the virgin bride, said Similu. That ones kind of tongue-in-cheek, the cliche of the first wedding night. Weve reduced all of those familiar sex objects and references in this pure white, juxtaposed with the darkness of S&M. So you might have a whip, but its in a beautiful white suede. Its great conversation and dialogue between those two buzzwords. If guests like what they see, many of the works are for sale, though people are also invited to simply peruse the rooms. The fact that there are things for sale is secondary to the fact that you can explore, said Mountford. Its not like youre walking in and theres merchandise and were waiting for you to open your wallet, said Similu with a laugh. None of the rooms are going to have shops in it, theres not going to be any racks or rails, there wont be any sale signs, Mountford continued. Its more like, you walk into someones room and theres a beautiful gown draped over the back of a door and thats for sale. And theres a chair in the corner of the room and thats for sale. But you can also walk in there and exist as if you were in a hotel room. So whats in store for upcoming chapters? Oh thats a secret! said Simulu. But well reinvent it. The whole thing about this is that well always start from the beginning with a different concept, completely different venue, different marketing ideas. Everything will change. All will be revealed, she said. Here five of the artists talk about their work: Michael Laed Los Angeles, sustainable fashion What do you think of when you think of sex? Id like to say love or passion, but a lot of things come to mind: past partners, porn. I think of the sex Ive had or Im having and I wonder about all the kinds of sex I wont have or might not experience, other peoples fetishes, etc. What does sex mean to you? How has that meaning evolved over time? Sex is so often negatively portrayed as some sort of act of satisfying or pleasuring your partner only. Sex is about the self and pleasuring the self. I think we often forget how primitive and instinctual the act of sex is. Im young and I think that my view on sex has evolved and will probably continue to evolve. My view on sex when I was younger was much more closeted or rooted in fear. How did you chose to portray sex through your art for this exhibit? I wanted to show where I think sex is at in the modern digital world: this sense of hyper accessibility and this false impression of openness. As part of the LGBT community I feel like our sex in particular has a history of being stigmatized and discreetly fetishized. This was my way of taking some of the stigma around sex in the community and creating something you could wear pridefully. Estudio Persona Uruguay, furniture exhibition What do you think of when you think of sex? Sex is liberation of repressed expression. The place where you feel no limitations. The more you feel, the better. It is something that cant usually exist in the ordinary expression of your everyday self. What does sex mean to you? Sex means honesty and communication, a physical translation of my emotional state of mind. In my youth, the pleasure of sex was different and, at times, brought about self-doubt, where as now, sex is what brings me balance and peace. How did you choose to portray sex for this exhibit? It is portrayed subtly throughout the movement of the room, with the female form, and the suggestiveness of sexual yearning. Justin Hopkins Los Angeles, music and painting What do you think of when you think of sex? Life, Nature, Collaboration, Identity, Love, Lust, Power, Submission, Procreation, Recreation What does sex mean to you? Sex is the most natural and necessary thing on the face of the earth yet can carry so many social taboos and hidden vulnerabilities. There is much to be learned about a culture in time by looking at how it praises and punishes sex. How did you choose to portray sex for this exhibit? The idea of sex is being abstracted into an improvised sound performance in collaboration with a film by James Mountford. The performances will be broken into several sets randomly scattered over the course of the event depicting the arc of several different sexual experiences. Jessica Emmanuel Los Angeles, movement-based art What do you think of when you think of sex? Energy, creativity, connection, surrendering to the moment, being completely present. What does sex mean to you? For me, sex is the essence of creation. Recently Ive been thinking more about sexual energy and how to harness that energy to give birth to new ideas. The meaning of sex for me has changed so much over the years and thats actually what my piece is about. Ive had to unlearn a lot of toxic social programming. For example I think I was 11 or 12 when random men started catcalling, which even though it was not my fault, it made me want to become invisible. I changed the way I walked, the way I dressed, stopped making eye contact, walked on the other side of the street, walked faster, basically anything and everything to shrink myself. So I had to learn to let that go and become visible again. Then as a teenager I learned that sex was shameful, which I later had to unlearn and so on and so on. How did you choose to portray sex for this exhibit? I decided to look at some pivotal moments in my life and create movement sequences based on what my feelings were about sex at that time. The movement sequences will happen in the corridors of the hotel. James Mountford London, photography and sculpture What do you think of when you think of sex? Its visceral and dark and exciting. Always changing and ever-evolving. I think thats what keeps it exciting. What does sex mean to you? I mean, its just a fun thing to do. Even in the last year its changed dramatically. We went from just me and Leena to me, Leena and a baby. So now we have our 3-month-old and obviously sex has changed drastically through that whole process. How did you choose to portray sex for this exhibit? I think a lot of my work can have some kind of sexual connotation to it. I just continued along the same lines. A lot of my work is based in the dark and I think a lot of sex happens in the dark. So theres that curiosity of, Whats in that shadow? Whats happening in that hidden corner? And thats probably what drives my work in this particular exhibition. sonaiya.kelley@latimes.com follow me on twitter @sonaiyak Animals and liquor stores dont mix. Earlier this year a peacock broke into a liquor store and became a viral sensation after doing $500 worth of damage. Just last month, a man got drunk and tried to hand-feed a live tiger, and he was lucky to only lose a couple fingers. Now a very big possum managed to break into a Florida liquor store, stole some alcohol, and got wildly drunk in the process. According to the Northwest Florida Daily News, a large female possum broke into Cashs Liquor Store in Fort Walton Beach on the day after Thanksgiving. She climbed in through the rafters and knocked over a bottle of bourbon. Once the bourbon was open, she drank the whole thing. She came in from the outside and was up in the rafters, and when she came through she knocked a bottle of liquor off the shelf, said store owner Cash Moore, who said that as far as he knew, the possum was of legal drinking age. When she got down on the floor she drank the whole damn bottle. Advertisement A store employee found the possum and the broken bottle the next morning, and took the very drunk possum to the Emerald Coast Wildlife Refuge. Staff said the possum appeared disoriented and was excessively salivating, so they pumped her full of fluids and kept an eye on her. After she sobered up, they released her back outside. Possums are not meant to drink bourbon, but humans should check out these 9 whiskies you should be drinking now. One man was killed and two other men were wounded in a shooting early Saturday morning at a Monrovia bar. The triple shooting was reported just after midnight in the 100 block of East Olive Avenue, according to Deputy Lisa Jansen of the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department, which was assisting Monrovia police with the investigation. The shooting occurred at Gem City Grill, police said. All three victims were taken to local hospitals, where one pronounced dead, Jansen said. The conditions of the other men were not known. Advertisement There was no suspect information available. On Friday morning at Tijuanas Jose M. Larroque Elementary School, Tom Torlakson was the eagerest of students. Californias state superintendent of public instruction had come to Baja California to learn about the hurdles facing those who make the switch between U.S. and Mexican schools. And seated before him in the schools small library was a group of seasoned experts. The challenge every day is to speak Spanish, said Marco Antonio Arellano Hernandez, 12, who recently moved from Las Vegas to Tijuana and is enrolled in sixth grade at the public elementary school on a hillside near downtown. The teachers helped us a lot. Advertisement Torlakson and Baja Californias secretary of education, Miguel Angel Mendoza, said their two systems are exploring ways to better address the needs of the students they share perhaps by making it easier to transfer academic records, expanding binational teacher training programs or increasing the number of exchanges between Mexico and California to promote bilingual education. Were searching for how we can help each other help those students, Torlakson said. How do we place them in the right academic setting so they dont feel frustrated and lost or behind? The visit was organized by the California Assn. for Bilingual Education, a nonprofit that advocates for bilingual programs and students learning English. Out of some 682,000 Baja California students enrolled in preschool through ninth grade, about 53,000 were born in the United States. Many have come from California and moved to Tijuana for a variety of reasons in some cases because their parents were deported. Wearing white shirts, sweaters with the school logotype and navy blue slacks or skirts, those in the library looked like typical Tijuana public school students. Yet most spoke English. Julian Mares Barbosa, 9, said he was born on the other side in Long Beach but has been living in Mexico since kindergarten. My dad cant cross. Thats why Im here, he said. California has an estimated 300,000 students who are in the U.S. illegally, according to the state Department of Education, and another 1 million live with a parent or guardian who is in the country illegally. I expect deportation to ramp up, Torlakson said. President Trumps approach unfortunately has been increasing tension with Mexico, he said at a news conference at the Tijuana offices of the Baja California Public Education Secretariat. I think thats wrong, counterproductive. Mendoza said his systems relationship with California schools dates back two decades. Today it includes teacher training programs and collaboration with institutions such as UCLA and San Diego State. We needed to meet, to witness what is currently in place, Mendoza said of the California superintendents visit. We want to double, triple, quadruple these efforts. sandra.dibble@sduniontribune.com Dibble writes for the San Diego Union-Tribune Tim Gee woke before dawn Saturday and donned a black three-piece suit with crimson tie. The Las Vegas resident then flew to Los Angeles, home to a past that still haunts him. Hours later, he stood holding a FedEx envelope full of documents, waiting with dozens of other convicted felons seeking free legal assistance at a special clinic near downtown Los Angeles in getting their charges reduced, dismissed or expunged from their criminal records. More than 25 years ago, Gee was arrested for possession of marijuana with intent to sell. He finished his probation and eventually moved to Las Vegas, where he now owns two soul food restaurants. Recently, though, hes been worried his record could interfere with his desire to get a liquor license and expand his business. Advertisement Its kind of heavy, said Gee, 50. I just dont like the feeling of someone thinking Im different than who I really am at this point in my life. He was one of nearly 100 people who took part in Saturdays expungement clinic organized by the Drug Policy Alliance, a national drug law reform group. The event comes as California prepares for marijuana legalization. Starting Jan. 1, sales of recreational marijuana will be legal under Proposition 64, which was passed by voters in November 2016. Most of the attention on the new law has been focused on regulations for growing and selling pot, but it also provides an avenue for people charged or convicted of marijuana-related offenses to ask that their charges be dropped, their sentences reduced or their criminal records expunged if they are no longer considered crimes under Proposition 64. Weve been having to fight hard to let people know that its actually one of the largest sentencing reforms in the country, said Eunisses Hernandez, a policy coordinator for the Drug Policy Alliance. We know based on arrests that there are tens of thousands of people who have been arrested and impacted by marijuana prohibition and these are the people that need help. The Alliance estimates that only about 4,500 people statewide have so far applied to have their records reclassified under Proposition 64. Hernandez said they expect that number to grow as word gets out. The Drug Policy Alliance has already hosted around two dozen expungement clinics this year, assisting about 1,200 people with post-conviction services. Legal help was provided Saturday by attorneys, paralegals and clerks from the L.A. County Public Defenders Office and the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles. Saturdays event, held at the Amity Foundation on Grand Avenue just south of downtown, was the last of the year. Another will be held at the same location Jan. 6. Registration and information are available online. The expungement clinics provide folks a second chance, Hernandez said. They offer people an opportunity to take those scarlet letters off their criminal records that they carry with them. Kedrick Pickett, 45, hopes Saturdays event will allow him to do just that. A truck driver the past 18 years, Pickett said he has always been upfront on job applications about his rap sheet, which includes a burglary charge and a possession of marijuana charge from 2000. Hes managed to stay employed, but always suspected his criminal record has prevented him from moving on to better, higher-paying jobs. A lot of companies just go by the paperwork. Oh hes got a conviction? We cant mess with him. But by that paper, they dont know Ive been volunteering for youth football for over 20 years, or that hes a father, and has a grandson he dotes on, he said. I can only hope they judge me on my experience, not on the record that I created when I was in my early 20s. Tim Gee flew from Las Vegas early Saturday to participate in the program. (Jessica Q. Chen / Los Angeles Times ) christine.maiduc@latimes.com For more on California politics, follow @cmaiduc. UPDATES: 6 p.m.: This story was updated with comments from participants in the expungement clinic. This article was originally posted at 11:45 a.m. On a breezy summer day two years ago, Kathryn Steinle was strolling with her father along Pier 14 by the Ferry Building in San Francisco, when she was hit by a .40-caliber bullet. The single shot, fired by a homeless man, had hit the concrete pier first, ricocheting 78 feet before striking her in the back. Such facts would be parsed in court. But a larger national narrative of the killing split off on a political thread the moment police identified the shooter as Jose Ines Garcia Zarate, an immigrant in the country illegally and a drug offender, whom the city of San Francisco had declined to turn over to federal officials to be deported. Advertisement Galvanized by then-presidential candidate Donald Trump, anti-immigration activists blamed the killing on lax border enforcement and so-called sanctuary cities that refused to cooperate with federal authorities epitomized by the liberal city on the bay. At the time of the shooting, Trump called Garcia Zarate an animal, the embodiment of the bad hombres and rapists hed been railing against. This senseless and totally preventable act of violence committed by an illegal immigrant is yet another example of why we must secure our border immediately, Trump said in a statement shortly after Steinles death. But that narrative was not the one the jurors had to assess when they voted to acquit Garcia Zarate, 45, of murder and involuntary manslaughter on Thursday. Judge Samuel Feng would not allow them to consider the defendants immigration status, his five deportations or his multiple drug convictions. They could decide only whether he intentionally shot Steinle on July 1, 2015, or at the least fired the gun with a willful disregard for life. The jurors, who deliberated for four days, did not explain their unanimous decision to acquit Garcia Zarate of all charges except one count of a being felon in possession of a firearm. Legal experts said prosecutors had an uphill battle because there was no clear motive in the case. Further muddling the shooters intentions: evidence that the bullet hit the ground just 12 feet from the defendant before ricocheting those 78 feet into Steinle. On its surface, it seemed like a tough case to prove intent to kill, said Jim Hammer, former head of the San Francisco district attorneys homicide unit. That ricochet, I assume, was a big thing for the jury. He said if there are two reasonable explanations on a criminal charge, one pointing toward guilt, one pointing to innocence, California law mandates that jurors must acquit. Defense attorney Matt Gonzalez argued Garcia Zarate found the stolen pistol wrapped in a rag on the pier and that it accidentally fired when he picked it up. UC Hastings law professor Hadar Aviram called the verdict a triumph for the justice system. The jury doesnt convict people when theres reasonable doubt, she said. Thats what happened here. She said prosecutors routinely charge defendants when they know the case will be a tough sell to a jury. Its a natural tendency of everyone, she said. When something terrible happens, we look for someone to blame. But even critics of San Francisco were surprised the jury did not convict Garcia Zarate of involuntary manslaughter at a minimum, for negligently firing the Sig Sauer pistol on the pier. Jessica Vaughan, director of policy studies at the Center for Immigration Studies, a Washington, D.C., think tank that advocates for restrictions on immigration, thought the jury was deliberating between second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter. I was very shocked that they bought into this idea that this was some accident that he shouldnt be held responsible for, Vaughan said. I was very surprised and saddened for the Steinle family with this very controversial and unsatisfying verdict. The Steinle family told the San Francisco Chronicle they were saddened and shocked by the verdict. Justice was rendered, but it was not served, said Jim Steinle, whose daughter died in his arms. While Steinle told the newspaper he was not totally opposed to the sanctuary city concept, he did blame a cascade of bad decisions by the federal and local governments for Garcia Zarate being on the streets that day. The Mexican immigrant had been in federal custody for reentering the country illegally and handed over to the San Francisco sheriff to be prosecuted for a 20-year-old marijuana case. Sheriff Ross Mirkarimis decision to release Garcia Zarate 10 weeks before the killing without notifying federal authorities helped lead to his reelection loss in 2016. In the political arena, that decision was on trial as much as Garcia Zarates motivations on the pier. San Franciscos decision to protect criminal aliens led to the preventable and heartbreaking death of Kate Steinle, U.S. Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions said in a statement Thursday. I urge the leaders of the nations communities to reflect on the outcome of this case and consider carefully the harm they are doing to their citizens by refusing to cooperate with federal law enforcement officers. President Trump criticized the verdict in multiple tweets. The Kate Steinle killer came back and back over the weakly protected Obama border, always committing crimes and being violent, and yet this info was not used in court, he wrote. His exoneration is a complete travesty of justice. BUILD THE WALL! Latino and immigrant activists fear the decision could lead to further backlash against them, led by the president. Its very equivalent to when there is a terrorist attack that many communities of color are hoping and praying its not going to be a person of color, said Angelica Salas, executive director of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles, because its not just about that individual and that individual having mental issues or just the particulars of that individual, but that individuals actions then actually paint the entire community. She said she was heartened that the 12 jurors used common sense to see through the politics. But on a broader scale, Salas said, the case was used as a means by which to denigrate all immigrants, by which to create this really almost mob like mentality against immigrants and paint them all as criminal and the worst of the worst. joe.mozingo@latimes.com | Twitter @joemozingo brittny.mejia@latimes.com | Twitter: @brittny_mejia We value your privacy. Focus Taiwan (CNA) uses tracking technologies to provide better reading experiences, but it also respects readers' privacy. Click here to find out more about Focus Taiwan's privacy policy. When you close this window, it means you agree with this policy. If the group of young Los Angeles police cadets accused of stealing department vehicles had any fear of getting caught, they certainly didnt show it. For weeks, according to documents, the teens drove to and from LAPD-related events and on joyrides as far away as Corona and Santa Clarita. Some of the cadets used the cars to perform doughnuts behind an Inglewood store, and one drove a stolen LAPD vehicle to his job at a Ross Dress for Less store. There were other blatant actions: A high-ranking cadet described as the ringleader of the group asked someone to film him driving a cruiser, and they often drove with lights flashing and sirens blaring in one instance racing through South L.A. to Hawthorne to move one teens personal vehicle before it was towed. Advertisement Still, it took Los Angeles police nearly two months to discover the cadets alleged misbehavior and take action. The new details about the alleged activities are contained in a search warrant recently obtained by The Times. As police continue to investigate the cadet scandal, the key question is less why the youths took advantage of their positions, but why their actions went undetected for so long. What they were doing was stupid, but they werent exactly stupid, Deputy Chief Horace Frank said. They were smart enough to try to hide their activities to the best of their knowledge. Frank said that LAPD personnel who might have seen the cadets driving the police cars could have reasonably assumed they were simply younger officers. When you look back, you can say, Well, how come no one noticed that? Frank said. We have a lot of young-looking officers. Theres so many officers that are looking like that, were at that stage where its not that odd until after the fact. The new disclosures are contained in court papers related to Robert Cain, a now-former LAPD officer accused of having sex with a 15-year-old female cadet. Luis Carrillo, the girls attorney, said the delay in uncovering the alleged transgressions showed the department needed much closer supervision of the teens. You cant have cadets in uniform leaving in a patrol vehicle with so many officers around, so many officers patrolling, Carrillo said. This would be highly noticeable the minute they drive out of the station. The department expects to present findings about the cadets activities to Los Angeles County prosecutors next week. Capt. Robert Long, who heads the LAPDs Major Crimes Division, confirmed that the cadets first took a police vehicle on April 28, weeks earlier than the department had previously disclosed. LAPD Chief Charlie Beck has acknowledged flaws in how the cadet program was run. The scandal led to investigations by the LAPD and its inspector general that revealed lax oversight of the cadets and training for the officers involved in the departments signature youth program. The LAPD made a series of changes, tightening supervision and training, and limiting officers social media and phone contact with cadets. The Times is not identifying the cadets named in the warrant because many of them were juveniles at the time of their alleged misdeeds. Those cadets either declined to comment for this article or did not respond to messages left by reporters. The controversy exploded June 14, when three teens led police on a pair of wild car chases that ended in crashes in South L.A. In a subsequent investigation, Cain, a 10-year LAPD veteran assigned to the 77th Street stations equipment room, was arrested by Beck himself. In July, L.A. County prosecutors charged him with oral copulation of a person under the age of 16, lewd acts upon a child and unlawful sexual intercourse. Cain is in jail in San Bernardino County awaiting trial on weapons charges stemming from a search of his Rancho Cucamonga home. In all, seven cadets were arrested and accused of taking police cars and other LAPD equipment, including Tasers, radios and a bulletproof vest. Some were also accused of stopping other drivers while in the police cars. According to the warrant, several cadets told detectives the vehicles were used to ferry teens to and from locations where LAPD officers were present. On May 27, one cadet drove a police car to the 77th Street station, then used an unmarked police vehicle to drive several other cadets to a party for Newton Division cadets, the warrant said. The teens also used police vehicles to drive other cadets to an event for the cadet color guard on June 8, according to the warrant. Long confirmed LAPD personnel were present at both events. The alleged ringleader told other cadets he had special permission to drive the cars, according to the warrant. Another cadet said he was given access to a vehicle by the officer who ran the equipment room at the station, but did not mention Cain by name. The LAPD has said Cain was complicit in the thefts but has declined to offer details. His attorney, Bill Seki, has denied his client had any knowledge of the thefts. One cadet told detectives that some members of the group used the vehicles to stop drivers in Huntington Park and Inglewood, according to the warrant. During one of the stops, the cadets pulled over a member of the El Segundo Police Departments cadet program. Two of the cadets wore modified uniforms meant to resemble the darker shade of blue worn by LAPD officers,the warrant said. An LAPD officer told detectives she noticed a person she later believed to be a cadet stopping another driver on June 13, according to the warrant. The traffic stop seemed odd, she recalled, because one of the police cars was stopped in front of the vehicle that had been pulled over. But the car pulled away before she got a closer look, she said. Long, the LAPD captain, said that after the June 14 car chase, other officers reported similar incidents in which they thought they had seen cadets driving department vehicles. The cadets carelessness may have played a role in their arrests. After the cars were discovered missing, the warrant said, LAPD investigators traveled to the South L.A. home of one of the teens, hoping to interview her. Not long after they arrived, two vehicles carrying cadets pulled up, according to the warrant. The car chase started soon after. Frank and Long said the investigation, which included nearly 100 interviews and required half a dozen detectives to scour social media and cellphone records, revealed Cain was the only officer who knew about the thefts before the car chase. No other LAPD officers have been accused of criminal wrongdoing, they said. Given the length of the time the cadets had access to LAPD vehicles and equipment, Long said the department wanted to make sure the teens had not done anything beyond what they were already accused of. We started this as OK, whats the worst they could have done with what they had available to them? Long said. Were back down to just the basic facts of taking the police cars and no other serious crimes. Times staff writers Richard Winton and Marisa Gerber contributed to this report james.queally@latimes.com kate.mather@latimes.com Follow @JamesQueallyLAT and @katemather for crime and police news in California. The Navys air boss, Vice Adm. Mike Shoemaker, has disciplined two aviators involved in a Nov. 15 incident of risque skywriting in Washington state. The unnamed male pilot and his backseat aviator from the Zappers of Electronic Attack Squadron 130 at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, Wash., received administrative punishment on Nov. 22 following a Field Naval Aviator Evaluation Board hearing before Shoemaker on North Island near Coronado. The pilot of the EA-18G Growler used the contrails of the jet to sketch a likeness of a penis in the air during a routine training exercise, a floating image that became an internet sensation when it was photographed and shared on social media. Advertisement That the hearing occurred at the North Island headquarters of Naval Air Forces rather than at the squadron or wing levels signaled the importance the military assigned to addressing the stunt. The aviators were apologetic and contrite, said Cmdr. Ron Flanders, a Navy spokesman. They realized that this was an embarrassment to naval aviation and the entire Navy. This sort of conduct is contrary to the core values of the Navy. Flanders said the Navy was barred by privacy laws from identifying the aviators or detailing their punishment, but the results of the board were obtained by the San Diego Union-Tribune Shoemaker determined that the aviators actions were impulsive and immature but both were forthright and remorseful. He ordered that they be placed on probation for six months and to address their fellow crews on Whidbey Island in a series of Change the Culture briefs describing the ramifications and the embarrassment it caused while contrasting their actions with the excellence and discipline of other sailors worldwide. Punishment could have included loss of the aviators coveted wing insignia. Both aviators continue to face a separate inquiry from their Virginia-based Carrier Air Wing 3. carl.prine@sduniontribune.com The U.S. Justice Department on Friday issued an arrest warrant for a man in the country illegally who had been accused of killing a woman in San Francisco but acquitted by a jury this week. The warrant for Jose Ines Garcia Zarate, a seven-time felon who has been deported from the U.S. to Mexico numerous times, was filed in a Texas court and alleges he violated the terms of an earlier criminal sentence by possessing the gun that killed Kate Steinle. Garcia Zarate remains in California custody for now. President Trump took to Twitter on Friday to attack the jurys decision in a case the president had made a centerpiece of his campaign trail condemnation of illegal immigration. Advertisement In a series of tweets, the president called the decision disgraceful. The Kate Steinle killer came back and back over the weakly protected Obama border, always committing crimes and being violent, and yet this info was not used in court. His exoneration is a complete travesty of justice. BUILD THE WALL!, he wrote. Steinle was shot in the back in July 2015 as she walked with her father on Pier 14, in the heart of the citys tourist district. Less than an hour later Zarate was arrested about a mile away and soon charged in the killing. The trial hinged on whether jurors believed the killing was intentional or accidental, as the defense asserted. Prosecutors had given the jury the option to convict Garcia Zarate of first- or second-degree murder or involuntary manslaughter. His defense argued that the weapon went off accidentally in Garcia Zarates hands. (A few days before the shooting, the gun had been stolen from a federal rangers car parked nearby, but Garcia Zarate, who said he had found the gun, was not charged with that crime.) During the trial, Garcia Zarates attorneys called an expert who testified that it was an unintentional ricochet shot that killed Steinle. The prosecutor presented evidence that the pistol that killed Steinle required a firm pull of the trigger to fire and that Garcia Zarate threw the firearm into San Francisco Bay after Steinle fell, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. A crime-scene inspector also testified that the gun would have had to be intentionally aimed at Steinle for the bullet to follow the path it did. It was a verdict we were not hoping for, San Francisco district attorneys spokesman Alex Bastian said. I know that both sides fought very hard, but again, the jurors are the ones who make a determination on a case, and we will respect that decision. On Friday, a U.S. Justice Department spokeswoman, Sarah Isgur Flores, had said that federal prosecutors were considering possible charges against Garcia Zarate related to his reentry into the U.S. Were looking at every option and we will prosecute this to the fullest extent of the law because these cases are tragic and entirely preventable, Flores told Fox News. During the presidential campaign, Trump often cited the case to show the need for a crackdown on illegal immigration. At one point, he referred to Garcia Zarate as this animal who shot that wonderful, that beautiful, woman in San Francisco. On Friday morning Trump predicted political ramifications for the jurys ruling. The jury was not told the killer of Kate was a 7 time felon. The Schumer/Pelosi Democrats are so weak on Crime that they will pay a big price in the 2018 and 2020 Elections. Smoked pot? Want to join the U.S. Army? No problem. As more states lessen or eliminate marijuana penalties, the Army is granting hundreds of waivers to enlist people who used the drug in their youth as long as they realize they cant do so again in the military. The number of waivers granted by the active-duty Army for marijuana use jumped to more than 500 this year from 191 in 2016. Three years ago, no such waivers were granted. The big increase is just one way officials are dealing with orders to expand the Armys size. Provided they understand that they cannot do that when they serve in the military, I will waive that all day long, said Maj. Gen. Jeff Snow, head of the Armys recruiting command. Advertisement The marijuana use exclusions represent about one-quarter of the total misconduct waivers the Army granted in the budget year that ended Sept. 30. They accounted for much of the 50% increase overall in recruits who needed a waiver for some type of misconduct. Snow said the figures probably will rise further as more states legalize or decriminalize marijuana. Eight states Alaska, California, Colorado, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Oregon and Washington and the District of Columbia have fully legalized or are about to legalize possession of small amounts of marijuana for adults recreational use. An additional 13 states have decriminalized it, meaning possession of small amounts is considered the equivalent of a traffic citation or a low-end misdemeanor with no chance of jail. Twenty-nine states, along with Puerto Rico, Guam and Washington, D.C., allow the use of medical marijuana. Army leaders have faced increased scrutiny in recent weeks amid worries in Congress and elsewhere about a decline in quality among new enlistees. Army data show more than 8,000 recruits have received waivers in 2017, compared with about 6,700 last year. Most waivers concerned physical or mental health. Almost 2% of the recruits were considered Category 4, meaning they scored 31 or less, out of 99, on the aptitude test. Just over a half-percent were in that category in 2016. In total, the Army enlisted almost 69,000 recruits this year, close to 6,000 more than last year. In an interview with the Associated Press, Snow said he went to his superiors early this year to ask if he could bring in more of the Category 4 recruits to meet higher enlistment goals. He said he promised that the Army would stay well below the 4% limit on recruits from the group allowed by the Pentagon. Recruits who score lower than 31 on the test must meet specific criteria for the job they are signing up for. There is no waiver for previous pot smoking for them. They also cant qualify for a health or conduct waiver. The Armys top officer, Gen. Mark Milley, told reporters during a recent briefing that the service is not lowering standards. The increases in the Category 4 enlistees, however, are fueling concerns that the Army could repeat mistakes made during the peak of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars more than a decade ago, when it hurriedly added soldiers to the ranks to meet deployment needs. At the time, the Army brought in more recruits with criminal records and misconduct waivers. As the years passed, discipline problems and other behavioral issues increased as well. Milley and Snow insist that wont happen again. Quality matters more than quantity. If you make the numbers, great, awesome. But do not break the standards, Milley said. Standards have to be upheld, period. So if we come in at less than the ideal number, but weve maintained the standards, thats success. The Armys argument, however, can be a bit misleading. The military services routinely enlist fewer recruits with waivers or lower scores than allowed under Defense Department guidelines. So while the Army increased the number of former drug users or recruits with lower scores than in previous years, the service still stayed below the maximum levels authorized by the Pentagon. And those recruits must get through boot camp, thus meeting minimum standards for joining the military. Officials can thus argue that they havent lowered the standards even if they have arguably enlisted more candidates of lower quality. Snow acknowledged the challenge in meeting the growing enlistment goals. In the current fiscal year, the Army must recruit 80,000 new men and women. This mission is going to be a significant challenge for the command, said Snow, who wants fewer than 2% of the new recruits to be Category 4. The possibility does exist that the numbers of marijuana waivers and Category 4s could increase. I hope not, but its too early to tell right now. A leading neo-Nazi website facing a harassment lawsuit for targeting a Montana Jewish woman has asked a federal judge to throw out her complaint, arguing that neo-Nazi memes and anti-Jewish slurs are protected free speech and pose no true threat to Jewish people. Whitefish, Mont., real-estate agent Tanya Gersh sued Daily Stormer blogger Andrew Anglin in April after Anglin targeted the woman for a troll storm in a post on the website. Gersh said Anglins supporters harassed her over the phone, by mail and over the internet with threatening messages and anti-Semitic slurs, including a meme showing Gersh being sprayed with a green cloud, according to a lawsuit filed on Gershs behalf by the Southern Poverty Law Center, an anti-racism nonprofit. Advertisement Other messages told Gersh to kill herself, according to the lawsuit, which alleged invasion of privacy, intimidation and infliction of emotional distress. But in a motion to dismiss the lawsuit filed in federal court in Montana on Thursday, Anglins attorneys laid out a defense that argued the messages were generally recognized anti-Semitic tropes, without actual harm reasonably to be construed, according to the filing. And, even Nazi expression, no matter the psychic harm on Jewish residents, is nonetheless protected speech, the motion says. Thus, there was no true threat. The Southern Poverty Law Centers case against Anglin marks one of the most aggressive attempts to combat the burgeoning white-nationalist movement in the U.S., which has drawn energy in recent years from Donald Trumps presidency and web-savvy personalities such as Anglin. Decades ago, the law center launched its earliest efforts to use civil litigation to dismantle far-right groups, such as the Aryan Nations and various Ku Klux Klan chapters, by winning large damages against the groups in court, forcing them to turn over their assets and declare bankruptcy. The group is reviving that strategy for the 21st century. Its lawsuit against Anglin is part of a larger, multifaceted, multi-pronged effort to undermine the strength of those people and those organizations that spew hate and keep them from entering and taking over the mainstream, David Dinielli, one of the groups primary attorneys on the case, said in an August interview at the groups headquarters in Montgomery, Ala. We would love it if we obtained a judgment that is sufficient to hound Andrew Anglin the rest of his life and hobble his ability to engage in his online hate ever again, Dinielli said. But one of the groups biggest challenges has been trying to find Anglin to serve him with the lawsuit and set the gears in motion to get one of the far-rights most reclusive figures to appear publicly in a courtroom. Process servers were unable to find Anglin in Ohio, where his family lives, and so the group turned to posting notices in a local newspaper in order to fulfill legal requirements to file notice that he was being sued. Anglin was certainly well aware of the lawsuit, posting on the Daily Stormer, one of the internets most popular far-right sites, that this site will be shut down if we dont win this lawsuit filed by Jewish terrorists. Anglin raised more than $150,000 for his legal defense from a start-up crowdfunding site and told media outlets that he now lived in Nigeria. (You shouldnt be worried about Nigeria, Anglin wrote in an email earlier this year when The Los Angeles Times asked skeptically about the reports, and he declined to comment on the lawsuit.) Over the last month, attorneys representing Anglin including Marc Randazza of Las Vegas, Jay M. Wolman of Hartford, Conn., and Mathew M. Stevenson of Missoula, Montana started filing motions to launch Anglins legal response to the lawsuit. Randazza previously told The Times that the Southern Poverty Law Centers case was about censoring views that they dislike, rather than vindicating any real legal rights. Thursdays motion to dismiss marks Anglins most substantive defense so far. It argues that Anglins calls for a troll storm were protected by the First Amendment free speech made on a website to spur others to express their opinions to Plaintiff and her associates and to contribute more speech to the marketplace of ideas. The motion also argues that Anglin did not violate Gershs privacy by publishing her phone number, address and social media profiles, including that of her 12-year-old son. All of the information Defendant allegedly published about Ms. Gersh was publicly available, the motion said. But where is Anglin? The motion declined to say, adding that the Southern Poverty Law Center bears the burden of proof in establishing [Anglins] domicile and that Anglin is not a citizen of any State. The Southern Poverty Law Center said its attorneys are reviewing the filing. matt.pearce@latimes.com Matt Pearce is a national reporter for The Times. Follow him on Twitter at @mattdpearce. More national headlines Authorities have arrested a man in connection with the disappearance of a young girl and said they will continue to use volunteers to look for the childs body in the North Carolina woods. Earl Kimrey of Jacksonville was arrested late Friday and was being held at the Onslow County Detention Center on a $1-million bond in the disappearance of 3-year-old Mariah Woods, deputies said. Kimrey is charged with concealing of death, obstruction of justice, second-degree burglary, felony larceny and possession of stolen property. Advertisement FBI spokeswoman Shelley Lynch confirmed that Kimrey lived with Mariah and her mother. Investigators think the girl is dead, but they have not found her body, the sheriffs office said in a statement. The statement did not say how authorities believe the girl was killed. The searches will now shift to a recovery process, deputies said of the more than 700 volunteers that poured into the county along the North Carolina coast about 120 miles southeast of Raleigh, searching woods, outbuildings and anyplace else for the girl. Kimrey removed the girls body from the place where she died and knew her death was not natural, according to arrest warrants. Mariah was reported missing Monday morning by her mother, who said she last saw the girl when she put her to bed the night before. Kristy Woods made tearful pleas for her daughters return. This is my world, this is my angel, she said. The statement from deputies did not go into details about what led them to arrest Kimrey, 32. Prosecutors are reviewing whether additional charges should be filed. The statement did not indicate whether Kimrey had a lawyer or if anyone else could also be charged. Mariahs father, who has been involved in a custody dispute with her mother, has criticized her version of events. Someone just walked right up in there, grabbed the 3-year-old out of the bed and she didnt cry, she didnt scream? Woods told WCTI-TV in New Bern earlier in the week. Nobody heard anything? Four people in the house, two adults and two kids, someone just comes up and snatches the baby and walks out? The military has identified 100 sailors and Marines killed when the U.S. battleship Oklahoma capsized during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor 76 years ago. The milestone, announced Friday, comes two years after the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency dug up nearly 400 sets of remains from a Hawaii cemetery. Officials had the bodies exhumed after determining that advances in forensic science and genealogical help from families could make identifications possible. Advertisement The buried troops have been classified as missing since World War II. The agency has said it expects to identify about 80% of them by 2020. The most recent identification came in late November, the agency said in a news release. The family hasnt been notified yet, however, so his name hasnt been released. Many of those identified have been reburied in their hometowns. Others were reinterred at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, located in an extinct volcanic crater in Honolulu. One reburial is planned for Dec. 6: Navy Radioman 3rd Class Howard W. Bean of Everett, Mass., will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery. Bean was 27 when he was killed. Altogether, 429 people on the battleship were killed in the Dec. 7, 1941, bombing that plunged the United States into World War II. Only 35 were identified in the years immediately after. Many remains buried in Hawaii were co-mingled with those of other sailors and Marines. The 388 sets of remains disinterred in 2015 were buried in 46 plots. The agency has been studying dental records and DNA to make identifications. It sent exhumed remains to a lab at Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska for analysis. The lab sent about 5,000 samples to a military DNA lab. The agency has family DNA reference samples for 85% of the unaccounted-for Marines and sailors. More than 2,300 sailors, Marines and soldiers were killed in the attack on Pearl Harbor. The Oklahomas casualties were second only to the those of the battleship Arizona, which lost 1,177 men. The Arizona is still resting at the bottom of the harbor with most of its crew entombed on board. After an audit of the University of California system in April suggested that UC President Janet Napolitano maintained a $175 million slush fund, a whistleblower accused the presidents office of meddling in the audit. Separate investigations by the state Auditors office and the UC Board of Regents ensued, and the results are now in. Napolitano escaped the worst there wasnt enough evidence to show that she personally ordered UC campuses to change how they responded to the audit or that she knew such interference was occurring. But both investigations concluded that top aides, who have since resigned, did intervene to make the presidents office look better. Napolitano gets to hold on to her job, which is good news for UC. She has been a strong leader for the university during troubled financial and political times, resisting efforts to weaken the universitys independence with a welcome level of toughness and dedicating herself to protecting the universitys undocumented students. Still, Napolitano doesnt come out untarnished. At the very least, she didnt monitor her top aides closely enough to know that they were engaged in egregious interference, telling campuses to omit or temper their criticisms of the presidents office. That makes the UC president appear out of touch. When state Auditor Elaine Howle complained about Napolitanos office inserting itself between the auditor and campus-by-campus responses to her May audit, youd think Napolitano would have pulled her people together and asked, What were you up to? Time to come clean. Instead, though she apologized for asking campus officials to pass their responses through her office, she also insisted that her people were merely making sure the campuses were filling out the forms correctly. Advertisement Academic greatness and accountability arent mutually exclusive for the best public university in the world; on the contrary, they go hand in hand. That assertion was called into question by UC Santa Cruz Chancellor George Blumenthal, who was interviewed during the regents investigation (which was conducted by former state Supreme Court Justice Carlos Moreno and an independent law office). Blumenthal said that Napolitano had heatedly reprimanded him for sending the questionnaire directly to the auditor and demanded that he recall it. Napolitano responded that she had been concerned only because the chancellors office had not reviewed the questionnaire. Even so, the investigation found, one of her aides then intervened to have some of the answers modified. Its not the smoking gun of interference, but it also doesnt square with Napolitanos earlier claims that the various campuses sought her offices help with the survey questionnaires. As it turns out, her bad decision to involve her office in those questionnaires ended up being a bigger problem than the original audit itself. That probe never really showed what the initial ruckus seemed to indicate. The supposed slush fund was actually money legitimately collected by the presidents office from various funding sources for campus researchers, or held for important initiatives, such as UCs program for students in Washington, D.C. and legal services for undocumented students. Even Howle never accused Napolitano or her office of misusing funding. No one was taking lavish trips abroad with the money, or filling private homes with big-ticket artworks. But the offices spending was difficult to track because proper budgeting procedures hadnt been followed, and spending on high-level administrators was too high. The Board of Regents admonished Napolitano, and shes apologized for getting her office involved in the audit questionnaires. At this point, the Legislature and the public should do what the regents have done and let her move forward without taint. If the state wants a well-run research university system that continues to command the admiration of the world and it should it cannot afford to weaken that system or its chief executive. It cant micromanage a great university and still have a great university. But Napolitano also is on notice. Her office will need to straighten its affairs, tidy up its procedures, move quickly to eliminate overspending on executives and most of all, show that it is willing to be abundantly transparent with the regents and the public. As Napolitano goes, so goes the university she leads. Academic greatness and accountability arent mutually exclusive for the best public university in the world; on the contrary, they go hand in hand. Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinionand Facebook Privacy advocates were heartened by Wednesdays oral argument in the Supreme Court in Carpenter vs. United States, involving a challenge to the warrantless acquisition by the FBI of cellphone location records that helped convict a Michigan man of a number of armed robberies. Several justices from across the courts ideological spectrum (as Supreme Court reporters like to say) were receptive to the argument that police must obtain a warrant before obtaining such records at least if they cover a long period of time. But a lot of attention focused on the grilling of the opposing lawyers by Justice Neil Gorsuch, for two reasons: His vote could be pivotal, and he outlined an approach to protecting the privacy of such records that is different from that favored by a lot of privacy advocates but one that would please the man he replaced, Antonin Scalia. Advertisement As the Los Angeles Times explained in an editorial on Monday, the appeal by Timothy Carpenter of his federal conviction raises the question of whether the court should modify its so-called third-party doctrine, which holds that individuals dont have a reasonable expectation of privacy in information they turn over to businesses such as telephone companies. Whether a search violates someones reasonable expectation of privacy is one yardstick by which the court decides whether there has been a violation of the 4th Amendment. That approach traces back to a 1967 decision in which the court held that the FBI committed an unconstitutional search and seizure when it attached an eavesdropping device to the outside of a telephone booth. But there is an older definition of unreasonable search that involved a physical trespass on private property. It was that notion that Scalia invoked in 2012 when he wrote the majority opinion in a case in which the court ruled that attaching a GPS tracking device to a drug suspects vehicle was search. It is important to be clear about what occurred in this case, Scalia wrote. The Government physically occupied private property for the purpose of obtaining information. We have no doubt that such a physical intrusion would have been considered a search within the meaning of the 4th Amendment when it was adopted. On Wednesday Gorsuchs questions indicated that he too saw privacy as a subset of property rights. Indeed, in questioning Carpenters lawyer he began: Focusing on the property-based approach, putting aside reasonable expectation for just a moment . . . Later, in a colloquy with the lawyer representing the U.S. government, he suggested that a cell phone data was a customers property right. To win, Carpenter needs five votes, not five signatures on the same opinion. Conceivably four justices could sign an opinion based on the reasonable expectation approach, and Gorsuch could write a solo concurrence based on a property-rights theory. But Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. is known to prefer consensus. Would Gorsuch be willing to sign an opinion that reached the right result by the wrong reasoning? Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook To the editor: Jonah Goldberg is partly right in denouncing House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosis double standards, and yet should all the sexual abusers be judged the same way? (Nancy Pelosi thinks congressmen deserve due process on harassment but only if theyre liberal, Opinion, Nov. 27) If one is to believe all the accusations, we have on one side serial offenders like President Trump, Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore and Rep. John Conyers who admit nothing, regret nothing and of course offer no apologies. One of them even boasted of being able to get away with anything because of his star status. On the other we have occasional ones, like Sen. Al Franken, who admits his errors, regrets them and apologizes for them. I think that in any court of law these two groups would be handled quite differently. Advertisement Jean Lecuyer, Los Angeles .. To the editor: Pelosi failed to point out, and Goldberg did not discern, that theres a real difference between not electing someone who likely committed sexual predatory acts and removing such a person from office. In the case of the former, applicable civil and criminal statutes of limitation will have run their course, and the electorate must, accordingly, decide the matter upon probability alone and determine whether the person is fit for office. In the case of the office holder, however, the body politic can hold hearings, witnesses may be called, mitigating evidence presented, the severity of the allegations be considered just where does the extent of the hypocrisy, pain inflicted and criminality place the transgressor in the pantheon of his fellow miscreants and creeps? and the matter be put to a vote. I assume thats what Pelosi meant by due process. She might, however, have stated her position more clearly. Les T. Zador, Encino Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook To the editor: Like many, I am disgusted and confused by the leadership of our country. Lying is the norm. Bullying is acceptable. People of color are eyed warily. Compassion is out of fashion and boasting of sexual harassment is merely locker room talk. Every day is filled with chaotic tweets and alarming headlines. We cant understand what is happening and dont know how to combat the downward dangerous spiral. And then light shines thanks to the simple story told by Father Greg Boyle about a former gang member he works with at Homeboy Industries. (How to bridge the gap between us and them, Opinion, Nov. 28) Advertisement A heavily tattooed man, a different kind of man than most are used to, shares his honest thoughts and is cheered by the audience he is addressing. It is a small welcome sign of hope. This past summer while in the seaside town of Rovinj, Croatia, my daughter met two American law enforcement officers vacationing after attending a conference in Prague on female incarceration. They told her about a man in Los Angeles who was doing amazing work, Greg Boyle. They called him a saint. My daughter smiled and said, I know. Anne Hansen, Camarillo .. To the editor: Well, you did it again, Father Greg. I had tears streaming down my face after reading about your road trip and lecture with one of your homies. I read it aloud to my tough Navy husband, and he cried too. Thank you. We need hope so much in these troubled, hate-filled times. Your tough-love approach to helping gang members at Homeboy Industries is a model that should be cloned for all our cities that are plagued by drug abuse, violence and hatred. I am not a Roman Catholic, but your message goes way beyond any sect. After brushing away the tears, I wrote a Christmas check to Homeboy, and I hope all who read you do the same. We need to support your work by reading your book, offering aid, donating money or buying the delicious foods made by Homeboy. The city of the Angels has a miracle in you. Judith Jameson, Laguna Beach Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook Midterm elections are invariably about turnout: The party that does the better job of getting its voters to the polls is usually the winner. That will present a massive obstacle to California Republicans next November, inasmuch as their membership has so shriveled in recent years that they can no longer field competitive candidates in statewide races. What compounds their challenge is the states bizarre jungle primary, in which the top two finishers, regardless of party, advance to the November runoff. That means that potential Republican voters a year hence (if recent polls are even marginally accurate) will likely be confronted with two Democratic candidates for governor, Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, and two Democratic candidates for U.S. Senate, incumbent Dianne Feinstein and State Senate President Kevin de Leon. These are not choices that will spur many Republicans to bother going to the polls, which could have a significant effect on the GOPs efforts to hold its embattled congressional and state legislative seats. Compounding the Republicans challenge will be the probability of heightened Latino turnout. Trumps broadsides against fictitious Mexican rapists and his heightened efforts to deport people in the country illegally have understandably bestirred California Latinos. Should these factors not suffice, however, the 2018 gubernatorial and senatorial contests will also see the first serious bids by Latino candidates Villaraigosa and De Leon in modern California history. >> Click here to read more Dogged by signs that prosecutors are zeroing in on his inner circle, President Trump insisted Saturday he wasnt worried about what his former national security advisor, Michael Flynn, may tell investigators after agreeing to a plea deal Friday. What has been shown is no collusion, no collusion, Trump told reporters as he left the White House for a series of fundraising events in New York City. In a tweet, Trump said he had to fire Flynn because the retired Army lieutenant general lied to Vice President Mike Pence and the FBI about contacts with Russias then-ambassador in Washington, Sergey Kislyak. Advertisement I had to fire General Flynn because he lied to the Vice President and the FBI. He has pled guilty to those lies. It is a shame because his actions during the transition were lawful. There was nothing to hide! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 2, 2017 Flynn pleaded guilty Friday to lying to the FBI about his conversations last December with Kislyak. Trump wrote that its a shame Flynn lied because his actions during the transition were lawful, adding: There was nothing to hide! It was the first time Trump said publicly that Flynns firing was related to his lying to the FBI. White House officials had previously said Flynn was fired because he misrepresented his conversations with Kislyak to Pence. Trumps tweet may indicate he knew that Flynn was in legal jeopardy for lying to the FBI when, the day after firing Flynn, Trump reportedly asked then-FBI Director James B. Comey whether he could see his way to letting Flynn go. Comey wrote down Trumps comments in notes he made after the Feb. 14 meeting. Trumps admission may bolster a case that Trump was obstructing justice by asking Comey to intervene in Flynns case. Trump fired Comey in May. Legal experts have speculated that Flynn may have pushed the limits of the Logan Act, which prohibits private citizens from interfering in U.S. foreign policy, when he allegedly made assurances to Kislyak during the transition before Trump took office. Special counsel Robert S. Mueller III is investigating whether Trumps campaign colluded or coordinated with Russia during the 2016 election. Theres been absolutely no collusion, so were very happy. And frankly last night was one of the big nights, Trump said, apparently referring to the narrow passage of the Republican tax bill out of the Senate. After passing by a 51-49 vote following an early-morning scramble, the Senates tax bill is to go Monday to a conference committee, where Republican lawmakers from the House and Senate will hammer out differences in their versions of the legislation in an effort to get a final bill on Trumps desk before Christmas. Republicans feel they need to pass the bill soon in order to boost GOP congressional and Senate campaigns in the run-up to the 2018 midterm election. The bill includes cuts to corporate tax rates, the end to many personal tax deductions and an overhaul of the estate tax. Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee was the only Republican to vote against the bill over concerns it would increase budget deficits. Biggest Tax Bill and Tax Cuts in history just passed in the Senate. Now these great Republicans will be going for final passage. Thank you to House and Senate Republicans for your hard work and commitment! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 2, 2017 We are one step closer to delivering MASSIVE tax cuts for working families across America. Special thanks to @SenateMajLdr Mitch McConnell and Chairman @SenOrrinHatch for shepherding our bill through the Senate. Look forward to signing a final bill before Christmas! pic.twitter.com/gmWTny3SfS Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 2, 2017 The sweeping tax package, which passed with no Democratic votes, is projected to add $1 trillion to the deficit over 10 years, despite Republican pledges that economic growth spurred by tax cuts will pay for the steep reductions in revenue. Now we go on to conference, and something beautiful is going to come out of that mixer. People are going to be very, very happy. Theyre going to get tremendous, tremendous tax cuts and tax relief, and thats what this country needs, Trump said. The president, who often lashes out at those who go against him, refrained in two early-morning tweets Saturday from attacking Corker, whom he has repeatedly mocked in the past. Senate Democrats pilloried Republican leaders for passing such a sweeping bill with last-minute additions handwritten in the margins. Any handwriting experts out there? Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) wrote on Twitter. This is absurd. In one late change, Senate Republicans dropped plans to eliminate the so-called alternative minimum tax for individuals. Any handwriting experts out there? I'd like to know what this says before they call for a vote. This is absurd. pic.twitter.com/6UkiJmuY9T Senator Bob Casey (@SenBobCasey) December 1, 2017 Times staff writer Lisa Mascaro in Washington contributed to this report. brian.bennett@latimes.com Twitter: @ByBrianBennett chris.megerian@latimes.com Twitter: @ChrisMegerian UPDATES: 1:40 p.m.: This article was updated with more details about Trumps comment about Flynns firing. This article was originally published at 10:45 a.m. Wait did the president really say, Mission Accomplished? By Marc Olson Some are recalling the last time a president declared Mission accomplished, in May 2003 when George W. Bush was talking about Iraq. (Stephen Jaffe / AFP/Getty Images) President Trump on Saturday morning thanked his allies in a tweet that declared the airstrikes on Syria perfectly executed, but he might have wished hed stopped there. Instead, he ended his message with the phrase, Mission Accomplished! Thats a line that might have a previous president shaking his head. On May 1, 2003, President George W. Bush declared an end to major combat in Iraq under a Mission Accomplished banner aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln. That war, which began in March 2003, grew into a prolonged conflict that didnt end until 2011. In 2008, the White House said it had paid a price for the backdrop. A perfectly executed strike last night. Thank you to France and the United Kingdom for their wisdom and the power of their fine Military. Could not have had a better result. Mission Accomplished! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 14, 2018 Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Auditor says Pentagon is censoring key data on the war in Afghanistan By Shashank Bengali The Pentagon is blocking the release of data showing how much of Afghanistans territory lies outside government control, censoring a key metric used to gauge progress in the 16-year war, a watchdog agency said Tuesday. The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, an auditing agency established by Congress, said in its latest report that the Pentagon instructed it not to release unclassified data on how many districts and people are controlled or influenced by insurgent groups. This is the first time SIGAR has been specifically instructed not to release information marked unclassified to the American taxpayer, the head of the agency, John F. Sopko, wrote in a letter. Sopko also said the U.S.-led military coalition, for the first time since 2009, classified information about the size and attrition rates of the Afghan security forces, important indicators of progress in building up army and police forces on which the U.S. already has spent $70 billion since 2002. The decision to withhold more information from congressional oversight and the public comes amid growing violence in Afghanistan and an intensifying combat mission involving a greater number of American troops. Following a series of bombings in Kabul that left at least 136 people dead in 10 days, President Trump signaled on Monday that he was focused on trying to win the conflict militarily, saying, We dont want to talk with the Taliban. But data released by SIGAR since 2015 have shown how the insurgents have gained ground against Afghan security forces. In its previous quarterly report, the watchdog said that only 57% of Afghanistans 407 districts were under Afghan government control or influence as of August 2017, the lowest level of control since it began tracking the statistic in December 2015. The steady decline in government control should cause even more concern about its disappearance from public disclosure and discussion, Sopko wrote. The watchdog also accused the Pentagon of overstating the impact of its efforts to combat drug cultivation and trafficking, among the Talibans main sources of revenue. The Pentagon touted airstrikes that destroyed 25 drug labs in November and December, saying it eliminated nearly $100 million of Taliban revenue. The labs being destroyed are cheap and easy to replace, SIGAR said. According to some estimates, they only take three or four days to replace. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Women journalists shunted to rear for Pences visit to Western Wall By Noga Tarnopolsky The view from the womens section. (Noga Tarnopolsky / Los Angeles Times) Vice-President Mike Pences 48-hour visit to Israel stumbled into a public storm Tuesday when female reporters covering his final stop at Jerusalems Western Wall were penned behind four rows of their male colleagues. White House officials told stunned journalists that the arrangement emanated from a request made by the Western Wall rabbi, Shmuel Rabinowitz, and followed Western Wall rules. Some women journalists said they could not recall such treatment in the past. In a statement to Israels Channel 10 news, the Western Wall Heritage Foundation said it was exactly as it was during the visit of the U.S. president to the Western Wall last May. Later in the day, in a statement to the newspaper Haaretz, the foundation blamed the United States embassy in Tel Aviv and Israeli security officials for the segregation, and announced they would reexamine the way they handle such events. Women who covered previous VIP visits said the Pence arrangements were significantly more onerous than previous visits, when male and female journalists were separated but not offered substantially different work conditions. LIVE coverage of our male colleagues granted access to cover VP at Western Wall as we are penned into #PenceFence pic.twitter.com/k3svkxfQsa Noga Tarnopolsky (@NTarnopolsky) January 23, 2018 The arrangement reflected procedures at the Western Wall, Judaisms holiest site, where on regular days, men have access to two thirds of the area available for prayer. Tal Schneider, the diplomatic analyst for Globes, a financial newspaper, protested that the separation of men and women may be valid for the requirements of Orthodox prayer, but no one is praying here. We are here to work. I dont appreciate being restricted in my ability to work because I am a woman, she said. The discriminatory attitude towards women is infuriating and is unbefitting of a modern country. Yael Freidson, the Jerusalem affairs correspondent for Yediot Ahronot, Israels widest circulation newspaper, said she worried that her editors could choose male colleagues for the next assignment, knowing they would have better access. Before Pence arrived, journalists were herded onto a specially constructed platform in the middle of the Western Walls esplanade, with women guided to the right behind a white fence, and men, many carrying cameras, directed to the left, where they had more than double the space. Towards the end of the vice presidents 10-minute visit, male journalists were permitted into the VIP tent where he received a gift from Rabinowitz, while the women remained in their enclosure. None of the men publicly protested the treatment of their female colleagues. Israels Association of Women Journalists filed a formal complaint with Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked, herself a woman. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Former Sheriff Joe Arpaio, after his pardon from Trump, says hell run for Senate in Arizona By Kurtis Lee (Mary Altaffer / Associated Press) (Mary Altaffer / Associated Press) Former Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who last year was pardoned by President Trump in a case stemming from his enforcement tactics aimed at immigrants, announced Tuesday he will run for the open Senate seat in his home state. I am running for the U.S. Senate from the Great State of Arizona, for one unwavering reason: to support the agenda and policies of President Donald Trump in his mission to Make America Great Again, Arpaio, 85, said on Twitter. Hell enter a Republican primary for the seat being vacated by Republican Sen. Jeff Flake. Last summer, Trump pardoned Arpaio, who was convicted in July of criminal contempt for violating a federal court order to stop racially profiling Latinos. It was Arpaios roughly quarter-century as sheriff that gave him a national reputation for his tough treatment of people suspected of being in the country illegally. Repeated court rulings against his office for civil rights violations cost local taxpayers tens of millions of dollars. In the early 1990s, Arpaio directed construction of a tent city for immigration detainees, a measure he said was intended both to alleviate overcrowding and to underscore his aggressive enforcement measures. But it was open to the burning Arizona sun, and drew widespread criticism. After Trump entered the presidential race in July 2015, Arpaio invited him to Phoenix to talk about a crackdown on illegal immigration. He endorsed Trump just before the first votes in the Iowa caucuses in 2016 and frequently spoke out on behalf of Trumps campaign. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement President Trump ends controversial voter fraud commission By Kurtis Lee President Trump signed an executive order late Wednesday ending the voter fraud commission he launched last year as the panel faces a flurry of lawsuits and criticism from Democrats and Republicans alike. Trump signed the order disbanding the commission rather than engage in endless legal battles at taxpayer expense, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement. The Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity, created by executive order in May with the stated goal of restoring confidence and integrity in the electoral process, has faced a barrage of lawsuits in recent months over privacy concerns, as the commission sought personal data on voters across the country. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Congress returns to work with slimmer GOP majority to accomplish Trumps agenda By Lisa Mascaro Congress returns to work this week with unfinished business on spending, immigration and other crucial issues, but with an even narrower GOP majority that will make it tougher to move on President Trumps agenda. The House and Senate will convene Wednesday, swearing in the newly elected Democratic senator from Alabama, Doug Jones, and Minnesotas Tina Smith to replace a fellow Democrat, Sen. Al Franken, who is resigning as the latest high-profile public figure sidelined by allegations of sexual misconduct. The change gives Republicans only a one-seat margin in the Senate. Trump, fresh off passage of the GOP tax cuts bill, is pushing lawmakers to pivot quickly on his new year priorities of infrastructure investment and immigration, as well as his foreign policy agenda. But another legislative victory seems far off. Republicans have struggled to hold their majority together and Congress first must tackle critical stalled agenda items that leaders punted to 2018. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Trump threatens to cut off U.S. aid to Palestinians By Tracy Wilkinson President Trump on Tuesday angrily threatened to cut off U.S. aid to Palestinians as punishment for what he called their failure to show appreciation or respect to the United States. Writing on Twitter, the president compared the Palestinians to Pakistan, a nuclear-armed ally that abruptly drew his ire this week and a similar threat to drastically curtail aid. He accused the Palestinians of recalcitrance in what he described as their refusal to negotiate a peace deal with Israel. Palestinian officials have said they can no longer use Washington as a broker to restart peace talks with Israel following Trumps Dec. 6 decision to overturn decades of U.S. policy and recognize the disputed city of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, and ultimately to move the U.S. Embassy there. The Palestinians also claim part of Jerusalem as the capital of an eventual independent state. Until now, the United States and most of the world agreed the citys political status was a matter to settle in final peace talks. The United Nations General Assembly overwhelmingly condemned any effort to recognize Jerusalem as Israels capital, and the Palestinian leadership said it would not meet with Vice President Mike Pence, who had planned a trip to the region. That trip is on hold. [W]e pay the Palestinians HUNDRED [sic] OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS a year and get no appreciation or respect, Trump wrote on Twitter. [W]ith the Palestinians no longer willing to talk peace, why should we make any of these massive future payments to them? In response to Trumps tweet, Hanan Ashrawi, a senior Palestinian official, issued a statement saying: Palestinian rights are not for sale. By recognizing Occupied Jerusalem as Israels capital Donald Trump has not only violated international law, but he has also singlehandedly destroyed the very foundations of peace and condoned Israels illegal annexation of the city. We will not be blackmailed, she said. President Trump has sabotaged our search for peace, freedom and justice. Now he dares to blame the Palestinians for the consequences of his own irresponsible actions! The United States does not pay large amounts of money directly to the Palestinian Authority, the government that rules over parts of the Palestinian West Bank. Instead, most money goes to the U.N., refugee or aid agencies and even Israel to pay for roads, welfare, schools, security and other Palestinian projects. The U.S. ambassador to the U.N., Nikki Haley, said Tuesday that the administration was planning to cut off one of those organizations, the U.N. Relief and Works Agency, until the Palestinians return to the negotiating table. UNRWA, which receives around $300 million annually from the U.S., for years has been the lifeline to hundreds of thousands of Palestinian refugees living in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. It was not clear if Haley was threatening to cut all U.S. support for the agency. Special correspondent Noga Tarnopolsky in Jerusalem contributed to this report. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print The White House stops short of calling for government overthrow in Iran By Brian Bennett President Trump wants Iran to give its citizens basic human rights and stop being a state sponsor of terror, his top spokeswoman said, but the White House stopped short of calling for a change of government in Tehran. If they want to do that through current leadership, if thats possible, OK, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters. Sanders praised the organic popular uprising, which she said the widespread protests in Iran represented. The protests grew out of years of years of mismanagement, corruption, and foreign adventurism have eroded the Iranian peoples trust in their leaders, she said. Earlier Tuesday, Trump called Irans government brutal and corrupt and wrote in a tweet: The people have little food, big inflation and no human rights. The U.S. is watching! Trump also blamed President Obama for foolishly giving Iran money that he said went to fund terrorism. The money he referred to were funds belonging to Iran that had been frozen by the U.S. and were released as part of the deal in 2015, which blocked Irans development of nuclear weapons. The people of Iran are finally acting against the brutal and corrupt Iranian regime. All of the money that President Obama so foolishly gave them went into terrorism and into their pockets. The people have little food, big inflation and no human rights. The U.S. is watching! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 2, 2018 Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement Retirement of Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch clears the way for a Mitt Romney revival By David Lauter The retirement of Utahs senior senator, Orrin G. Hatch, opens the way for a widely expected Senate bid by Mitt Romney, the Republicans 2012 presidential nominee and a frequent critic of President Trump. Although Romney previously served for two terms as governor of Massachusetts (and was raised in Michigan, where his father was governor and his mother ran for the Senate), he comes from a prominent Mormon family with strong ties to Utah. He also served as chief executive of the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics. Hes viewed as a strong candidate for the Senate seat. Romneys criticisms of Trump, however, could prompt a challenge in a Republican primary. Trump was widely reported to have tried to convince Hatch to run for a seventh term, in part to head off a Romney candidacy. Last month, Romney and Trump were on opposite sides of one of the biggest political fights of the fall the battle over the Senate seat from Alabama. The president strongly supported Roy Moore, the Republican candidate who had been accused of sexual misconduct by several women. Romney called Moore a stain on the GOP. Roy Moore in the US Senate would be a stain on the GOP and on the nation. Leigh Corfman and other victims are courageous heroes. No vote, no majority is worth losing our honor, our integrity. Mitt Romney (@MittRomney) December 4, 2017 On Tuesday, Romney tweeted praise for Hatch, but did not immediately reveal his own plans. I join the people of Utah in thanking my friend, Senator Orrin Hatch for his more than forty years of service to our great state and nation. Read my full statement: https://t.co/YwjUpjez5y Mitt Romney (@MittRomney) January 2, 2018 Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print U.S. calls on Iran to unblock social media sites amid protests By The Associated Press The Trump administration is calling on Irans government to stop blocking Instagram and other popular social media sites as Iranians are demonstrating in the streets. Undersecretary of State Steve Goldstein says the U.S. wants Iran to open these sites. He says Instagram, Telegram and other platforms are legitimate avenues for communication. The United States is encouraging Iranians to use virtual private networks, known as VPNs. Those services create encrypted links between computers and can be used to access blocked websites. Goldstein says the U.S. is still communicating with Iranians in Persian through State Department accounts on Facebook, Twitter and other platforms. He says the U.S. wants to encourage the protesters to continue to fight for whats right. Goldstein says the U.S. has an obligation not to stand by. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Trump blasts Democrats in advance of immigration meeting By Brian Bennett The day before a meeting of administration officials and congressional leaders on outstanding legislative business, President Trump accused Democrats of doing nothing to hammer out an immigration deal to protect from deportation people brought to the country illegally as children. Democrats are doing nothing for DACA just interested in politics, Trump wrote in a Tweet on Tuesday morning, referring to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program by its acronym. Democrats are doing nothing for DACA - just interested in politics. DACA activists and Hispanics will go hard against Dems, will start falling in love with Republicans and their President! We are about RESULTS. Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 2, 2018 House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer along with the Republican leaders, House Speaker Paul D. Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, are scheduled to meet on Wednesday at the Capitol with Trumps legislative director, Marc Short, and budget director, Mick Mulvaney. The White House on Tuesday said the meeting is to discuss separate spending caps on military and domestic programs. Yet the Democrats insist the discussion also must include a variety of legislative issues that Trump and Congress punted into the new year on immigration, the budget, healthcare and more. That stance reflects Democrats leverage: Republicans need Democratic votes to pass a government-funding bill and avert a federal shutdown when the current funding expires Jan. 19. Democrats especially want separate legislation replacing the Obama-era DACA program; Trump in September ordered a phase-out of the program, beginning March 6, and called on Congress to act before then on an alternative way to address the plight of the group. However, Trump has demanded that any alternative must be part of a package including both money for a border wall and immigration limits. Democrats are opposed. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement Pakistan hits back after Trump accuses its leaders of lies and deceit By Aoun Sahi Pakistan lashed out Monday after President Trump accused its leaders of lies and deceit and suggested the United States would withdraw financial assistance to the nuclear-armed nation it once saw as a key ally against terrorism. U.S. Ambassador David Hale was summoned to the Foreign Ministry to discuss the presidents statement, U.S. Embassy spokesman Richard Snelsire said. Pakistan lodged a strongly worded protest, according to two foreign office officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. Pakistans prime minister, Shahid Abbasi, called a Cabinet meeting for Tuesday and a meeting of the National Security Committee on Wednesday to discuss Trumps New Years Day tweet. It was the presidents latest broadside against Pakistan after a speech in August in which he demanded its leaders crack down on the safe havens enjoyed by Taliban militants fighting U.S.-backed forces in neighboring Afghanistan. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Trump again cheers on Iran protests By Laura King President Trump expressed renewed support Sunday for protesters in Iran, declaring that people are finally getting wise as to how their money and wealth is being stolen and squandered on terrorism. In a tweet from his Florida estate, Mar-a-Lago, the president said the nationwide economic protests that began on Thursday and have taken on wider political overtones as they have grown in size --- were a signal that Iranians will not take it any longer. Big protests in Iran. The people are finally getting wise as to how their money and wealth is being stolen and squandered on terrorism. Looks like they will not take it any longer. The USA is watching very closely for human rights violations! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 31, 2017 The presidents earlier hailing of the protests drew condemnation from Irans government. A Foreign Ministry spokesman called his comments deceitful and opportunistic. Following an overnight report of the first two fatalities stemming from the protests, Trump raised some eyebrows by expressing concern over human rights violations as authorities move to crack down on the demonstrations. During his first year in office, the president has shown scant inclination to press foreign governments to respect the fundamental rights of their citizens. The USA is watching closely for human rights violations! Trump said in his tweet Sunday. Some domestic critics have pointed to the presidents inclusion of Iranian nationals in his travel ban, suggesting he was more interested in bashing the Tehran government than in supporting freedom of speech in Iran. Even some of the presidents allies said that supporting the protesters on social media did not amount to making policy. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said he had urged Trump to give a national address laying out his Iran strategy. President Trump is tweeting very sympathetically to the Iranian people, Graham said on CBS Face the Nation. But you just cant tweet here. You have to lay out a plan. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Australian diplomats tip a factor in FBIs Russia inquiry By Associated Press Australian High Commissioner Alexander Downer. (Alastair Grant / Associated Press) An Australian diplomats tip appears to have helped persuade the FBI to investigate Russian meddling in the U.S. election and possible coordination with the Trump campaign, the New York Times reported Saturday. Trump campaign advisor George Papadopoulos told the diplomat, Alexander Downer, during a meeting in London in May 2016 that Russia had thousands of emails that would embarrass Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, the report said. Downer, a former foreign minister, is Australias top diplomat in Britain. Australia passed the information on to the FBI after the Democratic emails were leaked, according to the Times, which cited four current and former U.S. and foreign officials with direct knowledge of the Australians role. The hacking and the revelation that a member of the Trump campaign may have had inside information about it were driving factors that led the FBI to open an investigation in July 2016, the newspaper said. White House lawyer Ty Cobb declined to comment, saying in a statement that the administration is continuing to cooperate with the investigation now led by special counsel Robert Mueller to help complete their inquiry expeditiously. Papadopoulos has pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI and is a cooperating witness. Court documents unsealed two months ago show he met in April 2016 with Joseph Mifsud, a professor in London who told him about Russias cache of emails. This was before the Democratic National Committee became aware of the scope of the intrusion into its email systems by hackers later linked to the Russian government. The Times said Papadopoulos shared this information with Downer, but it was unclear whether he also shared it with anyone in the Trump campaign. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Trump offers fresh support for protesters in Iran as demonstrations continue By Lisa Mascaro Oppressive regimes cannot endure forever, and the day will come when the Iranian people will face a choice. The world is watching! pic.twitter.com/kvv1uAqcZ9 Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 30, 2017 President Trump again offered support Saturday for anti-government protesters in Iran, where a third day of demonstrations, the largest in years, spilled across the country amid fears of a crackdown. Oppressive regimes cannot endure forever, and the day will come when the Iranian people will face a choice. The world is watching! Trump wrote on Twitter. Trump took a break from playing golf near his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida to tweet clips from his speech to the United Nations General Assembly in September when he called for Iranian democratic reforms. Iranian authorities warned of potential violence as the street demonstrations, which began over economic conditions, swelled into frustrations with the theocratic rule of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Trump has maintained a hawkish stance toward Iran, sharply criticizing the landmark nuclear disarmament accord that Tehran reached with then-President Obama and five other nations in 2015. In October, Trump declined to certify the accord to Congress although the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency says Iran is complying with it. Several conservative GOP senators signaled their support for Trumps position and backed the protesters in Iran. Others in Congress did not immediately respond, however, amid conflicting reports over who had organized the demonstrations. Even after the billions in sanctions relief they secured through the nuclear deal, the ayatollahs still cant provide for the basic needs of their own people, said Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), a Trump ally and opponent of the nuclear deal. We should support the Iranian people who are willing to risk their lives to speak out against it, he added. Trump initially tweeted his support on Friday night. White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders issued a statement at that time as protests spread. There are many reports of peaceful protests by Iranian citizens fed up with the regimes corruption and its squandering of the nations wealth to fund terrorism abroad, Sanders said. The Iranian government should respect their peoples rights, including their right to express themselves. The world is watching. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement When it comes to U.S.-Russia relations, it takes two to tango, Kremlin says By Sabra Ayres The deteriorating relationship between the United States and Russia is one of the biggest disappointments of 2017, Russian President Vladimir Putins spokesman told reporters today. Russia would like to rebuild relations between the two adversaries, but it takes two to tango, Dmitry Peskov said today during a conference call with the press. We want and are looking for good mutually beneficial relations based on mutual respect, mutual trust with all countries, primarily with European ones, including the United States, but it is necessary to dance tango, as they say. Peskov blamed the ongoing anti-Russian Russophobia in Washington for playing a major role in blocking the two countries from moving forward in their relationship. U.S. investigations into the Trump presidential campaigns alleged collusion with the Kremlin during the 2016 U.S. election and accusations that the Kremlin tried to interfere with the electoral process continue to cast a dark shadow over the relationship, he said. Peskov told reporters that Moscow was perplexed by the investigations. The Kremlin has continued to deny having any involvement with the Trump campaign or doing anything to interfere with the American election. This is definitely a U.S. domestic affair, but in this case it naturally hurts our bilateral relations, which is regrettable, Peskov said. Relations between the U.S. and Russia have been categorized as the worst theyve been since the end of the Cold War. This year, Washington and Moscow have engaged in a diplomatic tit-for-tat in which both sides have been forced to reduce diplomatic staff, embassy properties have been repossessed by the hosting countries and visa services have been interrupted. The U.S. diplomatic mission to Russia shrank from 1,200 personnel, including some Russian local staff, to just over 450 across all its three consulates and embassy in Moscow. In the U.S., Russia was forced to vacate its San Francisco consulate. Moscow has also blamed anti-Russian sentiments on the recent decision by the International Olympic Committee to ban Russian teams from wearing their tricolor uniforms or flags during the upcoming games in South Korea. The international body accused some of the Russian national teams of doping. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print U.S. and Turkey resume reciprocal issuing of visas but frictions remain By Tracy Wilkinson The United States and Turkey began issuing reciprocal visas again on Thursday, more than two months after normal visa service was suspended in a dispute over the arrest of two U.S. diplomatic staffers in Istanbul the latest friction between the two nominal allies. The State Department said it was lifting the visa restrictions after it was assured by the Turkish government that U.S. Embassy employees would not be arrested when performing their official duties. But the Turkish Embassy in Washington denied assurances were offered concerning the ongoing judicial processes, and suggested that the arrests were legal and justified. It is inappropriate to misinform the Turkish and American public that such assurances were provided, the embassy said in a statement. The dispute has aggravated the already tense relationship between the United States and Turkey, which is a member of the NATO military alliance. The two countries have clashed over U.S. support for Kurdish rebels in Syria and over Turkeys demands that the U.S. extradite a Turkish cleric who lives in rural Pennsylvania. After a failed coup attempt killed more than 250 people in July 2016, Turkeys autocratic president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, launched a harsh crackdown on his political opponents, arresting or firing tens of thousands of teachers, police, journalists, military officers and others. Erdogan accused Fethullah Gulen, an Islamic educator and former political ally, of orchestrating the coup. Gulen, who has lived in a compound in the Pocono Mountains, has denied any involvement. The Justice Department has so far denied Turkeys repeated demands to extradite Gulen. Erdogan raised the issue again at the White House in May, but his visit ended in a public relations disaster when his security guards brutally beat peaceful protesters outside the Turkish ambassadors residence. Two Turkish employees of the U.S. Consulate in Istanbul were arrested this fall for alleged ties to the 2016 coup attempt. The U.S. responded by suspending most visa services at its missions in Turkey in October. The Turkish government reciprocated in November. State Department officials said they have repeatedly demanded more information about any formal charges against the two employees. They reiterated on Thursday that serious concerns about the allegations remained. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Trump: China caught RED HANDED allowing oil to reach North Korea By Brian Bennett (Andrew Harnik / Associated Press) President Trump isnt taking a holiday vacation from Twitter. In one of three tweets early on Thursday from his West Palm Beach golf club, he charged that China was caught RED HANDED allowing oil shipments to reach North Korean ports. Pronouncing himself very disappointed, Trump in effect was acknowledging the failure of his months-long effort to convince China to clamp down further on energy shipments going to the isolated country, which relies heavily on Beijing, as a way to pressure North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons program. Caught RED HANDED - very disappointed that China is allowing oil to go into North Korea. There will never be a friendly solution to the North Korea problem if this continues to happen! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 28, 2017 Trumps tweet came after a South Korean newspaper published what it said were U.S. spy satellite images of Chinese ships selling oil to North Korean ships. The United Nations Security Council, which includes China, has voted repeatedly to restrict fuel shipments to North Korea. Trump asked Chinese President Xi Jinping in November to cut off North Koreas oil supply entirely, the American ambassador to the U.N., Nikki R. Haley, said at the time. It is unclear if Trumps admonishment of China was based on news reports or classified information he received from U.S. intelligence officials. There was no daily intelligence briefing on Trumps public schedule Thursday. He is expected to return to Washington next week after spending the Christmas holiday and New Years Eve at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Fla. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print President Trump again falsely claims hes signed more bills than any president By Brian Bennett President Trump visits a firehouse in West Palm Beach, Fla., on Wednesday. (Nicholas Kamm / AFP) After another morning at his Florida golf club, President Trump visited firefighters and paramedics at a West Palm Beach firehouse and praised his own performance as president, including with a false boast. Trump touted his administrations work to roll back government regulations and cut taxes and claimed credit for the stock market hitting record highs. He also said hes signed more bills into law than any other president, which isnt true. We have signed more legislation than anybody, Trump said, standing in front of a rescue vehicle inside the fire station. We have more legislation passed, including the record was Harry Truman a long time ago, and we broke that record, so we got a lot done, Trump said. An analysis by GovTrack, a website that tracks bills in Congress, shows that Trump has signed the fewest bills into law at this point than any president in more than 60 years, back to Dwight D. Eisenhower. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement Trump administration urges Russia to reinstate monitors in Ukraine, lower violence By Tracy Wilkinson Sergei Lavrov (AFP/Getty Images) Secretary of State Rex Tillerson asked Russia on Wednesday to reinstate its military personnel at a monitoring station in eastern Ukraine intended to quell escalating bloodshed. In a telephone conversation with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, Tillerson also urged Russia to lower the level of violence and underscored the Trump administrations concern over increased fighting in Ukraine, the State Department said in a statement. Russia last week withdrew its monitors from the Joint Center on Coordination and Control, which is tasked with verifying a much-violated ceasefire between Ukrainian forces and Russia-backed separatists. Moscow cited what it called restrictions and provocations from Ukrainian authorities that made it impossible for the observers to do their jobs. Washington has accused the pro-Russia forces of being responsible for many of the truce violations. Late last week, the State Department also announced plans to provide Ukraine with lethal defensive weapons, including Javelin anti-tank missiles, a decision that angered Moscow. The State Department statement did not say whether the weapons deal came up in Tillersons conversation with Lavrov. The two also discussed North Korea, its destabilizing nuclear program and the need for a diplomatic solution to achieve a denuclearized Korean peninsula, the statement said. Russia has offered to serve as a mediator between Washington and Pyongyang, but direct talks do not seem likely at this point. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print U.S. sanctions two more North Korean officials for ballistic missile program By Tracy Wilkinson The Trump administration announced sanctions Tuesday against two more North Korean officials for their alleged role in Pyongyangs expanding ballistic missiles program. The Treasury Department is targeting leaders of North Koreas ballistic missile programs, as part of our maximum pressure campaign to isolate [North Korea] and achieve a fully denuclearized Korean Peninsula, Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin said in a statement. The nuclear-armed country tested an intercontinental ballistic missile last month that U.S. officials said appeared capable of reaching New York or Washington, a significant milestone in the countrys growing arsenal. The Treasury Department identified the two North Korean officials as Kim Jong Sik, who reportedly is a key figure in the ballistic missile program and led efforts to switch missiles from liquid to solid fuel (which makes them easier to hide before launch), and Ri Pyong Chol, who was reported to be a key official in the development of intercontinental ballistic missiles. The sanctions block banks, companies and individuals from doing any business with the targeted officials. It also allows the U.S. government to freeze any American assets owned by the officials. On Friday, the United Nations Security Council unanimously voted to add more sanctions on North Korea, its third round this year. The new measures order North Koreans working abroad to return home within two years, and ban nearly 90% of refined petroleum exports to the country. In a statement published Sunday by North Koreas state-run KCNA news agency, the foreign ministry denounced the new U.N. sanctions as an act of war. We define this sanctions resolution rigged up by the US and its followers as a grave infringement upon the sovereignty of our Republic, as an act of war violating peace and stability in the Korean Peninsula and the region and categorically reject the resolution, it said. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Salt Lake Tribune calls on Sen. Orrin Hatch to not seek reelection in scathing editorial Perhaps the most significant move of Hatchs career is the one that should, if there is any justice, end it. The last time the senator was up for reelection, in 2012, he promised that it would be his last campaign. That was enough for many likely successors, of both parties, to stand down, to let the elder statesman have his victory tour and to prepare to run for an open seat in 2018. Clearly, it was a lie. Read the editorial>> Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Christmas Eve, Trump on Twitter: New attacks on FBI official, decrying Fake News By Laura King President Trump launched a Christmas Eve attack on FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, whom he accuses of favoritism toward his former opponent, Hillary Clinton, and also returned to a longtime favored theme, excoriating the news media for failing to sufficiently extol his accomplishments. .@FoxNews-FBIs Andrew McCabe, in addition to his wife getting all of this money from M (Clinton Puppet), he was using, allegedly, his FBI Official Email Account to promote her campaign. You obviously cannot do this. These were the people who were investigating Hillary Clinton. Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 24, 2017 Thank you President TRUMP!! pic.twitter.com/LKdkT0FL99 oregon4TRUMP (@shawgerald4) December 23, 2017 The Fake News refuses to talk about how Big and how Strong our BASE is. They show Fake Polls just like they report Fake News. Despite only negative reporting, we are doing well - nobody is going to beat us. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 24, 2017 Trump, who is spending the holidays at his Florida resort, Mar-a-Lago, also sent Christmas greetings to deployed military personnel, praising them for success in the fight against terrorism. The early-morning swipe at McCabe followed a flurry of tweets attacking the deputy FBI chief on Saturday. McCabe, who has been a lightning rod for Republican attacks on the FBI, is expected to retire early in the new year. How can FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, the man in charge, along with leakin James Comey, of the Phony Hillary Clinton investigation (including her 33,000 illegally deleted emails) be given $700,000 for wifes campaign by Clinton Puppets during investigation? Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 23, 2017 FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe is racing the clock to retire with full benefits. 90 days to go?!!! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 23, 2017 Critics say the president and his allies are in the midst of a systematic campaign to denigrate the FBI and special counsel Robert S. Mueller III, who is looking into potential collusion by the Trump campaign in Russias attempts to sway the 2016 presidential election. In a pair of statements on Twitter, Trump again expressed scorn regarding news coverage of his administration. For months, the president has been particularly critical of reports regarding the Russia investigation and more recently has repeatedly complained he does not receive enough credit for a booming stock market. In his video conference message to troops overseas, the president made apparent reference to the fight against the militants of Islamic State, who over the last year have lost most of the territory they previously controlled in Iraq and Syria, including former strongholds in Mosul and Raqqah. Were winning, Trump told military personnel deployed in Qatar, Kuwait, Guantanamo Bay and aboard the guided missile destroyer Sampson. Reporters traveling with the president heard his address, but were ushered from the room before he took questions from the troops. The president often breaks with longtime custom and makes politically charged statements at events in which he addresses military personnel. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement Trumps Wells Fargo tweet cited in court hearing as reason to remove Mulvaney as CFPB acting chief By Jim Puzzanghera A recent tweet by President Trump about possible penalties against Wells Fargo & Co. was cited during a court hearing Friday as a reason for removing White House official Mick Mulvaney as acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The attorney for Leandra English the bureaus deputy director who has said she is the rightful acting head said Trumps tweet showed he was trying to exercise improper influence over the independent consumer watchdog. I think that [tweet] shows you this isnt just some hypothetical concern, the attorney, Deepak Gupta, told Judge Timothy J. Kelly of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia during a nearly two-hour hearing. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Trump administration recognizes Honduran presidents reelection By Tracy Wilkinson The Trump administration on Friday formally recognized the incumbent president of Honduras, conservative Juan Orlando Hernandez, as the winner of a bitterly contested presidential election held last month. In a statement, the State Department congratulated Hernandez while also acknowledging widespread irregularities in the Nov. 26 vote and calling for a robust national dialogue to overcome political discord in the Central American country, a close ally of the administration. The Organization of American States, which monitored the election, said it was so flawed that only a new round of voting could establish a fair and transparent outcome. But the U.S. rejected that determination. Uproar over the contest led to demonstrations in Honduras that left numerous civilians dead after state security forces opened fire on the protests. Activists and others voiced criticism Friday of the administrations decision. Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.), a leading Democratic voice on Central American issues, said he was angry and deeply disturbed by the State Department decision. The recent elections in Honduras were deeply flawed, chaotic and marred by numerous irregularities, McGovern said. U.S.-Honduran cooperation on matters such as drug-trafficking, violence and immigration requires a credible, legitimate government that has the support of its people, in Honduras, McGovern said. Hernandezs victory also was controversial because it was the first time a sitting president was allowed to run for re-election, barred until now by the Honduran Constitution. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Senate Leader Mitch McConnell says fixing DACA is no emergency until March By Lisa Mascaro Amanda Bayer, left with banner, and Marisol Maqueda, right, join a rally in support of so-called Dreamers outside the White House. (Manuel Balce Ceneta / Associated Press) Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Friday hes committed to allowing a vote on a bill for so-called Dreamers in January, but sees no rush to resolve the deportation threat posed by President Trumps decision to end a program protecting immigrants brought to the country illegally as children. There isnt that much of an emergency there, he said. There is no emergency until March. Well keep talking about it. Trump called for phasing out by March the Obama-era program that allows the young immigrants, many of them longtime residents, to get two-year deferrals of any deportation threat so they can legally attend school or work. Beneficiaries must be vetted for security purposes. Trump told Congress to come up with a legislative alternative for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which President Obama created by executive order, to protect those currently eligible. A bipartisan Senate group has been working with the White House, but talks stalled this week amid administration demands for curbs on legal immigration flows in exchange for protecting the DACA recipients. Meanwhile, Dreamers and immigrant advocates stormed the Capitol in recent days pressing for the help promised by Trump and Democratic congressional leaders that failed to materialize in the years final legislation. Advocacy groups say more than 120 immigrants each day are falling out of compliance without DACA renewals, putting them at risk of deportation. The number that is projected to swell to more than 1,000 a day in March. Weve been gridlocked on this issue for years, McConnell said. We want to have a signature. We dont just want to spin our wheels and have nothing to show for it. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print President Trump signs tax bill By Noah Bierman (Alex Brandon / Associated Press) President Trump on Friday morning signed a sweeping tax-cut measure his first major legislative achievement before heading off for a Christmas vacation at his Mar-a-Lago property in Palm Beach, Fla. The president also privately signed a short-term spending bill to fund government operations through Jan. 19. Congress approved it Thursday, after Republican leaders were unable to bridge differences in their own party as well as with Democrats to get agreement on funding for the full fiscal year. The stopgap bill punts fights on immigration and other issues to January. The tax bill, approved earlier this week in Congress in largely party-line votes, slashes corporate tax rates from 35% to 21% and also includes a host of other provisions for individuals, all intended to boost the economy. Critics point to nonpartisan analyses showing that the package, including changes greatly reducing the number of estates subject to taxes, steers the bulk of tax benefits to top earners and the wealthy, including Trump, despite his repeated claims that hell take a hit. Trump signed the bill quietly Friday, but held a public ceremony with Republican lawmakers on Wednesday after the bills passage; he also tweeted about the measure extensively. He is expected to hold another public ceremony after the New Years holiday. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement Pelosi urges Ryan to prevent Republicans from curtailing Houses Russia probe By Chris Megerian House Speaker Paul D. Ryan of Wisconsin greets House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of California. (J. Scott Applewhite / Associated Press) House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi sent a letter to Speaker Paul D. Ryan on Friday urging him to ensure the Houses investigation into Russian interference with last years presidential campaign is not cut short. The American people deserve a comprehensive and fair investigation into Russias attacks, wrote Pelosi, of San Francisco, in her letter. Political haste must not cut short valid investigatory threads. The House Intelligence Committee has been probing the issue since March 1, and Democrats have repeatedly warned that Republicans are trying to wrap up its work prematurely. Pelosi said Ryan, a Republican from Wisconsin, should take urgent action to ensure this investigation can continue. AshLee Strong, a spokeswoman for Ryan, said Pelosi simply wants to see this investigation go on forever in order to suit her political agenda. Whether it concludes next month, next year, or in three years, she will say it is too soon, Strong said in a statement. She added, The investigation will conclude when the committee has reached a conclusion. The committees work is led by Rep. K. Michael Conaway (R-Texas). His spokeswoman, Emily Hytha, said he remains committed to conducting this investigation as thoroughly and expeditiously as possible. With more interviews scheduled, the investigation shows signs of extending into next year, Bloomberg reported Friday. BREAKING: Steve Bannon and former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski have been sent letters requesting they testify to House Intel panel in early January, per @HouseInSession Laura Litvan (@LauraLitvan) December 22, 2017 Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Congress votes to avert government shutdown, but Senate fails to pass disaster aid package By Lisa Mascaro ( (J. Scott Applewhite / Associated Press)) Congress approved a temporary spending bill to prevent a government shutdown, but failed to complete work on an $81-billion disaster aid package to help California, Gulf Coast states and Puerto Rico recover from wildfires and hurricanes, as lawmakers scrambled Thursday to wrap up business before a Christmas break. The stopgap measure continues federal operations for a few more weeks, setting up another deadline for Jan. 19. But it left undone a long list of priorities that members of both parties had hoped to finish this year. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Wells Fargo says raises were not linked to tax bill passage then backtracks By James Rufus Koren Wells Fargo & Co.s move to raise its minimum pay to $15 an hour was part of a long-term plan and not related to the passage of the Republican tax overhaul as the company implied, said a bank spokesman, who later backtracked and stated the hikes were a result of the bills approval. The bank was among several large corporations to publicly announce pay raises or new investments immediately following the final House vote in an apparent public relations offensive to boost the popularity of the tax bill The San Francisco bank had implied the direct linkage to the tax legislation in a news release Wednesday, shortly after Congress passed the tax overhaul, which slashes the corporate tax rate to 21% from 35% starting Jan. 1. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Obamacare signups beat expectations, despite Trump administrations opposition By Noam N. Levey President Trump with Seema Verma, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. (Evan Vucci / Associated Press) Despite Trump administration efforts to discourage people from signing up, the number of people enrolling for Affordable Care Act coverage nearly hit last years level, the government revealed Thursday. Exchange open enrollment for 2018 coverage ended w/ approx 8.8M people enrolling in coverage. Great job to the @CMSGov team for the work you did to make this the smoothest experience for consumers to date. We take pride in providing great customer service. Administrator Seema Verma (@SeemaCMS) December 21, 2017 The 8.8 million people who enrolled in the 36 states that use the federal governments healthcare.gov system significantly exceeded most forecasts. The Trump administration stopped most outreach and other efforts this year aimed at getting people to sign up. The president also repeatedly said publicly that Obamacare was dead. Open enrollment continues in California and several other states that run their own healthcare marketplaces. The figures from the federal government indicate that when those states wrap up for the year, the number of people covered by Obamacare will be nearly the same as in 2017. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement U.N. General Assembly overwhelmingly condemns U.S. policy change on Jerusalem despite Trumps threats By Tracy Wilkinson The United Nations General Assembly overwhelmingly voted Thursday to condemn President Trumps decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, despite Trumps threats to punish countries that voted against the U.S. position. The resolution passed in an emergency session at U.N. headquarters in New York with 128 in favor, nine opposed and 35 abstentions. The nonbinding resolution demands that Washington rescind its declaration, which included a plan to transfer the U.S. Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in coming years. The resolution value is mostly symbolic, showing how isolated the U.S. is in the move. Nikki Haley, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., warned this week that she would be taking names of countries that opposed the U.S., and Trump on Wednesday suggested he might cut U.S. aid to governments that voted in favor of the resolution. Let them vote against us, Trump said. Well save a lot. We dont care. The U.S. recognition of Jerusalem reversed decades of international consensus on the political status of the divided city. Palestinians claim East Jerusalem as their capital in a future independent state. Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad Malki said the U.N. was facing an unprecedented test and that history would remember those who stand by what is right. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Democrats defend Robert Mueller, saying Russia investigation must be allowed to continue By Chris Megerian Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Los Angeles) speaking during a committee hearing earlier this year. (Molly Riley / Associated Press) House Democrats said they will fight Republican attempts to discredit and undermine the work of special counsel Robert S. Mueller III, who is investigating whether President Trumps associates helped Russian meddling in last years election. There is an organized effort by Republicans, in concert with Fox News, to spin a false narrative and conjure up outrageous scenarios to accuse special counsel Mueller of being biased, Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Los Angeles) said. Trump has said he has no plan to fire Mueller, but Democrats are alarmed by escalating criticism of the special counsels work. Why is the president afraid of the facts and the truth? Rep. Dan Kildee (D-Mich.) said. He added, No matter what the facts are, were satisfied if the investigation is complete. A letter of support signed by 171 Democratic members of Congress will be sent to Deputy Atty. Gen. Rod Rosenstein, who appointed Mueller, a former FBI director, and oversees his investigation. Rosenstein has defended Mueller in the face of Republican criticisms. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print U.S. blacklists Myanmar army general who it says oversaw atrocities against Rohingya Muslims By Shashank Bengali The Trump administration on Thursday blacklisted a Myanmar army general who it said oversaw human rights abuses committed by security forces against Rohingya Muslims. Imposing economic sanctions against the general, Maung Maung Soe, was the toughest action the United States has taken in response to a brutal army offensive that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has described as ethnic cleansing. In a statement, the Treasury Department said it had examined credible evidence of Maung Maung Soes activities, including allegations against Burmese security forces of extrajudicial killings, sexual violence and arbitrary arrest as well as the widespread burning of villages. The Rohingya are an ethnic and religious minority of about 1 million people in predominantly Buddhist Myanmar, also known as Burma. The United Nations says that more than 640,000 Rohingya have fled the country since August, after the army launched clearance operations in response to attacks carried out by a Rohingya insurgent group against security forces. Rohingya refugees in crowded camps in neighboring Bangladesh have described horrific violence by Myanmar forces, including mass rapes, summary executions and children being burned alive. The aid group Doctors Without Borders estimates that 6,700 people were killed in the first month of the operation. Myanmar authorities deny committing atrocities and say that only a few hundred fighters were killed. Maung Maung Soe was chief of the armys Western Command, which carried out the offensive. He was transferred from his position last month, according to news reports. He was one of 13 individuals worldwide who were blacklisted Thursday under a new U.S. law that gives the Treasury Department authority to target officials for human rights abuses and corruption. Others included former Gambian President Yahya Jammeh; Gulnara Karimova, daughter of the late Uzbekistan dictator Islam Karimov; and Artem Chaika, son of Russias prosecutor-general. Today, the United States is taking a strong stand against human rights abuse and corruption globally by shutting these bad actors out of the U.S. financial system, said Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin. The sanctions freeze any assets Maung Maung Soe holds in the United States and bars Americans from doing business with him. It is also a sign of how quickly U.S. relations with Myanmar have soured. Under the Obama administration, the United States forged closer ties with the former military dictatorship and eased economic and political sanctions as the country began implementing democratic reforms. But Myanmar, which does not regard the Rohingya as citizens, has lashed out at the international community over the current crisis. It has jailed journalists, blocked access to affected areas in the western state of Rakhine and this week barred a U.N. human rights investigator from entering the country. Rohingya activists said the U.S. action would not have much effect on a country that survived under economic sanctions for years. It is the whole military institution that has a policy to persecute these people, said Nay San Lwin, a Rohingya activist and blogger in Germany. According to the U.S.s own definition, the army is carrying out ethnic cleansing. They have a responsibility to protect these people. Sanctions on one person are really not enough. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Dreamers will have to wait until next year for Congress long-promised protections By Lisa Mascaro Amanda Bayer, left with banner, and Marisol Maqueda, right, join a rally in support of so-called Dreamers outside the White House. (Manuel Balce Ceneta / Associated Press)) A promised year-end deal to protect the young immigrants known as Dreamers from deportation collapsed Wednesday as Republicans in Congress fresh off passage of their tax plan prepared to punt nearly all remaining must-do agenda items into the new year. Congressional leaders still hope that before leaving town this week they can pass an $81-billion disaster relief package with recovery funds for California wildfires and Gulf Coast states hit during the devastating hurricane season. But passage even of that relatively popular measure remained in doubt as conservatives balked at the price tag. Rather than finish the year wrapping up the legislative agenda, the GOP majorities in the House and Senate struggled over their next steps. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement Chants of protest drown out any caroling this holiday season at the Capitol By Lisa Mascaro U.S. Capitol Police arrest a man wearing a Santa Claus hat during a protest against the Republican tax bill. (Alex Edelman / AFP/Getty Image) Outside the U.S. Capitol, the lights on a towering Christmas tree are flipped on each evening, giving the Engelmann spruce a festive twinkle; inside the marble halls, wreaths and garlands decorate doorways and alcoves ahead of the holidays. But the spirit of the season has been punctuated by other sights: a Jumbotron parked across from the Capitol reflecting pool broadcasts images of young immigrants who face deportation; Little Lobbyists, children with complex medical needs, were featured in a recent news conference; protesters filed into the visitor galleries to shout against the Republican tax plan. While its beginning to look a lot like Christmas at the Capitol, its also shaping up to be a holiday season of protest. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Tax bill simplifies filing for some but complicates it for others and dont count on that postcard By Jim Puzzanghera A priority of the Republicans tax overhaul was simplification, and they drove home the point this fall with an omnipresent prop: a red-white-and-blue postcard. Were making things so simple that you can do your taxes on a form the size of a postcard, House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.) said last month, pulling one from his jacket pocket as he and Republican leaders unveiled their bill. They gave a couple of the cards to President Trump at a White House meeting a few hours later and flashed them often during news conferences and TV interviews in the coming days. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Top U.N. human rights official reportedly wont seek reelection The top United Nations official for human rights, who has frequently criticized the Trump administration, has reportedly decided not to seek a second term, saying his work had become untenable. Zeid Raad Hussein, the U.N. high commissioner for human rights, notified his staff in an email that was obtained by several news outlets, including Agence France-Presse. Staying when his four-year term is up for renewal at the end of August might involve bending a knee in supplication, AFP quoted Husseins email as saying. Hussein is a Jordanian prince who has criticized, among other things, President Trumps attempts to ban visitors or refugees from six predominantly Muslim countries. The news comes a day before the U.N. General Assembly is expected to vote on a nonbinding resolution condemning the Trump administrations formal declaration of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, a decision that went against international consensus. Nikki Haley, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., has warned she will be taking names of those who vote against the United States on Thursday. Trump echoed that sentiment Wednesday, voiced support for Haley and implying to reporters that he would consider cutting off U.S. aid to countries that vote against the U.S. Well, were watching those votes, Trump said. Let them vote against us. Well save a lot. We dont care. On Monday, the United States lost a Security Council vote 14-1 on a binding resolution that would have required Washington to rescind its declaration. Haley then vetoed the resolution. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Top Democrat warns Trump not to fire Mueller or interfere with his investigation By Chris Megerian Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, one of the top Democrats involved in the congressional inquiries into Russian interference in last years election, said Wednesday that any attempt by President Trump to interfere with the separate criminal investigation would be a gross abuse of power. Warner, who is vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, delivered his warning from the Senate floor as Republicans escalate their criticism of special counsel Robert S. Mueller III and his team of prosecutors and FBI agents. Some Democrats believe Trump is laying the groundwork to fire Mueller even though the president has publicly denied it. Mueller was appointed in May after Trump fired FBI Director James B. Comey. In the United States of America, no one, no one is above the law, not even the president, Warner said. Congress must make clear to the president that firing the special counsel or interfering with his investigation by issuing pardons of essential witnesses is unacceptable and would have immediate and significant consequences. Some Democrats say the White House may try to in effect short-circuit the Mueller investigation by replacing Deputy Atty. Gen. Rod Rosenstein, who is the only official empowered to fire Mueller. Rosenstein recently told Congress that the special counsel is acting appropriately and that he would not dismiss Mueller without just cause. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement We have essentially repealed Obamacare, Trump says after tax bill passes By Brian Bennett President Trump at a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday at the White House. (Chris Kleponis / Getty Images) President Trump is celebrating Republicans passage of the tax overhaul bill as a two-fer: On Wednesday, in addition to tax cuts, he checked off his promise to repeal Obamacare, pointing to a provision in the bill to end the penalty on Americans who dont get health insurance. We have essentially repealed Obamacare, Trump told reporters during a Cabinet meeting at the White House. Other provisions of the 2010 Affordable Care Act are still in place, and Trump and congressional Republicans failed completely on the replace half of their vow to repeal and replace the program. In Trumps view, however, stripping away the laws individual mandate to get insurance or else pay a tax penalty amounts to repeal of the whole law. Congressional analysts have said that millions of people would lose insurance as a result, either by choice or because they cannot afford it without subsidies, and that premiums would increase for others as younger, healthy people drop coverage. We will come up with something much better, Trump said, adding that block grants to states could be one approach. By his comments, Trump tacitly acknowledged that repeal of the mandate is likely the best he can do following Republicans failure this year to agree on a repeal-and-replace bill. Looking back on his first year, Trump also boasted of his administrations efforts against the Islamic State and increased immigration enforcement. He said he had not given up on funding a border wall or tightening immigration law to limit citizens ability to resettle foreign relatives in the country. He said he would very shortly visit the border with Mexico near San Diego to see wall prototypes that have been built. He didnt answer a reporters shouted question about how he would personally benefit from the tax bill. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print House gives final OK to GOP tax plan, sending it to Trump By Lisa Mascaro Congress gave final approval to the GOP tax plan Wednesday, 224-201, after the House took an unusual do-over vote to clear up differences with the Senate-passed bill. The $1.5-trillion package now heads to President Trump, who plans to sign it into law. The House had approved the tax bill on Tuesday but was forced to take another vote Wednesday because a couple of provisions in the version it approved were found to be in violation of Senate procedures. Those provisions were dropped before the Senate gave its approval early Wednesday. Critics complained the Republicans rushed to pass the sweeping tax plan to deliver Trump a year-end legislative victory, but supporters shrugged off the problems as minor. The tax plan dramatically cuts corporate rates and provides some individual rate reductions, overhauling the tax code for the first time in 30 years. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Trump administration effort to block immigrant from having an abortion fails By David Savage Scott Lloyd is director of the Office of Refugee Resettlement at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (Drew Angerer / Getty Images) President Trumps lawyers rushed to the Supreme Court and U.S. appeals court in Washington on Monday evening to file emergency appeals seeking to prevent an immigrant in detention, dubbed Jane Roe in court, from having an abortion. That set the stage for a legal showdown on whether the administration can block pregnant minors in custody from choosing to have an abortion. But the legal clash, which the administration has seemed eager to have, fizzled out Tuesday when the governments lawyers admitted the 17-year-old unaccompanied minor in their custody was actually 19. They said they had obtained her birth certificate and realized she was not a minor after all. As a result, Roe, who is 10 weeks pregnant, will no longer be held in a detention center for immigrant minors, and will not be subject to an administration policy that tries to prevent minors in immigration detention from having abortions. Administration lawyers told appeals court judges Tuesday night that Roe was being sent to a facility for adults and likely would be released until her immigration status can be resolved. In a brief order, the D.C. Circuit Court agreed to put the case on hold, but told government attorneys to confirm that she will be permitted to obtain an abortion. The administration had earlier tried to delay another young woman, referred to in court as Jane Poe, from having an abortion, but officials relented on Monday because she was 22 weeks pregnant and nearing the time limit for a legal abortion. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Senate panel rejects Trumps pick to lead Export-Import Bank, a leader in the effort to shut it down By Jim Puzzanghera A Senate committee on Tuesday rejected President Trumps nominee to lead the Export-Import Bank, extending the chaos at the embattled agency whose job is to help U.S. companies sell their goods abroad. Two Republicans joined all Democrats on the Senate Banking Committee in voting against former Rep. Scott Garrett (R-N.J.) to be the banks president. Garrett had been a vocal critic of the Ex-Im Bank and a leader of a conservative effort that shut the bank down for five months in 2015 by blocking its congressional authorization. He and other bank opponents branded the banks aid as crony capitalism. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement Congress proposes $81-billion disaster aid package, including funds for California wildfires By Lisa Mascaro Congress is set to consider an $81-billion disaster aid package that includes wildfire recovery money for California and other Western states as well as hurricane relief with a price tag reflecting a year of record-setting natural calamities. The legislation, the text of which was released late Monday, would provide almost twice as much as the $44 billion the White House sought last month to cover relief efforts along the Gulf Coast and in the Caribbean. Republican congressional leaders added more money after California lawmakers objected that the administration had failed to include help for areas damaged by wildfires and Democrats protested that the overall amount President Trump asked for was insufficient. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print White House blames North Korea for worldwide WannaCry cyber attack By Noah Bierman The Royal London Hospital, a victim of the unprecedented global cyberattack in May. (Niklas Hallen / AFP/Getty Images) The White House officially blamed North Korea on Tuesday for the cyberattack in May known as WannaCry that infected hundreds of thousands of computers in 150 countries, affecting healthcare, financial services and vital infrastructure. Thomas P. Bossert, assistant to the president for homeland security and counter-terrorism, noted in a briefing with reporters that the consequences were beyond economic. He warned that North Koreas malicious behavior is growing more egregious. Bossert did not specify what evidence American officials have to blame North Korea, citing security issues, but he cited the countrys prior attacks as revealing hallmarks of how Pyongyang and its network of hackers operates. He said other allied countries had joined the United States in making the determination. The administration did not announce any penalties on the regime, which is already subject to severe sanctions over its nuclear program. They want to hold the entire world at risk, Bossert said of North Koreas rulers, referring to the nations nuclear and missile provocations as well as its alleged cyberattack. Given its isolation and international sanctions, North Korea is desperate for funds. Bossert said the country did not appear to make much money on the ransom attack, as word spread that paying a ransom did not result in getting computers unlocked. Its primary goal, he said, was spreading chaos. Bossert and Jeanette Manfra, assistant secretary of homeland security for cybersecurity and communication, said the United States, through a combination of preparation and luck, escaped the worst of the attack, as a patch to the malware was found before U.S. companies and other interests were severely crippled. However, Manfra said, We cannot be complacent. Bossert added, Next time were not going to get so lucky. Manfra praised Microsoft and Facebook for their efforts to combat WannaCry and to block more recent attempts to hack U.S. systems. She and Bossert urged more cooperation and information-sharing from American and multinational companies, arguing a united front is vital to protecting against bad actors who do not differentiate between government and business. Bossert rejected criticism that the the Trump administration has more aggressively called out North Korean cyberattacks than it has Russias meddling in the 2016 election. He said the administration has continued the national emergency initiated by President Obama. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print GOP lures some mountain bike groups in its push to roll back protections for public land By Evan Halper When their vision of creating a scenic cycling trail through a protected alpine backcountry hit a snag, San Diego area mountain bikers turned to an unlikely ally: congressional Republicans aiming to dilute conservation laws. The frustrations of the San Diego cycling group and a handful of similar organizations are providing tailwind to the GOP movement to lift restrictions on the countrys most ecologically fragile and pristine landscapes, officially designated wilderness. Resentment of these cyclists over the longstanding ban on mechanized transportation in that fraction of the nations public lands presents a political opportunity for Republicans eager to drill fissures in the broad coalition of conservation-minded groups united against the GOP environmental agenda. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement Vice president postpones Israel trip a second time in case his vote is needed to pass tax cut bill By Noah Bierman (Ethan Miller / Getty Images) Vice President Mike Pence is delaying his trip to Egypt and Israel for a second time in case he is needed to break a tie in the Senate for the tax bill that is expected to pass narrowly this week. Two White House officials confirmed the changed schedule, which they say is unrelated to to protests in the region over the administrations decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israels capital. Pence had initially been scheduled to leave last Saturday. Late last week, the White House moved the trip back a few days to Tuesday night, in case Pence was needed to break a Senate tie. But Monday, they decided to postpone the trip further, to January, given the possibility of a late Senate vote and the coming holidays. He wants to see it through the finish line, said a White House official, referring to the tax measure that is a centerpiece of the Republican legislative agenda. We dont want to leave anything to chance. The mid-January dates will allow Pence more breathing room to merge schedules with embassies and hotels, the official said. Trump still plans to address the Israeli Knesset, a high-profile venue to discuss the Jerusalem decision where it is most popular. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Trump judicial pick who drew ridicule at hearing withdraws By Associated Press A White House official says the Trump judicial nominee whose qualifications were questioned by a Republican senator has withdrawn his nomination. Matthew Petersen, who was nominated by President Trump to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, has been the subject of widespread ridicule since he was unable to define basic legal terms during his confirmation hearing Wednesday. A White House official says Petersen has withdrawn his nomination and that Trump has accepted the withdrawal. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the official was not authorized to discuss the development publicly. Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy pressed Petersen, a former chairman of the Federal Election Commission, who testified he had never tried a case, on his qualifications to the bench. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Trump says McCain will return to Washington if needed for tax vote By Laura King President Trump said Sunday that Sen. John McCain, who is battling an aggressive form of brain cancer, was returning home to Arizona for the holidays but would come back to Washington if needed to cast a vote on the Republicans tax overhaul bill. The Arizona Republicans office announced last week that McCain was receiving treatment at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center outside Washington for complications from his cancer treatment. McCains daughter Meghan tweeted earlier Sunday that her 81-year-old father would be spending Christmas in Arizona. The Senate is expected to vote early this week on the tax cut legislation, but the GOP appeared to have secured sufficient support without McCains vote. John will come back if we need his vote, Trump told reporters as he returned from a weekend at the presidential retreat at Camp David. Hes going through a very tough time. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Putin calls Trump to thank him for U.S. help foiling terrorist strike By Laura King Vladimir Putin phoned President Trump to thank him for what the Russian president said was CIA help in foiling a terrorist attack, the Kremlin said on Sunday. White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders confirmed the two leaders conversation to reporters. It was the second time that the two leaders had talked in four days; Trump called Putin on Thursday to thank the Russian leader for lauding the U.S. economy. Putin, in his annual year-end news conference, had praised Trump for a strong performance by the U.S. stock market. Perhaps ironically, given his credit to the CIAs recent help, Putin at that news event dismissed as hysteria the consensus among American intelligence agencies that Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential campaign. In reporting Putins call to Trump on Sunday, the official Russian news agency Tass said Putin thanked his American counterpart for information shared by the US Central Intelligence Agency that had helped break up a plot to set off explosives in St. Petersburgs landmark Kazan Cathedral and elsewhere in the city, which is Russias second-largest. Russian authorities last week had credited their countrys counter-intelligence service, the FSB, for foiling the attacks. They reported that seven people affiliated with Islamic State had been detained in St. Petersburg in connection with the plot. The FSB, the successor organization to the KGB, announced Friday that the group had planned to carry out the attacks on Saturday, and that one of those in custody had confessed to the cathedral bomb plot. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement Mnuchin: Government shutdown unlikely but could happen By Laura King Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin said on Sunday that a government shutdown this week was unlikely but possible. A two-week stopgap spending bill passed by Congress earlier this month provided enough funding to keep the government running through Friday. A deadlock on another temporary funding measure would open the door to a possible shutdown. I cant rule it out, but I cant imagine it occurring, Mnuchin said on Fox News Sunday, suggesting everyone had an interest in avoiding the government grinding to a halt and federal workers going unpaid, especially in the holiday season. I would expect that both the House and Senate, Republicans and Democrats, understand if they cant agree on this, they need to have another short-term extension to move this to January, the Treasury secretary said. We cant have a government shutdown in front of Christmas. In May, irate over concessions made to Democrats in hammering out a spending measure, President Trump tweeted that a good shutdown might help matters. While both parties agree that a government shutdown involves a degree of disruption that is not beneficial to either side, shutdowns in 1995-96 and in 2013 mainly caused a backlash against Republicans. The latest funding measure is to be taken up after a vote on a massive GOP tax overhaul, expected by midweek. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Trump transition team says sensitive emails should not have been shared with Robert Mueller By Chris Megerian (J. Scott Applewhite / Associated Press) President Trumps transition team is crying foul over how special counsel Robert S. Mueller III obtained emails for his investigation into Russian meddling in last years campaign and possible Trump campaign complicity. Kory Langhofer, a lawyer for the transition team, sent a letter to Congress on Saturday saying there was an unauthorized disclosure of emails. While the Trump transition is long over, the transition team remains a nonprofit organization. Its emails were hosted by the General Services Administration, a federal agency. Mueller reportedly obtained the emails directly from the agency. There are attorney-client communications, Langhofer said in an interview. There are executive-privileged communications. He added, What were asking Congress to do is to take some legislative action to make sure this never happens again. Peter Carr, a spokesman for the special counsels office, defended the process for obtaining emails. When we have obtained emails in the course of our ongoing criminal investigation, we have secured either the account owners consent or appropriate criminal process, he said. The letter was first reported by Fox News. A request for comment from the General Services Administration was not immediately answered. This story has been updated with a comment from the special counsels office. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Virginia house arrest is ending for Paul Manafort By Chris Megerian (Mark Wilson / Getty Images) A federal judge agreed Friday to end Paul Manaforts house arrest in Virginia, allowing President Trumps former campaign manager to return to Florida while awaiting trial. The decision followed a dispute between Manaforts legal team and prosecutors working for special counsel Robert S. Mueller III, who accused Manafort of violating a court order restricting public statements about the case. Under the terms of the judges order, Manafort will be allowed to live at his home in Florida as long as he stays within Palm Beach and Broward counties and obeys a curfew from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. If he misses a court appearance, he would forfeit four properties valued at $10 million total. The deal, which includes GPS monitoring, is not as permissive as Manafort originally sought. He had asked to be able to travel freely among Florida, New York, Virginia and Washington. Manafort faces criminal charges of fraud, conspiracy and money laundering. He has pleaded not guilty. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print GOP negotiators enhance child tax credit to win over Sen. Rubio By Lisa Mascaro Republican negotiators slightly increased the refundable portion of the expanded child tax credit in their tax plan, raising it to $1,400 in hopes of winning back Sen. Marco Rubios (R-Fla.) support ahead of next weeks vote. Rubio announced Thursday he was withholding support after negotiators ignored his push to make the expanded tax credit, which increases from the current $1,000 to $2,000 in the proposed bill, fully refundable for lower- and moderate-income filers. The refundable portion in the original bill was $1,100. The Florida senator argued that was not enough to help working-class Americans, many of whom already view the GOP plan as tilted toward the wealthy. Rubios office was waiting to see the final text before commenting on whether the change was enough to win him over. We have not seen the bill text, and until we see if the percentage of the refundable credit is significantly higher, then our position remains the same, Rubios spokeswoman said. Negotiators meeting Friday before unveiling the bill said they thought they had the support they needed from Rubio and other holdouts. Im confident both chambers will pass it next week, said Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.). Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement Sen. Marco Rubio opposes GOP tax bill, depriving leaders of crucial support By Lisa Mascaro 20.94% Corp. rate to pay for tax cut for working family making $40k was anti-growth but 21% to cut tax for couples making $1million is fine? Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) December 12, 2017 Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) says he is currently opposed to the GOP tax plan because it fails to include his proposed enhancements to the child tax credit, leaving leaders without crucial support ahead of next weeks expected vote. Republicans can only lose two GOP senators from their slim 52-48 majority as they push the plan forward under special budget rules to prevent a Democratic filibuster. Vice President Mike Pence on Wednesday altered his planned Israel trip so he could be on hand, if needed, to cast a tie-breaking vote. Rubio, and GOP Sen. Mike Lee of Utah, have fought to increase the child tax credit, doubling it to $2,000 in the GOP plan, but they also want to increase its refundability. They argue it will lower taxes on middle-income families at a time when the tax plan is being criticized as tilted to the wealthy. Sen. Rubio has consistently communicated to the Senate tax negotiators that his vote on final passage would depend on whether the refundability of the Child Tax Credit was increased in a meaningful way, Rubios spokeswoman said. Lee stopped short of opposing the bill, but his spokesman said Wednesday he is undecided. GOP leaders, though, have said they believe they have the support for passage. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print White House gives Roy Moore a unsubtle shove: Time to concede By David Lauter (Alex Wong / Getty Images) The White House sent a clear signal Thursday to the defeated Republican candidate for Senate in Alabama: Its time to concede. Roy Moore refused to concede the race on Tuesday night when Doug Jones, the Democrat, was declared the winner. Election night results show Jones winning by about 1.5 percentage points, three times more than the states standard for a recount. Although a few absentee and provisional ballots remain to be counted, theres no indication they would change the result. On Wednesday, Moore notably did not call to congratulate Jones even as President Trump and other leading Republicans did. Instead, he released a video declaring the battle rages on. Asked at the daily news briefing whether the White House thinks Moore should concede today, Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said, It probably sounds like it maybe should have already taken place. Sanders also dismissed the idea, pushed by some Moore supporters, that Jones victory was tainted in some fashion. Asked if the Democrat had won fair and square, she said, I think the numbers reflect that. The states Republican senator, Richard Shelby, offered a similar comment in an interview with MSNBC in which he said he was willing to work with Jones. If I was 25,000 votes behind, its not going to change much, Shelby said. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print House Speaker Paul Ryan says hes not leaving anytime soon By Lisa Mascaro House Speaker Paul D. Ryan shot down suggestions Thursday that he might soon be retiring. Stories often circulate that party leaders, especially the House speaker, are stepping aside. Ryans tenure has been as rocky as that of his predecessor, Rep. John Boehner, who abruptly resigned in 2015 amid GOP infighting. Asked Thursday if he would be leaving, Ryan answered a simple no, as he left his weekly press conference in the Capitol. Ryan, the Wisconsin Republican who reluctantly took over the speakers gavel after Boehners departure, had just finished talking up the GOP tax plan, which leaders hope to pass next week. He also outlined his sweeping agenda for his longtime goal of entitlement reform of welfare benefits next year. Two stories published Thursday suggested Ryan may soon be out. This is pure speculation, said spokeswoman AshLee Strong. As the speaker himself said today, hes not going anywhere anytime soon. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print GOP leaders reach tax deal, cutting corporate rate to 21% and top individual rate to 37% By Lisa Mascaro Republican leaders on Wednesday agreed on a revised plan to cut taxes that would lower the corporate rate from 35% to 21% and drop the top individual rate for the richest Americans to 37%, according to GOP senators and others briefed on the deal. The tentative accord marked a significant step in the Republican push to have a tax bill on President Trumps desk by Christmas. Leaders did not release details of the compromise or the text of a final bill as negotiations continued. Its critically important for Congress to quickly pass these historic tax cuts, Trump said Wednesday, promising that Americans could begin to reap the benefits of the plan as early as February, if passed. Critics, however, said the latest changes particularly the lowering of the top individual rate from the current 39.6% only reaffirmed several independent analyses that show the bulk of the savings from the Republican plan would go to businesses and the wealthy. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement Farenthold to retire from House amid harassment accusations By Associated Press Texas Republican Rep. Blake Farenthold wont seek reelection next year, two Republicans said Thursday, adding his name to the list of lawmakers leaving Congress amid sexual harassment allegations that have cost powerful men their jobs in politics, the arts and other fields. The accusations against Farenthold surfaced in 2014, when a former aide sued him alleging sexually suggestive comments and behavior and said shed been fired after she complained. The lawmaker said he engaged in no wrongdoing and the case was settled in 2015. But the House Ethics Committee said last week that it would investigate Farenthold after congressional sources said hed paid an $84,000 settlement using taxpayers money. Though Farenthold said hed reimburse the Treasury Department, such payments have drawn public criticism from people saying lawmakers should use their own money for such settlements. A House official said Farenthold spoke twice Wednesday to House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.), while another official said the congressman spoke once with Rep. Steve Stivers (R-Ohio) who heads the GOPs House campaign committee. Those discussions suggested that Farenthold may have come under pressure from leaders to step aside. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity to describe private conversations. Last week, three lawmakers facing accusations of sexual harassment announced their resignations. Reps. John Conyers (D-Mich.) and Trent Franks (R-Ariz.) have already left Congress while Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) has said he will step aside soon. Mike Bergsma, Republican county chairman in Farentholds home county of Nueces, Texas, said Fare The Laguna Beach City Council on Tuesday could approve spending $242,000 on consultants to develop surveys and determine potential costs to residents of undergrounding remaining overhead utility poles and wires. The city is considering placing one or two measures on the November 2018 ballot, but first wants to know if residents would support one or multiple public votes on undergrounding, and whether taxpayers would want to help foot the costs. City staff members recommend paying up to $123,700 to TBWB Strategies and its subcontractor Fairbank, Maslin, Maullin, Metz & Associates to develop surveys and potential ballot measures, and up to $97,500 to David Taussig & Associates, a Newport Beach firm. Advertisement The latter firm would identify tax methods to raise funds for undergrounding overhead utilities in Lagunas residential neighborhoods. Council members will also consider earmarking $20,800 for unforeseen expenses. Tuesdays discussion will follow an October meeting in which Councilman Bob Whalen, a vocal undergrounding advocate, urged his council colleagues and the city to ramp up efforts to place utilities below ground. Whalen referenced the October fires in Northern California that destroyed at least 8,400 houses and other structures, and the 1993 wildfire that ravaged Laguna, as evidence. The council appointed Whalen and Councilman Robert Zur Schmiede to work with city staff on identifying funding opportunities. A general obligation bond would pay for undergrounding along Lagunas major evacuation routes, such as South Coast Highway, while a community facilities district would pay for undergrounding in neighborhoods that still have overhead power lines, according to a city staff report. Residents in the neighborhoods would help fund undergrounding in those areas, while property owners throughout the city would help fund undergrounding along the evacuation routes, the report said. Laguna has a patchwork of areas where residents have paid assessments to place overhead utilities below ground. The council would decide whether to place measures on the November 2018 ballot at a later date. Village Entrance design discussion Also on Tuesday the council and Planning Commission will discuss a design of the Village Entrance during a public workshop. The city proposes a multi-use path for pedestrians and cyclists amid landscaped grounds within a space that currently includes an asphalt parking lot at the corner of Forest Avenue and Broadway Street. Laguna has tried for decades to create a more inviting entrance into the city from Laguna Canyon Road. The area would include 387 parking spaces, including 33 compact stalls and 13 spaces reserved for bicycles, according to a staff report. One-hundred sixty new trees, including sycamores and oaks, are scheduled to be planted. bryce.alderton@latimes.com Twitter: @AldertonBryce Goldrich Kest, owner of the Newport Dunes Waterfront Resort in Newport Beach, is celebrating the companys 60th anniversary with a 60 Acts of Kindness mission and is seeking nominations for people it can help. Goldrich Kest was built on recognizing and fulfilling the needs of a wide spectrum of people, and philanthropy has been a bedrock of our 60-year history, company President Carole Glodney said in a statement. Since we launched our 60 Acts campaign, we have helped a great number of folks from different backgrounds, including a former homeless man who needed a new computer so he could continue directing L.A.s poorest people to resources that could help them, and a young boy with cancer whose wish was for his family to visit Legoland before he starts chemotherapy. To submit a nomination, send a one-page description to 60acts@frankgroffinc.com. Newport Dunes names new executive chef The Newport Dunes Waterfront Resort in Newport Beach has named Daniel Jimenez as executive chef of its Back Bay Bistro. Jimenez started at the resort as a line cook in 1990. He received his culinary education in Mexico City. New wine country-themed restaurant opens in Newport Olea, a wine country-themed restaurant, has opened in Newport Beach. Russ Bendels establishment, which serves modern California cuisine, is at 2001 Westcliff Drive. The name is from a genus of trees. Entrees range from $16.50 to $43.50, with desserts around $9.50. For more information, visit oleanewportbeach.com. Porsche Design store opens in Costa Mesa Porche Design is now open on the first floor of Costa Mesas South Coast Plaza, near Carousel Court. The store sells mens apparel, home accessories, watches, eyewear and electronics. The California Fair Political Practices Commission has cleared Costa Mesa City Councilwoman Katrina Foley of wrongdoing following a complaint alleging that an annual event she organizes improperly linked charitable giving with her political fundraising. Galena West, chief of the FPPCs enforcement division, outlined the decision Friday in a message to Colin McCarthy, a former planning commissioner and council candidate who filed the complaint against Foley last week. After review of the complaint and the evidence obtained, we found no evidence of a violation of the [Political Reform] Act by Ms. Foley, the letter states, referring to the state law the agency enforces. In an interview Friday, Foley said filing the complaint was a waste of time and taxpayer resources and an example of trying to utilize the system for political gain. Hopefully we can all find some way to get through the holidays and spread some good cheer and make peoples lives better instead of focusing on all this political nonsense, she said. McCarthy could not be immediately reached for comment Friday evening. The complaint centered on Foleys annual Holiday Soiree & Charity Drive, a campaign fundraiser that also includes a silent auction benefiting the Costa Mesa Firefighters Assn. charity fund. McCarthy alleged that the soiree now in its ninth year and scheduled for Dec. 14 at the Holiday bar and lounge on West 19th Street was political fundraising under the deceptive guise of charity. He also took issue with the fact that city fire stations and Costa Mesa High School are included as drop-off locations for a toy and coat drive Foley organizes ahead of the soiree, saying he believes she is using public resources to aid her political fundraising. Foley dismissed those complaints as political gamesmanship. luke.money@latimes.com Twitter @LukeMMoney After a decade of fleshing out a new curriculum focused on international studies, Corona del Mar High School history teacher Laura Mayberry is seeing her passion project come to fruition. Nearly 200 of her students enrolled in the Academy of Global Studies at CdM raised $60,000 over four years to do their part in helping end the world water crisis. Their efforts, in collaboration with the nonprofit Thirst Project, funded four water wells for villages in need in El Salvador, Swaziland and other countries. Mayberry said students are more than halfway done raising $12,000 for a fifth well. Mayberry, director of the academy, hoped they would be able to fund one well for a school when the effort launched in 2014, but her students exceeded her expectations. Its testament of how bright they are and how motivated they are, Mayberry said. Its exciting because for a long time it was only a thought. Theyve been able to take it far beyond that. Ive given them the groundwork, and theyve taken it in so many dynamic ways. At the end of this academic year, 32 seniors will make up the academys first graduating class. The Newport Beach campus is listed as the No. 1 fundraising group nationwide for the project, according to the nonprofits website. The four-year program offers Advanced Placement classes, a yearlong speaker series and partnerships with nonprofits and schools abroad. Students also have the opportunity to travel with their class to experience firsthand what theyve learned in the classroom. Senior Edward Jacobs, 17, enrolled in the academy the first year it was offered. He credits it as his best experience in high school. Seeing photos of villagers enjoying water from wells they funded was transformative, he said. The fact that a bunch of 14- and 15-year-olds went around our hometown and raised enough money to give 2,000 people sanitary drinking water isnt something many teenagers can say about themselves, Edward said. Its a fulfilling experience and it connected us with communities and issues that others cant sympathize with until theyve learned about this. Senior Delarai Sadeghitari, 17, said she appreciated Mayberrys hard work, which allows students to learn about the global community. The academically rigorous program aims to create competitive, global citizens with practical skill sets for future jobs, Mayberry said. Itll take community answers and innovative thinkers who are creative to solve problems. We have to prepare our kids for that. Thats what the academy does. Priscella.Vega@latimes.com Twitter: @vegapriscella When the Newport-Mesa-Irvine Interfaith Council held its September luncheon at the Bahai church in Costa Mesa, we invited the mayors of each of our three cities. It was an opportunity to connect with one another and the religious community to ask questions of our elected officials. It caught most of the room off-guard when one of the invited officials, unsolicited, announced his belief that businesses should be allowed to discriminate based on their religious beliefs. Apparently, the official thought he knew his audience, assuming that since we were a gathering of religious leaders and lay people, we would share the same beliefs. He couldnt have been more wrong. He noted the case that the Supreme Court will hear this week: Masterpiece Cake Shop v. the Colorado Civil Rights Commission. In case you dont recall, thats the case where the baker refused to make a gay wedding cake for the same-gender couple who was getting married. Perhaps to this officials surprise, the majority of the room believed it is wrong to discriminate against someone based on your religious beliefs. Most of us were disappointed that an elected official could not see the importance of separation of church and state and that religious freedom means freedom from religious domination and religious persecution. So, in an act of solidarity, Christians will be gathering Sunday in downtown Santa Ana to eat cake. Baker Jeff McCullum Van Hoosear of St. Mark Presbyterian Church is donating a Gay Wedding Cake so we can feast together in support of the LGBT community here in Orange County and stand against discrimination throughout our nation. The event will be part of a National Weekend of Prayer for LGBTQ Justice. Join us for a celebration of solidarity, friendship, love and cake. Participants in Let Justice Eat Cake include leaders from Progressive Christians Uniting and our member churches: Church of the Foothills (Santa Ana), Irvine United Congregational Church, St. Mark Presbyterian Church (Newport Beach), Fairview Community Church (Costa Mesa), University United Methodist Church (Irvine), First Christian Church (Fullerton). We will be gathering at 3 p.m. in the square at 125 N. Broadway, Santa Ana. The Rev. Dr. SARAH HALVERSON-CANO serves Fairview Community Church in Costa Mesa. Residents across Los Angeles County now have the ability to send a text message to 911 to contact help during an emergency, authorities announced Friday. The new system, called Text-to-911, is meant to allow people who are hard of hearing, speech-impaired or unable to talk safely on the phone to connect with emergency services. Cities such as Burbank, Glendale, Long Beach and Los Angeles now have the ability to field text messages sent to 911. However, it is not meant as a total replacement for calling 911 traditionally. Sgt. Daniel Suttles, a spokesperson for the Glendale Police Department, said the time from when a text is sent and then received by the system can vary from instantaneous to several minutes, depending on a persons location and cellphone service. Phone communication is still the primary way we want you to communicate because its more reliable, he said. According to the Federal Communications Commission, there are some caveats to texting 911. The service is not available when a person is roaming, photos and video cannot be sent or received, and messages should be sent in plain English with no abbreviations. andy.nguyen@latimes.com Twitter: @Andy_Truc The government of Honduras declared a nationwide curfew late Friday in an effort to quell an outbreak of violent street clashes, road blockades and looting that have followed last Sundays disputed presidential election. The imposition of a curfew for 10 days between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. suspending citizens rights to travel freely within the country was read on national television and radio by Jorge Ramon Hernandez, the governments Cabinet coordinator. Anyone outdoors during those hours is subject to arrest. The curfew began at 11 p.m. Friday local time, officials said. Advertisement The announcement of a curfew was the latest dramatic development in a political crisis that has gripped this Central American nation. Authorities said the government decree was meant to restore order after days of street protests led by opposition activists who allege that the count of Sundays voting is being rigged to favor incumbent President Juan Orlando Hernandez. The president has a narrow lead, according to results released so far, but the count has yet to be completed. The large-scale protests across the country have devolved into episodes of road blockades, looting and violent confrontations with police and soldiers. Both the opposition and the government have condemned the violence and called for a peaceful response to the election results. As the curfew was announced, a plan to complete the counting of the final ballots appeared to have fallen apart, another sign of the deepening political crisis. On Friday, electoral officials in the presence of representatives from the major political parties were scheduled to begin a tally of thousands of ballots that were to be treated with special scrutiny because of reports of irregularities. But David Matamoros, president of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, which oversees the process, said Friday that the count was put off until Saturday. The decision was made after the major opposition alliance declined to participate in the special count once electoral authorities rejected their demands for a broader review of the vote results. We will do whatever we can to make the process more transparent, Matamoros said in a statement, while warning that the process needed to be completed soon. But time is running out. Five days after Hondurans went to the polls to elect a president, the outcome has remained unclear and a source of intense controversy. Protesters supporting the main opposition challenger, Salvador Nasralla, have alleged widespread fraud and vowed to push for a national strike if President Hernandez is officially declared the winner. With 94% of ballots counted, Hernandez had 42.9% of the vote, compared with 41.4% for Nasralla, the Supreme Electoral Tribunal reported Friday afternoon. This nation of almost 9 million has been semi-paralyzed by protests and widespread street vandalism since the election. Debris, rocks and broken glass blocked main arteries in the capital, Tegucigalpa, where many businesses, shops and schools were closed Friday because of the unrest. A half-block stretch of several colonial-era buildings, including the Museum of Man which traced the history of the country from its first human settlement lay in smoldering ruins from fires that broke out Wednesday in the capitals historic center. Police and soldiers in riot gear have used tear gas to disperse crowds of protesters, including hooded young men throwing stones and brandishing metal pipes. Opposition activists blamed pro-government provocateurs for the vandalism and violence. There have been no official counts of casualties in the violence, but news accounts indicated that dozens had been injured and at least two killed. Authorities rounded up more than 50 people accused of vandalism in the northern city of San Pedro Sula. I am calling on all Hondurans to calmly and peacefully await the Supreme Electoral Tribunals official results, the president said in a statement on Friday. Now that the worlds eyes are on us, we have the opportunity to set an example of civility, maturity and respect for one another. Vote counts earlier in the week showed Nasralla with a substantial lead, but the tallies tilted in favor of the president after pauses in the release of results and reports of computer failures in the counting system. The delays have left many suspecting that the voting process was manipulated in favor of Hernandez, a center-right figure whose leadership has been viewed favorably in Washington. The vote tribunal chief, Matamoros, said earlier Friday that authorities would begin counting the results from 1,301 balloting tally sheets, representing almost 6% of the total vote. Opposition leaders suspect irregularities in those and other votes. But that special count never began amid the opposition demands for a broader review. We have very little faith in the official results, said Rodolfo Pastor, an official of the main opposition coalition, the Alliance Against the Dictatorship. We can see an effort to manipulate with fraud the results. Steven Levitsky, a Harvard professor who studies politics in Latin America, said the sudden halt in public releases of the vote tally looks really fishy. This pattern of the incumbent beginning to lose or [falling] surprisingly behind, and then a computer crash ... it just happens too often in fraudulent elections to not be suspicious, he said. The events here somewhat recalled the notorious Mexican presidential election of 1988, when the long-dominant Institutional Revolutionary Party cited a computer glitch as the count stalled. The opposition alleged that the elections were rigged in favor of the ruling party, which managed to keep the presidency. At the same time, Levitsky said, if rural areas in Honduras were tallied after urban ones, the count reversal could be legitimate. The ruling party is stronger in areas outside cities, he said. In his statement, the voting tribunal chief who is close to the ruling party called for calm as the votes are counted. We call on the common sense of the two political candidates to maintain the peace and tranquility of the Honduran people, Matamoros said in a Twitter message. Police in riot gear surrounded the national job-training institute where ballots from around the country were being stored and counted. In previous days, thousands of protesters had descended on the outskirts of the complex. International organizations and foreign governments were urging Hondurans to remain peaceful. On Friday, Heide Fulton, charge daffaires at the U.S. Embassy in Tegucigalpa, said on Twitter that Honduras was entering a new unprecedented phase in the electoral process. She called on all parties to remain calm while the process unfolds. A measure of political instability has troubled Honduras since a military-backed coup ousted leftist President Manuel Zelaya in 2009. That military action still reverberated in this weeks election. The opposition challenger, Nasralla a centrist television personality with limited political experience has Zelayas support. Hernandezs party backed the military coup that removed Zelaya from office. Hernandez has repeatedly denied charges of corruption and ties to the countrys massive drug trafficking industry. Honduras is a major corridor for Colombian cocaine on its way to the United States. The country has also been plagued by internal violence and has one of the worlds highest homicide rates. Nina Agrawal in New York and Cecilia Sanchez in The Times Mexico City bureau contributed to this report. patrick.mcdonnell@latimes.com Twitter: @PmcdonnellLAT UPDATES: 10:10 p.m.: This article was updated with the government announcement of a curfew and other details. This was first published at 11:25 a.m. Yemens deposed strongman Ali Abdullah Saleh called Saturday for a popular revolt against his former rebel allies and said he was open to dialogue with the coalition of Persian Gulf states they have been battling for more than two years. Salehs offer to open a new page with the Saudi Arabia-led and U.S.-backed coalition came as violent clashes between his followers and the rebels known as Houthis entered a fourth day, signaling the unraveling of the alliance that controls Yemens capital, Sana. The coalition fighting on behalf of Yemens internationally recognized government welcomed Salehs overture, raising hopes that a resolution might be found to a civil war that has killed more than 10,000 people, displaced over 3 million and pushed the Arab worlds poorest nation to the brink of famine. Advertisement Saleh is a veteran of negotiations with all of the parties in Yemen, said Jon B. Alterman, who heads the Middle East Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. Having him working for resolution, and diminishing the Houthis bargaining position, helps move this from a stalemate. But still, it will require a willingness to negotiate rather than an effort of one side to beat the other into submission. The Houthis, who are aligned with Saudi Arabias archrival, Iran, accused Saleh of staging a coup and vowed to continue fighting the forces of aggression. Yemens ex-president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, speaks to supporters in Sana on Aug. 24. (Yahya Arhab / EPA/Shutterstock ) The rebels surged out of their northern strongholds in September 2014 and seized control of Sana with the help of rogue elements of the armed forces still loyal to Saleh. Six months later, Saudi Arabia assembled a military coalition to restore power to Salehs successor, President Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi, who has set up a parallel government in Yemens southern port city of Aden. Analysts said the coalition likely had a hand in the clashes that erupted in recent days in Sana. The Saudi coalition has been exploring ways to split Saleh from the Houthis for many months, Alterman said. The International Committee of the Red Cross said dozens of people have been killed and hundreds injured in the fighting. Residents of the capital described heavy clashes Saturday in the southern residential district of Hadda, where a number of Salehs relatives have homes, and around Houthi-held government institutions elsewhere in the city. Heavy explosions and gunfire reverberated through deserted streets, and plumes of dark smoke billowed into the sky. Situation in Sanaa still very tense with gunfire audible and smoke across the city. #Yemen pic.twitter.com/3WnAccaMZ0 Johannes Bruwer (@JohannesBruwer1) December 2, 2017 Ahmed Hadi, a 24-year-old Hadda resident, said his family had barely slept the past three nights. Today in the morning I wanted to buy things for the family but found that most streets are blocked, prices are high, and I cant find cooking gas, he said. The kids are afraid and crying most of the time. By nightfall, Salehs supporters, who include members of the Republican Guard and tribal fighters, appeared to be in control of the southern parts of the capital and some outlying districts. But the Houthis were said to be regrouping and sending for reinforcements. As darkness enveloped the city, coalition warplanes roared overhead and unleashed their payloads on Houthi targets. Both sides have traded blame for the fighting, which reportedly began as a dispute over the use of a mosque named after Saleh, where the Houthis wanted to hold festivities Wednesday in honor of the Prophet Muhammads birthday. In an interview broadcast Saturday on the Yemen al-Youm TV channel, Saleh urged residents and the security forces to rise against the Houthis, whom he blamed for a blockade that has caused critical shortages of food, medicine and fuel, and escalated a deadly cholera outbreak. I call on brothers in the neighboring countries to stop the aggression against Yemen and lift the blockade and open all sea and airports, he said. We will then open a new page with them and will deal with them in a positive way. What happened in Yemen is enough, he added. Saleh, who was ousted in 2011 after more than 30 years in office, insisted he wasnt interested in making a comeback. But he said Yemens parliament was ready for talks with the Saudi-led coalition. The coalition praised Salehs move, which it said in a statement carried by the official Saudi Press Agency would deliver Yemen from the evils of [an] Iranian terrorist and sectarian militia. Shortly after the interview was broadcast, Yemen al-Youm went off the air. An employee, who declined to have his name published for fear of retribution, said Houthis had raided the station. The Houthis leader, Abdel-Malek Houthi, accused Saleh of inviting sedition, chaos, fighting, hatred, hostility, lies and hypocrisy. He urged Saleh to return to reason, saying the fighting in Sana will benefit only the coalition. The alliance between Saleh and the Houthis, who have little in common ideologically, had been fraught with suspicion from the start. After Saturdays speeches, there will be no turning back, said Mohammed Hassan, a political analyst and columnist who contributes to a number of local publications. The temporary marriage between Saleh and the Houthi powers is moving to its end. Special correspondent Ahmed reported from Sana and Times staff writer Zavis from Beirut. alexandra.zavis@latimes.com Twitter: @alexzavis UPDATES: 7:05 p.m.: This story was updated with additional background and comments from Ali Abdullah Saleh, Jon B. Alterman and Ahmed Hadi. This article was originally published at 10:25 a.m. An Allentown man is headed to federal prison for his role in shipping pot to the East Coast and then laundering $6 million in ill-gotten funds. Ratanack "Yoshi" Oung, 32, was part of a duo that shipped 1,000 to 3,000 kilos of marijuana from California to the East Coast, starting in January 2014, federal prosecutors said. Oung pleaded guilty in April to conspiracy to distribute marijuana and conspiracy to launder money. On Friday, he was sentenced in Boston to four years in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release. Virayuth Chau, 40, of Temecula, California, was Oung's partner. Oung collected the drug money and would deposit the cash, in amounts under $10,000, into numerous banks accounts, federal prosecutors said. The accounts were under names of businesses or individuals associated with Chau. The money would then be withdrawn in California, or sent to a target account controlled by Chau and then withdrawn. All told, prosecutors said the pair laundered $6,135,035 in drug proceeds. In September 2016, authorities raided marijuana grow houses Chau was allegedly operating in Riverside County, California, and destroyed more than 5,000 plants, according to The Boston Globe. The pair were indicted that month and arrested. Chau pleaded guilty in March to the same charges as Oung -- conspiracy to distribute marijuana and conspiracy to launder money. Sarah Cassi may be reached at scassi@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @SarahCassi. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook. A man attacked his girlfriend while she held their infant son, and the woman may have suffered a traumatic brain injury during the assault, Bethlehem Township police report. Jeremy Veanus, 22, of Bethlehem, is accused of slapping his girlfriend, pushing her to the ground and then kicking her in the head, causing her to hit her head on a wall. During the assault the woman was holding the couple's five-month-old baby boy, according to township police. The woman was hospitalized after losing sight in her left eye and motor function in her left leg, township police said. Medical staff said the woman's injuries are consistent with a traumatic brain injury. Police said the attack occurred Monday morning at a home on Jefferson Street in the township. The woman reported to hospital staff on Thursday that her boyfriend, Veanus, was the person who assaulted her, and staff contacted police. Charges in the case were filed Thursday, and on Friday Veanus was arraigned on charges of aggravated assault, child endangerment, simple assault, harassment and two counts of reckless endangerment. Veanus, of the 1900 block of Mary Street in Bethlehem, was sent to Northampton County Prison in lieu of 10 percent of $50,000 bail. Two years ago, Veanus was accused of stealing money from the Speedway gas station on Easton Avenue. Records show he entered a first-time offender program in April for the theft and receiving stolen property charges, but was removed from the program in November 2016. The case was supposed to be listed for trial. Court records do not indicate a resolution in the case. Sarah Cassi may be reached at scassi@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @SarahCassi. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook. The Lehigh Valley Zoo opened its door this week to its latest addition. A 20-month-old giraffe named Tatu traveled 650 miles from South Carolina to the zoo in North Whitehall Township, arriving safely on Tuesday. The latest addition to the zoo comes six months after Ernie, a 6-year-old Masai giraffe, died from a neck injury after joining his father at the zoo back in May. Ernie became aggressive and was separated from Murphy. Then he became aggressive again and injured his neck in the stall. Tatu was 157.8 pounds and 6 feet 1 inch tall when he was born on Feb. 2, 2016, according to the zoo. He is the third calf born to parents Autumn and Walter. His name is an African-Swahili translation for "third child." The zoo said in a news release that since Tatu is almost 2 years old, it was recommended by the species survival plan that he be moved from the Greenville Zoo. "By introducing Tatu to Murphy now, we can mimic the typical formation of a wild bachelor group and ensure that he develops the necessary male skills and behaviors as he develops into an adult," the zoo said in a news release. Staff are ensuring a smooth transition for Tatu, starting with helping him get acclimated to his new home. That includes members of the animal care team rotating shifts to sleep in the giraffe barn at night. "Our Tatu is doing great, and is already bonding with the keepers over his favorite treats of kale and grain," the zoo said. Staff are taking their time introducing Tatu to Murphy. The zoo said it plans to gradually introduce the pair over the next several weeks, and that short periods of interaction will be added over several months. Tatu will not be introduced to the public until the two are safely acclimated to each other. In the meantime, the zoo encouraged residents to visit Murphy over the winter months, and free feedings will be offered through March. The Lehigh Valley Zoo announced today that Tatu, a 20 month old giraffe, arrived safely on Tuesday, November 28, 2017. ... Posted by Lehigh Valley Zoo on Friday, December 1, 2017 Sarah Cassi may be reached at scassi@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @SarahCassi. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook. The Lehigh Valley Health Network has acquired the Weller Health Education Center, according to a news release. The center founded in Easton has been educating children about health issues since the early 1980s. It moved into a museum at 325 Northampton St. in 1999 and remained there until 2013. The former Weller site is now the Easton Public Market. The new program will be known as Weller Health Education at Lehigh Valley Children's Hospital. Its headquarters will be on the Lehigh Valley Hospital campus on Cedar Crest Boulevard in Salisbury Township. The partnership will put health education for all grade levels into more schools. Weller also provides parent and teacher programs. Programs concern drug and alcohol abuse prevention, depression, healthy relationships character education, growth and development, nutrition and fitness, and personal hygiene. The center was named for Carl and Emily Weller, long-time Easton residents who funded renovations for the center's first teaching classrooms, according to the center website. The center gradually transitioned from on-site programs to programs in schools. Ninety percent of its current programs are offered through outreach. "Partnering with the Weller Center will allow the Lehigh Valley Children's Hospital to expand its ability to help communities make the children of this region as healthy as they can be," said Nathan Hagstrom, who chairs the department of pediatrics for the Lehigh Valley Health Network. Weller's trust will remain intact and make distributions from its endowment to Lehigh Valley Health Network at the same levels it has historically. Rudy Miller may be reached at rmiller@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @RudyMillerLV. Find Easton area news on Facebook. Republicans pushed a nearly $1.5 trillion tax bill through the Senate early Saturday after a burst of eleventh-hour horse trading, as a party starved all year for a major legislative triumph took a giant step toward giving President Donald Trump one of his top priorities by Christmas. "Big bills are rarely popular. You remember how unpopular 'Obamacare' was when it passed?" Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said in an interview, shrugging off polls showing scant public enthusiasm for the measure. He said the legislation would prove to be "just what the country needs to get growing again." Trump hailed the bill's passage on Twitter, thanking McConnell and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch, R-Utah. "Look forward to signing a final bill before Christmas!" the president wrote. We are one step closer to delivering MASSIVE tax cuts for working families across America. Special thanks to @SenateMajLdr Mitch McConnell and Chairman @SenOrrinHatch for shepherding our bill through the Senate. Look forward to signing a final bill before Christmas! pic.twitter.com/gmWTny3SfS Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 2, 2017 Presiding over the Senate, Vice President Mike Pence announced the 51-49 vote to applause from Republicans. Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., was the only lawmaker to cross party lines, joining the Democrats in opposition. The measure focuses its tax reductions on businesses and higher-earning individuals, gives more modest breaks to others and offers the boldest rewrite of the nation's tax system since 1986. Republicans touted the package as one that would benefit people of all incomes and ignite the economy. Even an official projection of a $1 trillion, 10-year flood of deeper budget deficits couldn't dissuade GOP senators from rallying behind the bill. "Obviously I'm kind of a dinosaur on the fiscal issues," said Corker, who battled to keep the bill from worsening the government's accumulated $20 trillion in IOUs. The Republican-led House approved a similar bill last month in what has been a stunningly swift trip through Congress for complex legislation that impacts the breadth of American society. The two chambers will now try crafting a final compromise to send Trump. After spending the year's first nine months futilely trying to repeal President Barack Obama's health care law, GOP leaders were determined to move the measure rapidly before opposition Democrats and lobbying groups could blow it up. The party views passage as crucial to retaining its House and Senate majorities in next year's elections. Democrats derided the bill as a GOP gift to its wealthy and business backers at the expense of lower-earning people. They contrasted the bill's permanent reduction in corporate income tax rates from 35 percent to 20 percent to smaller individual tax breaks that would end in 2026. Congress' nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation has said the bill's reductions for many families would be modest and said by 2027, families earning under $75,000 would on average face higher, not lower, taxes. The bill is "removed from the reality of what the American people need," said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. He criticized Republicans for releasing a revised, 479-page bill that no one can absorb shortly before the final vote, saying, "The Senate is descending to a new low of chicanery." "You really don't read this kind of legislation," Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., told home-state reporters, asked why the Senate was approving a bill some senators hadn't read. He said lawmakers needed to study it and get feedback from affected groups. Democrats took to the Senate floor and social media to mock one page that included changes scrawled in barely legible handwriting. Later, they won enough GOP support to kill a provision by Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., that would have bestowed a tax break on conservative Hillsdale College in Michigan. The bill hit rough waters after the Joint Taxation panel concluded it would worsen federal shortfalls by $1 trillion over a decade, even when factoring in economic growth that lower taxes would stimulate. Trump administration officials and many Republicans have insisted the bill would pay for itself by stimulating the economy. But the sour projections stiffened resistance from some deficit-averse Republicans. But after bargaining that stretched into Friday, GOP leaders nailed down the support they needed in a chamber they control 52-48. Facing unyielding Democratic opposition, Republicans could lose no more than two GOP senators and prevail with a tie-breaking vote from Vice President Mike Pence, but ended up not needing it. Leaders' changes included helping millions of companies whose owners pay individual, not corporate, taxes on their profits by allowing deductions of 23 percent, up from 17.4 percent. That helped win over Wisconsin's Johnson and Steve Daines of Montana. People would be allowed to deduct up to $10,000 in property taxes, a demand of Sen. Susan Collins of Maine. That matched a House provision that chamber's leaders included to keep some GOP votes from high-tax states like New York, New Jersey and California. The changes added nearly $300 billion to the tax bill's costs. To pay for that, leaders reduced the number of high-earners who must pay the alternative minimum tax, rather than completely erasing it. They also increased a one-time tax on profits U.S.-based corporations are holding overseas and would require firms to keep paying the business version of the alternative minimum tax. Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz. -- who like Corker had been a holdout and has sharply attacked Trump's capabilities as president -- voted for the bill. He said he'd received commitments from party leaders and the administration "to work with me" to restore protections, dismantled by Trump, for young immigrants who arrived in the U.S. illegally as children. That seemed short of a pledge to actually revive the safeguards. The Senate bill would drop the highest personal income tax rate from 39.6 percent to 38.5 percent. The estate tax levied on a few thousand of the nation's largest inheritances would be narrowed to affect even fewer. Deductions for state and local income taxes, moving expenses and other items would vanish, the standard deduction -- used by most Americans -- would nearly double to $12,000 for individuals and $24,000 for couples, and the per-child tax credit would grow. The bill would abolish the "Obamacare" requirement that most people buy health coverage or face tax penalties. Industry experts say that would weaken the law by easing pressure on healthier people to buy coverage, and the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office has said the move would push premiums higher and leave 13 million additional people uninsured. Drilling would be allowed in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Another provision, knocked out because it violated Senate budget rules, would have explicitly let parents buy tax-advantaged 529 college savings accounts for fetuses, a step they can already take but which anti-abortion forces wanted to inscribe into law. There were also breaks for the wine, beer and spirits industries, Alaska Natives and aircraft management firms. The building of a big new maternity unit in Tullamore hospital subsuming units in Laois, Galway and Westmeath will be considered by a steering group responsible for downgrading Portlaoise hospital. Under the leaked plan Dublin Midlands Hospital Group Plan maternity services would be removed from the Midlands Regional Hospital, Portlaoise. The leaked plan is referred to as Phase 1 and Phase 2 is implementation. In an appendix to the Phase 1 document on page 126, the DMHG says the Coombe Women and Infants University Hospital will require extra additional inpatient and delivery ward space. Also needed is the replacement of theatres in the south inner city Dublin maternity hospital. The plan says the Coombe's birth rate has declined so the capacity needs to cope with three to four extra births following Portlaoise's downgrade will be 'modest'. The plan says the 'steering committee' will also consider timelines and capital cost implications of alternative plans such as the transfer of the Coombe to St James's Hospital when the National Children's Hospital is complete. The group will also consider another option. "The transfer of all maternity services to a large new maternity hospital on the Tullamore site, which could provide capacity for deliveries from Mullingar and Portiuncla/Ballinasloe, as well as Portlaoise; These are likely to be longer term plans which would follow on an earlier transfer to the Coombe Women and Infants University Hospital." Such a move could prove complicated as the Westmeath and east Galway hospitals are under the management of separate hospital groups. The downgrade plan says the clinical pathways being developed will drive demand for capital for facilities to support these services. The report says the expansion of Tullamore hospital and refurbishment of the Coombe are 'essential elements' in the proposed changes. Paediatrics and A&E services would transfer to the Midland Regional Hospital Tullamore if the Minister for Health Simon Harris gives the goahead for Portlaoise's downgrade. The plan envisages spending 20.5 million on the Coombe finishing in 2021 and 45 million on Tullamore up to 2021. The plan says 18 million would be spent in Portlaoise hospital's maternity and general outpatient departments refurbishment and extension to be complete by 2021. The Government or Department of Health has not approved funding for any of these plans. DETAILS OF HOSPITAL PROTEST Health service management wanted to begin executing the downgrade of Portlaoise hospital in early 2017 and start moving services out in 2022 except A&E which would scale back sooner. 'The Development of an action plan for a new model of clinical service delivery in the Dublin Midlands Hospital Group' goes well beyond outlining what should be done at Portlaoise and its sister hospitals. The plan was submitted to the Department of Health in late 2016 but has been subject to change since then. However, it is clear that its implementation is already behind schedule. Under a heading 'delivery timelines' it says the downgrade process should already have started. It said the 'earliest possible date for the commencement of the transition of clinical services by 2022'. "Implementation planning shall commence early 2017 to ensure capacity and capability is in place across the Dublin Midlands Hospital Group and with the key service partners to support a safe and successful change," says the plan. The plan says a key consideration is that reconfiguration must 'simultaneously transition on a specific nominated date in 2022 contingent on completion of phase 2 implementation. This would be with the exception of the proposed Local Injuries Unit and the Medical Assesment Unit services which 'will be enabled prior to transition and will have a defined overlap with A&E. The first step in the implementation plan was due to start in January 2017 with the approval of more than 100 million for its implementation. The DMHG also wanted to begin assessing the cost of expanding Tullamore hospital earlier this year. The Minister for Health Simon Harris must give the go-ahead for implementation. He has not done so. It is not clear what preparatory work may have taken place without his sanction. However, an appendix to the plan does set out detail structures for implementation. The plan says implementation will be completed by working groups and be managed by a project manager accountable to a steering committee. The programme sponsor is the lead author of the plan, Dr Susan O'Reilly, Dublin Midlands Hospital Group Chief executive. The plan says the sponsor's role is to 'ensure the programme meets the defined objectives and delivers expected benefits'. The sponsor will oversee a steering committee which will oversee a programme management office. There will be five 'workstream sponsors' for five more working groups covering medicine, emergency medicine/ICU, surgery, women's and infants, mental health. As the sponsor, Dr O'Reilly will have the authority to allocate and provide resources and funding to the programme as well as 'approving deliverables and resolve risks'. Mr Trevor O'Callaghan, DMHG Chief Operating Officer, 'shall act as her delegate'. He will also chair the steering committee. BIG MATERNITY UNIT FOR TULLAMORE There has been a call for a survey of disabled parking bays in Naas. Cllr. Carmel Kelly said that all wheelchair users should be able to access footpaths in the town. She told a recent Naas Municipal District meeting that a disabled parking bay outside Meadows & Byrne, Dublin Road, cannot be fully used because the kerb is too high. Its possible to get out of the vehicle but not on to the footpath, she said. This means users have to go around the nearby corner on to Wolfe Tone Street and mount the footpath. Cllr Kelly said she was concerned that an immediate undertaking to rectify the issue has not been forthcoming. Kildare County Council said it will arrange to have a survey carried out, but potential works will be subject to funding and resources being available. Please allow ads as they help fund our trusted local news content. Kindly add us to your ad blocker whitelist. If you want further access to Ireland's best local journalism, consider contributing and/or subscribing to our free daily Newsletter . Support our mission and join our community now. Look lads, I give up on these classifications. In some places the Hyundai Kona, which I drove at Fitzpatricks in Naas last Wednesday week, is being called a small SUV, in others its a crossover. But it seems to me that its a crossover between a car and what used to be called crossovers. Like, the Qashqai used to be called a crossover because its not quite as big as a proper jeep and yet, obviously higher up than a car. This thing, the Kona, is smaller than that. Id say its a small crossover, or in plain English, a tall car. All of the foregoing means nothing, frankly, because definitions and categories like that dont speak to the fundamentals of any car in general and this car in particular. The long and short of it is that I liked this car and as I drove it on back roads around Naas last Wednesday morning (not a great day for test driving) I could see myself enjoying owning it. The first thing that struck me when I got into it was that the previous driver had a very short torso and had the seat jammed up as high as it would go. I reached down to the appropriate lever and discovered, with some joy, that it was electric. I pushed down and the seat dropped, in a matter of seconds, by about eight inches from top to bottom. I took this to be a good thing, given that whether you call it a small SUV, a crossover, a small crossover, or just a car, it can cater for all shapes and sizes. Next thing I noticed was that it had a rest point for the left foot - and that was the moment I knew I liked it. (When it comes to cars, intuition and feelings are everything). Other small details I loved - the rear view mirror was just perfect, allowing me to see clearly into the back of the car and out the back; clutch and brake biting positions are good and short; the steering felt heavy, but in a nice solid way; the lane departure warning signal was on the ball but not intrusive. All of the controls, whether for driving or changing the music, were easy to find, to reach and to use. There was thought gone into it. From a driving point of view, the steering and suspension felt well balanced. The engine was a one litre turbo, putting out 120bhp. That was a strange sensation - you can feel both that it is a small engine and that it has a bit of oomph. You can hear it working hard but its wasnt an intrusive noise. While not a large car, its still got plenty of room in the back and in the boot. As I returned to the garage I was struck by how comfortable I felt in it and how I was starting to get a feel for the engine and the general driving dynamics. Generally, I wished I could take it for a few days on some nice roads. Liam McGeeney of Fitzpatricks tells me there is currently no diesel in the lineup, although there may possibly be one this time next year. Just as excitingly, if not more so, theres an electric version coming also. Right now Fitzpatricks have three options available. The standard one is the Comfort, with a price starting at 22,250. Next is the Executive for 24,25 and finally, the one I was driving, the Premium which is 27,250. All three are well specced and of course have Hyundais five year unlimited mileage warranty which includes five-year AA membership and five years free annual health and safety check. Understandably there are plenty who would buy it for that alone. What I really liked about the Kona was that it was the first time Id driven a Hyundai that didnt feel a little bit bland, in the way that mass produced brands tend to feel. This thing had a bit of eccentricity about it. Bland isnt a criticism, by the way. You cant but admire how a relatively new brand like Hyundai has shouldered its way into the big league of car manufacturers with their reliability and consistency. And with this car, (whatever you want to call it) Hyundais success will surely continue. issue of paid plasma. The The good news is Canada has a much safer blood system today. Canadian Blood Services is better administered, more transparent and regulated properly.There has not been a single case of a patient infected by contaminated blood since the Krever report was tabled.Yet, debates about blood safety persist, namely about theKrever report said all blood collected should be "voluntary and unpaid, except in rare circumstances."Blood products are increasingly used, but Canada is not self-sufficient only about 17 per cent of products such as intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) are made with plasma collected in Canada; the balance are imported, largely from the United States, where plasma donors are paid.Now a private company, Canadian Plasma Resources, has set up shop in Canada, and it pays donors. Another company, Green Cross Biotherapeutics, is building a plant in Montreal to produce albumin and IVIg. Meanwhile, Canadian Blood Services is trying to bolster voluntary donations.This is a complex issue, explored in depth in a recent Maclean's magazine article.One of the lessons of the tainted-blood scandal is that the jingoistic belief that voluntary Canadian blood is inherently safer is wrong. At the same time, the enormous profits that can be made from blood products can incite manufacturers to seek out donors, even risky ones.The key is having firm standards and forceful regulation not areas where Health Canada has excelled.To avoid another tainted-blood scandal, we need to be vigilant. We know our history, but also our limitations and, above all, we must debate the benefits and risks of our blood collection and distribution methods openly and vigorously.The tainted-blood tragedy is largely forgotten, so let's summarily review some of the worst horrors:more It is more than a pity that complaints continue to circulate about anti-social behaviour at Monread Park in Naas. A pity too that some people use the park as a venue for drinking. Monread Park is among Naas foremost amenities and was an imaginative, if necessary (given the scale of residential development in the area) project. There is a playground there, various walking and running routes cut through the grassland and small wooded areas. It is also pretty well maintained by Kildare County Council, not to mention Naas Tidy Towns (who organised a clean up in the areas with staff from Kerry volunteering their labour) and it comes with a car park. It is surrounded by residential development and yet anti-social behaviour continues to a problem. The playground, located more or less in the middle of the park, has been used as an open air bar by people much too old for the swings and slides. There are about 6,500 people living in the Monread area but its visited by people from all over the area and other places, notably Sallins. There are plans to develop a dog park there - an area where dogs can be left off the lead in safety. Its been criticised by local councillor Darren Scully as being in a bad state of repair. He wants money invested in it particularly in the playground and some other councillors like Cllr Carmel Kelly feel the playground should be moved closer to the road. Cllr Scully says the issue is symptomatic of a lack of focus for Naas from within Kildare County Council and said we need to start putting our foot down. Another councillor Seamie Moore criticised the drinking that takes place there and said that a lot of them are not from the locality. Theres a history of ASB at Monread Park. In 2015 a memorial to the victims of suicide was erected but moved after complaints for local residents who were fearful it would attract more ASB in the form of late night drinkers. There is anti social behaviour in this area all the time at weekends. People come in, sit and drink and leave bottles and cans behind. You can end up picking these items up - and thats after listening to people at all hours. Ive been on to the gardai many times and Ive been woken early too often. Thats why I went out and complained when the (original) area was being prepared for the memorial. I was prepared to stand there as long as necessary. The park is a fantastic facility but it should be used for the purpose it was intended, not for drinking, a resident told the Leader at the time. She stressed the residents had no difficulty with the memorial - a tree and a seat - but the original location was too close to the main road and therefore too close to some residents, especially those in Dun na Riogh. At Halloween, a once yearly opportunity for some to turn high jinks into bad behaviour, there was more undesirable activity in the park. Residents said fires were being lit, fireworks being let off and bikes being driven around, before October 31. Fears the situation could worsen as Halloween approached led to Fianna Fail TD James Lawless calling for the gardai to get involved by increasing the number of patrols undertaken in the area and to monitor the park itself more closely. Residents have to live with this ongoing anti social behaviour. This has caused a great deal of stress, Deputy Lawless said. The Connacht Property Auction finished their year of public auctions on a high note with a 100% success rate at last Thursdays public auction. The auction was held in The Menlo Park Hotel, Galway on Thursday November 23 and the auction team noted a significant increase in viewings in the lead up and sold an impressive 11 out of the 11 properties. Brian Christy, Sales Manager for The Connacht Property Auction commented; All the team at the Connacht Property Auction are delighted to have achieved a clean sweep at what was our last auction event of 2017. It is a feat that is not achieved too often at multi lot auction events such as ours. We are now gearing up to 2018 and are taking entries already for our first public auction event of the New Year on February 20. Mr. Christy, also noted the success of our auctions is down to the large marketing campaign we undertake in Ireland and abroad while also working in close partnership with local auctioneers. We are the only auction company in Ireland who do not have any entry or marketing fees to enter a property into auction, so the pressure is on us to ensure we get results for our clients. In Sligo an excellently located, 2 bed, semi-detached property was sold in partnership with D.M. Auctions Ltd, Sligo. 173 River Road, Cartron was subject to strong interest in the lead up to the auction, with potential buyers quick to try and secure this well located property. Bidding opened at 50,000 and quickly rose. After over 35 bids the hammer fell at 86,000 some 36,000 above the guide price. Meanwhile in Roscommon a stone built cottage situated on The Plains, Boyle was offered to the auction room in partnership with Vincent Egan Auctioneers, Boyle. Rusheen had a number of parties registering their interest and the sale was agreed for 40,000. Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine, Andrew Doyle T.D. has encouraged people to buy a real Irish Christmas tree this Christmas. The Minister commented Around 550,000 Irish Christmas trees are harvested each year with 350,000 sold at home and about 200,000 trees exported, mainly to the UK, France and Germany. The industry contributes 21 million to the Irish economy. The professionalism and quality of the Irish Christmas tree sector is epitomised by farmers like Christy Kavanagh and Irish consumers can be assured that they are buying the best when buying from an Irish farm. "Real Christmas trees are more environmentally friendly, carbon neutral and everyone who buys an Irish tree is contributing to providing jobs in rural Ireland. At home we always have a real tree. It wouldnt be the same Christmas experience without one. Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine, Andrew Doyle T.D. with Christmas tree producer Christy Kavanagh in Newtownmountkennedy, Co. Wicklow. Christy Kavanagh is also the vice chair of the Irish Christmas Tree Growers Association whose Love a Real Tree Campaign is now in its third year. Christy explained that the love a real tree campaign encourages consumers to purchase a real tree as opposed to an imported artificial tree. There is a wonderful opportunity to produce superior product in this country and export to the U.K. and Europe, as Noble fir grows better here than in any other part of Europe. In fact having seen the competition in Germany, Denmark and Britain this year, our standards are far higher than all the rest and there is still room for improvement. The Minister concluded by saying the quality of Christmas trees produced in Ireland has increased significantly over recent years. Mush of this improvement has been driven by investments under my Departments Scheme of Investment Aid for the Development of the Commercial Horticulture Sector. This assists growers who wish to make investments in specialised equipment to manage and harvest the crop. "While this is the busiest time of year for our Christmas tree growers I encourage them all to consider applying for the Scheme. A real tree is the natural choice. I am delighted to see a steady trend towards people buying real Christmas trees. LIMERICK-based Charity Clionas Foundation received an early Christmas present when they were one of 26 Irish charities to receive donations from the Hospital Saturday Fund (HSF). The announcement was made at a special reception hosted at University College Cork. In total, 115,000 was donated to the charities at the event, which was hosted by UCC in the Aula Maxima in the presence of the Lord Mayor of Cork and with special guest Dick Spring in attendance. This grant is just a wonderful gift to receive, said Terry Ring one of the founders of Clionas Foundation, and will be used specifically to support families who require specialized equipment to make daily living a small bit easier for their child and family. "The timing of the receipt of the grant is also perfect as we have just sent out cheques to 16 families and have another 25 on our waiting list. We are honoured to be a recipient and to be in the company of such other great charities. Clionas Foundation provides financial assistance to families of children with a life limiting illness to help them with the multiple non-medical costs of caring for their child. These costs can range from accommodation, transport, food, car parking fees, childcare costs to specialist home care equipment and in some cases even funeral expenses. It is estimated that it costs an additional 10,000 per annum to care for a child with a life limiting illness, with many of the parents also becoming the full time carer. Clionas Foundation supports families for children with a life limiting illness from birth to 16 years of age. It is the only charity in Ireland providing this type of support and to date has raised 1.25m and supported over 463 families across 29 counties in Ireland. Speaking at the reception, Dick Spring celebrated the extraordinary work of all the charities receiving donations from the Hospital Saturday Fund. Paul Jackson, Chief Executive of the Hospital Saturday Fund said: The Hospital Saturday Fund is honoured to support the efforts of such deserving charities and help in some way towards the tireless work that they do in making such A difference to peoples lives. In 2017 the Hospital Saturday Fund will give 1.2 million in donations and grants across Ireland and the UK. For more information on Clionas Foundation and Hospital Saturday please log on to www.clionasfoundation.ie and www.hsf.ie. A COURAGEOUS garda who earned two prestigious bravery awards having put his life on the line to help two people who were in immediate danger of death has been named the Limerick Person of the Month. Garda John Hennessy was honoured at the National Bravery Awards ceremony at Farmleigh House in Dublins Phoenix Park last month for assisting in keeping a woman alive in her burning car until fire brigade personnel freed her. The Kilmallock man, who was based in Clonmel at the time, was awarded a bronze medal and a certificate of bravery. This is the second time that Garda Hennessy, who is now based in Tipperary town, was honoured for acts of bravery in the line of duty. He had previously received a silver medal for risking his life by entering a burning house at Ballyclerihan outside Clonmel to save a mans life in November 2010. I got a shock when I got the call, smiled Garda Hennessy of the phone call he took this week informing him that he was the latest recipient of the Limerick Person of the Month award. When I realised what was happening I was delighted. I would be a fierce proud Limerick man so to receive something like this on top of the bravery awards is just awesome. When Garda Hennessy and his colleagues arrived on the scene of the latest incident, back in July 2012, they observed the front of the car on fire and began their attempts to free the woman, who was aged in her 30s, from the vehicle. After finding it impossible to get the unconscious woman out of the car, they took turns in the vehicle to ensure her airways stayed open. She was at the drivers side and was wedged into the car so we couldnt get her out. She was unconscious so we took turns going in and out of the car to keep her airways open while the car burned down around us and then the petrol tank exploded. There was a bit of a bang, we kept her airways open and thankfully she survived. In the house fire in 2010, the ceiling was dropping down on us a bit and there was a lot of fire that time - the whole house was covered in smoke and visibility was poor. The man was helpless at the time and the lady in the car was the same - she needed help. A lot of adrenaline kicks in and you find strength from somewhere. Im just glad we were there and we had great results from both rescues, he added. The married father-of-one has been in An Garda Siochana since 2005. He applied to join the force when he was just 18 but some sage advice from his father, Michael, saw him follow a different career path for a time. Initially, when I applied, I was 18 and just out of school but my dad took me aside - dad is always great with advice and he said, listen, what happens if you dont like it?. It is a job like no other so he said get something behind you. I went into the buildings then and got a trade and I joined the gardai when I was 24. Having some life experience, Garda Hennessy says, has very much stood to him in his policing career. It definitely helps in the job. The job is people orientated - you are going to meet people at their best and, more often than not, you will meet people at their worst. He paid tribute to his family, particularly his wife Nicola and daughter Aimee, 5, for their continuous support. Garda Hennessy was accompanied by his mother Philomena at this weeks presentation. Nicola was supporting her husband from their home in Kilmallock where they live with their little girl. Nicola is just proud of me and its great for Aimee as well. Aimee has also made the headlines in the past the little girl was so small at birth that her fathers wedding band could fit around her arm. Aimee was born weighing a mere 1lb 3oz but is now a happy-go-lucky child enjoying her first term in big school. She knows the awards are for bravery and says she has got the best dad in the world. She is after taking possession of the medals. She has taken them into school. I gave her two of the ribbons that accompanied the medals - I have two on my uniform and the other two are on Aimees jacket so she feels part of it. He also paid tribute to his garda colleagues for their support. The station party in Tipperary town and Superintendent Patrick OConnor - they are a great support. No matter what we do there is always going to be a bit of back up behind you - thats ingrained in us in the guards. We stick together. The Limerick Person of the Month award is jointly sponsored by the Limerick Leader, media agency Southern, and the Clayton Hotel. THE PUBLIC sector has a responsibility to ensure that discrimination or harassment doesnt take place on its watch regardless of whether or not an incident has been reported. Thats according to Emily Logan, Chief Commissioner at the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission, who led an event at Limericks Strand Hotel to guide public bodies including Limerick City and County Council, higher education institutions and public sector workplaces in their duties. The Limerick-born commissioner said that requiring the victim of discrimination or inequality to come forward with a complaint is burdensome and does nothing to help an increase in reportage, as it places pressure on the victims. Its a complaints model, where it relies very heavily on an individual to make a complaint. So if its any of the gender-related experiences of discrimination that have been spoken about recently in the media it relies on the individual to challenge the discrimination, and if a person isnt able or isnt willing to do that, then the discrimination continues unchallenged, she said, advising public bodies in Limerick in how they can better fulfil their human rights duties. Instead of waiting until an organisation is either sued or complained against, this is now a legal duty for all public bodies. This is where the burden shifts to the public body to ensure that this is not happening and that three steps are followed. The first, according to the commissioner, is to eliminate discrimination across all of the nine grounds of equality legislation including gender, membership of a minority group, or ability. The second step for public bodies is to actively promote equality of opportunity and treatment, within a staff and employer context, and also towards the people for whom the service is provided. The third duty is about protecting human rights, explained the commissioner very central to this are the principles of dignity and respect for people. While the laws are there in black ink, Chief Commissioner Logan said that events like this are organised to promote a cultural shift that will help in their enforcement. This is very much about culture, and about changing culture. At the moment, while we have good strong equality legislation the laws on discrimination are good in Ireland sometimes its hard to evidence, she said. For example, if a local authority is preparing a strategy, the duties and standards which need to be adhered to must be embedded in that strategy. If an issue is raised, the public body must report on it and communicate it with the public. Although not public bodies in themselves, any companies contracted to work for a public body, like builders contracted for the council, must also prove they comply with anti-discrimination rules. There are still some key areas of discrimination currently in Ireland. We see women facing it mostly in a work and employment context. You also see things like people who are white from outside the EEA, often reporting no discrimination at all, whether its in the public or private sector. When you change that to black respondents, they experience discrimination right across the board. People with disabilities is another key group, said Ms Logan. The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission can offer assistance to people who feel they are facing discrimination, and are contactable on www.IHREC.ie. A COUNTY Limerick artist has created an installation that will bring home to everyone who sees it how many have died trying to find a new home. Sheila Stone, Castleconnell, has made 5,000 ceramic boats to honour the migrants who drowned in the Mediterranean in 2016. The art installation will be on display in the University of Limerick in the Bourne Vincent gallery from this Friday, December 1 when it is officially opened. We, whether it fills our headlines or not, are still connected to the largest mass exodus in human history. The NGOs are leaving. But the people are stuck. The Mediterranean has become a mass grave. In this time of global upheaval how do we reconnect to our human family? How do we take in the suffering and feel empowered to act? asks Ms Stone. In 2016, 362,753 people fled to the EU by crossing the Mediterranean. Of these 5,000 are reported missing or dead. This loss of life was the largest in a single year and it's still hard to fathom the expanse of it, she said. Ms Stone's work is personal and political, attempting to give meaning to numbers by making space for their enormity. She has, with the help of friends, students and local community groups, made over five thousand beautifully crafted boats. The finished art installation is of 5,022 and is entitled Charons Boats. The name of the project is a reference to Charon the boatman of Greek mythology who was paid to ferry the dead to the next life. Like his passengers these families; mothers, fathers, children, uncles, grandmothers, were paying out for a doomed passage, said Ms Stone. She began this project to engage the public with something overwhelming in a tangible way. Sometimes numbers don't mean very much. Seeing it, laid out in front of you, it's harder to look away. And for every person who has volunteered their time making these boats, the connection to a distant hurt becomes stronger, said Ms Stone, who thanked everyone for their support and help and particularly Yvonne Davis Visual and Patricia Moriarty, arts officers in UL. The university has paid for a light artist and their work makes it look like the ceramic boats are moving in the soft grey ripples. The exhibition runs from December 1 to December 21, Monday to Friday from 9.30am to 5.30pm. It then reopens when college resumes in January. The tour, which kicked off on Friday morning, will make stops in four states as well as Washington DC and the Puerto Rico. It will focus on several of the social and economic barriers that render the American dream merely a pipe dream to millions from homelessness in California to racial discrimination in the Deep South, cumulative neglect in Puerto Rico and the decline of industrial jobs in West Virginia.With 41 million Americans officially in poverty according to the US Census Bureau (other estimates put that figure much higher), one aim of the UN mission will be to demonstrate that no country, however wealthy, is immune from human suffering induced by growing inequality. Nor is any nation, however powerful, beyond the reach of human rights law a message that the US government and Donald Trump might find hard to stomach given their tendency to regard internal affairs as sacrosanct.The UN special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, Philip Alston, is a feisty Australian and New York University law professor who has a fearsome track record of holding power to account. He tore a strip off the Saudi Arabian regime for its treatment of women months before the kingdom legalized their right to drive, denounced the Brazilian government for attacking the poor through austerity, and even excoriated the UN itself for importing cholera to Haiti.The US is no stranger to Alstons withering tongue, having come under heavy criticism from him for its program of drone strikes on terrorist targets abroad. In his previous role as UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial executions, Alston blamed the Obama administration and the CIA for killing many innocent civilians in attacks he said were of dubious international legality.Now Alston has set off on his sixth, and arguably most sensitive, visit as UN monitor on extreme poverty since he took up the position in June 2014. At the heart of his fact-finding tour will be a question that is causing increasing anxiety at a troubled time: is it possible, in one of the worlds leading democracies, to enjoy fundamental human rights such as political participation or voting rights if you are unable to meet basic living standards, let alone engage, as Thomas Jefferson put it, in the pursuit of happiness?Despite great wealth in the US, there also exists great poverty and inequality, Alston said in remarks released before the start of the visit. The rapporteur said he intended to focus on the detrimental effects of poverty on the civil and political rights of Americans, given the United States consistent emphasis on the importance it attaches to these rights in its foreign policy, and given that it has ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights .David Grusky, director of the Center on Poverty and Inequality at Stanford, said the visit had the potential to hold a mirror up to the country at a moment when globalization combined with a host of domestic policies have generated a vast gulf between rich and poor.The US has an extraordinary ability to naturalize and accept the extreme poverty that exists even in the context of such extreme wealth, he said.Grusky added that the US reaction to Alstons visit could go either way. It has the potential to open our eyes to what an outlier the US has become compared with the rest of the world, or it could precipitate an adverse reaction towards an outsider who has no legitimacy telling us what to do about internal US affairs.more.... Purestock/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) -- At least two major airlines will ban baggage with built-in battery chargers later this month. In a Friday press release, American Airlines laid out a policy change that will go into effect on January 15, 2018. Under the new policy, travelers using smart luggage will be required to "remove the battery in case the bag has to be checked at any point in the customer's journey. If the battery cannot be removed, the bag will not be allowed." The bags in question are designed to be carried onto a flight, but on crowded planes, they may end up being checked. The bags typically contain lithium-ion batteries, which can represent a fire hazard in a plane's cargo hold. Southwest Airlines told ABC News that they will also ban smart luggage beginning late this month. Delta also said Friday that they would institute a similar police beginning on January 15. At least one major maker of smart luggage -- Away Luggage -- says that their batteries are removable. "All Away Carry-Ons have batteries that can be easily removed. It's a feature we thoughtfully designed, in part, because customers were asking for a charger that could be kept with them and used during flight," Away Co-founder and CEO Steph Korey said. Copyright 2017, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. Today Trinity Lutheran Church Christmas Cookie Walk, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., Trinity Lutheran Church, 1546 N. Luther Road, Fremont. All funds raised will be designated for youth ministry projects. Christmas Bazaar, 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., St. Patricks Catholic Church, 3400 E. 16th St., Fremont. The event will feature a coffee shop with homemade cinnamon rolls, crafters, baked goods and candy, Christmas Shoppe, raffle tickets, and a roast pork loin or sloppy joe lunch from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. HomeStore, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., 701 E. Dodge St., Fremont. The HomeStore sells donated items at discounted prices. Proceeds support the mission of Fremont Area Habitat for Humanity. Christmas Bazaar, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., First Congregational Church UCC, 1550 N. Broad St., Fremont. The event will include a cookie bar, gift items, silent auction, baked goods and homemade mincemeat. Admission is free. Coffee and cinnamon rolls will be served at 9 a.m. Lunch will be served at 11 a.m. Christmas Cookie & Candy Boutique, 9 a.m. until gone, St. Matthew Lutheran Church, Cedar Bluffs. Christmas cookies and candy will be sold by the pound. Refreshments also will be served. 40th Annual Fremont Parks & Recreation Holiday Craft Show, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Christensen Field, Fremont. Admission is $1. Children under 5 will be admitted free. Admission proceeds will go to the Fremont Friendship Center. Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, 10 a.m., Chapter 5 Club, 136 N. Main St., Fremont. Santas arrival, 10-11:30 a.m., Fremont Mall. The Fremont Fire Department will be escorting Santa to the Christmas Wonderland at the mall. Visitors are invited to meet the firefighters, see their trucks and meet Santa. There will be free cookies and photo coupons while supplies last. Storytime, 11-11:30 a.m., Keene Memorial Library auditorium, Fremont. Alcoholics Anonymous womens heart to heart group, noon, Chapter 5 Club, Fremont. Photos with Santa, noon to 2 p.m., Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Ambassador Real Estate, 1340 N. Bell St., Fremont. Mrs. Frosty, Mr. Grinch and Cindy Lou Who also will make an appearance. The event also will include apple cider, cookies, face painting and a chance to win a turkey. Christmas on the Prairie, 2-8 p.m., Saunders County Historical Society Museum, 240 N. Walnut St., Wahoo. This is a family event with free refreshments and admission. Children will be able to make ornaments and decorate cookies along with other activities for children. Dedication and open house of Furstenau Municipal Building, 2 p.m., 5:30 Main St., Scribner. A short program and tours will be held. Refreshments will be served. Christmas pageant, 5 p.m. and 7 p.m., St. Benedict Center, Schuyler. This show for the whole family takes place indoors. Afterwards, hot chocolate, cider and coffee, and homemade will be served. Admission is $3 for adults and $1 for children. Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, 5:15 p.m., Chapter 5 Club, Fremont. Family dinner, 6:30 p.m., Fremont Izaak Walton Park, 2560 W. Military Ave., Fremont. The menu includes baked ham, potatoes, vegetables, salad, dessert, coffee or juice. Twenty free games of bingo will follow dinner. Narcotics Anonymous open meeting, 7:30 p.m., United Faith Church, 218 W. Gardiner St., Valley. Narcotics Anonymous Lie Is Dead Group, 8 p.m., Care Corps, 723 N. Broad St., Fremont Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, 10:30 p.m., Chapter 5 Club, Fremont. Sunday Alcoholics Anonymous Happy Sober Sunday Group, 9 a.m., Chapter 5 Club, Fremont. Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, 10 a.m., Chapter 5 Club, Fremont. Narcotics Anonymous Seekers of Serenity Group, 10:30 a.m., Care Corps, 723 N. Broad St., Fremont. Holiday Service of Memories, 1 p.m., Dugan Funeral Chapel, 751 N. Lincoln Ave., Fremont. The service is for anyone who has experienced a loss, regardless of when or where. Everyone attending will receive a keepsake in their memory at the end of the program. Holiday refreshments will be served. Meet Santa and Mrs. Claus, 1:30-3 p.m., Fremont Izaak Walton Park, 2560 W. Military Ave., Fremont. Santa and Mrs. Claus will be visiting with children. Families donating food will receive one photo per family with Santa and/or Mrs. Claus. Santa will be giving out a gift bag this year to each child attending (while supplies last). Canned goods will be collected for local food pantries. Author talk and book signing with Theodore Wheeler, 2 p.m., Keene Memorial Librarys large meeting room. Books will be available for purchase. Refreshments will be served. Broad Street Revue presents A Sacred Christmas, 2 p.m., First United Methodist Church, Eighth and Broad streets, Fremont. The concert will include music of G.F. Handel, Felix Mendelssohn, John Rutter, Benjamin Britten and Mormon Tabernacle Choir arrangements of familiar carols. There is no admission charge. A freewill offering will be collected for Rebuilding Together. Holiday concert featuring the 43rd Army Band, 2 p.m., Fremont High Schools Nell McPherson Auditorium. The concert is free and open to the public. No ticket is required. Christmas on the Prairie, 2-8 p.m., Saunders County Historical Society Museum, 240 N. Walnut St., Wahoo. This is a family event with free refreshments and admission. Children will be able to make ornaments and decorate cookies along with other activities for children. Colors of Christmas, 2 p.m., Wickert Event Center at Midland University, Fremont. This annual concert features all of the Midland Performing Arts departments, including dance, choir and instrumental. The Pathfinder Chorus also will be performing. Admission to the concert is free, although a freewill offering will be taken. Holiday Fair and Soup Supper, 4-7 p.m., St. Johns Lutheran Church, 821 Denver St., Schuyler. The event is handicapped accessible and will feature a Shoppers Mall from 3-7 p.m. as well as a silent auction and drawing at 6:45 p.m. All-you-can-eat chicken noodle and chili soup will be served. The cost is $7 for adults and $4 for ages 6-12. Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, 5:15 p.m., Chapter 5 Club, Fremont. Dodge County Radio Emergency Associated Communication Team (REACT), 6:30 p.m., American Red Cross, Dodge County Chapter, 439 N. Main St., Fremont. For more information, call 402-687-2160. Narcotics Anonymous Point of Freedom Group, 7 p.m., Good Shepherd Lutheran Church Education Building, west of the church, 1440 E. Military Ave., Fremont. Enter through the rear door. Alcoholics Anonymous Sunday speaker, 7:30 p.m., Chapter 5 Club, Fremont. Monday TOPS Club (Take Off Pounds Sensibly), 9 a.m., First United Methodist Church, 850 N. Broad St., Fremont. Weigh-ins begin at 8 a.m. Visitors (preteens, teens and adults male and female) are welcome. The first meeting is free. For more information, call Janet Bloemker at 402-721-8952. Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, 10 a.m., Chapter 5 Club, Fremont. Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, noon, Chapter 5 Club, Fremont. Fremont Community Blood Drive, noon to 6 p.m., Fremont City Auditorium. To schedule an appointment to donate, call Marilyn at 402-721-6354 or Caryl at 402-721-4335, or visit www.redcrossblood.org. Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, 5:15 p.m., Chapter 5 Club, Fremont. Fremont Night MOPS group, 6:30-8 p.m., Fremont Alliance Church, 1615 N. Lincoln Ave. For more information, contact Fremont Alliance Church at 402-721-5180 or Cindy Slykhuis at 402-708-1561. Narcotics Anonymous basic text study, 6:30 p.m., Good Shepherd Lutheran Church Education Building, west of the church, 1440 E. Military Ave., Fremont. Enter through the rear door. American Legion Post 20, 7 p.m., Eagles Club, 649 N. Main St., Fremont. American Chronic Pain Association Support Group, 7 p.m., Health Park Plaza Conference Room 1, Fremont. Celebrate Recovery, 7-9 p.m., Sanctuary Church, 1640 W. Military Ave., Fremont. Childcare is available. Celebrate Recovery, 7 p.m., Fremont Church of the Nazarene, 960 Johnson Road. Alcoholics Anonymous 12x12 meeting, 8 p.m., Chapter 5 Club, Fremont. Thousands of Oakland city workers are set to go on strike Tuesday unless further negotiations can stave it off, union officials said. Two labor unions Service Employees International Union Local 1021 and International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers Local 21 are planning to strike, said Jessica Bowker, a spokeswoman for Local 21. The unions represent nearly the entire city civilian workforce, according to city officials. Police and fire workers will not take part in the strike. Rob Szykowny, chief negotiator for the SEIU, said he believes a strike can still be averted. City and union officials are scheduled to negotiate again Monday, he said, and I believe were close to a deal. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 3 1 of 3 Mike Kepka/The Chronicle Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Justin Sullivan / Getty Images 2016 Show More Show Less 3 of 3 However, the city has refused the unions most recent offer of a one-year deal that would extend negotiations, Szykowny said. Oakland city officials said in a statement that they have made a last, best and final offer that includes wage increases of up to 6 percent. A strike would shut down much of the city. Due to significant staff shortages, the strike will force the city to close nearly every city facility starting on Tuesday morning, city officials said in a statement. On Monday, the city will release details about services that would be affected by the strike. The SEIU participated in a half-day strike in early November, shutting down Oakland libraries, senior centers, child care programs and other city services. SEIU Local 1021 members include public works employees, parking enforcement officials and early education teachers. The IFPTE Local 21 represents professional and technical employees, including engineers, building inspectors and planners. The city and unions have been in contract negotiations for more than six months. Major issues for the unions include wages, which Bowker said have not kept pace with the cost of living, as well as understaffing and retention and vacancy issues. Szykowny said that while negotiations are set to continue Monday, his team is ready to negotiate before then as well. Erin Allday and Sophie Haigney are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: eallday@sfchronicle.com and sophie.haigney@sfchronicle.com A pier in Oakland collapsed and floated out into the Brooklyn Basin near Ninth Avenue along the Embarcadero on Friday, officials said. About 300 feet of shoreline collapsed and slid into the estuary, pushing the pier out into the water, Sean Laffan of the Oakland Fire Department said. The pier is located at a construction site. Woman gets prison for faking checks ALBANY A Troy woman who was accused of falsifying and cashing company checks was sentenced Friday to two to six years in prison, Albany County prosecutors said last week. Michelle Quentin, 54, was working as a bookkeeper for the Albany marketing firm, Zone 5, Inc., when authorities say she falsified and cashed more than 1,000 company checks over a five-year period that ended last June. She spent the majority of the cashed checks, totaling more than $800,000, and made false entries in the business records in an effort to cover her tracks, according to Albany County District Attorney David Soares. In September, she pleaded guilty to one count of second-degree grand larceny, and two counts each of third-degree criminal tax fraud, fourth-degree criminal tax fraud and second-degree forgery. She faced up to five to 15 years in state prison. Zone 5 is an Albany-based marketing and communications company that primarily works for colleges, hospitals and tech companies. Albany man gets prison for child porn ALBANY A 21-year-old city man received a 5-year prison sentence for receiving, distributing, and possessing child porn, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of New York. The sentence calls for Amado Colon to be under supervision for 10 years and register as a sex offender once he gets out of prison. Additionally, Colon was ordered by U.S. District Judge Gary Sharpe to pay $25,000 restitution to seven of the young victims whose images of abuse he possessed. In July, Colon admitted that in June 2014, he posted child pornography images to an image-sharing web site in Russia, where visitors to the site could view it. Authorities say he was also sent the username and password information to eight Dropbox remote storage accounts, each of which had hundreds of images of child porn. He then took control of the accounts by changing the usernames and passwords, said authorities. Colon also admitted to having child porn files on electronic devices found in his residence. Feds handle gun, illegal entry cases ALBANY A Columbia County man was arraigned Friday on an indictment charging him with having firearms as a felon, federal prosecutors said. Christopher Mikelinich, 62, of Ancram is charged with having a 12 gauge semi-automatic shotgun and a .22 caliber semi-automatic rifle after having been convicted of a felony offense. The charges carry a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and a term of post-imprisonment supervised release of up to three years, according to Acting U.S. Attorney Grant C. Jaquith and Ashan M. Benedict of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives. In another federal case last week: Leonel Antonio Rodriguez Ayala, 29, a citizen of Honduras, pleaded guilty to illegally re-entering the United States, admitting he was removed from the U.S. to Honduras in 2013 and returned to the U.S. without permission. He was arrested on Oct. 24 in Saratoga Springs and faces up to two years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 when sentenced on March 29, authorities said. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate WASHINGTON Securing a desperately sought legislative victory for the Trump presidency, the Senate approved a $1.5 trillion tax overhaul Saturday morning that provides massive tax cuts to large corporations and wealthy individuals but could lead to higher tax bills for millions of Californians. Passage, by a 51-49 vote with no Democratic support, was assured after Republicans rewrote parts of the bill in the final hours to lure GOP holdouts such as Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, who was won over when Senate leaders agreed to allow a $10,000 deduction for property taxes. That concession will ease the loss of the state and local tax deductions written into the bill, but is of less use in California, where the Proposition 13 ballot measure has reduced the growth of property taxes in the state, but state income taxes are the highest in the nation. Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., said California would face the biggest tax increase of any state in the nation. She and other Democrats pointed to a state-by-state analysis by the left-leaning Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy that showed the top 1 percent of Californians would receive an average $14,370 tax cut, while the bottom 60 percent would on average pay more in taxes to the federal government. The legislation, known as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, provides significant tax cuts to large corporations and multinationals, particularly Silicon Valley technology companies whose overseas profits would face little or no tax. In total, it offers corporations the largest tax corporate tax breaks in U.S. history. For individuals, its benefits tilt heavily toward the wealthiest Americans, according to a wide array of official and independent analyses. This is so clearly about a fraction of the top 1 percent of earners versus middle-income people, Harris said. What I find so outrageous about it is theyre duping the American people. Theyre saying this is about middle-income earners and benefiting them, and it is so patently not. She and other Democrats were incensed over the Republican race to pass the bill, complaining they didnt get the completed 479-page bill until 5 p.m. Friday EST, with hand-written notes still in the margins. The bill received no hearings, and Republicans were making major changes as late as Friday. Senate Republicans allowed no opportunity for debate, no opportunity for public discussion or public education, Harris said. The tragedy is their supporters dont even know whats in it. You complain about process when youre losing, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., declared at a celebratory press conference after the vote. He noted that not a single Democrat thought this was a good idea, implying that their unanimous opposition would hurt them at the polls next year. This is a great day for the country, McConnell said, promising that the bill would keep jobs from moving offshore and make America more competitive. In approving the bill, Republicans cast aside official projections of ballooning federal deficits, declaring that the legislation would pay for itself through faster economic growth. The bill is structured around slashing the corporate tax rate to 20 percent from 35 percent, and reducing taxes on overseas profits. Multinational corporations that have stashed $2.6 trillion in profits abroad to avoid U.S. taxes would get a tax holiday on those earnings at roughly half the new corporate rate. Many California households, however, could face higher tax bills because the legislation would repeal the deduction for state and local taxes to offset some of the cost of the corporate tax cuts. The House passed its tax overhaul bill last month, and GOP leaders there prepared to begin negotiations with their Senate counterparts to produce a final bill that will have to be voted on again in both chambers before going to President Trump for his signature. Republicans are racing to enact the bill into law before Christmas. Lacking any Democratic support, Republicans needed at least 50 votes to pass the legislation under special rules that prevent a Democratic filibuster. They hold 52 seats, and could have afforded to lose no more than two votes. Locking in Collins and Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., another holdout, brought them to 51 votes. Vice President Mike Pence called the vote total from the chair, but his vote was not needed to break a tie. Flake said Friday that he would back the bill after securing promises from Republican leaders that they would work toward a deal extending protections for undocumented immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children. But Senate leaders said they did not promise specifics. Republicans said they found it much less challenging to unify around tax cuts, an animating force in the party since Ronald Reagan was president, than health care, which led them into a debacle last summer when they failed to repeal the Affordable Care Act despite using the same 50-vote, go-it-alone procedure. Taxes are easier, said Sen. Ron Johnson, a Wisconsin Republican and one of the last holdouts who secured bigger tax cuts for businesses such as sole proprietorships, partnerships, so-called S-corporations, hedge funds and other entities whose incomes pass through to the owners. Trumps business empire is structured around some 500 pass-through entities that could benefit significantly, although by how much is unknown because Trump has not released his tax returns. Were more confident about making American businesses more competitive, Johnson said. Its a more unifying goal and its an easier problem to solve than health care. Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., who is also retiring next year at the end of his term, was the lone Republican to vote no. He had failed to secure his goal of including a deficit trigger that would scale back the tax cuts if the GOPs rosy growth predictions do not pan out. Conservative Republicans, urged by outside interest groups such as Americans for Prosperity, rebelled at the idea of scaling back tax cuts for businesses to reduce the deficit numbers and satisfy Corker. I feel somewhat like a dinosaur, as one of his partys last deficit hawks, Corker said. Most Senate Republicans dismissed the deficit projections by the Joint Committee on Taxation, the official body of Congress that assesses tax bills, as overblown. The analysis found that growth fueled by the tax cuts would be minimal, and that the bill would add $1 trillion to the federal deficit over the next decade. Republicans said the dynamic estimates, which they demanded in order to show that tax cuts would self-finance, were grossly understated. Faster economic growth will more than pay for the bill, said Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, the Senates second-ranking Republican. In the days before Saturdays vote, Democrats were easily rebuffed on every amendment they offered, including one by Sen. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin to close the notorious carried interest loophole used by hedge fund managers and other Wall Street investors to reduce their taxes. Trump denounced the loophole during the campaign, saying people were getting away with murder. Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., said the tax bill is the product of years of GOP deliberations over tax policy and necessary to keep U.S. companies competitive around the world. Thune promised that the bill would lift wages and provide more good-paying jobs. The Congressional Budget Office, a nonpartisan arm of Congress that assesses the effect of major legislation on the public, found that the bills benefits are sharply tilted toward high-income earners. Although some middle-class and lower-income households could see modest tax cuts in the bills initial years, these expire by 2025, while the corporate tax cuts are permanent. The bill also repeals the mandate that people buy health insurance or face a tax penalty. That is expected to raise premiums and drop 13 million people from the ranks of Americans with health coverage, the analysis said. Combined, these provisions will raise taxes or reduce benefits for people earning less than $75,000, according to the budget office, while those earning more will see higher benefits. Most of the benefits would go to people who earn more than $1 million a year. Rep. Mark DeSaulnier, D-Concord, who started his political career as a Republican, called the bill the Koch brothers ultimate fantasy, referring to the coal barons Charles and David Koch, who provide millions of dollars to GOP campaign coffers and fund Americans for Prosperity. DeSaulnier said even the most conservative Republicans have become terrified of political challenges from the right funded by the Kochs, the Mercer family and other billionaire donors. Its nothing for them to write $5 million or $10 million checks, DeSaulnier said. Thats a lot of money in a closed primary in a conservative district. Carolyn Lochhead is The San Francisco Chronicles Washington correspondent. Email: clochhead@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @carolynlochhead To read the full bill: http://bit.ly/2zItEkb Washington Key dates related to former national security adviser Michael Flynn's interactions with Russian government officials: Dec. 21, 2016: Egypt submits a resolution to the U.N. Security Council on Israeli settlements. A vote is planned for the next day. Dec. 22, 2016: A "very senior member" of the presidential transition team directs Flynn to contact officials with several foreign governments, including Russia, about the resolution. According to court papers, the transition official identified to The Associated Press by a former transition team official as Jared Kushner tells Flynn to see what the governments' positions were on the resolution and to try to get them to delay the vote on the resolution or defeat it. Flynn then calls Sergey Kislyak, Russia's ambassador to the U.S., and asks him to have Russia vote against or delay the resolution. Dec. 23, 2016: Kislyak tells Flynn that Russia would not vote against the resolution if it came to a vote. Dec. 28, 2016: President Barack Obama imposes sanctions on Russia in response to the Kremlin's interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Kislyak contacts Flynn. Dec. 29, 2016: Flynn calls a "senior official" on the presidential transition. Flynn and the official, who is with Trump and other senior advisers at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, discuss what to tell Kislyak about the U.S. sanctions. Flynn also discusses potential fallout from sanctions and the view of transition team members at Mar-a-Lago that they "did not want Russia to escalate the situation." After, Flynn calls Kislyak and requests that he not escalate the situation. Flynn reports the content of that call back to the transition official. That "senior official," though also not named in court papers, has been identified to the AP as former deputy national security adviser KT McFarland. Dec. 31, 2016: Kislyak tells Flynn that Russia has decided not to retaliate over the sanctions. Flynn conveys this back to senior transition team members. Jan. 15, 2017: Vice President Mike Pence says on "Face the Nation" that Flynn did not discuss U.S. sanctions with Kislyak. Jan. 20, 2017: Trump is inaugurated as president. Flynn formally becomes national security adviser. Jan. 24, 2017: Flynn is interviewed by FBI agents investigating Russia's interference in the 2016 election and contacts with Trump associates. According to court papers, Flynn lies to the agents about his contacts with Kislyak. Jan. 26, 2017: Acting Attorney General Sally Yates alerts White House counsel Don McGahn that Flynn was potentially compromised. Feb. 13: Trump forces Flynn to resign from his White House post. Feb. 14: Trump tells FBI Director James Comey he hopes that he can "let go" of an investigation into Flynn. May 9: Trump fires Comey. Dec. 1: Flynn pleads guilty to a felony charge of lying to the FBI about his contacts with Russia. He also admits that he lied to the Justice Department about aspects of his Turkish lobbying. The ACLU of Nebraska filed a lawsuit Friday alleging the Department of Corrections violated the states open-records law and asserting Corrections Director Scott Frakes must disclose records relating to lethal injection drugs. The organization said the department didnt comply with the ACLUs open-records requests related to Nebraskas lethal injection protocols and information on the sources of execution drugs. The Lincoln Journal Star, the Associated Press and other media outlets have also reported their requests for records have been denied. The complaint is against Frakes and the Department of Corrections, and was filed in Lancaster County District Court. Department of Corrections spokeswoman Dawn-Renee Smith said the department does not comment on pending litigation. The Journal Star, AP and other media requested information on the suppliers of the drugs and other pertinent facts immediately after the state sent notification to death row inmate Jose Sandoval of the four drugs that would be used in a pending execution. The state has not yet filed a request with the Nebraska Supreme Court for an execution date for Sandoval, but could ask for a date 60 days after the notification was given to him. The drugs purchased by the state for an execution are diazepam, fentanyl citrate, cisatracurium besylate and potassium chloride. The department has not made public either the supplier of the drugs or whether they came from a known drug manufacturer or a compounding pharmacy. It did say they were purchased in the United States. The state open-records law is clear that the government has to make available all documents that relate to public business, said ACLU of Nebraska legal director Amy Miller. That is true especially with lethal injection drugs, in which the state has a history of backroom deals, money that was wasted and efforts to obtain drugs illicitly, she said. This is an issue that the public, the ACLU, lawmakers all have a right to know whats happening with our state Department of Corrections, Miller said. Public-records requests by the ACLU and the media over the past couple of years are the only reason a public debate on the states efforts to procure lethal injection drugs took place, she said. Those requests enabled knowledge of the states troubling behavior of importing drugs without licenses, spending taxpayer money on drugs that were never received, and now purchasing a combination of drugs from unknown sources that have never been tested in an execution, she said. This is the first time in those recent requests the state has refused to produce the records. There is every intention in state law to have transparency and sunshine in government practice, Miller said. Most recently, the department responded that documents, forms, invoices, reports and purchase orders were attorney-client privilege. But even if the department copied its attorney on emails and documents, it would not mean they would be subject to attorney-client privilege, Miller said. It would still be documents the public would have a right to see, she said. The fundamental concept of open government is at issue in this case, the complaint said. The taking of a persons life is the most extreme use of state power. And the death penalty should not be implemented in the shadows. ACLU of Nebraska Executive Director Danielle Conrad said open, transparent government is a bedrock of Nebraska tradition deeply valued by citizens across the political spectrum because it provides a check on the abuses of big government. In recent years, the department has complied with open-records laws and revealed the lethal injection drug supplier. The law has not changed, Conrad said. This lawsuit lays out Nebraskas shady history of backroom deals and attempts to circumvent federal law to obtain lethal injection drugs, she said in a news release. In recent years, Nebraska taxpayers have spent over $54,000 to obtain drugs that have never been used and taxpayers dollars still have not been refunded. The states remedy is simple: Comply with Nebraska law and make public records public, Conrad said. The ACLU understands that Nebraskans hold differing opinions about the death penalty, she said, but we shouldnt allow the Department of Corrections to disregard the law and the Nebraska tradition of open government for pure political reasons. Decisions made in darkness dont belong in Nebraska government. One evening last December, retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn exited the White House Situation Room after attending transition meetings with members of the Obama administration. As the incoming national security adviser walked toward the West Wing exit, a young Obama administration official held open the door for them. "After you, sir," the staffer said to Flynn as he passed, according to a person who was there. Flynn paused and put his hand on the official's shoulder. "I can't wait to take over this place," he said. The former general's guilty plea to lying to the FBI on Friday punctuated a stunning fall for an ambitious, hard-charging general who was one of the nation's premier counterterrorism officials. For Flynn, who helped the U.S. military hone a process for tackling the most dangerous insurgencies, the plea in a federal-district court in Washington marks a likely end to his public life. Michael O'Hanlon, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, said Flynn demonstrated restraint and political acumen when he served as a top intelligence officer in Iraq and Afghanistan. "Many of the same virtues that were characteristic of [that] period of his life seemed to have been lost in how he handled the Trump phenomenon," O'Hanlon said. The son of a veteran and the brother of another senior Army officer, the Rhode Island native thrived as an intelligence officer. In the tumultuous years following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks - as the U.S. military struggled to adapt to battles against shadowy enemies in Iraq and Afghanistan - Flynn burnished his reputation as a savvy, effective officer. In Iraq, Flynn served under Gen. Stanley McChrystal, who led the development of an accelerated process for using nightly Special Operations raids to obtain and exploit critical intelligence. "Mike was pure energy," McChrystal wrote in his memoir of then-Col. Flynn, describing an innovative, highly focused deputy. "He had an uncanny ability to take a two-hour discussion or thicket of diagrams on a whiteboard and then marshal his people, resources and energy to make it happen." Later, McChrystal made Flynn his chief intelligence officer when he took over the war in Afghanistan, applying the lessons of Iraq to a new battlefield. Flynn was known to be an approachable boss who sent emails to aides at all hours because he seemed to never sleep. He sometimes sent close aides lengthy handwritten notes to express his gratitude. But Flynn was also known as a nonconformist - someone who wasn't afraid to voice criticism or buck the rules. At times, those instincts created problems, prompting a reprimand after sharing privileged information with partner forces in Afghanistan. In 2012, Flynn was tapped to head the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA). There, the general's hard-driving style and his plans to shake up an agency often overshadowed by the CIA, created friction with his staff and with officials at the Pentagon. His promotion to running an entire agency exposed his weaknesses on policy issues and poor judgment as a manager, former officials said. In 2014, Flynn was forced out of the DIA about a year ahead of schedule. Once out of government, Flynn's behavior, which had raised eyebrows among intelligence officials when he was at the DIA, began to raise wider alarms. In late 2015, Flynn attended a dinner celebrating RT, the television channel and website that the U.S. government has labeled a Kremlin-run propaganda machine. At the dinner, Flynn was photographed sitting next to Russian President Vladimir Putin, a striking image at a time when Russia was the subject of international censure for its intervention in Ukraine. Partly because of that reputation, these people said, Flynn did not get a big corporate job or well-paid consultant gig as many other former intelligence chiefs did. Instead, he ran his own small shop and became one of the first, and most high-profile former military leaders to back Donald Trump's candidacy. At the GOP convention in Cleveland in July 2016, Flynn gave an impassioned speech against Hillary Clinton and led the crowd in a raucous chant of "Lock her up!'' Flynn told the crowd: "If I did a tenth of what she did, I would be in jail today.'' Michael Ledeen, who co-authored a 2016 book with Flynn called "The Field of Fight," said Flynn was known throughout his career for unusual candor. "He's one of those people who actually does speak truth to power, whether they like to hear it or not," Ledeen said. When they were working together closely in 2015 and 2016 on the book, Ledeen gave Flynn a piece of advice: Don't ever meet with FBI agents without a lawyer present. Ledeen, who has since been interviewed by special counsel Robert Mueller's team, thinks Flynn "didn't listen too carefully." After Trump won the election, Flynn was expected to get the national security adviser position, one of the most sensitive posts in the U.S. government. Two days after the election, President Barack Obama met with Trump in the Oval Office and, in a moment that deviated from the meeting agenda, warned him against hiring Flynn, according to former officials, who like others spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations. Flynn was the only Trump loyalist whom Obama singled out for criticism. Despite policy disagreements, Flynn came across as civil and respectful during meetings with Obama administration officials, according to officials present. But he also talked frequently of his discussions with Russian officials, so much so that some involved in the transition process became concerned he might be too friendly with those officials, according to people familiar with the discussions. Then, in December, he had phone calls with Sergey Kislyak, the Russian ambassador in Washington, that forever altered his life. The conversations, intercepted by the FBI because agents monitor foreign ambassadors' communications, involved discussions of U.S. sanctions against Russia, as well as negotiations in the United Nations. On Friday, Flynn admitted to lying about both of those issues when FBI agents interviewed him Jan. 24. After that interview, the White House tried to ride out the storm and keep Flynn in his position. After it was revealed the FBI was investigating Flynn's conversations, a White House spokesperson insisted sanctions were not discussed, mentioning a handful of other topics that were. Those comments further alarmed law enforcement officials, who knew the majority of the discussions Flynn had with Kislyak in late December were about sanctions, according to people familiar with the matter. Within the Justice Department, the spokesman's comments raised concerns that others were lying publicly on Flynn's behalf - making the problem worse, according to people familiar with the matter. Even after Flynn was pushed out of the White House, Trump sought to get the FBI to drop the Flynn probe, according to people familiar with the discussions. As that issue festered, Trump eventually decided to fire then-FBI Director James Comey. Mueller is probing the events leading up to that firing - and the president's discussions about Flynn - to determine whether the president may have sought to obstruct justice, according to people familiar with the matter. As Flynn left the courthouse Friday, a crowd of onlookers was waiting outside with a familiar chant: "Lock him up." - - - The Post's Greg Jaffe and Spencer S. Hsu contributed to this report. As chairman of the House Select Committee on Benghazi, Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., used $150,000 in taxpayer dollars to settle with a former aide who alleged he was fired in part because he was not willing to focus his investigative work on Hillary Clinton. The Post confirmed the confidential settlement reached between Gowdy and the Benghazi panel and Bradley Podliska after it appeared in a list of settlements released Friday by the congressional Office of Compliance. Gowdy is now the chairman of the House Oversight Committee. UPPER THUMB The request for a waiver to start school before Labor Day made by the Huron Intermediate School District is part of a growing number of requests that have been granted by the Michigan Department of Education. The Department said there were 398 different schools and districts that have been granted waivers for the 2018-19 school year. This is a huge jump from the first year waivers were granted, which was the 2007-08 school year. There were only nine that year. Just between the current school year and next school year, the number more than doubled. There were 182 requests to start school early this school year, including 68 potential participants under a request by the intermediate school district. There were 125 potential requests for next year. The request by the Huron Intermediate School District not only included the current school year, but also for the next three school years. Thats what the state grants them in, said Joe Murphy, Huron Intermediate School District superintendent. Then they (schools in the ISD) revisit it. Murphy noted this years waiver request was granted after the school year had started. The request was granted on Sept. 29. Our school calendars were already locked in when it was granted, Murphy said. The state typically grants the waivers in three-year increments, according to Murphy. My guess is if it works well in year one, we could do this in years two or three, he said. Every year we do a calendar meeting at the county level so we would look at it then. Murphy said there were a number of things that the Huron County superintendents will look at in deciding whether to continue starting earlier in 2019-20 and 2020-21. My basic criteria is from an ISDs perspective, along with community input, student input, all of those could be considered, Murphy said. There were no Sanilac County school districts that have applied for a waiver. The only Tuscola County school district that has a waiver for next year is Akron-Fairgrove Schools. Many Huron County school boards already have approved opting to begin next school year earlier than after Labor Day. They do not include Bad Axe Public Schools, which recently discussed the issue. A motion to approve an earlier start was not made after concerns were voiced by school board member Nick Checkley. Checkley didn't want to open the door to year-round schooling. Also, he was concerned about how the school would be kept cool during the August heat; and he wanted the school to have a plan in place as to what would actually be done on the extra schools would be held. The undocumented immigrant acquitted in the 2015 killing of Kate Steinle on Pier 14 will remain in San Francisco jail until hes turned over to federal authorities, officials said Friday. Jose Ines Garcia Zarate, 45, who was acquitted of murder and manslaughter charges Thursday, is due back in San Francisco Superior Court on Dec. 14. Although he was found not guilty of murder and homicide counts, Garcia Zarate was convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm in the July 1, 2015, killing. Garcia Zarate was arrested shortly after a shot from the gun ricocheted off concrete and struck Steinle, 32, as she walked with her father on the pier off the Embarcadero. The San Francisco Adult Probation Department is calculating a sentencing recommendation for the weapons charge. The maximum sentence is three years. Superior Court Judge Samuel Feng will decide whether Garcia Zarate, who has been in jail since his arrest, has enough credit for time served to be released. He will be turned over to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service once he can be released, Sheriffs Department officials said. Federal authorities unsealed a warrant for Garcia Zarates arrest Friday. The warrant was issued two weeks after Steinle was killed and says Garcia Zarate violated the conditions of his 2015 release from federal prison, where he did a 46-month stint for felony re-entry to the U.S. after deportation. Rather than being deported to his native Mexico for a sixth time, Garcia Zarate was sent to San Francisco on March 26, 2015, to face a marijuana charge dating from 1995. Prosecutors dropped the charge the next day, and the Sheriffs Department released Garcia Zarate in mid-April under the citys sanctuary policy. Federal immigration officials had requested he be held so they could deport him. Now Playing: A white supremacist group, Identity Evropa, put out a video late Thursday night, showing that their members were behind putting up a memorial in San Francisco at Pier 14 to honor the memory of Kate Steinle. Christien Kafton reports Video: Fox10Phoenix Ten weeks later, Steinle was shot dead. Garcia Zarates defense attorneys argued that the shooting was an accident that happened when he picked up a stolen gun that he found on the ground along the waterfront. Evan Sernoffsky is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: esernoffsky@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @EvanSernoffsky Investigators announced a grim turn in the case of Mariah Woods, a disabled 3-year-old whose mother said she vanished from their eastern North Carolina home on Sunday. The mother's live-in boyfriend has been arrested in connection with the girl's disappearance, authorities said Saturday morning, and Mariah is likely dead. Earl Kimrey, 32, was arrested late Friday and charged with concealing a death, obstruction of justice, second-degree burglary, felony larceny and possession of stolen property. He was being held in the Onslow County Detention Center with bail set at $1,010,000. Authorities haven't said what led investigators to identify Kimrey as a suspect, but other charges could be coming. According to search warrants obtained by the Jacksonville Daily News, Kimrey is accused of "removing Mariah Woods body from the scene of the her death, and did conceal Mariah Woods death and body." The warrant says that Mariah died of "unnatural causes" and that Kimrey "acted with deceit and intent to defraud but doesn't provide additional details about how Mariah died. What is clear is that the focus of the search has shifted. Police and the FBI are no longer looking to find a missing little girl; they're trying to recover her body. Her disappearance prompted a widespread search, with law enforcement, the military and volunteers from the community looking for the child after her mother's plea for her safe return. "Please, bring her back," Kristy Woods told CBS-affiliate WNCT. "I love her. I'll do anything that I can, whatever you want. Please just bring her back safe and sound - she's my baby, she's my everything." Woods said she would give "everything in the world" to have her daughter back, "just to be able to touch her and hold her and not let her go again." The Onslow County Sheriff's Office released surveillance photos early Wednesday showing a woman with a child at a Walmart in Morehead City on Monday morning and asking the public to help determine whether the child may be Mariah. WCTI later reported that a woman in Newport said the photos show her and her own daughter - not the missing girl. The woman, Jetta Long, told the news station Wednesday morning that she was frustrated that the surveillance photos "may have gotten the hopes of the family up." As the search for Mariah intensified, questions swirled about the story told by Mariah's caretakers. The girl is shy and has an orthopedic leg problem, her grandmother said, according to CBS News. She wears braces on her leg and wobbles when she walks. It was unlikely she would simply wander off, family members said, and if she did, she wouldn't get far. "She's a sweet child, but she's shy with strangers. So, she wouldn't just go with a stranger," the grandmother said, according to the news station. Moreover, there were no signs of a struggle or forced entry in Mariah's bedroom. Alex Woods, Mariah's biological father, told WCTI that he had suspicions about the story of her disappearance. "Someone just walked right up in there, grabbed the 3-year-old out of the bed, and she didn't cry, she didn't scream?" he said. "Nobody heard anything? Four people in the house, two adults and two kids, someone just comes up and snatches the baby and walks out?" Two people identified by law enforcement as persons of interest in Sydney Loofe's disappearance remained in custody Friday, now at the Saline County jail in their hometown of Wilber. A jail employee confirmed that Aubrey C. Trail, 51, and Bailey M. Boswell, 23, were both being held late Friday at the request of the U.S. Marshals Service. The two were transported from the Taney County Jail in Forsyth, Missouri, sometime Friday. Forsyth is about five miles northeast of Branson. Loofe, 24, remains missing. Federal and state court records list no new charges against Trail or Boswell, and police haven't publicly accused them of any crime related to Loofe's disappearance. Both had warrants for unrelated charges, however: Boswell for missing a court date last year in Lincoln, and Trail on newer allegations of being a habitual criminal and a felon in possession of a firearm. Trail's warrant remains under seal. Loofe hasn't been seen since Nov. 15, when she and Boswell apparently met for a date after meeting online. Her mother reported her missing the next day after she didn't show up for work at Menards in north Lincoln. The FBI has set up a dedicated tip line specifically for information related to Loofe's case: 402-493-8688, option 1. Friday passed with no update from law enforcement on the case. On Thursday, Loofe's father pleaded for the public's help during a press conference at the Hall of Justice in Lincoln: "In my opinion, someone knows something," George Loofe said. "Please do the right thing." He was joined by officials from the FBI, Lincoln Police Department, Saline County Sheriff's Office and the Nebraska State Patrol. Lincoln Police Chief Jeff Bliemeister responded quickly during the news conference when asked if there is still hope she could be found alive. Yes," the chief said. "Absolutely." The passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act was often covered as a Republican family drama. Democrats, 10 of whom face re-election next year in states won by President Donald Trump, made cameo appearances - often when the president campaigned in their states. But even the most gettable Democrats, like Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., were generally ignored by Republican negotiators as they brought their own party in line. Republicans have admitted as much. In an interview with Fox News' Laura Ingraham on Wednesday night, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., cast the tax bill fight as a clash between parties: "The decision to get on the tax bill was totally partisan. Every Democrat said, 'I don't want to do tax reform.' Every Republican said, 'I do.' That's the appropriate area for us to have our discussions in public about the future of the country." The irony is McConnell has often said such partisan bills - in addition to being easy to undo - are easy to make unpopular. Republicans in both chambers of Congress passed tax reform with no Democratic support - and even some Republicans voting in opposition. That, quoting McConnell, is a recipe for a political backlash. During the nadir of modern Republican power - the period between 2009 and 2011 when the GOP controlled no more than 41 Senate seats - Democrats watched McConnell successfully grind down their bills by denying bipartisan cover. In the long committee process that produced the Affordable Care Act, Republicans succeeded in amending the bill. But when it came to the floor, in the House and Senate, Republicans unanimously voted against it. After Democrats lost a key Senate race, giving Republicans enough votes to block the ACA through regular order, Democrats passed the rest of the bill through the reconciliation process (the very same process Republicans used this year for the failed lunge at the ACA and the successful passage of the tax bill). Republicans at the time criticized what they considered an end run. "The procedure was never contemplated for legislation of this magnitude," said Sen. Charles E. Grassley, R-Iowa. "If they exercise that tool," said Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine), "it's going to be infinitely more difficult to bridge the partisan divide." McConnell and the rest of his party predicted that the Democrats use of the reconciliation process would bring the ACA's eventual collapse. No major social legislation, they pointed out - Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid - had been rammed through by one party, they said. In a post-election interview with Joshua Green, McConnell explained the political theory behind this in a quote that Democrats would study for years: "We worked very hard to keep our fingerprints off of these proposals. Because we thought-correctly, I think-that the only way the American people would know that a great debate was going on was if the measures were not bipartisan. When you hang the 'bipartisan' tag on something, the perception is that differences have been worked out and there's a broad agreement, that that's the way forward." The next major legislative battle came after the 2010 midterm elections, when the newly Republican-run House demanded that any vote to increase the debt limit increase be yoked to spending cuts. In May 2011, at a news conference held to make the GOP's case for spending cuts, McConnell scolded reporters who said Republicans might lose a messaging war. The beauty of the debt limit, he said, was that both parties needed to vote together to increase it. Both parties would be on the hook for any "grand bargain," meaning that neither party would absorb the blame if voters disliked the spending cuts. McConnell used the example of one of Washington's favorite stories - the 1983 deal between Speaker of the House Tip O' Neill, D-Mass., and President Ronald Reagan that painfully increased Social Security taxes and the retirement age, making the program solvent for decades. "Let me remind you that after Reagan and Tip O'Neill came together and altered the trajectory on Social Security, which included raising the age limit, Ronald Reagan eked out the next election, carrying only 49 of 50 states," McConnell said. He paused so that reporters could get the joke. "Anything we agree to do together will not be an issue, and decide that if both sides thought this was necessary - I might not have liked this part of it, or that part of it - I don't think either side will have to worry about political fallout next year." The Obama administration came very close to copying that approach, nearly signing off on a "grand bargain" that would have cut entitlement spending. But the right wing of the House Republican conference scuttled the deal, leading to a two-step backup plan: A bipartisan "supercommittee" tasked with cutting the deficit, and automatic spending cuts (sequestration) if the supercommittee failed. The supercommittee did fail, with future-House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., casting one of the votes against its plan. When the sequestration cuts went into place, both parties tumbled into a familiar argument, blaming each other for not having come to a deal in 2011. In the 2014 and 2016 elections, one party got the blame for Washington's dysfunction, from the ACA's implementation to the automatic spending cuts: President Barack Obama's Democrats. In the run-up to the House and Senate tax cut, Democrats were occasionally hit with super PAC ads and critical editorials, suggesting that they'd be left out of a voter gold rush if they didn't vote for the bill. But Democrats remembered McConnell's lessons from the Obama years: A bill seen as one party's project would ultimately prove unpopular. Ahead of its implementation, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act is the least popular tax cut plan in the modern history of polling. Early Saturday morning, at a short news conference celebrating the tax bill's passage, McConnell nonetheless predicted that the measure would become an election-winner for Republicans. "At the end, there was not a single Democrat who thought this was a good idea," McConnell said. "And so, we're going to take this message to the American people also a year from now." Sixteen of the nation's top retired military commanders are urging Congress to pass gun control legislation, arguing that there are many steps that can be taken to curb gun deaths that do not violate the Second Amendment. In a letter they plan to send to Congressional leaders, the retired commanders, including Army Gens. Wesley Clark and Michael Hayden, Navy Admiral Eric Olson, Air Force Lt. Gen. Norman Seip and Marine Brig. Gen. Stephen Cheney, argue that Congress is "no longer speaking or voting for the majority of Americans, including gun owners" when it comes to the issue of firearms. "There is no acceptable excuse for our elected leaders to avoid addressing this as a national crisis," they write. The group is part of the veterans coalition of a gun control group founded by former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and her husband, Mark Kelly. They laid out their arguments in a letter they plan to send to Congressional leaders. The retired military men and women said that, as military leaders, they defended the Constitution and have considerable firearms training. As Americans, they said, they find the level of gun violence across the country unacceptable, calling the shootings that killed 58 people in Las Vegas in October and 26 in a church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, in November "but the latest instances of shocking horror" that the nation has experienced in recent years. "Thoughts and prayers will not bring solutions," they write. According to the Centers for Disease Control, the rate of gun deaths rose for the second straight year in 2016, to 12 per 100,000 people. The letter comes as a House panel this week voted to advance a measure that would expand the ability to carry concealed firearms across state lines. Under the bill, known as concealed carry reciprocity, a person with a concealed-carry permit and a photo identification would be able to have a concealed weapon in any state that allows them. The gun owner would still have to follow state and local laws regarding where and what type of weapons can be carried. The National Rifle Association has called the bill its "highest legislative priority in Congress." The legislation is scheduled for a House vote next week. Its sponsor, Richard Hudson, R-N.C., said in a statement that the bill is extremely popular and "momentum, common sense, and the facts are on our side." Giffords said the bill weakens public safety, and Retired Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal said he agrees. "In the aftermath of two of the country's worst mass shootings, it's an affront to both our safety as a nation and the common sense of its citizens that Congress would consider actually weakening our gun laws," McChrystal said. "Untrained and potentially dangerous people have no business carrying guns in our communities, but the concealed carry bill in the House would allow exactly that." The retired commanders argue that it is imperative that Congress tackle the issue because inaction will lead to more deaths. They argue that closing background check loopholes, barring extremely lethal guns and accessories and working toward preventing gun suicides can be addressed within "every reasonable interpretation" of the Second Amendment. "We do not pretend that addressing our nation's gun violence crisis will be quick or easy, but we know for certain that it is your duty," the letter says. They also said that the failure of the Defense Department to report domestic violence convictions so people with those convictions can't purchase firearms, is "unacceptable" and must be fixed. The Air Force failed to tell federal authorities about the domestic violence convictions of Devin Kelley, the Sutherland Springs shooter, who purchased several guns after his release from jail and discharge from the military. Giffords' husband, Kelly, a retired Navy captain, said veterans understand firearms - and the damage they can inflict when they end up in the wrong hands. "These are people who have also defended the Constitution, which includes the Bill of Rights, which includes the Second Amendment, with their lives. And they understand that common sense gun laws to protect communities from gun violence are not an infringement on the Second Amendment," he said. "They know this shouldn't be a political issue." Retired Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen said he believes it's time for both sides of the polarized debate to sit down and talk about the problem of gun violence. "Let's have a discussion," he said. "I think we need to have reasonable people come to the table and have a discussion and need to understand that they have a responsibility to carry this conversation forward so we can deal with the risk that's currently in our society." The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court Friday to overrule a lower court's decision that officials turn over internal documents that led to the decision to rescind the program protecting immigrants brought to the country illegally as children. A panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit earlier this month agreed with a district court judge that states and organizations challenging the decision should see more of the emails, memos and legal opinions generated before officials of the Department of Homeland Security announced it was ending the program. But Solicitor General Noel Francisco said in a filing to the Supreme Court that was unjustified. "The district court's sweeping expansion of the administrative record - in the face of the acting secretary's contemporaneous and reasonable explanation for her decision - directly contradicts this court's precedents," he wrote. "The district court's error in ordering discovery and vastly expanding the administrative record is particularly manifest in light of the nature of the agency's decision: a policy determination . . . to wind down, in orderly fashion, a previous policy of prosecutorial discretion that itself created no substantive rights." The appeals court panel, in a 2-to-1 ruling, said what the administration had provided to challengers was not nearly enough. "The notion that the head of a United States agency would decide to terminate a program giving legal protections to roughly 800,000 people based solely on 256 pages of publicly available documents is not credible, as the district court concluded," wrote Judges Kim Wardlaw and Ronald Gould. They upheld a ruling of U.S. District Court Judge William Alsup in San Francisco that the government had not provided the challengers with a complete administrative record that led to the September 2017 decision of Department of Homeland Security acting secretary Elaine Duke to phase out the program. Strikingly missing, the judges said, were any materials from the February 2017 decision by then DHS Secretary John Kelly to retain the program. "We are not unmindful of the separation-of-powers concerns raised by the government," the judges wrote. "However, the narrow question presented here simply does not implicate those concerns. We consider only whether DHS failed to comply with its obligation . . . to provide a complete administrative record to the court - or, more precisely, whether the district court clearly erred in so holding." Judge Paul Watford dissented from the panel's decision, saying documents of internal decision-making are not customarily part of the administrative record courts demand. "The agency's decision to rescind DACA will profoundly disrupt the lives of hundreds of thousands of people, and a policy shift of that magnitude presumably would not have been made without extensive study and analysis beforehand," Watford wrote. "But the desire for greater insight into how DHS arrived at its decision is not a legitimate basis for ordering the agency to expand the administrative record, unless the plaintiffs make a threshold factual showing justifying such action." This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate In the early morning hours of Nov. 20, Matthew Merical was recovering in the hospital after he was robbed by three armed suspects who broke into a San Antonio home, authorities said. The suspects repeatedly struck Merical and used duct tape to cover his mouth and eyes and restrain his wrists and ankles. He was later dropped off in a ditch before he walked to a convenience store to get help, he reportedly told police. Police records obtained by mySA.com show investigators believe the home invasion was part of a larger feud between rival gangs, dating as far back as September, that resulted in the death of 10-year-old Delilah Hernandez on Thanksgiving Day. Police believe Delilah's older brother, Nathaniel Vega, was the intended target of the shooting. RELATED: San Antonio girl, 10, fatally shot in her bedroom Now Playing: San Antonio Police Department Chief William McManus talked about the arrest of Cody Gann, 18, and Jasmine Cary, 19. Gann is accused of murder in the Thanksgiving Day shooting death of 10-year-old Delilah Hernandez. Police arrested two people Thursday night in connection to the killing: Cody Gann, 18, and Cary, 19. Gann was charged with murder while Cary, at whose home Merical was attacked, faces a charge of evading arrest. An ongoing rivalry Records show Merical had an idea of who was responsible for the robbery, four days before Delilah's death, but he refused to tell police and refused to press charges. He allegedly told police "he would take care of matters himself." Two days later, someone fired shots at Cary's home, authorities said. San Antonio police don't know how far back the feud stems, Officer Douglas Greene said, mainly because gang members tend not to report crimes. "It's hard to put a number on how long this has been going on," Greene said. But the conflict apparently extends at least as far back as Sept. 1, when Gann's home was the target of a drive-by shooting. His father reportedly told police he believed Vega was connected to the crime. Although the motive behind the Sept. 1 shooting is unclear, the arrest affidavit notes Vega and Cary were previously romantically linked. Cary is apparently currently romantically involved with Gann. Castle Hills Police Capt. Johnny Siemens on Friday described Gann and Vega as "arch enemies." Gann and Cary were in her home at the time of the Nov. 22 drive-by but neither called police, according to the report. The shooting was only discovered as police were following leads in Delilah's case, the report states. Police haven't named any suspects in the shooting but a witness told police Cary had called her after the Nov. 22 shooting and said she believed it was retaliation for the robbery of Merical, authorities said. A day later, police say, Gann fired the shot that struck and killed Delilah while she slept in her home in the 100 block of Harwood Drive. Thanksgiving Day killing An anonymous caller reached police the afternoon of Nov. 24, after Delilah was killed, and said Gann and Cary were responsible for killing the girl. The caller indicated the shooting was retaliation, according to the affidavit. The caller also said "everybody knew that Nathaniel Vega had done recent drive-by shootings at the homes" of the couple. READ MORE: SAPD: Suspect, accomplice arrested in Thanksgiving day shooting of 10-year-old girl Vega, who is a documented Bloods gang member, told police Gann messaged him on the night leading up to his sister's death saying, "today's the day." Surveillance video recorded on the day Delilah was killed showed an SUV traveling east at a high rate of speed after the shooting. Investigators determined the vehicle was the same Nissan Murano that the couple drove around during the week of the shooting, according to the affidavit. Police found a spent shell casing in the vehicle that matched the casings on the scene of the Thanksgiving Day shooting, authorities said. Jennifer Martinez, Delilah's aunt, reacted to the arrest Friday morning. "They don't need to receive the death penalty. They need to spend the rest of their lives in prison so they can live for what they did to Delilah," Martinez said. "We're happy they were caught but it doesn't bring back Delilah, does it?" Gann's family denies allegations Gann and his family denied the accusations. A woman who identified herself as his mother but asked not to be named said she was heartbroken to learn about Delilah's death, but blamed it on Vega. "My heart bleeds for the family," she said. "But her brother caused her death." She also said her son isn't the type to commit a drive-by shooting. "He's always put people down that do drive-bys like that," she said. "He'd say innocent people always get hurt that way. He'd say if you want to end something, you meet a man face-to-face and fight it out." As Gann was escorted to a police vehicle after his arrest, he said ""I'm not gonna say anything. I want my lawyer." He was released from jail on Friday at 12:35 p.m. after paying a portion of his $250,000 bond set by Judge Lori Crockett. Cary was also released at 3:55 p.m. A judge had set her bond at $50,000. The woman claimed Vega had constantly threatened and harassed Gann. Gann didn't want any trouble, she said, and even went as far as to change his number. "The truth will come out," she said. "It's just unfortunate that it costs what it takes to prove it." Staff writer Emilie Eaton contributed to this report. | Fares Sabawi covers crime in San Antonio and Bexar County for mySA.com. Read more of his stories here. | fsabawi@mysa.com | Twitter: @FaresInSA There is, with each revelation of a powerful guy preying on women, a great fright overtaking the nations men, even the not-so-powerful. One of the fears goes something like this: Ricardo, Im afraid now to even try to hit on (woo) a woman. I might be accused of harassment. Hmm. If your wooing can be interpreted as harassment, you might want to tweak your approach. You just might not be doing it right, good buddy. But seriously, the fears are real. While there is almost universal acknowledgment from the men Ive spoken to that sexual misconduct is unacceptable, too many seem to at least imply after they look around to see if anyone is listening sympathy for or defense of the accused. This is a problem because the first step in dealing with a problem is admitting that there is one. Men, we have a problem. Were it, either as doers or enablers of the behavior. None other than Louis CK, now an admitted abuser and, therefore, expert, once said: How do women still go out with guys, when you consider the fact that there is no greater threat to women than men? Globally and historically, were the number one cause of injury and mayhem to women. But Im still finding men who want to stand up for the accused. They ask, why, after years of silence, are these women coming forward? Thank Harvey Weinstein and #MeToo. With the fall of the movie mogul and serial abuser, precipitated by a New York Times investigation, women were emboldened to finally come forward, not an easy decision. And take Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore, the former state chief justice who, nine women allege, tried to seduce them as teenage girls when he was in his 30s, disrobing and fondling one age 14 and sexually assaulting another. These women didnt come forward. The Washington Post sought them out after hearing of Moores conduct. So, the newspapers biased against Moore, right? Well, Moore runs as an evangelical Christian with no understanding of the separation of church and state and who has nasty things to say about gays and Muslims. Hes always made news, but theres no bias involved. Hes running for the Senate seat of Attorney General Jeff Sessions and attracted the support of alt-right, former Trump senior adviser Steve Bannon. Moore became a national figure who attracted the attention of the national press. Such scrutiny will be intense. No, this is solid journalism. A candidates character still matters, right? Right? I guess well see. But, OK, youre just one normal guy down here in Texas. Youre not famous. And youre afraid. Will you be next? Lets get real. It is the rare man who hasnt inadvertently or on purpose at least said something sexually inappropriate. Yes, women, too, but there is a different dynamic. Ask your wife, girlfriend or sister to explain it. But, men, listen up. Most of us are not the targets. Just dont do it ever but you likely have nothing to worry about if you generally treat women and girls with respect and dignity. Most of the guys accused these days have been serial abusers. They do it with malice, for ego and libido and to exert dominance because they can. And they are at their most hurtful when there is an imbalance of power theyre the boss or have some other leverage. Sadly, often all it takes to have the upper hand in our society is being a man. Were not the problem? Why then is there the tendency for men in particular to dismiss such behavior? Lets stop. You know, boys just being boys. Locker room talk. Or, oh, shake it off and move on. All of which downplays the humiliation, the betrayal and, in cases of sexual assault, the trauma that lingers long past the act. A warlock hunt is unlikely, but maybe there is something in your past to be ashamed of. If so, I hope atonement is on your bucket list and that life changes have already occurred. But thats the wrong way to think of it. Think of it as bullies we can all agree these folks are despicable finally being called to account. Just maybe there should be no statute of limitations on that. Just dont do it and dont enable the men around you. And that starts with acknowledging that male culture is indeed the problem. o.ricardo.pimentel@express-news.net We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. If you do not have a current print subscription to the Lodi News-Sentinel, but want to view unlimited articles for the month, please choose this option. Goodbye liberty, goodbye democracy, goodbye limited government and hello administrative state. Here is a mishmash of countless federal agencies dictating how we live with little if any reference to rights and constitutional safeguards, and that brings us to the Consumer Financial Protection Agency. It happens to be in the headlines now because the Trump administration is in the process of saving us from its contribution to this leftist, destructive authoritarianism that Democrats persistently embrace. This super-powerful agency well represents their vision of a New America that has been emerging for quite awhile but was grotesquely amplified under the presidency of Barack Obama. In this instance, there was jubilant assistance from Sen. Elizabeth Warren. When the Dodd-Frank financial reform law was sadly being created, this Democrat from Massachusetts fought for the legislation to include an agency encompassing her deepest dreams. Avoiding special-interest politics, it would have investigative, regulatory and juridical powers. The purpose sounded good: Bureaucratic magnificoes would prevent fraud by financial services in advertising, contractual language or other sneakiness. But what the agency actually avoided was accountability to the American people. It dubiously got its funding from the Federal Reserve, meaning Congress had a smaller handle on waywardness. Oversight? Ha! Time and again, even with the virtual imprisonment of a free enterprise activity, the agency did not provide Congress with the information requested. It was however as political as political gets, signing on Democrats with Republicans not even considered, according to one whistleblower. It paid some $45 million in contracts for advertising and research to an advertising agency that played a central role in President Barack Obamas presidential campaigns, the Daily Caller reported. Its employees donated $50,000 to Democratic candidates. Confusion has been an agency specialty, as an alert analysis shows. For example, to prevent poor people from buying houses they cannot afford, the agency devised complications preventing people from buying houses they can afford. Similarly, to crack down on what it considered unfair payday loan policies, it made it impossible for vast numbers to get loans they badly needed. At any rate, the agencys chief, someone initially appointed illegally to his job by Obama, is stepping down and himself illegally told the deputy director to take over. An excuse was that the law establishing the agency said the deputy director should fill in when the director was absent or unavailable. It did not say, however, that the person should grab the reins when the spot was vacated. Since vacating is what happened, President Donald Trump clearly had the replacement prerogative and chose Mick Mulvaney, director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, as acting director. The deputy director, still dwelling in the agencys state of confusion, filed a lawsuit against the move and a judge, in so many words, said, Are you kidding?! Mulvaneys mission is to inhibit new malfunctions, one small but vital step against an administrative state described by a law professor quoted online as the power to make binding rules without law, outside the law, or against the law, exercised by someone other than an elected legislature. We live in a swamp of often illicit regulations, and there are so many no one can know what they all are, enforce them or even count them. Some contradict each other, they affect things big and tiny and are executed by scores of federal agencies. I just recently read that no one knows the number of federal agencies, either. They just keep growing it was noted that Obamacare alone gave rise to 159 new units of one kind of another. Federal roles constitutionally reserved for the legislative and judicial branches of government have been usurped, but Congress, which has helped facilitate a lot of this, is beginning to fight back, as is the Trump administration through regulation rollbacks and other means. Do your job Mulvaney, and hallelujah. A multi million euro agreement to bring the national gas pipeline to Co Longford will provide the springboard to transform the county as an ideal location for businesses to operate in. Environment Minister Denis Naughten and OPW Minister of State Kevin 'Boxer' Moran both waxed lyrical of just how instrumental the move could be in transforming Co Longford's economic well being into the future. Mr Naughten laid much of that optimism at the door of UK leisure giant Center Parcs and its plans to open a 233m holiday resort in Ballymahon in around 18 months time. His Independent ministerial colleague, Kevin 'Boxer' Moran underlined that mindset, saying this evening's formal announcement set the seal on many months of behind the scenes work. And, after being branded 'Minister Kevin Boxer Gas for Longford Moran' by Mr Naughten, the Athlone based politician, not for the first time berated those who cast doubt over whether the deal would happen. "Some people said when I got this job (Minister for OPW) 'Oh your an Athlone man, you'll do everything for Athlone', but I said to the people of Longford 'Adopt me for as long as this Government lasts and if I fail, throw me out'. Cathaloirleach of Longford County Council, Cllr Martin Mulleady was just as enthused, citing the role played by senior officials within the Council in helping to engineer the gas extension. "This is a major announcement for our county and will open up our county to business," he said. "I spoke about it at the (Ganly's) Longford Sport Star Awards Awards last night when I said that I haven't worked with a better team in Longford County Council. "We have outstanding directors in our county at the minute that's bringing investment into the county and you can see how things are starting to open up in our county over the last two to three years." The Council's most senior official, CEO Paddy Mahon heralded the agreement as a key component in restoring Longford and the midland's economic fortunes into the future. "This is just the start of the revitalisation of rural Ireland in allowing towns like Ballymahon and Longford to compete with other parts of the country that have had the advantage of infrastructure put in place. "It's fantastic news for Longford but it's also fantastic news for rural Ireland," he said. ALSO READ: Multi million euro gas pipeline deal is 'game-changing' for Longford's economic future Who knows what the Trump administration was expecting when it hired Jamie Johnson, a conservative Christian pastor and former talk-radio host from Iowa to head a center for outreach in the Department of Homeland Security. Sure, Johnson had worked for Donald Trumps presidential election. Hes a pastor, and the center he headed is for faith-based and neighborhood partnerships. But did he have the right attitude for the job? Was he qualified to build partnerships with people of other faiths and races? Did anyone vet his attitudes toward women, African-Americans or Muslims? Evidently not, because when CNN this month shared a range of on-air comments Johnson made between 2008 and 2016, it led that same day to Johnsons resignation. And rightly so. In recordings, including on WHO Radio in Des Moines, Johnson blames the black community for turning major U.S. cities into slums because of laziness, drug use and sexual promiscuity. He compares African-Americans with Jews, expressing admiration for the latter. He contends Islam is inherently violent and that Muslims want to cut our heads off. He calls it an ideology posing as a religion and calls for a leader who understands that. He repeats a quote that says Islams only contribution to society is oil and dead bodies. Those are not attitudes youd want in someone responsible for helping secure communities against hazards, respond to disasters and attacks and prevent human trafficking. His comments suggest hed do little for groups he had so little respect for. Acting DHS Press Secretary Tyler Houlton has been quoted saying of Johnson, His comments made prior to joining the Department of Homeland Security clearly do not reflect the values of DHS. Its disturbing that such offensive and bogus claims passed muster even with the radio stations he appeared on, especially WHO, where he guest-hosted Mickelson in the Morning. I asked Mike Dorwart, program director there since 2015, about Johnsons comments. He said he had never heard him make those statements but that hosts are entitled to their opinions and tend to say things for shock value. Still, any time anybody makes a disparaging statement about an entire class of people, thats not how we do things at WHO, said Dorwart. But apparently it was. I sent Dorwart the link to the CNN story with the audio recordings identified as being from WHO. Dorwart emailed back to say he had no way to verify the recordings were from that station, but I didnt hear anything on those clips attributed to WHO that would be of special concern. WHO hosts are encouraged to have strong and informed opinions, defend those opinions, and engage our listeners and guests in lively discussion. As someone in the opinion business, I dont find Johnsons comments informed, lively or appropriate. Theyre disgusting and untrue, and its shocking he would get away with them. Were there no indignant calls to the station, no boycott threats from the targeted groups? Other actions by Johnson show a pattern of intolerance for other groups of people or other individuals views. In 2014 Johnson called on his fellow Iowa Republican Party committee members to fire then-Chairman A.J. Spiker because Spiker had advocated for the legalization of medical marijuana in a guest column in the Register. Mr. Spiker is no longer worthy of the chairmanship of our state party, neither does he deserve to serve out his final week in office, Johnson posted on the Registers website. Last year Johnson supported an Iowa Republican Party platform calling for the U.S. and Iowa constitutions to be amended to define marriage as the legal union between one natural man and one natural woman. That was after Iowa same-sex couples had already been married for seven years under an Iowa Supreme Court ruling. Theres at least one more bombshell CNN didnt cover because it was expressed not on radio but in an email Johnson sent while working for Rick Santorums presidential campaign in 2012. He claimed children would be harmed if women led institutions. The question then comes, Is it Gods highest desire, that is, his biblically expressed will to have a woman rule the institutions of the family, the church, and the state? the email asked. GOP presidential candidate Michele Bachmanns staff later used that in her claim that sexism played a role in her defeat in the Iowa caucuses. This probably isnt just an Iowa problem but one that affects any state or city in America in which people cloister ourselves among others of our own backgrounds and stereotype the rest. Too many give demagogues like Johnson a pass because he lets them feel superior. Lets treat this as a cautionary tale. Lets call on our opinion shapers instead of scapegoating groups they know nothing about for shock value or anything else to show how to seek out and find points of common ground. Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2017 > India surviving inside the Republic of Lynching by Arun Srivastava In eastern Indian States, especially in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, people have been witness to an old-fashioned rural politics, called the Bhumihari policy. Under the policy the head of the family usually chastises the younger members of the family for wrongdoings, particularly insulting and abusing the people from other castes and families. The reprimand makes the complainant satisfied. The matter is settled. The younger members in fact indulge in such activities under the tutelage and at the behest of the seniors. The senior family members often ask and instigate the junior members of the family to insult, even thrash and assault, other people irrespective of his age. This is a tactics to bully and insult others without inviting their wrath. True enough, the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, has been resorting to this policy. It is a paradox that despite his warning the gau rakshaks, these mercenaries, have refused to listen to him. During the last one year Modi has warned the cow vigilantes at least on four occasions to refrain from such activities. On June 29 in Ahmedabad he came out with a strong warning: Killing people in the name of gau bhakti is not acceptable. He strategically put the blame on anti-socials for this heinous crime. But what has come as a matter of real intrigue is the defiance of his warning by these anti-socials. It is beyond comprehension how these criminals could muster courage to challenge the authority of the most powerful person of the country. The latest incident of lynching took place on August 27 at a village in the Dhupguri block of West Bengals Jalpaiguri district. Two persons were lynched to death on the allegation of stealing cows. Hafizul Sheikh of Dhubri district in Assam and Anwar Hussain of Patlakhawa village of Cooch Behar district were beaten to death by the locals. After questioning the two for a while, the locals had beaten them to death. It is a fact that the deceased did not have valid documents to transport cattle, but this is the way and norm of purchasing cattle. The investigators are not yet sure whether the deceased were stealing cows. If the villagers were of the view that the cows were being transported illegally, in that case they should have informed the police instead of taking law in their own hands. Smuggling of cows has been a common profession in this region as it is hardly 25 kms from the Bangladesh border. While Jatishwar Bharati, the Jalpaiguri district secretary of the Association for Protection of Democratic Rights [APDR], confirmed it, he also said the practice has been going on for decades. Before this in June 2017, three persons were lynched in the Chopra block of Bengals North Dinajpur district for alleged cattle theft. The incident of lynching taking place in West Bengsl has indeed been a matter of concern. But the BJP, desperate to make an inroad in the politics of the State, has been frantically resorting to assault on the secular forces, particularly the Muslims. In recent times a number of violent communal clashes took place in the State. Each time the saffron guys were found to have been the agent provocateurs. Nevertheless as usual they blamed the Muslim for indulging in violent riots. Ever since the BJP has been contemplating to throw out Mamata Banerjee from power, the Sangh and BJP cadres have been trying to communalise the Bengali society. In recent times they have been engineering communal clashes and trying to split the homogenous Bengal. Earlier they tried to pit the non-Bengalis residing in Bengal against the Bengalis. Having failed in their mission, they have now embarked on the path of dividing the Bengali society on caste lines. They have also been trying to foment communal clashes. Though the Sangh leadership and even Modi are aware of the identity of the gau rakshaks, to protect them from public ire and preventing the RSS from getting a bad name, they have been putting the blame on criminals and anti-socials. This is purely a tactical move to deflect the blame from the head of the RSS and Sangh Parivar. Modi does not intend to punish the cadres of the Hindiu brigade; that is why he passed on the buck to the State governments on the plea that law and order is a State issue. Modi must not be under impression that the people of this country are so naive to understand the implication of his deflection tactics. He knows it well that the police administration in the 16 State governments where the BJP is in power will not touch the saffron mercenaries. Moreover his passing off the buck to the criminals for the gory incidents would also soothe the feelings of the middle class people. He had said: Some anti-social elements have made cow protection an excuse to spread anarchy. This is also affecting the nations image. All political parties should strongly condemn this hooliganism in the name of cow protection. In a way his exhortation may appear to be an admission of failure, and an attempt to involve the common people in his action against criminals. But in reality this is purely an astute move to shield them. The most affected States have been Jharkhand, Haryana and Rajasthan. It is a matter of shame that in Jharkhand the police is not at all willing to accept complaints against these marauders. In some stray cases it acted, but those were exercises at eye-wash. If the local people are to be believed, at least 20 people have been brutally killed by the Hindu goons during the last one year on charges of carrying beef or eating beef. Recently during a rally in Ranchi Kanhaiya Kumar, the All India Youth Federation (AIYF) leader, has called for protecting the Hindu dharma from the Sangh Parivar forces. The RSS and the Sangh Parivar are raising the communal issues to divert attention from the main issues faced by the country. Hindu dharma does not seek to attack Muslims or kill human beings in the name of cows. The RSS and the Sangh Parivar forces are causing maximum damage to the Hindu dharma, he said. Kanhaiya alleged that Modi had been trying to finish the democratic system in the country. He aimed at the collapse of countrys economy through implementation of the GST. He promised two crore jobs for youths. Where are the jobs?he asked. He called upon the youth to fight against the fascist forces. When recovery-managers are deployed to recover loan arrears of the common man, the banks are writing off the loans of big business people, CPI State Secretary Kanam Rajendran noted. All lynching incidents are done by members of the ruling party and Sangh Parivar. These are done with a basic understanding, and hence, no arrests have been made in the incidents that happened so far. Lynching incidents are reported from all over. Such incidents are happening for the first time. This used to happen during the medieval ages, not even during British times. The day Modi addressed the all-party meeting and called cow vigilante groups anti-social elements, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad President Praveen Togadia, addressing a meeting of VHP workers in the Braj region, declared: Gau rakshaks should neither fear anyone nor come under pressure from anyone. They should continue their work of saving cows without being concerned of name-calling. Strange enough, while Modi acknowledged that violence in the name of cow protection was tarnishing the image of the country and damaging the social fabric and asked the political leaders to lend their support in fighting the menace, shockingly even after this observation, he did not do what should have been done as a natural corollary: he should have directed the BJPs State governments and party cadres to protect the Muslims from being killed. But this he did not do. If the police had acted promptly as they claim, the situation might have been quite different. It is a known fact that the cow is only an excuse, the real targets are the ordinary poor Muslims going about with their daily lives. The Sangh and BJP leaders intend to terrorise them so that they should meekly surrender to the dictates of the Sangh. The concern of the Sangh and Hindu outfits for cows has been simply a facade. Some recent reports suggest that the government-run shelters for cows have been death-beds for the poor souls. At least 65 cows have starved to death at a government-run shelter in Haryana, which boasts one of the countrys most stringent cattle-protection laws and where a 15-year-old boy was lynched on a train as a cow-eater. The cows died over the past two or three days, marooned on a part of the cattle shelter that the rain had turned into a quagmire. State Gau Sewa Aayog chairman Bhani Ram Mangla, who visited the shelter at Mathana village in Kurukshetra district, blamed the deaths on natural disaster. But local villagers said that Haryanas cow-protection drive, launched after the BJP came to power in the State in late 2014, had led to overcrowding at the cow shelters that lacked the resources to feed or tend to all the animals. Modis intervention is simply meaningless because the government has not taken any action to curb such vigilantism in the three years since the BJP came to power. It is beyond comprehension why the BJP and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh have refrained from taking action against the cow vigilantes. The key questions are: why has this violence started ever since Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister? What are the factors responsible for the creation of this atmosphere? Are these outfits feeling empowered under this government? It would not be exaggeration to say that Modi is shedding crocodile tears. Had it not been true, they all would have been behind bars long ago. Modi had said yesterday that killing people in the name of protecting cows was not acceptable and that no one had the right to take law into their hands. The lynching aims at enforcing a majoritarian ethnic/racial/religious political order. During 1880-1930, especially in the American South, white mobs lynched black Americans if they crossed a certain historically embedded hierarchical boundary. In her song, Strange Fruit, Billie Holiday immortalised the crushing pain of such violence. Its haunting opening verse was: Southern trees bear a strange fruit/ Blood on the leaves and blood at the root/ Black bodies swinging in the southern breeze/ Strange fruit hanging from the poplar tree.Is India going the American way? Muslims are not the only the target of lynching. But they are its primary object. There has been hostility in the attitude of people towards Muslims. They taunt their children wearing skullcaps as Pakistani. Drawing a parallel with the lynching of Mohammad Akhlaque in Dadri in Uttar Pradesh in September 2015, Jalaluddin had said the chilling murder of his son fits the pattern of growing hatred towards the community. It is irony that Modi had spoken after the Dadri incident but the lynching of Muslims has continued unabated even after that. How can they feel safe now even though he has condemned violence? On the day when Modi warned the gau rakshaks, Mohd Alimuddun was lynched by a mob in Jharkhand. Obviously, these people dont fear the PM. In fact they enjoy the patronage of Modi that is a greater part of the mechanism to usher in the Hindu Rashtra. Instead of making cosmetic statements, Modi should have taken the phone and resing up his Sanghi Chief Ministers and given them strong instruction to deal with the gau rakshaks. It is really sad that the Hindus are being portrayed as blood-thirsty people who kill innocents just in the name of beef eaten by seven billion people in the world. Little doubt the Sanghis have made India a laughing stock. Lynching and mob violence have escalated dramatically. A new narrative of nationalism, rejection of dissent and no compassion for offenders have created a dangerous new public order. Mob violence is not new to India. But at the heart of the current wave of lynching is a new political feeling promoted by a craftily nurtured project that targets those who dissent from the restrictions imposed by self-styled conscience keepers of society. Lynching is a mechanism used to consolidate the power of the state. In a lynching ritual, the sequence is rumour, suspicion, scapegoat, orgy and then silence. It is worth mentioning that recently the American civil rights activist, Martin Luther King III, said he saw the 2019 general election as the answer to Prime Minister Narendra Modis silence over the recent lynchings in India. He also observed: The bigger question to me is, What has happened in the country that a leader could be elected who is silent on issues that should matter?. The BJP leaders have been telling white lies. A couple of months back Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi told the Rajya Sabha that incidents of lynchings and atrocities against minorities and Dalits are part of a conspiracy to take the discourse away from the governments development agenda. If what Naqvi said was correct, then why was the government not taking action against the criminals. Who is preventing the BJP Government from doing so? In fact Naqvi was speaking the words of Modi. Modi may have focused on vikas and parivartan during his election campaign but after assuming power he has given glimpses of his deep adherence to the RSS ideology. He has been assiduously pursuing the policy of the RSS to convert India into a Hindu Rashtra. The political economy of lynching would make explicit that lynching was a mechanism to terrorise the Muslims to force them to submit before the Sangh. The RSS leadership nurses the that if the Muslims stand up and resist its move, the Sangh cannot aspire to transform Indian into a Hindu Rashtra. Little doubt the Modi has been taking inspiration from RSS ideologue M.S. Golwalkars thoughts and writings. Golwalkar took over the reins of the RSS in 1940 and remained at the helm till 1973. He exercised an enormous influence over generations of young men who joined the RSS in the post-independence era, the most dedicated of whom became pracharaks (full timers), Modi being a star among them. The RSS central thesis, extensively elaborated in Golwalkars writings, is that India is the sacred land of the Hindus and Hindus alone, it was a land of unparalleled glory in ancient times, it fell to ruin because of successive assaults by foreign invaders, and it can only regain its lost glory once it becomes wholly Hindu again. The RSS cultural nationalism, a euphemism for upper caste Hindu supremacy, is the stark opposite of civic nationalism enjoined by the Constitution of India. Indias independence from colonial rule in 1947, Golwalkar argued, did not constitute real freedom because the new leaders held on to the perverted concept of nationalism that championed Indias composite heritage. For the RSS, the BJPs victory in 2014 marks an important moment in the dream of forming a Hindu Rashtra. That Modi is aware of his own significance in this journey was made clear when he referred to the end of 1200 years of foreign rule in his first major speech in the Lok Sabha after becoming the Prime Minister. In the last three years, Modi has relentlessly run down the achievements of the first 70 years of independence. In a subtle manner he has been also trying to assert over the spirit of the Indian Constitution. He is not tired of claiming that India has changed in an amazing fashion only in the last three years of the BJP rule. It obviously implied that Modi held a strong belief that only a Hindu government and polity where all non-Hindu elements are made to surrender their identity can redeem Indias destiny. Modis is not weary of using the word New India. This is simply indication of changing the political character and contour of India. Yogi Adityanaths comment that the Taj Mahal does not reflect Indian culture, and Modis belief that Indias efflorescence has only begun with his victory in 2014 are all facets of the same Golwalkarian mindset. We are dealing with a political party that actively encourages and justifies vigilantism in spite of the fact that it controls the machinery of the state. The BJP governments use the States that they run to advertise their commitment to the cause of cow protection and to signal their enthusiasm for vengeful punitive justice. The Sangh insists that the Indian republic ought to be a Hindu Rashtra. This Hindu nation is represented by a set of interlinked symbols, which represent Indians as children of an all-embracing mother. The author is a senior journalist and can be contacted at sriv52[at]gmail.com Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2017 > Danger from Nuclear Reactors by P.B. Sawant The news published with fanfare on May 18, 2017 that the government had decided to install ten indigenous nuclear reactors in four different States to augment energy by 7000 MW followed by the news on June 2, 2017 that two additional Russian reactors would be installed at Kudankulam, had then shocked all the conscientious and knowledgeable people. Now comes the news that the government has decided to go ahead with the building of six French reactors, each with the capacity of 1650 MW, with modified terms of the contract. The desirability of the production of nuclear energy has been in controversy in this country since its inception. When the first nuclear energy plant was proposed to be installed at Tarapur near Bombay in 1959, the well-known scientist, Prof D. D. Kosambi, had warned Pandit Nehru about its dangers, its physical and environ-mental hazards, financial non-viability and its superficiality in view of the abundant supply of sunlight throughout the year in this country. In addition to the sun, we have enough other renewable sources of power, namely, wind, waves and biomass. What he said then about the dangers of the nuclear power plants was proved by the disastrous accidents at Three Mile Island in America, Chernobyl in Russia and Fukushima in Japan in addition to frequent accidents on a smaller scale at the same and other places. His estimates about the generation of power from the renewable sources have also come true, more particularly in respect of solar and wind energy. Having learnt lessons from the enormous human and other costs, country after country has closed their old nuclear plants, cancelled orders for new plants and shifted to solar energy. Even in this country, we have erected and are erecting solar energy plants in appreciable numbers. The result is that, today even when the solar energy is in its infancy, the tariff per unit of solar power is Rs 2.62 per unit which is expected to go down to Rs 1.50 per unit within another five to seven years. As against this, the nuclear powers negotiated tariff per unit is Rs 6.30 in Russian reactors 3 and 4 installed at Kudankulam, and will be Rs 9 per unit for the Westinghouse reactors of Japan, and Rs 12 per unit for the Areva reactors of France. The six French reactors to be installed at Jaitapur in Ratnagiri District of Maharashtra, each with the capacity of 1650 MW, will involve the capital cost, as per the September 2015 estimate, of $ 11.5 billion, that is, about Rs 74,000 crores. For the six reactors it will be Rs 4,44,000 crores. The reactors will last only for 60 years. There are several reports suggesting that the radio-active emissions from a nuclear power plant during its normal operation causes adverse impact on the health of a people, especially children, living around the plants, who suffer from diseases like leukaemia, thyroid cancer and brain tumours. However, when accidents like Three Mile Island in America, Chernobyl in Russia and Fukushima in Japan occur, there is a heavy radiation fall-out. For example, after the Chernobyl accident, Belarus faced 60 per cent radiation fall-out affecting 25 lakh people including five lakh children. According to the report published by the Chernobyl Forum in 2005, 4000 cancer deaths in a time span of 80 years were expected. The National Committee for Radiation Protection of the Ukranian Population reported 5722 casualties among the Ukranian clean-up workers by 1995. According to the Union of Concerned Scientists, approximately 27,000 excess cancer deaths are expected globally. According to a report published by Greenpeace, excess deaths between 1990 and 2004 could be anywhere between 10,000 to 20,0000. The Ukrainian Ministry of Health estimated 70 per cent of the population unwell with large increases in respiratory, blood and nervous system diseases. In Belarus, there was an increase of 40 per cent in congenital defects within six years of the accident. A highly contaminated district of Belarus reported that in 2005, 95 per cent of the children were suffering from at least one chronic illness. Many of the 50,000 clean-up workers, who worked as Bio-Robots at Chernobyl, died of leukaemia. After the Fukushima accident, according to the reports released by Physicians for Social Responsibility and the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War in February 2016, there was a ten-fold increase in the incidents of thyroid cancer in children, and an estimated increase in overall cancer cases in Japan ranging from 9600 to 66,000. The flora and fauna were also greatly affected by Chernobyl accident. The said disaster was a consequence of accident at a single 1000 MW nuclear power reactor, which eventually led to evacuation and resettlement of 350,400 people from Belarus, Ukraine and Russia. About 40,000 sq. kms. of agricultural land of Belarus was contaminated due to radiation fall out. Thirty years after the Chernobyl accident, there still exists highly radio-actively contaminated exclusion zone of the radius of 30 kms (approximately 2800 sq. km.). After the accident at Fukushima in March 2011, nearly 154,000 people were evacuated from an area of 30 km radius from the plant due to radioactive contamination, half of whom are still not able to return to their homes as radio-active contamination still persists. In November 2011, the Japanese Ministry of Science reported contamination of 30,000 sq. km area by radio-active Cesium-137. Considering the damage by the accident at Chernobyl which was the consequence of the accident of a single 1000 MW nuclear power reactor, we can imagine what would be the consequence of six nuclear reactors of 1650 MW each, which are proposed to be built at Jaitapur. This is apart from the consequence of the fall-out of radioactivity from the normal operation of the six reactors of 1650 MW each (total 9900 MW). The disposal of the nuclear waste is another frightening problem. In the first instance, there is no such thing as a safe burial place for the said waste. The waste has to be buried very deep in the ground. The nuclear fission leads to the generation of many highly radioactive elements, and it takes 241,100 years before the emissions are reduced to safe levels. Although, according to NPCIL, the Indian nuclear power plants (which are at present 21), follow safe operating practices, and there are no adverse effects on public health from the radio-active emissions, the report published in 1991 by two scientists (Gadekar brothers) regarding the Rawatbhata Nuclear Plant in Rajasthan, disclosed that there were adverse health effects among local population living in villages around. Further, there were at least 17 cases of accidents involving radiation leakage, fire or structural damage between 1991 to 2016 in Indias civilian nuclear power plants. As regards the reports of accidents all over the world, according to International Nuclear Events Scale, during the last 38 years, apart from the accidents at civil nuclear power plants at Three Mile Island, Chernobyl and Fukushima which caused five reactor core melt downs, there were accidents in the Soviet Union in 1957 which led to evacuation of atleast 22 villages, four accidents one each in UK, Canada, Switzerland and Brazil. Five accidents at Sellafield (UK) and another five in the US, France, Argentina, Czechoslovakia and Japan. The nuclear industry, in order to sell their plants, has always been hiding the truth from the people with regard to the dangers of the nuclear reactors. But they are exposed from time to time by incidents which cannot be hidden from the people. The above accidents and their studied consequences belie the claim of the industry that they are safe or produce electricity by a clean method. As a result, today several countries of the world have either banned nuclear power or have reduced their reliance on it or have planned phased reduction in their dependence on it. Italy has voted, in a referendum, against it. Germany has decided to shut down all its nuclear reactors by 2022. Switzerland and Spain have banned construction of new nuclear reactors. France has decided to reduce its dependence on nuclear power from 75 per cent to 50 per cent by 2025. Taiwan has called for drastic reduction in its reliance on nuclear power. Australia, New Zealand, Austria, Denmark, Norway, Portugal, Ireland, Greece, Malta, Malaysia, the Philippines, Luxemburg, Latvia and Liechtenstein have no nuclear power and remain opposed to it. Belgium is also phasing out nuclear power. As against the nuclear power, there are alternative sources of energy such as wind, sunlight, rain, tide, waives, biomass and geothermal heat. These renewable sources are replenished on a human time-scale and are available over wider geographical areas unlike other conventional energy sources. The time required to install power plants based on renewable energy sources such as solar, wind and small hydro-electric, are much shorter compared to plants based on other forms of energy. The carbon footprint of renewable energy-based plants, such as wind and solar, are much smaller compared to the ones based on fossil fuels. The capital cost of renewable energy-based power plants are much smaller compared to those of nuclear power plants. The power plants based on wind and solar, do not pose any risk of catastrophe due to accident as do the nuclear power plants. They also do not create any hazardous pollutants like coal-ash and radioactive nuclear waste. The renewable energy plants can also be built on small scales and in remote areas. The sources of fossil fuels will exhaust in next about 100 years, but renewable energy will exist till sun shines. There is abundant supply of solar energy all over India and is equivalent to 5000 trillion units per year. The solar power plants built on one per cent of Indias land mass, can have a capacity of almost 1330 GW. In fact, there are plans to add 60 GW of installed wind power capacity by 2022. As on March 31, 2017, the total installed power generation capacity connected to the national grid was 319.6 GW. To this the nuclear powers contribution was only 2.1 per cent as against the contribution by the renewable sources which was 30.3 per cent. The thermal power had the largest share contribution 66.7 per cent (coal 59.9 per cent, gas 7.8 per cent and diesel 0.3 per cent). That in spite of the above incontrovertible facts, the government and its nuclear power agency, should be rushing through the installation of nuclear reactors, one after another, with infantile enthusiasm is a misfortune of this country. The present government seems to be in a hurry to be one-up in this insane race. The people have therefore a right to ask the government the following questions. In view of the availability of enough energy from the renewable sources to meet all our present and further needs at cheaper cost, why is the government insisting on installing the nuclear reactors? If the evidence has established that there is a risk of danger to human, plant, animal and marine life and all environment including air, water and soil, from the operation of the nuclear reactors, as against no such risk whatsoever from the renewable sources, why is it bent upon foisting the death wish upon the country, by installing them? In view of the enormous costs of installation of the nuclear reactors both in terms of money and time, and the higher costs per unit of electricity compared to the installation and production costs of the renewable source plants, is it not sheer obstinacy to insist on nuclear energy? Are the political compulsions, if any, of higher importance than the lives of the people and the survival of the plant and animal life and the protection of the environment in the country? Has not the supplier corporation Areva of France, breached the contract giving a right to this country to repudiate it and to get rid of the reactors? Are we trying to save the totteringnuclear industry by buying their unwanted reactors? In any case, no contract or international law can prevail over human rights. The production of nuclear energy is patently in flagrant violation of human rights. Should not the government immediately stop the import of or installing any foreign or indigenous nuclear reactors? Should the government not undertake production of energy from the renewable resources, on a war-footing, instead? The author, a retired judge of the Supreme Court, is a former Chairman, Press Council of India. He is currently based in Pune. Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2017 > Sudden Death of Justice Loya The following is the letter of the former Chief of Naval Staff Admiral L. Ramdas (Retd.) to the Chief Justice of India. Dear Hon Chief Justice of India, All democracies exist and survive on three main pillars namely the Executive, Legislature and the Judiciary. Freedom from British rule was won after a prolonged struggle and the Indian Constitution was evolved after nearly two-and-a-half years of debate in the Constituent Assembly, and passed on November 29, 1949 and India became a Republic on January 26, 1950. Our Constitution became effective. This one and only holy book which matters, subscribes to the above concept of our democracy, wherein all our citizens are considered to be equal in the eyes of the law. This is all the more important when a CBI judge, Justice Loya, specially appointed by the CJI of the Mumbai High Court to investigate the murder of Sohrabbudin, dies under mysterious circumstances while on a visit to Nagpur. The silence of the two judges who apparently persuaded the late Judge Loya to travel to Nagpur, and accompanied him, is disturbing to say the least. The inaction of the judiciary about this sequence of events thus far is indeed surprising. This is all the more puzzling in the context of the recent revelations by family members of the late Justice Loya, who have raised certain questions, apprehending foul play in the circumstances leading to his sudden death. A judicial probe at this point, at least to respond to the queries raised by the family, and to uphold the image of the judiciary in the eyes of the people of India, is absolutely necessary. As a former Chief of the Indian Navy, I feel strongly that it is critically important to clear any doubts about this entire incident. Therefore in the larger interests of the nation and its people, and above all in upholding the Constitution of India and the image of our entire legal system, a high level judicial enquiry be initiated immediately. L. Ramdas Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2017 > Challenge before Rahul Gandhi Political parties all over the world have come to be closed shops. What is known as the High Command usually dictates who will be installed as the President. Rahul Gandhi has been elected as the Congress President. The outgoing chief, Sonia Gandhi, saw to it that her son would occupy the top party position. I had seen the change in the Conservative Party of the United Kingdom from close quarters when I was Indias High Commissioner at London in the nineties. Mrs Margaret Thatcher was the Prime Minister. But she was asked to step down and she had to abide by the orders of the party. I asked her directly why she was doing so. Her children were doing business in South Africa and they were not in any way connected with the issue. She said that she had purposely sent them far away lest she should be accused of nepotism. She said that the men in grey suits decided when the Prime Minister should step down. They would tap the shoulder and you are expected to step down. John Major was her successor. When there was a clamour for Sonia Gandhi to occupy the position of the Prime Minister she declined the offer and instead selected the faithful Manmohan Singh ahead of the most acceptable and experienced Pranab Mukherjee. It was an open secret that the government would be run from 10 Janpath, Sonia Gandhis residence, and Manmohan Singh fitted into her scheme of things. The governments secret files would go to her residence where her political secretary Ahmed Patel first vetted them and then sent to Sonia Gandhi for her approval. So much so that Manmohan Singh came to be known as Accidental Prime Minister and a book by his press officer also confirmed the expression. When he was asked to comment on the title given to him, he merely said that posterity would judge. Newspaper reports published since then confirmed that he was merely the mukhouta (mask) and in his name the administration ran from 10 Janpath. In fact, even Rahul Gandhi once denounced the controversial ordinance to negate the Supreme Court verdict on convicted lawmakers as complete nonsense and said what our government has done is wrong. This was a huge embarrassment for the UPA Government and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. It is another matter that Congress President Sonia Gandhi and other party members stood behind what Manmohan Singh had said. But then the damage had already been done. There were several other occasions when the Prime Minister was ridiculed by the party members, including those who were a part of the inner circle. It is unfortunate that Manmohan Singh himself felt that he was only keeping the chair of the Prime Minister warm for Rahul Gandhi to take over. The anointment of Rahul Gandhi as the party President has not come as a surprise at all. But it does underline the fact that there is no other go for the Congress except depending on the dynasty to give a name which is generally acceptable to the country. Priyanka Vadra could have perhaps been the right choice in the eyes of the Congress stalwarts. But nobody dares Sonia who has decided that her son would take over. This is said to be the practice in Italy where the son inherits the mantle. But the million dollar question is whether Rahul would fit in the role he is expected to perform. I recall the initial days of Indira Gandhi when after the sudden death of Lal Bahadur Shastri, the then Congress President, K. Kamaraj, installed her as the Prime Minister. I asked him then why he chose her. He said that before his death, Jawaharlal Nehru had indicated that his successor would be Shastri. When Kamraj asked Nehru specifically why not Indira Gandhi, he said: Not now. Morarji Desai, the claimant, did not agree to the choice of Indira Gandhi and insisted on an election. With the party President and other stalwarts opposing him, Morarji Desai lost the race. It is another matter that Kamaraj was subsequently sidelined. I was in the thick of things and asked Kamaraj why he preferred Indira Gandhi over Morarji Desai? His answer was: Morarji was too rigid and did not believe in the principle of consensus. The timing of Rahuls anointment as the party President has come at a time when the Congress has lost its sheen. The party still believes that he would be able to dispel the magic of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his home State which is going to the polls this month. Understandably, the Congress has struck a seat-adjustment deal with the Patidars to capture power in Gujarat. But it remains to be seen whether Rahul Gandhi will be able to make the turnaround which the party is looking for. In the past, when he was made the partys Vice-President and poll campaigner, he miserably failed in States like Madhya Pradesh, Haryana and even in Uttar Pradesh where the Congress had a poll alliance with the Samajwadi Party. In other words, he could not make much of a difference to the fortunes of the party. Unfortunately, despite having some stalwarts in the party, the deep-rooted culture of dynasty has come to prevail. The biggest challenge to Rahul Gandhi is the forthcoming election in Gujarat. In fact, this is a key election for all political parties, including the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. Apart from Rahul Gandhi, the State Assembly polls will also be a litmus test for both Prime Minister Modi and BJP President Amit Shah. They will leave no stone unturned to see that their party wins because what happens in Gujarat would decide the fate of the general elections, due two years later. This will also show which way the wind is blowing. But then two years is too long a period to depend on what happens now. The Congress, which is irrelevant now, may retrieve the ground because no government can meet the demands of what the people want. The author is a veteran journalist renowned not only in this country but also in our neighbouring states of Pakistan and Bangladesh where his columns are widely read. His website is www.kuldipnayar.com Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2017 > Love in the times of Fundamentalist Politics: Case of Hadiya by Ram Puniyani The politics of communal polarisation is focusing on many identity issues, one being the Love-Jihad, where a Hindu girl married to a Muslim or Christian man is targeted, and is legally manipulated in a manner to ensure that she is forced to be sent to her parents or to anti-Conversion clinics. There is some public knowledge about Hadiya and the bogey of Love-Jihad, spiced up with recruitment for participating in Jihad in Syria. Still, the cases of the likes of Swetha, a Hindu woman confined in a Yoga Centre, where she is being pressurised to abandon her marriage to a Christian man, are much less known. As per Swetha, the Yoga Centre as such is a re-conversion clinic for those women who have adopted Christianity or Islam and married non-Hindus. A lot has been coming in the media about the alleged immaturity of the girl Akhila who converted to Islam and married a Muslim man, who is a worker of the Popular Front of India (PFI). The total focus on linking the case to the PFI, to alleged joining of planned terrorist activity in Syria, was brought in to give a different twist to the case. This was the pretext for the NIA to step in. This made the link of conversion of Akhila a sinister plan to woo Hindu girls, convert them to Islam and induct them into the terror module. Quite a fertile imagination of those in authority! In Hadiyas case, the Court went to the extent of declaring that a 24-year-old girl is of a tender mind and gullible. The judges might have forgotten that in India the age of voting is 18 years, after which the person becomes adult and is responsible for ones decisions and actions. Hadiya did say in the Court that her conversion and marriage to a Muslim man was out of her own volition. Later Court hearings did not call her for depositions. Even the latest Court verdict has given a months time before the Court will hear her in person. These are surprising times. An adult, a Homeopathic student is mature enough for taking decisions an her life, but keeping her in her parents custody away from her husband is unthinkable on moral and social grounds, grounds which should guide the interpretation of law and consequent decision. In the case of Swetha, the Yoga Centre (Ernakulam), where she has been detained, turns out to be a place where emotional blackmail and even threats are being used to force the girls to abandon their new faith or to force their spouse to convert to Hinduism. Another Hindu woman, Sruthi Meledath, also testified a similar experience when she was asked to leave her Muslim husband, Anees Hamid, whom she planned to marry. This was at the Yogvidya Kendram. The similarity of the agenda of such centres is very clear. The issue of Love-Jihad will become so dangerous for women in love, was not anticipated a decade ago. The cleverly crafted Love-Jihad campaign is based on the patriarchal notions which are one of the core ingredients of communal politics. As per this communal thinking, the notion of our women, their women guides them. Woman is regarded as the property of the man and is a symbol of community honour. In precipitating communal violence rumours based on threat to our women is put at the forefront, Muzaffarnagar violence being the prime example of the same. At the same time, violating the modesty of women of the other community comes as a badge of honour in this scheme of things. The Love-Jihad issue began with coastal Karnataka, where inter-religious marriages were targeted, particularly when the girl was a Hindu and the boy a Muslim in most cases and occasionally a Christian. As such in an open society, social interaction among people of different religions does provide the ground for intercommunity interaction. This is something which can be the strong cementing factor in the concept of Fraternity in the triad of Liberty, Equality and Fraternity. During the freedom movement, people like Gandhi and Ambedkar proactively talked about the role of intercommunity marriages in promoting the abolition of caste, and to extend the point that inter-religious marriages are the ground on which communal harmony and national integration find deeper and solid base. This is what the trajectory of things in democratic society should be. With the clouds of communal divisiveness coming up on the horizon, the patriarchal notions and attempts to control the lives of women have become stronger. In India Hindu communalists in particular have been floating organisations to discourage such alliances and to break them up when such unions take place. One recalls the notorious Babu Bajrangi whose prime role was to attack intercommunity couples. In West Bengal the case of Priyanka Todi and Rizwan Kausar is a painful reminder of the malady taking deep roots in the society. While patriarchal values are there in other social ideologies also, in communalism, fundamentalism these are absolute in degree. While there are glorious examples of marriages between a Hindu boy and a Muslim girl and vice versa, it seems the intimidations of the likes of Hadiya and Sruthi are being taken to absurd limits to set examples in the society to dissuade others from taking such steps. The Yoga Centre as a decoy for breaking inter-caste marriages is sad news. Here deceit is the tool to break the spirit of girls involved in the process. The torture of the spouse involved in these cases has not been much recorded. As such love knows no boundaries of caste, class, religion and nationality. One can say inter-religious marriages can also be an index of communal harmony and transition to a society where gender equality is respected and striven for! These two incidents have abundantly demonstrated that here in Kerala, apart from the bogey of the CPMs attacks on the RSS cadres, Love-Jihad is a big propaganda issue raked up during the last few years. The author, a retired Professor at the IIT-Bombay, is currently associated with the Centre for the Study of Secularism and Society, Mumbai. Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2017 > The Intent behind the Hysteria POLITICAL NOTEBOOK The mass hysteria created over the film Padmavati is acquiring dangerous dimensions. A BJP hothead of Haryana has announced a reward of Rs 10 crores to anyone who will behead the films director, Sanjay Leela Bhansali, and mutilate the face of the films heroine, Deepika Padukone. He has also threatened West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee that the same fate will befall her as befell Surpanakha, Ravanas sister. Mamata has, as was to be expected, dismissed the threat with utter contempt. This man has also threatened to burn down any cinema hall where the film may be screened. But the question is: when the Prime Minister himself has warned, time and again, that nobody would be allowed to take the law in his own hands, how dare a junior BJP functionary (head of the partys Haryana units media coordinator) issue threats of murder and mayhem with impunity? Neither the Prime Minister nor the party President, Amit Shah, has condemned their man. It is only after there was a furore in the media that he has been issued a show-cause notice by the party. The Haryana Police have not done what they should have done on the very first daybook the person and prosecute him for giving incitement to commit murderobviously for political reasons. The chain of events leaves no room for doubt that there is much more in the Padmavati controversy than what meets the eye. The film has not been released and the vociferous critics have not seen it. The agitators are demanding the banning of the film. They filed several petitions before the Supreme Court praying that the release of the film be stayed. The Apex Court has steadfastly refused to do so, maintaining that it cannot arrogate to itself the functions of the CBFC. But the protesters go on undeterred. The Supreme Court has also said that the banning of the film by several Chief Ministers of BJP-ruled States is wholly wrong. But the Chief Ministers concerned have refused to heed the Apex Courts observation. Actually the contrived protest movement against Padmavati has a political agendum. It is part of the politics of polarisation that the BJP is pursuing before the string of elections coming aheadthe State Assembly elections beginning with Gujarat and ending with the general elections in 2019. All the drummed up protest against alleged hurting of Rajput pride and honour is a smokescreen. The real reasons lie elsewhere. There is a report that still remains officially uncontradicted that the Centre is thinking of making it obligatory on the part of anyone intending to produce a film based on a historical theme to take prior permission of the Centre. Questions are being already asked that if the certificate given to a film by the CBFC is not enough then will the film directors and producers be required henceforth to take prior permission of a political party or a Sena or powerful politicians who will act as extra-constitutional authorities for film certification? This is not just an assault on the right of a producer or director to produce a film but goes much beyond that. It will be an assault on the freedom of expression. It will be tantamount to control free thinking. It will be a step toward creating a regimented and totalitarian state. If you deviate in your thinking you will soon be caught and become an unperson in no time. It looks like a phantasm but is certainly not impossible if the present situation drifts uncertainly into the future. November 29 B.D.G. I am not sure how to quantify this exactly, so let me ask you straight out...Has there been a Christmas season in recent memory where our population has been in such dire need of the true spirit? Some in California, Houston and Puerto Rico fear the loss of media attention will result in the loss of caring. While men of note have been quickly dismissed for abusing their positions of power, what about the women of lesser fame who have spoken softly, Me Too and received no closure? Ken Burns depiction of the Vietnam War raked through our memories of an American military effort run amuck, yet for the umpteenth year in Afghanistan, our young people continue to daily risk their lives often succumbing to the PTSD and suicide rates that follow. To kneel or not to kneel? That seems to be the most pressing of questions. Do you feel overwhelmed, pensive, a bit slower in your gait? Yeah. Me, too. Thats why we need a cold, snowy winter. Right now. Look at it this way, when the temperatures dip below zero and the wind wails relentlessly, what happens to us? We think of those in our community who are hungry or in danger of being too cold. We respond with coat distributions, community food drives and bell-ringing. When asked to round up our grocery bill to help with unpaid utilities at an undisclosed location, we do it. Church Christmas trees with names of the needy pinned to its branches are typically barren following a weekends slate of services. When the frigid comes, we reach out in warmth. This analysis is not intended to be a self-congratulatory pat-on-the-back, but rather a recognition of an environmental and cultural stirring of our better nature. Bring on the Christmas cold. Two massive fronts of eight inch snows, blasted by northwest gusts of thirty to forty-five. A good blizzard reminds us that our surviving this life depends on the caring efforts of others. The truck drivers who bring us food. City workers who stoke the coals. A good white-out refocuses the soul. Lets get the neighborhood kids making snowmen, snow angels and snow forts. Appreciate the dogs that joyfully play in the drifts. Winter is a time to remember one another; to warm up to one another. In all the right ways. For all the right reasons. ALGONA Algona Fire Chief Chuck Bell ended his three-time battle with esophageal cancer the night before a special benefit in his honor. Bell, 62, died Friday, Nov. 24, at Kossuth Regional Health Center. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family, said Algona Mayor Lynn Kueck, who had worked with Bell since 1999, the year he became mayor. Bells funeral was Wednesday, Nov. 29, at St. Cecelia Catholic Church. Our display of respect will be something our community should experience in some way, Tony Rahm, a member of the Algona Fire Department, said via email. We will honor him with fire personnel from all over the state and display his departure with a parade of fire apparatuses from the station and surrounding communities. Rahm said Chief Bell was an icon in the community. He was willing to go above and beyond his duties to do what needed to be done along with a smile on his face, he said. I cant speak for all the guys, but I know Chief Bell was the backbone and unity maker in our department. He would address issues and try to make everyone focus on the same goals, which has helped build the department we have today. Rahm was also one of the architects of the Chief Bell Benefit that still went on at the Algona VFW on Saturday, Nov. 25. Kueck said there was an awesome crowd at the benefit. Throughout the 'party' it bounced between sadness of loss than joy of knowing they could be there to pay their respects as well. It waivered between sadness and joy. City Administrator Curt Wiseman, who has known Bell for the past two years, stated that Bell was a good person to work with. He had a lot of respect from the fire department and staff up here, he said. Algona Police Chief Kendall Pals enjoyed working with the fire chief. I always found on the scene of a rescue or fire that he communicated well, Pals said. He was very approachable. He did some extra things that were helpful. I certainly feel bad about it (his passing) like most people do. Bell joined the fire department in September 1979 when he was 24 years old. He became Algonas first full-time fireman in April 1999. The next year he became the fire chief, as well as the city building inspector, liquor license inspector and nuisance call coordinator. In 2002, Bell became a board member of the Iowa Fire Chiefs Association, serving until 2013. In 2013, he and his daughter, Emily, donated and dedicated the memorial flags in the name of their wife and mother, Eileen, and dedicated to fallen members of the Algona Fire Department. That same year he was the recipient of the Algona Chamber of Commerce award for Volunteer of the Year in recognition of outstanding service to the community. The following year, Bell was the recipient of the Iowa Fire Chiefs Association Roger Mooty Memorial Award in appreciation for his many years of dedicated service to the Iowa Fire Chiefs Association. He was diagnosed with esophageal cancer on April 1, 2015. He had two more bouts afterward, his latest in March 2017. Kueck said Bell was a person that the city could always turn to during the Founders Day celebration. He was an integral part of behind the scenes, he said. He was a dedicated employee and was very willing to help. He was a jack-of-all-trades. To sum Bells life up, Pals said he was personable, very likeable, but still was also a good leader and a team player. Although Matt Lauer was paid $20 million annually to co-host the "Today" show, NBC does not intend to payout the remainder of his contract after his firing. Lauer "will not be paid past his last day of work," a senior NBC source told CNNMoney on Friday. (Lauer last appeared on the program on Tuesday.) His contract was believed to expire in late 2018. However, the New York Post indicated that it was extended through the first half of 2019, leading it to report that Lauer's lawyers will likely seek a $30 million pay out. The senior NBC News source did not dispute that Lauer's lawyers might seek a payout, but the source said the network will not submit. Television news contracts typically include a morals clause, giving a network some flexibility to fire a high-priced anchor for cause. Lauer's dismissal on Wednesday was attributed to an incident at the 2014 Winter Olympics. However, NBC was reportedly aware that two media outlets were ready to publish articles exposing allegations of sexual misconduct by the longtime "Today" show co-host. Hours after NBC News announced Lauer's firing, Variety reported Lauer had exposed himself to an NBC employee and gave another colleague a sex toy with an explicit note about how he wanted to use it on her. NBC confirmed on Thursday morning that two women have come forward following the initial complaint it had received on Monday. Lauer apologized for his "troubling flaws" in a statement read at the start of Thursday morning's broadcast. "Some of what has been said about me is untrue or mischaracterized, but there is enough truth in these stories to make me embarrassed and ashamed," he stated. "I regret that my shame is now shared by the people I cherish dearly." Lauer had hosted "Today" since 1997 and been with NBC News for 25 years. Boston Police arrested Antonio DePina, 29, of Dorchester, at Coogan's Bar and Grill late Friday night after he brandished a gun and refused to comply with police. Boston Police say they responded to a call of a man with a gun at the Milk Street bar shortly after midnight. A security worker at Coogan's said he had noticed a man with a firearm inside the bathroom. When police identified DePina, who they say was standing on the dance floor holding two beer glasses, they reportedly approached him and asked him to step outside. When DePina allegedly refused, police tried to "gain control of his hands," at which point they say he dropped his beer and tried to escape. "A violent struggle then ensued as the crowd began to gather around the both officers and the suspect," Boston Police said in a statement. Officers eventually placed DePina in custody, after a loaded 38 Special Smith & Wesson revolver allegedly fell out of his pants. When outside, police noted their suspect "appeared to be heavily intoxicated." Coogan's will be issued a "Licensed Premise Violation" at a later date, according to Boston Police. DePina will appear before Boston Municipal Court on multiple charges, including unlawfully possessing a firearm and ammunition, Assault and Battery on a police officer and resisting arrest. CHARLES CITY | Charles City officials are currently looking to identify and purchase about 50 contiguous areas of land in the southwestern part of town. That's because, according to Tim Fox, the city and Floyd County need a new industrial park, which would help spur economic growth. "Weve been actually looking at the additional land process for about 20 years," said Fox, executive director of the Charles City Area Development Corp. (CCADC). "Its just come to a point now with the Iowa certified sites program, that in order to stay competitive, we need to do this." Currently, there are 19 certified site programs statewide, which fall under the Iowa Economic Development Authority. Locally, there are sites in Mason City, Forest City and Osage. Fox said these sites are essentially "shovel-ready" when they are identified. He added that Charles City officials have picked 15 possible locations for their site, but emphasized city officials and others are still working through the early stages of the entire process. Floyd County Supervisor Mark Kuhn, who also serves on the Charles City Area Development Corp., has had discussions with other CCADC members on what land to purchase. Both Kuhn and Fox said the site has to be at least 50 contiguous acres, and near infrastructural components like highway and rail. Kuhn said the $3 million proposal is a preliminary estimate on how much 50 acres of land would cost. Fox added the main goal of acquiring the land is to turn it into a industrial park for manufacturing, but emphasized it's too soon to know what type of manufacturing would take place. How to pay for the land is still being determined, but both Kuhn and Fox said the county hopes to use TIF districts as a funding tool. "Thats very much where theyre looking right now because that would make it adjacent to the southwest TIF area," Kuhn said about looking in southwest Charles City. "Thats the preferred area." Fox said the CCADC, Floyd County Supervisors and other Charles City officials hope to identify the location for the site within the next six months. Once ground is broken, the industrial park should be operating in about a year, he added. "We like to position ourselves as being the most economically competitive," Fox said. "Having a certified site would reinforce that contention." Boston Police are investigating after a man was shot to death inside a Dorchester market on Friday. Just before midnight on Friday, Boston Police officers responded to a gunshot report inside of Peguero's Market, a corner store on Bowdoin Street in Dorchester. Upon arrival, police say they found a man in his twenties suffering from gunshot wounds. He was soon pronounced dead on the scene. No one has been charged in the shooting. Boston Police ask anyone with information to call Homicide Detectives at (617) 343-4470. This is a developing story. SPRINGFIELD - A firefighter arrested this week in connection with five armed robberies in Chicopee has also been charged with robbing a bank in Springfield. Erik W. Henry, 36, pleaded not guilty Friday in Springfield District Court to one count of robbery while armed and masked for allegedly robbing the United Bank on St. James Avenue Nov. 6. The arraignment came two days after Henry pleaded not guilty to robbing two banks and three stores in Chicopee over the course of five weeks. At the request of Assistant District Attorney Cary Szafranski, Henry was ordered held for a hearing next week to determine if he poses too great a danger to be released on bail. Judge John Payne set the hearing for Dec. 7. Handcuffed and shackled, Henry showed no emotion during the brief hearing. On Wednesday, Henry was arraigned in Chicopee District Court for the five alleged robberies in that city. In each case, he was armed with a handgun and wore a mask, Chicopee police spokesman Michael Wilk said. The alleged crime spree began Oct. 21 when he robbed the Shell gas station at 447 Springfield St. That was followed with the robberies of the Westfield Bank, 569 East St., on Oct. 30, the Quik Pic convenience store, 452 Chicopee St., on Nov. 22 and the Basics Plus Mini Mart, 190 East St., and the TD Bank, 153 Meadow St., both on Nov. 26, Wilk said. Henry pleaded not guilty to all charges and was ordered held for a bail hearing on Dec. 6. In the Springfield case, Henry was allegedly wearing a mask and holding a firearm when he walked into the United Bank on the afternoon of Nov. 6. No customers were in the bank, and no one was injured during the robbery. Henry escaped with an undisclosed amount of money, Springfield police spokesman Ryan Walsh said. Update: The Chicopee Police and members of other law enforcement agencies raised $8,850 in the event, but volunteers are still tallying the donations and they expect to donate more than $9,000 to Special Olympics. CHICOPEE -- Members of the Chicopee Police Department and other local law enforcement agencies took to the roof of the Walmart on Memorial Drive Saturday as part of an annual fundraiser. The "Cop on Top" event, which helps raise money for the Special Olympics and the Law Enforcement Torch Run for Special Olympics, has become a favorite for local officers in recent years. Chicopee Police spokesman, Officer Michael Wilk said 2017 marked the department's third year participating in the fundraiser, which requires officers to take to the roof of the Walmart and seek donations from shoppers and passing motorists. Officers from Chicopee, Ludlow and the Pelham Police Departments were hoisted to the roof with the help of the Sign Techniques of Chicopee aerial lift. Members of the Hampden County Sheriff's Department also participated in the daylong event. Although the fundraiser accepted monetary donations of all kinds, those who gave $20 or more were thrown a stuffed toy from an officer on the roof. The Pet Smart in Chicopee and Kay Jewelers at the Holyoke Mall, donated the stuffed toys for the event. All the toys were brought to the Walmart with the assistance of Interstate Towing. The fundraiser was set to run from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday. A federal grand jury has returned a drug and money laundering indictment against six people in connection with an investigation that spanned Mason City, Waterloo and other Iowa communities. The government is seeking forfeiture for a rural Gladbrook home as well as $350,000 in cash. The indictment charges Michael Pineda, Samuel Arias, Brandon Neil Harders, Robert Lewis and Jeffery Slim Westberg with conspiracy to distribute meth. Janeth Pineda, Michael Pineda and Arias are charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering, and Harders, 44, of Lincoln, formerly of Waterloo and Gladbrook, is also charged with possession of meth with intent to distribute in connection with a Sept. 9, 2016, incident. The Pinedas are married and live in Chula Vista, California, and Arias is Michael Pinedas stepfather and lives in Tijuana, Mexico, according to court records. The seven-page indictment was returned on Nov. 15 but it remained sealed until Wednesday after Waterloo police and Tri-County drug investigators arrested Harders and Westberg. Westburg appeared in U.S. District Court in Cedar Rapids on Tuesday, and Harders appeared on Wednesday. Both pleaded not guilty. Agents with the Department of Homeland Security arrested Michael Pineda, Janeth Pineda and Arias in California on Monday as Arias was attempting to enter Mexico, court records state. Michael Pineda, who operates an automobile accessories business, was in custody in California with bond set at $30,000 and was about to be released, but an order issued Friday by a federal judge in Iowa stayed the planned release. Court records allege the group was involved with meth distribution between the summer of 2013 until August 2015. During the investigation, authorities seized several large caches of currency including $6,900 from Harders during an August 2013 traffic stop in Waterloo; $32,000 from Michael Pineda in a Coralville hotel in September 2014; $21,150 from Harders at a Kennedy Lane address in September 2014; $50,650 from Harders at an Ansborough Avenue address in September 2014; and $18,210 from Harders in Gladbrook in September 2016, court records state. Harderss home on 120th Street in Gladbrook is identified in the forfeiture list. According to court records, investigators with the Mason City Drug Task Force intercepted two FedEx packages in January 2014 that contained a total of 7 pounds of ice meth hidden inside car audio components. One package had been sent to a Mason City address, and the other was destined for Lake Mills, records state. Investigators were able to obtain surveillance images from the FedEx store in California showing Arias sending the packages, records state. In September 2014, Michael Pineda allegedly came to Iowa to deliver meth to Harders at a Coralville hotel, record state. Harders was stopped on Interstate 380 after it left the hotel and was headed back to Waterloo, and a search of his vehicle turned up a plastic bag that contained a car audio component that, in turn, contained about three pounds of meth, records state. Authorities then searched Michael Pinedas hotel room and seized $32,000 in cash, records state. Tri-County Drug Enforcement Task Force officers also searched Harders Gladbrook residence in September 2016 after an officer found 3 grams of meth and $1,600 in cash during a traffic stop. At his home, they found meth, $18,210 in cash, digital scales, vape inserts suspected of containing hash oil, and a Polaris ATV that was stolen from Hardin County, according to court records. During the investigation, officers worked with an undercover source to make $12,000 worth of payments for meth purchases, which involved depositing money into various bank accounts that included an automobile audio equipment business, records state. FOREST CITY | A Thompson woman has been sentenced to probation for sexually exploiting a dependent adult. Kayla Christenson, 60, pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor charge Nov. 27 in Winnebago County District Court. While working as a certified nursing assistant in Winnebago County, Christenson was witnessed kissing a male resident while lying in bed with him, according to a Medicaid Fraud Control Unit criminal complaint. The incident occurred between April 21 and May 2. Christenson allegedly admitted to doing this on at least one other occasion, investigators said in the complaint. Judge Rustin Davenport sentenced Christenson to one year of probation. A $315 fine and 100-day jail sentence was suspended. Ashley Miller FOREST CITY | Three Forest City businesses have closed or will be closing later this month. Forest City Foods owners Doug and Andrea Gast announced Friday they will close the grocery store Dec. 31 after serving Forest City for 21 years. Godfather's Pizza and Charley Biggs' Chicken will continue to operate in the Forest City Foods location indefinitely, the Gasts said in a letter posted on the grocery store's Facebook page. "This has not been an easy decision to make but the time is right to move on to our next step in life," the letter said. "The relationships we have built over the years hold a special place in our hearts and we will cherish the memories we have made with the people in this community. We are blessed to have had the support of many faithful customers over the years." The Gasts said the business served as a place for their five children to learn about business and develop a strong work ethic, as well as a "starting point for many young people eager to earn their first paycheck." "It was rewarding watching kids grow into responsible young adults," the letter said. The Hardee's fast food restaurant closed Thursday night after more than two decades in Forest City. Signs were posted on the doors announcing the closing and thanking customers for their business. Menu boards had been stripped from the large drive-through sign. A message seeking comment from Hardee's corporate headquarters Friday afternoon was not returned. The Lodge of Forest City announced on its Facebook page Wednesday its restaurant will close Dec. 2. "We are very grateful to everyone who has support (sic) us and we hope to see you one last time," a post on the restaurant's page said. No one was available Friday evening to comment on The Lodge's restaurant closing, a person who answered the phone said. Two McDowell queens will receive their official North Carolina crowns and sashes in a ceremony on Monday at the Marion Depot. Miss Mountain Glory Skylar Rock and Teen Miss Mountain Glory Adeline Steele were crowned as the Mountain Glory queens during this years annual festival in Marion. On Monday at 6 p.m. the girls will receive their official Miss North Carolina Scholarship Pageant local titleholder crowns and sashes. Following the ceremony, light refreshments will be served. They will both compete at the Miss North Carolina Scholarship Pageant next June in Raleigh. In order to compete in the Miss North Carolina Scholarship Pageant, a contestant must first win an official local preliminary pageant or they may enter the pageant representing a college/university title or as a festival titleholder. For the second year in a row, the Mountain Glory Festival is sending two young ladies to represent the surrounding McDowell County area and the Mountain Glory Festival. Steele, 16, of Morganton, is a junior at R.L. Patton High School and the daughter of Mark and Michelle Steele. Her personal community service platform will center, she will promote her personal community service platform, "One Last Ride". Rock, 17, of Marion, is the daughter of Scott and Cheri Rock of Marion. Her personal community service platform will center on being a best friend to yourself. Also as a contestant, she is required to raise money for Children's Miracle Network Hospitals Last year's Miss Mountain Glory 2017, Kaitlyn Helton and Miss Mountain Glory's Outstanding Teen 2017, Piper Styles will return to officially crown the new queens. The Mountain Glory Princesses will also be in attendance and will be formally introduced for the first time. The Princess Program is not a competition, but is a mentoring program for young girls. A former North Iowa city clerk was sentenced to four years of probation and issued a $315 fine for stealing utility payments. Amber Shelton, 43, of Lakota, pleaded guilty to felony second-degree theft and misconduct in office, a misdemeanor. According to court documents, Shelton took $7,768 in utility payments made to the City of Lakota from July 2013 to May 2015. Lakota is about eight miles west of Buffalo Center and is home to about 290 residents. A prior report from the Iowa Auditor's Office said investigators determined Shelton stole money by comparing deposits in Lakota's bank account to records of cash collected for utility payments. Shelton resigned as city clerk in March 2015. Steve Bohnel We attempted to send a notification to your email address but we were unable to verify that you provided a valid email address. Please click here to update your email address if you wish to receive notifications. Otherwise, you may click here to disable notifications and hide this message. Advertisement In previous studies, doctors who recommended BMI and compared the risk of death appears to be above the range. However, doctors claimed that it is good to be mildly overweight for overall health.However, scientists were suspicious of these studies, as they do not reflect the true effects of BMI on health. Early stages of illness, health-damaging behaviors like cigarette smoking were can lead to lower BMI and increased risk of death.It becomes difficult to estimate the influence of BMI on the risk of death. This research study aims to assess the association between BMI and risk of death.Using HUNT, the Bristol Medical School team along with their co-workers from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, were able to observe how mortality in the parents and their adult children was affected due to BMI.HUNT is a Norwegian population-based health cohort study, which was based in a rural county with about 130,000 residents.BMI of parents and their children are related due to their genetic factors. BMI of children is an indicator of the BMI of their parents.The BMI of adult children is not influenced by their parent's illnesses. Hence, using offspring BMI can avoid problems that can be inherited from their parents and to their risk of death.The health records were examined of around 30,000 mother and the research team assessed child pairs and 30,000 father and child pairs. They examined the extent to which BMI can influence mortality risk and illness that can lead to low BMI rather than BMI influencing illness.The results showed that when the offspring BMI was used instead of their parent's BMI, it was found that the harmful effects of low BMI were reduced. They also found the detrimental effects of high BMI were much higher when compared to those found in the conventional analyses.Most importantly, the research team suggests that previous studies have underestimated the harmful effects of being overweight.The research team in this study support the doctor's advice inThe fact that being overweight may be healthy was proven to be just a myth.Dr. David Carslake, the study's lead author and Senior Research Associate from the MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit (IEU) at the University of Bristol, said: "An alarming increase in obesity levels across the world which have risen from 105 million in 1975 to 641 million in 2014, according to a recent Lancet study, create concern about the implications for public health."This study demonstrates that correlation is not causation and that when it comes to public health recommendations, we need to be cautious interpreting data based on associations alone. We found that previous studies have underestimated the impact of being overweight on mortality and our findings support current advice to maintain a BMI of between 18.5 and 25."Professor George Davey Smith, Director of the MRC IEU and Professor of Clinical Epidemiology, University of Bristol, added that they are used to seeing different studies indicating that something is good or bad for our health.The previous studies come from naive observational studies, which could be misleading.Further research is required for identifying the causal effects of factors influencing health. Elements that were applied in this study are necessary to make recommendations for public health based on reliable evidence.Source: Medindia MASON CITY | A fire destroyed a home and killed one person in the 900 block of North Tyler Avenue Friday afternoon. Mason City Fire Capt. Jack Odegaard confirmed Friday afternoon that one person died in the house where the fire occurred. He added he could not provide any more information, pending the department's investigation. The person's identify has not been released. Neighbors told the Globe Gazette they thought the fire which engulfed the back of the house in flames started shortly after noon. Ervin State, 88, said he called 911 about 12:10 p.m. I could see flames coming out the back door," he said. "There was a whole lot of smoke. Melody Pearce, 64, who has lived on the block for more than 40 years told a similar story. "My husband saw it first ... there were really bad flames that engulfed the back of the house," she said. Pearce said a man who lived on the block died from a heart attack this week. She said it's a tight-knit block. "How much more can this neighborhood take?" she said. State, who has lived on the block for more than 60 years, said he hasnt seen a fire in town this bad in years. First of Six New Boeing 737 MAX 8 Aircraft leased to LOT Polish Airlines First 737 MAX to operate in Central & East Europe LOS ANGELES, Dec. 01, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Air Lease Corporation (NYSE:AL) (ALC) announced today the delivery of its first Boeing 737 MAX in Seattle, Washington. The aircraft, a Boeing 737 MAX 8, is the first of six 737 MAX 8 aircraft on long term lease to LOT Polish Airlines from ALCs order book with Boeing. This event also marks the first Boeing 737 MAX to operate in Central & East Europe, as well as the first 737 MAX aircraft in LOT Polish Airlines fleet. Since inception, ALC has purchased and delivered 75 new 737-800s and ordered a total of 130 737 MAX aircraft, the first of which delivered to LOT. "We are very pleased to deliver our first ever Boeing 737 MAX to LOT and look forward to the continued growth of our relationship with the airline as it expands and optimizes and modernizes its fleet and route network, said Steven F. Udvar-Hazy, ALCs Executive Chairman. ALC is a widely recognized leader in the commercial aviation industry, said Boeing Commercial Airplanes President & CEO Kevin McAllister. We are very proud of our relationship with ALC and excited they are taking delivery of their first 737 MAX 8. Were confident the airplanes extended range, market-leading economics and reliability will be a game changer for ALC and a very popular choice for its customers. Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements are based on current expectations and projections about our future results, prospects and opportunities and are not guarantees of future performance. Such statements will not be updated unless required by law. Actual results and performance may differ materially from those expressed or forecasted in forward-looking statements due to a number of factors, including those discussed in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. About Air Lease Corporation (NYSE:AL) ALC is a leading aircraft leasing company based in Los Angeles, California that has airline customers throughout the world. ALC and its team of dedicated and experienced professionals are principally engaged in purchasing commercial aircraft and leasing them to its airline customers worldwide through customized aircraft leasing and financing solutions. For more information, visit ALC's website at www.airleasecorp.com. About LOT Polish Airlines LOT Polish Airlines is a modern airline that connects Central and Eastern Europe with the world. It provides nearly 5 million passengers a year with the shortest and most comfortable travel options to almost 60 destinations worldwide via Warsaw, a competitive hub that offers fast connections. As the only carrier in the region, LOT offers direct long-haul flights to New York, Chicago, Newark, Los Angeles, Toronto, Beijing, Tokyo and Seoul. It flies one of the youngest fleets in Europe and, as the only airline, operates the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, the world's most advanced aircraft, on all long-haul connections. LOT relies primarily on the passion and positive energy of its team members, including top ranking pilots in the global aviation business, often champions in many aviation sports. With 87 years of experience, LOT is also one of the oldest airlines in the world and the most internationally recognized Polish brand. Investors: Mary Liz DePalma Head of Investor Relations Email: mdepalma@airleasecorp.com Media: Laura Woeste Manager, Media and Investor Relations Email: lwoeste@airleasecorp.com TORONTO, Dec. 01, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cardinal Resources Limited (ASX:CDV) (TSX:CDV) ("Cardinal" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the results of its annual general meeting of shareholders (the "Meeting") of the Company held November 22, 2017. All matters presented for approval at the Meeting by management of the Company were duly authorized and approved, including: (i) election of all management nominees to the board of directors of the Company (Board) that were due for election; (ii) appointment of BDO (WA) Pty Ltd, as auditors of the Company for the ensuing year and authorization of the directors to fix their remuneration; and (iii) confirmation and reauthorization of the Company's share incentive plan. Detailed voting results regarding the election of directors are as follows: Name Outcome of Vote Shares Voted For Votes For Shares Withheld Votes Withheld Kevin Tomlinson Elected 138,649,683 71.89 % 54,210,429 28.11 % Robert Schafer Elected 192,828,112 99.99 % 20,000 0.01 % Jacques McMullen Elected 192,547,912 100.00 % 200 0.00 % Michele Muscillo Elected 192,848,112 100.00 % 0 0.00 % Archie Koimtsidis being the Managing Director and Malik Easah having been most recently elected as director at the annual general meeting of shareholders of the Company held on November 7, 2016 and thus not due for re-election at the Meeting, remain on the Board. Further details on the matters voted upon at the Meeting can be found in the Companys Meeting materials, including the management information circular dated October 18, 2017, which are accessible under the Company's SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com. The Company has also filed a report of voting results on all resolutions voted on at the Meeting on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. ABOUT CARDINAL Cardinal Resources Limited (ASX:CDV) (TSX:CDV) is a gold-focused exploration and development Company which holds interests in tenements within Ghana, West Africa. The Company is focused on the development of the Namdini Project through a resource expansion drilling programme, which will form the basis of a Preliminary Economic Assessment ("PEA") which is in progress. Exploration programmes are also underway at the Companys Bolgatanga (Northern Ghana) and Subranum (Southern Ghana) Projects. Disclaimer This ASX / TSX press release has been prepared by Cardinal Resources Limited (ABN: 56 147 325 620) ("Cardinal" or the "Company"). Neither the ASX or the TSX, nor their regulation service providers accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release. This press release contains summary information about Cardinal, its subsidiaries and their activities, which is current as at the date of this press release. The information in this press release is of a general nature and does not purport to be complete nor does it contain all the information, which a prospective investor may require in evaluating a possible investment in Cardinal. By its very nature exploration for minerals is a highrisk business and is not suitable for certain investors. Cardinals securities are speculative. Potential investors should consult their stockbroker or financial advisor. There are a number of risks, both specific to Cardinal and of a general nature which may affect the future operating and financial performance of Cardinal and the value of an investment in Cardinal including but not limited to economic conditions, stock market fluctuations, gold price movements, regional infrastructure constraints, timing of approvals from relevant authorities, regulatory risks, operational risks and reliance on key personnel and foreign currency fluctuations. Except for statutory liability which cannot be excluded and subject to applicable law, each of Cardinals officers, employees and advisors expressly disclaim any responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of the material contained in this press release and excludes all liability whatsoever (including in negligence) for any loss or damage which may be suffered by any person as a consequence of any information in this Announcement or any error or omission here from. Except as required by applicable law, the Company is under no obligation to update any person regarding any inaccuracy, omission or change in information in this press release or any other information made available to a person nor any obligation to furnish the person with any further information. Recipients of this press release should make their own independent assessment and determination as to the Companys prospects, its business, assets and liabilities as well as the matters covered in this press release. Forwardlooking statements Certain statements contained in this press release, including information as to the future financial or operating performance of Cardinal and its projects may also include statements which are forwardlooking statements that may include, amongst other things, statements regarding targets, estimates and assumptions in respect of mineral resources and anticipated grades and recovery rates, production and prices, recovery costs and results, capital expenditures and are or may be based on assumptions and estimates related to future technical, economic, market, political, social and other conditions. These forward looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by Cardinal, are inherently subject to significant technical, business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties and contingencies and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from estimated or anticipated events or results reflected in such forwardlooking statements. Cardinal disclaims any intent or obligation to update publicly or release any revisions to any forwardlooking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, circumstances or results or otherwise after todays date or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, other than required by the Corporations Act and ASX and TSX Listing Rules. The words believe, expect, anticipate, indicate, contemplate, target, plan, intends, continue, budget, estimate, may, will, schedule and similar expressions identify forwardlooking statements. All forwardlooking statements made in this press release are qualified by the foregoing cautionary statements. Investors are cautioned that forwardlooking statements are not guarantees of future performance and accordingly investors are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forwardlooking statements due to the inherent uncertainty therein. For further information contact: Archie Koimtsidis CEO / MD Cardinal Resources Limited P: +61 8 6558 0573 Alec Rowlands IR / Corp Dev Cardinal Resources Limited P: +1 647 256 1922 NOT FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES OR THROUGH UNITED STATES NEWSWIRE SERVICES VANCOUVER, B.C., Dec. 01, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pacific Rim Cobalt Corp. (the Company or Pacific Rim Cobalt) (CSE:BOLT) (FRANKFURT:NXFE) announces that it has arranged a non-brokered private placement (the Offering) of up to 5,333,333 units (each a Unit) at $0.75 per Unit for gross proceeds of up to $4 million. Each Unit will entitle the holder to receive one common share of the Company (each a "Common Share") plus one transferable share purchase warrant (a Warrant), each entitling the holder to acquire one common share of the Company at an exercise price of $1.00 per share for a period of twenty four (24) months, subject to accelerated expiry provisions whereby in the event the closing price of the Companys common shares exceeds $1.50 per share for a period of 20 consecutive trading days, at the Companys election, the 24 month period within which the Warrants are exercisable will be reduced and the holders of the Warrants will be entitled to exercise their Warrants for a period of 30 days commencing on the day the Company provides the acceleration notice. The Company intends to pay cash commission of up to 7.0% of gross proceeds and broker warrants equal in number to up to 7.0% the number of Units sold, payable to registrants. The Company also intends to complete a portion of the Offering pursuant to Multilateral CSA Notice 45-318 Prospectus Exemption for Certain Distributions through an Investment Dealer (CSA 45-318) and the corresponding instruments, orders and rules implementing CSA 45-318 in the participating jurisdictions (collectively with CSA 45-318, the Investment Dealer Exemption). In addition to conducting the Offering pursuant to the Investment Dealer Exemption, the Company will also accept subscriptions for Units, in its discretion, where other prospectus exemptions are available. In accordance with the Investment Dealer Exemption, the Company advises that, as at the date hereof, there is no material fact or material change in respect of the Company that has not been generally disclosed. Additionally, the Company advises that there is no minimum number of Units being offered pursuant to the Offering. The Company intends to use the net proceeds from the Offering as follows: $1.5 million for drilling and exploration; $1.5 million for metallurgy and processing testing; and the remaining amount will be used for general corporate purposes and working capital. All securities distributed pursuant to the Offering will be subject to a statutory hold period of four months from the date of issuance. Closing of the Offering is subject to receipt of all necessary regulatory approvals. About Pacific Rim Cobalt Pacific Rim Cobalt is a Canadian-based exploration company focused on the acquisition and development of production grade cobalt deposits, a key raw material input for the growing lithium-ion battery industry. Pacific Rim Cobalt Corp. Ranjeet Sundher President and CEO (604) 922-8272 rsundher@pacificrimcobalt.com Steve Vanry CFO & Director (604) 922-8272 steve@vanrycap.com Sean Bromley Director & Investor Contact (778) 985-8934 sean@theparmargroup.com Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS Statements in this news release that are forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties concerning the specific factors disclosed here and elsewhere in both Pacific Rim Cobalts periodic filings with Canadian securities regulators. When used in this news release, words such as "will", "plan", "estimate", "expect", "intend", "potential", "should," and similar expressions, are forward-looking statements. Information provided in this document is necessarily summarized and may not contain all available material information. Forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements regarding future oriented events and other statements that are not facts. Forward-looking statements are based on a number of assumptions and estimates that, while considered reasonable by management based on the business and markets in which Pacific Rim Cobalt operates, are inherently subject to significant operational, economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies. Such forward-looking statements should therefore be construed in light of such factors. Although Pacific Rim Cobalt has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements, there can be other factors that cause results, performance or achievements not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate or that management's expectations or estimates of future developments, circumstances or results will materialize. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements in this news release are made as of the date of this news release, and Pacific Rim Cobalt disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise such information, except as required by applicable law, and Pacific Rim Cobalt does not assume any liability for disclosure relating to any other company herein. BAD AXE The Huron County Board of Commissioners this week ratified a contract with the countys Central Dispatch bargaining unit. Effective Jan. 1, the five-year contract gives a 1.5 percent annual raise to members of the Police Officers Association of Michigan Central Dispatch Bargaining Unit. During public comment at the meeting, Randy Miller, Huron County 911/ Emergency Services director thanked the board for getting a timely contract in place It seems to be pretty presentable and happy for all parties, he said. The board voted 6-0 to ratify the contract. Board Chairman Sami Khoury was absent. Also on a 6-0 vote, the board approved employment of Bret Zagorski as a part-time deputy sheriff (corrections) effective Dec. 1. Lt. Josh Powell, jail administrator, told the board that the department is down two full-time officers, and another part-time corrections deputy will be leaving. Finally, the board approved compensating the probate court administrator position based on the 40-hour salary progression schedule, rather than the 37.5 schedule. The position is held by Krisie Fritz. Today we are voicing our opposition to a proposed Michigan Senate bill that could affect what one Upper Thumb school district calls itself. The bill, introduced last month by Democratic Sen. Ian Conyers, would allow school districts that have racially insensitive mascots to have funding withheld until its mascots change. The bill, if enacted, could affect the North Huron Warriors in Kinde, as well as the Sandusky Redskins in neighboring Sanilac County. We stand most opposed to North Huron having to change its name. Barring any complaints from any Native American tribes, we feel North Hurons mascot should be left as is. The district doesnt have the funds to change its name. It doesnt even have the funds to embark on needed upgrades in the district. And a ballot proposal to obtain said needed funds recently was turned down by voters. If these voters didnt support investing in improvements at North Huron, they certainly wont support paying to change the schools mascot. Its not a cheap venture. A portion of the gym that boasts a large Warriors mural would have to be redone. Anything with the Warriors mascot or reference to said mascot would need to be replaced. That could include stationary, banners, band uniforms, etc. To have the school lose funding would only punish students and teachers. And they have done nothing to deserve that kind of treatment. The district could seek a waiver, per the legislation proposed by Conyers. However, we do not wish that to become a necessity. Rather, we hope this Senate bill goes the way of similar efforts that have preceded it that the Legislature wont pursue this matter. There certainly are more important matters that state lawmakers need to address. TORONTO, Dec. 01, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Toronto Real Estate Board is disappointed in the Federal Court of Appeals decision. TREB disagrees with the decision of the Federal Court of Appeal and will be seeking leave to appeal the decision together as well as an order staying the decision pending the outcome of that appeal, if granted. TREB believes strongly that personal financial information of home buyers and sellers must continue to be safely used and disclosed. - John DiMichele, CEO Toronto Real Estate Board Media Inquiries: Mary Gallagher, Senior Manager Public Affairs (416) 443-8158 maryg@trebnet.com Greater Toronto REALTORS are passionate about their work. They are governed by a strict Code of Ethics and share a state-of-the-art Multiple Listing Service. Over 49,000 residential and commercial TREB Members serve consumers in the Greater Toronto Area. TREB is Canadas largest real estate board. www.TREBhome.com https://www.facebook.com/TorontoRealEstateBoard https://twitter.com/TREBhome https://www.youtube.com/user/TREBChannel https://www.pinterest.com/trebhome/ http://www.linkedin.com/company/treb http://www.trebwire.com/ https://plus.google.com/+trebchannel https://www.trebhome.com/rssfeed.htm https://www.instagram.com/trebhome https://soundcloud.com/trebhome/tracks KINDE David Mousseau has lived in or around Kinde most of his life. Except for working a short time in Detroit, he has been in the small village for nearly eight decades. He now resides there with his wife of seven years, Betty Pawloski-Mousseau. Mousseau was born just north of Kinde, the son of Nelson and Arla. He was one of 12 kids. My dad was a farmer, he said. His father owned an 80 acre farm. With 12 kids, there was no way the farm would support all of them once they were out of school and on their own. If you didnt farm, there was no work for you, Mousseau explained. He decided his best option was to go to Detroit and look for a job. In the interim, his dad purchased a service station in town. A large part of the business was selling fuel to farmers. It was impossible for Nelson to be at the station and travel around the county transporting fuel. His father asked Mousseau to come back to Kinde and work at the station. The service station was called Nelson Mousseau and Son. At that time, the young Mousseau was in his mid-20s. In 1965, Mousseau purchased the business from his dad. We did real good until the government started screwing with the gas (taxes), he said. Prices kept jumping, and the end of the business was inevitable. He finally realized the business was faltering. I closed it, he said. At the time, he was a part-time rural carrier for the post office. Luckily, he was able to work his way up to full-time status. I retired from the post office after 38 years, Mousseau said. The retired postal worker has a clear memory of the past. He explained the town was a booming place when he was a young. He said there were five gas stations in Kinde at one time. As far as he can remember, they were Sinclair, Phillips 66, Standard Oil, Gulf, and Citco stations. In addition, there were three auto sales in town: Ford, Buick and Hudson. Each had a gas pump. Much of the gas used by the dealers was for their own cars, but they also sold to the public. He continued to discuss the many facilities in the small community. There were seven grocery stores and three bars. Now we have two party stores and no real bars, he said. The bowling alley has a bar, but it wasnt in the village. We had two drug stores, and now we dont have any. There was a blacksmith shop, a harness shop, a shoe repair business, a hatchery, a pickle factory, a lumber yard, and five or six restaurants. Bards processed milk and juice and sold them around the area, Mousseau said. There also were two hardware stores and two dance halls. There was a wedding or something going on every Saturday night, he said. In its day, Kinde was a little town but had a lot of businesses. But, according to Mousseau, the village started dwindling in the late 50s and early 60s. We had two elevators and they kept the town alive, Mousseau said. Both burnt twice. Before Kindes decline, it was known as the bean capital of the world, not just the United States. When the Co-op burned in the 70s, I was the fire chief. Im still on the fire department, but I just drive the water truck now. But Kinde still has two elevators. One just takes beans (The Edible Beans Company) and the Co-op takes everything, Mousseau said. After the fire, the Co-op rebuilt. They went all out. They just put in a million gallon storage tank. He explained, after their fire, the Bad Axe Grain Company sold out to Edible Beans. They put in a new chemical shed and put in a whole new storage facility for fuels, Mousseau said. Mousseau went on the discuss Kinde as it is today. He feels Kevin and Helen Wiley (owners of the Pasta House and other businesses) have been a big part in keeping the town alive. You can go to Florida and meet people who ask, Do you go to the Pasta House? when they find out you live in Kinde, Mousseau said. The ballroom (part of the Pasta House) is pretty much full on weekends with weddings and showers and special events. Its a going business and it sure isnt going down. The ballroom used to be the Ford Garage, and his ice cream business was the drug store. Mousseau said the Wileys have given every kid in school a chance to work. Ill bet he has 40 people or more working for them, he said. He went on to say he feels they have been very instrumental in building and keeping the Kinde Polka Fest going. Mousseau feels Kinde has begun to show some small signs of renewed life. Bill Case just took over the insurance company and he seems to be doing well, Mousseau said. He added a new hair stylist just opened a shop in town and she says shell ultimately have several employees. If a persons life could be divided into two parts, Mousseaus first half ended in 1997 when his first wife died. He remained single until seven years ago. He had known Betty Pawloski for many years. I was her mail man, Mousseau said. I knew her husband real, real well. After they were both widowed for more than a decade, the pair began dating. I finally said, Are you going to marry me or aint you? Mousseau said. She said she would have to think about it. Her answer came shortly afterward. We were married seven years ago, Mousseau said with a smile. Although Mousseau is 79 years old, he continues to have an active life. Over the years, hunting was one of his big interests. When we had pheasants, I hunted a lot, Mousseau said. It was nothing to go after school (with friends) and shoot six-seven roosters. Now, I dont hunt pheasants at all. With the decline of pheasants, his hunting interests have turned to deer. He mostly hunts with his sons, but he has hunted with his granddaughter. His biggest hobby is now working with wood. I make woodcrafts pumpkins, Santa Clauses, Easter bunnies, toy soldiers, ducks and geese, he said. I make doll cribs and tea tables and chairs. I give then to my grandkids. As stated, he still remains on the fire department, and was the chief for 20 years. It was a funny story how I became chief, he said. As the story goes, after a disagreement with the fire chief, the men voted him out and elected Mousseau. Out of 21 firefighters, I got 20 votes. Mousseau is a big proponent of volunteerism in ones community. He is on the board of review, the zoning board, and he helps out at his church. On top of these things, he also works part time as a driver for the Co-op hauling fertilizer. I always said you should work with your community, he said. ... The community should help one another. You'd better believe the gathering of music's most powerful female artists came dressed to turn heads. The Billboard's Women in Music Awards, honoring and recognizing the big forces in the industry, were held in Los Angles Thursday, Nov. 30. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 3 1 of 3 Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Show More Show Less 3 of 3 MIDDLETOWN Connecticut State Police have issued two Silver Alerts two Middletown siblings who have been missing since Nov. 29, police said. Police are advising the public to be on the lookout for four-year-old Natasha Thompson and one-year-old Jacob Meeks, who were both last seen in Middletown on Wednesday. French English Media relations: Christel Lerouge Tel. +33 1 47 54 50 71 christel.lerouge@capgemini.com Investor relations: Vincent Biraud Tel. +33 1 47 54 50 87 vincent.biraud@capgemini.com Capgemini announced Salil Parekh's departure from the Group Paris, December 2 - Capgemini announced that, Salil Parekh, member of the Group Executive Board, has decided to leave the Group in the context of the recent managerial evolutions communicated in October. Capgemini and Salil Parekh have agreed on Salil's departure. Salil has relinquished his responsibilities within the Group and his managerial transition is already in place. His departure will be effective on January 1st. Paul Hermelin, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Capgemini Group commented: "I would like to thank Salil for his involvement in the Capgemini journey. Salil contributed in particular to the development of the Group in India and in the US." Salil joined Capgemini in 2000 as a result of the acquisition of the consulting division of Ernst and Young and occupied various leadership positions in the Group. The Group confirms its 2017 full year outlook. About Capgemini A global leader in consulting, technology services and digital transformation, Capgemini is at the forefront of innovation to address the entire breadth of clients' opportunities in the evolving world of cloud, digital and platforms. Building on its strong 50-year heritage and deep industry-specific expertise, Capgemini enables organizations to realize their business ambitions through an array of services from strategy to operations. Capgemini is driven by the conviction that the business value of technology comes from and through people. It is a multicultural company of 200,000 team members in over 40 countries. The Group reported 2016 global revenues of EUR 12.5 billion. Visit us at www.capgemini.com. People matter, results count. GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- Five months after the retirement of former Kent County Administrator Daryl Delabbio, the field of candidates vying for the position has narrowed to two finalists. The group tasked with finding Delabbio's replacement interviewed four candidates on Monday, Nov. 27, then chose three to bring back for a final round of interviews in January. One of those -- Jennifer George -- withdrew her name from consideration Friday, Dec. 1, leaving Marc Ryan and Wayman Britt the two remaining finalists. Delabbio announced his intention to retire in September 2016, which took effect on June 30. It marked an end to 22 years of service within Kent County government and a career of public sector service that spanned four decades. Britt was was appointed to serve as interim county administrator upon Delabbio's departure, which also prompted the Board of Commissioners to form a subcommittee to oversee the search for and appointment of a permanent replacement. Sandi Frost Steensma, a former Kent County commissioner and chairwoman of the board from 2010-12, was appointed to chair the subcommittee. Others serving on the subcommittee include current Board Chairman Jim Saalfeld, Commissioners Mandy Bolter, Carol Hennessy and Roger Morgan, Inclusive Performance Strategies Founder and CEO Paul T. Doyle and The Right Place President and CEO Birgit Klohs. The group met about a dozen times starting in February, first focusing on the selection of a search firm to assist in the process and ultimately contracting with GovHR USA. Early on, Frost Steensma said, the group involved decided stakeholder and community feedback should be sought throughout the process. A county administrator can impact so many people, she said, that seeking input from a broad section of the community is crucial. "I do think that it's important for a number of people to be able to weigh in," Frost Steensma said. "The community will have the opportunity to meet with them also." The search firm conducted 68 interviews with stakeholders including elected county officials, department heads, county judges, representatives from other local units of government and various philanthropic, community and business leaders. They also collected 193 responses to an online survey, and used the results from both forums to draft the job posting and during the candidate selection process. "What was really important here was getting community input into what attributes we were looking for in our new county administrator," Frost Steensma said. She said the group decided they wanted fiscal responsibility from the county's next administrator, but also wanted someone who could think outside the box and have a strong vision for the future. "They didn't necessarily want a bureaucrat just to follow all our fiscal policies," she said. "To me, that's a given." The county received 68 applications from candidates hailing form 14 different states before the Oct. 20 deadline set in the job posting. GovHR screened the applications and provided a much smaller number of candidates, which the subcommittee then reduced to five interview candidates. One of the five withdrew prior to the interviews. The remaining four candidates were interviewed by the subcommittee on Monday, Nov. 27. Afterward, the group chose three to return for a final round of interviews in January: Jennifer George, Marc Ryan and Wayman Britt. Ryan is chief strategy and compliance officer at healthcare software company MedHOK Inc. and Continuum Performance Systems. His resume shows he has worked in the healthcare industry since 2005, previously working for the State of Connecticut, first in the governor's office and later as secretary of the state's Office of Policy and Management. Before taking over as Kent County's interim county administrator, Britt served as an assistant county administrator starting in 2004. Prior to his work for the county, Britt held management positions at Steelcase and Michigan National Bank. He holds a bachelor's degree in communications from the University of Michigan. Gregg Todd, the candidate not selected as a finalist after Monday's interviews, currently serves as county administrator for Queen Anne's County in Maryland. George, who withdrew her name from consideration Friday, is county executive in St. Charles County, Missouri. Kent County's administrator is appointed to manage the county government's day-to-day operations and oversee its more than $400-million budget. All three selected finalists are qualified for the job, Frost Steensma said, it's just a matter of choosing the one who best fits what Kent County wants and needs. More public input will be sought at a "meet the candidates" forum planned for Jan. 10, Frost Steensma said. After giving the full Board of Commissioners a chance to interview Ryan and Britt, she said the subcommittee will make its recommendation and await a final decision from commissioners. Update: Zoko 822 will open at 11 a.m. Dec. 18. GRAND RAPIDS, MI - A restaurant with Basque-inspired cuisine and an extensive choice of gin cocktails will open this month in downtown Grand Rapids. The exact date Zoko 822 will open in December has yet to be announced by parent company, CDKI Dining. The restaurant group owns Sandy Point Beach House, a popular West Olive casual dining restaurant and is planning to open a second downtown eatery, MeXo, in January. MeXo, offering a menu highlighting pre-Hispanic modern Mexican dishes, will occupy at the former Brian's Books location, 120 E. Fulton St., in downtown Grand Rapids. Zoko will open at 822 Ottawa Ave NW, next to the old Imperial Metals Building and across the street from the Garage Bar. The restaurant and bar will feature small plate style dining focused on Basque-inspired cuisine, known for its combination of Northern Spanish and Southern French styles and flavors. In a nod Spain's national drink, a classic gin and tonic, by offering an extensive gin collection of more than 30 varieties to choose from. The restaurant's moniker is inspired by Txoko, an underground, members only dining society that started in the 1800's. Txoko became popular in Spain's Franco era, when speaking in the Basque language and celebrating Basque culture was illegal. Zoko is a shorthand term of the name Txoko and translates to "Cozy Corner." Txoko locations were usually identified by numbers and Zoko's number is representative of its street address. Ryan Martin is leading the kitchen as executive chef. He was named one of the Top 10 Chefs to Watch in 2017 in the Grand Rapids-area by MLive/The Grand Rapids Press contributor George Aquino. Martin gained a culinary following as executive chef at Winchester and, most recently, head chef at Osteria Rossa in downtown Grand Rapids. Megan McAllister, also formerly of Osteria Rossa and the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel, will serve as the restaurant's general manager. "We knew we were excited about the concept of Zoko 822, but the amount of interest we've already seen from the community is exceptional," said Geoff Gaskin, president of CDKI Dining, in statement. Zoko is currently planning to serve lunch and dinner Monday through Saturday, along with brunch and dinner on Sundays. It will be open 11 a.m. - 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday and Sunday and 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Sunday, with brunch served from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Customers will have their choice of bar seating, community tables, traditional style seating and a special Chef's Table near the kitchen. The restaurant will feature a Bodega Bar that will stock "grab-and-go" lunch foods during the day such as sandwiches, empanadas and salads and dinner dishes in the evening. GRASS LAKE, MI - The eight annual Grass Lake Festival of Lights brought the village holiday music, a jolly Santa, and a lot of cookies. "It's a community coming together." said Sara Cobb-Starrett, in her second year as the event leader. "We're a small community and so many people know each other. It's like bumping into friends at every door step." The theme this year was Santa's Fairy Forest. In the morning, there was breakfast with Santa at the Grass Lake Fire Department, 1222 E. Michigan Ave. Then local businesses baked 350 cookies to hand out to participants and hosted arts and crafts in their buildings. Sarrah Giorgi, 8, and Damien Guthrie, 10, visited the festival for the first time. Their favorite thing about the day was the fairies distributed at the Grass Lake Senior Center. They showed others on a wagon ride the ones they had selected. In the afternoon, Santa was at the Fairy Forest before the parade. Twenty-five different groups were to participate in the lighted procession. A lighting of the tree was to follow. Santa was expected to choose a child to activate the lights on a big pine tree at the Whistlestop Depot on E. Michigan Avenue. "This is a really cool event." Nicole Frambes said during her first visit to the festival. She thinks it will be something her grandchildren will never forget. WHITEHALL, MI - White Lake and Montague fire departments responded to a house fire Friday morning in Whitehall. The fire in the 7500 block of Anthony Street was called in around 9:45 a.m. The White Lake Fire Authority responded to the fire with help from the Montague Fire Department. The single-story home sustained significant damage. The Salvation Army was called to assist a man and woman who were displaced. Anthony Street is located north off Benston Road just east of Whitehall Road. Further information about the fire, including a cause, was not available. BUFFALO, N.Y., Dec. 02, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Tops Friendly Markets partnered with Carando, the artisan brand of Classic Italian Meats, to donate 500 spiral sliced hams to the Food Bank of WNY during their 13th annual Food 2 Families event. Carando and Tops Friendly Markets presented 65 cases of Carando spiral sliced hams to the food bank at one of the six stores participating in the Food 2 Families event. During the months of November and December, Tops Friendly Markets sold Brown Bags of Hope to benefit the food bank leading up to the outdoor food and fund drive. This donation from Carando will help complete 500 holiday meals for families in need, providing each with a ham to enjoy. "Carando stands for quality, heritage, and tradition, and has a long history of community involvement. We are proud to be in our second year of contributing to the Food Bank of WNY," said Michael Baughman, Smithfield Foods director of marketing. "We are extremely grateful for partners like Tops Friendly Markets who place the same importance on supporting our neighbors in need throughout the year, but especially during the holidays. Helping as many as 135,000 individuals each month, the Food Bank of WNY distributes food to 341 member agencies in Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie, and Niagara counties. The food is dispersed to local families in need through food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters, youth programs, group homes, and senior centers. This donation was made as part of the Carando Cares program, an ongoing campaign established in 2013 to support organizations making a positive difference in local communities. Carando Cares has made monetary and in-kind donations of more than $250,000 since the program's inception. For more information about Carando and Carando Cares, please visit www.carando.com or www.Facebook.com/CarandoMeats. Carando is a brand of Smithfield Foods. About Carando All of our classic Italian meats stay true to the traditional recipes that our founder, Pietro Carando, brought to America from his boyhood home in Torino, Italy. One taste is all it takes to discover the authentic Italian difference of Carando. For more information, visit www.carando.com. About Smithfield Foods Smithfield Foods is a $15 billion global food company and the world's largest pork processor and hog producer. In the United States, the company is also the leader in numerous packaged meats categories with popular brands including Smithfield, Eckrich, Nathan's Famous, Farmland, Armour, Farmer John, Kretschmar, John Morrell, Cook's, Gwaltney, Carando, Margherita, Curly's, Healthy Ones, Morliny, Krakus and Berlinki. Smithfield Foods is committed to providing good food in a responsible way and maintains robust animal care, community involvement, employee safety, environmental and food safety and quality programs. For more information, visit www.smithfieldfoods.com. About Food Bank of WNY The Food Bank of WNY is the primary hunger-relief organization in Western New York, obtaining and distributing food to 341 member agencies including food pantries, shelters, soup kitchens, youth programs, and senior centers in Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie, and Niagara counties. Through these agencies, the Food Bank of WNY serves as many as 135,000 individuals in any given month, including more than 44,000 families, 55,000 children, and nearly 16,500 seniors. For more information, visit www.foodbankwny.org. Media Contact : Hannah Meadors Breaking Limits for Carando 2137 South Blvd., Suite 200 Charlotte, N.C. 28203 Cell: 434-250-4770 E-Mail: hmeadors@breakinglimits.net live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More Riding high on the Nexon SUV Tata Motors managed to regain the number three spot in passenger vehicles which it had lost to utility vehicle specialist Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) five years ago. Sales of all passenger vehicles (cars and utility vehicles) sold by Tata Motors surpassed that of M&M last month as per data revealed by both the companies. Tata Motors clocked volumes of 17,157 units during November as against 16,030 units clocked by M&M during the same month. While Tata Motors volumes jumped by 35 percent that of M&M surged by 21 percent. Tata Motors volume surge was led by the recently launched Nexon compact SUV and the Tiago hatchback, both of which generate more than 60 percent of the total monthly volumes of the company. As per Tata Motors executives Nexon did face a production glitch soon after its launch but that has reportedly been sorted out and the company is going full ahead with production. Five years ago when M&M dethroned Tata Motors from the third spot Tata Motors shareholders severely criticized the company at its annual general meeting chaired by Ratan Tata. I have a certain degree of sadness and shame that we let Mahindra overtake us, Tata had said back then. Guenter Butschek, Managing Director, Tata Motors had promised a return to the third spot in the passenger vehicle space though he did not mention any timeline. Tata Motors was at the fifth spot when Butschek took over the reins. The Mumbai-based company made some rapid strides during the last many months which besides the launch of new products also includes overhauling of its sales and service network and improve incentivisation of performance of its sales workforce. In earlier interaction with Moneycontrol former Maruti Suzuki sales specialist Mayank Pareek who is now the president of Tata Motors passenger vehicle division had said that the company is working vigorously towards its stated objectives of getting the stand-alone entity back to profitability while regaining its lost market share. While final data from the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers is awaited estimates suggest Tata Motors market share stood at 6.3 percent as against its all time low of 5 percent recorded a few years ago. Meanwhile, Mahindra & Mahindra, which has been under pressure from competition especially Maruti Suzuki, is readying two all-new products for the launch spread over the next 12 months. These include a compact, stylish sport utility vehicle and a Toyota Innova-rivaling, multi-seater people mover. November sales could be an aberration considering it was also the same month last year when the government announced demonetization that crippled the automotive market, severely hitting the rural demand. About half of M&M sales arises from the non-urban pockets. Infosys live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More Infosys has appointed Salil Parekh as its new CEO, effective January 2, 2018. Parekh previously headed cloud infrastructure services at Sogeti & Cloud Services division, apart from being Head of Asia-Pacific, North America and United Kingdom at Capgemini SE. According to a statement by Capgemini announcing his departure, Parekh joined the company in 2000. Paul Hermelin, the companys Chairman and CEO, said that Parekh contributed to the growth of the group, particularly in India and the US. He has a strong track record of executing business turnarounds and managing very successful acquisitions. The Board believes that he is the right person to lead Infosys at this transformative time in our industry, Nandan Nilekani, Chairman of Infosys Board, said in a statement. Parekh holds a Bachelor of Technology degree in aeronautical engineering from IIT, Bombay and Masters degrees in Computer Science and Mechanical Engineering from Cornell University, Ithaca. He joined Capgemini in 2000 as a result of the company acquiring Ernst & Youngs consulting division and has since held various leadership roles in the Capgemini group. He was one of Capgeminis five deputy CEOs and was responsible for a clutch of businesses that reportedly accounted for 45 percent of the companys revenue. He was one of the the chief contenders to succeed current Capgemini Chairman and CEO Paul Hermelin. Parekh served as the executive chairman of Capgemini India and Capgemini US LLC since February 2007. Listed below are 5 things you need to know about Infosys new CEO. An employee is seen behind an Infosys logo at the company's campus in the southern Indian city of Bangalore September 23, 2014. Infosys Ltd's new CEO Vishal Sikka has come up with a novel approach to reviving the financial fortunes of India's trailblazing outsourcing firm: use Facebook at work, tweet, but get the job done. Infosys has long been run as a conservative company known for keeping strict tabs on work hours and sometimes fining employees for not wearing ties on specific days. Such cheerless self-regard could not have come at a more challenging time, analysts say. To retain talent, Sikka hopes to create a more employee-friendly workplace. To match story INFOSYS-CEO/STRATEGY REUTERS/Abhishek Chinnappa (INDIA - Tags: BUSINESS SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY EMPLOYMENT) - RTR47FIS live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More Salil Parekh, the new CEO of Infosys, is no stranger to the the world of IT services, and not even to the process of a CEO search at Infosys. The former Capgemini executive was in the race for the top job at Infosys the last time around as well, when the Indian IT major decided in favour of Vishal Sikka. Parekh, who is credited with leading several key businesses at the French technology company, is remembered as a being firm and outspoken in a company that favours conservatism over aggression. He was very bright, recounts a former Capgemini employee. He worked very aggressively towards the expansion of the business in the North American market, and understands clients. In that sense, he shares the strengths of Vishal Sikka, added the employee, who did not wish to be named. Phil Fersht, CEO and Chief Analyst at research firm HfS Research agreed. He has a very strong IT services and consulting pedigree, is proven with many years technology and business leadership experience, and has extensive working experience across Ameican, European and Indian work cultures - which is critical for Infosys. He has a very strong reputation within Capgemini's financial services business and can help grow Infosys' consulting approach, which is key to the firm's growth, he said. Sikka, the first non co-founder CEO of Infosys, laid out an aggressive turnaround plan for the IT major, but had to quit over squabbles with founder NR Narayana Murthy over issues of corporate governance. What works in his favour is that Salil will have a cover in the form of Nandan, who is also very close to founder NR Narayana Murthy. Mentorship from the co founders was totally missing for Vishal, Sanchit Vir Gogia, CEO of research firm Greyhound Research. Parekh is also credited with leading the takeover of i-Gate by Capgemini for USD 4 billion. His experience in building a consulting global service transformation business which leverages Indian talent will be of help as he takes over the reigns of Infosys, Peter Bendor-Samuel, CEO of research firm Everest Group. In Salil I believe they have found an executive committed to building the next generation of Indian services, who both understands and appreciates all that an Indian talent base can offer while broadening the global talent base and leading Infosys into a becoming a digital transformation leader, he added. live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More A fleet of 50 buses of Tata Motors today joined the Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation. Tata Motors said the new delivery of 50 buses is a part of the larger order of 1,385 buses bagged by Tata Motors earlier this year, comprising 350 Ultra 6/9 BS IV Midi and 1035 LPO 1512/55 BS IV buses. Transport Minister H M Revanna, Health and Family welfare Minister K R Ramesh Kumar, along with officials from BMTC and Tata Motors were present at the handover ceremony, the company said in a release here. Sandeep Kumar, Head-sales and Marketing -Passenger, Commercial Vehicle Business Unit, Tata Motors said, "With the successful delivery of 50 new buses, we at Tata Motors take great pride in our continued association with BMTC." "We will continue to partner with STUs across the country to enhance end user needs, which will further help boost our efforts towards innovations in the public transport space," he said. In major breakthrough, Mylan and Biocon said that USFDA has approved Mylans Ogivri, a biosimilar to Swiss biotech giant Roche's blockbuster cancer drug Herceptin, co-developed with Biocon. USFDA has approved Ogivri for all indications of the reference product, Herceptin, including for the treatment of HER2-overexpressing breast cancer and metastatic stomach cancer. Ogivri is the first FDA-approved biosimilar to Herceptin and the first biosimilar from Mylan and Biocons joint portfolio approved in the US. "Mylan anticipates potentially being the first company to offer a biosimilar to Herceptin, as a result of Mylans ability to secure global licences for its Trastuzumab product from Genentech and Roche earlier this year. This milestone secured a clear pathway to commercialize Mylans biosimilar to Herceptin in various markets globally," Biocon said in a statement. Trastuzumab is the generic name of Herceptin, which has raked in USD 2.5 billion in US sales last year. The USFDA's approval for our biosimilar Trastuzumab is indeed a crowning moment that puts us in an exclusive league of global biosimilar players," said Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, CMD of Biocon. "It strengthens our resolve to focus on developing affordable biologics that can make cancer care both more effective and more equitable around the world," Shaw added. For 64-year Shaw, the maverick leader of Biocon, the USFDA approval of biosimilar Herceptin is a vindication of her foresight and perseverance to stay invested in biosimilars where the risk of failure is high and pay-off takes many years. This approval represents a landmark achievement for the Biocon-Mylan collaboration and is an important endorsement of our development and manufacturing capabilities in the area of monoclonal antibodies," said Arun Chandavarkar, CEO and Joint MD, Biocon. Mylan and Biocon are exclusive partners on a broad portfolio of biosimilar and insulin products. Our biosimilar for Herceptin is one of the six biologic products co-developed by Mylan and Biocon for the global marketplace. Mylan has exclusive commercialization rights for the product in the U.S., Canada, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and in the European Union and European Free Trade Association countries. Biocon has co-exclusive commercialization rights with Mylan for the product in the rest of the world. We are proud to receive FDA approval of Ogivri, a biosimilar to Herceptin, as this further underscores the strength of our science team and our ability to execute science programs for hard-to- make and complex products like biosimilars," said Mylan President Rajiv Malik. "Bringing such complex products to the market not only requires sound and robust science and a talented research and development team, but also the ability to manage legal and regulatory complexities and invest significantly in manufacturing capabilities," Malik added. USFDA approval was based on robust data from structural and functional characterization using multiple orthogonal techniques, nonclinical studies and pharmacokinetic evaluation in healthy subjects and patients and a safety, efficacy and immunogenicity study in relevant patient populations, which compared Ogivri to Herceptin. The US FDAs decision follows the unanimous vote by the FDA Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee (ODAC) in July 2017 recommending approval of Mylans biosimilar to Herceptin. Mylan and Biocon's biosimilar for Herceptin also is under review by regulatory authorities in Australia, Canada, Europe and several additional markets. It is already approved in 19 countries around the world, including India, thus providing increased access to this more affordable biologic for cancer patients. In the US an estimated 250,000 new cases of female breast cancer and 28,000 new cases of stomach cancer are expected to be diagnosed in 2017 alone. Approximately 20 percent to 25 percent of primary breast cancers are HER2-positive. Biosimilar medicines are deemed by FDA to be highly similar to an already-approved biologic product. They fill an urgent and unmet need for more affordable alternatives to biologic therapies, increasing access and providing savings for patients and the overall healthcare system. It is projected that biosimilars will generate a savings of USD 54 billion in direct spending on biologic drugs in the U.S. between 2017 and 2026. "It's a watershed moment for Biocon," said Afzaal Mohammed, analyst tracking the company at Karvy said. "The details of the launch were kept confidential at the moment, but we are expecting the drug to start generating to topline of Biocon from FY19," Mohammed said. The news came after the Mylan and Biocon announced that the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has accepted their resubmitted application for their Herceptin biosimilar, as well as for their copy of Amgens chemo drug, Neulasta. The agency accepted the new application after approving their plan to fix issues at the plant where the biosimilars are being made. Analysts say with US FDA approval of biosimilar Herceptin it will be just a matter of time before EMA too giving its nod to the drug. 405200 03: Muslim children watch as communal violence erupts May 10, 2002 in the streets of Ahmedabad, India. A wave of revenge killings and clashes erupted in late February after a Muslim mob torched a train carrying Hindu devotees, killing 59 people. Officials put the death toll since the train attack at 890, but human rights groups and opposition parties say more than 2,000 people have been killed. (Photo by Ami Vitale/Getty Images) An eminent Indian-American philanthropist has described immigrants as "the future of the United States", which he said, is a nation of inclusion, openness, opportunity, democracy and freedom. Frank Islam made these remarks during a ceremony where some 200 foreign nationals took the oath of citizenship. Islam borrowed a quote from Former President John F. Kennedy: In a democracy, every citizen regardless of his interest in politics or holds office, every one of us is in a position of responsibility. The kind of government we get depends on how we fulfill those responsibilities. "I ask you to fulfill those responsibilities by being a 21st Century Citizen," he said during his speech at the John F Kennedy Presidential Library in Boston on Thursday. At the age of 16, Frank Islam left his family and friends in India with just USD 35 to pursue his life-long dream of owning a business. He went on to become founder and CEO of a company worth more than USD 300 million. Islam became a citizen in 1980, but he never attended a naturalization ceremony, said a media release issued by the presidential library. "... My story reaffirms the notion that America is a land of opportunity. It also shows that America is a nation of inclusion, openness, opportunity, democracy, and freedom. All of us can proudly and truly embrace these values and qualities of America," he said. "As immigrants and the future of America, I know that you will make great contributions to ensure that dream is even stronger and better for the citizens of this immigrant nation...I am extremely positive about the future of America because of the courage, tenacity and indomitable spirit of my fellow immigrants," Islam said. Noting that over the past few years, there have been a lot of complaints regarding the country's politicians, and the government, he said some of that criticism is "warranted". "On the other hand, we must remember that the United States is a representative democracy. At the end of the day, we get the politicians and the government we deserve," he said. "If we don't like things in this great democracy of ours, we can change them. That is our right and responsibility as citizens," Islam said. 20:18 US President Donald Trump, in his first comment on a guilty plea by his first national security adviser Michael Flynn to lying to the FBI, said on Saturday there was absolutely no collusion between his campaign and Russia. 19:38 Suspected Boko Haram suicide bombers have killed at least 13 other people in an attack on a market in the northeast Nigerian town of Biu in Borno state, officials said on Saturday. The blasts struck while aid workers were distributing food to people affected by the eight-year conflict with Boko Haram, said Aliyu Idrisa, a community leader. 18:24 A total of 195 job offers have been made on the first day of the placement season at the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras here with a majority from the analytics, finance and consulting sectors. Some of the companies that participated in the placement season that commenced yesterday, included Goldman Sachs, Microsoft and Samsung Research Institute, Bengaluru, a IIT Madras release said. 18:08 Pope Francis ended a diplomatically tricky trip to Asia on Saturday, seeking the forgiveness of Rohingya Muslim refugees in Bangladesh after his controversial decision to not directly refer to their plight when he visited their homeland, Myanmar, reports Reuters. Congratulations Salil and look forward to your transformational leadership at Infosys! https://t.co/8kLkDwZVtp Nandan Nilekani (@NandanNilekani) December 2, 2017 17:20 Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today welcomed the uptick in the Q2 GDP growth at 6.3 percent but cautioned that it is too early to say there is a reversal in decline seen in the past five quarters. Singh also said at this rate it is not possible for the Narendra Modi government to equal UPA government's 10-year average growth rate. 17:12 The government is set to float more expressions of interest (EoIs) for strategic sale, where full ownership and management could be handed over to private players, an official said today. Already, EoIs for eight companies have been floated for strategic sale, he said, reports PTI. 16:38 London mayor Sadiq Khan will be arriving in Mumbai tomorrow as part of his first official tour to three Indian cities to promote the British capital's resilience and strengths post-Brexit. Apart from Mumbai, Khan would be visiting Delhi and Amritsar in India and then fly to Lahore, Islamabad and Karachi in Pakistan on his six-day tour to six cities, reports PTI. 15:48 Infosys said today that it has appointed Salil S. Parekh as Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director (CEO & MD) of the company effective January 2, 2018. 15:40 India has the "intellectual capacity" and potential to be a model for the rest of the world in tackling environmental issues, especially through the use of renewable energy sources, Sweden's envoy for climate change has said, reports PTI. 15:00 Virat Kohli has continued his scintillating form, scoring his 20th Test hundred. The captains knock followed partner Murali Vijays ton from the other end who also brought up his 11th Test century. The duo has taken India into a comfortable position after Sri Lanka dismissed two early Indian batsmen cheaply. The duo have completed their 200-run partnership. 14:50 Cyclone Ockhi: Navy, Coast Guard continue search & rescue ops The Indian Navy and the Coast Guard continued search for missing fishermen using ships, dornier aircraft and helicopters in the "rough sea" off Kerala and Lakshadweep in the wake of Cyclone Ockhi, reports PTI. While INS Nireekshak, INS Jamuna and INS Sagardhwani are continuing search and rescue operations in their designated areas along the coast off Vizhinjam in Thiruvananthapuram and Kollam, two ships INS Shardul and INS Sharda are heading towards Lakshadweep, a defence spokesman said. The naval ships, which left from the Southern Naval Command here yesterday, are likely to reach Lakshadweep this evening. The spokesman said about eight boats from Kerala with 36 people on board are reported to be adrift at sea off Kalpeni island. 13:50 How a software engineer traded his way to financial freedom When most software engineers in India were lining up for a US visa or an onsite assignment, an IT engineer in Mumbai left his job to pursue a career in trading. This was a subject he knew very little about, only reading about it during his holidays while studying engineering. Six months into his first job, proprietary trader Nooresh Merani decided that coding was not what he was cut out for, this despite the fact that he had blown up his trading account during college and borrowed money to plug the hole. The excitement of trading and persuasive approach to crack the puzzle helped Nooresh to cross the bridge. Yet it took him many years and many more mistakes before he could confidently build up on his portfolio. Shifting his strategy from a pure technical approach, Nooresh presently uses fundamentals as a validation tool. Know more about his journey, his mistakes and his invetment strategy 13:00 USFDA okays Mylan, Biocon's biosimilar of cancer drug Herceptin Biotechnology major Biocon has said the US health regulator has approved Mylan NV's biosimilar Ogivri, co-developed with it, for the treatment of certain breast and stomach cancers, reports PTI. Ogivri is the first United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) approved biosimilar to Herceptin and the first biosimilar from Mylan and Biocons joint portfolio approved in the US, the two companies said in a joint statement. Mylan anticipates potentially being the first company to offer a biosimilar to Herceptin, as a result of its ability to secure global licenses for its trastuzumab product from Genentech and Roche earlier this year, it added. Mylan CEO Heather Bresch said: "The approval of Ogivri represents a monumental achievement for Mylan to increase patient access to biosimilars and deliver significant savings to the US healthcare system." 12:11 Rahul targets Modi over low govt spending on education in Gujarat Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi today took to Twitter to question Prime Minister Narendra Modi over low government spending on education in the BJP-ruled Gujarat, reports PTI. Posing the fourth question in the series "a question a day", Gandhi asked, "Why is Gujarat on the 26th position with regard to spending on government education? What wrong has the youth of the state done?" The Congress leader, who is leading his party's poll campaign in in the western state, accused the prime minister of "commercialising education at the cost of government schools and institutions and hitting students hard with fee hikes". "How will the dream of a 'New India' be realised this way," Gandhi asked Modi, who has been canvassing for votes for his party for the assembly polls. 10:40 Cyclone Ockhi: Modi dials TN CM, assures assistance The Tamil Nadu government has said it will soon seek central funds for the damage caused by Cyclone Ockhi in the southern parts of the state, with Kanyakumari and Tirunelveli districts being the worst hit, reports PTI. This was conveyed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi by Chief Minister K Palaniswami during a telephone conversation between the two leaders last night, a state government release said. "The prime minister assured to immediately give the required assistance," the release issued last night said. Modi dialled Palaniswami and enquired about the damage caused by the cyclone, which also battered parts of Kerala, it said. The chief minister apprised him of the various relief works going on in "full swing" in seven districts of the state and told Modi that Kanyakumari and Tirunelveli were the worst affected. 10:22 Trump says US Secretary of State Tillerson not leaving post US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is not leaving, President Donald Trump tweeted on Friday, after US officials on Thursday said the White House had a plan for CIA Director Mike Pompeo to replace him, reports Reuters. The media has been speculating that I fired Rex Tillerson or that he would be leaving soon - FAKE NEWS! Hes not leaving and while we disagree on certain subjects, (I call the final shots) we work well together and America is highly respected again! Trump said on Twitter. The tweet linked to a picture of Tillerson being sworn in as secretary of state with Trump and Vice President Mike Pence looking on. 10:05 EU tells UK: No trade talks without progress on Irish border The European Union warned Britain today that it must outline by next week how it plans to keep an open Irish border after Brexit or the bloc will refuse to start negotiating a new trade deal with the UK, reports PTI. Standing alongside European Council President Donald Tusk in Dublin, Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said the UK must offer "credible, concrete and workable solutions that guarantee there will no hard border" between Northern Ireland and the Irish republic after Britain leaves the EU in 2019. Tusk said British Prime Minister Theresa May had until Monday to present her "final offer" on divorce terms so that the 27 other EU leaders can assess it before a crucial December 14-15 summit in Brussels. 09:14 India re-elected to Intl Maritime Organisation Council India was today re-elected to the Council of the International Maritime Organisation under Category B at an assembly of the body at its headquarters in London, reports PTI. Indian High Commissioner to the UK YK Sinha represented India at the assembly where India secured the second-highest number of votes (144) from member-countries, just after Germany's 146 and ahead of Australia's 143. The other countries to make the cut included France (140), Canada (138), Spain (137), Brazil (131), Sweden (129), The Netherlands (124) and the UAE (115). Organisation Nitin Gadkari "India is hereby putting forward its candidature for a re-election to the Council of the International Maritime(IMO) in Category B, representing the developing countries and those with the largest interests in international sea borne trade," Union Shipping and Road Transport Ministerhad said in his address to the IMO in London earlier this week. CNBC-TV18's Uttkarsh Chaturvedi caught up with the Founder of Virgin Group, Richard Branson the big name in the global aviation sector and asked him his views on how the aviation market is going at this point of time. Branson said good airlines will continue to do well. According to him, Indian airlines have done a great job. Talking about Air India, he said government should not run airlines. December 02, 2017 Yemen - Saudis Throw The Towel - Saleh is Baaack - Russia Wins The war on Yemen has finally taken a turn towards an end. Former President Saleh is back in his leading position. They Saudis accepted their defeat. The Houthis will be thrown out of the capital Sanaa and return to their northern areas. Yemen is devastated and will need to rebuild. Everyone who participated in this war has lost. The only winner is Russia. A recap: During the "Arab spring" (U.S.) induced Yemeni revolution President Saleh was kicked out after ruling the country for 34 years. In 2012 the former Vice-President Hadi was "elected" as the new president on a one choice ballot. With U.S. support the system prevailed. bigger As I noted at that time: The U.S. missed the chance to use the movement against Saleh for some real transition in Yemen. This will come back to bite. Hadi was a Saudi puppet unable to rule the country. He tried to form a unity government under the National Dialogue Conference sponsored by the Gulf Cooperation Council. But two major constituencies were left out of the effort: the northern Yemeni Houthis of Zaidi belief, who for years had fought against Saudi-Wahhabi indoctrination in Yemen, and the followers of the ousted President Ali Abdullah Saleh. The Houthis and Saleh had fought each other for over a decade. Now they had a common enemy and united their efforts. In 2015 the Houthi and Yemeni army troops loyal to Saleh took over the capital Sanaa. Hadi resigned (twice), fled to Aden in the south and later onto Riyadh in Saudi Arabia. The Saudis were afraid to lose influence over their dirt poor but self-confident neighbor. They falsely alleged that the Houthis were supported by their perceived arch-enemy Iran. They declared war on the country and tried to invade it. The U.S. and the UK supported and still support the Saudi war with intelligence, refueling flights for Saudi bombers and massive weapon supplies. The Saudis sent their troops to invade the country, their neighboring United Arab Emirates sent its forces and additional mercenaries were hired from Sudan, south America and where ever they could be found. All to no avail. While the Saudis dropped more than 100 bombs per day onto Yemen their forces were defeated every time they tried to enter the mountainous heartland. The Houthi counterattacked within Saudi Arabia. They had no shoes but huge balls. Hundreds of Saudi border posts and military checkpoints were destroyed by them. The Saudis tried to starve the Houthis of weapons, food and other supplies. They blockaded the country and bombed weapon depots, factories and all infrastructure. They completely destroyed Houthi cities in the north and tried to assassinate the leaders of the rebellion. Tens of thousands of Yemenis died in the often indiscriminate attacks. But the Houthi held out. For decades Yemen had been filled up with weapons. During his decades long rule former president Saleh had stashed ten-thousands of tons of ammunition and equipment. Additional supplies were captured or bought from the Saudi mercenaries. The former Yemeni army units loyal to Saleh, as well as Saleh himself, stayed in the background. Their most visible contribution to the war was the launch of short range ballistic missiles (SRBM) against Saudi cities and military positions. These weapons had been bought earlier and were modified to have extended reach (see the excursion below). The Saudi were stuck in a stalemate that cost them over $800 million per month. Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State were flourishing in the south which the Saudis and their allies nominally controlled. Saudi proxies were infighting with troops from the UAE. Missiles were falling down on Saudi cities. While only few missiles hit their targets each of them demonstrated the impotence of the Saudi rulers. The Saudis finally send out peace feelers to former president Saleh. The Russians, who had kept their embassy in Sanaa open throughout the war, acted as the middleman. In mid October the first results of the diplomatic efforts became visible: 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. ... Most likely the Saudis are hoping to break the rebel alliance between Saleh and the Houthis, which has been fraying this year. ... 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. ... Salman was in Moscow earlier this month for an unprecedented state visit to Russia. ... 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. While Saleh was sick, the Houthis became uppity. They arrested and killed Saleh followers in Sanaa, occupied bases of his troops and raided homes of his officers. They may have gotten wind of the ongoing negotiations between Saleh and the Saudis. Over the last months their behavior towards their compatriots in Sanaa became unendurable. Meanwhile negotiations between Saleh and the Saudis were ongoing in the backrooms and on the battle field. On November 4 the Yemeni troops launched a missile against the airport of the Saudi capital Riyadh. U.S. provided missile defense systems destroyed the missile before it hit, but the public damage was done. A serious hit on the airport would likely close it for civilian traffic. The economic and political consequences for the Saudi tyrants would be huge. The Saudis responded with a total blockade of Yemen. Neither food nor medicine was allowed to pass. This led to a famine, hundreds of death per day and finally to a public outcry from the otherwise slavish UN. Not even the hundreds of millions the Saudis spend to manipulate the global media could prevent the backlash. Another missile was fired on Thursday to increase the pressure. It targeting the southern Saudi city of Khamis Mushait. The Saudis finally folded. They agreed to Saleh's conditions. We do not yet know what these conditions are but Saleh publicly announced that a deal had been made and immediately went to work. His first target were the no-longer-allied Houthi: ADEN (Reuters) - Former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh said on Saturday he was ready for a "new page" in relations with the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen if it stopped attacks on his country. The call came as his supporters battled Houthi fighters for a fourth day in the capital Sanaa while both sides traded blame for a widening rift between allies that could affect the course of the civil war. ... "I call upon the brothers in neighboring states and the alliance to stop their aggression, lift the siege, open the airports and allow food aid and the saving of the wounded and we will turn a new page by virtue of our neighborliness," Saleh said in a televised speech. The Saudis likewise publicly announced their agreement: The Arab coalition has made a statement on Saturday amidst the ongoing fierce clashes in Sanaa. ... The coalition also said that it recognizes the noble members of the the Yemeni General Peoples Congress (GPC), the GPCs leadership and the Yemeni people who were forced to remain under Houthi-Iranian control. Also, the coalition recognizes that these noble individuals have endured numerous murder threats, torture, bombings and seizure of public and private property. The Yemeni General Peoples Congress (GPC) is Saleh's party. He is still the GPC chairperson. Saleh is now again the Saudi accepted ruler of Yemen. The "legitimate" president Hadi will be buried in Riyadh. Saleh called on all his followers to oust the Houthi from their positions. His nephew and potential successor Colonel Tariq Mohammed Abdullah Saleh will lead a new military council and run that side of the business. Houthi posters in Sanaa have been teared down. There is some fierce fighting ongoing in the city. Sanaa is Saleh territory. His troops are prepared and he is very likely to win the fight. It is now left to Saleh and his family and followers to clean up the utter mess the U.S. induced "revolution" and the Saudi war on Yemen have caused. The Saudis will have to pay billions in reparations. Saleh's family will plunder a huge share of these. Despite the money Saleh is, like always, no ones puppet but the snake that bites everyone who stands in his way. That is how and why he could rule for so long. The Houthis, who bravely fought against the Saudis, became too sure of themselves and too obnoxious towards their own people to be able to rule. They will be ousted from Sanaa and pushed back into their devastated northern homelands. Everyone in Yemen lost in this war. Many, many have died for no good reason. It will take decades to rebuild all that was destroyed. The Saudis and the U.S. behind them have lost face and standing throughout the Arab world. They tried to fuck Yemen but Yemen fucked them. The only real winners of the war are the Russians. They again demonstrated that they are able to create peace where the U.S. only creates war and chaos. --- Excursion: The Saudis have alleged all along that the Houthi are an Iranian proxy force. That is not true. The Houthis are not Shia and not follower of Iranian state doctrines. They don't take orders. The military support they receive from Iran is minimal. The Saudis especially allege that the missiles fired under the Houthi label by the former Yemen troops under Saleh's command are of Iranian origin. But that is unlikely. Yemen has been under Saudi blockade for more than two years and ballistic missiles can not be smuggled under a coat. Yesterday Reuters released a short piece in supports of the Saudi allegations. But a closer reading shows that these are false. In mid November a confidential report by a UN panel found no evidence that the missiles launched against the Saudis are of QIAM-1 type from Iran: The supporting evidence provided in these [Saudi] briefings is far below that required to attribute this attack to a Qiam-1 SRBM, wrote the panel. The Saudi-Arabia led coalition has not yet though attributed the attempted attack against KKIA King Khalid International Airport, in the Saudi capital Riyadh to any particular type of SRBM. The Panel has seen no evidence to support claims of SRBM having been transferred to the Houthi-Saleh alliance from external sources in violation of paragraph 14 of resolution 2216, the brief went on. Like the specialists of IHS Janes (see below) the UN panel assessed that the missiles were modifications of a type that Yemen had earlier bought from North Korea: The Yemeni military, the panel added, retained existing stockpiles of SCUD-B and Hwasong-6 missiles that were not completely destroyed by earlier Saudi airstrikes. The panel cite a Houthi spokesperson who said missiles that had been damaged were subsequently repaired and modified. The panel has not discounted though that Yemen based foreign missile specialists may be providing advice, the brief cautioned. The panel raised the possibility that missiles may have been altered to extend their range to reach targets farther into Saudi Arabia. Now Reuters is trying to revive the Saudi claim by reporting on a new assessment with a very deceiving headline. Exclusive: Yemen rebel missiles fired at Saudi Arabia appear Iranian - U.N.: Remnants of four ballistic missiles fired into Saudi Arabia by Yemens Houthi rebels this year appear to have been designed and manufactured by Riyadhs regional rival Iran, a confidential report by United Nations sanctions monitors said, bolstering a push by the United States to punish the Tehran government. The Reuters claim in its opening paragraph is not what the panel really said. Deeper into the report: The independent panel of U.N. monitors, in a Nov. 24 report to the Security Council seen by Reuters on Thursday, said it as yet has no evidence as to the identity of the broker or supplier of the missiles ... Design characteristics and dimensions of the components inspected by the panel are consistent with those reported for the Iranian designed and manufactured Qiam-1 missile, the monitors wrote. I agree that the "design characteristics" and "dimensions of components" are consistent with the QIAM-1. The explanation for that is trivial. The Iranian QIAM-1 is: a licensed copy of the North Korean Hwasong-6. The Hwasong-6: is a North Korean tactical ballistic missile. It is derived from the Hwasong-5, itself a derivative of the Soviet R-17 Elbrus. It carries the NATO reporting name Scud. According to an IHS Janes report (pdf) the missiles the Saleh government of Yemen had bought from North Korea were of the Hwasong-5 and probably Hwasong-6 type: Prior to the outbreak of the current conflict, Yemen was known to have acquired R-17 Elbrus (SS -1C 'Scud B') ... ballistic missile systems from the Soviet Union ... Spanish naval vessels intercepted a ship carrying 15 Scud-type ballistic missiles to Yemen in December [2002]. That ship was later allowed to complete the delivery. The missiles found on board were 'Scud Bs' (a reference to North Korea's Hwasong-5 copy of the R-17), according to a June 2003 US diplomatic cable. ,,, [I]t is possible that it was one of several shipments that also included longer-range variants such as the Hwasong-6, which is also known as the 'Scud-C', and has a range of 500-550 km. The Yemen army has over 30 years of experience with Scud-type missiles and knows how to modify these. They revealed "new Yemeni made" Burkan missiles before they fired on Riyadh. Janes notes: The stated dimensions of the Burkan-1 suggest that it is a standard Scud that has been lengthened with additional sections welded into its fuselage and fuel tanks so that it can carry the additional propellant needed to extend its range. Iraq carried out similar modifications to produce Al Hussein missiles capable of reaching Tehran during the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq War. ... The Burkan-2 appears to use a new type of warhead section that is locally fabricated. Both Iran and North Korea have displayed Scud derivatives with shuttlecock-shaped warheads, but none of these match the Yemeni version. The range of the Burkan missiles also appears to have been extended by a reduction in the weight of their warheads. The Yemenis use locally modified Haewsong-5 and 6 missiles bought from North Korea. Iran builds a licensed copy of the Haewsong-6 under the name QIAM-1. These QIAM missiles will naturally have similar "design characteristics" and "dimensions of components" as the North Korean missiles the Yemenis use. Reuters is pointing its readers into the false direction when it claims that the Yemeni missiles "appear Iranian". In reality both, the Yemeni Burkan as well as the Iranian QIAM, are variants of the same North Korean Haewsong-5 and 6 which are themselves copies of the Soviet R-17/Scud-B/Scud-C types. All of these were build from the same specification sheet and engineering drawings. That their dimensions and parts look alike, as the UN panel says, follows from that but proves absolutely nothing. Posted by b on December 2, 2017 at 17:41 UTC | Permalink Comments next page next page Tornadoes that touched down in Burke County in October left damaged homes and businesses in their wake. But it wasnt enough for the area to get a disaster declaration from the government. North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper announced Tuesday that Disaster Recovery Centers will open this week in Caldwell and Wilkes counties to help residents who were affected by storms that struck on Oct. 23. A Disaster Loan Outreach Center also opened Tuesday in Watauga County to provide financial assistance to storm survivors. Even though Burke County had some damage from the storms, the damage wasnt severe enough to warrant outside help, said Julia Jarema, communications officer for the state Emergency Management Disaster Recovery division. She said enough of the storm damage in Burke was covered by insurance that it didnt qualify for a disaster declaration. She said there are formulas used to accessed damage and determine whether areas qualify. Jarema said the first people to survey storm damage in a county are at the emergency management level. Mike Willis, Burke County fire marshal/emergency management director, said on the day of the storm , local fire departments went out and accessed initial damage, documented it and gave it value estimates. That information was submitted to state emergency management officials. The state then came in and accessed the damage. He said state folks were in Burke County for three days accessing damage. Really, what we do just gives them (the state) a place to start, Willis said. Jarema said those accessing the damage categorize the type of damage, the severity of it and talk to the owners to determine what type of insurance they have. Willis said the majority of people who suffered damage in Burke County had insurance to cover it. For those who werent insured, the local church organizations and firemen offered assistance to them, he said. And neighbors helped others to clear storm debris, he said. Willis said because the county didnt meet the threshold for disaster declaration, then they do individual assessment. Th ose in Burke County who suffered damage to their home from the storm or tornado that isnt covered by insurance can contact Willis office at 828-764-9322. Cooper issued a state disaster declaration for Watauga County last week and announced the state had received a Small Business Administration disaster declaration. Any home/business owners in counties that touch Watauga County, including Ashe and Avery, can receive help, too, Jarema said. Cooper announced Tuesday that recovery centers will be open in Caldwell and Wilkes counties this week, according to a release from his office. The storm damaged a number of our mountain communities, Cooper said. While the majority of the damage was in the Boone area, we realize residents in other areas need help, too. Thats why we are opening recovery centers in other areas. Loans up to $200,000 are available through the Small Business Administration to homeowners to repair or replace damaged or destroyed structures. Homeowners and renters also are eligible for loans up to $40,000 to repair or replace damaged or destroyed personal property such as clothing and appliances, according to the release from Coopers office. Businesses and nonprofit organizations may borrow up to $2 million for physical damage, it said. Sharon McBrayer is a staff writer and can be reached at smcbrayer@morganton.com or at 828-432-8946. Maintaining independence and editorial freedom is essential to our mission of empowering investor success. We provide a platform for our authors to report on investments fairly, accurately, and from the investors point of view. We also respect individual opinionsthey represent the unvarnished thinking of our people and exacting analysis of our research processes. Our authors can publish views that we may or may not agree with, but they show their work, distinguish facts from opinions, and make sure their analysis is clear and in no way misleading or deceptive. To further protect the integrity of our editorial content, we keep a strict separation between our sales teams and authors to remove any pressure or influence on our analyses and research. Read our editorial policy to learn more about our process. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson isn't going anywhere, President Donald Trump said Friday. The president tweeted that reports that "that I fired Rex Tillerson or that he would be leaving soon - FAKE NEWS!" "He's not leaving and while we disagree on certain subjects, (I call the final shots) we work well together and America is highly respected again!," Trump wrote. RELATED: With tensions high, Tillerson struggles on navigate Washington As we reported yesterday: Secretary of State Rex Tillerson would leave the Trump administration "within weeks" under a plan developed by White House officials, the New York Times and other outlets reported Thursday. Tillerson, a native Texan and former CEO of oil giant Exxon Mobil, has clashed with President Donald Trump since taking over the State Department earlier this year. Trump has publicly questioned Tillerson's efforts to negotiate with North Korea, while Tillerson reportedly called Trump a "moron" following a national security meeting at the Pentagon. Under the plan developed by White House Chief of Staff John Kelly, Tillerson would be replaced by CIA Director Mike Pompeo, who would be replaced by Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Arkansas, the Times reported, citing anonymous sources. But Trump has yet to sign off on the plan himself, according to the report, which speculated, "public disclosure of Mr. Kelly's transition plan may be meant as a signal to the secretary that it is time to go." "For all of his public combativeness, Mr. Trump is notoriously reluctant to fire people, and it was not known if Mr. Tillerson had agreed to step down by then," the Times reported. Asked about Tillerson's future at a public event Thursday, Trump said, "He's here. Rex is here." The State Department denied the reports of Tillerson's eminent departure Thursday afternoon, saying Kelly had called State Department Chief of Staff Margaret Peterlin that day saying there was no plan to replace Tillerson. "He said there was nothing to that report," said Heather Nauert, a spokeswoman for the state department. The price of oil slipped slightly after reaching a new year high a week ago. West Texas Intermediate contracts for January delivery settled Friday at $58.36 per barrel Friday, up 96 cents (1.67 percent) on the day but down 59 cents (1 percent) for the week. On Nov. 24, WTI set a new year high of $58.95. By Wednesday, the price had fallen to a week low of $57.30 in anticipation of an OPEC decision on continuing supply cuts. During the cartels annual meeting in Vienna on Thursday, OPEC and Russia ultimately agreed to extend cuts. WTI rose by $1.06 over the course of Thursday and Friday. WTI has fetched an average price of $50.27 this year. Its up by $6.03 (11.52 percent) in 2017. The year low is $42.53. Commercial crude oil supplies fell by 3.4 million barrels to 453.7 million barrels, according to the Energy Information Administrations weekly report released Wednesday. The reporting week was for Nov. 24. The Strategic Petroleum Reserve continued to draw down, this week by 2.4 million barrels, leaving 665.1 million barrels in storage. Total motor gasoline supplies rose by 3.6 million barrels to 214.1 million barrels. Kerosene-type jet fuel was virtually unchanged at 41.3 million barrels. Distillates were up by 2.7 million barrels to 127.8 million barrels. Domestic crude production rose by 24,000 barrels per day to 9.682 million barrels per day. Imports fell by 365,000 barrels per day to 5.917 million barrels per day. Exports were down by 179,000 barrels per day to 1.412 million barrels per day. Plains Marketing posted prices were down this week, and while WTI all other areas and West Texas sour generally rise and fall in equal increments, Friday marked a departure. WTI posted was priced at $54.75 per barrel Friday, and sour fetched $52, putting the spread between the crude grades at $2.75. A rise of $1 (1.86 percent) for WTI posted and $1.60 (3.17 percent) for sour Friday ended a $3.35 spread that held for 21 trading days. The spread between WTI futures and WTI posted is $3.61. Sour is up $8.80 (20.37 percent) this year and has fetched an average price of $42.93 per barrel. The year high is $52.15, and the low is $35.60. WTI posted has an average price of $46.75 per barrel, with a high of $55.50 and a low of $39. Its up $6 (12.31 percent). In other futures trading Friday, February contracts rose by 93 cents to $58.38 per barrel, March was up by 91 cents to $58.31 and April climbed by 89 cents to $58.17. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate A simple road trip this season can result in an abundance of holiday cheer. Beginning this month, Christmas takes over in Grapevine -- so much so that the North Texas city has been deemed the Christmas Capital of Texas. Whether for a weekend or a family vacation, Grapevine hosts more than 1,400 holiday-themed events through January. With that many options, it should be easy to create memories and traditions through the most wonderful time of the year. In addition to the following attractions, Grapevine has a variety of shopping options that include locally owned stores in downtown, Grapevine Mills (with Christmas and New Years Eve events), Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World with Santas Wonderland and Grapevine Towne Center. The city has more than 200 restaurants and urban wineries that offer tastings and refreshments. For more information, visit grapevinetexasusa.com/christmas. LONE STAR CHRISTMAS FEATURING ICE! AT THE GAYLORD TEXAN RESORT Now in its 14th year, Lone Star Christmas is perhaps the centerpiece of the holidays in Grapevine. The resorts holiday displays and decorations feature 1.5 million lights, 12,000 ornaments, a 52-foot Christmas tree and a gingerbread house made of real gingerbread. The Gaylord also hosts ICE!, which features more than 2 million pounds of hand-carved sculptures in a 14,000-square-foot exhibit hall and huge ice slides. Temperature inside the exhibit is 9 degrees (parkas are provided). Events continue through Jan. 1 Gaylord Texan Resort is at 1501 Gaylord Trail. See gaylordtexan.com for ICE! Hours and ticket prices. THE NORTH POLE EXPRESS North Pole Express is presented by Great Wolf Lodge. Families can visit the North Pole aboard Grapevine Vintage Railroad. Mrs. Claus will join the ride and give children a silver Santa bell. When the train arrives at the North Pole, guests walk along a Christmas tree forest and visit with the elves and Santa Claus over a mug of frosty chocolate snow milk. Families can have their photo taken with Santa. North Pole Express is Nov. 24-26 and Dec. 1-23. Grapevine Vintage Railroad is at 705 S. Main St. SNOWLAND AT GREAT WOLF LODGE Guests can enjoy Snowland that features North Pole University, a life-size gingerbread house the Polar Wolf Walk and the Great Clock Tower show. If it gets too cold, guests can visit the largest indoor waterpark in Texas where its a comfortable 84 degrees. Snowland is Nov. 26-Jan. 1. Great Wolf Lodge is at 100 Great Wolf Drive. Greatwolf.com. DR. SUES HOT CHOCOLATE HAPPY HOUR What better way to warm up than with a mug of hand-crafted cocoa? Head to Grapevines Historic Main St. to visit the hot chocolate barista for a menu that includes peppermint, old-fashioned and Mexican hot chocolate flavors made with premiere European cocoa. For those who need their mugs with a bit extra can customize their chocolate with a variety of flavorings and toppings. Happy hour is 3-6 p.m. daily between Nov. 24 and Dec. 23. $4 per person. Dr. Sues Chocolate, is at 417 S Main St. drsueschocolate.com. CHRISTMAS WINE TRAIN EXCURSIONS Adults can hop aboard Grapevine Vintage Railroads wine train that departs from the Cotton Belt Depot. Ride through historic downtown amid the decorative lights while enjoying a boxed dinner with wine. The rides are 7 p.m. Nov 30 and Dec. 14. The railroad also hosts a ride in the Fort Worth Stockyards at 7 p.m. Dec. 7. Tickets are $45 per person for those 21 and older. These rides sell out fast, so early reservations are key. Cotton Belt Depot is at 705 S. Main St. grapevinetexasusa.com/christmas for reservations. CHRISTMAS SHOWS AT THE PALACE THEATER The historic Palace Theater is a throwback venue that hosts concerts, theatrical productions and vintage movies. The holiday season of shows includes Dallas artist Ricki Dereks Christmas show A Merry Little Christmas Show with Ricki Derek. Derek pays homage to the likes of Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Bing Crosby. He performs a mix of his own holiday songs with Christmas classics. A Merry Little Christmas Show is 8 p.m., Dec. 2. Tickets are $27. Other holiday shows at the theater include An Elvis Christmas Classic starring Kraig Parker, Dec. 3; A Grapevine Opry Christmas with Rocky Gribble, Dec. 9; Gentri: The Gentlemen Trio, Dec. 14-16; A Forever Young Christmas, Dec. 17 and 18. Classic Classic Christmas films will be shown Dec. 1-23. The Palace Theatre is at 300 S. Main St. Palace-theatre.com. CHRISTMAS PARADES Leave it to the Christmas capital to feature parades that take place on land and water. The Twinkle Light Boat parade features decorated watercraft at the Twin Coves Marina, which is visible from the Glass Cactus Nightclub at the Gaylord and the shores of Lake Grapevine. The parade is from 6-9 p.m. Dec. 2. The Parade of Lights, with the theme Holiday Memories, features more than 100 floats and marching bands trekking down Main Street. The parade is 7 p.m. Dec. 7. WHOVILLE IN GRAPEVINE Grapevines Town Square Gazebo turns into Whoville from Dr. Seuss How the Grinch Stole Christmas. See Who-houses, the post office and even a certain green characters lair. Whoville is Nov. 21 through early January. m This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate EL PASO -- The Federal Bureau of Investigations is expanding its efforts to find information related to the death of U.S. Border Patrol Agent Rogelio Martinez last month. Digital billboards are going up in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California, with the FBI requesting information from anyone driving through Van Horn from 10 p.m. to midnight on Nov. 18, said Emmerson Buie Jr., the FBI special agent in charge, on Friday. Thats the time frame when Martinez and an unidentified partner suffered severe head injuries and were found in the bottom of a culvert just off Interstate 10. The total reward for information has grown to $45,000 -- $25,000 from the FBI and $20,000 from the state of Texas. The National Border Patrol Council immediately insisted both agents were stoned by undocumented immigrants, drug traffickers, or both. Shortly after the death, President Donald Trump renewed his call for a border wall. But two weeks later, investigators are exploring the possibility that an accident, not an attack, was the cause of Martinezs death. A growing theory is that a tractor-trailer sideswiped Martinez and his partner, who suffers from memory loss. Culberson County Sheriff Oscar Carrillo does not discount that line of investigation, saying vehicle accidents are common in his county and region. Carrillo, a veteran law enforcement official, was one of the first responders to the scene and said evidence gathered there did not suggest an assault. Al Pena, former deputy director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, isnt so sure about an accident and believes perhaps something else may have been the cause. He disagreed with the initial assessment by the union, and allegations made by President Trump, Gov. Greg Abbott and Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, who all linked the incident to border security and called for more resources. Ive known agents who have been threatened with rocks, but never to the point where an agent has been stoned to death and especially in that area of the country, Pena said. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate WASHINGTON - A little-known Treasury Department fund created to settle workplace claims for members of Congress has paid only one settlement over alleged sexual harassment in the last five years, the office that handles workplace claims on Capitol Hill revealed Friday. In a letter to the Committee on House Administration, the Office of Compliance disclosed that just one workplace complaint alleging sexual harassment was settled out of the Treasury fund between 2013 and the present. The Post confirmed that the member behind the $84,000 settlement was Rep. Blake Farenthold, R-Texas, who was sued by his former communications director over alleged harassment in 2014. In total, the fund paid for settlements related to six claims against House members' offices during that time. The five complaints not pertaining to sexual harassment alleged one or more forms of employment discrimination and in some cases, retaliation, the letter stated. Now Playing: Senator Susan Collins has some choice words about her fellow Republican colleague on Capitol Hill. Veuer's Nick Cardona (@nickcardona93) has that story. Video: Brandpoint The data sheds new light on the secretive process lawmakers use to settle workplace complaints against them and their aides. While claims of sexual harassment on Capitol Hill have grabbed national attention, the data shows that discrimination claims were more likely to be settled out of the Treasury fund in the last five years. The fund is not the only source of settlement payments for lawmakers. Members like Rep. John Conyers Jr., D-Mich., have used their office budgets to settle - and conceal - complaints, a method that hampers public scrutiny. On Friday, the House Ethics Committee plans to review all formal claims of sexual harassment, discrimination and mistreatment involving members and employees of the lower chamber, a sign the panel might assert its power to address mounting allegations of misconduct on Capitol Hill. In their first major action following a public outcry over sexual harassment in Congress, Ethics Committee Chairwoman Susan Brooks, R-Ind., and ranking Democrat Ted Deutch, Fla., asked the Office of Compliance to provide "all records ... related to any claims of sexual harassment, discrimination, retaliation, or any other employment practice prohibited" under the Congressional Accountability Act. The request covers complaints against current members and employees of the House, Brooks and Deutch wrote Friday in a letter to the OOC. It does not mean the records will become public. Ethics watchdog groups welcomed the move as a sign the panel might wield its power to crack down on mistreatment of congressional aides. "A nice change of pace to see the Ethics Committee asserting its jurisdiction," Meredith McGehee, executive director of Issue One, wrote in an email. "Usually they are looking for ways to avoid taking on hard questions, hoping the Member leaves or burying the allegations until the 'heat' goes away." Last week, the ethics panel announced it would probe allegations that Conyers behaved inappropriately toward multiple female aides, its first public response to the sexual harassment debate on Capitol Hill. Conyers was already under investigation by the ethics committee over what an independent ethics monitor described as a potentially improper severance arrangement with a former employee. House Democratic leaders, as well as a number of rank-and-file members, called Thursday for Conyers to resign over the harassment allegations. Under the law, the executive director of the Office of Compliance has authority to share records of hearings and decisions with the House and Senate ethics committees. The executive director can share all written and oral testimony from hearings and decisions, but not information discussed in mediation. It's unclear whether the OOC has ever shared information with the ethics committees. Laura Cech, spokeswoman for the office, said current officials in the Office of Compliance are not aware of any records of hearings and decisions that were provided to the ethics committees. MERIDEN The Record-Journal celebrated its 150th anniversary with a four-chamber of commerce event Wednesday. Hundreds attended the celebration, which featured the MidState, Quinnipiac, Southington and Cheshire chambers of commerce. We were thrilled to host an event in partner with all four chambers in our Record-Journal coverage area to celebrate this significant milestone with the local business community, who have supported us throughout our 150-year history, said Liz White, executive vice president and assistant publisher of the Record-Journal. The event was presented by Bongiovanni Insurance & Financial, a benefits company in Meriden. Owner and principal agent, Trey Bongiovanni, attended the celebration with information about wellness in the workplace. The Record-Journal is a staple in the community and in the surrounding towns [the event] recognizes the Record-Journal and what they do in the community, Bongiovanni said. Dee Prior-Nesti, executive director of the Qunnipiac Chamber of Commerce, said the event was a great way for people to learn just how progressive the newspaper company has become. Its not easy to be in the newspaper business any company that reaches a milestone of 150 years should be celebrated, Prior-Nesti said. SPOTTED ? At RJ 150th 4-chamber celebration? Were you? At RJ 150th 4-chamber celebration? The Record-Journal celebrated with an evening of refreshments, networking and speeches congratulating the company. We wanted to highlight that weve evolved from a print newspaper into a multimedia company, White said. Were excited to partner with other businesses to collaborate on marketing initiatives. bwright@record-journal.com 203-317-2316 Twitter: @baileyfaywright Wallingford Mayor William W. Dickinson Jr. spoke out Friday after hearing Connecticut faces an additional $207.8 million deficit in the current fiscal year. I have not a lot of confidence in any figures coming out, Dickinson said. Theres more problems ahead. I have concerns about what we should do with our budget this year. Comptroller Kevin Lembo Friday projected the state is on pace for a $207.8 million deficit, a hole that requires legislative action. The budget hole was reported in his monthly letter to Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, whose budget chief projected a deficit of $202 million in his own monthly letter back on Nov. 20. The projections exceed the 1 percent threshold that requires a deficit mitigation plan, meaning Malloy will have to submit a plan to the legislature for approval. These are the first projections since the legislature adopted its budget on Oct. 28. Municipal leaders fear more cuts depleting already diminished budgets, especially after already seeing reductions since the budget was adopted. On Nov. 17, Malloy announced $182 million in new cuts, including $91 million to municipalities, because legislators required him to find the additional savings in the budget. Towns such as Wallingford and Southington were hit particularly hard with $1.8 million cutbacks in state aid. The cutbacks are on top of $3 million reductions in aid in 2017. After finally settling on a state budget less than a month ago, municipal leaders believed they had the clarity to proceed forward on their own budgets and spending for the current fiscal year. But then, new additional cuts approaching $100 million had to be absorbed just three weeks later through service reductions or local tax hikes nearly halfway through the fiscal year, said Kevin Maloney, spokesman for Connecticut Conference of Municipalities. In addition to service cuts, supplemental tax bills are a possibility. Municipal reserve funds would be at greater risk, as would their credit rating by the bond rating agencies, which would increase borrowing costs, Maloney said. Cheshire received a $977,966 holdback for 2018. Town Manager Michael Milone said because the town received $343,000, the cut amounted to a $635,000 reduction. Its not quite as bad as the total value of cuts suggests, Milone said. But like other towns leaders, Milone believes the cuts will continue and the towns will need to find ways to absorb them. Weve had freezes in hiring and limited hiring, Milone said. Weve buffered and will go back to the council and come up with a plan to meet the shortfall and save more in the event these cuts will continue. Were going to hold back money. How much is enough to put aside? Wallingford has dipped into its reserves to cover 2017, but Dickinson worries about possible service cuts in 2018, given the states revenue shortfall leading to even less state aid. Once you spend your reserves theyre gone, Dickinson said. I dont see municipalities coming up with tax increases because people cant afford them. Meriden was among the large cities whose cuts were less than a percent of their allocation. The city was on track to receive $66,314,296 but city leaders agreed the states budgeting deficits are challenging them at budget time. There are so many questions right now, said Mayor Kevin Scarpati. We need to be looking at realistic numbers from the state so we dont have to come up with cuts at the eleventh hour. mgodin@record-journal.com 203-317-2255 Twitter: @Cconnbiz The Lewis and Clark Humane Society received a $101,505 check on Friday afternoon to jump-start the most important time of the year for giving to the shelter. Patricia and John Armstrong presented the check on behalf of their late neighbors, George and Dorothy Huston, who split their estate between the shelter in Helena and Butte. The Hustons moved to Helena from Toledo, Ohio, in the late 1990s. The Armstrongs were their backdoor neighbors and their dogs always ran the fence together. George Huston was described as a lovable curmudgeon who liked to talk politics. The Hustons didnt have kids and when Dorothy died in 2010 and George needed help, the Armstrongs volunteered to execute his will. Its just been a real joy, Patricia Armstrong said. Weve thoroughly enjoyed being a part of this. Shortly after moving to Montana, the Hustons adopted a dog from Helena. After his wife died, George adopted Buddy, a springer spaniel mix from the shelter in Butte. Now Buddy has been adopted by another neighbor who grew up playing with him. After presenting the check, the Armstrongs took a tour to understand how needed the Hustons donation is. Executive Director Gina Wiest said it costs $3,500 a day to operate the shelter. This is breathing room, she said. We are struggling. Wiest said donations almost cease from March to October, but drastically increase around the holidays. While Wiest said the shelter is incredibly grateful for the Hustons donation, she said it will go toward big ticket items, maintenance the shelter has been holding off on or emergencies like a boiler going out. She said its crucial for the shelter to continue fundraising until the end of the year to continue day to day operations. Wiest said the shelter has spent the past few years expanding to limit an existing shelter animals contact with an incoming stray to prevent illness. They also have built more kennel space to make sure animals can rotate to regularly clean all holding areas. Wiest said shes also on a mission to provide education about puppy mills in the area since the shelter is often where people first file a complaint. They only euthanize an animal when it has severe behavioral issues or are too ill, which Wiest said is rare. She said the shelter also works to have incoming animals adopted out in 15 to 20 days to reduce stress. There isnt anything normal about being here, she said. Wiest said people can call or visit the shelter website at www.mtlchs.org/ to make donations. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate INDIANAPOLIS - Phil Jacobs was just a teenager when his parents bought a scenic Kentucky farm with hayfields, forests, creeks, trails and a view of the Ohio River. Decades later, he still spent time there, maintaining the property as a second job and using its campsite for family getaways. The Lawrenceburg, Ind., anesthesiologist was removing dying ash trees in June 2015 when his tractor overturned as he was pulling a tree up a hill. He died instantly, at age 62. The tractor, which dated to the early 1960s, had no rollover protections. "The farm was a very important part of my husband's life," said Jacobs' widow, Joyce. "If he had any time off, we went to the farm." The risk of serious injury or death has always been a part of farming. But the nation's growing embrace of small-scale production of local and organic crops is drawing more amateurs into the field, and inexperienced growers are increasingly getting maimed and even killed, often by old, unsafe machinery. Experts say some novices have little appreciation of the occupation's dangers. Up to a quarter of Indiana's 115 farm fatalities over the past four years have been on small operations that include so-called hobby or lifestyle farms, which are often run by people who entered farming from other lines of work, according to research by Purdue University farm-safety expert Bill Field, who has tracked farm fatalities for nearly four decades. Those deaths - nearly 30 between 2013 and 2016 - represent a disproportionately high percentage of Indiana's total farming deaths, given the state's widespread commercial farming operations, Field said. Over the years, Field has served as an expert witness in more than 100 lawsuits that included the deaths of a surgeon, an FBI agent, a lawyer and several other professionals who traded white-collar careers for farming. Many were rookie farmers killed in accidents that people raised on farms and mindful of farming dangers would likely have avoided. That includes the death of a man who entered retirement with dreams of starting a Christmas tree farm in the Northeast. He bought a brand-new tractor and began clearing land, seemingly oblivious to the dangers posed by farm equipment. Two months into retirement, the man was killed in a grisly accident when he was pulled into the tractor's power takeoff shaft - a rapidly spinning device at the rear end of the tractor that sends power to attachments. "He retired on Sept. 30 from a government job and was dead by Thanksgiving. I don't think he had a clue what he was doing with that equipment," said Field, who investigated the death as part of a suit filed by the man's widow. He declined to disclose the man's name. Chris Holman moved to Wisconsin from Oregon nearly a decade ago to pursue a Ph.D. in world languages. He ended up ditching academia for the farming life even though neither he nor his then-girlfriend, Maria, had any agricultural experience. The couple, now married with a young daughter, bought 41 acres and founded Nami Moon Farms, which specializes in pasture-raised hogs and chickens, as well as eggs, honey and vegetables. They knew full well that agriculture can be dangerous, so Holman repeatedly screened farm-safety videos. But he still nearly had a serious accident the first time he tilled a field. As his tractor was rolling along, the tiller trailing behind it snagged on a boulder hidden in the soil. The tractor's front end immediately began rising off the ground and came a split-second away from flipping over onto the cab where he was seated. "Maybe it was just dumb luck, but right in the heat of the moment, I hit the clutch and had just enough time to bring the front end back down," recalled Holman, 40. His tractor had some protections - a rollover bar and a reinforced cab. But hobby farms are among the only places in the U.S. where cheaper, older tractors without such safety features are still in use, said Frank Gasperini, executive vice president of the National Council of Agricultural Employers. Jacobs' tractor was one example. He had researched buying a new, safer machine, his widow said. Tractor rollovers are the leading cause of death on smaller farms, Gasperini said, and some beginning farmers who buy older tractors have little or no safety training. They often toil alone at odd hours - sometimes while weary from working at off-farm jobs. Gasperini warned in a July article in the Journal of Agromedicine that "very small, subsistence, part-time, nontraditional and hobby farms will continue to pose significant challenges" to the safety of U.S. agriculture. The total number of farms in the U.S. has been declining for decades as large commercial farms keep getting bigger. But small farms are on the rise, buoyed by the popularity of locally grown produce and meats, farmers' markets, organic foods and farm-to-table production. The 2012 farm census showed that farms covering less than 50 acres grew nearly 10 percent between 2002 and 2012, when there were more than 813,000 such farms nationwide. Many new retirees are drawn to small-scale farming by the allure of a bucolic life and the independence of setting their own schedule, said Roger Sipe, editor for Hobby Farms, a national magazine that documents the trend. Even seasoned farmers sometimes make mistakes in a moment of haste. That was the case for Jamie Houdek, who lost his right hand to a corn picker on the 60-acre hobby farm where he works part-time raising beef cattle in Little Falls, Minn. The father of three was harvesting corn for cattle feed in November 2013 when he stopped his tractor and climbed down from the puttering machine to make sure the corn picker it was pulling was functioning properly. Houdek then reached to grab a dried ear of corn from the still-operating machine to check its moisture content. His gloved right hand was pulled inside, crushed to the wrist by metal rollers and eventually shorn off. His left hand suffered nerve damage when it also became entangled in the picker. He was trapped in the machine's grip for nearly an hour before a neighbor rescued him. "I was born and raised on farms, so I knew better," said Houdek, 36. But he was hurrying and trying to take advantage of good weather. "I just thought I would jump off real quick, check on stuff and jump back on and keep going." Uber held its 2014 holiday party on an unfurnished floor at its swank, mood-lit headquarters in San Francisco. Employees and investors attended in flamboyant attire from the Roaring 20s and drank at an open bar into the early morning hours. Venture capitalist Shervin Pishevar, several attendees recall, brought a live pony on a leash. Pishevar, an early backer of the ride-hailing company who was a board observer at the time, allegedly did something else memorable that night. According to current and former colleagues, the then-40-year-old investor approached Austin Geidt, Ubers 30-year-old head of global expansion, placed his hand on her leg and moved it up her dress. Geidt squirmed away, the colleagues say. It was not the first time Pishevar had made advances toward Geidt, which she declined to reciprocate, according to the colleagues. Geidt joined Uber Technologies Inc. as an intern in 2010. She was soon tasked with expanding Uber to more cities; Pishevar, a major Democratic Party donor, offered valuable political and business connections. Over the years, these people say, Pishevar followed Geidt around at company events, at times placing his hand on her leg or lower back. A person with firsthand knowledge of the holiday party incident and these other encounters confirmed the account of Pishevars behavior to Bloomberg. Geidt, now the head of operations for Ubers autonomous driving unit, declined to comment for this story. Five other women who met Pishevar in a professional context told Bloomberg they were sexually assaulted or harassed by him. In each case, the women accused Pishevar of exploiting a professional connection, and using the prospect of a job, mentorship or investment to make an unwanted advance. They all asked not to be identified, citing fears over the investors history of filing lawsuits and concerns that he could wield his influence to ruin their careers. This year Pishevar sued what he described as an opposition research firm, claiming it was trying to spread false allegations about him. In an email, an attorney for Pishevar says he and his then-girlfriend made a brief appearance at Ubers holiday party with the pony, which was wearing a Santa hat. He denied touching Geidt inappropriately then or making sexual advances toward her at other events. Randa Osman, his lawyer at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, says Pishevar and Geidt maintained a friendly, professional relationship and referenced emails from 2015 and 2016 in which she agreed to meet him for lunch and coffee. A person, referred to Bloomberg by Pishevars spokesman but who asked not to be identified, says she attended the Uber party and didnt witness the alleged incident. She confirms that Pishevar left after a short period of time and says he wouldnt have been able to touch Geidt because he was holding the ponys leash in one hand and a drink in the other. She says she wasnt with Pishevar the entire time and never saw Geidt. Like Hollywood, Washington and New York City, Silicon Valley is in a moral crisis after a litany of revelations about predatory behavior by powerful men. Venture capitalists Justin Caldbeck of Binary Capital, Steve Jurvetson of DFJ and Dave McClure of 500 Startups all left their firms following accusations of misconduct. Roy Price, former head of Amazon Studios, resigned in October after a producer accused him of sexual harassment. Pishevar, co-founder and managing director of Sherpa Capital, is a powerful figure in the valley and a bridge to establishment figures on both coasts. He cultivated a relationship with Uber co-founder Travis Kalanick and publicly came to his defense when he was ousted as CEO and sued by another investor. In addition to investing in Uber, Pishevar made early bets on Airbnb, Warby Parker and Tumblr, which Yahoo bought for $1.1 billion. He is also co-founder and co-executive chairman of Virgin Hyperloop One, which is seeking to develop a futuristic tube-based transportation system with Richard Branson. The five women who spoke to Bloomberg say Pishevar used his position of power to pursue romantic relationships and unwanted sexual encounters. In a statement, Pishevars representatives said, We are confident that these anecdotes will be shown to be untrue. One entrepreneur says Pishevar asked to meet with her a few years ago to discuss investing in her company. During a dinner meeting, she says, Pishevar started to hit on her, though she made it clear she was only interested in a business relationship. Pishevar tried to earn some sympathy by explaining that he and his wife were getting a divorce. She said Pishevar eventually forced himself on her, kissing and groping her. Im pushing back and trying to talk about anything else, she said. It is really shady, this baiting and switching that he does. Another tech worker says she reached out to Pishevar to discuss career opportunities in 2013. They met for dinner at a San Francisco restaurant, then he invited her back to his home. She went because they had not yet talked about potential jobs. When they got there, the woman says Pishevar forcibly kissed her. He basically jumped on me, tried to put his tongue down my throat, and I stopped it, she says. I wanted to get career advice, and it was twisted into something else. A woman Pishevar had hired says he repeatedly tried to pressure her into having sex in 2013. She says she told him several times she did not want to lead him in the wrong direction and was not interested, including in a Facebook message reviewed by Bloomberg. Still, she says that on a trip, he booked them a single hotel room and that night attempted to perform oral sex on her until she convinced him to stop. It felt really wrong, and it was really confusing at the time, she says. I just remember his big body on top of me. I was young enough to be his daughter. She says she confided in her sister, who recounted their conversation to Bloomberg and described the events as a lasting trauma. A fourth woman says Pishevar hired her company in 2015. He invited her to a party in Los Angeles. Late that evening, the woman says, Pishevar cornered her and forcibly kissed her. She pushed him off, but in the weeks that followed, she says, he repeatedly harassed her. She insisted that she wanted to keep the relationship professional, and eventually he gave up. She told a friend at the time, who later relayed the details of her account to Bloomberg. At a 2013 conference in Ireland, another entrepreneur says she visited a suite where Pishevar had convened an after-party with other founders and investors. As other partygoers disappeared into adjoining rooms, the entrepreneur found herself alone on the couch, seated between Pishevar and another man. Pishevar was holding a phone she does not recall who it belonged toand began showing her images of vaginas. The woman says she texted a friend who rescued her before anything else happened. On May 27, 2017, Pishevar was arrested in London after a woman accused him of raping her at the Ned hotel. Pishevar was released under investigation and never charged, according to London police. He secured an injunction preventing at least one publication, the Sun newspaper, from reporting on the arrest. Pishevar says he was detained briefly and that the assault claim was untrue. This month Pishevar sued a consulting firm run by Republican campaign veterans and accused it of spreading false information about him. The firm, Definers Public Affairs, said that it has never conducted work regarding Pishevar and called his claims delusional. A week later, the Sun reported that it successfully challenged Pishevars gag order in Britains High Court after he had spent $130,000 on the case. Nevertheless, Pishevars legal actions had an impact. Some of the women who shared allegations with Bloomberg had originally agreed to be identified by name. After his lawsuit, they withdrew their names, citing the legal risks. Emily Chang is a Bloomberg writer. Email: echang68@bloomberg.net Mark Zuckerberg's sister isn't the first to complain about sexual misconduct on jetliners - a problem a flight attendants' union called a "silent epidemic" that airlines have failed to solve. Randi Zuckerberg, a media executive, said this week that a male passenger on an Alaska Airlines flight made repeated harassing comments to her, and airline employees did nothing about it. In a letter to the carrier posted on social media, the sister of the Facebook founder said the crew members continued to serve the abusive customer alcoholic drinks and told her not to "take it personally." Zuckerberg's description of the incident on a trip from Los Angeles to Mazatlan, Mexico, caused Seattle-based Alaska Airlines to temporarily revoke the passenger's travel privileges, pending an investigation. Still, airlines must take stronger action to crack down on in-flight sexual harassment and assault, said Sara Nelson, international president of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA. "Let's be clear that this is not an Alaska problem," Nelson said in a statement this week. "It is an issue at the forefront of national awareness and it is a critical time for the airline industry to examine the steps necessary to take this on." Zero tolerance Nelson said she is seeking a zero tolerance policy and specific regulations to address the issue. "For too long unacceptable sexual innuendo, harassment advances, and assault have been a silent epidemic in our society and certainly on our planes," she wrote. Such incidents across all industries are under heightened scrutiny as more women go public with allegations against powerful men. The AFA conducted a member survey last year that showed the majority of flight attendants had no knowledge of written guidance or training on this specific issue available through their airline, Nelson said. Sexual harassment training is only mandatory in California, Connecticut and Maine, though most large companies have training for at least some of their employees. The survey of 2,000 attendants also found that 20 percent of crew members had experienced a report of a mid-flight sexual assault by a passenger against another passenger, and in those cases law enforcement was contacted or met the plane only about 40 percent of the time. Proposed law Allison Dvaladze said she was assaulted while flying to Amsterdam in April of last year. The incident, which is still under investigation, prompted her to start the Facebook page, "Protect airline passengers from sexual assault." She also worked with Sen. Robert Casey, D-Pa., to introduce the "Stopping Assault while Flying Enforcement Act of 2017," which was referred to committee in July. The law would require crew training and better data collection on assault in the air. "I travel a lot, I had never heard of this before it happened to me," said Dvaladze, who flies as part of her work to bring cancer screening to under-represented groups. "It was a real shock to me when it happened. But what was more of a shock to me was that it wasn't a surprise to the crew, yet at the same time they had no idea what to do. If the crew isn't armed with the right tools, they can't handle it." In a blog post on Alaska Airlines' website, the airline's vice president of people, Andrea Schneider, addressed a case of sexual harassment on an Alaska flight from Los Angeles to Mazatlan, without identifying the accuser. Schneider called the report "very disturbing." "The safety and well-being of our guests and employees is our number one priority," Schneider wrote. "We want our guests to feel safe. As a company, we have zero tolerance for any type of misconduct that creates an unsafe environment for our guests and our employees." This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Turns out, America's decadelong shale boom might just end up being a little too good to be true. There's no denying that fracking has turned the U.S. into a force in the global oil and gas markets, which has more than a few people abuzz about the prospect of energy independence. But now, researchers at MIT have uncovered one potentially game-changingdetail: a flaw in the Energy Department's official forecast, which may vastly overstate oil and gas production in the years to come. The culprit, they say, lies in the Energy Information Administration's premise that better technology has been behind nearly all the recent output gains, and will continue to boost production for the foreseeable future. That's not quite right. Instead, the research suggests increases have been largely due to something more mundane: low energy prices, which led drillers to focus on sweet spots where oil and gas are easiest to extract. "The EIA is assuming that productivity of individual wells will continue to rise as a result of improvements in technology," said Justin Montgomery, a researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and one of the study's authors. "This compounds year after year, like interest, so the further out in the future the wells are drilled, the more that they are being overestimated." Extrapolating from field studies Montgomery and his colleague Francis O'Sullivan conducted in North Dakota's Bakken shale deposit, the research suggests that total U.S. oil and natural gas production from new wells could undershoot the EIA estimate by more than 10 percent in 2020. Things would get progressively worse each year after that as wells in various sweet spots are exhausted and technology fails to close the gap. "The same forecasting methods are used in other plays in the U.S., and the same dynamic is likely to be present," Montgomery added. Margaret Coleman, the EIA's leader of oil, gas and biofuels exploration and production analysis, said in an email "the study raises valid points" and the administration is looking at ways to give its estimates a tighter focus. She added that many shale fields lack the detailed well data that informed the MIT study, which means EIA forecasters have to use known geologic information and assumptions about prices and technology to come up with estimates. There's little doubt the technologies used to extract oil and natural gas trapped within rock formations thousands of feet below the Earth's surface - like drill heads, mapping software, fracking techniques and so on - have gotten better. And intuitively, it makes a lot of sense that better methods have boosted U.S. shale output and helped lead to new finds. "It's really hard to bet against the ability of the industry to improve and get more out of the rock," said Manuj Nikhanj, co-chief executive officer of RS Energy Group. Just last month, International Energy Agency Executive Director Fatih Birol said shale production will make the U.S. the "undisputed leader of global oil and gas markets for decades to come." Not only could a slowdown in production mean higher energy prices, but it also might just mark the end of the U.S. shale industry's role as the one swing producer able to counter OPEC's might. The shale boom has repeatedly frustrated the Saudi-led cartel's attempts to control oil prices. A trio of Montanans including a Plains-based hunting outfitter and one North Dakotan have been charged with illegally hunting and killing a mountain lion and trying to cover up the illegal hunt near White Sulphur Springs in 2013. Ernie Jablonsky, 51, of Plains; Mitch Theule, 29, of Townsend; and Richard Ceynar, 34, of Williston, North Dakota, all entered not guilty pleas before Judge Jeremiah Lynch in U.S. District Court in Missoula on Nov. 28. The men have been charged with conspiracy to illegally hunt, kill and traffic mountain lions and illegal sale of outfitted mountain lion hunts. In addition, Jablonsky and Ceynar face false labeling charges. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service investigated the incident, with the assistance of Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks. All of the men could face five years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release. Montana resident James V. Day, who is already serving a five-year sentence for criminal possession of dangerous drugs in a Sanders County case, also pleaded not guilty to two felony counts in the same incident during an appearance in a Great Falls federal court on Nov. 14. Days attorney has petitioned to have any confession or self-incriminating statement that may have been collected by investigators suppressed, saying Days conversation with two FWP investigators was involuntary. A trial has been set for Jan. 2 in Helena before Judge Sam Haddon. The case According to the charging documents, Jablonsky who owns Montana Big Game Pursuits agreed to take Ceynar and his Bakken oil field buddy on an $8,000 mountain lion hunting trip in the mountains near the small town of Checkerboard. That is not an area where Jablonsky was licensed to outfit hunts. Day, who has two other criminal convictions, is alleged to have worked as a houndsman on the hunt for $200 a day. At the time he was also employed as an elk hunting guide for Jablonsky, as was Theule, the documents stated. Theule was allegedly paid $500 for helping on the hunt. On Feb. 8, 2013, hounds treed a mountain lion. Day and Theule went to the site on a snowmobile while Jablonsky, Ceynar and his friend followed in a separate vehicle and got stuck in the snow. Using walkie-talkies, the two groups communicated about the hunt. Hiking the rest of the way, the trio arrived at dusk where the cat was treed. According to the documents, Theule focused a large headlamp on the mountain lion so Ceynar could shoot it after legal shooting hours. Mountain lion kills must be reported to Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks. According to the court filings, Jablonsky told Ceynar to report the hunt was not outfitted. Jablonsky also reportedly told Ceynars friend to write two elk hunts in the memo space of the $8,000 check he wrote for the hunt. The lion was sent to a taxidermist and delivered to Ceynars North Dakota home where it was displayed. When Jablonsky submitted his 2013 Hunting Outfitter Client Report Log to the Montana Board of Outfitters, he did not list Ceynar as a mountain lion hunting client. When contacted for comment, Jablonskys attorney, Michael Sherwood of Missoula, told The Billings Gazette that he was concerned this news story would taint the jury since readers will hear only one side of the story. He said more information concerning his clients response to the charges would be revealed in pre-trial motions due by Dec. 11. Outfitting board Steve Gallus, executive officer for the Montana Board of Outfitters, said he could not comment on ongoing investigations by his department. A check with the Montana Department of Labor and Industry showed that Jablonsky has been a licensed hunting outfitter in Montana since 2006. In that time there have been no recorded disciplinary actions against him. Jablonsky did have a run-in with the Bureau of Land Management in the fall of 2011. According to BLM documents, Jablonsky was fined $250 for illegally cutting tree branches to hide one of three blinds that he set up on public lands. Jablonsky denied he encouraged his clients to use the blinds, instead saying they were for his girlfriend and a nonpaying client. Years earlier he was cited for illegally posting a no trespassing sign on public land near Winnett. These incidents occurred in the BLMs Lewistown Field Office, which in 2012 denied Jablonsky a commercial special recreation permit to guide hunters on BLM land. Jablonsky appealed the field managers decision, which was upheld by the Interior Board of Land Appeals, although one of the six administrative judges dissented. Jablonskys Montana Big Game Pursuits website touts hunts on private lands in Central and Eastern Montana. We have spent many years securing prime hunting leases for your best chance of success, the website says. Our operation is small, the land is large and our success rate is high. We take only a limited number of clients. Although the website says Jablonsky specializes in archery hunting for elk and deer, he also advertises mountain lion hunts on a very limited basis. Best if hunter is available on call when conditions are right. A seven-day mountain lion hunt is listed for $5,500. The heavy metal of GWAR provided the backdrop for a head banging blood bath of epic proportions Friday night at the Aztec Theatre. The metal legends brought The Blood of Gods tour through the Alamo City and few were spared their wrath. Cambridge, Mass. After a 1993 fire, accidentally triggered by federal authorities, killed 75 members of an obscure Christian sect near Waco, Texas, one of the "lessons learned" was this: Call in religion experts in a crisis where faith is a factor. This month, nearly 25 years after the debacle now simply referred to as "Waco," FBI officials and scholars from the American Academy of Religion gathered at Harvard Divinity School to reflect on how the crisis in Texas led to a new relationship between them and on the challenges ahead. Waco began when willing followers of self-proclaimed prophet David Koresh and his Branch Davidian sect barricaded themselves in a heavily armed compound. After 51 days, law enforcement moved to end the standoff by force but had "no qualified knowledge of how highly religious people would respond to the storming of (their) building," said retired Harvard law professor Philip Heymann. As deputy attorney general at the time, he authored a report in the aftermath of Waco that emphasized the need for seeking out religious expertise in dealing with confrontations. Since then, AAR scholars have advised the FBI's Critical Incident Response Group when dissident religious groups that are not generally well-understood come into conflict with law enforcement. Scholars also work with the FBI's National Academy to equip new agents with a wider range of religious understanding. "We don't have an excuse not to ask for advice," said David T. Resch, who was part of the FBI team at Waco and is now special agent in charge of the FBI National Academy. With the AAR, the FBI has "a mechanism to reach out of our comfort zone" in recognizing where offenders' and victims' actions are shaped by religious beliefs. However, he noted, creating a "Religion 101" road map for current and future law enforcement officers is not so simple. Not everyone agrees on what the curriculum should be in this religiously diverse society. And other pressing factors figure into law enforcement's decision-making. "Loud bells are ringing," said Resch, citing terrorism, hate crimes, police misuse of power, public corruption and organized crime. "The time from flash to bang and the trajectory toward violence has been sharply condensed. We need to move more quickly and choose the least bad answers." I always wrote, as a child and as a teenager, on bits of paper. I found refuge in the shaded veranda of my tropical home in India and wrote about friendship, love, disappointments. I discovered unexpected answers to unasked questions. My father was my cheerleader. While seeing merit in my writing, he taught me to look for something good in everything I encountered a remarkable lesson I carry with me even now. When I shared my poems and reflections with him, he wowed me with a positive and meaningful feedback. He died when I was 22, and my writing died with him because I had lost my cheerleader. Years later, when I was finishing my graduate program at Union College, my adviser saw merit in my writing and encouraged me to share my work with a wider audience. This prompted me to re-evaluate my interest in writing, and I wrote my first novel, "Waiting for the Perfect Dawn," as my thesis. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Those who have walked along The Woodlands Waterway may have noticed some benches that look anything but ordinary. From piano keys to psychedelic colors to imprints of feet, these benches are part of an ongoing public art project by The Woodlands Arts Council. According to Mike Bass, executive director of the The Woodlands Arts Council, the organization's mission is "to provide regional cultural and educational enrichment opportunities to encourage, support and promote the performing and visual arts." The council actively tries to enhance the community and the lives of residents through the arts, Bass said. "We believe the arts can open the doors to our minds, strengthen character, heal the body and foster an appreciation for all cultures," he added. The Art Bench Project currently consists of 14 benches lining the scenic Waterway from Woodloch Forest Drive to the Riva Row Boat House. The project began in 2015 and additional benches are planned for installation in the next two years. Two benches to be installed in fall 2018 will be placed along the Waterway and four more will be placed at Hughes Landing. All six benches planned for 2019 will be installed at Hughes Landing. For each bench, a call for artists is sent out through various organizations and web sites to encourage artists to submit their qualifications. "Video and still photos of proposed bench locations are provided to artists to draw upon their creativity if they choose to submit a design," Bass said. "Vision statements are also provided to assist each artist in designing a bench appropriate for the site." The submission phase lasts for 60 days. Then the Art Bench Committee reviews qualification submissions and narrows it down to three finalists, who then are allotted another 60 days to design a bench for the space. The committee and underwriter, the persons or organizations funding the construction of a bench, select the final artist and design, Bass said. "We are only interested in procuring the highest quality art for our community," Bass added. Eight months ago, Nickole Kerner Bobley started ArtFeel, a social media space created on The Woodlands Arts Council's Facebook page where a single public work of art is spotlighted to engage the community in conversation. Residents can share a selfie, post a nostalgic story or simply comment on how the art looks or makes them feel. A few years ago, Bobley was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis and Sjogren's Syndrome, two autoimmune diseases, that cause joint pain. She ended up spending a lot of time in her car because the seat heater provided temporary pain relief, Bobley said in her blog on the council's web site. "As I drove around the community I was struck by the amazing collection of outdoor public art around me. To keep busy I would assign myself 'art stops' in the various villages," Bobley wrote. "I would park my car near an outdoor sculpture, gaze at it through my car's windshield and keep a journal of how the different art works made me feel." After a few months of physical therapy and medication, Bobley no longer needed the heat from her car. She began to walk and eventually made her way to the Waterway to see the artistic benches. "Step by step I used the art benches as a private 'art crawl' for myself-looking to the next bench along the waterway as my subsequent walking goal. As the weeks passed I finally reached art bench No. 14, 'On the Bayou,' and at this point my health had improved so much that I no longer needed use of my cane at all," Bobley concluded. "It was an emotional turning point for me in my treatment and in the relationship I had forged with art. It was here that the idea for ArtFeel was born." Bobley, who is a contributing columnist for the Villager, now hosts a monthly gathering at The Crush Wine Lounge on Waterway Square where residents share how art work makes them feel. The meetings are hosted on the last Wednesday of each month. Bass said community art makes a difference. "There are myriad stories about the positive impact and community value the art benches have had on its residents," Bass said. "Our art bench collection is a mirror image of the community at large reflecting who we are-a diverse people-and what we like to surround ourselves with-diverse works of arts from artists from all over the world." To learn more about the Art Bench Project and ArtFeel, visit www.thewoodlandsartscouncil.org. Those interested in a tour of the art benches can contact Wendy Paynter, development director, at wendy@thewoodlandsartscouncil.org or take a self-guided tour with the map provided on the council's web site. - Patricia Dillon is a features reporter for The Woodlands Villager. Contact her at her office 713-362-4433 or on Twitter: @Dillon_Villager. Baltimore's top law enforcement officer on Friday asked the FBI to take over the investigation into the unsolved fatal shooting of a detective who was killed the day before he was to testify in front of a grand jury in a police corruption case. An FBI spokesman said the agency is aware of the request and had no further comment. Police Commissioner Kevin Davis reiterated that federal authorities have told him no evidence exists linking Detective Sean Suiter's death on Nov. 15 to the "Broken Boundaries" investigation, which has uncovered alleged shakedowns by members of an elite gun squad. Authorities have said Suiter was not a target in the inquiry that has led to several indictments of officers and four convictions. But Davis said federal authorities have kept his department in the dark about new developments in the case, which he now believes has impaired the investigation into Suiter's shooting. Davis said it wasn't until six days after Suiter's death that he learned the detective had been set to testify, and he didn't know about a new indictment that broadened the corruption case until it was made public on Thursday. "I am growing increasingly uncomfortable that my homicide detectives do not know all the facts . . . that could, if revealed to us, assist in furthering his murder investigation," Davis wrote to FBI Director Christopher Wray. Davis' request came the day after Suiter's funeral, which was attended by more than 3,000 mourners. Absent a quick arrest despite a $215,000 reward, the shooting has only grown more mysterious, forcing police to now address whether the 43-year-old Suiter was killed as part of a conspiracy or even the possibility he took his own life. What is clear is Suiter's death and the corruption case have now become intertwined, and he wants to ensure the credibility of the investigation. Davis said he "understands the anxiety that something just does not jibe here," with details that don't appear to add up. Davis somberly noted that years-old "nefarious acts" on his police force "are haunting us now." Suiter was shot in the head with his own gun on Nov. 15 in a vacant lot while investigating a 2016 triple killing in West Baltimore's Harlem Park neighborhood. Police have said he confronted a man he saw acting suspiciously. Police recovered three shell casings, all fired from Suiter's weapon, which was found on or next to his body. Davis has said that Suiter's shirt showed evidence of a struggle with an assailant and that the detective made a radio transmission that is unintelligible but shows he was in distress. A gunshot can be heard at the end of the call. The only description of a possible suspect is of a black man wearing a black coat with a white stripe. Asked at a news briefing if the wound may have been self-inflicted, Davis said, "We are not going to discount any possibility whatsoever. . . . If evidence leads us in that direction, we will go there. If evidence leads us in the direction of a conspiracy, we will go there. If evidence leads us to an unknown perpetrator we have not identified yet, we will go there." Davis said that at this point, detectives do not believe suicide was the cause based on recovered evidence, discussions with Suiter's family and an examination of personal effects. The medical examiner ruled the death a homicide. Davis said Suiter was to have testified at a grand jury considering new allegations against Sgt. Wayne Jenkins, who was indicted along with six other officers in March on racketeering charges involving allegations that they robbed drug dealers and planted drugs on people they illegally detained. An eighth officer was indicted later, and a Baltimore police cadet who left to work as an officer in Philadelphia also has been charged. Davis said federal court paper show Suiter once "unwittingly recovered drugs that had been planted by another police officer." That case dates to April 2010 when Jenkins said he saw a man holding money get into an Acura in what he suspected was a drug deal. The driver sped off, leading to a pursuit that ended in a crash that killed a bystander. Umar Burley and Brent Matthews were arrested. Jenkins wrote in charging documents that he asked Suiter - who was in another police vehicle - to search the Acura. Suiter found 32 individually wrapped pieces of heroin. Both suspects pleaded guilty. Burley was sentenced to 15 years; Matthews to 10 years. Court documents said they feared "that in a trial involving the officers' word against theirs, they would lose." On Thursday, federal prosecutors charged Jenkins with civil rights violations and falsification of records, alleging the drugs Suiter found had been planted by or at the direction of Jenkins. Prosecutors asked the court to vacate the guilty verdicts against Burley and Matthews. Burley had been released from prison in August after serving seven years; Mathews had completed his sentence. The indictment says that after arresting the men, Jenkins told another officer at the scene "to call a sergeant . . . because he had the 'stuff' " in his car. Prosecutors now say that "at the time of the car chase, there were no drugs in the car driven by Burley. After the crash, heroin was planted in the car by a BPD officer." Davis said he suspended an officer who had been in the car with Jenkins. He said the sergeant who allegedly brought the drugs that were planted in the Acura retired in 2012. Jenkins' attorney, Steven Levin, declined to comment on Friday. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and other leading Democrats are calling on a freshman House lawmaker considered a rising star in the party to resign his seat after allegations surfaced that he sexually harassed one of his campaign aides. In an article published Friday by BuzzFeed, Rep. Ruben Kihuen, D-Nev., was accused of making unwanted sexual advances toward his then-campaign finance director. The woman, identified only as Samantha, told BuzzFeed that Kihuen propositioned her for dates and sex and twice touched her thighs without consent. "In Congress, no one should face sexual harassment in order to work in an office or in a campaign. The young woman's documented account is convincing, and I commend her for the courage it took to come forward," Pelosi said in a statement released early Saturday morning. "In light of these upsetting allegations, Congressman Kihuen should resign." Earlier, Rep. Ben Ray Lujan, D-N.M., the party's campaign chief, said politicians "guilty of sexual harassment or sexual assault . . . should not hold elected office." "Members and candidates must be held to the highest standard," Lujan said. "Congressman Kihuen should resign." Kihuen becomes the latest figure on Capitol Hill whose political future is in doubt because of accusations of misconduct. Rep. John Conyers Jr., D-Mich., the longest-serving member of Congress, is under pressure from House Democratic leaders to resign amid allegations he sexually harassed and mistreated multiple female aides. And Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., came under additional scrutiny Thursday when a fifth woman accused him of inappropriate touching. Conyers and Franken are under investigation by congressional ethics committees, but it remains unclear whether the allegations will force them from office. Franken has apologized, and his office said Thursday that he never "intentionally engaged in this kind of conduct." Conyers, through his attorney, denied the allegations of harassment and mistreatment altogether Friday. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., a political ally of Kihuen's, said she supports a "full, fair and expedient" investigation into his behavior. She did not call on him to resign. "Sexual harassment in any context is unacceptable. I am frustrated, disappointed, and disgusted by the stories I have learned from women and men who were harassed and disrespected by powerful men," Cortez Masto said in a statement. Kihuen, a protege of retired Senate majority leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., holds a seat previously represented by a Republican, Cresent Hardy. Asked for a response to the BuzzFeed story, a spokesman for Kihuen did not reply. "The staff member in question was a valued member of my team," Kihuen said in a statement. "I sincerely apologize for anything that I may have said or done that made her feel uncomfortable. I take this matter seriously as it is not indicative of who I am. I was raised in a strong family that taught me to treat women with the utmost dignity and respect. I have spent my fifteen years in public service fighting for women's equality, and I will continue to do so." WASHINGTON - Former national security adviser Michael Flynn pleaded guilty Friday to lying to the FBI about his contacts with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak and, in an ominous sign for the White House, said he is cooperating in the ongoing probe of possible coordination between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin to influence the 2016 election. When Flynn was forced out of the White House in February, officials said he had misled the administration, including Vice President Mike Pence, about his contacts with Kislyak. But court records and people familiar with the contacts indicated he was acting in consultation with senior Trump transition officials, including President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, in his dealings with the diplomat. Flynn's plea revealed that he was in touch with senior Trump transition officials before and after his communications with the ambassador. The pre-inauguration communications with Kislyak involved efforts to blunt Obama administration policy decisions - on sanctions on Russia and a U.N. resolution on Israel - potential violations of a rarely enforced law. Flynn said in a statement: "It has been extraordinarily painful to endure these many months of false accusations of 'treason' and other outrageous acts. Such false accusations are contrary to everything I have ever done and stood for. But I recognize that the actions I acknowledged in court today were wrong, and, through my faith in God, I am working to set things right. "My guilty plea and agreement to cooperate with the Special Counsel's Office reflect a decision I made in the best interests of my family and of our country. I accept full responsibility for my actions." Flynn admitted in his plea that he lied to the FBI about several December conversations with Kislyak. In one, on Dec. 22, he contacted the Russian ambassador about the incoming administration's opposition to a U.N. resolution condemning Israeli settlements as illegal and requested that Russia vote against or delay it, court records say. The ambassador later called back and indicated Russia would not vote against it, the records say. In another conversation, on Dec. 29, Flynn called the ambassador to ask Russia not to escalate an ongoing feud over sanctions imposed by the Obama administration, court records say. The ambassador later called back and said Russia had chosen not to retaliate, the records say. Flynn admitted as a part of his plea that when the FBI asked him on Jan. 24 - four days after Trump was inaugurated - about his dealings with the Russians, he did not truthfully describe the interactions. But perhaps more interestingly, he said others in the transition knew he was in contact with Kislyak. Flynn admitted that before speaking with the ambassador, he called a senior transition official, whose name is not listed in court records, at the Mar-a-Lago resort on Dec. 29 "to discuss what, if anything, to communicate to the Russian ambassador about the U.S. Sanctions" and learned that transition members did not want Russia to escalate the situation. And when the ambassador later informed him Russia would not retaliate, Flynn told senior members of the transition team, court records say. The records say that a "very senior member of the Presidential Transition Team" directed Flynn to contact officials from foreign governments, including Russia, about the U.N. resolution on Israel. That official is also not named, but people familiar with the matter said it refers to Kushner. According to one transition team official, Kushner told Flynn that blocking the resolution was a top priority of the president-elect. Abbe Lowell, Kushner's attorney, declined to comment. It is unclear what else Flynn might have told Mueller's team about his work for the administration and interactions with Russians - which could have significant consequences for the investigation. Flynn is the highest-profile Trump ally - and the first aide who worked in the White House - to face charges in special counsel Robert Mueller III's investigation. Trump developed a close rapport with Flynn on the campaign trail, where the general delivered fiery denunciations of Hillary Clinton, including leading a "Lock her up!" chant at the Republican National Convention. Outside the courthouse Friday, a small group of protesters shouted "Lock him up!" at Flynn as he left the building. The Washington Post reported in February that Flynn had privately discussed U.S. sanctions against Russia with that country's ambassador before Trump took office, contrary to public assertions by Trump officials. Acting attorney general Sally Yates warned the White House that the national security adviser might be susceptible to Russian blackmail because he had misled senior officials. Flynn was forced to resign, but after that, Trump said that his ouster might have been a mistake. Trump's request of then-FBI Director James Comey to be lenient with Flynn has also come under scrutiny by the special counsel, and Flynn's cooperation could prove important to Mueller's ongoing probe of whether the president attempted to obstruct justice. Trump has said previously that he did not direct Flynn to discuss sanctions with the Russian ambassador but that he "would have directed him because that's his job." There is a law - the Logan Act - that bars U.S. citizens from interfering in diplomatic disputes with another country. But the statute has not been used in a prosecution in modern history, and it would not be uncommon for incoming administrations to interface with foreign governments with whom they will soon have to work. In a statement on Flynn's guilty plea, White House lawyer Ty Cobb said: "The false statements involved mirror the false statements to White House officials which resulted in his resignation in February of this year. Nothing about the guilty plea or the charge implicates anyone other than Mr. Flynn. The conclusion of this phase of the Special Counsel's work demonstrates again that the Special Counsel is moving with all deliberate speed and clears the way for a prompt and reasonable conclusion." In recent weeks, Trump's attorneys have expected Flynn to plead guilty, particularly after one of Flynn's attorneys, Robert Kelner, said he could no longer communicate about the probe with Trump's lawyers. Flynn's negotiations to cooperate with Mueller's team began in earnest early last month, according to two people briefed on the discussions. At some point, Mueller's investigators warned Flynn's attorneys that they planned to indict Flynn and also could charge his son, according to the two people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private deliberations. Flynn's attorneys, Kelner and Stephen Anthony, provided a proffer of what information Flynn could provide, and then Flynn met with Mueller's team. The Wednesday before Thanksgiving, White House lawyer John Dowd contacted Flynn's team in a sporadic "check-in" call he made to other defense counsel personnel in the Russia probe every few weeks, people familiar with the matter said. Kelner told Dowd on the call that he could no longer communicate with the White House lawyers. That signaled that Flynn had begun to cooperate or was already actively seeking to cooperate with the special counsel's office, because in either case his lawyers would have a duty to shut off communications with other defense teams. As part of Flynn's negotiations, his son, Michael G. Flynn, is not expected to be charged, according to a person with knowledge of the talks. The elder Flynn's case was assigned to U.S. District Judge Rudolph "Rudy" Contreras, 55, a 2012 Obama appointee and veteran federal lawyer who joined the civil division of the U.S. attorney's office in the District in 1994, rising to head the civil division of the Delaware federal prosecutor's office before returning to take the same position in the District in 2006. Contreras also serves on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. The plea caps a stunning fall for the general. A native of Rhode Island who grew up in a large family of modest means, Flynn joined the Army officer school and chose early in his career to specialize in intelligence. Among his mentors was Gen. Stanley McChrystal, who praised Flynn's ability in Afghanistan to bond with his soldiers and get results. In 2012, Flynn was named director of the Defense Intelligence Agency but rankled some subordinates there who questioned his temperament and decision-making. President Barack Obama removed Flynn from the DIA post in October 2014. Though Flynn gave Trump much-needed national security credentials, he had a mixed reputation among other Trump aides, who thought he gave the president questionable information and worried about some of his business dealings. Flynn has been a major investigative target of the FBI's probe into Russian meddling in the 2016 election. A key question for investigators is whether any Trump associates coordinated with Russian officials to try to sway the presidential race. Flynn's contacts with Kislyak, who stepped down from his ambassador post in July, are a key issue in the probe, and the plea deal could open new doors for investigators trying to determine what, if anything, Trump knew about such contacts. Flynn has also come under scrutiny for having a secret financial stake in major foreign policy decisions while advising Trump during the campaign, the transition and the brief period he served in the administration. In his agreement, Flynn acknowledged lying in his foreign-agent disclosure forms when he claimed that he did not know the extent of the Turkish government's involvement in a contract his firm had obtained and when he claimed that an op-ed he wrote encouraging the U.S. government to expel a rebel cleric and enemy of the Turkish president was at his own initiative. The maximum penalty for making a false statement is five years in prison, though both sides said Flynn would face a recommended sentence of up to six months in prison under federal guidelines. The Defense Department inspector general's office, which announced in April that it was investigating Flynn for his failure to report overseas trips to Russia after his Army retirement, has put that case on hold in deference to Mueller's probe. --- The Washington Post's Josh Dawsey, Spencer S. Hsu and Rosalind S. Helderman contributed to this report. --- Video Embed Code Video: Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller III charged former national security adviser Michael Flynn on Dec. 1 with making a false statement to the FBI about his conversations with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak.(Jenny Starrs/The Washington Post) Embed code: This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate NORWALK After a confrontation caught on video between a Norwalk police officer and one local towing company, both sides are working toward a resolution. Earlier this week, the manager of Fedor Auto Body reached out to Hearst Connecticut Media with allegations that Norwalk police officers had abused their authority during the release of a car towed from Stop and Shop parking lot Nov. 24. In two videos provided by Fedor Auto Body and since removed from YouTube, Lt. David OConnor, joined by several other police officers, is seen speaking to Fedor employees at the companys storage facility at Day and Concord streets in South Norwalk. At issue, apparently, was the $238.50 tow bill presented to an unidentified driver whose car was towed from Stop & Shop at 380 Main Ave. around 9:30 p.m. The bill included an $88 tow fee, an after-hours release fee, a storage fee of $24, and a labor fee of $62. OConnor tells a Fedor employee to release the vehicle from behind the facilitys locked gate and the company will be paid what its statutorily entitled to under state towing laws. Failure to release the vehicle, he explains calmly in the video, will result in police breaking the gate lock, removing the vehicle and not compensating the company for the towing expenses. According to state statues, the allowable rate for non-consensual towing is $88 plus $4.75 per mile after the first two miles. If winching or exceptional services are performed, extra charges are allowed, according to the DMV website. The Fedor employee says he cannot release the vehicle without authorization from his employer. OConnor said he understands, later adding, Your boss is a thief. OConnor suggests that the towing company has preyed upon the elderly and public-housing complex residents. We have filed a formal complaint regarding all the officers that were involved, and that showed abuse of power. They trespassed on private property, vandalized our property, and criminally broke into our property with no warrants, or probable cause, according to an email sent from Fedors to Hearst Connecticut Media. We have on tape police officers yelling they will arrest us if we do not listen to what they tell us, even though they are out of their jurisdiction it is a civil matter, NOT a police matter. In the video one officer is seen asking the tow truck driver for identification and threatening arrest if it is not produced. I dont have a problem with Norwalk police in general, just one officer said shop owner Allen Fedor on Monday. He said he made a complaint to the chief and had a meeting set up with him Wedensday. After that meeting with Norwalk Police Chief Thomas Kulhawik, Fedor felt satisfied that there will be a resolution. My attorney and the police department are going to work with the DMV to clarifications on the gray areas of the law, Fedor said. I received a complaint from Fedors Autobody and we met earlier today along with their attorney, Kulhawik said Wednesday. We had a very cordial meeting and we were able to agree on and resolve most issues, however, each of us are researching additional information and I will be contact with their attorney as we work through a couple issues that need clarifying. Fedor characterized the entire incident as an embarrassment. This is an embarrassment to us and to the police, he said. This is something that never should have happened. Theresa Gardner lives by herself, has had the same job for more than 20 years and has a busy social life. But cerebral palsy keeps Gardner from driving herself to her job and all the other places that keep her independent. Now, after being in service a little over a year, the ride program Gardner uses to get from place to place will terminate in January due to a lack of funding. The program, Accessible Integrated Rides, was started in September 2016 by the Montana Independent Living Project and is operated by Helena Transportation. But Kiki Moses, the Business Development Analyst at MILP, called more than 100 organizations and individuals without finding enough support to make it past January. An attempt in early 2016 to get the city of Helena to include AIR into its transportation budget failed. Even with AIR, it can be difficult for a person with a disability to get a ride in Helena. Capital Transit, Helenas public transportation system, runs its paratransit bus from 6:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on weekdays except for holidays. Riders have to make a reservation 24 hours ahead of the time they need to be dropped off and picked up. Gardner said she sometimes has to sit in the waiting room at her doctors office an hour and a half before her appointment because its the only time a ride is available. AIR only operates on evenings, weekends and holidays -- when Capital Transit isnt running. AIR riders have to call ahead to schedule a time to be picked up and dropped off, like they do with public transportation. Despite any hassle, AIR is a lifeline for Gardner and other riders with disabilities. Gardner recently performed in the Nutcracker on the Rocks which required weeks of evening rehearsals. She also can go to restaurants, movies and community events such as Alive at Five. I got to my independence because of this service, Gardner said. While the Montana Independent Living Project is able to fund all of the administrative costs, it relies on organizations and individual donors to pledge $3,600 for a month of rides. AIR gives approximately 250 rides a month. Its just the cost of the voucher, Moses said. The rider pays $1 co-pay and the difference is subsidized at $12 to $14 a month. Without donors, the program will end in January, leaving people with disabilities a short window to commute to a job, go to appointments or grocery shopping and be a part of the community. Gardner, who is 43, said shes lucky her mom lives in town and would be able to help her with transportation, but it keeps her from being independent. Who would want to call their mom when theyre almost 50? she said. While a lot of people with disabilities dont have the same support system as Gardner, she said it can still be taxing on her mom who, before AIR, had to plan her life around her daughters transportation needs. Relying on a parent for transportation also isnt sustainable. Shes busy too. She has a life, Gardner said. And theres going to be a time when my mom cant drive. Gardner said she understands its easy for people without a disability to take it for granted, but said she wished the same people would understand how vital it is for someone like herself. Anybody can become disabled at any time, she said. Moses said its a last ditch effort to find donors to sustain the program for a few months. Its her ultimate goal that newly elected city commission members would reconsider funding the AIR program on a permanent basis. Past negotiations have not gone well, Moses said. In February 2016, the Helena Area Transportation Advisory Council recommended the city commission give the Montana Independent Living Project $22,528 in TransADE funds, or state funds to local transit services for those who are elderly or disabled. But the commission chose to direct the funding elsewhere due to concerns that the money would go to Capitol Taxi, the operator of MILPs bus service. In a previous Independent Record story, City Attorney Thomas Jodoin said it essentially require the city to contract with Capitol Taxi without going through a request for proposals before selecting a contractor. That is not the way public policy is done, Jodoin said. Randall Camp, the citys public works director, did not respond to an interview request to see if the citys position on supporting the program had changed since it is at risk of going away. At the same meeting in February 2016, Commissioner Andres Haladay questioned whether MILPs evening and weekend service could be expanded and compete with the citys bus service and reduce ridership. Haladay also didnt respond to an interview request. The University of Virginia has told an English professor accused of sexual harassment that he will not be teaching creative writing this school year or advising students while the school investigates the allegations. John Casey, a prominent fiction writer, was told Nov. 20 that he faces accusations from former students that he sexually harassed female students in U-Va.'s prestigious creative writing program, according to a letter this week from a university civil rights office. One of the accusers, Emma Eisenberg, alleged that Casey inappropriately touched students on their shoulders, buttocks and lower backs, and subjected them to unwanted and sometimes crude sexual comments. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate WASHINGTON The Republican-controlled Senate early Saturday passed the biggest tax overhaul in three decades, changes that will affect most taxpayers, slash rates for businesses and strike at the heart of the Affordable Care Act. After concessions to holdouts Friday, Republicans passed a nearly $1.5 trillion tax bill in a 51-49 vote, bringing the GOP its biggest victory in Congress since President Donald Trump took office. Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., was the only Republican to vote against the bill. A rancorous debate erupted when Democrats objected to receiving the 479-page bill after hours-long voting began, claiming they had no time to read it. In at least one instance, provisions were handwritten in margins, and Democrats said lobbyists had seen amendments even before senators got them. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., called the bill a monstrosity and a danger to this country. Is this really how Republicans are going to rewrite the tax code? Scrawled like something on the back of a napkin? Behind closed doors? With the help of K Street lobbyists? If thats not a recipe for swindling the middle class and loosening loopholes for the wealthy, I dont know what is, he said. The legislation would lower the corporate rate beginning in 2019 from 35 percent to 20 percent, said to be the biggest tax cut ever, and create incentives for multinational companies to bring foreign earnings back to the United States. Sen. John Cornyn, the No. 2 Republican, said the Senate was acting to end the United States distinction of having the highest corporate tax rate in the industrialized world. What we are doing is lowering that tax rate to make us competitive so that we can bring jobs back home, improve wages and get the economy growing again so people can pursue their American dream, said Cornyn, R-Texas. The bill would lower rates for individual taxpayers while eliminating popular deductions, among them deductions for most state and local taxes. Wealthy Americans would fare especially well, benefiting from changes exempting more families from paying the estate tax and eliminating the alternative minimum tax, established nearly 40 years ago to prevent the richest Americans from taking advantage of too many tax breaks. Meanwhile, the legislation would raise taxes over the next decade on families earning $10,000 to $75,000 yearly, according to Congress Joint Committee on Taxation. Sen. Ted Cruz, relying on Vice President Mike Pence to break a 50-50 tie vote, succeeded with an amendment that would expand a tax-advantaged education savings plan to parents of children in private and parochial schools. Democrats called the amendment an assault on public education. But Cruz, R-Texas, said it was a reasonable step to help ensure that each child will receive an education that will meet his or her individualized needs. The legislation, riveted together without public hearings, must be reconciled with a House-passed version. A significant difference is the provision in the Senate bill eliminating penalties for Americans who dont have health insurance, a main element in the health care legislation that became the signature achievement of the Obama administration. The provision would save the government $300 billion in expenditures on Medicaid and other programs but would bring premium increases and lead to 13 million fewer people with health insurance, the Congressional Budget Office estimated. Senate and House conferees are likely to begin working through differences next week, aiming for Trump to be able to sign it into law by Christmas, as hes said he wants to do. The Tax Cut and Jobs Act would permanently lower the corporate rate, bringing the tax more in line with that of other developed nations. The bill also would enable companies to bring back money they have stored overseas at a rate of just 10 percent and to write off many of their expenses for construction and other investments for the next five years. The bill would cut the individual tax rates at every level. Most Americans an estimated 62 percent would see a tax cut in coming years and families would benefit from doubling the child tax credit to $2,000. But many people would be stung by ending some popular tax deductions, especially the deduction for state and local taxes. Additionally, the bill would do away with the personal exemption, but to compensate it expands the standard deduction so that the first $24,000 for a married couple and $12,000 for an individual wouldnt be taxed. A Republican victory became clear only hours before voting began when changes were made to allay concerns by GOP senators. The vote of one of those Republicans, Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake, was still in doubt Friday morning. But by afternoon, Flake, who is not seeking re-election, said he was on board with the Republican bill after leaders agreed to delete an $85 billion budget gimmick and promised to advance a legislative solution that would give permanent protections for some 800,000 young immigrants brought illegally to the United States when they were children. That solution was not part of the tax bill, but Republicans on Capitol Hill have been under intense pressure from Democrats and advocacy groups to act before years end since Trump announced in September that the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals protections will expire in March. Republicans appeared to gain the support of two senators in their caucus, Ron Johnson of Wisconsin and Steve Daines of Montana, after concessions beneficial to small businesses. And earlier, Republicans inserted wording in the bill that would open up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska to oil and gas drilling, a provision aimed at winning the support of Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska. GOP leaders worked at the end to overcome doubts created by a late-breaking analysis from the Joint Committee on Taxation, the nonpartisan scorekeeper for Congress, concluding that the bill wouldnt generate nearly as much economic growth as GOP authors promise. The analysis said it would increase the nations deficit by $1 trillion over ten years. Similarly, the independent Tax Policy Center reported Friday that the bill would add $1.2 trillion to federal deficits in a decade. Revisions made to the Senate tax bill to help shore up GOP senators votes added roughly $32.5 billion to its 10-year cost, according to a one-page document posted late Friday night by the CBO, which also said the revised bill would add roughly $1.4467 trillion to federal deficits over a decade. Those findings conflict with Republicans stated assumptions that tax cuts will unleash robust growth while not increasing the nations $20 trillion debt. U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-San Antonio, the lead Democrat on the House Ways and Means tax-writing panel, called the bill a lie wrapped in lies. It widens inequality in America by showering its benefits overwhelmingly on corporations and the very wealthy, including the Trump family personally. blambrecht@express-news.net This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras - Honduras' electoral court has finished counting nearly 95 percent of the vote boxes from last Sunday's presidential election and was to begin a hand count of 1,031 other boxes that presented "inconsistencies" on Friday. Incumbent President Juan Orlando Hernandez held a lead of more than 46,000 votes over challenger Salvador Nasralla before the last-stage count. It was not immediately clear how many votes could be at play in the uncounted boxes. Electoral court president David Matamoros said late Thursday that representatives of the political parties would be present for the vote counts and that no announcements would be made until there is a final result. After speaking with representatives of the opposition alliance and the National Party, Matamoros said Friday that each party would be able to accredit 60 people to participate in the afternoon count alongside international observers. He estimated it could take six hours. But the opposition published a list of demands that included a broader review of votes in three jurisdictions where it alleges voter turnout was unusually high and said the number of ballot boxes that presented issues was far larger. It was unclear if its demands would be met. In a statement, the court also said any suggestion of wrongdoing in its operations is false and it lamented the increasing violence in the streets. National Police spokesman Jair Meza said 12 people had been wounded in street clashes between police and protesters. As the wait for election results has dragged on rock-wielding protesters have increasingly taken to the streets against riot police armed with tear gas, batons and water cannons. Groups of demonstrators also continued blocking highways with burning tires and other debris, in some cases forcing parents to carry their children through the smoking barriers. Both Nasralla and Hernandez have declared themselves the winner of the election. In the past day, Nasralla and Hernandez have urged calm and warned their supporters to not be provoked into violence. The national police and armed forces released a joint statement calling for peace. It said security forces would respect the right to protest so long as it was peaceful and did not block traffic. Retired Gen. Romeo Vazquez, who led the coup that ousted President Manuel Zelaya in 2009, blamed the unrest on the electoral tribunal's delay in returning results. "The crisis has already begun in Honduras," he said, adding that things will not settle down once the results are released either, because people are convinced the vote processing was manipulated. AUSTIN - Nearly 400,000 Texas children could lose health care coverage in late January unless Congress renews funding for the Children's Health Insurance Program, a decades-old program that provides health care to millions of children across the country. Texas officials have asked the federal government for $90 million to keep CHIP alive through February, but without that funding, letters could go out later this month from state officials alerting parents that their children's benefits could be at risk. Congress allowed the program to expire on Sept. 30, leaving Texas and other states with dwindling coffers. CHIP typically receives bipartisan support, but lawmakers have failed to agree in recent months on how to fund it. "We're closely monitoring congressional efforts to reauthorize the program and are hopeful that it will be extended prior to the exhaustion of our current allotment," said Carrie Williams, a spokeswoman with the Texas Department of State Health Services. "Based on our conversations with (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services) we are confident that a redistribution of funds will happen." Calls to push Congress Minnesota already ran out of money and is using state funds to keep the health plan running. Other states, including Oregon, are preparing to spend their own funds if Congress doesn't act in the next few weeks. The program, first approved by Congress in 1997 to provide coverage for families who earn too much to qualify for Medicaid, serves about 9 million children and 370,000 pregnant women each year. Texas has the highest rate of uninsured residents in the country, at 16.6 percent, double the national average, according to a U.S. Census Bureau report released in September. The uncertainty over CHIP has left advocates, state officials and others calling on Texans to reach out to representatives in Washington to push for a resolution. "It is imperative that you call your U.S. House representatives and senators in Washington, D.C., and urge them to fund this important program so that millions of children across America can receive the health care coverage they need," said state Rep. Garnet Coleman, D-Houston, in an emailed newsletter sent Friday. U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Houston, is among the members of Congress fighting to extend CHIP. Jackson Lee, who chairs the Congressional Children's Caucus, has been outspoken on Republican attempts to cut health care and insurance coverage, saying GOP health policy is "a prescription for misery and spells disaster for hardworking families struggling to make ends meet in the face of spiraling health care costs." If the state doesn't get additional funding soon, it will have to begin shutting down the program, officials said. State law requires termination notices go out to parents a month before they lose coverage; those letters would likely go out days before Christmas. Catherine Troisi, an infectious disease epidemiologist at the University of Texas School of Public Health in Houston, said many children on CHIP have chronic diseases and rely on regular, monthly appointments. "That'll put a lot of stress on families who don't know if they are going to be able to continue to get that kind of care," she said. Unlike other states, Texas doesn't currently have any plans to fund the program. If the state runs out of money, it will send all CHIP recipients to the federal government's health care marketplace. 'Children are pawns' In early November, the U.S. House passed a bill to fund CHIP, but it would have required cuts to other programs, such as Medicaid. It passed without any Democratic support. "The notion that we have to cut important programs and take insurance away from one group to give to another is a false choice," said Rep. Gene Green, D-Houston, in a statement earlier this month. Adriana Kohler, the senior health policy associate at Texans Care for Children, said it's important for states to stress the importance of renewing CHIP funding. She and others fear that there will be a lapse in health care coverage and increased costs if families are moved to the health care marketplace to buy insurance. "We would like to see state leaders communicate more clearly to Congress that they need to act quickly," she said. Troisi also wants to see CHIP renewed quickly, and hopes funding is provided for at least five years so that families don't have to constantly worry about their coverage. "Unfortunately, children are pawns in this political game," she said. Kaiser Health News contributed to this report. As a little boy, Sgt. Steven M. Bradshaw played with his G.I. Joe and pretended to be a soldier. As an adult, he was able to fulfill his dream and join the Army, where he served in Afghanistan and Djibouti, among other assignments. He always had a love for the military, and for the Army specifically, said his wife, Lisa M. Bradshaw. He served for six years before being diagnosed with a rare type of cancer. Bradshaw enjoyed serving, his wife said. And he was proud of it, that he had done it. Bradshaw, 26, died Nov. 25 after battling alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare cancer usually found in children younger than 10, for more than a year. Raised in Medford, Oregon, Bradshaw was a competitive chess player who was good in math, could build a computer from scratch and loved music, especially electronica. Graduating from high school in 2009, Bradshaw worked at a creamery for a year before enlisting at 19 and becoming a forward observer with the 25th Combat Aviation Brigade. He was serving at Wheeler Army Airfield in Hawaii when he met his future wife, who was also in the Army. Spotting him soon after he arrived, the woman who would become his wife was determined to meet him. More Information Steven M. Bradshaw Born: June 6, 1991, Okaloosa County, Florida Died: Nov. 25, 2017, San Antonio Survived by: Wife Lisa M. Bradshaw; sons Roland Dwain Bradshaw and Daniel Joseph Bradshaw; parents Scott and Emilia Bradshaw Services: Visitation from 6 to 8 p.m.Wednesday, funeral service at 10 a.m. Thursday, both at Porter Loring Mortuary North, 2102 N. Loop 1604 East See More Collapse I tried to strike up a conversation to him, Lisa Bradshaw said. But it was during PT (physical fitness training) and instead of talking, he just took off running. Though more successful a few days later, Lisa Bradshaw, who was 28 at the time, hesitated when she found out Bradshaw was only 19. I kept thinking he was too young, his wife recalled. I wanted a family, and I thought he was too young to want to settle down. Though their age difference was the topic of many discussions, in the end the couple decided to marry. Marrying in 2011, the couple had two boys, one in 2014 and the other in 2016. He was proud of his boys, his wife said. He was glad he had them to live on in. Serving in Afghanistan and Djibouti, Africa, Steven Bradshaw had just arrived in Kuwait with the 1st Armored Division when he was diagnosed in 2016. Ultimately sent to San Antonio for treatment, Bradshaw tackled his disease head on. Even when the chemo was so hard on him that it affected the way he lived his life, he saw it as what he had to do to stay with us, his wife said. That was his mentality all along. mheidbrink@express-news.net This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Pop quiz! Why do you think former Tricentennial Commission CEO Edward Benavides chose Pat Benatar and REO Speedwagon to headline San Antonios 300th birthday kickoff? A. He wanted two acts that were relevant when San Antonio was founded. B. Keith Emerson, Jerry Garcia, Doug Sahm and David Bowie were booked. C. He thought this was the practice run for the next time San Antonio celebrates its 300th birthday. D. Because those are the acts KSAT-TV wanted. E. What people dont know is his original preference was the band, Air Supply. The answer is, I have no idea. RELATED: Tricentennial helps San Antonio to be named a place you 'need to visit' in 2018 by National Geographic But its amazing this somehow slipped through the cracks. Amazing that Benavides thought these were exciting acts to ring in any new year, let alone the Tricentennial. Amazing that no one with the city of San Antonio or the Tricentennial Commission wrestled him to the ground before he inked these deals and then had to ask for changes. This is one of those instances where bad taste should have been a fireable offense. Instead, everyone kept on singing Keep on Loving You until bad news broke. Benavides has since resigned as head of the nonprofit Tricentennial Commission (but is still employed with the city) amid swirling controversy: Lackluster fundraising, even worse messaging and a boneheaded media partnership. It was time for him to fly. Now with 2018 less than a month away, the big hope is Benavides greatest sin is his taste in music. Assistant City Manager Carlos Contreras has taken the Tricentennial reins and says he doesnt see any glaring problems, only stumbles and decisions he would have handled differently. There will be a financial audit and a legal review of contracts. The SA300 website is under reconstruction and a marketing campaign will soon launch. Mayor Ron Nirenberg who inherited this mess, but will likely get blamed for any problems is busy shaking the money tree. READ MORE: What's the next step for San Antonio's Tricentennial? Most everyone wants to roll with the changes and focus on making sure the Tricentennial as worthy of San Antonios rich and layered history. Easier said than done, friends. District 6 City Councilman Greg Brockhouse just cant fight the feeling Benavides choice in headline acts symbolizes larger problems. Its hard to blame The Brock. The Tricentennial Commissions selection of KSAT-TV as an exclusive English language media partner is going to dog the event all year. Much of the coverage around this partnership has focused on the favoritism showered on KSAT: The station and the Tricentennial Commission paid staff were in talks for months before a formal request for proposals was put forward. That RFP only happened after WOAI-TV complained to City Manager Sheryl Sculley. Not surprisingly, KSAT won. And, oh by the way, Benavides brother is a producer with KSAT. All this drama for something that makes as much sense as some of Benatars lyrics We belong to the light, we belong to the thunder. The Tricentennial would have received coverage for many of these events anyway; but with a variety of broadcasters, not just one. And it could have negotiated various exclusive agreements for larger events, sharing the wealth, so to speak. Instead, the city and the Commission have isolated broadcast media who are not official partners. No wonder The Brock wants to end the agreement with KSAT. Its a great opportunity for him to hit Sculley and Benavides with his best shot. Fire away. RELATED: Finger-pointing and calls for responsibility over stumbling Tricentennial But tearing up the KSAT deal is as faint as a candle in the wind on a cold dark night. After all, KSAT has sold ads as the Tricentennials exclusive media partner. It played by the rules at the time. The show must go on even with Pat Benatar and REO and their secret contracts. But thats just opening night, easily fixed with too much Champagne. The real celebration is all year. If the ship doesnt come to shore, our 300th birthday will be a real heartbreaker. This column is filled with lyric and song references. How many did you find? jbrodesky@express-news.net Theres a complacency taking place within political arenas in our country, and we should own it. I refer to the publics growing unrest, discontent and mistrust of our political leaders. This isnt new, of course. Citizens reactions or responses to the actions or inaction of politicians can be a healthy and critical aspect of our republican form of government. It helps provide a standard by which we judge those running for public office and, equally important, to set our goals for improving our quality of life. But what is new is that in recent times, the trust weve placed on our public officials has eroded. That erosion, in turn, has lessened the operation, benefit and productivity of our local, state and federal governments. Most politicians, of course, are keenly aware of this discontent. In fact, newcomers into politics use it as a tool to help them get into office. And if enough of us believe them when they remind us of our disenchantment and that, if elected, they can be trusted to do whats right, they become our new leaders. In time, we may find that things havent changed at all and may even have worsened. This then fuels more mistrust. Officials in all three branches of government, due to malfeasance or errors in judgment, sometimes deserve our mistrust. In the judiciary, for example, some judges, aware of the publics tenor, turn their backs on judicial independence and render decisions not based on whats right, but on whats popular with the public. Those in the executive branch often become autocratic and abuse their power to get things done, even when not in the publics best interests. Finally, our legislators arent immune from earning our mistrust, often enacting or keeping bad laws already in the books because they fear losing the publics support or, just the opposite, because they are supportive of their own self-interests instead of the publics. The problem is exacerbated by continuing political scandals and dishonesty that further weaken our trust. For this reason, qualified prospects wont surface to unseat incompetent or ineffective incumbents because they fear that getting into politics will place not only them but their families under public scrutiny. A vicious cycle is thus created. Historically, the peoples displeasure with public officials has existed for time immemorial. Its human nature and very much a part of the process. Perception plays a role in all of this. It is what constituents perceive of their leaders, not necessarily the facts, thats important. That perception may not be warranted, of course, especially when constituents arent above reproach themselves. I was surprised to discover that these tainted perceptions arent new when I came across a passage in an old novel in truth a series of nine novels: The Forsyte Saga, written around 1922 by John Galsworthy, a British novelist about life in the Victorian era. One character, whos recently been elected to the British Parliament, is speaking to a mentor. In discussing what the public may believe about another member of Parliament on an issue, the legislator asks, But you dont suppose that people would believe a thing like that? The mentor replies, They will believe anything that suggests corruption in public life. Its one of the strongest traits in human nature. Anxiety about the integrity of public men would be admirable, if it wasnt so usually felt by those who have so little integrity themselves that they cant give others credit for it. Though the mistrust has been whimsical at times in the past, I think today it goes much deeper. Our displeasure is generally justified because civility, decency, honesty and integrity, for the most part, have fallen by the wayside, especially among our leaders. We see corruption, self-interest, wheeling and dealing and, especially in Texas, bathroom bills, local budget caps, anti-immigration extremism and other radical ideas. Finally, we observe officeholders leaving office much richer than when they entered. So where does complacency enter the mix? The entry into the field of politics of individuals coming from those among us who have grown accustomed to the poor state of affairs is establishing a norm that, if not forestalled, will lead to us accepting less-than-honorable methods as the way to get things done. It will have become the new norm. Or has it occurred already? Are we effectively doing anything about this quandary before it gets worse? If not, were complicit in changing the political landscape. Sure, we have agencies and organizations, some at the grassroots level, that monitor all phases of government to assure reform and change take place. But is that enough? None of those groups, that I know of, addresses the complacency. When I first set out to write this piece, I had no one politician in mind; I merely intended to address the complacency I saw all around me. By now, however, some of you may be thinking that Ive not mentioned the elephant in the room Donald Trump. This man is a prime example of our passage into complacency and demagoguery. Its true not only of our president but of many public officials. They are running all over the place making false claims and promises to gain power, not only in Texas but elsewhere. All of us should think long and hard whether were willing to stand by and accept the norm that individuals like Trump have set in lowering the bar on the criteria by which we select our public officials. And we must stay informed so that we can select the very best to lead us. Ive grown embarrassed not only by whats taking place in our nations capital, but also here in Texas, where politicians seek their own glory and feed their egos at our expense. It may be that Im wrong; that Im being harsh. But shouldnt we at least ask the question: Are we doing enough to quell the political tide that may destroy our system of government? If we are, then weve nothing to worry about. Rudy Apodaca, a former chief judge of the New Mexico Court of Appeals, is an Austin attorney/writer. When University Unitarian Church leaders asked their congregation for thoughts on its $17 million renovation of their almost 60-year-old church in Ravenna, the response was mostly typical of a liberal Seattle church. Will it have all-gender bathrooms? Could it be solar-powered, with electric-car charging stations? Is the new sanctuary ceiling too high, contributing to a corporate, rather than spiritual, feeling during worship? Only one of the UUs a casual term for Unitarian Universalists, whose roots began in Christianity but count many agnostic and atheist churchgoers among their numbers asked about a cluster of three cottages on the property, which house 10 formerly homeless people. What would happen to them? Preserving the houses and bringing them up to code would cost an additional million. Instead, the church will tear them down and replace them with 17 parking spots. Brendi London has lived in a humble brick house on UUC property for four years with her dog, Ruby, an old and quiet pit-bull mix. Before that, she lived on Seattles streets. London said she suffers from severe depression, PTSD and anxiety, and does not want to move. Its a big waste, London said. When do churches stop caring about people more than SUVs? The demolition of the cottages will affect only 10 people. But in a city experiencing a homelessness crisis, where affordable housing is melting away and where finding landlords willing to rent to people like London feels, to some social workers, harder by the day, every unit counts. Across King County, there are more than 2,300 single adults designated as most needy and who sit on waiting lists for permanent supportive housing, according to data from All Home, the countys coordinating agency for homeless services. Darcell Slovek-Walker deals with this squeeze every day. Slovek-Walker is the CEO of Transitional Resources, a mental-health center that helps formerly homeless people get into supportive housing. Her agency is small, so Slovek-Walker knows each client by name. Because for seven years, or 10 years, or 30 years they were homeless, when they finally get a house, it can be a big deal, Slovek-Walker said. It just means so much to them after not having it. In the superheated Seattle-area rental market, she has seen landlords even those who have rented to Transitional Resources clients raise rents so high that federal subsidies wont cover the cost. Finding a landlord willing to rent to her clients is already hard, but then Transitional Resources has to apply for the subsidy and the unit must be inspected. No ones had to go back out into the streets yet, but it is getting harder and harder to find new apartments in time. So for her, every unit is really important. One night in June, London and the other cottage residents were told to come to the church for a meeting. She was nervous; it was her first meeting at the church. In fact, shed never met anyone who worked there. There were whispers among residents, too, that construction workers had been walking on the property talking about demolition. London also saw churchgoers on the property putting their hands on the trees, praying and chanting; there was concern among congregants about the renovations effect on the trees. When London took a seat in the church, staff from Community Psychiatric Clinic (CPC), which provides case management for residents, told them about the pending demolition. They had one more year there. The Rev. Jon Luopa, pastor of the church, said UUC is expecting to grow, and the church is losing its street parking. Church members come from across the city and are running out of places to park. The decision to demolish the homes is also part of a larger cultural shift at the church. After a year of discernment, church leaders decided that the culture of social justice at UUC leans more towards advocacy than direct action, such as housing formerly homeless people, as leadership said in a church meeting in April 2016. Its important to know what you can do, and what you cant do, and where government needs to step up, Luopa said. Representatives of CPC, which has run the homes for years, said theyre thankful that UUC provided the cottages which they rented to London and others at cost for so many years. But clinic CEO Doug Crandall admits the organization is feeling the same housing squeeze as others. We have enough housing, and we have enough turnover in our housing to house these 10 individuals but yes, this is a struggle, Crandall said. Our clients are needing to move further away from Seattle. According to CPC, London and others wont end up on the street. The clinic will cover relocation costs, and Londons current subsidies will move to her new housing. But London is afraid shell have to live in denser housing with more roommates; she currently has two housemates. She still hasnt met any of the people who decided to demolish her home. Church members intentionally dont meet the residents of the cottages for privacy reasons, they say. But if she could, shed ask them why shes less important than a few parking spaces. California House members came together in a rare bipartisan effort Friday that they hope will result in federal disaster relief aid for victims of the Wine Country fires. Every member of Californias House delegation all 53 Republicans and Democrats signed a letter asking the leaders of the House Appropriations Committee to include the states request for $4.4 billion in wildfire relief funds in emergency disaster legislation. This is one of the few issues that they have agreed on in the past year, at least, said T.J. Adams-Falconer, a spokesman for Rep. Mike Thompson, D-St. Helena, whose office pulled together the group over the past day. We thought it was important to have the delegation all on board to show our solidarity. The bipartisan pitch comes after the Trump administration omitted money last month for Northern California fire victims from its request to Congress for $44 billion in disaster aid. A Nov. 17 letter from Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney addressed disaster relief funding needs after hurricanes struck Texas, Florida, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, but mentioned only special tax relief for California fire victims. Even though White House spokeswoman Helen Ferre later told The Chronicle that the Trump administration is fully committed to assisting the victims of the California wildfires in their hour of need, Adams-Falconer said the omission caught us off guard. It was especially important that House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Bakersfield, signed Fridays letter, given his leadership position in the GOP-controlled House and his closeness to President Trump. McCarthy personally toured Wine Country fire areas and saw firsthand the extent of the damage this fire did, Adams-Falconer said. Rep. Jared Huffman, D-San Rafael, whose district extends from the Golden Gate to the Oregon border, welcomed the bipartisan effort. In the wake of the worst wildfire disaster we have ever seen, our communities need this federal support to rebuild, Huffman said. Im glad to see the entire California delegation in Congress uniting today to call on the Appropriations Committee to deliver this overdue disaster aid to Californians. Fridays letter echoed a $4.4 billion request in disaster relief that Mark Ghilarducci, director of the California Office of Emergency Services, sent Thursday to the Appropriations Committee. He asked for help recovering from what he called the most dangerous and destructive (wildfire) in the states history. He said the 21 separate fires claimed 44 lives, destroyed 8,800 structures, consumed 245,000 acres and caused damage in eight counties and three tribal nations. On Friday, Ghilarduccis office was gratified to see bipartisan congressional support. We look at every disaster in California in a bipartisan way, because the impacts and long-lasting recovery challenges know no party lines, Kelly Huston, deputy director of the Office of Emergency Services, said Friday. Were deeply appreciative of all the support and assistance weve received from legislators on many sides. At the end of the day, our goal is to help everyone recover from these devastating wildfires. Joe Garofoli is The San Francisco Chronicles senior political writer. Email: jgarofoli@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @joegarofoli DECATUR A new Macon County prosecutor dedicated solely to opioid cases would target dealers and those higher in the drug trade, not the typical addict, Macon County State's Attorney Jay Scott said. We want to go after the people who are poisoning our streets, he said. We want to get the most possible time on them and get the best possible cases against them. Macon County Sheriff Howard Buffett is expected to pay for the position, as well as a paralegal to do paperwork, for three years through a $180,000 grant from his private foundation. The foundation is not expected to renew the grant, which was unanimously approved by the Macon County Board's Justice Committee and expected for a full board vote Dec. 14. However, no one knows how much work awaits the new prosecutor because, Scott said, his office does not track the number of opioid cases that come through the Macon County court system. The sheriff's office also has not tracked how many people have gone through its At Risk Program, an initiative funded by Buffett's foundation that invites users to bring drugs, paraphernalia or just themselves to the Law Enforcement Center. In exchange, no charges will be filed against the user and they will be admitted into a drug treatment program. Buffett said a meeting is set for mid-December with a number of elected officials and health providers and others to determine how to best track the impact of the opioid epidemic in the county. "No one shares information, so it's hard to know exactly what we have going on," Buffett said. "It'll be helpful if we all start putting statistics together so we really know how bad it is." Anecdotally, Scott said the opioid epidemic has flared in Macon County, drawing on his nearly 30 years of experience in the office, 10 of those as head of the drug unit. We used to see opioids every now and then, and it was more an oddity when it did come up, he said. Now were seeing it on a weekly, if not daily, basis. Data available from other sources paints a stark picture of the problem. Six opioid overdose deaths were reported in Macon County in 2013, and 14 were reported last year, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health. This year alone has seen 164 Macon County emergency calls in which first responders used Naloxone, a drug used to treat a narcotics overdose in an emergency situation, as of the end of October. Of those, 118 saw "drug reversals" that saved someone's life, said Michael Burkham, vice president of the Decatur Ambulance Service and co-founder of the Tyler Yount Foundation, which works to distribute the drug. Burkham stressed the numbers are merely those that have been reported, and that the actual number of overdoses in the county is likely well above that. President Donald Trump declared opioid misuse a public health emergency and announced an advertising campaign to combat what he said is the worst drug crisis in the nation's history. More than 64,000 Americans died from drug overdoses last year, most involving a prescription painkiller or an illicit opioid like heroin. In Illinois, 1,900 people died of opioid overdoses in 2016. Gov. Bruce Rauner has launched a task force that aims to decrease that number by one-third in the next three years. Buffett said he has seen the opioid epidemic hit Central Illinois at the same time that Scotts office and others in the county have had to make budget cuts. With the grant, Buffett said he hopes law enforcement can go at the problem head-on, and provide Scotts office with the necessary resources to go after dealers. Buffett, a former Archer Daniels Midland Co. executive and philanthropist, was appointed to the position after Sheriff Thomas Schneider retired earlier this year. Lindsey Shelton, who currently heads the offices drug unit, would take on the role of opioid prosecutor, Scott said. Once Shelton takes over the role, Scott said they will begin to track the number of opioid cases in the county. Both Scott and Buffett rejected any notion that a conflict could arise with the sheriffs foundation paying for a prosecutor. Buffett said he never considered the possible conflict of interest until asked, and he reiterated that the states attorney office would have final say in all matters of prosecution. Scott said that the states attorney and sheriffs offices have had a fruitful relationship. Were all on the same team, and (Buffett) has been very helpful for us to be able to do good things in our office, the sheriffs office and even in the Decatur Police Department, Scott said. But we have total control of the unit, this just provides us the funds to have the unit. Burkham and his wife, Kathy, founded the Tyler Yount Foundation, which is named for their son who died of an accidental heroin overdose in 2009. It has established a state-certified Naloxone program that has seen more than 400 first responders and others trained to administer the life-saving antidote that reverses opioid overdoses. The couple were among those who spoke to the governor's opioid prevention task force on Nov. 1 in downtown Decatur. Around 100 people attended the field hearing, which included more than two hours of testimony from doctors and health care workers, law enforcement and the Macon County coroner. Mike Burkham said Wednesday that adding a new prosecutor to target drug dealers is good, but he lamented that the person will face an uphill battle because so many are enticed by the allure of making big money off of drug deals. He said a balance needs to be struck between more prosecution and more treatment for those suffering from addiction. For every one they lock up, there will be 10 more guys looking to fill that up, Burkham said. IF Hollywood directors were to come to Zimbabwe to pick comic stories to make movies, they would definitely make a perfect movie out of the following tale of some married women from Makore Village in Gutu who reportedly staged a demo against kachasu brewing in the area, claiming the illicit brew was behind the dwindling bedroom performance of their husbands. The story was reportedly a bombshell as se x-starved women allegedly besieged the homestead of a man only indentified as Fambi and who was well known in the area for brewing the illicit and dangerous brew also known as tototo. They were reportedly saying their husbands were failing to perform their conju gal roles because of the illicit brew he was selling to them. So bad was the situation that the protesting women claimed only a handful of newly married women got knocked up by their husbands. In the ensuing melee, they were also baying for the kachasu brew master (Fambi)s blood. Although, Chief Makore whose jurisdiction the area falls under, could not be reached for comment a source from the area who spoke to B-Metro and claimed to have inti mate details of the incident said excessive drinking of the illicit brew, was causing men to become useless in bed and that subsequently courted the anger of their wives. The source said the women were also complaining that the high levels of tototo consumption was not only worsening bedroom performances but was also causing men to abandon their families. Fambi had to run for his dear life after a group of women stormed his homestead claiming their husbands were se_xually starving them because of kachasu which he was selling to them. They blamed him for the dwindling bedroom performance of their husbands. Fambi has been earning a living by manufacturing the illicit brew which he would sell to villagers for between $1 and $2, said the source who preferred not to be named. The source further said the enraged women later approached Chief Makore begging him to take action against Fambi for brewing the illegal liquor which they blamed for the dismal performance of their men between the sheets. zzas Meanwhile, in Zimbabwe kachasu or tototo is prohibited and it is criminalised by the Harmful Liquids Act as it is dangerous to both humans and animals. Police are also on record warning people to desist from brewing and drinking kachasu whose ingredients sometimes include ammonium nitrate (fertiliser) and sugar as well as other unspecified additives. Stories of demonstrations by women after husbands failed to rise to the occasion in their bedroom responsibilities have been reported online in the past two years in Kenyas Limuru area, Kiambu County and South Africa. The women said the trend was worsened by high levels of alcohol consumption which saw many men abandon their families. In South Africa, women in Kwazulu Natal, Dumazulu ward were last year reported to have said their drunkard husbands were unable to make them pregnant and they may look elsewhere for sober and potent bed mates. They said according to online reports, their men had abandoned their homes because of drinking too much alcohol. The women spoke during a protest in KwaZulu Natal where they said younger women were the worst affected as younger men were unproductive. Breaking News via Email A cross section of people has described the composition of new cabinet as a mixed bag of professionals who have the experience and expertise to turn around the countrys economy if given the right support. The fusion of the old guard, war veterans, the military personnel, technocrats and the young blood in the new cabinet have been described by many as the best formula the new President Cde Emmerson Mnangagwa has identified as his trusted lieutenant who should be a chance to showcase their ability to deliver. By bringing back the old guard, the President should be given thumps up as this will promote continuity like in the case of national projects like the Beitbridge-Chirundu highway where he retained Dr Joram Gumbo in the transport portfolio to finish what he started. A long-time ally of the new President, Cde Solomon Marembo called for the nation to be patient and give President Mnangagwa a chance to deliver. However, a cross section of Masvingo people which include, experts in different sectors have expressed mixed feelings on the new cabinet list. Professor Munashe Shoko, who specialises in agriculture and is based at the Great Zimbabwe University , believes that globally, certain ministries are key in driving the economy of any country, those being mining, agriculture, tourism and industry. In this regard, Professor Shoko said the coming on board of technocrats like Mr Winston Chitando to head such crucial ministries is essential in turning around the economy. A philosopher from the GZU, Mr Joel Mukusha also believes that the coming on board of technocrats is critical. Mr Mukusha said it is also important for the nation to realise that the ministers do not work in isolation but work hand in hand with key departments under their supervision. The general view among the people of Masvingo was the ministers have a short space of time to impress, hence they should hit the ground running. People in Matabeleland North Province have commended President Mnangagwa`s selection of a new cabinet which was announced Thursday (yesterday) night. The majority of the people in the province who spoke to ZBC News felt it was necessary to appoint experienced and seasoned officers who will not need to spend time adapting to government systems, since the country is preparing for elections. The appointment of the new cabinet follows the dissolution of the one which had been put in place by former president Robert Mugabe who resigned earlier this month. However, a cross section of Bindura residents have expressed mixed feelings towards the newly announced cabinet saying the inclusion of technocrats is a positive development. The newly announced 22 cabinet ministers and six deputy ministers has triggered mixed feelings across Bindura. Some said the inclusion of technocrats brings positives in relation to the economic reform agenda being pushed by President Mnangagwa. Others said they were expecting new blood to take Zimbabwes economy forward. In Chipinge, the residents have welcomed the announcement of the new cabinet as a positive development and expressed hope that will stabilise and set a solid foundation for the growth the economy. The new cabinet has raised the expectations of the people who are saying the appointment of new faces to work together with those who were ministers before brings hope for a better future while the merging of other ministries and downsizing of cabinet has been viewed as an important step in reducing unnecessary expenditure. Chipinge residents however challenged the new ministers to take a cue from President Mnangagwa and hit the ground running. Expectations are high that the new government will address bread and better issues among other challenges facing the economy. Local authorities in Mashonaland East have hailed the new cabinet which they say brings confidence in the government system. UMP Rural District Council (RDC) chairman Zvikomborero Manguwo said the leaner cabinet will reduce expenditure with more funds now being channelled towards service delivery. His sentiments were echoed by his Mrewa RDC counterpart Shepherd Femai who said the new cabinet brings confidence in the economy. Marondera RDC chairman Patrick Chidhakwa feels the new cabinet is what is needed to steer the economy forward. The new cabinet announced by President Mnangagwa has 21 ministries and 6 deputies. Meanwhile, in Gwanda, most academics welcomed the new cabinet saying it gives hope for the countrys economic turnaround agenda as it blends experience and fresh blood. Give the new cabinet a chance, was the general sentiment among academics who believe that the newly appointed ministers will perform their roles with distinction given the high expectations that Zimbabweans have from the new establishment. The academics also commended President Mnangagwa for coming up with a leaner cabinet which they say will cut the expenditure. Breaking News via Email Former Vice President Phelekezela Mphoko who returned to Zimbabwe from Botswana yesterday caused a dramatic 45-minute spectacle at the Plumtree Border Post as he tried to evade the media. Mr Mphoko had been holed up in Botswana since the Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF) launched Operation Restore Legacy targeting criminal elements around former President Cde Robert Mugabe, who are largely accused of causing instability in both Government and ZANU-PF. A key member of the G40 cabal, Mr Mphoko left Zimbabwe on an official visit to Japan on November 14, a day before the army launched the operation. He did not return to Zimbabwe but instead flew to Botswana, where he has been a guest of the government. Highly placed sources said the Botswana government had given him up to December 1 to leave their country and return to Zimbabwe, but the former VP had been reluctant to do so fearing arrest for corruption-related crimes. The former VP had been living in a State residence in Gaborone and returned home after reaching out to President Emmerson Mnangagwa and getting the necessary assurances that he was free to come back to Zimbabwe. Clad in a white shirt, Mr Mphoko and his family arrived at the Zimbabwean side of the border at 1:15pm aboard a Zimbabwe Department of Immigration minibus accompanied by Botswana immigration officials. He was with his wife Laurinda, son, Siqokoqela, and seven other family members. When they got on the Zimbabwean sides arrival section, Mr Mphoko, upon spotting a Chronicle photographer, refused to disembark from the minibus, saying to the Zimbabwean immigration officials: No cameras please, I dont want cameras here. Only Siqokoqela disembarked from the minibus, making some phone calls to a team of drivers that were waiting for them. The minibus, however, drove to the departure section, where they offloaded their luggage and groceries. But Mr Mphoko, still trying to evade the news crew, remained in the minibus. Siqokoqela filled in the immigration papers before handing them back to Zimbabwe immigration officials for processing. It seems as if the Mphoko family did not have their passports at hand, nor were they stamped, fuelling speculation that they could have been deported. However, sources at the border said the Botswana immigration officials told their Zimbabwean counterparts that they had been ordered to escort Mr Mphoko and his family. What we heard is that the Botswana immigration officials said they got an order from above that they should escort a diplomat back to Zimbabwe and that the diplomat had chosen to leave Botswana on his own volition, said the source. After completing the paperwork, the minibus with Mr Mphoko and other family members was driven towards the Botswana side, followed by a convoy of vehicles that had come to collect him. Midway between the two borders, Mr Mphoko and the rest of the family members disembarked from the minibus and entered into the convoy of cars in an effort to evade the lenses of the pursuing news crew. His convoy caused a momentary traffic jam as it blocked vehicles coming from the Botswana side. The drama, however, generated a lot of interest such that by the time Mr Mphoko got into the convoy of cars, a small crowd had gathered to watch the spectacle. The convoy then whisked Mr Mphoko and his family away at about 2pm, with Siqokoqela driving his vehicle next to the Mercedes-Benz carrying his father in a bid to block the photographers view. Earlier, he had gestured at the photographer ordering him to stop taking pictures. The permanent secretary in the Ministry of Information, Media and Broadcasting Services, Mr George Charamba, on Tuesday said Mr Mphoko had spoken to President Mnangagwa by telephone and asked to return home. Apart from his role in the previous Government, Mr Mphoko is also into business and is a director of Choppies Zimbabwe a supermarket chain with branches in most cities and towns in the country. The company also has vast interests in Botswana. Mr Mphoko was among members of the G40 group who were expelled from the ruling ZANU-PF party for engaging in activities meant to destabilise the Government. The party also recalled him from the position of Vice President and Second Secretary over allegations of being divisive, including protecting criminals, preaching hate speech and behaving in a manner inconsistent with the office and decorum of the VP. He was recalled on the day the party also recalled former President Mugabe from the position of party First Secretary and replaced him with President Mnangagwa, who was also reinstated as a Central Committee member. Cde Mnangagwa was sworn in as State President last Friday following the resignation of Cde Mugabe on Tuesday. The party further recommended that Mr Mphoko, former First Lady Mrs Grace Mugabe, fellow members of the G40 cabal; namely Saviour Kasukuwere, Professor Jonathan Moyo, Ignatius Chombo, Patrick Zhuwao, Letina Undenge, Kudzanai Chipanga, Walter Mzembi, Paul Chimedza, Makhosini Hlongwane, Anastancia Ndlovu, Mandi Chimene, Dr Samuel Undenge, Sarah Mahoka, Mpehlabayo Malinga, Xavier Kazizi, Tongai Kasukuwere, Innocent Hamandishe, Nomthandazo Eunice Moyo and Shadreck Mashayamombe be expelled from the party. Some members of the cabal are either on the run or in self-imposed exile. Others such as Chombo, Chipanga and Hamandishe have been arraigned before the courts on a slew of charges ranging from fraud, corruption, abuse of public office, causing disaffection among the police force or defence forces as defined in Section 30 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act, kidnapping and publishing falsehoods. Breaking News via Email DECATUR The multi-million dollar law-enforcement themed expansion for the Children's Museum of Illinois is still on track to open by next summer, but that could change if wild winter weather puts the museum's plans on ice, said Amber Kaylor, the museum's executive director. "It's all weather pending," she said. "This lovely, Illinois weather." Heroes Hall was funded by a $3 million grant from the Howard G. Buffett Foundation, and Kaylor said preliminary work on the expansion began in late September. Construction crews broke ground and poured concrete at the museum's lakeside facility, and will build the two-story structure throughout the coming months. To celebrate the start of the construction process, the museum hosted Crane Day on Nov. 15, an event that gave families a chance to get up close to some of the large, yellow construction equipment being used in the project. Among those who attended Crane Day were the Hahns of Decatur. Heidi Hahn and her children, Tommy, Taylor and Katelyn, hold annual passes to the museum, and said they are looking forward to seeing how the expansion will add to the variety of great experiences they've had. "We don't know what exhibits will be (in Heroes Hall), but we're excited to find out," Heidi Hahn said. "There's just a lot to do here for a variety of ages." Heroes Hall is expected to cover 7,000-square feet when it is finished. Kaylor said the museum is working with firms to develop the 40 exhibits that will populate the expansion, all of which will provide interactive experiences for children to learn about all of the different aspects of law enforcement. We want to highlight all of the different areas of employment within law enforcement, so that the kids understand its not just patrol officers when you think of law enforcement, Kaylor said. Since she took over as executive director in 2016, Kaylor said she immediately started to consider different ways to expand the museum. The idea for Heroes Hall was inspired by a conversation that Kaylor had with her husband, Decatur police Detective Bryan Kaylor. After sharing the idea with several staff members and other people who enthusiastically supported it, Kaylor said she and the museum's board later approached the Buffett Foundation with a proposal asking for its help to fund the project. The expansion was announced in July. Heroes Hall is just one of the many Decatur-area projects funded by millions in donations from Howard Buffett, son of multi-billionaire Warren Buffett. A strong supporter of local law enforcement, Buffett was sworn in as Macon County Sheriff on Sept. 15, after the resignation of former Sheriff Thomas Schneider. Schneider cited stress and health reasons as the cause of his resignation. According to Kaylor, the Buffett Foundation has gone "above and beyond" to help the museum work toward achieving its goals of positively introducing children to law enforcement and teaching them that a lot more goes into it than they may realize. Theres detectives, theres scientists working in the forensic labs and theres sketch artists who are reconstructing things," she said. "We really want to showcase how much math, science and art that goes into police work because thats our mission as an educational facility. Kaylor said the Heroes Hall project is the first time the museum has added an expansion to its castle-like facility, which has operated at 55 S. County Club Road since 1995. She hopes that it, along with any other new projects that come to the museum in the future, will excite the community and reinforce the museum's status as a premier family destination within the state. "I say it all the time: We're the Children's Museum of Illinois. I want people from Chicago who visit to say to people, 'Hey, you've really got to check out this place in Decatur,'" Kaylor said. PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa is alive to the constitutional requirement for him to appoint up to five Cabinet Ministers from outside Parliament and will find legally valid space to accommodate officials he appointed this week, Presidential press secretary Mr George Charamba said yesterday. The Head of State and Government appointed a 22-member Cabinet on Thursday, which saw new faces coming into Government He also appointed six deputy ministers and 10 provincial affairs ministers. More than five of those appointed are neither Senators nor National Assembly members. Of the 22 ministers announced by President Mnangagwa, eight of them are not seating Members of Parliament or Senators. The recently sworn-in Zanu-PF strongman will likely reshuffle his cabinet before swearing in his new cabinet, then replace three of the eight non-seating-legislators with current house of assembly members. Section 104 (3) of the Constitution states that Ministers and Deputy Ministers are appointed from among Senators or Members of the National Assembly, but up to five, chosen for their professional skills and competence, may be appointed from outside Parliament. The Ministers designate are yet to take the oath of office. Mr Charamba said the new ministers would only be sworn-in after the law was fully satisfied. Following last nights (Thursday) announcement of Ministers designate, His Excellency the President is aware that there is a legal issue which begs in order to effect those appointments, he said. At law, he is only allowed five ministerial appointments which means he has to find legally valid space for the other Ministers in order to make them appointable. He is alive to that problem. Except, his preoccupation is in assembling a goal-getting team, which triggers movement in the economy as outlined in his acceptance speech. Mr Charamba said President Mnangagwa, a lawyer, respected the countrys supreme law. At law, ministers become substantive once they are sworn-in and that has not happened and may not happen until and unless the law is fully satisfied and it wont be long, he said. The good thing is the people of Zimbabwe now know who their Cabinet members are likely to be for purposes of forward planning. More importantly, they can easily surmise from the designated persons what the new thrust and tempo is going to be. You will be hearing from us soon. The new Ministers designate without constituencies include Air Force of Zimbabwe Commander Air Marshal Perrance Shiri (Lands, Agriculture and Rural Resettlement), Major General Sibusiso Moyo (Foreign Affairs and International Trade), Cde Christopher Mutsvangwa (Information, Media and Broadcasting Services), Cde July Moyo (Local Government, Public Works and National Housing), Professor Amon Murwira (Higher Education, Science and Technology Development) and Professor Clever Nyathi (Labour and Social Welfare). Others are Mimosa Mining Company executive chairman Mr Winston Chitando (Mines and Mining Development), Cde Victor Matemadanda (deputy Minister for War Veterans) and Pupurayi Togarepi (deputy Minister for Youth Affairs). The new appointments saw previous line ministries with functional duplications being merged. Breaking News via Email Newly-appointed Information Minister Christopher Mutsvangwa, has assured Zimbabwes journalists that he will be bringing a new approach to their work, including revising controversial laws such as the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA) and the Public Order and Security Act (POSA), which have stifled the countrys media environment. I will look at the constitution, pick out some parts and throw them out of the window, Mutsvangwa said, as he castigated former Information Minister Jonathan Moyo, who crafted the laws. The madness of Jonathan (Moyo) to think that he can think for the whole country of 14-million, I dont like that. Mutsvangwa, who chairs the powerful Zimbabwe National Liberators War Veterans Association (ZNLWA), boasts of being a journalist himself and says he appreciates the difficulties of being a journalist in Zimbabwe. Journalists now have one of their own at the helm, dating back from the time of the war of liberation until I went to the ZBC (Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation.), myself I am also a journalist, said Mutsvangwa. When I am with journalists, I feel like Im in the same club, he stressed. Over the years, various media watchdog groups have given Zimbabwe low ratings, citing its repressive media environment. Freedom House has rated Zimbabwe partly free, in its 2017 report, while Reporters Without Borders ranked Zimbabwe 128 of the 180 evaluated for their media freedoms, and citied the many cases of journalists being harassed, arrested, convicted or physically attacked during a wave protests in 2016, as the part of the reason for the low ranking. The new minister says he wants to improve the media landscape for Zimbabwes journalists, and plans to meet with media bodies as soon as hes sworn in, so he can start the process of freeing up the media space. I will consult with them, to hear their thoughts about how best they can do their jobs. But more importantly I want the environment in which journalists to work to be a happy one, Mutsvangwa said, adding that he wants journalists to be respected and paid accordingly for their work. Asked if he can really change the environment for journalists, Mutsvangwa assured journalists that hes in their corner. I know your wishes to carry out your duties, and again I want you to have an atmosphere of stability like that of other developed countries, he said. I want that all the technology that is out there, to be available so that you can do your jobs well. As for the countrys citizens, Mutsvangwa said they too should have the right to access news of any kind as they choose. The first think I want to address is citizens ability to hear news, gather news and read news freely without any interference or deliberate misinterpretation of what has been written, including what is on social media, he said. Breaking News via Email Zimbabwe (AP) Zimbabwes sense of promise after the downfall of former President Robert Mugabe is bittersweet for the family of Itai Dzamara, a missing activist abducted by suspected state agents in 2015 after urging the longtime ruler to resign at a time when most Zimbabweans dared not do so. Dzamaras wife, Sheffra, and his brother, Patson, are now hoping new President Emmerson Mnangagwa, a key enforcer for Mugabe over the decades, will explain what happened to the activist after he was bundled into a car by five unidentified men. Efforts to resolve the high-profile case could show whether Zimbabwes new leader will address the many human rights grievances during Mugabes rule or, as many observers believe, instead largely gloss over a repressive era during which he was a minister of state security, defense and justice. I hope the new president will do something about the Itai Dzamara case, his wife said in an interview with The Associated Press at her home in Harare, the capital. Even if theyve killed him, I just want his body so that we have closure. Police previously said they were investigating Dzamaras disappearance on March 9, 2015, though lack of progress drew criticism that it was not a serious inquiry. The former newspaper reporter was accosted when he was having a shave at a barbershop near his home and hustled away. Two days before his abduction, Dzamara told a rally organized by opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai that Zimbabweans should rebel against Mugabe. We have every reason to believe 100 percent that what transpired had everything to do with the government, said Patson Dzamara, noting that Mnangagwa was justice minister at the time and did not respond to a letter asking for help with the case. Patson Dzamara was assaulted and arrested by state security agents after protesting his brothers kidnapping by raising a placard in front of Mugabe when he was still president, and he was beaten by armed men on another occasion, according to Amnesty International. In his inauguration speech, Mnangagwa promised that democratic elections will be held on schedule in 2018 and appealed to those who have punished us in the past to reconsider their economic and political sanctions against us. The new president, himself under U.S. sanctions for his activities as a top Mugabe aide, described his predecessor as a mentor. While Mnangagwa referred to past errors of commission or omission in Zimbabwe, he also said people should not remain hostages to our past and should let bygones be bygones. Patson Dzamara, the missing activists brother, said Mnangagwa should be given a chance to lead Zimbabwe on a reform path despite past misdeeds. He said the new president should apologize to begin a national healing process. The brother spoke of the citywide celebrations last week after Mugabes resignation was announced during impeachment proceedings against him. Dzamara joined a jubilant crowd. In that excitement, something struck me. I remembered my brother, and that was it. It was enough to break me down. I broke down. I wept like a baby, he said. Breaking News via Email The government of Botswana has denied media reports that it deported former Vice-President Phelekezela Mphoko saying: FORMER VICE PRESIDENT MPHOKO WAS NOT DEPORTED FROM BOTSWANA In the context of media reports, speculation and inquiries this is to note for the record that the former Vice President of the Republic of Zimbabwe, Mr. Phelekezela Mphoko, was not deported or otherwise forced to leave Botswana. Mr. Mphoko entered Botswana on the 22 November 2017 from a third country. He departed for Zimbabwe yesterday of his own free will. The former president is now back in the country, although former Minister of Higher Education Professor Jonathan Moyo, claimed that Mphoko had been detained by the military. Breaking News via Email Former Vice President Phelekezela Mphoko, who has been in Botswana since the start of operation restore legacy, is back in the country and says he accepts President Emmerson Mnangagwa as the new leader of the country. In an interview with the ZBC News, Mphoko said he is back home following consultations with President Mnangagwa while he was in Botswana. He said contrary to some misguided elements in some sections of the media, who had reported that he was thrown out of Botswana, he had advised President Ian Khama of his intentions to return home on the 1st of December. He rubbished claims that he is corrupt and that he was involved in money laundering, saying since his appointment into government, he never had access to government resources. He also declared that his investment in Choppies retail chain was facilitated by a $25 million loan from a South African bank well before his involvement in government, adding that he used his own resources to campaign for the six Zanu PF parliamentarians who went on to win by-elections in Bulawayo. The former Vice President however had no kind words for Tshinga Dube, whom he accused of dumping ZAPU during the liberation struggle to join FLORIZI, saying that his tour of duty to Mozambique was sanctioned by ZAPU, first as a military leader who was part of the 15 member team that formed ZIPRA and later as a ZAPU representative to the same country. He also called on people to remain united for peace and tranquility to prevail, adding that peace and reconciliation are key for the nation to prosper. Breaking News via Email A Clonmel couple are featured in the fourth episode of Desperate Houses, which will be broadcast on RTE One television at 8.30pm this Tuesday night, December 5th. Each week in the programme, architect and designer Roisin Murphy and her team bring order to the chaos of a cluttered home helping hoarders to let go and designing full makeovers of the two worst rooms in the house, with help from IKEA Ireland. On Tuesday viewers will see Roisin and the Desperate Houses crew join Bridget and Jack Staunton at their home at Brunswick, Clonmel a former bed and breakfast thats so crammed with clutter theres barely room for the owners, let alone any guests! Hemmed in by a huge legacy of bulky furniture, linen and crockery from the days of the guesthouse, Bridget and Jack were said to be too busy bickering over the kitchen table to enjoy their well-deserved retirement. The sorting crew had plenty to do, and it wasn't limited to furniture and crockery. There was also the small matter of Jacks extensive collection of towels. With no room to breathe in the kitchen and a dining room next door thats rarely used at all, Roisin comes up with an ingenious plan to knock through from one room to the other. But even as she attempts to solve two problems at once, the whole project is temporarily stopped when builder Peter uncovers a set of heating pipes from the Aga cooker blocking the way. In the end, Roisin will have to apply lateral thinking not to mention some unexpected extra demolition - to save the day and bring her vision to life. Above - Clonmel women Olwyn Boyle (left) and Jacqui Staunton are featured on the RTE One television programme Desperate Houses this Tuesday night, December 5th. Olwyn is one of the "Clutter Busters" on the show while Jacqui applied to Desperate Houses on behalf of her parents Bridget and Jack Staunton from Brunswick, Clonmel. Bridget and Jack's daughter Jacqui applied to the show for her parents. One of the show's "Clutter Busters" is Olwyn Boyle from Mountain Road in Clonmel, who features in Tuesday's episode. Coincidentally, she and Jacqui attended primary and secondary school together. Sunday, Nov. 26 Motorist, 80, dies in crash on Illinois 48 A motorist died after drifting into oncoming traffic and then off the road on Illinois 48 about halfway between Blue Mound and Boody. The man was identified Monday as David C. Waite, 80, of Blue Mound. Macon County Coroner Michael E. Day said the vehicle struck a field entrance that caused it to spin sideways and overturn multiple times. Waite was ejected from the car as it rolled over, Day said. Monday, Nov. 27 Pritzker, Kennedy issue tax returns Two wealthy businessmen running for the Democratic nomination to be Illinois governor released returns, the first day they could file to be on the ballot. Billionaire venture capitalist J.B. Pritzker and his wife reported about $16 million in income last year, paying about $4.6 million in state and federal taxes. Businessman Chris Kennedy released partial 2016 returns showing $1.3 million in total income for him and his wife. They paid about $216,000 in state and federal taxes. State Sen. Daniel Biss, D-Evanston, released his returns in April. GOP Gov. Bruce Rauner made public documents last month. Tuesday, Nov. 28 Former housing officials accused of fraud The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has filed a fraud complaint against two former officials of a troubled southern Illinois housing authority. The complaint against former Alexander County Housing Authority executive directors James Wilson and Martha Franklin accuses them of using public housing money for personal use. HUD says Wilson and Franklin used the money for personal travel and gifts and submitted false documentation. The agency says Wilson and Franklin overstated travel expenses and sometimes double-charged the housing authority, including for hotel stays in Las Vegas. Wednesday, Nov. 29 Lawmaker proposes reversing measure that cost cities Democratic Rep. Anthony DeLuca of Chicago Heights proposed a bill that would roll back one of several new fees that hurt local governments. The fee targeted by DeLuca applied a 2 percent collection fee to sales taxes imposed on municipalities for collecting taxes above 6.25 percent. The fee generates about $60 million annually for the state. Deluca says there wasn't enough time during the July budget negotiations to fully examine the effect the fees would have on municipal budgets across the state. Decatur officials welcomed the news, which would amount to keeping an additional $100,000, although it's nowhere near the $3.2 million that the city needs to close a projected deficit in its 2018 budget. Thursday, Nov. 30 Plan to remove Illinois from voter database proposed Democrats in the General Assembly plan to file legislation to prevent the State Board of Elections from taking part in a program that helps states determine if voters are registered in more than one state. Lawmakers say the Kansas-run Interstate Voter Registration Crosscheck Program is vulnerable to hackers. Critics of the program have raised issues about Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, who is chairman of President Donald Trump's election fraud commission investigating allegations people illegally voted in 2016. Kansas election officials say they're working on security guidelines with participating states. Friday, Dec. 1 City to tear down dilapidated warehouse Starting next week, the city of Decatur will work with Operating Engineers Local 965 to tear down and remove the hulking ruins of a large warehouse fire in January 2015. The century-old building housed Aaction Equipment, a restaurant equipment business. The property was not insured, and the city took owner Robert Powell to court to force him to remove the large piles of charred bricks and other debris left behind when the structure collapsed. City leaders view the move as a win-win situation. The union, which includes members from 15 Central Illinois counties, will be able to use the work for training. The city will shave an unknown, but significant, amount off of the estimated $300,000 price tag to clean up the eyesore. By Online Desk Sarala, the mother of the man accused of the sexual assault and murder of seven-year-old girl child Hasini, was bludgeoned to death at her residence in Kundrathur in Chennai on Saturday. The 45-year-old woman's jewellery was missing from the scene, and Daswant, her son and the prime accused in the Hasini rape and murder case is yet to be traced, a report by The News Minute said. An FIR has been filed in the case. We are not drawing any conclusions, but it is true that the jewellery is missing, and so is Dhashvanth, Deputy Commissioner of Ambattur Sarvesh was quoted as saying by TNM. The police were alerted about the incident around 3.30 pm on Saturday, when they received a call informing them of the incident. The Chengalpattu Mahila Court had granted Daswant bail in September on technical grounds. However, CDS Babu, the father of Hasini, had filed a complaint with the Chengalpattu town police against him in November for threatening him and his family. Babu had shifted his family to Andhra following the threats. Hasini was found murdered in her apartment complex in Chennais Mugalivakkam in February. The seven-year-old girl was allegedly lured and sexually assaulted by Daswant who resided in the same complex. The accused then allegedly murdered the child and burned her body. The 22-year-old mechanical engineer was arrested and detained under the Goondas Act. However, the Madras High Court revoked Daswant's detention. The Mahila Court has framed charges against Daswant and the trial in the Hasini rape and murder case will begin on December 5. Sarala, the mother of the man accused of the sexual assault and murder of seven-year-old girl child Hasini, was bludgeoned to death at her residence in Kundrathur in Chennai on Saturday. The 45-year-old woman's jewellery was missing from the scene, and Daswant, her son and the prime accused in the Hasini rape and murder case is yet to be traced, a report by The News Minute said. An FIR has been filed in the case. We are not drawing any conclusions, but it is true that the jewellery is missing, and so is Dhashvanth, Deputy Commissioner of Ambattur Sarvesh was quoted as saying by TNM. The police were alerted about the incident around 3.30 pm on Saturday, when they received a call informing them of the incident. The Chengalpattu Mahila Court had granted Daswant bail in September on technical grounds. However, CDS Babu, the father of Hasini, had filed a complaint with the Chengalpattu town police against him in November for threatening him and his family. Babu had shifted his family to Andhra following the threats. Hasini was found murdered in her apartment complex in Chennais Mugalivakkam in February. The seven-year-old girl was allegedly lured and sexually assaulted by Daswant who resided in the same complex. The accused then allegedly murdered the child and burned her body. The 22-year-old mechanical engineer was arrested and detained under the Goondas Act. However, the Madras High Court revoked Daswant's detention. The Mahila Court has framed charges against Daswant and the trial in the Hasini rape and murder case will begin on December 5. By Online Desk Congress President-elect Rahul Gandhi today visited some places hit by the Cyclone Ochki in southern Kerala that has claimed 63 lives in the state, most of them fishermen, and pitched for a better warning system to prevent recurrence of such tragedies. Thousands of fishermen and their families in Kerala and Tamil Nadu are continuously holding mass protests, demanding for search operations to continue and for relief to be provided faster. Search and rescue operations to trace the fishermen missing in the aftermath of cyclone Ockhi continued for the 12th day today. As many as 433 fishermen from Tamil Nadu and 186 from Kerala are yet to be traced. The cyclone, earlier this week, had finally dissipated over the Arabian Sea, sparing Gujarat from destruction. ALSO READ | No tsunami says IMD as false WhatsApp alerts create panic Here are all the latest updates: The Union Home Ministry is constituting an inter ministerial central committee for the spot assessment of damage and admissibility of claims of the states hit by Cyclone Ockhi. House-to-house verification process is going on and a final figure of the missing fishermen would be known once the process was over, say officials. [READ FULL REPORT] "The farmers have a ministry that looks after their interests and I think it is time that we create a ministry for the fishermen to look after their interests and make sure they are protected," said Congress leader Rahul Gandhi after visiting fishermen families in affected areas in Kerala. [READ FULL REPORT] TN government hikes compensation for non-fisherman families from Rs 4 lakhs to Rs 10 lakhs. ( READ ) The death toll in the Ockhi cyclone that hit the Kerala coast mounted to 65 with more bodies being recovered. DMK petitions TN governor Banwarilal Purohit to expedite rescue work post-Ockhi. Efforts are on to identify the recovered bodies through DNA test. In a bid to set up a mechanism to ensure the safety of fishermen, Kerala CM Vijayan said a system was being planned in association with the Indian Space Research Organisation. Kerala State control room officials said three bodies were found off the coast of Kozhikode and three from Kochi. [READ FULL REPORT] The financial assistance of Rs 20 lakh for families of Kerala fishermen killed in the cyclone would be given in one go. An amount of Rs five lakh would be given to those who are seriously injured and are not able to go to work in future as an "alternative livelihood" initiative. Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday said the Centre has agreed to continue search operations for the missing fishermen in Cyclone Ockhi that hit the state's coast on November 29 and 30. The death toll due to Ockhi cyclone, which hit the Kerala coast, rose to 52 on Tuesday as more bodies were recovered and the search for the missing fishermen in the high seas continued. The Tamil Nadu CM Palaniswami on Tuesday announced Rs 20 lakh compensation for the kin of fishermen who died in the cyclone that devastated the coastal areas of the state recently. Pope Francis has enquired about the hardships and sufferings caused to Kerala's fishermen community in the Ockhi cyclone that ravaged the coastal belt on November 30. The Tamil Nadu government on Tuesday announced 'livelihood assistance' ranging from Rs 48,500 to Rs 63,500 per hectare for horticulture farmers of cyclone Ockhi-battered Kanyakumari district. Kerala fishermen protestors took to the street by waving black flags and photos of the dead and missing fishermen walked about two km from Palayam to Raj Bhavan raising slogans, bringing the traffic to a standstill on the busy stretch. The death toll in the Ockhi cyclone in Kerala rose to 40 on Monday with the recovery of two more bodies even as the search operations to trace the missing fishermen entered the 10th day. Search and rescue operations to trace the fishermen missing in the aftermath of Ockhi cyclone continued for 10th day today even as 67 persons caught in the storm, returned to Kochi coast. The Goa government would provide compensation to shacks having legal validity, for the damages suffered during the Cyclone Ockhi last week. [FULL REPORT] The Indian naval ships engaged in search and rescue mission in the aftermath of Cyclone Ockhi today continued their operations in the high seas, searching area till the Maldives. No stranded boats , fishermen or floating bodies have been found in the sea by the naval search team during the last 72 hours, the official said. Kerala Governor P Sathasivam will contribute a month's salary to the special fund being raised for the victims of cyclone Ockhi. The Kerala government has asked the Indian Armed Forces and the Coast Guard to continue search operations for fishermen missing in high seas post-Cyclone Ockhi for 10 more days. #HADR #CycloneOckhi #OpSahayam #SAR Based on reports by IN Boeing P8 i aircraft, INS Kalpeni was sent to Off Sesostris Bank/Bassas de Pedro (a traditional fishing area off Lakshadweep island).About 17 boats with 180 plus fishermen have been located.@DefenceMinIndia @nsitharaman SpokespersonNavy (@indiannavy) December 8, 2017 Fishing vessel as seen from the aircraft. This video captures the essence of what Navy Boeing P-8i is doing - systematic search of every inch of possible/ probable area & providing hope to the stranded till they are rescued by our ships @nsitharaman pic.twitter.com/1sY0VXul42 SpokespersonNavy (@indiannavy) December 6, 2017 People receive essential commodities at a relief camp following cyclone Ockhi in the Kanyakumari district on Saturday. (PTI) Given orders to Maharashtra Maritime Board and Collector, Sindhudurg Dist. to make all arrangements for the stranded fishermen. Local authorities are already with them and taking care of all arrangements, tweets Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis. In all 68 fishing boats have reached, out of which 66 are from Kerala and 2 from Tamil Nadu with total 952 fisherman on board. All are safe. Maharashtra will completely look after everyone till weather permits them to go back. @nsitharaman @BJP4Keralam Devendra Fadnavis (@Dev_Fadnavis) December 2, 2017 A fresh spell of heavy rain is in store in some areas of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Puducherry with a low pressure area forming over south Andaman sea, which is "very likely" to become a depression over Bay of Bengal . It is very likely to become a depression over southeast Bay of Bengal and neighbourhood during the next 36 hours. It is also very likely to intensify further and move towards north Tamil Nadu south Andhra Pradesh coasts during the next 3-4 days. (IMD) Though many fishermen from Kerala were brought ashore safely and admitted to hospitals, many are yet to recover from the shock of wrestling the lashing waves and seeing death face-to-face. Stephan, a fisherman hailing from nearby Poonthura, said: "It was the first time we were experiencing such huge waves and a rough sea. Luckily, the rescue boat came back and saved us." Most of the rescued fishermen had bruises all over their bodies and were seen shivering and begging for hot water and food when brought ashore. (PTI) Stranded fisherman being brought to Kerala coast by Indain Navy personnel in Kochi on Saturday. (PTI) Tamil Nadu CM K Palaniswami today requested the Centre to deploy the Indian Navy and Coast Guard for the search and rescue of fishermen who have not returned so far, and that helicopters of Coast Guard and Navy should be deployed for this purpose. Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh assured the AIADMK leader that the Centre would provide the assistance required to rescue the fishermen. (PTI) Several roads that connect Kanyakumari with many interior parts have got cut or were fully damaged due to heavy rainfall following the impact of cyclone Ockhi in the district on Saturday. (PTI) A Coast Guard advisory here said the status of weather and sea conditions should be checked on television, radio, newspapers and smartphone applications before venturing out into the sea. The merchant ships should also be alert and avoid the path of Cyclone Ockhi, it said. Fishing boats should remain in groups and during distress all the crew should remain together, it said. DMK working president M K Stalin urged Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in his letter to direct the Coast Guard to search and rescue "thousands of fishermen fighting for their lives in the mid sea, so as to prevent further loss of lives due to the Ockhi cyclone". Steps have been taken to prevent any possible outbreak of epidemic in rain-hit areas of Kanyakumari district, Tamil Nadu Health minister C Vijayabhaskar said today. A relief worker places sand bags on the banks of a beach in Kochi in wake of cyclone Ockhi on Saturday. (PTI) Leader of the opposition in the Kerala Assembly Ramesh Chennithala today urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to declare cyclone Ockhi as a national disaster. He also urged the Kerala government to increase the financial aid for the injured at least up to Rs 50,000 from the present Rs 15,000. Lack of coordination had affected the government's relief and rescue operations, launched post Ockhi, he alleged. (PTI) The Southern Railway announced partial and full cancellation of some trains in the Kaniyakumari-Nagercoil section. One train service was also rescheduled. (PTI Meanwhile, relatives of missing fishermen from Kaniyakumari staged a road blockade demanding the fishermen be rescued at the earliest. Scores of women also staged protest at Chinnathurai in that district. There has been a huge demand for generator sets following the devastation caused by cyclone Ockhi in the Kanyakumari region on Saturday. (PTI) In Kanyakumari, power supply had been restored even as efforts are on to resume power supply in neighbouring areas like Nagercoil and Kuzhithurai. Officials expressed confidence that the power supply would be restored in the entire district by tomorrow. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami announced Rs 25 crore for expediting relief and restoration work in the district . ( PTI) 261 persons rescued by @IndiaCoastGuard @adgpi and @IAF_MCC in #CycloneOckhi @NewIndianXpress pic.twitter.com/ywhzBQLJnP Kiran_TNIE (@tniekiran1) December 2, 2017 The Coast Guard informed in a press release that on November 30, the Coast Guard District Headquarters in Kerala was informed that around 70-80 fishermen were stranded at sea due to the storm. The Coast Guard immediately sailed as many as nine ships towards Search and Rescue (SAR) efforts. Further, ships based at New Mangalore were also sailed towards Kerala coast to undertake the rescue of stranded fishermen. As the cyclone intensified, coordinated search by Coast Guard ships and aircraft continued in extremely rough weather with wind speed gusting up to 150 kmph. Ships at Mumbai and Goa were also placed on maximum alert to augment efforts as required, the press release read. (PTI) As per the last report, a total of 79 stranded fishermen have been saved by the Coast Guard in coordination with other agencies. Also, the fisheries department has intimated that about 25 boats with 250 personnel are still in distress at sea. A man watches a road that has been cut off due to floods following the heavy rainfall caused by the cyclone Ockhi which left heavy damage in the Kanyakumari district on Saturday. (PTI) 138 fishermen have been rescued from the Lakshadweep islands. (PTI) So far 393 people from Kerala have been rescued, Kerala CM Vijayan said, as the state government announced a compensation of Rs 10 lakh to the family of those who died in the storm, in addition to the financial assistance of Rs four lakh being given by the fisheries department.Of the rescued, 132 fishermen were from the state capital Thiruvananthapuram, 66 from Kozhikode, 55 from Kollam, 40 from Thrissur, and 100 from Kanyakumari. (PTI) In Lakshadweep, 31 relief camps have been opened in the10 inhabited islands. So far, 1,047 people have been evacuated to the relief camps, official sources said. No casualties have been reported, with the worst-affected islands being Minicoy and Kalpeni. Seven people have lost their lives in Kerala in rain-related incidents over the past two days, official sources said. (PTI) Cyclone Ockhi has so far claimed 13 lives in Sri Lanka . Power supply, essential services and air traffic was disrupted in the stormy weather that left several buildings damaged and trees uprooted in its wake. READ FULL REPORT HERE #CycloneOckhi update @IndiaCoastGuard ship rescued 15 fishermen at sea off Vizhinjam/Quilon (Kerala) Coast and heading towards shore for safe disembarkation of fisher-folks @DefenceMinIndia @SpokespersonMoD pic.twitter.com/39gJrfI20Z Indian Coast Guard (@IndiaCoastGuard) December 2, 2017 Authorities including the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), Coast Guard and Navy have rescued about 223 fishermen and evacuated thousands of people from cyclone hit areas, officials said, as they continued their operations on Saturday. While INS Nireekshak, INS Jamuna and INS Sagardhwani are continuing search and rescue operations in their designated areas along the coast off Vizhinjam in Thiruvananthapuram and Kollam, two ships INS Shardul and INS Sharda are heading towards Lakshadweep, a defence spokesman said. (PTI) The naval ships, which left from the Southern Naval Command here yesterday, are likely to reach Lakshadweep this evening. The Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Lanba briefed me on the on-going rescue operations #CycloneOchki . More fishermen rescued this morning. Rescue work to continue.Some rescued fishermen waiting in Lakshadweep Isle to get back. Details @indiannavy @DefenceMinIndia @IndiaCoastGuard Nirmala Sitharaman (@nsitharaman) December 2, 2017 The Kerala state government has announced a compensation of Rs. 10 lakh to the families of the deceased. #Kerala Locals have blocked National Highway for last five hours in Trivandrum's Thumba, demand better relief measures & rescue of 6 fishermen missing from the area #CycloneOckhi pic.twitter.com/rcTY0gyDty ANI (@ANI) December 2, 2017 Six boats and 73 fishermen that went missing in the sea have been brought back, the Fisheries Minister of Tamil Nadu, D Jayakumar, informed on Saturday. (ANI) Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan slammed rumour mongers on Saturday after it came to light that Friday's reports of a Japanese merchant ship rescuing 60 Kerala fishermen caught in the deep seas, was "fake". It was Thiruvananthapuram district Collector S.Vasuki who told the media, on Friday evening, that she wished to thank the Japanese government as one of their ships had rescued 60 fishermen and said they would arrive at the Vizhinjam coast. (IANS.) [READ FULL REPORT] Locals in Thiruvananthapuram's Poonthura came out in protest alleging rescue operations have been inadequate. (ANI) According to Thiruvananthapuram district Collector S Vasuki, 102 fishermen from the city who had gone into the sea have not been able to contact their relatives. [READ FULL REPORT HERE] Kerala: Locals evacuated to rehabilitation centre in Kochi's Chellanam. #CycloneOckhi pic.twitter.com/iAwj7Q7g94 Several houses suffered damage, trees got uprooted and communication lines were disrupted as rains accompanied by strong winds lashed the Lakshadweep Islands under the influence of Cyclone Ockhi. [ READ FULL REPORT] INS Nireekshak rescued two fishermen off Alappuzha coast. INS Sagardhwani fished out one cadaver, 30 km off Thiruvananthapuram coast. The ship had earlier found another cadaver. (PTI) PM Modi dialled Tamil Nadu CM K Palaniswami and enquired about the damage caused by the cyclone, which also battered parts of Kerala. [READ FULL REPORT HERE] The Tamil Nadu government has said it will soon seek central funds for the damage caused by Cyclone Ockhi in the southern parts of the state, with Kanyakumari and Tirunelveli districts being the worst hit. As many as 218 fishermen from various parts of southern Kerala who were missing at sea since Thursday have been rescued and brought back so far, even as Cyclone Ockhi continued its menacing north-westward path along the Arabian Sea. [READ REPORT HERE] A rescued fisherman rushed to the ambulance from the technical area of the Thiruvananthpuram airport on Friday afternoon. Express Photo | Kaviyoor Santhosh According to a CWC advisory, the west-flowing rivers in Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Idukki, Kottayam, Alappuzha and Ernakulam in Kerala are likely to rise over the next 24 hours and then, slowly fall as the rains reduced. Three deaths were reported in Kerala and one in the worst-hit Kannyakumari district in Tamil Nadu, taking the toll to 12, reports UNI. A report from Lakshadweep said a red alert had been sounded as high waves posed a major threat to most of the islands in the region. (UNI) WATCH: Navy rescue fishermen off Thiruvananthapuram coast About 150 fishermen, who put out to sea from various southern districts, were rescued, Thiruvananthapuram District Commissioner K Vasuki said, adding that efforts were on to bring the rest of the stranded fishermen to the shore. The rescued fishermen included those who were saved by a Japanese cargo vessel. Kerala: Rescued fishermen brought to Trivandrim Air Force Station, later admitted to hospital for treatment #CycloneOckhi pic.twitter.com/lB10HNPqsE ANI (@ANI) December 1, 2017 Heavy to extremely heavy rains are likely over Lakshadweep Islands, while light to moderate rains with a few heavy spells are expected over Kerala and Andaman and Nicobar Islands, according to Skymetweather's latest weather update. Two fishing boats Arokia Mary and Hermen Mary from Kanyakumari reported missing due #CycloneOckhi since 30 Nov 2017 with 08 crew each rescued by Coast Guard Ship C-427 off Vizhinjam #Kerala pic.twitter.com/nyLuxkoonk ANI (@ANI) December 1, 2017 Search and rescue effort progressing off Vizhinjam where approximately 40 people were stranded at sea. Indian Navy ships Sharda and Shardul sailed out to augment search effort, in final stages of embarking humanitarian assistance and disaster relief items for assistance at Lakshadweep and Minicoy Islands , reports ANI. 130 families from Chellanam, 17 families from Kumbalangi and 18 families from Edavanakad rehabilitated from the coastal areas, reports ANI. [Read Report] Cyclone Ockhi is moving to the Arabian Sea. Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan says steps are initiated to rescue fishermen stranded in the rough sea, reports PTI. #WATCH: High tides seen at Lakshadweep coast #CycloneOckhi pic.twitter.com/sxUBC4geku ANI (@ANI) December 1, 2017 24 people stranded at sea sighted by IN assets. Efforts underway to rescue all 24:- 07 picked up by MV ENERGY ORPHEUS,04 being rescued by INS JAMUNA ,03 rescued by trawler in area,02 rescued by ALH (progressing further rescue of 06 more),02 under Rescue by MV KUN LUN SHAN SpokespersonNavy (@indiannavy) December 1, 2017 READ FULL STORY: Navy, Coast Guard save 39 Kerala fishermen ALSO READ | Cyclone Ockhi tales #Kerala: Relatives of missing fishermen mourn in Thiruvananthapuram, say they received no warnings of #CycloneOckhi from the government pic.twitter.com/gewQlJZvPI ANI (@ANI) December 1, 2017 - One person was killed when a tree fell on his autorickshaw at Kulathupuzha in Kollam - A couple at Kattakkada in Thiruvananthapuram was electrocuted when power cables fell over them - Trees and hoardings collapsed in the strong wind, which also blew away thatched roofs and roofing sheets of houses - The State Disaster Management Authority has issued alert to Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Idukki and Kottayam districts Satellite image of Cyclone Ockhi across South India. (Image Courtesy: skymetweather.com) Southern Naval Command deployed 3 ships & 2 aircraft following request by District Collector, Trivandrum for assistance in search of 6 fishing boats with fisherman & 1 Marine Engineering vessel missing near Vizhinjam, due to cyclonic storm developed in Indian Ocean off Kerala. pic.twitter.com/2fShFmu1NS ANI (@ANI) November 30, 2017 SkymetWeather (@SkymetWeather) November 30, 2017 With a speed of 38 kmph at 8:30 Thursday morning, the cyclone lay centred about 340 km west-northwest of Galle in Sri Lanka, 60 Km south of Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu and 120 km southwest of Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala and 480 km eastsoutheast of Minicoy in Lakshadweep. It has moved west-northwestwards towards Lakshadweep Islands in the southeast Arabian Sea. Lakshadweep is an archipelago of 12 atolls, three reefs and five submerged banks lying 200 to 400 km to the West of the South-West coast (Kerala) of India. Cyclone Ockhi is approaching the Lakshadweep archipelago, a top official at the Ministry of Earth Sciences said in Delhi today. Madhavan Rajeevan, secretary in the ministry, said the archipelago in the southern part of the Arabian Sea will start experiencing heavy rainfall and strong winds from tomorrow. "It will hit the islands on December 2," Rajeevan said. (PTI) Earlier today, the US Navy's Joint Typhoon Warning Centre (JTWC) had put out an alert saying that the system could intensify further to become a severe cyclonic storm. It further said the storm could re-curve towards the Mumbai-Gujarat region on the West Coast, after being influenced by an incoming western disturbance from the opposite direction. Heavy rainfall and storms in Tamil Nadu in the first week of November this year killed at least 12 people and thousands took shelter in relief camps, triggering fears of the 2015 floods repeat. It had killed more than 400 people, displaced lakhs and damaged property worth thousands of crores. What is a tropical depression The India Meteorological Department (IMD) classifies the low pressure systems in the Bay of Bengal and in the Arabian Sea into seven categories. Low pressure areas with maximum sustained surface wind speeds between 31 and 61 kmph are called tropical depressions. Once the winds around the low pressure area reach at least 62 kmph, it is called a tropical cyclone and is assigned a name. The current system is intensifying rapidly. As per the IMD wind warning, squally winds would reach 45-55 kmph gusting to 65 kmph along and off south Tamil Nadu during the next 48 hours. Another depression kicking-in The trough of low pressure over the Malay Peninsula and neighbourhood is persisting and is likely to develop into a low-pressure area over Malay Peninsula and adjoining south Andaman Sea during the next 24 hours. This system is likely to trigger a wet spell for the north coastal districts of Tamil Nadu, including Chennai, around December 4. (With inputs from Express News Service and agencies) Congress President-elect Rahul Gandhi today visited some places hit by the Cyclone Ochki in southern Kerala that has claimed 63 lives in the state, most of them fishermen, and pitched for a better warning system to prevent recurrence of such tragedies. Thousands of fishermen and their families in Kerala and Tamil Nadu are continuously holding mass protests, demanding for search operations to continue and for relief to be provided faster. Search and rescue operations to trace the fishermen missing in the aftermath of cyclone Ockhi continued for the 12th day today. As many as 433 fishermen from Tamil Nadu and 186 from Kerala are yet to be traced. The cyclone, earlier this week, had finally dissipated over the Arabian Sea, sparing Gujarat from destruction. ALSO READ | No tsunami says IMD as false WhatsApp alerts create panic Here are all the latest updates: The Union Home Ministry is constituting an inter ministerial central committee for the spot assessment of damage and admissibility of claims of the states hit by Cyclone Ockhi. Today's #OpSahayam #CycloneOckhi Deployment of IN & ICG assets for #SAR of missing fishermen off Kerala & Tamil Nadu coast. @CMOKerala @CMOTamilNadu @OfficeOfOPS @ShashiTharoor @PonnaarrBJP @pibchennai @PIB_India @PIBTvpm @BJP4TamilNadu @BJP4Keralam pic.twitter.com/oTeP5QI2XP Nirmala Sitharaman (@nsitharaman) December 14, 2017 House-to-house verification process is going on and a final figure of the missing fishermen would be known once the process was over, say officials. [READ FULL REPORT] "The farmers have a ministry that looks after their interests and I think it is time that we create a ministry for the fishermen to look after their interests and make sure they are protected," said Congress leader Rahul Gandhi after visiting fishermen families in affected areas in Kerala. [READ FULL REPORT] TN government hikes compensation for non-fisherman families from Rs 4 lakhs to Rs 10 lakhs. (READ) The death toll in the Ockhi cyclone that hit the Kerala coast mounted to 65 with more bodies being recovered. DMK petitions TN governor Banwarilal Purohit to expedite rescue work post-Ockhi. Efforts are on to identify the recovered bodies through DNA test. In a bid to set up a mechanism to ensure the safety of fishermen, Kerala CM Vijayan said a system was being planned in association with the Indian Space Research Organisation. Kerala State control room officials said three bodies were found off the coast of Kozhikode and three from Kochi. [READ FULL REPORT] The financial assistance of Rs 20 lakh for families of Kerala fishermen killed in the cyclone would be given in one go. An amount of Rs five lakh would be given to those who are seriously injured and are not able to go to work in future as an "alternative livelihood" initiative. Today's deployment on #SAR #CycloneOckhi .@CMOTamilNadu @CMOKerala @OfficeOfOPS @PonnaarrBJP @ShashiTharoor @PIB_India @pibchennai @PIBTvpm @BJP4Keralam @BJP4TamilNadu pic.twitter.com/LQedhf51eA Nirmala Sitharaman (@nsitharaman) December 13, 2017 Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday said the Centre has agreed to continue search operations for the missing fishermen in Cyclone Ockhi that hit the state's coast on November 29 and 30. The death toll due to Ockhi cyclone, which hit the Kerala coast, rose to 52 on Tuesday as more bodies were recovered and the search for the missing fishermen in the high seas continued. The Tamil Nadu CM Palaniswami on Tuesday announced Rs 20 lakh compensation for the kin of fishermen who died in the cyclone that devastated the coastal areas of the state recently. Pope Francis has enquired about the hardships and sufferings caused to Kerala's fishermen community in the Ockhi cyclone that ravaged the coastal belt on November 30. The Tamil Nadu government on Tuesday announced 'livelihood assistance' ranging from Rs 48,500 to Rs 63,500 per hectare for horticulture farmers of cyclone Ockhi-battered Kanyakumari district. Kerala fishermen protestors took to the street by waving black flags and photos of the dead and missing fishermen walked about two km from Palayam to Raj Bhavan raising slogans, bringing the traffic to a standstill on the busy stretch. The death toll in the Ockhi cyclone in Kerala rose to 40 on Monday with the recovery of two more bodies even as the search operations to trace the missing fishermen entered the 10th day. Search and rescue operations to trace the fishermen missing in the aftermath of Ockhi cyclone continued for 10th day today even as 67 persons caught in the storm, returned to Kochi coast. The Goa government would provide compensation to shacks having legal validity, for the damages suffered during the Cyclone Ockhi last week. [FULL REPORT] The Indian naval ships engaged in search and rescue mission in the aftermath of Cyclone Ockhi today continued their operations in the high seas, searching area till the Maldives. No stranded boats, fishermen or floating bodies have been found in the sea by the naval search team during the last 72 hours, the official said. Kerala Governor P Sathasivam will contribute a month's salary to the special fund being raised for the victims of cyclone Ockhi. The Kerala government has asked the Indian Armed Forces and the Coast Guard to continue search operations for fishermen missing in high seas post-Cyclone Ockhi for 10 more days. #HADR #CycloneOckhi #OpSahayam #SAR Based on reports by IN Boeing P8 i aircraft, INS Kalpeni was sent to Off Sesostris Bank/Bassas de Pedro (a traditional fishing area off Lakshadweep island).About 17 boats with 180 plus fishermen have been located.@DefenceMinIndia @nsitharaman SpokespersonNavy (@indiannavy) December 8, 2017 A decision in this regard was taken at an all-party meeting in Kerala on Friday to discuss the steps taken by the state for rescue of fishermen stranded at sea and situation in the aftermath of the cyclone that hit the coast on November 29 and 30. READ | Cyclone Ockhi: 200 people from Kerala's fisher community to be recruited to coastal police Sixty-six boats from this district were yet to be traced, while 713 fishermen were still to be rescued, in the aftermath of cyclone Ockhi, a top district official said. Union Minister Pon Radhakrishnan on Friday said all steps were being taken to trace and rescue missing fishermen in the aftermath of cyclone Ockhi. A "false image" is being created against the central and state governments though they were taking up rescue, relief and rehabilitation works, Radhakrishnan told reporters in Kanyakumari. READ FULL STORY HERE | Tension at Adimalathura as Finance Minister meets protesting fishermen Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami on Thursday announced a solatium of Rs 10 lakh to the kin of fishermen who died in Cyclone Ockhi. Palaniswami also announced setting up of a high-level committee to go into the matter of missing fishermen and submit a report. He also announced Rs five lakh solatium to those fishermen who were affected by the cyclone and unable to pursue their profession. ALSO READ | Fishermen meet CM Edappadi K Palaniswami, seek intensive search operations The Tamil Nadu government said on Thursday (08-12-2017) that nearly 2,000 fishermen who had ventured into deep sea before Cyclone Ockhi crossed the coast of Kanyakumari were rescued and safely accommodated in coastal districts of various states. Principal Secretary (Information Technology) T K Ramachandran said that 1,969 fishermen on 284 boats ventured into the sea just a day before Cyclone Ockhi crossed the coast last week. READ | After Cyclone Ockhi, now its a sea of protest for 2000 fishermen families in Nagercoil Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit today assured the families of missing fishermen in the district that steps would be taken to trace all those missing after cyclone 'Ockhi' hit the state coast. Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan said prime minister Narendra Modi had called the Tamil Nadu chief minister and enquired about the situation, but did not call the Kerala CM. Three bodies were recovered today off the Kerala coast, taking the death toll due to Cyclone Ockhi to 36, even as defence sources said search and rescue operations will be extended to International waters around Maldives. Family members of 19 fishermen from Tuticorin in Tamil Nadu, reported missing in the aftermath of cyclone Ockhi, today met Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and sought help to trace them. "It was an unprecedented calamity, which claimed several lives and caused a widespread damage to properties. The Centre should declare Cyclone Ockhi a national disaster and announce a special package for the rehabilitation of the victims," Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan said. Tamil Nadu government today said a total of 4,501 houses in cyclone Ockhi-hit Kanyakumari have suffered partial and full damage and relief to the tune of Rs 41 lakh has been provided in this regard so far. [READ REPORT] Nuns take out a candlelight procession for the victims of Cyclone Ockhi at the National Shrine Basilica of Our Lady of Ransom at Vallarpadam in Kochi on Wednesday night. (Albin Mathew | EPS) The Kerala state cabinet on Wednesday cleared a comprehensive rehabilitation package for the victims of Cyclone Ockhi, which includes Rs 20 lakh compensation for the kin of the deceased fishermen and Rs 5 lakh each for fishermen who were grievously injured. [READ FULL REPORT] Boeing P8i of Indian Navy detected a fishing vessel near Kavaratti, close to Mangalore, yesterday evening. While INS Chennai has diverted for rescue, search areas are being expanded due to drift and currents in the area, said Navy spokesperson. Fishing vessel as seen from the aircraft. This video captures the essence of what Navy Boeing P-8i is doing - systematic search of every inch of possible/ probable area & providing hope to the stranded till they are rescued by our ships @nsitharaman pic.twitter.com/1sY0VXul42 SpokespersonNavy (@indiannavy) December 6, 2017 The government on Tuesday issued an advisory in view of Cyclone 'Ockhi', warning of a "rapid" rise in the water level of rivers in parts of Maharashtra and Gujarat. Union Health Minister J P Nadda today spoke to health ministers of Gujarat and Tamil Nadu, assuring them of all help from the Centre for dealing with the possible damage caused by Cyclone Ockhi. A Coast Guard ship today located 15 boats off Lakshadweep and provided assistance to 184 fishermen on board, as part of its Cyclone Ockhi relief operations. Local fishermen will join Naval teams with INS Kabra, presently involved in search and rescue operations off Kollam port and their inputs will be taken to carry out the mission. The Madras High Court today directed the Tamil Nadu government to provide adequate basic amenities to those affected by cyclone Ockhi in Kanyakumari district. The Union Home Ministry on Tuesday said that Cyclone Ockhi was not expected to have high impact in Gujarat which is geared for the worst situation. As many as 39 people have perished and 167 fishermen were still missing after cyclone Ockhi hit Tamil Nadu and Kerala coasts while 809 others were swept away to Maharashtra, the Union Home Ministry said today. Narendra Modi today said he is constantly monitoring the situation in various states arising out of cyclone Ockhi battering parts of Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Lakshadweep islands and now heading towards Gujarat. [READ FULL ARTICLE HERE] Light rains were expected at one or two places in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry over the next two days. Rahul Gandhi's rallies in Gujarat's Morbi, Dhrangadhra and Surendranagar cancelled due to bad weather, reports ANI. The Kerala government today said intensified search and rescue operations are on to trace the 92 fishermen missing in high seas after Cyclone Ockhi hit the state's coast on November 29. The National Disaster Management Authority today asked fishermen in both eastern and western coasts not to venture out in the sea for the next three days as heavy rainfall is expected in many areas due to Cyclone Ockhi. The North Goa district has done a preliminary assessment of the damage caused due to Cyclone Ockhi in the coastal state. Cyclone Ockhi today moved closer to the southern coast near Surat in Gujarat and is expected to make a landfall in the state around midnight, said officials. PM Modi and Amit Shah have directed party workers to stop campaigning and instead help people in coastal regions of Gujarat move to safer places. Amit Shahs cancelled rallies were to be held in Rajula, Mahua and Shihor. (TV reports) It's likely to rain today, there will be strong winds. People have been advised not to go out at night. Those living in kachha houses will be given shelter. NDRF is on alert. Municipality & local bodies are working on their level.: Mahendra Patel, Surat DM #CycloneOckhi pic.twitter.com/lUuIpOiauW ANI (@ANI) December 5, 2017 Kerala fishermen demand stringent action against erring disaster management officers. [READ FULL STORY HERE] UP CM Yogi Adityanath hands over a cheque worth Rs. 5 Cr to PM Modi from CM Distress Relief Fund towards PM's National Relief Fund, for the cyclone affected people in Lakshadweep and other States #CycloneOckhi pic.twitter.com/vPxxQaE43A ANI (@ANI) December 5, 2017 The recent cyclone has brought to the fore the lack of proper mechanism to urgently communicate with fishermen at sea about an impending natural disaster. The situation is set to change once a mechanism to improve the communication with fishermen at sea is put in place by the state government in association with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS). [Kerala government to better offshore communication of fishermen | READ HERE] Rs 600 per hour to use a motor generator to fill water tank? Impossible, you might think. But the power-less Nagercoil is seeing this and more, as desperate residents look at help from all quarters to bring life back to normal. They shell out the extra charges to get drinking water and to charge their already-dead mobile phone batteries. [READ FULL ARTICLE HERE] With #CycloneOckhi expected to make a landfall in Gujarat, I appeal to @BJP4Gujarat Karyakartas to focus on helping people across the state. Our Karyakartas should devote themselves to providing all possible assistance and stand shoulder to shoulder with fellow citizens. Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) December 5, 2017 In Mumbai, the Western Railways has deployed extra personnel for crowd management in case of any emergency due to the cyclone. [FULL REPORT] According to the IMD, Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani held an urgent meeting with senior officials to take stock of the preparedness in the state ahead of the expected landfall of the cyclone today. THE STORM OCKHI OVER ARABIAN SEA MOVED FURTHER NNE WARDS & IS NOW 480 KM SSW OF SURAT LIKELY TO CONTINUE TO MOVE NNE WARDS, WEAKEN GRADUALLY & CROSS S GUJ & N MAHA AS A DEEP DEPRESSION BY TONIGHT. HEAVY RAINS AND STRONG WINDS ALREADY STARTED. BE CAREFUL & TAKE PRECAUTIONS. pic.twitter.com/M5YymjDD7W Dr. Harsh Vardhan (@drharshvardhan) December 5, 2017 Some parts of the Mumbai-Pune Expressway experienced a hailstorm early today, police said. The traffic on Eastern and Western Express Highways in Mumbai has slowed down. There are traffic curbs in some places in view of the rush of followers of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar on his death anniversary tomorrow. Five days after #CycloneOchki made landfall @IndiaCoastGuard continues to be at sea off #TamilNadu #Kerala & #Lakshadweep Island for Search & Rescue . Coast Guard Ship rescued 19 fishermen on board 02 stranded vessels 96 Nautical Miles off Bitra (L&M ) Islands @DefenceMinIndia pic.twitter.com/PKFBHiUkjh Indian Coast Guard (@IndiaCoastGuard) December 5, 2017 All exams for Mumbai University taking place as scheduled, announced the administration. (TV reports) Mumbai police have been putting up barricades near Dadar chowpatty and Juhu chowpatty to stop people from going near the beaches, say TV reports. Cyclone Ockhi is expected to make landfall in Mumbai and coastal Gujarat on Tuesday midnight with squally winds, which may cause heavy rains in several parts of the state during the next two days. The Maharashtra government has declared a holiday for schools and colleges in Mumbai and adjoining districts. An official at the Mumbai office of India Meteorological Department said on account of the cyclone, the megapolis has started receiving rainfall due to spread of clouds. The Tamil Nadu government on Monday said a total of 2,604 fishermen out of the 2,864 caught in the cyclone Ockhi have been rescued. Women with all hopes of the return of their dear ones at the St Mary'schurch at Vizhinjam (EPS | Kaviyoor Santhosh) Several dozen shacks have reportedly been affected by Sunday night's swelling of waters along the coastline. The Central government has assured all help to cyclone-battered Lakshadweep, where there was no loss of lives, but extensive property damage in some islands: Lakshadweep Administrator Farooq Khan. Shibi, whose husband went missing Cyclone Ockhi, in all tears inside the St Mary's church at Vizhinjam. ( EPS | Kaviyoor Santhosh) The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) on Monday rescued another 19 fishermen from the Arabian Sea, top officials said. Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar today donated Rs two crore from the CM's relief fund to the PMNRF to provide relief to the victims of Cyclone Ockhi. A well-marked low pressure area over southeast Bay of Bengal is likely to become a depression and move towards Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh by December 6, the Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC) said today. The National Crisis Management Committee, headed by Cabinet Secretary P K Sinha, has reviewed rescue and relief operations being carried out in high seas and coastal areas hit by cyclone Ockhi. Women members of the fisher folk community on Monday held a protest in Kanyakumari district demanding that authorities intensify rescue operations to trace fishermen caught in the deep sea in the wake of Cyclone Ockhi. Hundreds of women held protest on the roads in Neerodi village demanding the authorities trace their loved ones who are still missing. [READ FULL STORY] In a thatched house on Poonthura beach in Kerala, 21-year-old Bobby, his 42-year-old mother Jacintha and his 17-year-old sister Nimmy are hopeless about the future. Their sole breadwinner Christy, 51, a fisherman, died in the Ockhi cyclone in high seas when he ventured out into the sea last Wednesday. [READ THE FULL STORY HERE] Four days after Ockhi hit Chellanam in Kerala, Annamma Pouly, 67, is yet to recover from the troubles she went through to shift her 74-year-old immobile husband from their house as sea water gushed in during the middle of the night. [READ HER ACCOUNT HERE] Cyclone Ockhi and the frantic scramble for organising rescue efforts down south have yet again underscored the need for permanently stationing Naval and Coast Guard ships in Thiruvananthapuram. [READ FULL REPORT HERE] Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Monday sent two crore rupees from the Chief Minister Fund to the Prime Minister Fund for the relief of victims. (ANI) Union Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman met with the families of fishermen affected by the cyclone at Vizhinam in Thiruvananthapuram. She pointed out that the boats that had gone out well before the cyclone warning was issued had been found 15 days after their departure with the fishermen alive. ''If boats which went 15 days ago can come back with fishermen alive, we will make every attempt to get everybody back,'' she said. (Express News Service) [READ FULL REPORT HERE] Previously, Cyclone Ockhi had moved north-northwestwards during the past six hours and lay centered over southeast and east-central Arabian Sea , about 390 km west-northwest of Amini Divi island of Lakshadweep. Lakshadweep islands, which was hit by Cyclone Ochki, has suffered a loss of over Rs 500 crore, Lakshadweep MP Mohammad Faizal said today. Nirmala Sitharaman taking stock of Cyclone Ochki affected Kanyakumari and interacting with the locals. Very severe Cyclone Ockhi to recurve towards Gujarat, weaken gradually: Skymet Weather Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said 28 more boats, carrying 321 fishermen, which were caught in rough seas due to Cyclone Ockhi, have safely reached Maharashtra's Ratnagiri coast today. [READ FULL REPORT] A total of 357 fishermen, including 71 from Tamil Nadu, stranded in sea due to Cyclone Ockhi , were rescued this morning, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said today. What looked like an aftermath of cyclone Ockhi, three houses were damaged while the compound wall of a private resort collapsed as surging waves lashed the coast of Ullal in Dakshina Kannada in the last two days. According to official sources, damage to the property by huge waves has occurred in most of the coastal areas. KJ Alphons on Sunday also said that Cyclone Ockhi will not be termed a national disaster. [READ HERE] Even as the blame game over the lack of warning before cyclone Ockhi continues, Union Minister of State for Tourism and IT Alphons Kannanthanam said that the state had not received any warning until November 30. However, he later clarified that a warning had been issued on November 28 and 29 about a deep depression in the sea. [READ FULL REPORT HERE] Four men three from Thiruvananthapuram and one from Tamil Nadu were rescued by the IAF and admitted to the Thiruvananthapuram Medical College Hospital. They were identified as Zacharias (55), Seva Kurishu (35), and Kristudas (48) of Adimalathura, Thiruvananthapuram; and Anthony Adima (30) of Kollencode, Tamil Nadu. Another fisherman was brought dead to the hospital. A Coastguard vessel carrying 19 rescued fishermen was expected to arrive in Kochi. Moderate rain is expected at a few places in Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry during the next 24 hours, according to IMD. [READ FULL REPORT] Indian Coast Guard ship Sarthi rescued a fisherman in rough seas during Cyclone Ockhi off Kerala coast. [WATCH VIDEO] Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will visit Thiruvananthapuram and Kanyakumari today. She will arrive at the technical area of the IAF at Shangumugham by 3 pm and leave for Kanyakumari. Fishermen community in Thiruvananthapuram have decided to launch their own rescue operations on Sunday as 55 boats ventured into the sea to search for the missing fishermen. (IANS) TN SDMA has also warned that strong winds from North-easterly direction with speeds reaching 40-55 Kmph is likely along and off Tamil Nadu and Puducherry coast. The Tamil Nadu State Disaster Management Authority (TN SDMA) has issued a 24-hour warning to fishermen not to go for fishing to the Arabian sea. 68 fishing boats, out of which 66 are from Kerala and two from Tamil Nadu, have reached Maharashtra's Sindhudurg coast with total 952 fishermen on board. All are safe: Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis. (READ FULL REPORT HERE) Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has decided to ask the Centre to declare the Ockhi cyclone as a national calamity. (ANI) Claims of thousand fishermen stranded are false. Correct figures- 97 are yet to be rescued, 71 from Tamil Nadu have been rescued till now. The Coast Guard is at it, with all its strength to rescue the rest. Hoping for good news soon: Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. (ANI) People receive essential commodities at a relief camp following cyclone Ockhi in the Kanyakumari district on Saturday. (PTI) Given orders to Maharashtra Maritime Board and Collector, Sindhudurg Dist. to make all arrangements for the stranded fishermen. Local authorities are already with them and taking care of all arrangements, tweets Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis. In all 68 fishing boats have reached, out of which 66 are from Kerala and 2 from Tamil Nadu with total 952 fisherman on board. All are safe. Maharashtra will completely look after everyone till weather permits them to go back. @nsitharaman @BJP4Keralam Devendra Fadnavis (@Dev_Fadnavis) December 2, 2017 A fresh spell of heavy rain is in store in some areas of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Puducherry with a low pressure area forming over south Andaman sea, which is "very likely" to become a depression over Bay of Bengal. It is very likely to become a depression over southeast Bay of Bengal and neighbourhood during the next 36 hours. It is also very likely to intensify further and move towards north Tamil Nadu south Andhra Pradesh coasts during the next 3-4 days. (IMD) Though many fishermen from Kerala were brought ashore safely and admitted to hospitals, many are yet to recover from the shock of wrestling the lashing waves and seeing death face-to-face. Stephan, a fisherman hailing from nearby Poonthura, said: "It was the first time we were experiencing such huge waves and a rough sea. Luckily, the rescue boat came back and saved us." Most of the rescued fishermen had bruises all over their bodies and were seen shivering and begging for hot water and food when brought ashore. (PTI) Stranded fisherman being brought to Kerala coast by Indain Navy personnel in Kochi on Saturday. (PTI) Tamil Nadu CM K Palaniswami today requested the Centre to deploy the Indian Navy and Coast Guard for the search and rescue of fishermen who have not returned so far, and that helicopters of Coast Guard and Navy should be deployed for this purpose. Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh assured the AIADMK leader that the Centre would provide the assistance required to rescue the fishermen. (PTI) Several roads that connect Kanyakumari with many interior parts have got cut or were fully damaged due to heavy rainfall following the impact of cyclone Ockhi in the district on Saturday. (PTI) A Coast Guard advisory here said the status of weather and sea conditions should be checked on television, radio, newspapers and smartphone applications before venturing out into the sea. The merchant ships should also be alert and avoid the path of Cyclone Ockhi, it said. Fishing boats should remain in groups and during distress all the crew should remain together, it said. DMK working president M K Stalin urged Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in his letter to direct the Coast Guard to search and rescue "thousands of fishermen fighting for their lives in the mid sea, so as to prevent further loss of lives due to the Ockhi cyclone". Steps have been taken to prevent any possible outbreak of epidemic in rain-hit areas of Kanyakumari district, Tamil Nadu Health minister C Vijayabhaskar said today. A relief worker places sand bags on the banks of a beach in Kochi in wake of cyclone Ockhi on Saturday. (PTI) Leader of the opposition in the Kerala Assembly Ramesh Chennithala today urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to declare cyclone Ockhi as a national disaster. He also urged the Kerala government to increase the financial aid for the injured at least up to Rs 50,000 from the present Rs 15,000. Lack of coordination had affected the government's relief and rescue operations, launched post Ockhi, he alleged. (PTI) The Southern Railway announced partial and full cancellation of some trains in the Kaniyakumari-Nagercoil section. One train service was also rescheduled. (PTI Meanwhile, relatives of missing fishermen from Kaniyakumari staged a road blockade demanding the fishermen be rescued at the earliest. Scores of women also staged protest at Chinnathurai in that district. There has been a huge demand for generator sets following the devastation caused by cyclone Ockhi in the Kanyakumari region on Saturday. (PTI) In Kanyakumari, power supply had been restored even as efforts are on to resume power supply in neighbouring areas like Nagercoil and Kuzhithurai. Officials expressed confidence that the power supply would be restored in the entire district by tomorrow. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami announced Rs 25 crore for expediting relief and restoration work in the district. (PTI) 261 persons rescued by @IndiaCoastGuard @adgpi and @IAF_MCC in #CycloneOckhi @NewIndianXpress pic.twitter.com/ywhzBQLJnP Kiran_TNIE (@tniekiran1) December 2, 2017 The Coast Guard informed in a press release that on November 30, the Coast Guard District Headquarters in Kerala was informed that around 70-80 fishermen were stranded at sea due to the storm. The Coast Guard immediately sailed as many as nine ships towards Search and Rescue (SAR) efforts. Further, ships based at New Mangalore were also sailed towards Kerala coast to undertake the rescue of stranded fishermen. As the cyclone intensified, coordinated search by Coast Guard ships and aircraft continued in extremely rough weather with wind speed gusting up to 150 kmph. Ships at Mumbai and Goa were also placed on maximum alert to augment efforts as required, the press release read. (PTI) As per the last report, a total of 79 stranded fishermen have been saved by the Coast Guard in coordination with other agencies. Also, the fisheries department has intimated that about 25 boats with 250 personnel are still in distress at sea. A man watches a road that has been cut off due to floods following the heavy rainfall caused by the cyclone Ockhi which left heavy damage in the Kanyakumari district on Saturday. (PTI) 138 fishermen have been rescued from the Lakshadweep islands. (PTI) So far 393 people from Kerala have been rescued, Kerala CM Vijayan said, as the state government announced a compensation of Rs 10 lakh to the family of those who died in the storm, in addition to the financial assistance of Rs four lakh being given by the fisheries department.Of the rescued, 132 fishermen were from the state capital Thiruvananthapuram, 66 from Kozhikode, 55 from Kollam, 40 from Thrissur, and 100 from Kanyakumari. (PTI) In Lakshadweep, 31 relief camps have been opened in the10 inhabited islands. So far, 1,047 people have been evacuated to the relief camps, official sources said. No casualties have been reported, with the worst-affected islands being Minicoy and Kalpeni. Seven people have lost their lives in Kerala in rain-related incidents over the past two days, official sources said. (PTI) Cyclone Ockhi has so far claimed 13 lives in Sri Lanka. Power supply, essential services and air traffic was disrupted in the stormy weather that left several buildings damaged and trees uprooted in its wake. READ FULL REPORT HERE #CycloneOckhi update @IndiaCoastGuard ship rescued 15 fishermen at sea off Vizhinjam/Quilon (Kerala) Coast and heading towards shore for safe disembarkation of fisher-folks @DefenceMinIndia @SpokespersonMoD pic.twitter.com/39gJrfI20Z Indian Coast Guard (@IndiaCoastGuard) December 2, 2017 Authorities including the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), Coast Guard and Navy have rescued about 223 fishermen and evacuated thousands of people from cyclone hit areas, officials said, as they continued their operations on Saturday. While INS Nireekshak, INS Jamuna and INS Sagardhwani are continuing search and rescue operations in their designated areas along the coast off Vizhinjam in Thiruvananthapuram and Kollam, two ships INS Shardul and INS Sharda are heading towards Lakshadweep, a defence spokesman said. (PTI) The naval ships, which left from the Southern Naval Command here yesterday, are likely to reach Lakshadweep this evening. The Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Lanba briefed me on the on-going rescue operations #CycloneOchki . More fishermen rescued this morning. Rescue work to continue.Some rescued fishermen waiting in Lakshadweep Isle to get back. Details @indiannavy @DefenceMinIndia @IndiaCoastGuard Nirmala Sitharaman (@nsitharaman) December 2, 2017 The Kerala state government has announced a compensation of Rs. 10 lakh to the families of the deceased. #Kerala Locals have blocked National Highway for last five hours in Trivandrum's Thumba, demand better relief measures & rescue of 6 fishermen missing from the area #CycloneOckhi pic.twitter.com/rcTY0gyDty ANI (@ANI) December 2, 2017 Six boats and 73 fishermen that went missing in the sea have been brought back, the Fisheries Minister of Tamil Nadu, D Jayakumar, informed on Saturday. (ANI) Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan slammed rumour mongers on Saturday after it came to light that Friday's reports of a Japanese merchant ship rescuing 60 Kerala fishermen caught in the deep seas, was "fake". It was Thiruvananthapuram district Collector S.Vasuki who told the media, on Friday evening, that she wished to thank the Japanese government as one of their ships had rescued 60 fishermen and said they would arrive at the Vizhinjam coast. (IANS.) [READ FULL REPORT] Locals in Thiruvananthapuram's Poonthura came out in protest alleging rescue operations have been inadequate. (ANI) According to Thiruvananthapuram district Collector S Vasuki, 102 fishermen from the city who had gone into the sea have not been able to contact their relatives. [READ FULL REPORT HERE] Kerala: Locals evacuated to rehabilitation centre in Kochi's Chellanam. #CycloneOckhi pic.twitter.com/iAwj7Q7g94 ANI (@ANI) December 2, 2017 Several houses suffered damage, trees got uprooted and communication lines were disrupted as rains accompanied by strong winds lashed the Lakshadweep Islands under the influence of Cyclone Ockhi. [READ FULL REPORT] INS Nireekshak rescued two fishermen off Alappuzha coast. INS Sagardhwani fished out one cadaver, 30 km off Thiruvananthapuram coast. The ship had earlier found another cadaver. (PTI) PM Modi dialled Tamil Nadu CM K Palaniswami and enquired about the damage caused by the cyclone, which also battered parts of Kerala. [READ FULL REPORT HERE] The Tamil Nadu government has said it will soon seek central funds for the damage caused by Cyclone Ockhi in the southern parts of the state, with Kanyakumari and Tirunelveli districts being the worst hit. As many as 218 fishermen from various parts of southern Kerala who were missing at sea since Thursday have been rescued and brought back so far, even as Cyclone Ockhi continued its menacing north-westward path along the Arabian Sea. [READ REPORT HERE] A rescued fisherman rushed to the ambulance from the technical area of the Thiruvananthpuram airport on Friday afternoon. Express Photo | Kaviyoor Santhosh According to a CWC advisory, the west-flowing rivers in Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Idukki, Kottayam, Alappuzha and Ernakulam in Kerala are likely to rise over the next 24 hours and then, slowly fall as the rains reduced. Three deaths were reported in Kerala and one in the worst-hit Kannyakumari district in Tamil Nadu, taking the toll to 12, reports UNI. A report from Lakshadweep said a red alert had been sounded as high waves posed a major threat to most of the islands in the region. (UNI) WATCH: Navy rescue fishermen off Thiruvananthapuram coast About 150 fishermen, who put out to sea from various southern districts, were rescued, Thiruvananthapuram District Commissioner K Vasuki said, adding that efforts were on to bring the rest of the stranded fishermen to the shore. The rescued fishermen included those who were saved by a Japanese cargo vessel. Kerala: Rescued fishermen brought to Trivandrim Air Force Station, later admitted to hospital for treatment #CycloneOckhi pic.twitter.com/lB10HNPqsE ANI (@ANI) December 1, 2017 Heavy to extremely heavy rains are likely over Lakshadweep Islands, while light to moderate rains with a few heavy spells are expected over Kerala and Andaman and Nicobar Islands, according to Skymetweather's latest weather update. Two fishing boats Arokia Mary and Hermen Mary from Kanyakumari reported missing due #CycloneOckhi since 30 Nov 2017 with 08 crew each rescued by Coast Guard Ship C-427 off Vizhinjam #Kerala pic.twitter.com/nyLuxkoonk ANI (@ANI) December 1, 2017 Search and rescue effort progressing off Vizhinjam where approximately 40 people were stranded at sea. Indian Navy ships Sharda and Shardul sailed out to augment search effort, in final stages of embarking humanitarian assistance and disaster relief items for assistance at Lakshadweep and Minicoy Islands , reports ANI. 130 families from Chellanam, 17 families from Kumbalangi and 18 families from Edavanakad rehabilitated from the coastal areas, reports ANI. [Read Report] Cyclone Ockhi is moving to the Arabian Sea. Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan says steps are initiated to rescue fishermen stranded in the rough sea, reports PTI. #WATCH: High tides seen at Lakshadweep coast #CycloneOckhi pic.twitter.com/sxUBC4geku ANI (@ANI) December 1, 2017 24 people stranded at sea sighted by IN assets. Efforts underway to rescue all 24:- 07 picked up by MV ENERGY ORPHEUS,04 being rescued by INS JAMUNA ,03 rescued by trawler in area,02 rescued by ALH (progressing further rescue of 06 more),02 under Rescue by MV KUN LUN SHAN SpokespersonNavy (@indiannavy) December 1, 2017 READ FULL STORY: Navy, Coast Guard save 39 Kerala fishermen ALSO READ | Cyclone Ockhi tales #Kerala: Relatives of missing fishermen mourn in Thiruvananthapuram, say they received no warnings of #CycloneOckhi from the government pic.twitter.com/gewQlJZvPI ANI (@ANI) December 1, 2017 - One person was killed when a tree fell on his autorickshaw at Kulathupuzha in Kollam - A couple at Kattakkada in Thiruvananthapuram was electrocuted when power cables fell over them - Trees and hoardings collapsed in the strong wind, which also blew away thatched roofs and roofing sheets of houses - The State Disaster Management Authority has issued alert to Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Idukki and Kottayam districts Satellite image of Cyclone Ockhi across South India. (Image Courtesy: skymetweather.com) Southern Naval Command deployed 3 ships & 2 aircraft following request by District Collector, Trivandrum for assistance in search of 6 fishing boats with fisherman & 1 Marine Engineering vessel missing near Vizhinjam, due to cyclonic storm developed in Indian Ocean off Kerala. pic.twitter.com/2fShFmu1NS ANI (@ANI) November 30, 2017 SkymetWeather (@SkymetWeather) November 30, 2017 Five people dead, 22 fishermen missing, 62 houses fully damaged, 240 houses partly damaged due to heavy rains, in Kanyakumari district. 16 rehabilitation centres established by government in which 1044 people are being given shelter. (ANI) Ockhi can lead to cloudy weather coupled with light rain for some parts along Maharashtra coast and Mumbai next week, reports said. The IMD has issued warning to all ports. Skymet predicted that there will be light rains in Saurashtra and Kutch region of Gujarat as well. Thiruvananthapuram saw a respite from incessant rains Friday morning. Several trains to and from Thiruvananthapuram were either delayed, cancelled or re-scheduled, say TV reports. #WATCH: Water logging in Sthanumalayan Temple in Kanyakumari's Suchindram #CycloneOckhi pic.twitter.com/nDSjmpfXoz ANI (@ANI) December 1, 2017 Tamil Nadu CM K Palaniswami announces Rs 5 lakh compensation to kin of the five deceased in Kanyakumari district due to rain-related incidents. Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said there were serious lapses from the side of state disaster management department. The alert from Hyderabad was not sent to the Government on time, reports ANI. [READ FULL REPORT] Indian Navys Advanced Light Helicopter has dropped a life a liferaft for 8 survivors at sea 20nm off Trivandrum and is picking up two critically injured survivors from MV Energy Orpheus. Naval Seaking helicopter being launched shortly to recover 8 survivors & additional SAR. Boeing P8I Aircraft deployed at first light from INS Rajali this morning sights 7 survivors hanging on to a capsized boat ~25 miles West of Tivandrum. A/c drops life raft in the vicinity and reported the exact position. Ships in area are being diverted to render assistance: Indian Navy Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh has spoken to the DG of NDRF and reviewed the situation in areas affected by Cyclone Ockhi. NDRF teams have already been moved to the affected areas. More teams are on standby to respond to any further emergencies. The Home Affairs ministry is closely monitoring the situation, according to a the HMO, reports ANI. #Kerala: 59 people stranded due to heavy rains rescued by Navy and coastal guards in Trivandrum #CycloneOckhi pic.twitter.com/8YziNQeaeH ANI (@ANI) December 1, 2017 A cyclone alert has been issued across the coastal regions in north Kerala as MET has predicted cyclone Ockhi will reach this part of the state also. Nearly 200 fishing boats, which left Kochi coast in the last couple of days, are yet to return. Joseph Xavier, general secretary, All Kerala Fishing Boat Operators Association, said, Usually, we used to receive advance warnings on the weather. But this time, there was no such notification." This is a matter of concern, given there were reports about the arrival of the cyclone at least two days ago, he said. Since most of the boats are co-owned by people belonging to Tamil Nadu and most of the workers are also from that state, it is also possible that the fishermen might have taken the boats to Colachel, Muttom and Thengapattanam, said Xavier. Kerala: Fishermen in Trivandrum go missing. Relatives say they received no warnings of Cyclone Ockhi from the government. [READ FULL REPORT HERE] Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan held an emergency meeting of top officials to take stock of the situation and has asked police and revenue officials to be on high alert, reports IANS. Balakrishnan Nair, scientist at INCOIS, said that the storm surge of about one metre above astronomical tides are very likely to inundate low-lying areas of Lakshadweep Islands from Thursday night and 0.5 metre surge will inundate low-lying areas of coastal districts of south Kerala (Alappuzha, Kollam and Thiruvananthapuram districts), and adjoining districts of south Tamil Nadu (Kanniyakumari, Thoothukudi and Tirunelveli districts). Four people were killed in Kerala on Thursday as heavy rains and strong winds lashed southern part of the state after cyclonic storm Ockhi hit the Kerala coast. (READ MORE) Four people died today in Kanyakumari as heavy rains and strong winds uprooted trees, snapped power lines and damaged settlements close to the sea in Kanyakumari-Nagercoil-Thoothukudi region in south Tamil Nadu. Schools in seven districts of the state including Thoothukudi, Tirunelveli, Kanyakumari and Virudhunagar were closed today. [READ MORE] Two National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams with 60 personnel have been sent to Kanyakumari. Another team of 47 will be on standby in Kochi in Kerala to help out in Lakshadweep if the need arises. [READ: TN CM Palaniswami: Taking precautionary steps for Cyclone Ockhi] Heavy rains have caused chaos and destruction in districts of Kerala since Wednesday. Thiruvananthapuram woke up this morning to a sustained heavy drizzle and heavily overcast skies, which hit rush hour traffic in the state's capital city. One death has been reported in the state so far. An autorickshaw driver on the outskirts of Kollam was killed today after a tree fell on his vehicle. [READ FULL REPORT HERE] Severe rainstorm &winds in Thiruvananthapuram. Here I'm struggling with my umbrella at Shankumukham Beach where #Padayorukkam is scheduled to conclude tomorrow w/ mass rally by Rahul Gandhi pic.twitter.com/qxXvugMqHV The Southern Naval Command is also gearing up for any Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief that may be required due to the effects of the storm in the southern part of Kerala. [READ FULL REPORT HERE] S Balachandran, Director, Regional Meteorological Centre in Chennai, said southern districts in Tamil Nadu such as Kanyakumari, Tirunelveli, Tuticorin, Ramanathapuram, Sivaganga and Virudhunagar will get heavy to very heavy rainfall till December 1. Cyclone Ockhi is not expected to make a landfall in Tamil Nadu. ALSO READ | High wave warning sounded for south Tamil Nadu For north coastal Tamil Nadu, including Chennai, the skies would be generally cloudy and light to moderate spells of rain can be expected. Chennai received up to 6 cm of rain between 8:30 last night and 8:30 this morning. As far as fishermen are concerned, those in Kanyakumari, Tuticorin, Rameswaram, have been asked not to venture out into sea till December 1, Thursday as the wind speed will be 65-70 kmph, meaning the sea will be rough along and off south Tamil Nadu, south Kerala coasts and Lakshadweep Islands. #cyclonealert: Check out the progress of the #CycloneOckhi #Cyclone #Ockhi #Weather #cyclone1 #Chennai #Chennairains #Kerala #TamilNadu @tnsdma @kerala_kaumudi @archvivekh @karthickselvaa pic.twitter.com/A0RNw8wJ90 The weather office has also predicted dense fog in places in Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, and Tripura. Cyclone 'Ockhi' (meaning: eye) was a name contributed by Bangladesh. With a speed of 38 kmph at 8:30 Thursday morning, the cyclone lay centred about 340 km west-northwest of Galle in Sri Lanka, 60 Km south of Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu and 120 km southwest of Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala and 480 km eastsoutheast of Minicoy in Lakshadweep. It has moved west-northwestwards towards Lakshadweep Islands in the southeast Arabian Sea. Lakshadweep is an archipelago of 12 atolls, three reefs and five submerged banks lying 200 to 400 km to the West of the South-West coast (Kerala) of India. Cyclone Ockhi is approaching the Lakshadweep archipelago, a top official at the Ministry of Earth Sciences said in Delhi today. Madhavan Rajeevan, secretary in the ministry, said the archipelago in the southern part of the Arabian Sea will start experiencing heavy rainfall and strong winds from tomorrow. "It will hit the islands on December 2," Rajeevan said. (PTI) Earlier today, the US Navy's Joint Typhoon Warning Centre (JTWC) had put out an alert saying that the system could intensify further to become a severe cyclonic storm. It further said the storm could re-curve towards the Mumbai-Gujarat region on the West Coast, after being influenced by an incoming western disturbance from the opposite direction. Heavy rainfall and storms in Tamil Nadu in the first week of November this year killed at least 12 people and thousands took shelter in relief camps, triggering fears of the 2015 floods repeat. It had killed more than 400 people, displaced lakhs and damaged property worth thousands of crores. What is a tropical depression The India Meteorological Department (IMD) classifies the low pressure systems in the Bay of Bengal and in the Arabian Sea into seven categories. Low pressure areas with maximum sustained surface wind speeds between 31 and 61 kmph are called tropical depressions. Once the winds around the low pressure area reach at least 62 kmph, it is called a tropical cyclone and is assigned a name. The current system is intensifying rapidly. As per the IMD wind warning, squally winds would reach 45-55 kmph gusting to 65 kmph along and off south Tamil Nadu during the next 48 hours. Another depression kicking-in The trough of low pressure over the Malay Peninsula and neighbourhood is persisting and is likely to develop into a low-pressure area over Malay Peninsula and adjoining south Andaman Sea during the next 24 hours. This system is likely to trigger a wet spell for the north coastal districts of Tamil Nadu, including Chennai, around December 4. (With inputs from Express News Service and agencies) By AFP WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump welcomed Saturday a landmark tax cut bill passed by the Senate -- a step toward a big win overshadowed by an ominous turn for him in the probe into Russian meddling in the US election. Trump also insisted, again, that there was no collusion between his campaign and Russia. In an early morning Twitter post, Trump called the bill the biggest tax cut in US history and said his Republican Party would now work with the House of Representatives, which has passed its own tax bill, to produce a common version. "Thank you to House and Senate Republicans for your hard work and commitment!" Trump wrote. After a marathon session that stretched into the night, the chamber voted 51 to 49 in favour of the country's largest tax overhaul in 31 years, overcoming stubborn internal Republican resistance and dismissing angry criticism from Democrats over last-minute revisions to the bill. Biggest Tax Bill and Tax Cuts in history just passed in the Senate. Now these great Republicans will be going for final passage. Thank you to House and Senate Republicans for your hard work and commitment! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 2, 2017 We are one step closer to delivering MASSIVE tax cuts for working families across America. Special thanks to @SenateMajLdr Mitch McConnell and Chairman @SenOrrinHatch for shepherding our bill through the Senate. Look forward to signing a final bill before Christmas! pic.twitter.com/gmWTny3SfS Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 2, 2017 Both the Senate and House versions lower the corporate tax rate to 20 percent from 35 percent, and include more modest tax cuts aimed at individuals across all income levels. Democrats argue that the plan is too expensive and will accommodate only the rich, and that it could ultimately impact cherished US entitlement programs like Medicare. The Senate vote amounts to a reversal of fortune for Trump and Republican leaders, whose bill just 24 hours earlier was on the brink of collapse when a handful of Republican deficit hawks balked at the controversial plan's $1.5 trillion price tag for 10 years. Trump hopes to sign a final bill before Christmas. That would be a sweet victory for the president, who has delivered on hardly any of his major campaign promises, including repealing the health care law known as Obamacare. The Senate passage came after a particularly bad week. His former national security advisor, Michael Flynn, pleaded guilty Friday to lying to the FBI about contacts he had with the Russian ambassador, at the instance of top Trump officials. The 58-year-old retired three-star Army general is the most senior figure indicted in special prosecutor Robert Mueller's sprawling investigation into Russian interference in last year's election. And in an ominous turn for Trump, Flynn also pledged to cooperate with Mueller, whose focus goes beyond possible collusion with Russia to shady business dealings and whether Trump himself tried to thwart the investigation. As he left the White House Saturday for a day trip to New York, Trump insisted he had nothing to worry about. "What has been shown is no collusion. There's been absolutely no collusion. So we're very happy," Trump told reporters. Trump said he was not worried by what Flynn might tell Mueller, in his first public comments on the matter. Also this week, Trump engaged in an extraordinary, testy cross-Atlantic spat triggered by his retweeting of anti-Muslim videos posted by extremist far-right group in Britain. That prompted widespread outrage at home and abroad, and prompted British Prime Minister Theresa May to say that what Trump did was "wrong." Trump in turn answered by essentially telling May to focus on her own country and the threat of Islamist terror and not focus on him. Back home, the Senate tax bill almost did not make it, amid objections from lawmakers from holdout Republican lawmakers. Tax writers tweaked the 479-page measure deep into the night, leaving Democrats furious over the last-minute, handwritten changes to the legislation. Democrats fumed that they received the text -- peppered with extensive handwritten modifications that earned scorn from opposition lawmakers -- only a few hours before the vote. "We understand they have the votes to pass their bill despite a process -- and a product -- that no one can be proud of and everyone should be ashamed of," top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer told colleagues. - Holdouts relent - As the final vote was tallied, grinning Republicans congratulated one another with handshakes, backslaps and hugs. Several Republicans who had voiced concerns about the bill were ultimately lured by McConnell's agreement to make changes. Senators Bob Corker and Jeff Flake, a pair of Trump critics, worried about the impact of the tax cuts on the country's massive deficit. A nonpartisan congressional tax scorekeeper had projected the tax overhaul would add $1 trillion to the deficit, even after accounting for expected economic growth from the plan. The analysis complicated Trump's argument that the tax cuts would pay for themselves through additional economic growth. Flake eventually agreed to back the legislation, after receiving assurances from the White House that action would be taken to shield thousands of young "Dreamer" immigrants from deportation. Corker hoped to offset the cost of the tax cuts by including a rise in the corporate tax rate in later years, but the effort failed. He was the lone Republican no vote on the bill, but his opposition was not enough to derail it. Lawmakers said a deal was reached to raise tax deductions for certain small businesses, a move that got two more wavering senators on board. As an offset, the bill's tax rate for US corporations repatriating profits from abroad would rise, from 10 percent to possibly 14 percent. WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump welcomed Saturday a landmark tax cut bill passed by the Senate -- a step toward a big win overshadowed by an ominous turn for him in the probe into Russian meddling in the US election. Trump also insisted, again, that there was no collusion between his campaign and Russia. In an early morning Twitter post, Trump called the bill the biggest tax cut in US history and said his Republican Party would now work with the House of Representatives, which has passed its own tax bill, to produce a common version. "Thank you to House and Senate Republicans for your hard work and commitment!" Trump wrote. After a marathon session that stretched into the night, the chamber voted 51 to 49 in favour of the country's largest tax overhaul in 31 years, overcoming stubborn internal Republican resistance and dismissing angry criticism from Democrats over last-minute revisions to the bill. Biggest Tax Bill and Tax Cuts in history just passed in the Senate. Now these great Republicans will be going for final passage. Thank you to House and Senate Republicans for your hard work and commitment! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 2, 2017 We are one step closer to delivering MASSIVE tax cuts for working families across America. Special thanks to @SenateMajLdr Mitch McConnell and Chairman @SenOrrinHatch for shepherding our bill through the Senate. Look forward to signing a final bill before Christmas! pic.twitter.com/gmWTny3SfS Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 2, 2017 Both the Senate and House versions lower the corporate tax rate to 20 percent from 35 percent, and include more modest tax cuts aimed at individuals across all income levels. Democrats argue that the plan is too expensive and will accommodate only the rich, and that it could ultimately impact cherished US entitlement programs like Medicare. The Senate vote amounts to a reversal of fortune for Trump and Republican leaders, whose bill just 24 hours earlier was on the brink of collapse when a handful of Republican deficit hawks balked at the controversial plan's $1.5 trillion price tag for 10 years. Trump hopes to sign a final bill before Christmas. That would be a sweet victory for the president, who has delivered on hardly any of his major campaign promises, including repealing the health care law known as Obamacare. The Senate passage came after a particularly bad week. His former national security advisor, Michael Flynn, pleaded guilty Friday to lying to the FBI about contacts he had with the Russian ambassador, at the instance of top Trump officials. The 58-year-old retired three-star Army general is the most senior figure indicted in special prosecutor Robert Mueller's sprawling investigation into Russian interference in last year's election. And in an ominous turn for Trump, Flynn also pledged to cooperate with Mueller, whose focus goes beyond possible collusion with Russia to shady business dealings and whether Trump himself tried to thwart the investigation. As he left the White House Saturday for a day trip to New York, Trump insisted he had nothing to worry about. "What has been shown is no collusion. There's been absolutely no collusion. So we're very happy," Trump told reporters. Trump said he was not worried by what Flynn might tell Mueller, in his first public comments on the matter. Also this week, Trump engaged in an extraordinary, testy cross-Atlantic spat triggered by his retweeting of anti-Muslim videos posted by extremist far-right group in Britain. That prompted widespread outrage at home and abroad, and prompted British Prime Minister Theresa May to say that what Trump did was "wrong." Trump in turn answered by essentially telling May to focus on her own country and the threat of Islamist terror and not focus on him. Back home, the Senate tax bill almost did not make it, amid objections from lawmakers from holdout Republican lawmakers. Tax writers tweaked the 479-page measure deep into the night, leaving Democrats furious over the last-minute, handwritten changes to the legislation. Democrats fumed that they received the text -- peppered with extensive handwritten modifications that earned scorn from opposition lawmakers -- only a few hours before the vote. "We understand they have the votes to pass their bill despite a process -- and a product -- that no one can be proud of and everyone should be ashamed of," top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer told colleagues. - Holdouts relent - As the final vote was tallied, grinning Republicans congratulated one another with handshakes, backslaps and hugs. Several Republicans who had voiced concerns about the bill were ultimately lured by McConnell's agreement to make changes. Senators Bob Corker and Jeff Flake, a pair of Trump critics, worried about the impact of the tax cuts on the country's massive deficit. A nonpartisan congressional tax scorekeeper had projected the tax overhaul would add $1 trillion to the deficit, even after accounting for expected economic growth from the plan. The analysis complicated Trump's argument that the tax cuts would pay for themselves through additional economic growth. Flake eventually agreed to back the legislation, after receiving assurances from the White House that action would be taken to shield thousands of young "Dreamer" immigrants from deportation. Corker hoped to offset the cost of the tax cuts by including a rise in the corporate tax rate in later years, but the effort failed. He was the lone Republican no vote on the bill, but his opposition was not enough to derail it. Lawmakers said a deal was reached to raise tax deductions for certain small businesses, a move that got two more wavering senators on board. As an offset, the bill's tax rate for US corporations repatriating profits from abroad would rise, from 10 percent to possibly 14 percent. WASHINGTON (AP) Former national security adviser Michael Flynn pleaded guilty Friday to lying to the FBI, becoming the first Trump White House official to face criminal charges and admit guilt so far in the wide-ranging election investigation led by special counsel Robert Mueller. Flynn also agreed to cooperate with Mueller's probe, which focuses on Russian meddling in the 2016 election and possible coordination between Russia and Donald Trump's campaign aimed at sending the Republican businessman to the White House. Flynn was an early and vocal Trump supporter on the campaign trail and was present for consequential moments in the campaign, the following transition period and the early days of Trump's presidency, making him a valuable potential tool for prosecutors and agents. His business dealings and foreign interactions have made him a central focus of Mueller's investigation. Trump's former national security adviser admitted to lying about his conversations with Russia's ambassador to the United States during the transition period before Trump's inauguration. In a statement, Flynn, a retired Army lieutenant general said he accepted responsibility for his actions and added: "My guilty plea and agreement to cooperate with the Special Counsel's Office reflect a decision I made in the best interests of my family and of our country." Flynn is the fourth former Trump associate to face charges in the investigation, the first who actually served in Trump's White House. He has been under investigation for a wide range of allegations, including lobbying work on behalf of Turkey, but the fact that he was charged only with a single count of false statements suggests he is cooperating with Mueller in exchange for leniency. White House lawyer Ty Cobb sought to distance the plea from Trump himself, saying, "Nothing about the guilty plea or the charge implicates anyone other than Mr. Flynn." Early on in is administration, Trump had taken a particular interest in the status of the Flynn investigation. Former FBI Director James Comey, whose firing in May precipitated the appointment of Mueller as special counsel, has said Trump had asked him in a private Oval Office meeting to consider ending the investigation into Flynn. Comey has said the encounter unnerved him so much that he prepared an internal memo about it. The White House has denied that assertion. Flynn, who was interviewed by the FBI just days after Trump's inauguration, was forced to resign in February after White House officials said he had misled them about whether he had discussed sanctions with the Russian ambassador, Sergey Kislyak. Administration officials said Flynn had not discussed sanctions that had been imposed on Russia in part over election meddling. In charging Flynn, prosecutors made clear they believe that claim to be false. Days after Flynn's interview with the FBI, then-acting attorney general, Sally Yates alerted White House counsel Don McGahn that Flynn was potentially compromised and vulnerable to blackmail because of discrepancies between public assertions including by Vice President Mike Pence that Flynn and Kislyak had not discussed sanctions and the reality of what occurred. Mueller's team announced charges in October against three other Trump campaign officials, former chairman Paul Manafort and his business associate Rick Gates, and a former campaign foreign policy adviser, George Papadopoulos. Papadopoulos pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his own foreign contacts. Signs of Flynn cooperating with Mueller's team surfaced in the past week, as his lawyers told the legal team they could no longer discuss information about the case with them. Scheduled grand jury testimony regarding Flynn was also postponed by prosecutors. The two-page charging document makes reference to two separate conversations with Kislyak, and to separate false statements prosecutors say he made regarding that communication. Besides a Dec. 29 conversation about sanctions, prosecutors also cite an earlier December meeting, in which Flynn asked Kislyak to delay or defeat a U.N. Security Council resolution. That appears to refer to the body's vote a day later to condemn Israeli settlements in the West Bank. In a striking rupture with past practice, the Obama administration refrained from vetoing the condemnation, opting instead to abstain. The rest of the 15-nation council, including Russia, voted unanimously against Israel. At the time, Israel was lobbying furiously against the resolution and President-elect Trump's team spoke up on behalf of the Jewish state. Trump personally called Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi to press the case against the condemnation, and Egypt surprisingly postponed the scheduled showdown on Dec. 22 the same day Flynn met Kislyak. After more procedural wrangling, the vote occurred a day later. Trump almost immediately condemned the U.N. result via Twitter. "As to the U.N., things will be different after Jan. 20th," Trump said, referencing his upcoming inauguration. EAST ST. LOUIS An inmate who was running a smuggling operation bringing high-purity methamphetamine into a federal prison in Illinois was sentenced Friday to 10 more years behind bars after a co-defendant was caught mailing meth in a newspaper, prosecutors said. In April of 2014, James L. Gary asked Candace J. Weakley to send meth to him inside the federal prison in Greenville, Ill., according to his plea agreement. Weakley hid packets containing 6.5 grams of 97 percent pure meth in a newspaper and mailed the paper to the prison, court records show, but it was intercepted by prison staff. A subsequent investigation revealed that Gary orchestrated the smuggling into the prison and the distribution of the drug once it was inside, U.S. Attorney Don Boyce said. The pair were indicted in January 2016. Weakley, now 30, pleaded guilty to providing contraband in prison in May 2016. She was sentenced that October to 70 months in prison. Gary, 43, pleaded guilty in June to attempting to obtain contraband in prison. He has a "significant prior criminal record," a judge ruled last year. Boyce said that his 10-year sentence will run after he finishes a 105-month sentence for a federal gun charge from the Western District of Missouri. He also has prior convictions for escaping from a federal prison camp in Leavenworth, Kansas, a 2005 charge of meth possession by an inmate from Kentucky and a credit-card related charge from Missouri in 1996, Boyce said. Court records show less than one gram of meth was found in Gary's locker at a Kentucky prison. Prison officials and Gary's lawyer did not immediately return messages seeking comment. On June 29, 2017, Grand Duchess Maria Teresa of Luxembourg and Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume of Luxembourg attended 2017 European Microfinance Award ceremony. The Luxembourg Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs - Directorate for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Affairs which believes that microfinance is an important tool for alleviating the poverty initiated European Microfinance Award in 2005 for the purpose of encouraging microfinance initiatives and emphasizing contributions of microfinance to the development of the sector. 'The Gilded Age' hires an army of RI locals to bring show to life Hundreds of people from greater Rhode Island help keep the set of HBO's 'The Gilded Age' running during filming. Retirement has made me a more frequent, but strategic, resale shopper. While I find something useful to buy almost everywhere I go, I tend to take home no more than one or two great finds at a time and like keeping an eye out for items my friends and family are looking for. I also prefer going with someone else and enjoying the social aspect of the hunt. I'm trying to downsize the number of possessions I already have, after all. Stepping inside Barry Thrift Shop in Western Illinois, however, threatened to send all those good intentions out the window. It's one of those resale stores you hope you find when you still have the energy to explore every nook and cranny; large but well-organized, with multiple items in almost every category of merchandise you can think of. Fortunately, Barry was our first stop of the day as we neared Pittsfield, the seat of scenic Pike County, where we planned to spend the weekend. I left the thrift shop with a sleek pair of New York & Co. dress slacks with tags on ($4), a plastic sandwich bag full of barrettes for 50 cents and a fall-themed vinyl tablecloth still in the package for a couple bucks. My husband Andy, meanwhile, bought a vintage gun cleaner (made of wood) and an auger bit for less than $10. The store also carries furniture and consignments. Go to barrythriftshop.com for more or pay them a visit on Facebook. While I had a blast finding some nice costume jewelry at Pike County Collectibles on the square in Pittsfield, the rest of our weekend was devoted to experiencing the rich history of that city and some mighty fine dining. The city's biggest claim to fame, if you didn't know, is being the hometown of John Nicolay, a former newspaperman who went to Washington, D.C., to serve as Abraham Lincoln's private secretary and who persuaded the president to also bring on his school chum John Hay to help with the work. The pair went on to collaborate on a 10-volume biography of Lincoln published in 1890, and the two are immortalized with their former boss in busts stationed at the southwest corner of the Pittsfield square. We stayed across the street at the historic Watson Hotel, built in 1838 by first settler William Watson and where Lincoln and Stephen Douglas were among the attorneys who would gather in the lobby during court sessions. The hostess kindly upgraded our queen room on the third floor to the king suite next door at no additional charge and helped us up the stairs with our bags. The room was comfortable, featuring original brick walls and a pair of doors for headboards, and offered a spectacular view of the Pike County Courthouse, an elaborate structure completed in 1894. If only it had been open while we were there so we could have seen what it looks like on the inside, but we arrived on a Saturday and left on a Sunday. Also on or near the square are at least two great places to eat. One is Nucci's Bar & Restaurant, which offers Italian cuisine. My choice for lunch was a delightful green pasta salad that allowed me to savor some penne, not to mention black olives, roasted red peppers and a slightly sweet savory dressing, while pacing myself for a more indulgent dinner later on. We found just such a meal at an American restaurant called the Dome on Madison, where chef Michael Taylor stopped by to see how I liked the halibut cheeks, a delicacy served with pasta and tossed with garlic and crab meat. It's not something he offers among the specials often, he explained, because he waits for the market to make halibut available at an affordable price. It was awesome, as was our entire dining experience. We finished up the next morning with a generous helping of history provided by the Abe Lincoln Talking House Tour of homes Abraham Lincoln visited, viewing them from our car and listening to the story of each one by tuning in the appropriate FM radio channel. The tour is free and available anytime during your visit. Then we explored the Pike County Historical Society Museum on the first floor of the former East School, listed on the National Register of Historic Places. I especially enjoyed the exhibits about Lincoln, Nicolay and Hay but also learned some fascinating local history. Thank you, Becky Ridgeway Kuizinas of Decatur, for suggesting Pittsfield. We'll have to go back, and while we're at it, re-visit Quincy, which is less than an hour away to the northwest. Directly west, Hannibal, MO, is even closer. One of Editor & Publishers 10 That Do It Right 2021 Columnist Tom Kacich is a columnist and the author of Tom's Mailbag at The News-Gazette. His column appears Sundays. His email is tkacich@news-gazette.com, and you can follow him on Twitter (@tkacich). Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. New Braunfels, TX (78130) Today Considerable cloudiness. High 59F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Partly cloudy skies early will give way to cloudy skies late. Low around 45F. Winds light and variable. New Delhi: Infosys founder NR Narayana Murthy on Saturday expressed satisfaction at the appointment of Salil S Parekh as the new CEO and MD of the company. He welcomed Parekh's appointment and wished him well for the new role. Murthy had a protracted stand off with the previous Infosys management over issues of corporate governance and compensation to former executives, leading to the abrupt resignation of the then CEO, Vishal Sikka. I am happy that Infosys has appointed Salil Parekh as the CEO. My best wishes to him, Murthy said in a brief statement. He, however, did not answer detailed queries on the development. Infosys on Saturday appointed Parekh as its CEO and Managing Director, concluding the 3-month high-profile executive search at the country's second largest IT firm. UB Pravin Rao, who was filling in the CEO role on interim basis, will now continue as Chief Operating Officer and a whole-time Director of the company, Infosys has said in a statement. Parekh, who will take over on January 2, 2018 for a period of five years, was a member of the Group Executive Board at French firm Capgemini. This is the second time Infosys is bringing in an outsider for the top job. Sikka, who was brought in from SAP in 2014, was the first non-founder CEO at the over USD 10 billion company. In August this year, he resigned from the company following months of acrimony with high-profile founders, led Murthy, citing malicious and personal attacks on him. Nandan Nilekani, one of the co-founders of Infosys, was brought in as Non-executive Chairman to restore order at the embattled company. Bengaluru: The Board of Directors of Infosys on Saturday announced the appointment of Salil S Parekh as Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, effective from January 2 next year. Parekh was a member of the Group Executive Board at Capgemini. His exit from the IT consultancy firm was announced earlier in the day. Parekhs appointment ends Infosyss more than three-month hunt for a new CEO after Vishal Sikka resigned from the post after a prolonged public battle with the companys founders. The tech giant , which had roped in executive search firm Egon Zehnder to assist in search for the replacement, had set itself a target of March 2018 to fill the top vacancy. Commenting on the appointment of Parekh, Nandan Nilekani, chairman of the Infosys board, said he is delighted to have Salil join as the CEO and MD of Infosys. He has nearly three decades of global experience in the IT services industry. He has a strong track record of executing business turnarounds and managing very successful acquisitions. The Board believes that he is the right person to lead Infosys at this transformative time in our industry. The Board is also grateful to Pravin for his leadership during this period of transition, Nilekani said. U B Pravin Rao will step down as interim CEO and Managing Director effective January 2, 2018 and will continue as Chief Operating Officer and a whole-time Director of the Company. "The Board is grateful to Pravin for his leadership during this period of transition," Nilekani said in a company statement. Parekh has Master of Engineering degrees in Computer Science and Mechanical Engineering from Cornell University, and a Bachelor of Technology degree in Aeronautical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay. Chairperson of the Nomination and Remuneration Committee Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw said that with his strong track record and extensive experience, the company believes it has the right person to lead. "After a comprehensive global search effort, we are pleased to appoint Salil as the CEO & MD.He was the top choice from a pool of highly qualified candidates. With his strong track record and extensive experience, we believe we have the right person to lead Infosys," she said. He joins during one of the most turbulent patches ever for the $150 billion Indian IT services sector. The industry is facing squeezed margins, Brexit question marks over European businesses, and uncertainty in the United States, thanks to visa policy changes. Infosys' hunt for a new CEO had been on since co-founder Nandan Nilekani returned in August at the helm of the company after former chief Vishal Sikka quit, making investors' confidence dwindle. Earlier, some names, including that of former Infosys executive Ashok Vemuri, cropped up in the media, but he reportedly expressed his unwillingness to accept the job. Vemuri had quit Infosys in 2014 after Vishal Sikka was brought in as the company's CEO and managing director. Sikka had cited continuing distractions over founder Narayana Murthy's allegations of corporate governance failures which led to a public spat between the Infosys board led by R Seshasayee and the founders following which Seshasayee and two independent directors also quit. At the centre of the controversy was the $200-million acquisition of Israeli technology firm Panaya and the subsequent severance pay to former chief financial officer Rajiv Bansal. An independent probe had cleared both Sikka and the Infosys board of any wrongdoing. Cyclone Ockhi has claimed the lives of at least 13 people in Kerala and Tamil Nadu and is expected to further intensify in the next 24 hours. The cyclone made landfall in Lakshadweep on Saturday and continues to move west-northwestwards. Reports from the island said strong winds with speeds of 130 kmph lashing many parts. A joint operation carried out by Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard rescued around 218 stranded fishermen, but over a 100 people are still missing. Stay tuned for LIVE updates: Read all the Latest News , Breaking News , watch Top Videos and Live TV here. Pune: The Indian Army has various retaliatory options at its disposal as far as carrying out operations on the lines of the 2016 surgical strikes is concerned, Army Chief General Bipin Rawat said on Friday. General Rawat was speaking at the launch of a book, Securing India the Modi Way, written by journalist and security analyst Nitin Gokhale. When Gokhale asked Rawat during a conversation whether the Army was still capable of carrying out operations such as the 2015 Myanmar operation and surgical strikes in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) in 2016, Rawat said various options were available. "There are various means of carrying out operations across the Line of Control (LoC). We do not repeat the same operation in the same manner because there is no surprise. If we have to maintain surprises, we have to plan for something new and it is always better to keep the other side guessing," the Army chief said. He shared the account of the Myanmar operation in detail and said it was needed to send a clear message across the border after 18 Indian soldiers were killed in an ambush in Manipur. Rawat also spoke about the cadre review of the junior commissioned officers (JCOs). It had now been approved and would be implemented from January 1, 2018, he said. "It is very tough to get promotions in the Army. Only 0.18 per cent people rise to the Two Star rank. For the junior commissioned officers and other ranks, the pyramid is even steeper. The cadre review of the junior commissioned officers was pending with the government for over 10 years. It has now been approved and will be implemented from January 1, 2018. This includes 1.4 lakh promotions of JCOs, with 457 new subedar-major vacancies," said Rawat. The Army chief also noted that the development of the Army infrastructure along the northern borders was going on at a rapid pace. Talking about veterans, he said no army could be successful if it did not care for its veterans. "We will always ensure that anybody who has been a part of the uniform will remain a part of the uniform till his grave," he said. (With PTI inputs) Washington: US President Donald Trump spoke over phone with Prime Minister Narendra Modi during which the two leaders expressed satisfaction over the recently concluded Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES) co-hosted by the US and India last month in Hyderabad, the White House said on Saturday. "The leaders expressed satisfaction the GES which brought together entrepreneurs and investors from around the world, including 38 US states, the District of Colombia, and Puerto Rico," the White House said in a brief readout of the call. The US delegation to the three-day event with the theme, "Women, First Priority for All", was headed by Trump's daughter and senior advisor, Ivanka Trump, and included representatives from 38 states. Modi attended the inauguration of the summit with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitaraman on November 28. This year's summit focused on supporting women entrepreneurs and fostering economic growth globally. About 1,500 delegates including entrepreneurs, investors and eco-system supporters from 150 nations participated in the event, more than half of them women. On Thursday, State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert told reporters the summit was "a tremendous success when we bring in 1500 entrepreneurs from around the world". "For all of our progress, gender divides on access to technology, nutrition, and health, preventing women, their families, and their communities from reaching their full potential," Nauert said. - With inputs from agencies New Delhi: Police arrested a man whose stinky socks caused a showdown on a bus as his fellow passengers protested the odour, an officer said Saturday. The man removed his shoes and socks on a bus going from Himachal Pradesh to New Delhi and put them near the aisle, police said. Other passengers protested and asked the man to put away the offending socks or throw them out. The man refused, sparking a heated confrontation that forced the bus driver to stop at a police station in Una district of Himachal Pradesh. Una police chief Sanjeev Gandhi told AFP the bus stopped several times because of the smelly chaos before they came to the police station. "He was arrested on charges of causing public nuisance and later released on bail," Gandhi said. Gandhi said the accused had threatened other passengers and caused a disturbance at the police station. The man in turn filed a complaint against his fellow passengers and the bus crew for harassment and insisted his socks did not smell, the officer said. He left the area in another bus a day later, police said. Kolkata: Steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal and his wife Usha met Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at her residence in Kolkata on Saturday. The meeting lasted a little more than 30 minutes and sources said they discussed about investment opportunities in Bengal. Mittal, the chairman & CEO of ArcelorMittal, was seen opening the boot of his car and taking out a bag while his wife hugged the Bengal Chief Minister before entering the bamboo-tiled house at 30-B Harish Chatterjee Road, Kalighat. Mamata met Mittal on November 14 at his Kensington Palace Gardens residence during her visit to London. The CM was in the UK capital to unveil a commemorative blue plaque at Sister Nivedita's family home at Wimbledon. Mamata invited the Mittals as special guests for the Biswa Banga Sammelan to be held in January next year in the convention centre in New Town, Kolkata. Sources said Mittal promised Mamata that he will try his best to attend the event. They are believed to have discussed business matters in that meeting too. ArcelorMittal has a Design and Engineering Centre in Kolkatas electronics hub at Salt Lakes Sector V area which provides consultancy services for steel companies. The Mittals last came to Kolkata in July 7 this year to inaugurate Lakshmi & Usha Mittal Foundation Building at St Xavier's University. Mittal completed his graduation in Commerce in 1976 from Kolkatas St Xavier's College. He left for Indonesia to expand his fathers steel business. His father ML Mittal set up a steel business in Kolkata in the 60s. New Delhi: External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj today made a stopover at Tehran on her way back from Russia, and held a luncheon meeting with her Iranian counterpart Javed Zarif during which issues of mutual interests were discussed. Swaraj was returning from the Russian city of Sochi where she attended the annual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). "Reinforcing our traditionally close and civilizational linkages, EAM @SushmaSwaraj had a luncheon meeting with the Foreign Minister of Iran Dr. Javad Zarif in #Tehran. Both sides discussed issues of mutual interest," External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted. The two ministers are understood to have reviewed the implementation of the Chabahar port project in which India is a key partner. Over a month ago, India had sent its first consignment of wheat to Afghanistan by sea through the Chabahar port in Iran, which was seen as a "landmark" move to operationalise a new strategic transit route among the three countries bypassing Pakistan. The port is likely to ramp up trade between India, Afghanistan and Iran in the wake of Pakistan denying transit access to New Delhi for trade with the two countries. Besides bilateral issues, Swaraj and Zarif are understood to have deliberated on regional situation and political developments in the Gulf region. India is looking to increase engagement with Iran by raising oil imports and possible shipments of natural gas and the issue is believed to have figured in the meeting. Swaraj had paid a bilateral visit to Iran in April last year during which both sides had decided to significantly expand engagement in their overall ties, particularly in boosting Indian investment in joint ventures in oil and gas sectors. On her stopover, MEA officials said it was a technical stopover and not an unscheduled one. In the interest of passenger safety, the EU has updated its list of airlines banned from operating in Europe. The updated list includes 178 airlines banned from EU skies, with the addition of a Venezuelan airline. Airlines featured on the European Commission's blacklist are either banned from operating in Europe or restricted to operating under certain conditions. As well as helping to maintain high levels of safety in the EU, the list also aims to encourage affected airlines and countries to improve their levels of safety. Indeed, airlines are not doomed to stay on the list forever -- they can be added and removed as safety standards evolve. The latest update sees Mustique Airways, based in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Ukrainian carrier Urga removed from the list after making sufficient improvements to safety. The freshly updated list also gets one new addition, Venezuela's Avior Airlines. The majority of the airlines (172) banned from EU skies on safety grounds operate in Africa, based, for example, in Angola, the Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Eritrea, Equatorial Guinea, Liberia, Libya and Sudan. See the full EU Air Safety List of carriers banned from operating in the EU: ec.europa.eu/transport The Artsakh Ministry of Defense reports that situation along the Artsakh Line of Contact was relatively calm last week. The ministry says Azerbaijani forces violated the ceasefire 200 times last week, firing over 1,800 rounds of various caliber small arms. Azerbaijan also fired one 60mm mortar along the north-eastern direction of the Line of Contact. Following the Bigg Boss tradition, its time for the new captain to take over the house. Gharwale rejoice this weeks captaincy task as they select their contender through the expression of music and dance. The healing power of music certainly lightens the tension among the inmates of the house. Post the luxury budget task, Bigg Boss starts by asking the contestants to elect two strong contenders from either the winning team or Sanchalak. Vikas puts his best foot forward to include Shilpas name in the top contenders but Arshi plays a smart move and discards her so-called maa Shilpas name from the list. After numerous discussions and debates, it is decided that Vikas and Priyank will fight it out for this weeks captaincy. There is a musical surprise waiting for everyone, as the lawn area is divided in two halves with huge DJ consoles on either sides. With each song, contestants have to come forth and dance to the tune of their favorite DJ between the two. The one with the maximum dancers will be elected as the captain of the house. Priyank tries his luck at getting maximum votes, by offering the contestants some goodie points! Current Captain Hiten is chosen as the Sanchalak for this task. Starting with Saath Samundar Paar, Arshi and Hina dance it out on the floor placing their votes towards Vikas and Priyank, respectively. Next ones to show their moves are Shilpa and Luv swaying to the tunes of Meri Pant Bhi Sexy; Bandagi and Akash hit the floor next and they cast their votes to Vikas and Priyank, respectively. With each contender having 3 votes on their side, it is now up to Puneesh to select the next Captain and he chooses Vikas. Lucknow: A day after the BJPs big win in Uttar Pradesh municipal body elections, Samajwadi Party chief and former UP chief minister Akhilesh Yadav blamed EVMs for the loss and demanded a thorough investigation into their malfunctioning. BJP has only won 15% seats in Ballot paper areas and 46% in EVM areas, he tweeted, without citing any data. Today, I am forced to say there are some issue with the EVMs. Everybody noticed that BJP won wherever EVMs were used and SP won wherever ballot papers were used. Why has this happened? This cannot be a coincidence. The sentiments were echoed by senior Samajwadi leader Azam Khan, who went a step further and said there was not just tampering, but setting. There was no tampering but setting. BJP won wherever EVMs were used and SP won wherever ballot papers were used, he said. Naresh Uttam, SPs state chief, said the state election commission did not follow the orders of Supreme Court to use VVPAT machines, and instead used old and faulty machines in the elections. He also claimed that BJP had not performed as well as was being projected by the party. BJP has lost badly except winning those 14 mayoral seats, and they are spreading false propaganda of their win, he said while addressing reporters at the party headquarters. The BJP has used state government machinery to win the polls. Names of the people went missing from voters list on a large scale and EVM malfunctioned at number of booths. Even at many places counting was not done correctly just to make sure that BJP candidate wins, claimed party spokesperson Rajendra Chowdhary. He said that the poll panel should take cognizance of the complaints, or people will have no faith in the commission. Kolkata: Samajwadi Party chief and former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday met his West Bengal counterpart Mamata Banerjee at her Kalighat residence here on Saturday and said he would support Trinamool Congress and other parties fighting for secularism in the country. Akhilesh, who was in the city to attend the eighth state conference of his party, discussed with Mamata bringing all opposition parties together for an anti-BJP front before the 2019 election. He also raised the issue of EVM malfunctioning and challenged the BJP to use ballot papers in the next general election, just hours after Mayawati made a similar demand. His meeting with Mamata assumes significance as she had singled out the SP chief to take on the BJP with a United Front in August after Nitish Kumar ended his coalition with Lalu Prasad Yadav and formed a new one with the BJP. At the time, she had said a new front would take shape in six months. However, Akhilesh, dismissed it as a mere courtesy call. Didi is fighting a secular battle and we from the Samajwadi Party are with her in this battle, he told reporters. In an attack on the BJP, he said that the party had become an expert in telling lies. They tell lies in such a manner that people have started believing them. The BJP has lied to the people in the name of demonetisation, in the name of GST, in the name of digital India, in the name of Make in India," he alleged. When asked about the UP civic poll results, he said it seems they could be tampered. Today, I am forced to say there are some issue with the EVMs. There should be a thorough investigation. Today, everybody noticed that BJP won wherever EVMs were used and SP won wherever ballot papers were used. Why has this happened? This cannot be a coincidence. He also shared the crucial poll statistic that BJPs winning percentage was 46 % wherever polls were conducted through EVMs and 15 % where it was done via ballot papers. However, he did not share where he got this statistic from. Ahmedabad: Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday took a veiled dig at PM Narendra Modi, who often cites his humble background, saying that he doesnt want pity. I do not want the country to take pity on me on the basis of my humble background. I do not think I would like to enter in any competition with Prime Minister [Narendra] Modi Ji on this particular matter, Singh said. The former PM talked about the contribution of the Congress governments. You know that I have seen crippling poverty while growing up in other side of Punjab before Partition. I have also seen the significant strides our great nation has taken in my lifetime, building on the foundations laid by Congress governments from Pandit Nehru to Narasimha Rao," he added. Calling demonetisation and the Goods and Services Tax (GST) twin blows which are complete disaster for our economy, Singh said that it appears China is reaping benefits of the situation. He was addressing a gathering in Surat that had witnessed vociferous protests against GST and several thousand shops in the textile markets had remained shut after the tax was implemented. Commenting on the effects of demonetisation and GST, the former PM told an audience of traders that he understands the tough times they have been through over the past year. What is even more tragic is no lessons have been learnt from this monumental blunder. Instead of providing relief, as I had requested in Parliament, to the poor and marginalised, farmers, traders, and the small and medium businesses , the government chose to inflict on them a badly designed and hastily implemented GST, Singh. He said this twin blow hurt the SME sector. It has broken the back of small and medium businesses. The impact in the rest of the country is equally bad if not worse. The supply chains and credit lines of our MSME sector and industrial clusters have been greatly affected, hampering production. You are aware of the damage done to the ceramics sector in Morbi and the industries in Vapi and Rajkot. Overall, as our domestic sector is not able to cope with demand, China is benefiting from this situation. Manmohan Singh also commented on the broad caste-based coalition that the Congress has attempted to stitch together ahead of the Gujarat Assembly elections. Besides winning over OBC leader Alpesh Thakore, the Congress has also won the support of the agitating Dalits and Patidars. The recent agitations of the youth cutting across different sections of the society is an indication of the deep dissatisfaction with the performance of successive BJP governments in Gujarat. The winds of change are blowing in Gujarat, he remarked. The Patidars, OBCs and Dalits have been protesting against the state government over the issues of reservation, basic amenities and atrocities against Dalits. New Delhi: Maharashtra Congress Secretary Shehzad Poonawalla has raised more questions on the process to pick the next party chief, claiming that Manish Tewari told him the Congress was a "proprietorship" like every other political party in India. In an audio clip of the purported conversation between Poonawalla and Tewari, the latter is heard telling Poonawalla that his remarks against the election process were "one-way ticket out of the party". Poonawalla tells Tewari during the conversation that organisational elections right from the booth level were supposed to be held on "secret ballot" but that was never the case, IANS reported. Poonawala also says he did not have problem with surnames but merit should be rewarded, and talks about Ajay Maken continuing as Delhi Congress chief despite the party losing several elections. Tewari then purportedly comments that "this is a proprietorship" and "not a political party" and "no political party in India is a political party, they are all proprietorships." He also says that it was second wave of reforms which "are very essential for democracy". When contacted for a response, Tewari said: "I am not aware of any audio clip." Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Smriti Irani took a dig at the Congress over the issue and said that there had been conversations for the past two years in the Congress about how Rahul Gandhi was to be elected the party chief. "It is perpetual thing in the Congress party," she said and added that "nothing that Tewari was saying is new". The last date of filing nominations for the organisational polls in which Rahul Gandhi is slated to be elected party chief is December 4. Poonawalla had on Thursday said that the Congress and its Vice President Rahul Gandhi must answer questions raised by him about "delegates being fixed" or "about one family-one ticket rule". The Congress had raised questions over Poonawalla's stature in the party and slammed him for showing disgruntlement on the eve of election. (With IANS inputs) New Delhi: Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday took to Twitter to question Prime Minister Narendra Modi over low government spending on education in the BJP-ruled Gujarat. Posing the fourth question in the series "a question a day", Gandhi asked, "Why is Gujarat on the 26th position with regard to spending on government education? What wrong has the youth of the state done?" The Congress leader, who is leading his party's poll campaign in in the western state, accused the prime minister of "commercialising education at the cost of government schools and institutions and hitting students hard with fee hikes". "How will the dream of a 'New India' be realised this way," Gandhi asked Modi, who has been canvassing for votes for his party for the assembly polls. The tagline of his posers to the prime minister is "22 salon ka hisaab, Gujarat mange jawaab (Gujarat demands answers for 22 years of BJP rule". Gandhi earlier asked Modi why public money was "squandered" in purchasing power at higher rates from private companies in Gujarat. He also asked why the people of Gujarat should pay up for the "financial mismanagement" and publicity by him. He asked whether it will take 45 more years to provide new houses to Gujaratis as the incumbent BJP government in the state has provided only 4.72 lakh houses in the last five years against the promised 50 lakh. Gujarat, the home state of Modi and BJP president Amit Shah goes to polls in two phases on December 9 and December 14. New Delhi: Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Saturday took potshots at the Congress, saying the people of poll-bound Gujarat would not pick a clone when they have an original pro-Hindutva party in the BJP. Addressing reporters in Surat, Jaitley said, The BJP has always been seen as a pro-Hindutva party. So if an original is available, why would the people pick a clone? Jaitley also took a jibe at former prime minister Manmohan Singh, saying the previous UPA government was the most corrupt and leaderless. The 10 years of governance before Modiji's government was the most corrupt government we have ever seen. It was a leaderless government. It was said that the then PM was in office but not in power, Jaitley said. Jaitleys jibe is the latest in a series of heated exchanges between the BJP and the Congress in the run-up to the Gujarat Assembly elections. On Friday, Jaitley had called Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi's comment on a single GST rate a "grand stupid idea". "What Rahul Gandhi suggested was single GST rate of 18 per cent. This is different from suggesting a cap of 18 per cent. This was the grand stupid idea. Can a Hawai chappal (slipper) and a BMW car be taxed at the same rate?" Jaitley had tweeted. The first phase of the two-stage Assembly polls will be held on December 9 and the second phase on December 14. The counting of votes is scheduled on December 18. Shanghai: China's Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) has expressed "strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition" to a statement by the United States to the World Trade Organization (WTO) that it opposes granting China market economy status, Xinhua reported. China has already appealed to the WTO over a similar case, state news agency Xinhua reported the ministry as saying on Saturday. The U.S. and the European Union argue that Beijing's pervasive role in the Chinese economy distorts and prevents market determination of domestic prices. The strong response from MOFCOM is the latest volley in an increasingly tense trade relationship between Washington and Beijing, as the Trump administration prepares for trade actions and after a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said on Friday that some countries were trying to "skirt their responsibility" under WTO rules. Washington: President Donald Trump is likely to announce next week that the United States recognises Jerusalem as Israel's capital, a senior administration official said on Friday, a move that would upend decades of American policy and possibly inflame tensions in the Middle East. Trump could make the controversial declaration in a speech on Wednesday though he is also expected to again delay his campaign promise to move the US embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv. The senior official and two other government sources said final decisions had not yet been made. The Palestinians want Jerusalem as the capital of their future state, and the international community does not recognise Israel's claim on all of the city, home to sites holy to the Jewish, Muslim and Christian religions. Word of Trump's planned announcement, which would deviate from previous US presidents who have insisted the Jerusalem's status must be decided in negotiations, drew criticism from the Palestinian Authority and was sure to anger the broader Arab world. It could also unravel the US administration's fledgling diplomatic effort, led by Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner, to restart long-stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace talks and enlist the support of US Arab allies. Nabil Abu Rdainah, spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, said US recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital would "destroy the peace process" and "destabilize the region." Such a move, however, could help satisfy the pro-Israel, right-wing base that helped Trump win the presidency and also please the Israeli government, a close US ally. The senior US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said details were still being finalised and could still change. Another US official said Trump appeared to be heading toward recognising Israel's claim to Jerusalem but that it was not a done deal. "We've nothing to announce," said a spokesperson with the White House National Security Council. INTERNAL DELIBERATIONS Trump's impending decisions on Jerusalem, one of the most sensitive core issues of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, follow intense internal deliberations in which the president has personally weighed in, one White House aide said. Trump is likely to continue his predecessors' practice of signing a six-month waiver overriding a 1995 law requiring that the US embassy be moved from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, two officials told Reuters on Thursday. But seeking to temper his supporters' concerns, another option under consideration is for Trump to order his aides to develop a longer-term plan for the embassy's relocation to make clear his intent to do so eventually, the officials said. It was unclear, however, whether any public recognition by Trump of Israel's claim on Jerusalem would be formally enshrined in a presidential action or be more of a symbolic statement. Trump pledged on the presidential campaign trail last year that he would move the embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. But in June, Trump waived the requirement, saying he wanted to "maximize the chances" for a new US-led push for what he has called the "ultimate deal" of Israeli-Palestinian peace. Those efforts have made little, if any, progress so far and many experts are sceptical of the prospects for success. The status of Jerusalem is one of the major stumbling blocks in achieving peace between Israel and the Palestinians. Israel captured Arab East Jerusalem during the 1967 Middle East war and later annexed it, a move not recognised internationally. Arab governments and Western allies have long urged Trump not to proceed with the embassy relocation, which would reverse long-standing US policy by granting de facto US recognition of Israels claim to all of Jerusalem as its capital. Visiting Washington this week, Jordan's King Abdullah warned lawmakers that moving the US embassy could be "exploited by terrorists to stoke anger, frustration and desperation," according to the Jordanian state news agency Petra. Some of Trump's top aides have privately pushed for him to keep his campaign promise to satisfy a range of supporters, including evangelical Christians, while others have cautioned about the potential damage to US relations with Muslim countries. At a recent Armenia-Switzerland business forum in Yerevan, Swiss Ambassador to Armenia Lukas Gasser declared that his country is a major trade partner for Armenia, and the numbers back him up. Armenias National Statistical Service (NSS) says that trade volume between the two countries stood at US$275 million for the first ten months of 2017, a threefold increase over the same period in 2016. Armenia exported $209 million worth of goods to Switzerland during the period- up 3.6-fold. Armenia imported $66 million worth of good in the period up 97.9% This makes Switzerland one of the few countries that Armenia enjoys a positive trade balance with. Switzerland is Armenias third largest trade partner with Armenia, comprising 5.5%, following Russia and China. 12% of Armenias exports are destined to Switzerland. 2% of Armenias imports come from Switzerland. In the first half of 2017, according to the NSS, Armenia exported $127 million in goods to Switzerland. $75 million of this was gold, $30 million-copper, and $5.4 in diamonds. (The gold was in the form of dore bars - a semi-pure alloy of gold and silver, usually created at the site of a mine.) In the first half of 2016, Armenia exported no gold or copper to Switzerland. Canada had been the largest importer of Armenian gold prior to this. In 2016, Armenia exported $140 million in worth of goods to Canada 94% was gold. This year, Armenia hasnt exported any gold to Canada. This is why Canada has dropped from receiving 7.8% of all Armenias exports to a mere 0.7% this year. In the first ten months of 2017, Armenia exported $11.6 million in goods. When Armenian Minister of Economic Development and Investments Suren Karayan was earlier asked to explain this drastic drop in trade with Canada, the minister replied that since Armenia entered the Eurasian Economic Union the government has facilitated trade with those nations. He added that the drop in trade with Canada was temporary. While Armenia exports unprocessed gold to Switzerland, it imports the processed product from the same country. The NSS says that Armenia imported $43 million from Switzerland during the first half of this year- mostly diamonds, gold and medicine. The gold is ready to be turned into jewelry or bank gold. Washington: In a setback to President Donald Trump, his former national security advisor Michael Flynn on Friday pleaded guilty to making false statements to the FBI over possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia during last year's US presidential polls. Flynn appeared before a federal court this morning to plead guilty after ex-FBI director Robert Mueller, who is investigating allegations of Russian interference in the presidential election as a special counsel, announced that Flynn was charged with "wilfully and knowingly" making "false, fictitious and fraudulent statements" to the Federal Bureau of Investigation about his conversations with Russia's then ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak. The Washington Post described it as "another monumental development" in Mueller's wide-ranging probe. There was no immediate reaction from the White House. As per the charge sheet, 58-year-old Flynn, a retired general, lied when he told investigators that he did not ask Kislyak to "refrain from escalating the situation" in response to sanctions that then-president Barack Obama had imposed on Russia, and that he did not ask the ambassador to either delay or defeat a related UN Security Council vote. Flynn is the first Trump administration official and the fourth connected to the campaign to be charged as part of an investigation into possible collusion between the Russian government and members of Trump's team, as well as potential obstruction of justice and financial crimes. Trump's former campaign chairman Paul Manafort and his deputy Rick Gates were indicted last month. They pleaded not guilty. The Trump campaign's foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos had also pleaded guilty for lying to the FBI over contacts with officials connected to the Russian government. The charge against Flynn is the first in Mueller's probe that has reached someone in the Trump White House and is the latest sign that the special counsel's investigation is intensifying, CNN reported. A key campaign adviser during Trump's presidential campaign, Flynn was tapped as Trump's national security adviser in November, 2016, a senior White House job that put him in a vital role for all of the administration's national security and foreign policy decisions. But he resigned from the post soon after it emerged that he had misled Vice President Mike Pence and then-chief of staff Reince Priebus about his conversations with Kislyak in which they discussed US sanctions against Russia. "The development came at a particularly sensitive moment for the White House, just as Mr Trump and Republican congressional leaders are toiling to hold together a tenuous coalition to push through a large tax cut plan," the New York Times said. The opposition Democratic Party was quick to slam Trump. "This time, the president can't get away with claiming these charges aren't about his inner circle's contacts with Russia, and he can't dismiss Michael Flynn as some low-level aide. "This development should serve as a clear signal to Republicans in Congress that it is time to take this investigation seriously and stop making excuses for the president's attempts to interfere with it," said Democratic National Committee chair Tom Perez. "Democrats will not stand by as Trump's enablers in Congress betray the American people, undermine our democracy, and endanger our national security. It's time for Republicans to commit to protecting this investigation and preserving the rule of law," he said. Ankara: Courts in the United States cannot put Turkey on trial, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday, in reference to the case of a Turkish bank executive who has been charged with evading US sanctions on Iran. Already strained ties between NATO allies Ankara and Washington have deteriorated in recent weeks as Turkish-Iranian gold trader Reza Zarrab, who is cooperating with US prosecutors, detailed in court a scheme to evade US sanctions. Over three days of testimony, Zarrab has implicated top Turkish politicians, including Erdogan. Zarrab said on Thursday that Erdogan personally authorized two Turkish banks to join the scheme when he was prime minister. Ankara has cast the testimony as an attempt to undermine Turkey and its economy, and has previously said it was a "clear plot" by the network of US-based Fethullah Gulen, who it alleges engineered last year's coup attempt. Reuters was not immediately able to reach representatives for the ministers implicated by Zarrab in the trial. Turkey has repeatedly requested Gulen's extradition, but US officials have said the courts require sufficient evidence before they can extradite the elderly cleric, who has denied any involvement in the coup. Erdogan, who has governed Turkey for almost 15 years, told members of his ruling AK Party in the northeastern province of Kars on Saturday that US courts "can never try my country". Although he has not yet responded to the courtroom claims, he has dismissed the case as a politically motivated attempt to bring down the Turkish government and on Friday the state-run Anadolu news agency said Turkish prosecutors are set to seize the assets of Zarrab and his acquaintances. Turkey has stepped up its pressure on the US and on Saturday Anadolu quoted Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu as saying that Gulen's followers had infiltrated the US judiciary, Congress, and other state institutions. The United States says its judiciary is independent of any political or other interference. CRACKDOWN Some 150,000 people have been sacked or suspended from their jobs over alleged links to Gulen since the attempted coup, while close to 50,000 people from the military, public and private sector have been jailed. And in a further blow to Turkish-US ties, Turkish authorities on Friday issued an arrest warrant for former US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) officer Graham Fuller over suspected links to the abortive putsch. Rights groups and Turkey's Western allies have voiced concerns that Erdogan is using the crackdown to muzzle dissent, but the government says the purges are necessary due to the gravity of the threat it faces. Kabul, Afghanistan: At least two security forces were killed and 10 others, including both soldiers and civilians, were wounded in an attack by Islamic State group militants in eastern Nangarhar province. Attahullah Khogyani, spokesman for the provincial governor, said the two killed were intelligence service members and one was director of the Jalalabad intelligence department. The attack began when a rocket was fired toward a private TV station in Jalalabad, and when security arrived at the scene a blast took place followed later by a third explosion, said Khogyani. The wounded include five police, two members of the intelligence service and three civilians. An Islamic State group affiliate claimed responsibility for the attack on a local TV and radio station in Jalalabad in a statement that was also posted on its Aamaq news agency website. "Fighters of the Islamic State targeted with a rocket the building of Inekas radio station in Jalalabad city" the statement said. Meanwhile, Basir Mujahid, spokesman for the Kabul police chief, said at least three people were wounded after a sticky bomb went off in the Afghan capital Kabul. He said the explosive was planted on a container belonging to security forces. No group immediately claimed responsibility for that attack. In eastern Logar province, unknown gunmen shot and killed two people including a tribal elder, said Salim Saleh, spokesman for the provincial governor. The attack took place Friday evening in the Mohammad Agha district of Logar, he said. He said both ware targeted as they exited a mosque and the attackers were able to flee. Washington: A US Navy veteran charged with killing an Indian techie and injuring two others in a racially motivated hate crime at a bar in Kansas City early this year has pleaded not guilty. Adam Purinton, 52, was charged with first-degree murder in the February shooting in Olathe that killed 32-year-old Srinivas Kuchibhotla. He also faces two counts of attempted first-degree murder for wounding two other men. During a preliminary hearing yesterday, Purinton pleaded "not guilty". He waived his preliminary hearing and the not guilty plea was entered on his behalf. The next hearing is scheduled for May 8. He faces a maximum penalty of death or life in prison. Federal prosecutors allege that Purinton targeted Kuchibhotla and another Indian man, Alok Madasani, because of their race or ethnicity. The third man was shot when tried to help the two victims. Witnesses said Purinton yelled at the two Indian men to "get out of my country" before pulling the trigger. After the shooting, Purinton drove 70 miles east to an Applebee's restaurant in Clinton, Missouri, where he told a bartender what he'd done. Kuchibhotla was working at Garmin International. Federal prosecutors alleged that Purinton committed the offences after substantial planning and premeditation, attempted to kill more than one person in a single criminal episode, and knowingly created a grave risk of death to others on the scene. United Nations: Former US National Security Adviser Michael Flynn admitted on Friday that he asked Russia to delay a UN vote seen as damaging to Israel, but diplomats said it was not the only country he and presidential adviser Jared Kushner lobbied. In the hours before the vote by the 15-member United Nations Security Council on December 23, Flynn also phoned the UN missions of Uruguay and Malaysia, and Kushner spoke with Kim Darroch, the British ambassador to the United States, according to diplomats familiar with the conversations, who spoke on condition of anonymity. The lobbying took place before Republican President Donald Trump, who was known for his pro-Israel campaign rhetoric, took office on January 20. It failed, with the Security Council adopting a resolution demanding an end to Israeli settlement building on land Palestinians want for an independent state. The vote was 14 in favour and one abstention by the United States. The efforts made on Israel's behalf capped several days of unusual diplomacy. In a surprise December 21 move, Egypt had called for a vote the next day on the draft resolution, prompting both Trump and Israel to urge Washington to veto the text. A senior Israeli official told Reuters that Israeli officials contacted Trump's transition team at a "high level" to ask for help after failing to persuade Democratic President Barack Obama's administration to veto the draft UN resolution. According to court documents made public on Friday, a member of Trump's presidential transition team, later identified by sources as Trump's son-in-law Kushner, told Flynn on December 22 to contact officials from foreign governments, including Russia, to convince them to delay the vote or veto the resolution. Flynn spoke with then-Russian Ambassador to the United States Sergei Kislyak that day, and again the following day, according to the court documents. Also on December 22, Trump discussed the resolution with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. Egypt withdrew the text from a council vote the same day. The 1799 Logan Act bars unauthorized private US citizens, which Trump, Flynn, and Kushner all were at the time, from negotiating with foreign governments. However, only two Americans have ever been indicted for allegedly violating it in 1802 and 1852 and neither was convicted. Abbe Lowell, a lawyer for Kushner, did not respond to multiple requests for comment on Friday about Israel or other issues. A SECOND GO-ROUND After Egypt withdrew the resolution, its co-sponsors, New Zealand, Malaysia, Venezuela, and Senegal, put it forward again for a December 23 vote. In Washington, Kushner was in contact with Britain's Darroch, and Flynn spoke with Kislyak - lobbying to delay the vote or veto the resolution. A resolution needs nine votes in favour and no vetoes by the council's five permanent members - China, Britain, France, Russia, and the United States - to be adopted. Russian UN Ambassador Vitaly Churkin, who died in February, signalled to colleagues behind closed doors on December 23 that he was unhappy with the haste with which the draft resolution was being put to a vote, but he did not ask for the vote to be delayed, diplomats said. Flynn also tried to speak to Malaysian UN Ambassador Ramlan Bin Ibrahim, but Ibrahim did not take the call. He also called the Uruguayan UN mission, eventually getting through to Deputy Ambassador Luis Bermudez who was the charge d'affaires - minutes before the vote. Washington: Former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn has now admitted to lying to the FBI and, as part of a deal with the special counsel, agreed to cooperate with the broader investigation into the Trump campaign's alleged ties with Russia. A judge will ultimately determine if he goes to prison, and for how long. This is the same man, with the same sharp and unforgiving mien, who stood up at the Republican National Convention sixteen months before ago to rail about the rule of law, leading a chant -- "lock her up" -- directed at Hillary Clinton. Flynn's RNC speech began as a political one and ended, as if for a second time, on Friday as a monument to absurdist hypocrisy. In the arena that night, his remarks ran a little more than 26 minutes. For the first 20, Flynn, a bit wooden with his delivery, struggled to key up the crowd. Until he settled in directly on Clinton. "We do not need a reckless President who believes she is above the law," he blared, the arena meeting his declaration with those familiar words. "Lock her up!" Lock her up!" Sensing the spark, Flynn joined in. "Lock her up," he said, his voice climbing. "That's right." The chants grew louder. "Yeah, that's right, lock her up." Flynn clapped along to their rhythm. "I'm gonna tell you what, it's unbelievable. It's unbelievable." In that moment, he was with them -- aggrieved, disbelieving. "I use 'hashtag never Hillary,' that's what I use," Flynn said. He wasn't done. Behind him, the words are set out on a gold background: "Make America Safe Again." He was flanked by images of Clinton. She is looking down. Looking guilty. "I have called on Hillary Clinton to drop out of the race because she -- she -- put our nation's security at extremely high risk with her careless use of a private email server," Flynn said to whistling approval. "Lock her up -- lock'er up!" In that moment a smile began to form on his face. "You guys are good. Damn right, exactly right. There's nothing wrong with that." The shouts continued, louder still. "And you know why we're saying that? We're saying that because if I, a guy who knows this business, if I did a tenth, a tenth of what she did, I would be in jail today. So ... so: Crooked Hillary Clinton -- leave this race now!" A few weeks earlier, Clinton sat down with the FBI for questioning over her use of a private email server while she was secretary of state. Her campaign said at the time the interview lasted more than three hours. No charges followed, even as the dark clouds of the probe followed Clinton, and voters, all the way through to Election Day. There are, it was all but confirmed on Friday, many more pages of the Russia story still unwritten. But for Flynn, who gave that speech, and led that chant, to now be looking at possible jail time for his lies -- that's one heck of a turn. By any standard. Washington: The US wants Pakistan to act in "its best interest" and take action against terror safe havens, Jim Mattis said on Saturday, ahead of his first visit to Islamabad as America's Defence Secretary. Mattis embarked on a four-nation tour Friday which will take him to Egypt, Jordan, Pakistan and Kuwait. During the tour, he will re-affirm the US' enduring commitment to partnerships in the Middle East, West Africa and South Asia. "In Afghanistan, we have heard from Pakistan leaders that they do not support terrorism. So I expect to see that sort of action reflected in their policies," Mattis told reporters travelling with him to Egypt. "They have said that they do not support havens for any terrorists, and Pakistan has taken significant casualties - both innocent people and their army - significant casualties from them. So we expect them to act in their own best interest, and in support of peace and regional stability," he said. Mattis will visit Pakistan on Monday where he is expected to meet Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and Army Chief Qamar Javed Bajwa, the Pentagon said. "I'm making my first trip to Pakistan as secretary of defense...The US remains committed to a pragmatic relationship that expands cooperation on shared interests while reinforcing President Trump's call for action against terrorist safe havens," he said. Responding to a question on Pakistan's failure to take actions against terrorists, Mattis said Pakistan has to act in its own best interest. "They know this. In many cases, they are. But what we're looking for is to broaden the common ground and make certain that no terrorist organisation is seen as able to operate from a haven there," he said. Observing that 39 nations have troops on the ground in Afghanistan fighting terrorism, Mattis said the US was looking to make a common cause with them. "There's plenty of collaborative areas, right now, still in effect. There's been some areas that we have lost over the years, because of disagreements about what we need to do," he said. "So this is an effort by the new American administration, to go in and set the conditions for future collaboration that leads to reconciliation in Afghanistan and a denial of safe havens for any terrorist group that would attack anyone in the region or elsewhere in the world, which a number of countries have suffered from," Mattis said. On August 21, US President Donald Trump announced his South Asia strategy in which he had criticised Pakistan for providing safe havens to terrorists. Abu Dhabi: United Arab Emirates President Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan has received congratulatory messages from world leaders on the occasion of the country's 46th National Day on Saturday. Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud, Kuwait Emir Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah, Egypt's President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping were among those who sent greetings. The President's Representative Sultan bin Zayed Al Nahyan said that the national occasion, which marks the Union of the Emirates, is a "defining moment in the history of the state and an embodiment of unity and cohesion between the leadership and the people". Ruler of Ras al-Khaimah Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi said: "When we celebrate the UAE's 46th National Day, we should be proud of the UAE experience, as it is one the most successful experiences in union in modern times. "As we celebrate the event, we should draw attention to the accomplishments, progress and development achieved in the trade, economic, urban, building and tourist sectors. We also feel proud while speaking about the building and training of our human resources." He said "Emiratis provide a role model in the solidarity witnessed in our country, in support of the march of development and progress, and to address obstacles and challenges and preserve gains and achievements". Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Ruler's Representative in Al Dhafra Region said: "The 2nd of December will remain a shining light in our history and an occasion to continue our journey of prosperity and development while renewing our pledge of loyalty. It is a glorious day on which we have the right to be proud of living each day and the passing of the years." Two people were taken to the hospital following Friday morning crashes in Bedford County and the town of Bedford. A 2000 Jeep Cherokee was traveling west on Main Street in the town of Bedford when it struck a utility pole, bench, traffic light and a pedestrian at the intersection with 4th Street, according to Bedford Police Lt. Robert Kimbrel. He said the pedestrian was transported to Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital following the crash. The crash still is under investigation, and Kimbrel said charges havent been placed. He said alcohol was not a factor in the crash, and speed is not believed to be a factor at this time. At about 7:50 a.m., a Virginia State Police trooper registered a Chevrolet Impala driving west on U.S. 460 traveling 81 mph with radar, which is 21 mph over the posted speed limit, according to Virginia State Police spokesperson Sgt. Rick Garletts. The trooper followed the car with lights flashing and kept it in his line of sight. Garletts said the driver of that car attempted to flee the trooper, turning left from U.S. 460 near Thaxton. The driver then crossed over U.S. 460 from Rocky Ford Road onto Penicks Mill Road, running multiple stop signs in the process, Garletts said. The car then struck an embankment and overturned. The driver, Bennie Dale Overstreet Jr., 33, of Thaxton, sustained non-life-threatening injuries in the crash, according to Garletts. He wasnt wearing his seat belt, but a passenger was wearing hers. Bedford Fire Chief Brad Creasy said the driver in that crash was taken to Centra Bedford Memorial Hospital. The Bedford Fire Department and Bedford County Fire & Rescue ambulances responded to both crashes, according to Creasy. Guests at the Best Western Paradise Hotel in Armenias northern resort town of Dilijan may be surprised to see two bottlenose dolphins swimming in a pool under the hotel. Hotel management says that another company owns and operates the dolphinarium. This company claims that the mammals are being used to provide medical therapy for a host of ailments, despite growing public opposition. Animal lovers and others suspect the hotel is merely exploiting the animals to attract business. Those opposed to using the dolphins have launched a petition drive, arguing that the mammals are being kept in unhealthy conditions and are limited to a small enclosed swimming pool. Yesterday, in Yerevan, the Commune Social-Cultural NGO, organized a debate on the plight of the dolphins and showed a Russian film entitled Born to be Free. The film documents how dolphins and other sea mammals, especially Beluga whales, are captured and transported to different cities in Russia and other countries. Some die in the process, and others are injured. In the wild, dolphins swim an average of 150 kilometers, at a depth of 100 meters. Dolphins at the Dilijan pool are restricted to a few meters of swimming space. Gayaneh Petrosyan, who directed and cowrote the film, offered the film at no charge to be shown in Yerevan. She participated in the Yerevan debate via Skype. She said that children swimming in the pool with the dolphins, allegedly for medical therapy purposes, can become infected by wastes secreted by the animals. Anna Shahnazaryan, a member of several environmental initiatives in Armenia, told the debate audience that the hotel was using the dolphins as a back-up business venture. Best Western Paradise claims that it is not affiliated with Dolphin Therapy Dilijan (the outfit operating the business), and that it stopped collaborating with the company on November 1. News that dolphins had been brought to Dilijan started to circulate in the social web this past September. Worldwide drive to shut-down the Dilijan Dolphinarium Word of the Dilijan dolphins plight even made it to the pages of the British news outlet DailyMail.com. A November 10, 2017 article called for a boycott of Best Western Paradise in Dilijan, noting that a British marine mammal charity had launched a fight to rescue the dolphins kept as a tourist attraction in a subterranean swimming pool under the hotel. Allan Hall, the articles author, writes: The stressed and lonely creatures under the Best Western Paradise Hotel Dilijan - not far from the Armenian capital of Yerevan - see little natural light or hear other creatures. They swim endless laps of the pool built originally to accommodate human guests and are offered up as a dubious form of 'therapy' to 'cure' sick children. Mr. Hall cites Lori Marino, a neuroscientist at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, who debunks dolphin assisted therapy as a hoax. The author quotes Marino as saying, Dolphins are not healers but smart sociable predators and they shouldn't be used to cure the ill. The Daily Mail article goes on to quote hotel guests as taking Best Western Paradise to task for its cruel treatment of the dolphins. Best Western Paradise Director Vahagn Harutyunyan, in an interview with Armenia TV, publicly stated that the dolphins didnt belong to the hotel, but rather to the Sochi Dolphinarium. The hotel also says that it does not own the pool holding the dolphins. A few days after the Daily Mail article appeared, Best Western Paradise, n its Facebook page, published a letter from the Sochi Star of the Sea Dolphinarium saying they merely agreed to collaborate on sales and marketing until November 1. The Dilijan hotel and the dolphinarium, the letter says, are two separate companies with nothing in common other than they share a common entrance to the building. The Russian company claims that the two dolphins were born in captivity and that the animals in Dilijan are well looked after. Hotel denies any involvement; documents show otherwise Despite these claims from Best Western Paradise, environmentalists in Armenia point to a permit issued by Russias Federal Service for Supervision of Natural Resources Management showing that the importer of the two bottlenose dolphins to Armenia is listed as Paradise Hotel LLC. This is clear-cut deception. The only document on the matter shows the hotel as the importer, says Anna Shahnazaryan. In September, in a response to a Hetq inquiry on the importation of the dolphins, Anoush Harutyunyan, who heads the Information Division of Armenias State Food Safety Service, stated that the dolphins were imported by a company called DelfinTherapy Paradise LLC. Now heres where it gets interesting. The very same Vahagn Harutyunyan, who now serves as the Director of Best Western Paradise (Dilijan), served as director of DelfinTherapy Paradise LLC until October 24 of this year. The Dilijan dolphins remain in their artificial environment, promoting a medical therapy business that raises more concerns than cures. The best efforts of Best Western Paradise to distance itself from the dolphin furor havent worked. Mr. Harutyunyan, and hotel management, need to come clean. By the way, why isnt Armenias environment ministry looking into the matter? Or is it that they just cant be bothered. Former Foreign Affairs Minister Dr Walter Mzembi has urged former Higher and Tertiary Education Minister Professor Jonathan Moyo and his ex-Local Government, Public Works and National Housing counterpart, Mr Saviour Kasukuwere, to return to Zimbabwe. The two former ministers allegedly skipped the country after the military intervened to pacify a potentially volatile social, economic and political situation. Their whereabouts remain shrouded in secrecy. Former Vice-President Mr Phelekezela Mphoko returned to Zimbabwe last Friday after spending weeks in Japan and Botswana. Dr Mzembi told The Sunday Mail yesterday that while he could not delve deeper into Prof Moyos and Mr Kasukuweres issues, he wished the former ministers could come back home. I cant comment much on their case because our experiences were not similar. Its just that the new administration allows its children to come back home, said Dr Mzembi. The former minister said if there were any criminal allegations, his former colleagues in Government should face justice in terms of the countrys laws which also protect the rights of citizens. Its counter-productive to have some of our former ministers outside our borders. It will be good to have them back. We will have to then wait and see until they are proven guilty by the courts. Dr Mzembi said he felt safe and secure as he was conducting his personal business freely. He said, I feel safe under an umbrella of the new President (Emmerson Mnangagwa) because he took an oath to protect rights of citizens. So, there is no need for me to worry about my security. I am free man, I drive myself around, as I have always done. The military chase after those who pose a security threat; Mzembi doesnt constitute such a threat. I may have been an ideological irritant but certainly not a security threat. Dr Mzembi also said he never left the country for South Africa or sought refuge at the Cuban embassy in Harare after the military intervention on November 15, 2017. Prior to the operation, he said, he had travelled to Zambia on November 12, 2017, where he met President Edgar Lungu to deliver a special message from the then President, Cde Robert Mugabe. On November 13, 2017, Dr Mzembi returned to Zimbabwe and attended a Cabinet meeting the following day. He was due to travel to South Africa on November 15, 2017 to meet Sadc Chair President Jacob Zuma in Capetown but could not do so as his security aides told him that it could be difficult to access the airport. Dr Mzembi then left his house together with his family to allow the situation to normalise following the military intervention. The former minister said the army never looked for him at his home and was shocked to read rumours that he had fled the country. I am not bitter at all. I am happy that I had laid down a foreign affairs vision which I believe will be useful. My last act as a Minister (of Foreign Affairs) was at 4pm on November 17, 2017 when I had a closed-door prayer meeting with my secretaries, drivers, aides. I even prayed for my successor, though I did not know who it was at that time. I will miss working and serving the country, but I have no hard feelings at all for all the 10 years I served as minister. Sunday Mail President Emmerson Mnangagwas deputies at party and State level are likely to be appointed after Zanu-PFs Extraordinary Congress this month, The Sunday Mail has gathered. The two Vice-Presidents will replace Cde Mnangagwa, following his ascendance to the top job, and Mr Phelekezela Mphoko, who has been expelled from Zanu-PF for working with a cabal calling itself G40 which fomented political and socio-economic instability. Zanu-PF spokesperson Ambassador Simon Khaya Moyo said President Mnangagwa would give direction on the appointments. Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet Dr Misheck Sibanda also indicated as much when announcing adjustments to the new Cabinet yesterday. Dr Sibanda said, His Excellency, the President, has appointed the following as Special Advisors to him and his Office pending outcomes of the December Congress of the ruling Zanu-PF party: Professor Clever Nyathi as Special Advisor in the Office of the President on National Peace and Reconciliation, which is expected to be headed by a Vice-President to be appointed after Congress. Ambassador Khaya Moyo said, I cannot talk about that because that is the prerogative of the President. According to Section 40 of Zanu-PFs constitution, the President and First Secretary of the party is entitled to appoint his/her two deputies. It reads, Soon after the election of the President and First Secretary and Members of the Central Committee, the President and First Secretary of the Party shall, during the sitting of the Congress, appoint from the newly-elected Central Committee, two Vice-Presidents and Second Secretaries, the National Chairperson, the Heads of Departments of the Politburo, the Committee Members of the Politburo and the Deputies to the Heads of Departments. Section 99 of Zimbabwes Constitution says the functions of Vice-Presidents are to assist the President in the discharge of his or her functions and perform any other functions, including the administration of any Ministry, Department or Act of Parliament, that the President may assign to them. Zanu-PFs Congress is expected to endorse President Mnangagwa as President and First Secretary following a decision of the Central Committee to elevate him. Congress is also expected to endorse another Central Committee decision to expel G40 members such as former First Lady Mrs Grace Mugabe, Mr Mphoko, Professor Jonathan Moyo, Mr Saviour Kasukuwere, Ignatius Chombo, Kudzanai Chipanga, Ms Mandi Chimene, Mrs Letina Undenge, Innocent Hamandishe and others. The group was dismissed for fanning divisions and chaos in the party, and threatening national security through corruption and capturing Government departments for its narrow interests. G40 members Chombo, Chipanga and Hamandishe have appeared in court facing criminal charges, while Mr Kasukuwere and Prof Moyo are believed to have fled Zimbabwe. The Congress will discuss the state of the ruling party and preparations for next years harmonised elections, and the national economy. Sunday Mail Install the Newser News app in two easy steps: 1. Tap in your navigation bar. 2. Tap to Add to Home Screen. A Texas Republican paid $84,000 of taxpayer money to settle a sexual harassment claim against him in 2015, NBC News reports. Lauren Greene says Rep. Blake Farenthold told a staffer he had "sexual fantasies" and "wet dreams" about her while she was working as his communications director. She says he routinely made comments to her to see if she was interested in having sex with him and says she was fired a month after complaining about the behavior. Greene filed a sexual harassment, discrimination, and hostile work environment claim against Farenthold in 2014. According to the Washington Post, Farenthold denies any wrongdoing in the case. Still, sources say Farenthold, who Politico reports has a minimum net worth of $2.4 million, settled the claim using $84,000 from the Office of Compliance. The Office of Compliance was created nearly 20 years ago after dozens of complaints of sexual harassment against Republican Sen. Bob Packwood. Since then, it has spent more than $17 million of taxpayer money to settle workplace complaints involving House lawmakers. It's unclear how much of that money went toward settling sexual harassment complaints. A Republican lawmaker said Friday that only the single $84,000 payment was made to settle a sexual harassment complaint since 2012. In a statement prepared by Farenthold and Greene in 2015 but not released at the time, they say they settled to save the taxpayers' money because "further litigating this case would come at great expense to all involved. On Friday, Farenthold said he "can neither confirm nor deny" that he was involved in the $84,000 settlement. (Read more sexual harassment stories.) For the first time ever in the US, a woman born without a uterus has given birth, Time reports. The baby boy was delivered via a planned Caesarean section in late November at Baylor University Medical Center at Dallas; the historic birth was announced Friday. "We've been preparing for this moment for a very long time," uterus transplant surgeon Dr. Liza Johannesson says. Baylor has completed eight uterus transplants as part of an ongoing clinical trial, but at least three have failed. The unidentified woman was the first to give birth with a transplanted uterus in the US and only the ninth woman in the world to do so, according to the Dallas Morning News. Multiple surgeons at Baylor report crying during the birth. It gives hope to women who didnt feel like they had hope, says Dr. Colin Koon, a member of the transplant team. The women in the clinical trial have absolute uterine factor infertility, which means their uterus doesn't work or isn't there, and many had grown up without hope of giving birth. Doctors say the uterus transplant procedure could also one day help women with other medical complications, such as cancer-related hysterectomies, give birth. I have family members who struggled to have babies, and its not fair, 36-year-old Taylor Siler tells Time. I just think that if we can give more people that option, thats an awesome thing. Siler donated the uterus that made last month's historic birth possible. The first attempt at a uterus transplant birth in the US failed due to a fungal infection last year at the Cleveland Clinic, WFAA reports. (Read more uterus transplant stories.) Tragic news in the case of Mariah Woods, the 3-year-old girl whose mother says she disappeared from her North Carolina home Sunday night: Police have recovered the toddler's body in a creek, reports the AP, barely a day after they arrested the mother's live-in boyfriend. Earl Kimrey, 32, was taken into custody Friday on charges including concealing a death and obstructing justice, ABC reports. He is in jail, with bail set at $1 million, and police say more charges are possible. Arrest warrants say that Kimrey, knowing Mariah died of non-natural causes, moved her body. "It was too late to save Mariah the moment the 911 call came in," an FBI agent said; the AP notes that police are being tight-lipped in the case. "The arrest warrants are public record and the records speaks for themselves. We will not discuss any details related to the homicide investigation." Kimrey has an arrest record going back to 2005 for crimes including assault and larceny, WRAL reports. Other charges filed against him Friday include second-degree burglary and possession of stolen property. Mariah's mother told police that she last saw the little girl when she put her to bed Sunday night. An Amber Alert was issued after Mariah was reported missing early Monday. Authorities later determined a girl seen in surveillance images from a Walmart that morning was not the missing toddler. (Read more missing child stories.) Sorry! This content is not available in your region Share your opinion on this topic by sending a letter to the editor to tctvoice@madison.com. Include your full name, hometown and phone number. Your name and town will be published. The phone number is for verification purposes only. Please keep your letter to 250 words or less. The Daily News-Miner encourages residents to make themselves heard through the Opinion pages. Readers' letters and columns also appear online at newsminer.com. Contact the editor with questions at letters@newsminer.com or call 459-7574. Somnath: BJP chief Amit Shah, on Saturday, said his party's victory in the Uttar Pradesh mayoral polls was nothing compared to what was going to happen in Gujarat on December 18, when the state Assembly election results would be declared. "In the Uttar Pradesh municipal corporation election, the Congress did not win a single seat. On the other hand, the BJP flag has soared higher under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath," he said, while addressing an election rally at Somnath in Gir Somnath district. The BJP bagged 14 of the 16 mayoral seats in Uttar Pradesh. "The Congress has been shouting for the last three months that 'Congress aave chhe' (Congress is coming in Gujarat), while today, the people of Uttar Pradesh said 'Congress jae chhe' (Congress is going)," he said. "The Congress' loss is such that the BJP won all the municipal corporation seats even in Congress vice president Rahul baba's Amethi constituency," he said, adding, "Whatever has happened in Uttar Pradesh today is nothing compared to what is going to happen in Gujarat on December 18. After the vote counting on December 18, the BJP will emerge victorious and form the government with 150 seats." Shah attacked the Congress over the GDP data, saying that its leaders had fallen silent after the new GDP figures were announced on Friday. "Three months back, the GDP had come down due to some effects of the GST, and the entire Congress leadership started appearing on TV, shouting that an economic slowdown had descended on the country. Yesterday, a new GDP figure says it is 6.3 and the Congress leaders have fallen silent. The Uttar Pradesh results today have made them even more silent," he said. Shah also attacked the opposition party, saying it was contesting the Gujarat polls on the agenda of "casteism and dynastic rule, while the BJP is fighting on the basis of development". "The Congress will never win if it tries to contest on the agenda of development," he said, adding that since 1995, when the BJP came to power in Gujarat, 19,000 villages got 24 -hour electricity and there were very few incidents of curfew. He said the government helped solve the water problems of the Saurashtra region and accused the Congress of stalling the Narmada Yojana "for 50 years after the then prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru had laid its foundation stone". "Rahul baba, you ask us what did we do? I would like to ask you as to what did you do to Gujarat and its people? Why did your party not allow the Narmada Yojana to be completed for 50 years? But instead of replying, you will ask questions on why is there so much unemployment in Gujarat," he said. Also Read: After Uttar Pradesh civic poll win, Yogi Adityanath asks Rahul Gandhi to remain grounded Shah added that 13,672 people from Amethi, Gandhi's Lok Sabha constituency, were working in Gujarat and that they would take out a rally to tell the people about the real condition of Amethi. "Even after 70 years of independence, there is no collector's office in Amethi and he comes to teach us development," he said. London: Britain's Prince Harry, on Friday, made his first joint royal visit with Meghan Markle to mark the World AIDS Day in the city of Nottingham, days after he announced his engagement with the American actress girlfriend. The couple spent the day at a World AIDS Day charity fair organised by the Terrence Higgins Trust and then met Headteachers of a local school, Nottingham Academy. An official announcement on November 27 said that the 33 -year-old Harry had got engaged earlier this month and that he had informed Queen Elizabeth II of his intention to marry Markle. "Prince Harry and Ms Meghan Markle are in Nottingham for their first official visit together since announcing their engagement," Kensington Palace said in a statement. The couple undertook a long walkabout to meet royal fans, who shouted their congratulations and offered flowers and chocolates. They visited National Justice Museum and Nottingham Contemporary before making their way to Nottingham Academy, where Harry had a little dance as they learnt about the Full Effect programme, which helps prevent young people from turning to violence and crime. Dominic Edwards, from the Terrence Higgins Trust, said the charity was "thrilled" that the couple had chosen to visit Nottingham. "I think it really underlines his great support for HIV as a cause," Edwards said. Prince Harry has spent time in Nottingham both publicly and privately since he first met young people there in 2013, when he was exploring issues around youth violence. A year later, he established the Full Effect programme, which aims to stop youth violence in the city in the Midlands region of England. Harry's communication's secretary Jason Knauf said the prince was looking forward to introducing his 36-year-old bride-to-be to a community that had "become very special to him". He added that the 36-year-old Markle, best known for her role as Rachel Zane in the legal drama 'Suits', "could not wait" to meet people she had heard so much about. The couple are due for a May 2018 wedding at St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle, with the exact date yet to be announced. In the lead up to the wedding, Markle would not be continuing her work as an actress or on gender with the United Nations and other organisations and instead would start new charity work as a full-time royal. She plans to focus her attention on the UK and Commonwealth. "This is the country that's going to be her home now and that means travelling around, getting to know the towns and cities and smaller communities," their spokesperson said. She will also become the fourth patron of the Royal Foundation of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry. Also Read| Revealed: Prince Harry proposed Meghan Markle in an unusual way, here's how The foundation is behind Prince Harry's Invictus Games - the Paralympic-style competition for injured servicemen and women and veterans - and also the mental health charity Heads Together. It has also been announced that Markle intends to become a British citizen and will work towards it in the coming years. For all the Latest Entertainment News, Hollywood News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Los Angeles: Matt and Ross Duffer's "Stranger Things" has been renewed for third season on Netflix. The streaming giant made the announcement on its official Twitter handle. "For the love of Steve, Duh! So, hold tight baby darts - season 3 is officially happening," read the tweet. FOR THE LOVE OF STEVE, DUH! So hold tight baby darts season 3 is officially happening. Netflix US (@netflix) December 1, 2017 The series is created by The Duffer Brothers, who also directed it along with Shawn Levy. The Duffer Brothers also executive produced the series along with Levy, Dan Cohen and Iain Patterson. Also Read: Quentin Tarantino misses renting movies from video store, laments rise of streaming sites The series stars Winona Ryder, David Harbour, Finn Wolfhard, Noah Schnapp, Millie Bobby Brown, Caleb McLaughlin, Gaten Matarazzo, Natalia Dyer, Charlie Heaton, Joe Keery and others. The series takes place in the fictional town of Hawkins, Indiana, where a secret government lab accidentally opens a door to another dimension referred to as the Upside Down. For all the Latest Entertainment News, Hollywood News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: India needs to cherish and nurture its Muslim population, which is integrated and considers itself Indian, former US president Barack Obama said on Friday. It is an idea that needs to be reinforced, he emphasised at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit here. Obama touched on a host of topics, including his relationship with Narendra Modi and Manmohan Singh, terrorism, Pakistan, the hunt for Osama bin Laden and his love for Indian dal and keema, during his address and the question-answer session that followed. Obama, the first African American president of the US, said he had emphasised the need for religious tolerance and the right to practice ones own faith during closed door talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his last trip to India in 2015. The 44th US president, who held office between 2009 and 2017, had made similar comments during a public interaction on the last day of his 2015 visit, which had come against the backdrop of controversy over religious conversions. Responding to questions during the interactive session, Obama said his comments then were general in nature and he had repeated it in the US as well as in Europe. Theres a counter narrative taking place, at all times, but its particularly pronounced now... You are seeing it in Europe, you are seeing it in the United States and sometimes you see it in India where those old tribal impulses reassert themselves under leaders who try to push back those impulses and under leaders who try to exploit them, Obama said. The former US president said it is necessary to make sure that voices which talk about working together are encouraged. Replying to an India-specific question, Obama spoke of Indias enormous Muslim population, which is successful, integrated and thinks of itself as Indian. That is unfortunately not always the case in some other countries, Obama added. Referring to India, he said, And that is something that needs to be cherished and nurtured, cultivated. Its important to continue reinforcing it. Asked about Modis response when he emphasised the need for religious tolerance and the right to practice ones own faith, Obama said he would not like to share the details. To a separate question, he said Modis impluse was to recognise the importance of Indian unity. I think he firmly believes the need for that in order to advance to the great nation status, Obama said. When terror struck Mumbai in November 2008, he said, the US was as obsessed as India to dismantle the terror network. US intelligence personnel, he added, were deployed to help the Indian government. Referring to Osama bin Ladens presence in Pakistan, he said the US had no evidence that Islamabad was aware of the presence of the 9/11 attack mastermind in its territory. Asked about terror emanating from Pakistan, Obama said, What is true, and an understandable source of frustration, is the view that sometimes there are connections between explicit terrorist organisations based in Pakistan and elements that are connected to various more official entities inside Pakistan. Questioned on his equation with Modi, who often referred to him as my friend Obama, the former US president noted that he also shared great rapport with Manmohan Singh. I like him (Modi) and I think he has the vision for the country. But I was also great friends with Dr (Manmohan) Singh. He lauded the steps taken by Singh to modernise the economy that launched the foundation of modern Indian economy. The unifying thing (between Modi and Singh) was that (they advocated) strong US-India relations were important, Obama said, adding that both had the same mission to take India towards a more modern economy. I found both of them to be engaged, honest, direct with me and both of them took tough decisions, he said. Obama highlighted Singhs work during the global financial meltdown in 2008, and said Modi was the primary partner in unlocking the Paris accord. Both (steps taken by Modi and Singh) required some political courage back in India, he said. On a lighter note, he spoke of his love for Indian food and cooking. I am the only US president to have a dal recipe. I also prepare excellent keema. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi : A 32-year-old woman was sexually assaulted on a rooftop in New Delhis heart, Connaught Place, on Saturday. According to Delhi Police, the victim was groped and molested by an unidentified man in his late twenties on the terrace of her office. The police said, The incident occurred around 10 am in the morning. The victim in her complaint has mentioned that she had gone to the terrace of her office. The accused groped her from behind and started masurbating. According to the Delhi Police, the victim was sitting on the terrace when the accused came up pretending to be over the phone. The victim also told us that her perpetrator touched her private parts. said a police officer. Also read: 4-year-old sexually assaulted in Kolkata school, accused teachers arrested The victim said, I somehow managed to reach the door and cried for help. He let me go only after my colleagues came for rescue. He jumped onto an adjacent terrace and fled. Also read| UP: Brother, father, uncles rape girl for disgracing family honour by eloping with boyfriend An FIR has been registered at the Connaught Place police station under sections Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 354 (criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 342 (wrongful confinement), 356 (theft), and 379 (punishment for theft). Police is yet to arrest the accused. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Bengaluru: Income Tax (IT) department raids on a few Bengaluru-based doctors and diagnostic centres on Saturday seem to have blown the lid off an alleged doctors-diagnostic centre commission nexus. Sleuths of IT department carried out raids on five medical centre chains and two IVF clinics. According to an official of the Income Tax department, the commission varied from lab to lab. The referral commission for doctors varied but the commission for doctors was found to be around 35 per cent on an average for an MRI test and 20 per cent in case of CT scan or any other laboratory test, added the IT official. The Income Tax department has seized more than Rs 1.4 crore, jewellery and at least 3.5 kilograms of bullion and a few secret foreign bank accounts with deposits running into crores of rupees. Labs raided have also admitted to previously undisclosed income which so far exceeds Rs 100 crore. This is how diagnostic centres/labs paid cuts to Doctors # Commision varies from lab to lab. # Commission or cuts for doctors is 35 per cent for MRI tests, 20 per cent in case of CT scan or any other lab tests. # Payments were disguised as marketing expenses. # Payments or referral fees to doctors were made in four different ways. # Cash payments were made on fortnightly basis. # Advance cash paid to the doctors as a kind of imprest cash from which the actual referral fees payable is adjusted. # In some cases, referral fees were paid to doctors by cheque. The payments were disguised and shown in books as professional fees. Also read: 30-year-old woman survives after Indian doctors perform 'first ever' kidney transplant in Tanzania # Some of the labs employed commission agents. Their job was to distribute money to doctors in envelopes. # These agents inserted a small chit in envelopes, while giving it to doctors. The chit contained details of a patient referred, doctor's name, tests done, amounts billed against the tests, and 'cuts'/commission amount to be given to the doctor and the date on which the test was done. Also read| Karnataka: Private doctors protesting medical bill go on indefinite strike in Bengaluru # The doctors are very particular about the amounts. On not getting their "due" they return the envelope. The dispute was later settled with the labs. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: Ahead of Navy Day on December 4, Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Sunil Lanba making a strong statement has said that Indian Navy is well prepared for countering any threats within or beyond the Indian Ocean Region (IOR). In an interview to The Indian Express, Lanba said, The Indian Navy is one of the most formidable maritime military forces in the world today and remains well prepared for countering any threat to national security, within the IOR and beyond. Speaking on the increasing presence of Chinese Submarines in the Indian Ocean, Lanba said the Indian Navy is closely monitoring the pattern and periodicity of extra-regional submarine deployments in the IOR. The Peoples Liberation Army Navy (PLAN), has deployed submarines in the Indian Ocean allegedly for anti-piracy patrols but India suspects Chinas intention as the dragon has a history of not being honest when its comes to border affairs. Speaking on the issue, Lanba said, It is rather an odd task to give to a submarine... It is not the most ideal platform to do anti-piracy patrols. Indian Navy is considered one of the best maritime military forces in the world. It has completed 50 years of selfless service to the nation and will be celebrating its Golden Jubilee this year. Admiral Lanba on Friday, addressing the annual press conference of the Navy ahead of the Navy Day also hinted that women sailors will soon be serving on-board ships. As far as serving on-board ships is concerned, we had an issue of availability of facilities on-board. All our new construction ships are being constructed with suitable facilities to embark lady officers on board, we are examining this so that we have the right form, fit, rules and regulation, he said. Sooner or later we will also have lady officers serving on ships, the Navy Chief said. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Patna: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Saturday arrested a student leader from Bihars capital Patna for his alleged links with internationally banned terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). The arrested student leader has been identified as 23-year-old Dhannu Raja. A senior police officer on condition of anonymity said, Raja is suspected of being in constant touch with LeT leaders. He added, The student leader has been arrested for providing logistic support to Shaikh Abdul Naeem, an LeT operative. Naeem was arrested from Lucknow by the NIA early this week. Raja was produced before an NIA Special Court in Patna from where he was sent to transit remand. The NIA has to produce the arrested student leader before the Special NIA Court in Delhi. According to sources, the agency sleuths are questioning Raja at an unknown location in the national capital. New Delhi: Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav today met West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, fuelling speculation of a possible front against the BJP in the next Lok Sabha polls. Yadav, who was here in connection with the state conference of the SP, met Banerjee at her residence here and said that his party stood behind her in the fight against communal forces. There is a need for all secular parties to unite against communal forces, the SP chief said. Earlier in the day when he was asked whether the SP would form a joint front with the TMC, Yadav had said he meets Banerjee whenever he comes to the city. Referring to the BJPs victory in the Uttar Pradesh civic polls, he said that the party had won where the elections were held using EVM but did not do well where polls were held by using ballot paper. I will ask the people to check that the BJP has bagged 46 per cent votes in places where elections were held using EVM and only 15 per cent votes where the polls were held through ballot paper, he said. Yadav said that the BJP had won the UP Assembly polls with two-third majority but in the civic polls it had failed to win in the same manner. But you (BJP) are telling the country that the entire state has been painted in the BJPs colour, he said, adding that the path adopted by the party will not be able to bring happiness among the people in the country. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: In a gruesome incident, a four-year-old was sexually assualted by two teachers inside the premises of a prominent south Kolkata English-medium school. The occurence triggered protests by parents of other students in front of the school gate on Friday, demanding immediate suspension of the accused teachers. The accused were arrested after the parents of the girl child lodged a complaint at the local Jadavpur Police station, a senior officer of Kolkata Police said. Joint Commissioner of Police (crime) Vishal Garg said that two physical training (PT) instructors of the school were arrested after interrogating them. The child was constantly crying and complained of severe pain after returning from school yesterday when her mother spotted blood stains on her clothes, he said. On enquiring, the girl told her mother that the PT teacher had taken her to the washroom but could not narrate what happened thereafter. Her parents took her to apaedetrician who advised her to be taken to the police, the officer said. The girl was taken to SSKM Hospital on Friday where her medical tests were compeleted and confirmed the secxual assualt on her. Read more: Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra unsafe for minor girls; Tamil Nadu safest: NCRB The report is awaited, hospital sources told PTI. Meanwhile, the G D Birla Centre for Education said in a statement to the media that the school's management was extending full cooperation with the police in theirinvestigations and will continue to do so. "The school management will take necessary and proper action after the investigations are over", the statement said. West Bengal Education Minister Partha Chatterjee said he is looking into the incident with "utmost seriousness". "I have no words to condemn the incident. Strongest punishment should be given to those responsible for the incident", he said. (With PTI inputs) For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: A US Navy veteran charged with killing an Indian techie and injuring two others in a racially motivated hate crime at a bar in Kansas City early this year has pleaded not guilty. Adam Purinton, 52, was charged with first-degree murder in the February shooting in Olathe that killed 32-year-old Srinivas Kuchibhotla. He also faces two counts of attempted first-degree murder for wounding two other men. During a preliminary hearing yesterday, Purinton pleaded not guilty. He waived his preliminary hearing and the not guilty plea was entered on his behalf. The next hearing is scheduled for May 8. He faces a maximum penalty of death or life in prison. Federal prosecutors allege that Purinton targeted Kuchibhotla and another Indian man, Alok Madasani, because of their race or ethnicity. The third man was shot when tried to help the two victims. Witnesses said Purinton yelled at the two Indian men to get out of my country before pulling the trigger. After the shooting, Purinton drove 70 miles east to an Applebees restaurant in Clinton, Missouri, where he told a bartender what hed done. Kuchibhotla was working at Garmin International. Federal prosecutors alleged that Purinton committed the offences after substantial planning and premeditation, attempted to kill more than one person in a single criminal episode, and knowingly created a grave risk of death to others on the scene. For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: Randi Zuckerberg, Mark Zuckerbergas sister and a former Facebook executive took to social media while detailing her uncomfortable flight experience between Los Angeles and Mazatlan, Mexico. She wrote a letter to Seattle-based Alaska Airlines claiming that a male passenger constantly made sexually explicit and lewd comments to her and others in the first class section while being served multiple alcoholic drinks. The airlines said on Thursday that it was investigating the matter. Zuckerberg said that when she reported the man to flight attendants, they seemed to make light of the situation while replying that he was a regular flyer on the route. Feeling disgusted & degraded after an @AlaskaAir flight where the passenger next to me made repeated lewd sexual remarks. The flight attendants told me he was a frequent flier, brushed off his behavior & kept giving him drinks. I guess his $ means more than our safety? My letter: pic.twitter.com/xOkDpb0dYU a Randi Zuckerberg (@randizuckerberg) November 30, 2017 Further, they told her not to take it personally and offered to move her to a seat at the back of the plane. She wrote that she was furious with the airline for "knowingly and willingly providing this man with a platform to harass women. "The airline said it contacted Zuckerberg about the "disturbing" claims and revoked the man's travel privileges pending the outcome of the investigation. It further added: "We want our guests to feel safe. As a company, we have zero tolerance for any type of sexual misconduct that creates an unsafe environment for our guests and crew members." Recent events involving sexual harassment onboard our aircraft will not be tolerated. We are committed to finding a solution to pervasive societal problems. https://t.co/HnAwd9wXgf a Alaska Airlines (@AlaskaAir) November 30, 2017 For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Ankara: President Recep Tayyip Erdogan today said Turkey could never be condemned by virtual courts in the US after he was implicated in a scheme allegedly designed to subvert US sanctions on Iran during a trial in New York. Turkish-Iranian gold trader Reza Zarrab had been due to go on trial over the accusations but, to Turkeys chagrin, he agreed to cooperate with US prosecutors and told a court on Thursday that Erdogan authorised two Turkish banks to circumvent the sanctions and launder money from Iran. The case has angered Erdogan, who accused the trial of being linked to the network of Fethullah Gulen, the US-based Muslim cleric blamed by the Turkish government for last years failed coup. My country can never be condemned by virtual courts set up by FETO scoundrels, fake representatives, Erdogan said during a televised speech in the eastern city of Kars, referring to Gulens group that Turkey has dubbed the Fethullah Terrorist Organisation. Someone has got up and decided they will apparently try my country in their falsely set-up courts. Dont bother! Erdogan added. Turkey has repeatedly called for Gulen to be extradited, but he denies any involvement in the coup or terrorism. Since Zarrab became the prosecutions star witness in the trial, deputy chief executive of Turkish lender Halkbank Mehmet Hakan Atilla is now the lone man in the dock accused of violating sanctions, bribery and money laundering. Zarrab has taken the stand three times since Wednesday, admitting to bribing a former Turkish economy minister and being involved in the multi-billion-dollar gold-for-oil scheme. On Thursday he told the court he was informed that in 2012, then prime minister Erdogan and then treasury minister Ali Babacan had given instructions for two other Turkish public banks, Vakif and Ziraat, to take part in the scheme. Zarrab was a key figure in a 2013 Turkish corruption scandal, which Ankara denounced at the time as another conspiracy by Gulen and his group. Analysts say the embarrassing revelations could damage Erdogan politically and also harm the Turkish economy, if one or more Turkish banks are fined over violating sanctions. Ankara has urged Zarrab to turn back from his mistake and claimed this week that the trader is under pressure to make defamatory claims against Turkey. Istanbuls public prosecutor ordered the seizure of Zarrab and his familys assets late on Friday, accusing him of espionage for the benefit of a foreign state. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu earlier today claimed FETO has infiltrated American missions in Turkey, the US judiciary, its Congress, everywhere, they have infiltrated all institutions in this or that way, legally or illegally. For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. United Nations: Japan, on Saturday, announced it will host a ministerial meeting of the UN Security Council on December 15 focused on finding peaceful ways to pressure North Korea to halt its nuclear and ballistic missile tests and denuclearise the Korean peninsula. Japan's UN Ambassador Koro Bessho told a news conference that more must be done beyond the "very robust" sanctions that the council has already imposed targeting the financing and materials for Kim Jong-Un's nuclear and missile programs. Bessho, who is this month's council president, said members are discussing a "product" from the ministerial meeting, but it isn't clear whether it might be a statement or a resolution. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is expected to brief the council, and US officials say Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is likely to attend. Bessho said Japan's Foreign Minister Taro Kono will chair the meeting and several ministers and deputy ministers, whom he refused to name, are also expected. All 15 council members strongly condemned North Korea's launch on Tuesday of its most powerful intercontinental ballistic missile which South Korea's Defence Ministry, said on Friday, is potentially capable of striking targets as far as 13,000 kilometres, which would put Washington within reach. US Ambassador Nikki Haley told an emergency council meeting on Wednesday that the missile launch brought the world closer to a war the US doesn't want, and warned that if war comes, Kim's regime "will be utterly destroyed." That sparked a strong rebuke from Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Saturday. "If somebody is very eager to use force to wipe out North Korea, as the United States' UN envoy said, it was a very bloodthirsty tirade," Russian news agencies quoted Lavrov as saying at a Rome news conference with his Italian counterpart. Lavrov also spoke of having "the impression over the last two months that there is someone in Washington who wants to provoke new actions" by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea or DPRK, the country's official name. Russia's UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia told the council on Wednesday's emergency meeting that Russia believes the only way to resolve the situation and find a long-term solution is through "tireless and diplomatic efforts." "In this context, we call on all sides to immediately begin work on finding a formula for political and diplomatic settlement," he said. "We don't see any rational alternative to this path." Asked about Haley's tough words, Bessho said only: "She meant, I'm sure, it as a message to different parties." As the only nation to suffer a nuclear attack in World War II, he said Japan feels very strongly that North Korea's nuclear program needs to be stopped. "We obviously are not looking for a military solution ourselves," Bessho said. "I don't think anybody likes a military solution. We are trying in the Security Council to find a way to make DPRK change its policy." Also Read: End illegal and forceful occupation of PoK, India asks Pakistan at UN Haley called on all countries to cut ties to North Korea on Wednesday. She talked about additional measures against the DPRK and said President Donald Trump called China's President Xi Jinping on Wednesday morning and urged him to cut off all oil deliveries to North Korea. China and Russia objected to that idea in the latest UN sanctions resolution. For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. With less than half of state money for needy veteran grant program spent, legislative proposal would expand eligibility At a recent convention of Connecticut school officials, Nick Caruso asked 50 school board members and superintendents what their districts do for students who lack internet access at home. Most didnt even know whether their district has a policy, said Caruso, a senior staff associate for the Connecticut Association of Boards of Education and member of the Connecticut Commission for Educational Technology. In Connecticut, 58 percent of middle-school students and 71 percent of high-schoolers have access to digital devices in the classroom, according to the Commission for Educational Technology. But 8 percent of the states children lack a broadband connection at home. Meanwhile, 70 percent of teachers nationally assign online homework, according to 2009 research from the Federal Communications Commission. That is a problem, Caruso said. Even if you give a device to a student, what happens if they go home and there isnt an easily accessible network to connect to? This digital divide often falls along socioeconomic lines, deepening the achievement gap between low- and- high-income students. Of families with school-age children, 60 percent of those making less than $25,000 lack a broadband connection at home, compared to nearly 97 percent of families making $150,000 or more, according to the Pew Research Centers 2016 study. These numbers worsen for black and Hispanic families making under $25,000, with 53 percent of the former and 54 percent of the latter having internet access. Caruso said students without home web access might have to stay after school or go to the library to complete their assignments. Or they dont do the work, he said. Thats always the fear: If we dont make it accessible, do they get behind? Several years ago, a study estimated that only 70 percent of Danbury-area residents were connected to the internet, Superintendent Sal Pascarella said. The district told parents at the time they could ask the school for hard copies of any information available online or access the internet at the districts resource center on Osborne Street. But the digital divide has been closing in Danbury, Pascarella said, thanks to the popularity of smartphones. The most recent U.S. Census data showed that 77.5 percent of city residents have a smartphone. That changeover has made the divide much easier, much narrower, he said. In the last two to three years its become evident the connectivity was greater than we thought. He said parents have not reported to him that their students are unable to complete online assignments, adding that the districts resource center and the library are still available for those without internet at home. The library has been terrific about letting folks go there and utilize that, Pascarella said. In Bethel, the digital divide is narrower, said Superintendent Christine Carver. It really has not presented itself as a challenge, she said. I think more people have devices than not. Even things like Google Docs you can do on a phone. Its not ideal, but I think the access issues are certainly decreased. Doug Casey, executive director of the Commission for Educational Technology, said internet access creates another advantage that suburban students have over those in large urban districts. The latter might have other disadvantages, too, such as a lack of transportation or parents who did not attend college. Its not like getting online is going to solve those problems, but its all around equity, Casey said. Can we give those kids an equal opportunity to advance? In Bethel, each third- through twelfth-grader is given a Chromebook, and students in eighth grade or above are permitted to bring their devices home. Families pay only a $15 insurance fee for the device, but the charge is waived for students who receive free or reduced-priced lunch. Many teachers give online assignments, but Carver noted that students who do not have a device or internet access at home can go to a public place, such as the library, for Wi-Fi. Libraries have become critical for those without home internet connections, said Dawn La Valle of the Connecticut State Library. She said students do their homework, while adult patrons apply for jobs, check email or connect with family members. Schools have computers, but they close their doors at 3:30 p.m., she said. You can go into a one-stop labor center, but they close their doors at 5 p.m. The hours that libraries are available and accessible just make them the natural place to go. Many libraries also offer digital literacy programs, while some, such as in Danbury, lend tablets, hotspots and other devices to patrons. Katie Pearson, library director in Danbury, said the library has about 100 computers, half of which she estimates are in use at one time. The library has 15 iPads, 10 Kindles and 10 hotspots available to lend to patrons, but there is always a waiting list for the latter. All around the divide is getting wider, especially as more and more devices come on the market, Pearson said. Everybody thinks, Well, everyone has a smartphone or everyone has an iPad, and thats just not the reality. The challenge for libraries is to fight this misconception and advocate for funding for the equipment they need to provide high-speed internet access, La Valle said. The Connecticut State Library helps local libraries secure E-Rate funding, which gives discounted Internet rates for libraries and schools. The state also gives grants to libraries to upgrade their internet to fiber optics through the Connecticut Education Network, an organization that provides high-speed internet access at lower rates. About half the libraries in the state have fiber optics, La Valle said. New Milford, Bethel, Sherman, Roxbury and Southbury are among the 46 libraries currently upgrading their systems through this program, La Valle said. Libraries in Danbury, Ridgefield, New Fairfield, Brookfield, Bridgewater and Redding already connected to high-speed internet on their own, she said. Comcast also offers a program, called Internet Essentials, that provides 8,000 low-income households in the state with high-speed internet for $9.95 a month. Participants can also buy an internet-ready computer for less than $150, as well as free access to training in digital literacy. Comcast promotes the program through the Danbury schools and the Danbury Public Library. The Commission for Educational Technology is developing a digital equity toolkit with advice for municipalities on how to close the digital divide for all residents, not just students. The commission hopes to send the toolkit to community leaders by the end of the year. Suggestions in the draft range from companies donating computers to putting Wi-Fi on school buses. The toolkit treats the digital divide as a community problem and one that will need the help of towns, schools, businesses and other institutions to solve, Casey said. The state is not going to write a check to get every kid online; thats not in the making, he said. There are companies that can help with this, but really, to solve it holistically, it really comes down to a community challenge. Why did I expect to see the African-American experience in Wisconsin represented at a national museum, when I cant find evidence of it in Madison? New installation opens today featuring three important Klimt paintings, including Hope I, from the Gallery's national collection OTTAWA, Dec. 1, 2017 /CNW/ - The National Gallery of Canada (NGC) offers a rare opportunity to view three paintings by Gustav Klimt (1862-1918), one of the greatest painters of the twentieth century, owing to a long term loan from a private collection. Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer (1914-16), a commanding example of Klimt's trademark female portraiture, and Forest Slope in Unterach on the Attersee (1916), a lush example of Klimt's lesser-known, yet equally impressive landscape paintings, are now on view in the European galleries, along with Hope I (1903), which the Gallery purchased in 1970. Hope 1 is the only painting by Klimt in a Canadian public collection. "This long-term display is an unprecedented opportunity to see three exceptional Klimt paintings together in Canada, " said NGC Deputy Director and Chief Curator Paul Lang. "It enables the Gallery to offer a complete survey of the artist's work spanning two decades of his career. A truly transformative loan, these works will allow our visitors to experience the full visual splendor of one of the most inventive artists of his day. " The most renowned member of the fin-de-siecle Art Nouveau movement known as the Vienna Secession, Gustav Klimt is celebrated for his painterly expressiveness and extravagant devotion to colour and surface materiality. He sought to break with the past and propose a new style and experimental mode of expression commensurate with the realities of modern life. Commissioned in 1914 by the artist's most important patrons, the wealthy Viennese couple August and Szerena Lederer, Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer (1914-16) portrays their twenty-year-old daughter. Elisabeth Lederer stands life-sized, her expression one of elegant self-confidence and youthful freshness. "Klimt has transformed her cloak into a dazzling, quasi-abstract array of ornamentation and placed her on a brightly-coloured carpet that flattens the space while simultaneously drawing the woman out toward the viewer," says Curatorial Assistant and Provenance Researcher Kirsten Appleyard. "Surrounding her is an assortment of Chinese figures, a nod to the Lederers' reputation as erudite collectors and a testament to the artist's own connoisseurship of Asian art. While earlier portraits by the artist seduce via the rich physicality of their ornamentoften conveyed in a gold-encrusted mosaic stylehere Klimt relies on exotic marvels to evoke curiosity and command attention. " "While the artist is primarily celebrated for his portraits and allegories, " explains Appleyard, ''his landscapes comprise almost one half of his oeuvre from the last two decades of his life." Indeed, Klimt devoted himself intensely to this genre, retreating every summer to the countryside around Lake Attersee in Upper Austria to paint and reflect. Like the majority of Klimt's landscapes, Forest Slope in Unterach on the Attersee (1916) follows a square format achieved through the use of optical devices such as a telescope or opera glasses. "In this carefully crafted two-dimensional painting, planes are artificially stacked one upon the other, with powerful strokes of related colours creating an overall mood of meditative calm," says Appleyard. ''Klimt's landscape is withdrawn and timelessa tranquil daydream. While echoes of Cezanne's ordered structures and Van Gogh's expressive handling can be felt, it is nevertheless a work of exceptional daring and originality, " she adds. The installation will remain on view during the next three years and for extended hours during the holiday season. The National Gallery of Canada will be open from December 24, 2017 to January 7, 2018, with the exception of December 25 and January 1, at which time it will be closed. For more details about the Gallery's opening hours and admission, please visit the Gallery's Website. About the National Gallery of Canada The National Gallery of Canada is home to the most important collections of historical and contemporary Canadian art. The Gallery also maintains Canada's premier collection of European Art from the 14th to the 21st centuries, as well as important works of American, Asian and Indigenous Art and renowned international collections of prints, drawings and photographs. In 2015, the National Gallery of Canada established the Canadian Photography Institute, a global multidisciplinary research center dedicated to the history, evolution and future of photography. Created in 1880, the National Gallery of Canada has played a key role in Canadian culture for well over a century. Among its principal missions is to increase access to excellent works of art for all Canadians. For more information, visit gallery.ca and follow us on Twitter @NatGalleryCan, Facebook, and Instagram. SOURCE National Gallery of Canada For further information: For media only: To obtain images, more information, or plan an interview: Josee-Britanie Mallet, Senior Media and Public Relations Officer, National Gallery of Canada, 613-990-6835, [email protected] This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate NEW HAVEN It was jukebox magic when it was recorded in a makeshift studio in the basement of St. Bernadette Church back in 1956, and The Five Satins In The Still of the Night New Havens doo wop calling card to the world remains magic today. That magic flowed freely once again Friday still sending chills up peoples spines when Satins founder Fred Parris and group returned to St. Bernadettes 61 years later to film a television show for upcoming broadcast on PBS. About 20 lucky parishioners and neighbors along with St. Bernadette pastor Rev. Frank Carter and Vinny Mazzetta, the onetime St. Bernadette altar boy who hooked the Satins up with the church all those years ago and played sax on the classic record sat in the pews listening to Paris and a band drawn from several generations of Satins. Parris, 81, now is retired. He assembled the band especially for the occasion. What little rehearsal they had essentially came during the sound check. They performedmultiple takes of In The Still Of The Night and three other songs, including Satins hit To The Aisle and two songs that originally were recorded by Parris previous group, The Scarlets: Cry Baby and Dear One. And as the world will see when the show airs, they sounded as good as ever. Joining Parris onstage were vocalists Rich Freeman who has been a Satin for more than 50 years and Eugene Dobbs, bass player and vocalist Jerry Langley, drummer Will Parker and his brother, keyboard player Wayne Parker, and guitarist Noel Gibilaro. Meanwhile, a team of production people working with Executive Producer and C creator T.J. Lubinsky of TJL Productions worked several cameras, carried coils of heavy cable around and did sound and lights for the production. The crew began work on Thursday, hanging banks of additional stage lighting from St. Bernadettes high ceiling. Lubinsky, who came from Pittsburgh for the shoot, called the shots from a production trailer in the St. Bernadettes parking lot, connected via headset to Los Angeles-based Executive Producer Paul Brownstein, who was seated in one of the pews. The footage shot Friday will be part of an upcoming PBS show that will be shot for the most part in Asbury Park, N.J., where several other doo wop groups will assemble, Lubinsky said. But he said he wanted to shoot In The Still Of The Night in the church where it first was recorded. While Lubinsky has produced more than 100 shows for PBS over the years including a previous doo wop show that included Parris among its performers years ago In The Still Of The Night, which he called one of the greatest doo wop songs ever, holds special significance for him, he said. Lubinsky used to listen to oldies radio growing up in New Jersey and one of the first songs I heard was In The Still Of The Night, he said. This song just had a feeling, a meaning, and even though hes too young to have been around for doo wopsgolden years, It was like magic when In The Still Of The Night started playing. Growing up,Lubinskys father used to tell him, This is the song your mother and I used to listen to and on his death bed two years ago, the elder Levinsky told his son that he probably was conceived while In The Still Of The Night was playing, he said. If thats the case, Lubinsky certainly wasnt alone. Im pleasantly surprised by all the attention so late in life, said Parris, who has been honored twice in recent years by the city and once by St. Bernadette. On his way in, he was impressed by all the tech trucks in the St. Bernadettes parking lot and by the fact the filming would take place in the churchs sanctuary and not the basement, where the original recording took place. He said, half jokingly, Ive got my doctor with me over here, just in case. Langley, who is no stranger to making music both in New Havens churches and the areas nightspots in addition to playing with Parris over the past decade or so said, Im just blessed and fortunate that Im out there playing with him. The significance of In The Still Of The Night recorded on Feb. 19, 1956 in the music world and in American culture was lost on no one in the church, including the Rev. Carter. I was a rather social guy in high school and went to all the dances, Carter told the crowd before the Satins began, and these songs had a way of getting into your head. He told the story about how when St. Bernadette honored Parris at a prayer service a year and a half ago, a bunch of children learned In The Still Of The Night to sing along, and took the song home to their families and on the day of the service all of their parents and siblings sang along, as well. The song is timeless and has been enjoyed by so many people over the years, Carter said. The song will never die! said Edward Flynn, a St. Bernadette parishioner and retired New Haven firefighter who graduated from Wilbur Cross High School with Mazzetta in 1953, the same year Parris graduated from James Hillhouse High School. Mazzetta, 82 the guy who hooked the Satins and the late producer Marty Kugell of New Havens Standord Records up with St. Bernadettes as a place to record had a stroke a couple of years ago and said he doesnt blow his sax anymore. He watched the performance from his wheelchair. Mazzetta, a retired grocery store clerk, said hes lived a pretty normal life since those days and doesnt think playing on In The Still Of The Night changed his life in any measurable way. But his little place in history still is a point of pride for him. You know how many people recorded this song? he asked. Quite a few! The thing keeps growing. It may just be the biggest thing ever to come out of New Haven; a hauntingly beautiful some might say perfect musical gift to the world from a group of young African-American men, mostly teenagers, who in the 1950s used to sing on street corners along Dixwell Avenue. In The Still Of The Night, written by Parris while he was on guard duty with the U.S. Army in Philadelphia, was recorded in the same session as The Jones Girl while Parris and fellow Satin Al Denby were home on leave. It shot up the charts even as Parris and Denby served their country thousands of miles away in Germany and Japan. After recording it, they shipped out just days later in Denbys case; weeks later in Parris case. Those who remained had to recruit a new group to tour to support the release and the four (yes, four) Five Satins vocalists and four musicians who laid down those tracks never again performed together with exactly that lineup. Over the years before and since, at least a couple of dozen Satins sang with the group. The four vocalists that night were Parris, Denby, Jim Freeman and Ed Martin. They were joined by Bobby Mapp on drums, the late Doug Murray on bass and either Jesse Murphy or Curley Glover on piano recollections differ, although Murphy says it was him along with Mazzetta on sax. The Five Satins were the pinnacle of a rich New Haven doo-wop tradition mostly black that included The Nutmegs, The Chestnuts, The Four Havenites, The Desires, The Pyramids, Roger and the Travelers, The Van Dykes, Nicky and the Nobles and Parris The Scarlets, among others. Originally titled In The Still Of The Nite to distinguish it from the Cole Porter song by the same name, In The Still Of The Night remains one of the biggest musical hits ever selling more than 32 million copies as part of the soundtrack of the blockbuster 1987 Dirty Dancing movie alone. Parris, as founder of The Five Satins, has been inducted into both the Vocal Group Hall of Fame and the Rhythm & Blues Foundation Hall of Fame. mark.zaretsky@hearstmediact.com NEW HAVEN A Superior Court judge has given the city three days to tell her its plans on relocating the family now living in a home where all parties agree that lead paint on the exterior of the building is flaking. The New Haven Legal Assistance Association sued the city in October, claiming the Health Department did not follow city and state law, going back to 2008, to make sure lead paint at 1323 Whalley Ave., both inside the second-floor and on the exterior, had been properly removed. One of the major requests of the suit was an order by the court that the family be relocated, with the city then taking over any necessary abatement and recouping the costs through a lien on the property. Prior to the suit, the NHLAA had also sent a demand letter to the city in August outlining problems at 1323 Whalley Ave. Judge Sheila Ozalis told New Haven Corporation Counsel John Rose on Friday that the city has the power to temporarily move the five-member Guaman family in order to get the outside of the two-family home abated. The judge wants to know what that plan is by Monday so she can issue an interim order. The request for the interim order was made by NHLAA attorney Amy Marx, who told the judge at the end of a day of testimony that the amount of flaking paint on the front steps to the house that she found on Friday morning was shocking. Im concerned about the well being of the children, Marx said, referring to the three young boys in the Guaman family and other children on the first floor. Ozalis asked whether Rose had any objection to an interim order relocating the Guaman family. To be paid for by the city? Rose asked. Yes, the judge told him as Rose chuckled. Rose conceded that the lead paint on the exterior is chipping and he said he was getting to a discussion of this in court after he finished eliciting testimony on abatement of the interior. Ozalis cited a state statute providing for the removal of tenants if a poisonous hazard at their home is not fixed within a reasonable time. We are not hearing reasonable timing applied, Ozalis said. This problem has been in existence since at least August. Something has to be done, Ozalis said. Rose told the judge that he did not have easy control of the outside of the building. But Ozalis cited a city ordinance which she said allows officials to enter a property to eradicate a poisonous hazard if the owner has failed to do so. She assumed the ordinance was there to allow the city, in this case, to make sure the abatement is finished, rather than filing an arrest warrant for the landlord. As of Friday it didnt appear that the state prosecutor or a judge had signed such a warrant. The suit claims that unlawful actions and omissions by the Health Department are to blame for the lead poisoning of Jack Guaman, now 5 years old. When he was tested in 2015, his blood lead level measured seven times the measurement associated with lifelong health problems. The suit seeks a preliminary and permanent injunction, something on which Ozalis has not yet ruled . The only thing that will be addressed on Monday is the interim order on the relocation of the family. The citys defense has been that the poisoning was the fault of the landlord because he should have maintained an abatement completed in 2008 as part of an abatement plan. On Friday, lead inspector Jomika Bogan testified for hours on her actions on the lead abating of the property in 2008 and starting in August 2017. Bogan, citing lab test results, testified that the latest efforts taken inside the second-floor apartment showed the apartment had been abated of flaking lead paint. Ozalis said she is planning to visit the apartment herself on Wednesday because there is a difference of opinion between Bogan and Marx on whether the interior is free of flaking paint. The court wants a site visit over the two versions, Ozalis said. Rose told the judge that the landlord, Jong Hee Heo, is looking to again apply for a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development loan to help with the exterior abatement, but the tenants are refusing to sign the paperwork so they can be moved. Marx said she would look into getting the proper paperwork in place. Rose said there are staff at the Livable City Initiative who are familiar with the process for temporarily moving residents. Marx said LCI inspector Rafael Ramos is an expert on it and she said it could have been done on Friday if ordered. LCI and the Housing Authority of New Haven moved hundreds of tenants at the Church Street South housing complex last year when toxic mold and structural problems were uncovered. The judge told the parties to the suit what she expects on Monday. You will explain to me what has been put in place that is necessary for an interim order on the relocation or any agreements that you have been able to reach, Ozalis said. I am expecting a report back by 11:30 s.m. as to what steps have been taken what needs to be done. During testimony Friday, Marx complained that some documents she requested under the Freedom of Information Act from the Health Department were not included in a package given to her by Rose. This was corrected during a break in testimony. WEST HAVEN Leroy Harris recently sat on a couch in a comfortable apartment with his long-time companion, Gwendolyn Russell, savoring his new-found freedom as they prepared to head down to New Haven City Hall later that day to get married. Two weeks ago he was sitting in prison, fighting for his release. He had served 29 years for first-degree sexual assault and three counts of first-degree robbery, crimes he has long insisted he did not commit. Finally, on Nov. 21, two days before Thanksgiving, Harris came into court to affirm an unusual plea agreement in front of New Haven Superior Court Judge Patrick J. Clifford. Standing beside him in court were three attorneys: Alexandria Georgieva as well as Vanessa Potkin and Jane Pucher. The latter two work for the Innocence Project, based in New York. This was far different from the many years Harris worked without any legal help, using prison libraries to write legal motions in an effort to appeal his convictions. He was serving a sentence of 80 years. It was a horrible situation for the victims, Harris said of the two women who were sexually assaulted and the man who was robbed shortly beforehand. But I had nothing to do with it. I wasnt there. In the early morning hours of May 21, 1983, a nightclub owner was held up at gunpoint by three men wearing ski masks who cornered him in a parking lot on Whalley Avenue. They stole $40 from him and also took his Chevy Impala. Within the next hour, two women who had taken a wrong turn from Grand Avenue onto a dead end on Hamilton Street were stopped by a man who was standing in the middle of the street. One man approached the drivers side of the car and another man came up to the passengers side, holding a gun. A third man acted as a look-out. Two of the men robbed each of the women. They also were sexually assaulted. During the attack on one of the women, a perpetrator ripped open her blouse, which many years later led to a crucial piece of evidence. As the Innocence Project attorneys noted in their memorandum seeking to modify Harris sentence, Charles Myers and Jerome Downing ultimately admitted they were involved and pleaded guilty. Myers received a 10-year sentence and Downing was ordered to serve 17 years. Both were considerably shorter than Harris 80 years. The male robbery victim told police he couldnt identify any of the robbers and the two female victims on two occasions failed to identify Harris as a participant when shown his photo. Nevertheless, six years later during Harris trial, the women for the first time identified him as being one of the rapists. The Innocence Project attorneys called those identifications unreliable. The attorneys also noted that today such identifications would not be admissable because of a 2016 Connecticut Supreme Court decision precluding identifications made in court for the first time. Another piece of evidence state prosecutor James G. Clark had planned to use against Harris during the trial: when police showed Downing a photo of Harris, Downing said Harris was the passenger-side rapist. But as the Innocence Project attorneys noted, when Downing came to the trial to testify, he said he had falsely implicated Harris. I never saw that man before, Downing testified. I, myself, saw it as a way for me to make it lenient for me to try to get out of this with as less time as possible and made an argeement with the police officer, the New Haven Police Department. The Innocence Project attorneys alleged in their motion to modify Harris sentence that Clark engaged in misconduct during Harris trial. For example, they charged Clark put New Haven Police Detective John Dattilo on the witness stand with a completely uncorroborated claim tht Leroy Harris was the confidential informant who provided police information about Myers and Downing. The attorneys said Clark told the jury in his closing argument that this provided an important link between Harris and the crime. Clark, now executive director for the Victim Rights Center of Connecticut Inc., responded that Harris and his attorneys may not like the testimony (of Dattilo) but there is not one shred of evidence that it was false. As for the female victims identifying Harris in the courtroom as being one of the rapists, Clark called these emotionally convincing and highly credible to everyone in the courtroom. He said that because this occurred many years before the Connecticut Supreme Court ruling on courtroom identifications, it cannot be misconduct. Harris finally got the Innocence Project of New York working on his case in 2012. That offices attorneys had the Connecticut forensic lab test new DNA evidence which excluded Harris from the male DNA on the inside of one victims blouse. (Clark asserted this evidence does not exonerate Harris.) When the Innocence Project attorneys asked New Haven States Attorney Patrick Griffin to review Harris case, he agreed to do so. Griffin studied the new DNA evidence, noted the shorter sentences of the co-defendants, the number of years Harris had already served and his good disciplinary record in prison. Griffin said he also met with the one female victim who is still alive and that she did not object to modifying Harris sentence. Griffin agreed to having Clifford vacate Harris earlier convictions but Harris would then plead guilty to lesser charges of accessory to first-degree kidnapping and three counts of first-degree robbery. Clifford would impose a new sentence of 57 years, suspended after 45 years, with two years of probation. This would enable Harris to be released immediately because of credit for time already served. Harris pleaded guilty under the Alford doctrine, under which a defendant does not admit guilt but concedes the state has enough evidence to likely get a conviction. The defendant still says guilty in court when asked about each charge. The agreement also allowed the state to keep a guilty finding and thus avoid being sued. Clifford notified Harris during the hearing: Youll be waiving your right for any post-conviction relief or challenges. Harris and his attorneys were not very happy with the agreement, even though it allowed him to go home with his family, and just in time for Thanksgiving. They kept squeezing me and squeezing me until this is what they came up with, Harris said of the state. I wanted to be home with my family. Id been away from them for almost 30 years. This was the best solution. Pulcher said, These were corrupt convictions that the prosecutor should have vacated outright. We are happy to see Mr. Harris reunited with his family but this is not a fair or just outcome. When reached for comment, Griffin said, The suggestion that this was forced on him is not accurate. When you compromise, neither side gets everything they want. Griffin noted Harris had already lost four appeal attempts in hearings. Many of the same issues theyre raising were litigated previously and he lost, four times. Griffin called the plea agreeement a reasonable and proper step, a fair disposition. He added, But based on the record of those hearings and the record, I couldnt conclude he was factully innocent. Griffin said thats why he it didnt make sense to vacate the sentence. But Harris is home. At age 57 he is trying to adjust to civilian life and seeking work as a cook. He got certified for that while in prison. He praised Russell for her support throughout the whole ordeal. We were there for each other. They have been in a relationship for 35 years. His release also enabled him to reconnect with his daughter, Kadija Russell, now a young adult living in New Jersey. That was the best, he said of their reunion. I hadnt seen her in 23 years. That was my choice, not to see her when I was in jail. Harris said he learned this during all those years in prison: If you work hard, do the best you can and leave the rest up to the Lord, everything will be all right. And Im home. randall.beach@hearstmediact.com RACINE A Racine man faces charges for a string of shootings over the past few months and an armed robbery the day before Thanksgiving. Tihler B. Townes, 19, of the 1200 block of Racine Street, is charged with three counts of first-degree recklessly endangering safety, stalking, armed robbery with use of force and two counts of attempted first-degree homicide, all felonies. He is also charged with four misdemeanor counts of criminal damage to property, three counts of discharging a firearm within 100 yards of a building, carrying a concealed weapon and resisting or obstructing an officer. According to the criminal complaint: Townes was described by several victims to be the perpetrator of multiple reports of shots fired in Racine between Sept. 30 and Nov. 22. He also allegedly admitted to police his involvement in additional shootings. Townes is one of three alleged perpetrators in an armed robbery on Nov. 22 in which a victim was shot outside of JoJos Quick Mart, 4303 16th St. As the victim was sitting in a car outside the store, three men Townes and two others allegedly ran up to the car. Townes and one other suspect began punching and beating the victim. The men then reportedly robbed the victim of cash and his cell phone before the victim freed himself from the attackers and started running north, into the street. As he was running away, one of the other suspects reportedly shot the victim, striking him in the back. Townes allegedly told police that one of the other suspects was tipped off that the victim would be carrying a large amount of cash while he was at the Quick Mart. The other two suspects involved in the armed robbery have not yet been charged, according to online records. Rival gang dispute Townes reportedly admitted that on Nov. 6, he shot at a man from a rival gang from his mothers van as their two vehicles passed one another near 13th and Franklin streets. Townes girlfriend and her children were reportedly in the car at the time. Townes also is alleged to have shot at Dontrell King in the 1200 block of Highland Street on Oct. 30, after he and King got into an argument. Later that night, King reportedly shot at Townes and his girlfriend in the 1200 block of Racine Street while her four children were in the car. King was charged last month in connection to that incident. The girlfriend initially told police that only she and her children were in the vehicle at the time of the shooting, but later contacted police saying Townes was with her at the time. She said she was originally untruthful because she feared for her life. Threats made Townes reportedly told her, If you say my name, Ill kill you. Go back, call the police and get him locked up. Dont mention my name. The girlfriend allegedly told police that Townes had threatened her with a gun more than 30 times during their two-month relationship and had beaten her more than 20 times, she said. Townes was also allegedly involved in a shooting on Nov. 7, in which he reportedly admitted to emptying a magazine into a group of people in the 1100 block of Metron Court because he thought King was in the crowd. According to a neighbor, he also shot at a car at DeKoven Avenue and Howe Street on Sept. 30. On Nov. 14, Townes allegedly shot at a vehicle belonging to another victim, in the 1900 block of Howe Street. According to a press release from the Racine Police Department, Townes is also a suspect in incidents that occurred at 21st and Center streets, 13th and Highland streets and 13th Street and Grand Avenue. Townes was arrested after being questioned by the Racine Police Department. As of Thursday afternoon, Townes was still in custody on a $250,000 cash bond, online records show. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Dec. 7 at the Law Enforcement Center, 717 Wisconsin Ave. Happy New Month Nigeria! Welcome to the month of June. As the world searches for a respite from all its troubles since 2020 began, one can ... Fitchburg biotech Promega Corp. is in the national spotlight for developing a product that emits a bright blue light to help researchers keep an eye on specific proteins. The Scientist magazine has singled out Promega's HiBiT (pronounced: HI-bit) Protein Tagging System as one of the Top 10 Innovations of 2017, saying the technology "excels at measuring protein levels across the cell." HiBiT, introduced by Promega in August, consists of 11 amino acids that can be attached to a protein to track it. "One of the reasons it's exciting is that it is really small," said Amy Landreman, Promega global product manager. "And we've developed detection reagents that make that protein glow really brightly ... The blue light can be easily measured to quantify the protein." Landreman said drug companies can use it in their research to see if their compounds are effective treatments. The technology "brings the benefits of two worlds together that researchers dreamed about" -- a sensitive way to measure proteins using a small tag, said Eunice Park, director of cell pharmacology and chemical biology at C4 Therapeutics, of Cambridge, Massachusetts. HiBiT is part of a "huge portfolio" of luminescence products Promega has invented, Landreman said. In fact, this is the fourth time in six years The Scientist has named Promega's products among its top 10 annual innovations. Landreman said the recognition from The Scientist could boost sales. "One of our first goals is just raising awareness. So this type of honor helps us to reach a broader audience and get more researchers interested in our technologies," she said. Promega has nearly 1,500 employees worldwide, including nearly 900 in Dane County, with $386 million revenue in fiscal 2017. The viability of Nigerian states has been proven by the latest figures given by the National Bureau of Statistics. The National Bureau of Statistics on Friday released the Internally Generated Revenue figures for states for the third quarter of this year with the states generating a total revenue of N149.45bn. The bureau in the report, a copy of which was made available to a Punch correspondent in Abuja stated that 17 states have yet to submit their IGR report for the period. The report stated that Lagos state recorded the highest IGR with N73.74bn while Ogun state followed with N16.9bn. Akwa Ibom recorded N3.3bn in IGR, Bayelsa N4.3bn, Benue N2.3bn,Cross River N2.83bn, Delta N13bn and Ekiti N1.3bn. Others are Enugu N4.7bn, Imo N1.6bn, Jigawa N1.6bn, Kaduna N6.3bn, Ondo N2.7bn, Osun N2.4bn, Oyo N5.6bn, Plateau N2.5bn, Taraba N1.5bn, Yobe N1.1bn and Zamfara N1.2bn. It reads in part, A total of N149.45bn was generated by States in third quarter of 2017 while the Q3 2017. This excludes Rivers, Sokoto, Nasarawa, Niger, Kwara, Kano,Katsina, Kebbi, Kogi, Gombe, Edo, Born, Bauchi, Adamawa, Abia Ebonyi and Anambra States who have not yet reported their IGR figures for Q3 2017. The Acting Chairman, Revenue Mobilization, Allocation and Fiscal Commission, Shettima Abba-Gana had said the decline in allocation from federation account by over 30 per cent had made it imperative for the commission to assist states to increase their Internally Generated Revenue. He said while some states have made efforts at increasing their IGR to a level that is up to the amount they get from federation account, others are yet to make such efforts. Abba-Gana said, We have a resilient economy that despite the drop in revenue by one third, things are still going on although with difficulty and we are improving. Some states have now been able to raise the Internally Generated Revenue to a level that is enough to pay their salaries. And the others are also catching on. There is an increase in interest by the states to raise their IGR and to diversify. Some states are already generating the same amount that they receive from the federation account and we must commend those states. But what we want is that other states should also improve on their IGR and also grasp the opportunities of the diversification program in the areas of agriculture, solid minerals and tourism state. He added, Every state in Nigeria has solid minerals and what needs to be done now is to get them to create employment,economic growth and generate revenue. Philippe Coutinho and Roberto Firmino buried Brighton to keep Liverpool's top-four charge on track.The Brazilian duo, ably assisted by Mohamed Salah, tore the Seagulls to shreds in a thumping 5-1 victory.Emre Can opened the scoring before Firmino added a quickfire second and then doubled his tally in the second half.Glenn Murray pulled one back from the penalty spot but Coutinho hit the fourth and then forced an own-goal from Lewis Dunk to complete the rout.Injuries and illness had forced Jurgen Klopp to play with two midfielders, Can and Georginio Wijnaldum, alongside his only fit centre-half, Dejan Lovren, in a makeshift back three.But when the Reds boss has a front three in this kind of form he could probably dispense with centre-backs altogether.Since losing heavily to Tottenham in mid-October, Klopp's side have now taken 16 points from a possible 18.It was not all plain sailing on the south coast, though. Liverpool's unfamiliar rearguard got themselves into a mess after a quarter of an hour to almost gift Brighton a shock lead.Wijnaldum's pass was intercepted and the ball was moved out to Chelsea loanee Izzy Brown on the left wing, but Murray could not convert his cross.At the other end Brighton were holding firm despite the constant probing of Salah and Coutinho.So manager Chris Hughton will have been hugely frustrated that they fell behind to a regulation set-piece, Can nodding in Coutinho's corner on the half hour.Just 79 seconds later they conceded again, but this time it came from a ruthless assault from the Reds' fearsome threesome.Salah led the charge before feeding Coutinho who swept a first-time cross in behind the Brighton defence for Firmino to tap in from six yards.Moments after half-time Brighton should have scored when Murray met another Brown cross but Simon Mignolet somehow kept the ball out at point-blank range.And Brighton were immediately, and brutally, exposed once more as Salah went marauding up the field, taking four home defenders with him before slipping the ball to the unmarked Firmino to hit number three.The Seagulls did get on the scoresheet when Jordan Henderson fouled Shane Duffy at a corner and Murray tucked away the penalty.They almost set up a nervy finale when substitute Jose Izquierdo wriggled into the area but Trent Alexander-Arnold's last-ditch challenge saved the Reds.Instead Coutinho secured the points when he cheekily rolled a free-kick under the wall, and then saw his shot deflected in by Dunk to complete the scoring.ends. In the midst of the uproar over revelations that Libyan nationals are buying and selling migrants as slaves in Libya, it has been revealed that Nigerians based in the country also sell their fellow countrymen.This emerged as more Nigerians are repatriated by the International Organisation for Migration with the backing of the European Union in an ongoing exercise that has seen 1,295 retrieved from Libya in November alone.Since the beginning of 2017, IOM-facilitated repatriation has brought back 5,578 Nigerian migrants, who were trapped in and outside prisons across Libya.On Thursday night, 150 migrants from mostly Edo and Delta states arrived the country aboard a Buraq Airplane at the cargo terminal of the Murtala International Airport, Lagos. It was two days after 239 migrants had also been brought into the country.Many of the returnees, who were thankful for being back, confirmed to Saturday PUNCH that they were sold by their fellow countrymen, who were getting rich in Libya.One of them, 26-year-old Odion Saliu, a hairdresser from Edo State, said she was kidnapped and handed over to a Nigerian, who forced her to call her mother.According to her, her mother in Benin paid N200, 000 but she was again sold by the same Nigerian for 3,000 dinars (about N794, 000).Saliu explained that the Nigerians spoke Pidgin English and some Nigerian languages.She said, When I was kidnapped with others and held for some weeks, the Arabs asked if I wanted to be taken to a Nigerian and I readily said yes. I was very happy that I was going to someone from my country. But it was a lie.The Nigerian they took me to locked me in a cell and told me to call my mother and ask for N60, 000. The man said he would sell me to a connection house if my family did not get the money. I called to inform my mother and the trafficker who facilitated my journey from Nigeria.But the trafficker spoke with them on the phone and told them the amount they demanded was too small. They increased it to N200, 000. My mother paid into an account after they provided her with the account number over the phone.The Nigerian said if I wanted to cross the sea, I had to pay him again. But when we got to the seaside, he sold me again.Another Edo State indigene, Sunday Anyaegbunam, left Nigeria along with his wife in April.He said during their nine-day journey through the desert, they were sold twice by Nigerians.According to him, when their Nigerian burger (trafficker) sold them to another set of Libyan traffickers at Agadez, Niger, the traffickers sold him and his wife to a Nigerian who took them to Sabha, Libya, where they were separated in different cells.We were made to contact our families on the phone and I had to ensure the payment of N400, 000 for my release and N300, 000 for my wife, Anyaegbunam said.Like others, he could only identify the Nigerians trading in their countrymen in Libya through the Nigerian languages they spoke and their accent.He said, The Nigerians selling people in Libya are more wicked than many of the Arabs. I have never seen people so heartless as the Nigerians who bought and sold me.There are many of them in Agadez and Sabha, who are making so much money from selling their own people. But there are other West Africans doing the business too.When you approach them and say, Please, my brother, help me. They would tell you, No brother in the jungle.A 25-year-old woman, Esosa Osas, who was in Libya for six months, said she also met many Nigerians selling their countrymen.You dare not talk to them, else they would beat you and lock you up. They sell women for 5,000 dinars and men for N4, 000 dinars. I noticed that the connection houses were also controlled by Nigerian women.All these accounts were corroborated by 35-year-old Harrison Okotie who lived in Libya for three years until his repatriation.Nigerians and Libyans are doing the business like they are one big happy family, he said.Most of the migrants who arrived Nigeria on Thursday were from Edo State.Officials of the states task force on illegal migration were on hand with luxurious buses to transport their people back home.A member of the task force, Mr. Okoduwa Solomon, told Saturday PUNCH that his team had made six such journeys to the airport within the last one month to take their indigenes repatriated from Libya back home.He said, The first process is to take them through counselling, then we profile them.After that, we put them in a home that the state government has provided for the returnees. The Edo State Government is paying each of the returnees from the state a stipend.They are going to undergo a training in agriculture, poultry, fishery and others to make them useful to themselves and the system.Officials of the National Emergency Management Agency coordinate the reception of the returnees at the airport.South West Zonal Coordinator of the agency, Mr. Yakubu Sulaiman, said the returnees would be lodged in a hotel where they would have the chance to clean up before their journey back home.Meanwhile, President, Women Arise and Centre for Change, Dr. Joe Okei-Odumakin, has called on the Federal Government to use all diplomatic channels to prevail on the Libyan authorities to ensure the dignity of our people.She said in a statement on Friday that it was an embarrassment that Nigerians who were treated like royalty in the past were being dehumanised in a foreign land.We must build a country where our people have opportunities to prosper and lead useful and productive lives and will only travel on leisure and business and not as illegal migrants desperate to live anywhere other than Nigeria, she said.Meanwhile, Head, African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, has said that over 400,000 Nigerians and others remain stranded in Libya.Hundreds of thousands more 400,000 to 700, 000, according to Mahamat remain stranded.European and African leaders have set themselves a tall order to stamp out horrific abuse of African migrants, some of them are Nigerians in Libya, where thousands are suffering in a vast, lawless territory.On Thursday, a summit of the African Union and the European Union set a goal of immediately repatriating 3,800 migrants languishing in a camp near Tripoli.But experts pointed to a daunting array of hurdles, from extracting migrants in perilous situations to giving them incentives to stay put when they return home.Even so, the summits commitment, initiated by outrage over a CNN television report on black Africans being sold as slaves in Libya, is being welcomed.It is a step in the right direction, International Organisation for Migration Europe Director, Eugenio Ambrosi, told Agence France Presse by phone from Brussels.It is a little bit too much to think it will solve the slavery issue, but it would definitely mitigate (it) to some extent, Ambrosi said.He said the summit also showed there was now international watchdog pressure that could be brought to bear on the criminal gangs, but it must be sustained.The drive was announced at a meeting on the summit sidelines organised by French President, Emmanuel Macron.It brought together eight other EU and African countries as well as the AU, EU and United Nations representatives.Macron said the UN-backed Libyan government of Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj had identified and granted access to the worst camps to enable the returns of people who want to go home.The Macron group also decided to work with a task force, involving the sharing of police and intelligence services, to dismantle the networks and their financing and detain traffickers, he said.They pledged to freeze the assets of identified traffickers. The AU is expected to set up an investigative panel and the UN could take cases before the International Court of Justice.Libya calls for campaign against human traffickingThe Libyan government has condemned the reported auction of West Africans in its capital Tripoli, noting that the criminal practice was not part of the culture of the Libyan people.It called for an international campaign against illegal migration and demanded an end to exploitation, the suffering of the ambitious African man looking for better life in Europe and human trafficking right from the country of source.Speaking on the alleged auction of West Africans in his country at a press conference on Friday in Abuja, the Charge dAffairs and ambassador-designate, Libyan embassy in Nigeria, Dr. Attia Alkhoder, explained that his government had ordered the relevant agency to carry out a comprehensive investigation into the incident.He said the government was concerned about illegal migration and human trafficking, adding that Libya needed technical and logistical support to control its southern border, which is the major route for illegal migration across the Mediterranean Sea.The diplomat criticised the media for attacking and holding his country responsible for the slaves auction, noting that human trafficking and the reported slaves auction were done by individuals and not the Libyan authorities.Alkhoder said, Libya renews its call to put an end to exploitation, the suffering of the ambitious African man looking for better life in Europe and human trafficking.Libya calls for an international campaign to put an end to this phenomenon by providing security and border control to end the Libyan crisis, unify its government institutions and end the transition system that contributed a lot in the weakening control of territory.The envoy noted that solving illegal migration was a collective responsibility involving countries of origin, transit and destination.He added that Libya spent a lot of money accommodating immigrants and facilitating their voluntary return to their countries, insisting that curbing illegal migration needed serious coordination of international efforts.Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State has approved a seed capital of N100m and 150 hectares of land for 150 victims of human trafficking, who recently completed skills acquisition training in the state.Obaseki announced this on Friday during the graduation of the participants of the programme, which was organised by the Edo Agricultural Development Programme in Benin City, the state capital.He also directed the Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources to immediately liaise with the relevant authorities towards securing the land for the returnees to commence their agricultural businesses.According to the governor, the beneficiaries would be put under the supervision of the Benin-Owena River Basin Authority and the EADP.Obaseki stressed the need for coordinated efforts to end modern slavery.He stated that the International Day for the Abolition of Slavery, marked on December 2 annually by the United Nations, should be seen as a day for deep reflection on how to bring the illicit trade to an end.Obaseki said, We ordinarily should not be talking about the menace of slavery given the experience we have had. But it is a reality today and we have no choice but to tackle it.However, it is pertinent to point out the fact that modern-day slavery, in its various forms, such as forced labour, debt bondage, and human trafficking, has no place among us. To effectively abolish slave trade as we have it today, it takes a coordinated, deep-reaching, international coalition that will take into cognisance the various forms of modern-day slavery and compel perpetrators to back down.He, however, commended the returnees, comprising 51 trained on crop production, 15 on agro-processing, 68 on livestock farming and 52 on fish farming, for participating in the programme.He also urged them to be ambassadors in the state-wide campaign against human trafficking and illegal migration.Earlier, the Programme Manager of the EADP, Mr. Peter Aikhuomobhogbe, commended the state government for initiating the training and expressed optimism that the trainees would put the skills acquired to good use. In a no holds barred interview with Publisher of Ovation Magazine, Chief Dele Momodu, Former Nigerian Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar disclosed that current Nigerian President was denied Visa to the United States of America for 15 yeas on religious grounds.Read full article below:Fellow Nigerians, Ive always wondered what drives or propels the man, former Vice President of Nigeria, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar. For real, I have never seen a man so fastidious about his dream and so obstinate about achieving a lifelong ambition to be the number one Nigerian Citizen. Ive followed his trajectory with keen interest since 1993 when he took on both Chief Moshood Abiola and Baba Gana Kingibe, in an epic Presidential primary, that Chief Abiola ultimately won. His formidability we were told was a result of the influence of his godfather and political colossus, Major General Shehu Musa YarAdua, now of blessed memory. Chief Abiola actually reached out to the General, as he was fondly called, to prevail on Atiku to pull out of the race and support him. A deal was subsequently struck, between Abiola and YarAdua, for Atiku to be Abiolas running-mate. Everything looked good on paper until the powerful and influential Social Democratic Party (SDP) Governors threw spanners in the works, forcing Abiola to renege on his word. Whilst Abiola wanted Atiku, the Governors led by the irrepressible Olusegun Osoba, from Abiolas home State of Ogun, insisted on Abiola picking Kingibe. They convinced Abiola that it was dangerous to pick Atiku who would have been more loyal and too submissive to his godfather.I have no doubt that from that moment onwards, the June 12 Presidential election was already threatened and endangered. According to insiders, the General was so miffed and enraged that he swore Abiola would not be President for dumping his godson. Efforts were made by different personages to settle the matter, but it seemed the camaraderie was over between Abiola and YarAdua who, once upon a time, were successful business partners at African Ocean Lines.Anyway, Atiku was kicked out of the race to fight another day. Abiola won the Presidential election eventually but was never allowed to assume power. The June 12 election fallout led to a cataclysmic eruption that consumed many of the big players, including Abiola, his wife, Alhaja Kudirat, Major-General YarAdua and General Sani Abacha. The boss of bosses, General Olusegun Obasanjo, escaped only by the whiskers. He was jailed but came back to be President. Ironically, the same Atiku who was not allowed to be the Vice-Presidential candidate in 1993 became the substantive Vice President in 1999, when he ran, and won, with Obasanjo. Whilst Obasanjo emerged, in a bid to assuage the betrayed and wounded Yoruba, Atikus choice appears to have been predicated on the sense of injustice that he had suffered as a result of being dumped by Abiola.Everything initially ran smoothly between Obasanjo and Atiku in their first term in office, from 1999 to 2003. However, the relationship collapsed when Atiku started showing interest in the number one position. I will not bore you with the rest of that fiasco, including the anecdotal humbling of Obasanjo who allegedly had to beg his deputy, Atiku, to allow him a second term. My mission was to provide some background to Atikus uncommon trajectory. He has pursued his dream since 1993 and has never given up. That was 24 years ago. Indeed, Atiku has been in partisan politics for 28 years but only served in government for eight years. He has criss-crossed different political parties in search of that magic wand that could give him his hearts desire. It has been a painful journey. Hes been dissed and lampooned as a serial decampee famed for wandering endlessly in the wilderness of Nigerian politics. That, for many people, is a major weakness which signals integrity issues. There are other minuses weighing on him like an albatross. How does he deal with these very serious issues of perception or misperception?The opportunity came for me to engage him very critically, and very privately, yesterday afternoon in Lagos. A mutual friend had called to arrange the meeting at Atikus behest. I gladly accepted not only as I was anxious to bombard him with many nagging questions, but also because by some quirk of fate, the political gladiators for the number one hot seat in Nigeria seem to feel that a session with me is a sine qua non for their aspiration. Im deeply humbled by that trust.The meeting was arranged for Lagos. Atiku had arrived on Thursday. I arrived in Lagos yesterday afternoon from Abuja where I had been the Chief Presenter of Mallam Bolaji Abdullahis book, On a Platter of Gold, chronicling President Goodluck Jonathans twilight days as President. I checked into my hotel just before 12 noon and put a call through to his room. He told me to give him a short time to freshen up and invite me over. Hes obviously been doing a lot of consultations and was working well into the early mornings. I dozed off. Suddenly, I was awoken from my slumber by banging on my door. I stood up to look through the peephole and was pleasantly surprised to see the most-talked about politician of the moment at my door. I opened the door and Atiku immediately apologised for the intrusion. He came without any aide, so we were both comfortable to talk frankly.I thanked him for the honour of actually coming to me and asked if he wont mind me asking some tough questions. He said that was fine and I should feel free. My first shot was about his moving from Party to Party. Does this not make him look desperate and unserious? He must have answered this question a thousand times because he wasted no time in answering very calmly and confidently:There is nothing wrong with it. Ours is a fledgling democracy of barely two decades since the end of the last military regime. What it means is that the political parties are yet to mature and are going through constant transformations and changes. That is why even President Buhari has been able to move from party to party, including ANPP, CPC and now APC. And for those who read about world history and political books like I do, they will know that Abraham Lincoln, Sir Winston Churchill and others went through so much before achieving their dreamsHe went further: Im not different. I know what I want for my country. Ive served Nigeria in different capacities and I am one of the most experienced leaders around today. There is no part of Nigeria Im not familiar with. I have friends everywhere. They know me and I know them. The benefit of being around for so long is that they have come to know me for certain principles and know that I have a rich knowledge of Nigeria and what it would take to move us to the height of greatness. They can also trust me that Im not coming to government to steal their money. God has blessed me with business acumen. How can you run a nation if you cannot run your own business? I run my businesses to international standards. Let any of those who want to compete with me show what they have managed successfully. Ive lifted over 45,000 families out of joblessness and poverty through my microfinance company in my State Adamawa and weve have empowered mostly women. The good news is these women have been very honest. Returns on our loans have been about 98 percent. They have not disappeared with the loans given then. We plan to replicate this nationwideI asked if he was obsessed with being President at all costs. His answer was an emphatic, No! He asked rhetorically why he should not give back some of his experience and exposure to a country that has given him so much? Why should he allow incompetent people to run down the country when God has given him the talent and wherewithal to lift up Nigeria?I told him the belief out there is that he is a corrupt man and that the stain wont be easy to remove. His former boss, General Olusegun Obasanjo, has sold us that line, and would stop at nothing to regale the world that Atiku is a thief who nobody should vote for. Atikus response was very concise and assertive: I have the highest regards for my boss. He gave me eight years to serve Nigeria under him. We had our differences but we both tried our best. But on the issue of corruption, I have challenged anyone, anywhere, who has any evidence of corruption against me to come forward. Im sure they would have combed everywhere trying to find anything incriminating against me, but they have not found it, or they are still searching. Dele, Im throwing that challenge again, let them bring out whatever they have on meI followed with a bazooka and asked him how come you are running away from the United States of America? What offence have you committed to warrant not being able to visit, since all this time? Atiku fired back at me: It is the sole prerogative of America to determine who they want in their country or not. Im not running away from America. I applied, but wasnt issued a visa. However, they did not decline me categorically either. Theyve only said my application is going through administrative process. This is not peculiar to me. For about 15 years, Buhari could not enter America on account of religious considerations. The current Indian Prime Minister, Modi, suffered the same fate for years. Today, he is being treated to red carpet treatment in America.. I fly to different parts of the world, including Europe, if America wanted me, it would be so easy for them to reach out to their alliesWe soon dovetailed to the nitty-gritty of politics. Why did he not wait to contest the primaries in APC first and see the outcome before running away? I felt this was defeatist! His response: After Buhari won the election, he was no longer interested in the Party that made him President. Every activity stopped and not even the Party Chairman, Chief John Oyegun, could take any decision. I called Chief Oyegun a few times to tell him our Party was dying slowly but he told me he would not do anything unless he got clearance from the President. At a stage, I gathered about 18 prominent members and began to meet in the hope that we can re-energise Party activities, but some people lied to the President that I wanted to use the forum to launch my Presidential campaign. That forum became simply dead on arrival. No BOT, no NEC meetings, as stipulated in our Constitution. The Party became a one-man property. Everyone grumbles behind the Presidents back but they are too timid to raise a voice against the illegalities being perpetuated. I should be bold enough to know what I want, and can do so at my age, so I decided to leaveSo, where is he going from here? He says he hasnt formally declared for any Party, but is sure PDP is waiting to welcome him back into the Party he co-founded with others at the end of military rule. I asked if he has any guarantee of getting the PDP ticket. He told me why he should get it: Nothing is absolutely certain in this life, but PDP needs a candidate with the brightest chance and that can only come from someone who has major experience, exposure, knowledge about running an economy, who is a Nationalist and not a sectionalist and whose brand cannot be intimidated in anyway by that of the current President. If PDP picks a weak candidate, then the Party is doomed. Some of those whose names are being touted and bandied about have not grown beyond their immediate domains.If he gets the PDP ticket, is he confident he can beat a sitting President and Buhari for that matter? I will definitely beat him this time. He has wasted a lot of his massive goodwill. A lot of people are disgruntled but keeping quiet and lying low. Our youths are suffering terribly and now they are being sold into slavery. Everyone knows my track record of inviting and attracting a good team and giving them the opportunity to work professionally. Nigerians are tired of leaders who cannot think big and work big. Dele, I will be ready from day oneIs he not afraid of Buhari? No, definitely not. Buhari is free to contest and Im free to contest. And Nigerians will make their choice. I could see that glow in his eyes. He sounded determined and more prepared at this time, than at any other time.Will Atiku play a joker as his last card in 2019? Time will tell. Thousands of Nigerians have been repatriated by the International Organisation for Migration with the backing of the European Union in an... Since the beginning of 2017, IOM-facilitated repatriation has brought back 5,578 Nigerian migrants, who were trapped in and outside prisons across Libya.On Thursday night, 150 migrants from mostly Edo and Delta states arrived the country aboard a Buraq Airplane at the cargo terminal of the Murtala International Airport, Lagos. It was two days after 239 migrants had also been brought into the country.Many of the returnees, who were thankful for being back, confirmed to newsmen that they were sold by their fellow countrymen, who were getting rich in Libya.One of them, 26-year-old Odion Saliu, a hairdresser from Edo State, said she was kidnapped and handed over to a Nigerian, who forced her to call her mother.According to her, her mother in Benin paid N200, 000 but she was again sold by the same Nigerian for 3,000 dinars (about N794, 000).Saliu explained that the Nigerians spoke Pidgin English and some Nigerian languages.She said, When I was kidnapped with others and held for some weeks, the Arabs asked if I wanted to be taken to a Nigerian and I readily said yes. I was very happy that I was going to someone from my country. But it was a lie.The Nigerian they took me to locked me in a cell and told me to call my mother and ask for N60, 000. The man said he would sell me to a connection house if my family did not get the money. I called to inform my mother and the trafficker who facilitated my journey from Nigeria.But the trafficker spoke with them on the phone and told them the amount they demanded was too small. They increased it to N200, 000. My mother paid into an account after they provided her with the account number over the phone.The Nigerian said if I wanted to cross the sea, I had to pay him again. But when we got to the seaside, he sold me again.Another Edo State indigene, Sunday Anyaegbunam, left Nigeria along with his wife in April.He said during their nine-day journey through the desert, they were sold twice by Nigerians.According to him, when their Nigerian burger (trafficker) sold them to another set of Libyan traffickers at Agadez, Niger, the traffickers sold him and his wife to a Nigerian who took them to Sabha, Libya, where they were separated in different cells.We were made to contact our families on the phone and I had to ensure the payment of N400, 000 for my release and N300, 000 for my wife, Anyaegbunam said.Like others, he could only identify the Nigerians trading in their countrymen in Libya through the Nigerian languages they spoke and their accent.He said, The Nigerians selling people in Libya are more wicked than many of the Arabs. I have never seen people so heartless as the Nigerians who bought and sold me.There are many of them in Agadez and Sabha, who are making so much money from selling their own people. But there are other West Africans doing the business too.When you approach them and say, Please, my brother, help me. They would tell you, No brother in the jungle.A 25-year-old woman, Esosa Osas, who was in Libya for six months, said she also met many Nigerians selling their countrymen.You dare not talk to them, else they would beat you and lock you up. They sell women for 5,000 dinars and men for N4, 000 dinars. I noticed that the connection houses were also controlled by Nigerian women.All these accounts were corroborated by 35-year-old Harrison Okotie who lived in Libya for three years until his repatriation.Nigerians and Libyans are doing the business like they are one big happy family, he said.Most of the migrants who arrived Nigeria on Thursday were from Edo State.Officials of the states task force on illegal migration were on hand with luxurious buses to transport their people back home.A member of the task force, Mr. Okoduwa Solomon, told Saturday PUNCH that his team had made six such journeys to the airport within the last one month to take their indigenes repatriated from Libya back home.He said, The first process is to take them through counselling, then we profile them.After that, we put them in a home that the state government has provided for the returnees. The Edo State Government is paying each of the returnees from the state a stipend.They are going to undergo a training in agriculture, poultry, fishery and others to make them useful to themselves and the system.Officials of the National Emergency Management Agency coordinate the reception of the returnees at the airport.South West Zonal Coordinator of the agency, Mr. Yakubu Sulaiman, said the returnees would be lodged in a hotel where they would have the chance to clean up before their journey back home.Meanwhile, President, Women Arise and Centre for Change, Dr. Joe Okei-Odumakin, has called on the Federal Government to use all diplomatic channels to prevail on the Libyan authorities to ensure the dignity of our people.She said in a statement on Friday that it was an embarrassment that Nigerians who were treated like royalty in the past were being dehumanised in a foreign land.We must build a country where our people have opportunities to prosper and lead useful and productive lives and will only travel on leisure and business and not as illegal migrants desperate to live anywhere other than Nigeria, she said.Meanwhile, Head, African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, has said that over 400,000 Nigerians and others remain stranded in Libya.Hundreds of thousands more 400,000 to 700, 000, according to Mahamat remain stranded.European and African leaders have set themselves a tall order to stamp out horrific abuse of African migrants, some of them are Nigerians in Libya, where thousands are suffering in a vast, lawless territory.On Thursday, a summit of the African Union and the European Union set a goal of immediately repatriating 3,800 migrants languishing in a camp near Tripoli.But experts pointed to a daunting array of hurdles, from extracting migrants in perilous situations to giving them incentives to stay put when they return home.Even so, the summits commitment, initiated by outrage over a CNN television report on black Africans being sold as slaves in Libya, is being welcomed.It is a step in the right direction, International Organisation for Migration Europe Director, Eugenio Ambrosi, told Agence France Presse by phone from Brussels.It is a little bit too much to think it will solve the slavery issue, but it would definitely mitigate (it) to some extent, Ambrosi said.He said the summit also showed there was now international watchdog pressure that could be brought to bear on the criminal gangs, but it must be sustained.The drive was announced at a meeting on the summit sidelines organised by French President, Emmanuel Macron.It brought together eight other EU and African countries as well as the AU, EU and United Nations representatives.Macron said the UN-backed Libyan government of Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj had identified and granted access to the worst camps to enable the returns of people who want to go home.The Macron group also decided to work with a task force, involving the sharing of police and intelligence services, to dismantle the networks and their financing and detain traffickers, he said.They pledged to freeze the assets of identified traffickers. The AU is expected to set up an investigative panel and the UN could take cases before the International Court of Justice.Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State has approved a seed capital of N100m and 150 hectares of land for 150 victims of human trafficking, who recently completed skills acquisition training in the state.Obaseki announced this on Friday during the graduation of the participants of the programme, which was organised by the Edo Agricultural Development Programme in Benin City, the state capital.He also directed the Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources to immediately liaise with the relevant authorities towards securing the land for the returnees to commence their agricultural businesses.According to the governor, the beneficiaries would be put under the supervision of the Benin-Owena River Basin Authority and the EADP.Obaseki stressed the need for coordinated efforts to end modern slavery.He stated that the International Day for the Abolition of Slavery, marked on December 2 annually by the United Nations, should be seen as a day for deep reflection on how to bring the illicit trade to an end.Obaseki said, We ordinarily should not be talking about the menace of slavery given the experience we have had. But it is a reality today and we have no choice but to tackle it.However, it is pertinent to point out the fact that modern-day slavery, in its various forms, such as forced labour, debt bondage, and human trafficking, has no place among us. To effectively abolish slave trade as we have it today, it takes a coordinated, deep-reaching, international coalition that will take into cognisance the various forms of modern-day slavery and compel perpetrators to back down.He, however, commended the returnees, comprising 51 trained on crop production, 15 on agro-processing, 68 on livestock farming and 52 on fish farming, for participating in the programme.He also urged them to be ambassadors in the state-wide campaign against human trafficking and illegal migration.Earlier, the Programme Manager of the EADP, Mr. Peter Aikhuomobhogbe, commended the state government for initiating the training and expressed optimism that the trainees would put the skills acquired to good use. Governor of Delta, Chief James Ibori, on Friday described Chief Raymond Dokpesi as a passionate loyalist of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), saying he had toiled for the party.Ibori said in Oghara when he received Dokpesi, a national chairmanship aspirant of the party, that the aspirant was enjoying huge confidence of party members because of his record and commitment.He pledged to give necessary support to the aspiration and prayed that God would guide him.Earlier, Dokpesi had told the former governor that his visit was to solicit support for his aspiration, saying that Ibori was a stakeholder in the PDP.In Benin, Edo, Dokpesi visited Chief Gabriel Igbinedion, who said that the aspirant was a dogged democrat and fighter for the enthronement of internal democracy and equity in the party.Similarly, a chieftain of PDP in the state, Mr Ben Edo-Osagie, described Dokpesi as a brave man with credibility, adding that in spite of all intimidations, he remained in the party and gave it his all.Credibility and total alliance is what is needed at this stage to rebuild the PDP. This party requires re-branding, re-packaging and re-focusing to win the 2019 general elections.I believe that Dokpesi is the foremost dynamic person to lead the PDP to victory in 2019, Edo-Osagie said.Also receiving the aspirant, PDP candidate in the 2017 governorship election in Edo, Mr Osagie Ize-Iyamu, said Dokpesi was a party leader that the state was always proud of.He said that the man had paid his dues in any area required to be PDPs national chairman.Ize-Iyamu assured that as a son of Edo, the party members in the state would pull resources to support Dokpesi, adding that it was wrong for anybody to insinuate that he was or would be rejected in his home.He commended the aspirant for his matured and peaceful campaigns, adding that he had brought flamboyance to the race to the chairmanship race.He appealed to all the aspirants not to be hostile in their campaigns,Dokpesi called for the dedication of leaders and members to ensure stability in the party, saying that cohesion was needed for the party to regain power at the national level.He said he had been to the northern part of the country and the South-West for campaign, and that the enthusiasm of members for the strengthening of the party was impressive.Dokpesi urged the leaders to support his ambition, pledging that PDPs credibility and acceptability by most Nigerians would be restored if he was elected. As the A Buraq Airs Boeing 737 with tail number 5A-DMG landed on the tarmac of the cargo terminal of the Murtala International Airport ... As the A Buraq Airs Boeing 737 with tail number 5A-DMG landed on the tarmac of the cargo terminal of the Murtala International Airport and out came 20-year-old Clement Chibuzor, along with 149 other Nigerians whose ghoulish appearances told of the horrific experiences they must have experienced in Libya.Over the past two weeks, Nigerians have added their voices to the global uproar over the exposed tales of slave trade, torture and killings of migrants in Libya.Over 5,000 Nigerians have been repatriated from Libya by the International Organisation for Migration since the beginning of 2017.Each time a new batch of returnees arrive, they bring with them tales of horror from the transit country, where they hoped to take the treacherous journey through the Mediterranean Sea.Our source spoke with many of the returnees as they touched down on Thursday night. They told the tales of mans inhumanity to man.Chibuzor, a Delta State indigene, was just a teenager working as a Plaster of Paris artisan when his father met a trafficker, who told him he could get his son to Europe.The young lad had worked as a POP artisan for eight months with little money in his pocket, his father told him not to worry about the money.I never thought about going to Europe. My father was the one who brought the idea. He sold his land and raised N450,000 which he gave to my burger (trafficker). He did not tell my mother until I was already in Libya, Chibuzor said.The young man spent 18 months in Libya. He left the country, a hopeful man. On Thursday, he returned like a mere cargo, thankful to be back to safety.As he stepped off the plane, Chibuzor looked nothing like a 20-year-old.His hollow cheeks told of starvation while his skin told of suffering in disease-ridden cells.After many of my co-travellers died in the desert, I was kidnapped as soon as I got to Libya. I was in prison for four months until my father sent N300,000 for my release.In the prison, our food was a piece of bread every day. When I got out of the prison. I was on the street one day when I met a Nigerian who promised to help me. I worked in his house for some weeks until he sold me to a gang. They kept me in a cell. I was there for a very long time. I cannot count the number of people who died in the cell.The police were raiding different places where black people were kept and I willingly surrendered to the police. That was how I got an opportunity to come back to Nigeria.While working on the streets of Libya, if the gangs saw you, they would grab you and put you in a cell. They put you in a cell with many others where you would either be sold or made to call your people to pay for your freedom.While I was trying to get money the to free myself from the prison, I spoke with my father two months ago. He then told me that if I had the chance, I should return home. I told him that I might die before I had the opportunity to return home because I saw people die every day.We drank urine, fuel in desert Kelvin, 21Many of the returnees who shared their experiences like Chibuzor, vowed never to attempt the dangerous journey again. But experts say that so far as there are few success stories amidst the deaths, some of the returnees may try again when the shock of their time in Libya wear off.Kelvin Sunday, 21, an Edo State indigene, who returned with Chibuzor, told newsmen that he was in Libya for seven months.He spent N965,000 to get to Libya after raising the money with the help of friends and his my sister.Sunday explained that a friend of his, who made it to Europe, convinced him to embark on the journey.According to him, 41 of them set out in Kano for the journey through the desert but only 10 made it to Libya.He said their fate was sealed when their vehicle developed an engine fault in the desert.Sunday said, We were in the desert for three days without food or water. We were drinking our urine to survive. It got to a point that when there was no more urine to drink, we started to drink fuel.When we got to Libya, I was working in my burgers house. I spent two weeks there before I went to the seaside (in Tripoli) where we would cross. From Sabha to the seaside in Tripoli, I spent two weeks. On the way, some traffickers kidnapped us. They beat and loaded us into their Hilux van, but few of us jumped down and I broke my leg. I managed to escape as they were shooting.We spent two days in the desert again after that escape. We later saw a motorist whom we begged to help us get to the seaside.We were camped at the seaside for three months without any opportunity to cross through the seas. People trying to cross the sea told me to avoid Nigerians helping Libyans to sell people. But later our camp was raided by soldiers, who took us to prison.He had spent four months in the cell before luck smiled on him and IOM officials effected his repatriation along with many others. Originally slated for demolition, the public housing complex that's been at the center of a displacement debate in Newark could keep its doors open under a new plan developed by the city's housing authority. But whatever shape the storied Millard E. Terrell Homes takes, it likely won't remain entirely low-income housing. On Thursday, the Board of Commissioners for the Newark Housing Authority approved hiring NW Financial Group for $50,000 to consult on a redevelopment plan for Terrell Homes. Victor Cirilo, the new executive director of the agency, said a planner would also be hired to address the conditions and potential for the property. Both contracts, he said, were publicly bid. "We want to preserve the character of the site as much as ownership of the site by NHA," Cirilo said, adding that the goal was also to "maintain the level of community." A core group of residents has fought to save Terrell Homes after the agency announced it planned to seek demolition of the buildings. NHA said it doesn't have enough money to repair the property. Residents who want to stay argued the city was not building affordable housing to meet demand and worried they'd have nowhere to go. The housing authority, which receives federal funding, must ask the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for permission to demolish all or part of the property. The application must show all or some of the property is obsolete and not worth saving, according to HUD. Facing increased pressure from residents, the Board of Commissioners declined to vote on whether to authorize the demolition application in April. But in a later reversal, agreed to submit the demolition application in October. Cirilo, who started his tenure at the agency shortly after the vote, said he wanted to make sure residents who wanted to stay on the property could do so. He said 198 residents are still living at Terrell Homes and many want to find housing elsewhere. "We're not in the business of creating homeless situations," he told NJ Advance Media. "We're in the business of housing families." The agency still plans to submit a demolition application to HUD by the end of the year but is also exploring redevelopment options that would allow long-term residents to stay on the property, though they may be temporarily moved. Rosemary Horsely, who moved into the complex when she was 3 years old, said relocating residents during any redevelopment was "not fair." "That's just a way of getting rid of residents," she said. Cirilo said because of the difficulties of obtaining financing, Terrell Homes would likely be mixed-income housing. "Isolating low-income families is an old policy that doesn't work," he said. Board chairman Charles Bell, who stepped down on Thursday after serving three years on the board, credited Cirilo for coming up with a plan for Terrell Homes that would not displace long-term residents who wanted to stay. "We got lucky, we got a good choice," he said. "Now I can go and relax." Bell, who was appointed by Mayor Ras Baraka, said he was stepping down for health and family reasons. Karen Yi may be reached at kyi@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter at @karen_yi or on Facebook. Two Dane County judges, deciding together, ruled Friday that former UW-Madison student Alec Cook, who is accused of sexual assault and harassment of female students, will be tried outside of Dane County, citing intense media coverage and publicity that the case has received that would make it too difficult to find impartial jurors in Dane County. Agreeing to a rarely granted change-of-venue motion, Circuit Judges Stephen Ehlke and John Hyland said that Cooks lawyers, Chris Van Wagner and Jessa Nicholson Goetz, have shown that there is a reasonable likelihood of community prejudice that is so strong that it precludes the possibility that Cook can receive a fair trial in Dane County, according to the judges five-page decision, issued Friday. Ehlke is hearing six of the seven trials set against Cook, while Hyland is the presiding judge in one of the cases. Cook, 21, of Edina, Minnesota, was charged last year with 12 counts of varying degrees of sexual assault involving six women, along with several other charges that include stalking, disorderly conduct and false imprisonment. Prosecutors allege that 11 women have been the victims of sexual assault or harassment by Cook. His case has been broken into seven trials, the first of which is to begin before Ehlke on Feb. 26. Work will now begin to determine where the trials will be held. During arguments Thursday, some of the locations mentioned as possibilities were Dodge County, Jefferson County or Monroe County, which Ehlke noted has a nice courthouse. Van Wagner and Nicholson argued that pervasive pre-trial publicity has made it impossible to choose an impartial jury in Dane County. At a motion hearing on Thursday, state Assistant Attorney General Christopher Liegel countered that knowledge of the case is so widespread throughout Wisconsin that no matter where a jury is picked, a percentage of jurors are likely to have heard of the case, so keeping the cases in Dane County and carefully vetting jurors would be just as effective. Van Wagner said Friday that the decision shows that Ehlke and Hyland have taken steps to make sure that Alec Cook will be tried fairly, by a jury that is free of outside influences. As Cooks attorneys, we view todays ruling as an important win for Alec Cook but as a very important win for the notion that in America, people can still get a fair trial, and that people can still have their fate decided by a jury based on actual evidence, not on rumor, innuendo, social media rants or search-engine-seeking headlines, Van Wagner said in a statement. In their decision, Ehlke and Hyland said that anyone who lives in Dane County has probably seen or heard numerous stories in the news media about this case. Coverage of this case has been extensive. Intense coverage Social media has accentuated the coverage the case received, the judges wrote. They described initial coverage of the case as intense, and while publicity has ebbed somewhat, coverage of this case did not cease after the initial flurry of media coverage. Instead, it continues unabated by the passage of time, and will undoubtedly increase as trial approaches. Ehlke and Hyland also wrote that the seriousness of the charges facing Cook weighed in favor of having it heard elsewhere. State Supreme Court rules, cited Friday by District Court Administrator Theresa Owens, state that her office would work with the trial judge and court clerks of counties involved to ensure that a proposed county has the staff, juror and facility resources to accommodate the request. Scheduling arrangements are confirmed once a court in a new county is chosen, according to the rule. Ehlke and Hyland will decide later whether certain evidence against Cook will be suppressed. Cooks lawyers want the judges to throw out a notebook belonging to Cook that was seized by police, because police learned about it during an October 2016 search of Cooks apartment that was done with Cooks permission. Police then got a search warrant from a judge that allowed them to take the notebook. Cooks lawyers argue that examining and photographing the notebook during that initial search exceeded the bounds of consent to search that Cook granted police. BAYONNE -- A year after financial trouble first arose for the city school district, answers have finally materialized for board members and residents, bringing an end to a tumultuous year. Members of the Board of Education met for their regular meeting in the Bayonne High School auditorium Thursday night, where they heard from Stephen Eells, the state auditor who led the team that conducted a forensic audit of the board's finances. Echoing the state audit report released Nov. 14, Eells told board members that the district's $2.2. million deficit "was caused by the recording of inappropriate" encumbrances for fiscal year 2016, which should have been built into future years. These encumbrances, which allow organizations to recognize future financial commitments of resources prior to an actual expenditure, were deemed inappropriate because they pertained to future fiscal year obligations that should not have been appropriated for the fiscal year 2016, Eells said. Because of these encumbrances, the district ultimately showed a deficit when in fact the board should have shown a budgetary surplus. In December 2016, the board's accounting firm, Donohue Gironda Doria & Tomkins LLC, conducted an audit that concluded the district was projecting a budgetary deficit of $2.2 million. The board immediately began employing austerity measures, but more drama ensued when the county rejected its budget in April for the current fiscal year. The board was forced to lay off 287 teachers and employees in response. Many of the employees were rehired, but the budget debacle ultimately led to 74 teachers losing their job with the district and an almost 6 percent school tax increase for residents. "Everyone should understand that this money is not missing... it was just not reflected as it should have been," Eells said. While he told the board that laws were technically broken because the district accidentally dipped into a budgetary deficit, he said that the deficit was not the result of criminal activity. In response to an inquiry from the board as to whether anything criminal or illegal occurred, Eells said "to make the determination of whether someone just made a bad decision or whether it was intentional is a very fine and tough line to draw. "If we actually felt that there was something intentional trying to be hidden, we have an obligation to report that, but not in this case -- we just felt that some of the decisions were inappropriate," he added. Some of the approximately 50 people in attendance confronted the board about who bore responsibility for the financial blunders that occurred. "There needs to be more done -- we as parents, PTA members, and taxpayers expect more," said PTA President Alicia Losonczy. She pressed the board, specifically the district Business Administrator Leo Smith, as to whom held responsibility. "(The person) who made the major mistake isn't even in the room right now," said board President Joseph Broderick, referring to Brian Buckley, the BBOE's accountant since at least 2012, according to previous reports from The Jersey Journal. "Nobody else wants to say it but I will: the accountant that used to be here... he's accountable but he did not do his job, he did not converse with people, he did not bring it to people," said board Trustee Mary Jane Desmond. Buckley also worked as the acting business administrator during the spring and summer of 2016 while Smith was on sick leave. He left the district in late January, a month after the alleged deficit had arisen, and was hired by the West New York Board of Education as the accounting manager. Losonczy, in response, asked if anyone else realized that money was being inappropriately encumbered. "Nobody oversees the accountant? He's just an independent entity?" she asked. "Our accountant was a (Certified Public Accountant) and it was the expectation of the board, of the Business Administrator, and the Superintendent that what we received would be accurate," said Robert Clarke, the board's labor attorney. "For several years the work of this CPA was spot on, we never had an issue with it, but for some reason during this time period we had a serious issue." Recent attempts to reach Buckley at the West New York school district were unsuccessful. The district's business administrator told The Jersey Journal last month: "We cannot have staff interact with the press." When reached by phone in May, Buckley declined to comment on the allegations. Prior to his time with the Bayonne school district, Buckley served as the business administrator for the Hoboken Board of Education as early as 2007. He resigned from his position in Hoboken in November 2009 after a "scathing" audit of the district revealed dozens of irregularities including the misuse of funds, and the approval of overtime by consultants instead of employees, according to previous reports. No connection was made between his resignation and the audit's findings in Hoboken, according to reports. Meanwhile, the state auditor confirmed that the board was on a financially stable trajectory moving forward due to austerity measures that were taken. There are, however, still concerns that a state monitor could come in and take over the board's finances. "When a state monitor comes in, the district has to pay that salary. And then the district loses local control over anything monetary, so that means any business operation, any personnel matter, anything fiscal, they have the power and we do not," Interim Superintendent Dr. Michael Wanko said in a previous interview. "They can also override the Superintendent's action or a vote of the Board of Education. That's a grave concern... I don't think that's a necessity." He told the board last night that he has sent a letter to the Commissioner of the Department of Education requesting that a monitor not be brought in. Mayor Jimmy Davis was also in attendance, as well as Council President Sharon Nadrowski and Second Ward Councilman Sal Gullace. Corey W. McDonald may be reached at cmcdonald@jjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @coreymacc. Find The Jersey Journal on Facebook. JERSEY CITY -- A Hudson County Superior Court Judge has been temporarily assigned to the Appellate Division. Superior Court Judge Lisa Rose will begin her temporary position on Jan. 2, 2018, according to Chief Justice Stuart Rabner. "It has been an honor to serve with such talented judges and staff and I look forward to continuing that service in my new role," Rose said. "I am thankful for and humbled by Chief Rabner's confidence in me." The Appellate Division of the Superior Court is New Jersey's intermediate appellate court. Appellate Division judges hear appeals from decisions of the trial courts, the Tax Court, and state administrative agencies. They generally decide between 6,000 and 6,500 appeals, as well as about 8,500 motions, annually. Previously, Rose had been temporarily assigned to the Appellate Division from Sept. 11 through Nov. 19 of this year. She is currently in the Civil Division in Hudson County until her reassignment in January. Rose was appointed to the Superior Court bench by Gov. Chris Christie in 2011. Before joining the judiciary, Rose was an assistant prosecutor in Essex County, a deputy Attorney General, and an Assistant United States Attorney before taking the bench. She also worked in private practice with law firms in Newark and Jersey City. Corey W. McDonald may be reached at cmcdonald@jjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @coreymacc. Find The Jersey Journal on Facebook. JERSEY CITY -- For more than two decades, Rosardo Dolores, a resident of the city, has been coming to Liberty State Park to fish off of its southernmost end. But on Saturday, he came to the public park for a more urgent reason. Rosardo and more than 250 residents, children, activists and local officials came out to protest a state plan to develop a marina along the waterfront, near the park's flag plaza. "We've been using the same message from 40 years of battles: that the people own this park and we want this park to be free, open and green without privatization," said Sam Pesin, president of Friends of Liberty State Park, at the protest. "This area was transformed... from a waterfront wasteland into a beautiful park with taxpayer money and once again greedy profiteers and (Gov. Chris Christie)... want to exploit the park for the almighty dollar." Community groups began sounding alarms last month about the plan, kept relatively hidden by the state, to lease the roughly half-mile length of waterfront of the park to Suntex Marinas, a Texas-based company that runs the marina on the park's north end. The deal would allow Suntex to rent the state-owned property, for little to nothing, in exchange for Suntex paying to rebuild the bulkhead on the south end of the park. Suntex would then pay to lease the area at some point after the bulkhead is repaired. The company's vice president, Ron TenEyck Sr., said in a statement that the plan includes a rehabilitation of "what has become a neglected section of the park" by adding a children's sailing school, a replacement of the boat launch, a fishing pier , a boat club, and other amenities that he said would be available to the public. "As early as 1979, the state's master plan for Liberty State Park called for a marina to be built on the southern portion of the park property," he said. "This marina will in no way hinder the views from the southern portion of the park and in fact, we believe once completed, the project will beautify the area -- offering visitors several new ways to enjoy the park." He added that, as part of the proposed agremeent with the state DEP, the company will assume maintenance and repair of the northern bulkhead. Pesin said the amenities which the Suntex spokesperson listed to justify its desire for a south-side marina, is typical "throwing a bone" nonsense. People have never cared about promised "benefits" in return for sacrificing priceless parkland, he said. But local officials remained adamantly against the plan. Mayor Steven Fulop, speaking at the protest, said he would use every resource necessary to fight the plan. "Every other year someone gets the idea that they can develop Liberty State Park," he said. "From our standpoint we're going to use every tool -- whether it be legal force, political force or governmental force -- to make sure that unnecessary development doesn't happen here." Other officials in attendance included Assemblywoman Angela McKnight and Council President Ronald Lavaro. Ward E candidates James Solomon and Rebecca Symes were also on hand. Meanwhile, a number of community groups and officials also showed their support, including the Jersey City Parks Coalition, the NY/NJ Baykeeper Deputy Director Greg Remaud, and Capt. Bill Sheehan of the Hackensack River Keeper. This certainly isn't the first time the threat of privatization has been challenged in Jersey City. The list is long, but the most recent attempt was in 2015 when the Christie administration entertained an idea to generate revenue for the 1,200 acre park. The plan would would have added private development including a hotel and amphitheater. Pesin led a coalition of local groups and elected officials in opposition, and the state dropped its plans. The park is managed by the state Department of Environmental Protection. It operates on a roughly $3.5 million budget. Pesin said in previous reports that he wants public hearings held after Jan. 1, and at least one hearing in Liberty State Park on a Saturday and a month long period of public comment. He also called on Governor-elect Phil Murphy to publicly oppose the lease signing. "We must stop this plan, which would devastate this side of our priceless park," he said. Corey W. McDonald may be reached at cmcdonald@jjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @coreymacc. Find The Jersey Journal on Facebook. Tyquane Burke New Jersey Transit police have identified the man who fled a traffic stop Friday morning in Jersey City and escaped capture on foot after jumping out of his still-moving vehicle. Tyquane Burke, 20, of Jersey City, is wanted on charged of eluding police, obstruction of justice and numerous motor vehicle violations, NJ Transit police said in an alert. The alert said that Burke also has prior eluding, drugs and weapons possession charges. Authorities say NJ Transit police attempted to stop Burke at 11 a.m. Friday on Pacific Avenue, but he drove a few more blocks before jumping out of the car and fleeing on foot. From photos taken by Jersey Journal freelance photographer Joe Shine, it appears the car sideswiped a park car at Pacific Avenue near Bramhall Avenue, where it was found. Jason O'Donnell, a former assemblyman vying for the Peninsula City's mayoral seat, has been endorsed by a labor union with political clout that represents some 6,500 operating engineers. In a statement, the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 825 announced its endorsement on O'Donnell, who will face off against incumbent Mayor Jimmy Davis in the city's May municipal election. "I've had the privilege throughout my career to work alongside some of the most dedicated, understanding and committed public servants from both sides of the aisle -- but when it comes to fighting for working and middle class families, Jason O'Donnell is in a class of his own," said Greg Lalevee, business manager of the IUOE Local 825. "A true champion for labor, (O'Donnell) has been there at every turn for our members and we are proud to return the support." Headquartered in Springfield, the union represents engineers through New Jersey and five New York counties. The union has endorsed a number of local and state politicians in the past, and has contributed campaign funds to local Hudson County officials as well -- Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop received funds from the union during his recent re-election campaign, while Assembly members Angela McKnight and Nicholas Chiaravalloti received several thousand in contributions during their bids for re-election earlier this year. More recently, the group has provided support for local Hudson County pols through an independent expenditure group, Stronger Foundations, which is permitted by state law to raise unlimited sums and spend money on behalf of candidates. The group, which says its money comes entirely from the labor management fund of the IUOE Local 825, paid for a 30-second Facebook/television ad on behalf of Rebecca Symes, who is facing James Solomon in Tuesday's runoff for Jersey City's Ward E council seat); and the group spent big on Hoboken Mayor-elect Ravi Bhalla. When Bill Caruso left his government job in 2013 to start working on the effort to legalize marijuana in New Jersey, he said his colleagues laughed at him. Voters in Colorado and Washington had just approved recreational marijuana in their states. The six other states that have now legalized pot hadn't yet put the question before voters. New Jersey's medical marijuana program was barely off the ground. Caruso, an attorney with Haddonfield-based Archer law firm, was undeterred and is now one of the lawyers hoping to help New Jersey establish a potential billion-dollar marijuana industry, assuming governor-elect Phil Murphy makes good on a campaign promise to sign a bill legalizing recreational pot. Caruso thinks the momentum is there. "It was almost immediate. On Wednesday, people were joking that everyone in New Jersey became a pothead," Caruso said, referring to the day after the New Jersey gubernatorial election. Murphy's election has put the wheels in motion on what would be a brand new industry in New Jersey and people are eager to grab a slice. But businesses that sell pot will not be the only ones to benefit from the legalization of pot. Lawyers are gearing up to provide services for an industry that will need plenty of legal help for everything from law enforcement issues to financial advice. "I am getting a lot of phone calls from folks interested in being a part of this industry," said Dan McKillop, an attorney with Scarinci Hollenbeck who is advising clients on marijuana policy. "Everyone from individuals all the way up to corporate (and) institutional actors. It's definitely an industry...that's caught the attention of the state." Legal counsel will be needed in all areas. Real estate firms are among the most interested, McKillop said. Empty storefronts could be filled by pot shops, while larger warehouse space may be well suited for growing marijuana. "We have warehouse clients and commercial real estate clients that are sitting on a ton of stock," Caruso said. "All those things you're seeing is a good sign" for the industry. The interest goes well beyond real estate brokers salivating over the prospect of filling vacancies with a promising industry. Employers are reaching out to see how they might need to change their drug policies. Municipalities are calling and asking about how they should shape their zoning laws to accommodate marijuana businesses. Scott Rudder, president of the New Jersey Cannabusiness Association, said Caruso and McKillop are among many behind the scenes building the foundation of New Jersey's marijuana industry before it even legally exists. "We're seeing a lot of these businesses rebranding or directing themselves to address the (cannabis) industry," he said. "They're laying the groundwork ahead of the law." The bill to legalize marijuana has been sitting in a state Senate committee since May, after it was introduced by Sen. Nicholas Scutari, D-Union. The bill would allow the possession and personal use of small amounts of weed for people 21 years old and up. It also sets up a licensing structure and enforcement agency. Scutari is working with marijuana advocates to patch some holes in the bill and get a version on Murphy's desk within the governor's first 100 days. As the bill is written now, the state would have one year from when the bill is signed to draft rules for the pot industry. It would then have another year to start issuing licenses to marijuana retailers, growers, transporters, processors and wholesalers. If the bill becomes law, New Jersey would be the first state to legalize marijuana legislatively. Other states have allowed residents to vote on the issue. Some New Jersey lawmakers have been alarmed at the momentum behind the marijuana bill, especially now that Murphy will take office in January. State Sen. Joseph Pennacchio, R-Morris, urged Murphy not to rush into signing a recreational pot bill, citing crime data from reported in the Denver Post. "Our first priority as legislators must be to protect the people we were elected to serve," Pennacchio said in a statement. "Crime rates in Colorado are rising faster than almost anywhere else in the country. That's not a coincidence. We cannot allow this to happen in New Jersey." Concern around Scutari's bill is bipartisan. Sen. Ronald Rice, D-Essex, has called for hearings to discuss the impact marijuana has had on states where it's been legalized. "We know there are negative factors that we will need to safeguard against, from children's access to marijuana-infused edibles to motor vehicle accidents caused by impaired driving to the effect of marijuana on babies and the impact of legalization on communities of color," Rice said in his statement. Despite concerns, advocates are betting that the bill will pass, creating a lucrative industry. Rudder predicts New Jersey would generate around $3 billion in pot revenue in the first year. "We should see our market be more than double Colorado in our first full year," Rudder said, adding that Colorado did $1.3 billion in pot sales in 2016. "There's been an expectation for quite some time in New Jersey that this is going to be legal." Are you interested in the N.J. cannabis industry? Subscribe here for exclusive insider information from NJ Cannabis Insider Payton Guion may be reached at PGuion@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @PaytonGuion. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Madison businessman Eric Hovde is preparing for a possible Republican run for U.S. Senate, while saying he hasnt fully committed to run and wont reveal his plans until 2018. If I were to announce, it would be sometime next year, Hovde said in an interview. Two other Republicans, state Sen. Leah Vukmir of Brookfield and businessman Kevin Nicholson of Delafield, are officially in the Senate race. Theyre seeking the nod to oppose Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin, of Madison, next November. Hovde has said for months that hed thinking about running too. In an interview with the Wisconsin State Journal this week, Hovde made clear he hasnt made a final decision. But in the meantime, Hovde said, Im not just sitting back. Im taking certain steps; if I make a decision, Ill be ready, Hovde said. Hovde declined to discuss what steps he has taken in preparation to run. A real estate developer and hedge fund manager, Hovde ran for U.S. Senate in 2012, when Baldwin was first elected. He placed second in that years GOP primary behind the eventual nominee, former Gov. Tommy Thompson. This time around, some Republicans have questioned if Hovde is hurting his chances for 2018 by not officially entering the race, even while Nicholson and Vukmir are campaigning hard. But Hovde has an advantage that could buy him time in the race: his personal wealth. Hovde spent more than $5 million of his own fortune on his 2012 run and likely would have the ability to self-fund again. That means he doesnt need to spend as much time courting donors in the early stages of a campaign. Hovde dismissed the notion that time is running out for him to make his plans official. I dont feel this need that youve got to hit x date, Hovde said. We never take a break from (political campaigns), which I think is absurd. This booking photo provided by the Tampa Police Department, Fla., on Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2017, shows Howell Emanuel Donaldson. Donaldson, the suspect in a string of four slayings that terrorized a Tampa neighborhood was arrested after he brought a loaded gun to his job at a McDonald's and asked a co-worker to hold it, authorities said. (Tampa Police Department via AP) Acting U.S. Attorney Duane Evans announced Friday, Dec. 1, 2017, that Gregory "Pep" Denson admitted to killing Ellery Boyd, a fellow member of the Mid-City Killers. The gang was involved in multiple home invasions and robberies of known drug dealers in New Orleans and Jefferson Parish. At least two Assembly Democrats are calling on their Democratic colleague, Rep. Josh Zepnick of Milwaukee, to resign after a report that two women alleged Zepnick kissed them without their consent. If we are going to be leaders in our community then we must lead within our workplace, Rep. Jimmy Anderson, of Fitchburg, said in a statement. In light of the two incidences reported on today, I believe Rep. Josh Zepnick should resign. Given the pattern and scope of his behavior, the right thing for Rep. Zepnick to do is to resign, said state Rep. Dana Wachs, of Eau Claire, in a statement. Wachs is running for governor in 2018. The Capital Times reported Friday that two women alleged Zepnick, who has served since 2003, kissed them without their consent at political events in 2011 and 2015. In both cases the women said Zepnick appeared to be drunk at the time. In 2015, Zepnick pleaded guilty to a first offense of drunken driving. One of the women worked for the Democratic Party of Wisconsin at the time of the incident; the other was a legislative staffer. Neither woman was named in the report. Zepnick responded by giving The Capital Times a statement that neither affirmed nor denied the allegations. After the release of Andersons statement late Friday, Zepnick and Assembly Democratic Leader Gordon Hintz, D-Oshkosh, could not immediately be reached for comment by the Wisconsin State Journal. Jimmy Kimmel to Roy Moore: I'll meet you at the mall with cheerleaders Former President Donald Trump is preparing to launch his third campaign for the White House with an announcement Tuesday night. Trump is looking to move on from disappointing midterm defeats and defy history amid signs that his grip on the Republican Party may be waning. The former president had hoped to use the GOP's expected gains in last week's elections as a springboard to win his party's nomination by locking in early support and keeping potential challengers at bay. Instead, Trump now finds himself being blamed for backing a series of losing candidates in last week's midterm elections. Iowa communities participating in the national Campaign for Grade-Level Reading are making progress, but much work remains to be done, an official told a Council Bluffs audience Friday morning. Nationally, 180 participating communities showed progress in at least one of the key areas: school readiness, chronic absenteeism, summer learning and grade-level reading, said Ron Fairchild, director of the Grade-Level Reading Support Center. Thats according to self-assessments based on specific criteria. The challenge is, we know that progress is nowhere near enough, he said. There is still a double-digit gap in grade-level reading between students from low-income families and those from a higher socioeconomic background, Fairchild said. Fairchild and Becky Miles-Polka, senior consultant for the Iowa campaign, met with local partners Friday at the Council Bluffs Public Library. The gathering was the last of seven meetings the two held in some of the participating cities across Iowa during the last four days. Altogether, Iowa has 12 communities in the campaign involving 58 school districts and 353 partners. We started with six in 2012, Miles-Polka said. Sioux City is the most recent to join the network, and Ottumwa is preparing to do likewise, she said. Iowa officials are also exploring opportunities to collaborate with Omaha. Miles-Polka said she has been impressed with the commitment the philanthropic community made to the campaign. This is a longer-term involvement, and I think its a challenge for foundations, she said. Tisha Moore of Promise Partners told about Family Inc.s home visitation program, which Promise Partners helps fund. It is the largest of five local home visitation programs, she said. In families that signed up for visits, 82 percent of the age-eligible children were screened for developmental delays. Jalyn Blacks family is among those who have received visits through Family Inc. Black recently graduated from the organizations Parents As Teachers program. Every time you get a visit, your child gets a book, she said. Last year, Family Inc. made 1,940 visits and gave away 2,330 books, Black said. The nonprofit has also helped her connect with other community resources, she said. Black said she could understand why some parents resist seeking help from home visitation agencies. It is hard to let someone in your home, she said. Moore said she hoped seeing Family Inc. employees at a booth at the StoryWalks has made families more comfortable with the agency. Were working really hard to break down the stigma of getting help, she said. Everybody has (challenges) with parenting. Raise Me to Read held seven StoryWalks this year, mostly at Bayliss Park, Director Nancy Schulze said. Children can practice reading from the oversize pages and get some exercise walking the 40 paces between them, she said. This year, we had 1,000 people do StoryWalks, Schulze said. The Council Bluffs Area Chamber of Commerce has offered to sponsor a permanent StoryWalk, she said. Permanent stands or racks would be put up in an appropriate place that would hold pages that could be removed and replaced with those from a different story when desired. Library employees go to preschools to read stories, said Kathy Rieger, outreach and family engagement director. Last month, library staff made about 45 visits and read to a total of 4,366 children, she said. The library also reconfigured its youth department, Rieger said. Shelving units are not as tall so children dont disappear when they start looking for books. We have sight lines, and parents have sight lines, she said. The Council Bluffs area has been ramping up its emphasis on the importance of attending school faithfully, said Melissa Mayo of United Way of the Midlands. Before this year, it was mainly Nebraska that held Attendance Awareness Month activities. This year, the Iowa and Nebraska sides of the metro held a joint kickoff in September at Tom Hanafan Rivers Edge Park. United Way helped produce materials for the event, which were also offered to parents at first quarter parent-teacher conferences at Omaha Public Schools. Attendance tools were distributed to 253 schools in the metro area, including 16 school districts in Douglas, Sarpy and Pottawattamie counties and 15 community organizations through the School Based Attendance Coalition. United Way also collaborated on an Attendance Matters Conference that drew a capacity crowd, Mayo said. Materials from the event are still available free of charge on the United Way of the Midlands website. The organization is working on an attendance mapping project and additional steps that can be taken to address chronic absenteeism, she said. The Council Bluffs Community School District has been working on attendance since 2012, when it joined the School Based Attendance Coalition, said Martha Bruckner, executive director of the Metro Omaha Education Consortium and recently retired superintendent of the district. BELLEVUE, Neb. In the mid-1980s, Eugene Goodman was measuring ground working part-time for the United States Department of Agriculture in Marshalltown when he spotted a broken balloon caught in a fence. Goodman walked over to it and noticed a note was attached. On one side, it said the sender was Andrea Russo from Wake Robin Elementary School in Bellevue, Nebraska, and she sent the note for a reading project. On the other side, the note asked the finder to return the message after writing information about themselves. The balloon had traveled nearly 200 miles, The Bellevue Leader reported. Planning to do as it asked, Goodman put the tag in his truck for later and went back to work. When he went to bring it inside, it was nowhere to be found. I knew I had it but I could never find out where, Goodman said. It escaped his mind for a few weeks. Once he found it, the paper made its way into his home. However, he misplaced it and eventually forgot about it completely. His wife, Jean, knew nothing about this. You must have really forgotten, because I dont think you ever mentioned it to me, she told him. In the summer of 2015, Goodman sold his family farm and packed up to move to Ankeny. In the move, he found the tag, but then lost it and forgot about it for the third time. Then, this October, Goodman was looking for something else when he stumbled across the note. Immediately, he wrote a letter to the school explaining the situation and asking Russo to contact him. There were a few problems with his request. First, Russo was in the fourth grade when the balloon was released, so she was long gone from Wake Robin; second, Goodman forgot to leave his phone number. Still, those at the school did what they could to help. They contacted retired teachers who might have known the girl. One remembered her and knew her parents, as they were also retired Bellevue teachers. Russo, whose last name was changed to Ericksen after getting married, read the letter in disbelief. I was actually really surprised, shocked that he did save it, she said. I was more in awe that somebody found it and then kept it for 32 years. She searched online for Eugene Goodmans in Iowa, and found the right one. After 32 years, Eugene Goodman, now 85, came to Bellevue on Nov. 18 to return the tag in the home where Ericksen grew up. Jean Goodman made the road trip with him. The families talked about common interests, such as farming, and how the letter survived so many years. Ericksen said she remembers a few students in her class receiving responses, and she wanted one at that time as well. But good things come to those who wait. When youre a little kid you want somebody to find it instantly and have that instant gratification, she said. But, obviously, I had to have a lot of patience to get it back. She said shes glad it took 32 years. Its a much better story to tell. After chatting, Goodman and Ericksen drove to Wake Robin and released balloons with a new note. It documented their experience and asked the finder to contact them. They hope to hear back soon this time. WASHINGTON The majority Republican Senate passed a nearly $1.5 trillion tax bill early Saturday, marking it as the first major legislative victory for President Donald Trumps administration. U.S. Senators of Iowa Joni Ernst and Chuck Grassley issued statements following the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, calling the bill a step forward in pursuing a simpler tax code. Ernst said the bill will also eliminate the Affordable Care Acts AKA Obamacare individual mandate requiring Americans to buy health insurance. This Senate bill also includes a bipartisan measure I helped lead to spur economic growth in poverty-stricken areas and bring hope and opportunity back to many distressed rural communities in Iowa, Ernst said. The bill will allow Iowa small businesses and entrepreneurs to keep more of their dollars to reinvest in their companies and is estimated to create over 10,000 jobs across Iowa, Ernst added. While the bill does not include everything I hoped, I am pleased that this legislation creates more opportunities for all, including lower- and middle-income families across the State of Iowa who will see thousands of dollars back in their pockets, she said. Grassley said the bills passage was a historic moment for Iowa and the U.S. considering it is the first significant tax reform in more than 30 years. This reform bill enacts across-the-board tax cuts, providing financial relief to middle-class and low-income earners who need it most. As just one example, an average family of four with two children would receive a $2,200 tax cut, Grassley said. Lowering taxes lets people decide how to spend more of their own money instead shifting that responsibility to Washington politicians, he added. Grassley also called out the health care acts individual mandate as unfair and regressive. Presiding over the Senate, Vice President Mike Pence announced the 51-49 vote to applause from Republicans. Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., was the only lawmaker to cross party lines, joining the Democrats in opposition. The measure focuses its tax reductions on businesses and higher-earning individuals, gives more modest breaks to others, and offers the boldest rewrite of the nations tax system since 1986. Republicans touted the package as one that would benefit people of all incomes and ignite the economy. Even an official projection of a $1 trillion, 10-year flood of deeper budget deficits couldnt dissuade GOP senators from rallying behind the bill. Obviously, Im kind of a dinosaur on the fiscal issues, said Corker, who battled to keep the bill from worsening the governments accumulated $20 trillion in IOUs. The Republican-led House approved a similar bill last month in what has been a stunningly swift trip through Congress for complex legislation that impacts the breadth of American society. The two chambers will now try crafting a final compromise to send Trump. After spending the years first nine months futilely trying to repeal President Barack Obamas health care law, GOP leaders were determined to move the measure rapidly before opposition Democrats and lobbying groups could blow it up. The party views passage as crucial to retaining its House and Senate majorities in next years elections. Democrats derided the bill as a GOP gift to its wealthy and business backers at the expense of Americans with lower incomes. They contrasted the bills permanent reduction in corporate income tax rates from 35 percent to 20 percent to smaller individual tax breaks that would end in 2026. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Helen Everson, the longtime co-publisher of the Edgerton Reporter who died Monday, used her strong work ethic and community involvement to make the newspaper one of the best weeklies in the state for decades, a former newspaper employee said. Everson, 98, died in the care of her family at her home, according to her obituary. Everson and her husband, Harland Everson, bought the Reporter in 1951 and turned it into a lively, readable newspaper that featured a strong blend of news and personality articles. Helen was the face of the newspaper for years, especially after Harland spent 12 years at the state Capitol as a legislator starting in 1970. He died in 1992. Under Helen Eversons watchful eye, the paper piled up numerous state and national awards, including the top award from the Wisconsin Newspaper Association for General Excellence in its circulation category in 2006. She was a strong woman and really particular about her work, said Toni Turnquist, a retired employee at the Reporter. She ran this paper very meticulously. Turnquist recalled Eversons ever-present smile and kindness, especially when she was just hired by the newspaper. She made you feel like you were part of the Edgerton Reporter family, Turnquist said. That was very important to me. Eversons knowledge of the business and the community also stood out. She believed that a newspaper should get involved in the community and she did her part as an active member of the Edgerton Federation of Womens Clubs and the Monday Club and worked behind the scenes to help the Albion Academy Historical Society. She also was a member of the Edgerton Rotary, and was named a Paul Harris Fellow and Edgertons Honored Citizen. She was a pillar of the community. She did so much for her church, for associations, Turnquist said. She was such a hard worker. She worked seven days a week. One of Eversons daughters, Diane Everson, joined the newspaper in 1978 and helped the newspaper stay the course with hard-hitting news and features that covered the positives and negatives of the growing community that straddles the Dane and Rock County lines. She has continued as the papers publisher, editor and advertising manager. Diane Everson gave credit to her parents when she was named to the Wisconsin Newspaper Association Hall of Fame in 2013. Its more an honor to my family, not so much me. Im just excited to help them get recognition for all theyve accomplished, she told the Janesville Gazette. Helen Everson developed her work ethic as a young girl growing up on a ranch near Lemmon, South Dakota. When she was 5, she began riding a horse to her country school. She worked for her room and board while attending High School and graduated when she was 16. After she graduated from a business school, she was hired as a secretary at ACE Buick in Madison. When she was just 22, Everson was already the secretary/treasurer of the company that included dealerships in Hibbing, Minnesota, and St. Paul. Everson met Harland at a soap box derby in Madison, and they were married in 1949. The Eversons have been active fixtures in the newspaper industry for decades and championed strong, independent, local journalism, Beth Bennett, executive director of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association, said in a statement. Helens determined spirit will be missed. JOIN A WINNING TEAM right here in northwest indiana We have been covering Northwest Indiana for over 100 years and were still growing. We are, by far, the main source of news, information and advertising in the Region and are looking for great people to join out team. Whether youre just starting out or looking for a place to step up,TheTimes has opportunities you need to explore. PAGE DESIGNER TheTimes Media Co., located 20 miles from downtown Chicago, is looking for highly motivated, creative page designers who can bring a new dimension to our brand of local newspapers and magazines. As our design center has expanded, so has our drive to find designers with innovative newspaper and magazine design and illustration skills. Our energetic design staff is working hard to change the perception of designers as merely visual people. We work with the belief that good content drives readership, and we push our staff to be content editors. If you possess the heart of a journalist and an innovative mind, we want you to join our close-knit, talented design team. Our ideal candidates will have experience in design at a newspaper or magazine, understand the fast-paced, newsroom environment, have the ability to manage several tasks simultaneously, and are experienced in information and content design. Candidates also must display a strong instinct for problem solving, a sense of urgency, and a passion for news. Experience with InDesign and Photoshop is preferred. In this position you must be willing to work a varied schedule with night hours. TheTimes Media Co. is one of Lee Enterprises 46 daily newspapers. Lee also publishes 300 weekly newspapers, shoppers and classified and specialty publications. In addition, Lee provides a wide variety of associated online services. EOE Call Center Representative (Part-time 30-39 hrs/wk) We have immediate openings for experienced Customer Service Representatives (CSRs), for our call center operations atTheTimes in our Munster & Crown Point, Indiana locations.TheTimes of Northwest Indiana is part of Lee Enterprises which is a leading provider of local newspapers, information and advertising in primarily midsize markets, with 46 daily newspapers and a joint interest in two others, along with rapidly growing digital products and nearly 300 specialty publications in 21 states which includesTheTimes of Northwest Indiana. Our call center agents are the backbone of our business. When customers call us, our CSRs answer the phone, make connections, answer questions, solve problems, and get people happily on their way as quickly as possible. As a Lee Enterprise Call Center Customer Service Representative, youll handle heavy call volumes daily in our fast paced call center, while maintaining a high level of customer satisfaction. When you join Lee Enterprises, you will enjoy: Instantly becoming part of our family of diverse people focused on making really good customer experiences happen. Ways to earn more every single month through bonus and incentives. A clear path and the tools you need to progress with more responsibilities and promotions Earning paid time off which includes vacation, sick and personal days, along with paid holidays Eligibility for Medical, Dental, Vision, & Life Insurance, along with a 401K Match! Bring it.Youre qualified if you: Love to help people Have experience performing comfortably in a fast paced, deadline oriented environment. Are proficient with MS Excel, Word & Outlook & have the ability to navigate thru various software programs efficiently Above average typing skills (50+wpm) Have sales ability and experience with inbound/ outbound customer service Learn more or apply online at www.nwi.com/timesjobs. EOE Distribution Assistant Temporary/Seasonal TheTimes is currently looking for part-time Distribution Assistants to work in one of our Distribution Centers, working an average of 35 hours per week.These positions are temporary, seasonal positions that may continue through January 2018. Our centers are located in Valparaiso, Merrillville, and Hammond, IN. Work hours are in the early morning and include holidays and weekends. The work consists of: opening and closing the distribution center stacking bundles on tables assisting with the delivery of newspaper routes other duties assigned by the District Manager Candidates must have a valid drivers license and good driving record, as well as a reliable vehicle and proof of auto insurance. Mileage reimbursement is available if asked to use your vehicle for work purposes. Other requirements include basic computer skills and the ability to lift up to 40 pounds. The starting hourly wage for this position is $12.00/hour. This is an excellent entry level position for a company with a history of promoting from within. TheTimes is a drug-free workplace and all candidates offered a position will be asked to complete a pre-employment drug screen. Interested candidates should apply online at www.nwi.com/timesjobs. Equal Opportunity Employer Multi-Media Sales Executive Outside Sales Base Salary PLUS Un-capped Commissions Join a winning team! We reach more consumers than we ever have before through NWI.com and our award winning print products. Consumer in NW Indiana rely onTheTimes and NWI.com for local news and information that no one else can deliver. Over 75% of all adults in NW Indiana connect with us through our on-line and print products on a weekly basis. We deliver 1.6M unique visitors per month with over 12.6M page views and 8.2M mobile sessions per month! We are looking for Multi-Media Sales professionals who possess the drive and passion to help local business owners increase market share through real time solutions and products that deliver superior results! We offer: Competitive base salary Un-capped commissions On-going incentives and spiffs Mobile phone Mileage reimbursement Benefits including: 401K (matching too), medical, dental, vision, paid vacation and personal time, life insurance, flexible spending accounts Laptop and tools to be successful Our Multi-Media Sales professional manage an existing base of wellestablished accounts along with the responsibility and ability to hunt and develop new accounts... we want HUNTERS. Plus work alongside a team of sales professionals in a competitive market serving 6 counties! You Are: Competitive Driven to be the best Results and goals oriented Mentally tough Possess a strong work ethic Tech savvy High character Want to grow a great career Willing to have fun! Ideal candidates possess: 3 + years of sales experience with a demonstrated track record of success Prospecting & cold calling experience in successfully opening new accounts Excellent communication skills Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, high transactional sales environment College degree preferred Valid drivers license, good driving record and access to a reliable vehicle Were willing to train the right candidate! If you bring the heart and desire to succeed we will equip you with the tools and knowledge to be successful! Drug Free Workplace Equal Opportunity Employer APPLY AT NWI.COM/TIMESJOBS GARY Gary schools Superintendent Cheryl Pruitt will resign from the troubled school district effective Feb. 2. Pruitt's contract would have ended June 30, 2019. Pruitt's announcement comes after audit last week said Pruitt needs to repay a $30,000 bonus. "For the remainder of my time spent with GCSC, I will serve as an administrative resource for the emergency manager and her team," she said. "I am committed to a smooth and productive transition, continuing to address the needs of the school system and provide the best possible education for the students of the Gary schools." The Gary Community School Corp. is the first school district to be taken over by the state due to amassing more than $100 million in debt and its poor academic status. As a result, it is under the authority of the Indiana Distressed Unit Appeals Board. Senate Enrolled Act 567 required DUAB to appoint an emergency manager. DUAB appointed longtime educator Peggy Hinckley, a Gary native who now lives in Schererville, as the emergency manager, along with MGT Consulting. The law gives Hinckley near-total authority to implement academic and financial changes, negotiate contracts and run the Gary school district, subject only to review by a local advisory board and DUAB oversight. Pruitt, along with the elected trustees of the Gary Community School Corp., have no official say in decisions made by the emergency manager. Hinckley said Friday, "We wish her well as she moves on from the Gary Community School Corp." Asked if a new superintendent would be appointed, Hinckley said, "In my initial conversation with DUAB, we will not be posting for a superintendent in the immediate future." Pruitt's record as superintendent Pruitt, 54, became superintendent July 1, 2012, and inherited the financial and academic challenges. The Indiana Department of Education has graded the district an F for several years, although some schools in the district continue to excel. Although the school corporation grade is under appeal at the department, Pruitt said it has moved up to a D under her leadership. She said her accomplishments include increasing the graduation rate by 25 percent in two years. She said the overall high school rate moved to 85.7 percent from 60.3 percent. She said over four years, the literacy rate for third-graders improved by 19 percent, going to 87.5 percent from 68.7 percent. Pruitt said under her reign the percentage of students going to college, work or the military improved, and the special education department, which was out of compliance, is now mostly compliant. Pruitt said suspensions and expulsions also have been significantly reduced. State report asks Pruitt to repay bonus A special audit released by the Indiana State Board of Accounts last week said Pruitt needs to repay a $30,000 bonus she received. The audit findings were referred to the Lake County Prosecutor and the Indiana Attorney General's Office. The audit report said Pruitt's contract provided for "Growth Incentive Plan and Bonus to be agreed upon by the board and the superintendent." But the audit states no documentation was provided showing that the board agreed on or approved the amounts or the timing of the payments. Pruitt has hired Merrillville attorney Russell Brown to represent her. Brown said Friday, "We are still investigating, but based on the information and documents that we have and the documents we believe to be forthcoming, the payment was authorized in accordance with her contract and the school board. We will be following up with the attorney general's office once we have completed our investigation." Gary school board President Rosie Washington said Friday that Pruitt deserved the bonus. "People keep saying $30,000, but it was actually $10,000 that should have been paid to her each year over a three-year contract period," Washington said. "The public also really needs to know that the majority of that money came back to the district. "The superintendent used it to undergird programs for our children. She reinvested much of that bonus to the educational needs of the children in Gary." Pruitt earns a base salary of $136,000 per year plus $1,000 per month as compensation for the business use of her vehicle and another $18,500 was paid into an annual annuity payment for her 403(b) plan. However, last's year $30,000 bonus paid in March upped her salary for 2016 to $178,500. That's according to information from the Gary Community School Corp.'s business office. Washington said, "Dr. Pruitt's leaving the Gary schools is a loss to the district. She has served as an untraditional superintendent in as much as she reached out to external partners to enrich this district financially, physically and educationally." INDIANAPOLIS The Indiana liquor store monopoly on retail cold beer sales appears likely to continue for the foreseeable future. On Friday, a plurality of the members on Indiana's Alcohol Code Revision Commission agreed that grocery, drug and convenience stores which already sell warm beer should be allowed to sell that same product out of a refrigerator. However, the eight votes in favor of cold beer was one shy of the majority required for the commission to officially recommend the Republican-controlled General Assembly end Indiana's unique practice of regulating beer sales by temperature. Perhaps more significantly, the seven "no" votes included state Sen. Ron Alting, R-Lafayette, and state Rep. Ben Smaltz, R-Auburn, the chairmen of the Senate and House public policy committees, out of which any cold beer legislation would have to advance to be voted on by either chamber. Two commissioners were absent from the panel's final meeting of the year. State Sen. Eric Bassler, R-Washington, the leading commission proponent for cold beer sales, said he expects the failure to recommend changing the law will keep the issue off the agenda when Hoosier lawmakers begin their 10-week annual session Jan. 3. "If this does not get out of this commission today, it will die," Bassler said. "There will be no further conversation." State Rep. Matt Lehman, R-Berne, who voted against Bassler's cold beer proposal, believes more conversation is exactly what is needed because Indiana is not prepared to handle the likely injuries and fatalities caused by the broader availability of cold beer. "Always in these chambers we are dealing with the adverse effects of alcohol," Lehman said. "Never have I seen a bill that was positive about the impact of alcohol on our society." Hoosiers don't seem to mind. A nonpartisan public opinion poll conducted in October found more than six in 10 Hoosiers want to be able to purchase cold beer at locations other than package liquor stores. That was even higher than the 57 percent who supported legalizing Sunday carry-out alcohol sales, a proposal the commission last month recommended the Legislature enact next year. The commission chairwoman, former state Sen. Bev Gard, R-Greenfield, said even though cold beer sales isn't an official recommendation, the commission's final report to the Legislature will indicate that more members supported the idea, including her, than opposed it. That was thanks in part to former LaPorte Superior Judge William Boklund, who changed his "no" vote at the last minute to "yes" in the hope of putting the cold beer issue in front of the General Assembly next year. The other Region commission member, state Sen. Lonnie Randolph, D-East Chicago, remained a firm "no" because he said liquor stores need the advantage provided by cold beer exclusivity in order to compete against larger grocery and convenience store chains. Other recommendations A commission majority did recommend that lawmakers increase the state excise tax rates on beer, wine and liquor by at least 25 percent to raise approximately $14 million for more aggressive enforcement of underage drinking and other Indiana alcohol laws. State Rep. Terri Austin, D-Anderson, said alcohol taxes have not been hiked since 1986, and if the state is going to give Hoosiers added opportunities to purchase carry-out alcohol, such as on Sundays between noon and 8 p.m., then the state likewise needs to beef up its enforcement system. It also agreed to endorse higher annual permit fees for Indiana businesses that sell alcohol. In addition, the commission recommended grocery, drug and convenience stores be required to segregate alcohol in one section of their stores, though it would not have to be in a walled-off area. The panel rejected a proposal for mandatory age verification by all alcohol purchasers after it was reminded that a prior statute requiring Hoosiers of all ages show identification when purchasing alcohol was extremely unpopular and quickly repealed. Register for more free articles. Sign up for our newsletter to keep reading. Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! Already a Subscriber? Already a Subscriber? Sign in Terms of Service Privacy Policy INDIANAPOLIS Gov. Eric Holcomb has appointed DeMotte Town Judge Russell Bailey to fill the judicial vacancy on the Jasper County Superior Court. Bailey succeeds former Jasper Superior Judge James Ahler, who resigned from the court June 15 to become a federal bankruptcy judge at the U.S. courthouse in Hammond. Senior Judge Robert Hall has been presiding in Jasper County during the interim. Once Bailey is sworn-in, on a still-to-be-determined date, he will complete the remainder of Ahler's four-year term that runs through 2018. The governor's office said Holcomb chose Bailey because he brings to the bench a solid work ethic, a well-developed sense of fairness and a commitment to his community. Bailey is a Jasper County native who operates a private law practice in DeMotte, in addition to his duties as town judge. He previously worked in Indianapolis as an attorney for the Indiana Department of Revenue and as Indiana deputy attorney general. Bailey holds an associate of science degree from Vincennes University, received a bachelor of science from Indiana University Northwest and earned his law degree at Valparaiso University. State records show he was admitted to the Indiana bar in 2002. Winfield is mourning the death of a longtime community leader. Don Samburg, a former Winfield Town Council member and current member of the town's redevelopment commission, died unexpectedly Monday at the age of 61. "Earlier this week we lost a big part of our community," a recent town Facebook post stated. The Facebook post went on to say that Samburg was a "very generous and active supporter of our community." Clerk-Treasurer Rick Anderson said Samburg was a strong champion of Winfield. "He brought his talents and dedication to the town and assisted whenever it was requested of him," Anderson said. "Don was always professional, pleasant and upbeat in my work with him. He will be greatly missed by elected officials, board members and town staff." Winfield Township Trustee Paulette Skinner, a former councilwoman, said Samburg was a kind and generous man. "Anytime I needed anything for the township he'd look at me and say, 'You got it it's done,'" she said. Samburg served on the Winfield Town Council and the plan commission from 2012 to 2015. He also was a member of the Winfield Community Foundation from 2009 to 2012. Along with his wife, Samburg operated the local dance studio, Elite Academy. He also hosted an annual Christmas party in town for the underprivileged. "He was always trying to give to other people," Winfield Town Council President Gerald Stiener, a close friend of Samburg's, said. "I considered him one of my best friends. And a lot of people considered him that. And that is kind of unique. He just brought that out of you." Barbara Graham, office coordinator for the township's office, said Samburg was always "out and about" in the entire community and Northwest Indiana. "He was everywhere and helped everybody," she said. "It's just going to be a loss I don't think never can be replaced. We all have to step up now." DYER A 76-year-old man and a dog died Friday morning after the man's vehicle was struck by an Amtrak train, police said. Richard Christy, of Dyer, was ejected from his vehicle and died at the scene, officials said. Dyer police and firefighters were dispatched about 8:40 a.m. to the rail crossing on 213th Street east of Sheffield Avenue, Police Chief David Hein said. A vehicle was in a ditch, and the Amtrak train was stopped about 800 feet down the tracks, he said. Christy was pronounced dead at 9:38 a.m. The death was ruled an accident. One of the two dogs in the car was found dead at the scene. The other was taken to a veterinary hospital, police said. Police said the road would remain closed during the crash investigation. FORT WAYNE, Ind. Andrea Daniels held her baby son as he drew his last breaths. She rocked him and sang, God has smiled on me ... He has set Most posts here will be stuff I've found or friends have sent to me from around the internet that I find interesting in one way or another. It will be an outlet for my political views, sense of humor, musical interests, etc., etc.. Also on occasion stories of my own from my everyday life, doing what ever the hell it is i do, see, or may be working on. Despite an 11 percent county-wide voter turnout in this summers Senate primaries, Lee Countys absentee election manager said the general election is seeing an impressive number of absentee ballots. Usually, special elections are slow. But this one has been crazy, absentee election manager Mary Roberson said Wednesday. Yesterday, we went over the 500 mark in sending out absentee ballots. I think it will be pretty historic. Roberson said she didnt have any exact numbers to compare to with previous special elections, but the number of absentee ballots issued in the county so far is only about 200 fewer than the total of absentee ballots Lee County received in the last gubernatorial election. The runoff was decent, but this general election has been busy from the very beginning, Roberson said. As soon as these two candidates were named as their partys choices, people started voting. The road to Dec. 12 The nearly 4,000 voters who cast ballots in the Democratic primary in August overwhelmingly chose Doug Jones as their candidate, locking him in with 65.66 percent of his partys vote. Because no candidate secured more than 50 percent of the vote in the GOP primary, Republicans Roy Moore and Luther Strange faced one another in a September runoff. Moore edged out Strange with 51.64 of his partys nomination. Jones and Moore will face off to see who will take the former seat held by Jeff Sessions in the U.S. Senate after Sessions was named U.S. Attorney General. Absentee ballots are available for registered Alabama voters who will not be in the county in which they are registered on Election Day, or who have an illness or physical disability that will prevent them from going to the polls. Members of the military or college students who are living outside of the Alabama county in which they are registered also may vote absentee, as well as anyone working a required shift 10 hours or longer that coincides with polling hours and poll watchers or election officials working at a polling place other than where they are registered. The majority of Lee County absentee voters are residents who are elderly or otherwise physically incapable of standing in line at the polls on Election Day, Roberson said. But because this special election falls 13 days before Christmas, other Lee County residents are casting absentee ballots this time around. Some people often have to travel for their jobs, and want to vote absentee so they dont miss the election because of a business trip, Roberson explained. But this year, some people will be out of town for the holidays on Dec. 12. Voting absentee, in person The deadline to apply for an absentee ballot is Dec. 7, five days before Election Day. Applications are available on the Secretary of States website, alabamavotes.gov, or at the local Absentee Office, 205 S. 10th St. in downtown Opelika. Ballots returned by mail must be postmarked no later than Dec. 11 and received by noon on Dec. 12. But due to possible delays that accompany sending mail, Roberson encourages everyone who is able to visit the absentee office and deliver their applications and ballots by hand. A lot of people dont realize they can come in and vote in person, she said. Nothing is more disappointing to me than opening my mailbox the day after the election and seeing ballots sitting in there that dont count, because they arrived too late. Voters can go to the absentee office to apply for their ballot and actually complete the whole voting process on the same visit. This ensures the ballot is delivered and counted on time, as well as making sure the required voter affidavit is complete and accurate. Emergency absentee ballots also can be issued through the Absentee Office under specific circumstances, such as a medical emergency. Regardless of how a registered voter can participate, Roberson said, its important that they do. Considering you have a ballot literally with two names on it, weve had such a great turnout, she said. Absentees always are an odd poll, but Id like to think that means well have a high voter turnout. Institute for Public Relations honored PR and corporate communications professionals at its 56th Annual Distinguished Lecture & Awards Dinner Nov. 29 at the Roosevelt Hotel in New York City. Lee Rainie Dr. Don Stacks (center) with IPR's Don Wright and Tina McCorkindale Wendi Strong (center) 2017 Distinguished Lecturer Lee Rainie bemoaned the toxic nature of our online ecosystem which he feels is held captive by trolls, fake news and bots. The director of Internet, science and technology at Pew Research Center noted that during last year's general election, one-third of pro-Trump and one-fifth of pro-Clinton social commentary was initiated by bots infiltrating online forums. "Harassment is not a bug in our online culture; it's a feature," Rainie said. Dr. Don Stacks was awarded the Jack Felton Medal for Lifetime Achievement for Advancement of Research, Measurement & Evaluation. He is CEO of International Public Relations Research Conference as well as professor emeritus of strategic communications at the University of Miami. "What you don't know is that he focused on return on investment. And that return on investment was to make a better practice through relationship between academics and professionals," Stacks said of Felton. "Jack is someone who engaged those who he thought could make an impact and he supported them. Wendi Strong, retired executive vice president, corporate communications, USAA, was awarded the Alexander Hamilton Medal for Major Contributions to the Practice of Public Relations. Presenter Bill Nielson noted that Hamilton's techniques used at the time of the constitution are "considered by historians to be the finest piece of PR history." "He represented what we do at our best. He had vision, the courage of his convictions and he contributed new ideas and policies to advance the cause of this nation and fellow man. We should all seek to do the same," Strong said of Hamilton in her acceptance speech. Graduate student awards went to: -Jung Kyu (Rhys) Lim, PhD candidate Univ. of Maryland - Don Bartholomew Award for Excellence in PR Research (sponsored by Ketchum) -Lyudmila Khalitova, PhD Candidate Univ. of Florida - Grunig PRIME Research fellowship -Ruoyu Sun, Dr. Juan Mang, advisor, Univ. of Georgia - Makovsky Best Masters Thesis Award . 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. Maybe youve never heard of Dominica, where Dr. Jasmine Riviere Marcelin of Omaha grew up. No, not the Dominican Republic. The Commonwealth of Dominica is a Caribbean island with rainforests, lush greenery, volcanoes and sulfur springs, as well as coral reefs. Its a top destination for diving. The island is beautiful, said Marcelin, 33, recalling her childhood. Just imagine kids running around barefoot with no cares in the world. On the morning of Sept. 18, having just arrived at the University of Nebraska Medical Center as an infectious disease specialist after six years at the Mayo Clinic, she noted a Category 1 hurricane approaching the island where her parents reside. By that night, Hurricane Maria had made landfall on Dominica as a monster Category 5. Her island home of 75,000 people was devastated, and 27 died. She couldnt reach her parents, whom she had seen in June in Minnesota. It was the worst 48 hours of my life, she said. I thought their house was swept away, or they could have been trapped. At long last, a text from her mother: We are alive. They were unhurt, but life on the island was upended. Marcelin, a former sprinter and valedictorian at St. Mary University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and a valedictorian at the American University of Antigua College of Medicine (on another island), has since done what she can to help. She couldnt fly in to Dominica (Dome-uh-NEEK-uh), but had a previously scheduled trip to speak at her medical school on Antigua. She filled a suitcase with water-purification tablets, Tylenol, gloves, masks, wound care materials, solar-powered mobile phone chargers and nonperishable food. She tried unsuccessfully to hire a helicopter, and didnt have enough time for a boat trip from Antigua to Dominica and back. So she gave the suitcase to a friend, and her parents received it three weeks later. Dominica, struck two days before Puerto Rico, is a mess. To help the damaged Princess Margaret Hospital and provide other care, a physicians group has partnered with the nonprofit Dominica-American Relief and Development Association to accept donations at gofundme.com/Doctors-In-Our-Circle. Jasmine and her husband, Haiti-born Dr. Alberto Marcelin of UNMC, are the parents of Nathaniel, 5, and Giovanni, 15 months. She will visit her parents soon and appreciates the support of UNMC colleagues. Im still in the honeymoon phase here, she said, but I really do love it. 'Remembering Our Fallen' exhibit arrives at Reagan library The Remembering Our Fallen exhibit by Bill and Evonne Williams of Omaha arrived with a roar Wednesday at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California. Thats how the Ventura County Star described the procession, which included a trailer and several dozen motorcycles. They represented groups such as the Patriot Guard Riders, American Legion Riders and the Combat Veterans Motorcycle Association. The exhibit honors the memory of those who have died in the war on terrorism since 9/11. The Williamses created the traveling exhibits in 2010. Ex-Westside teacher dies 23 years after she expected to Jolene Lee once thought 1994 would be her last Christmas, but she overcame lymphoma and had two more babies who grew to adulthood. The longtime former elementary school teacher in the Westside district died Nov. 5, still too young at 51. But husband Barry Lee said her family and her many former students are grateful to have had her for as long as they did. It was an ongoing battle, and we were lucky to have her, he said. But youre never really ready at the end. They had met when Barry was a partner in the old Grandmothers restaurant at 82nd and L Streets, and Jolene applied for a hostess-cashier job. I wrote about her health battle in 1995 on Christmas Eve. I dont need any presents, she said. Now I just look at Jared and smile. Jared was 5 months old. She had him after surviving lymphoma, treatment that included surgery, chemotherapy, radiation and a bone-marrow transplant. The couple already had Derek, then 6. Lindsay, 11, was from Barrys first marriage. Brandon was born a year later. Barry and Jolene divorced years later, but then got back together about nine years ago. Her health eventually worsened, and she went on disability in 2014. On Oct. 19 at their home, the couple married each other a second time. A week later on the birthday she shared with Brandon, their youngest turned 21. Shed had a good summer playing with grandchildren, Barry said, and a heart transplant was scheduled. Thats when doctors discovered stomach aneurysms, and she died. The funeral service was at the John A. Gentleman chapel at 82nd and L the site of the former Grandmothers where they met. During everything, I never saw her cry, Barry said. Her smile was her trademark. Her bright, beautiful smile. Forbes ranks Nebraska fourth-best state for business Nebraska ranked fourth in Forbes Best States for Business, trailing only North Carolina, Texas and Utah. The annual ranking is based on business costs, labor supply, regulatory environment, economic climate, growth prospects and quality of life. At one time, Bob and Grace Felthousen stored 300 tiny buildings in their Plattsmouth, Nebraska, home. They occasionally took them out of cartons to display on the main floor and in the basement family room, with 700 accessory pieces such as cars, trees and sleighs. The structures are a minuscule fraction of full size. But the amazing Christmas villages they create are huge indeed. Bob and Grace are among thousands of folks who collect porcelain Department 56 figurines. The company, based in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, makes Christmas decorations that become tiny towns when grouped together. The items are among the hottest holiday collectibles: Pieces grow in value after the company quits making them and they get hard to find. Department 56 collector clubs help fans find rare pieces and even have conventions. As of June 2017, 85 clubs were registered with a national umbrella organization. The Felthousens got their first figurine in 1986. Now, more than $18,000 and 1,000 pieces later, they have a new home at the Strategic Air Command & Aerospace Museum near Ashland, just in time for todays Santa Goes to Space event. Coincidentally, the museum that specializes in space was offered the vast collection in part because it had enough room. The couple wanted to keep the village intact and had trouble finding an area museum large enough to accommodate and store it. We never even considered separating it it wouldnt be important to anybody that way, Bob Felthousen said. Its perfect here. They have the place to display it. They set it up right by the door. The museums mission is to educate the public about air and space history, with more than 300,000 square feet of exhibits. Its traditional focus is on STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) education, but in 2015 it expanded to add art to its educational focus. STEAM enables the museum to include a variety of exhibits such as the Department 56 display, said marketing manager Deb Hermann. We hope to do a lot of different art exhibits, she said. It enhances the visitors whole experience. Department 56 makes items for several collectible series, including a Dickens Village, an Alpine Village and a New England Village. The Felthousen collection includes pieces from two series: the Original Snow Village, with items such as a mountain lodge and chalets, and Christmas in the City, featuring 1930s- and 1940s-style buildings such as a movie theater and a Chinese restaurant. The buildings come with lights and movable features, such as rotating signs. Because of that, and its sheer size, the Felthousen display takes several days to set up. It took 12 people four hours just to get it out of boxes when we set it up last year, Bob said, and two weeks to make it display-ready. It took about four days to assemble it at the museum two full days with about 18 volunteers total, and another two days for facilities manager Mark Hamilton to complete the piddly stuff, Bob said. Hermann said about 130 volunteer hours went into the assembly, including help from the Felthousens. The Felthousens have collected things throughout their nearly 60-year marriage. They met at Omaha Technical High School, where they were part of a group of five girls and five guys who became lifelong friends. She was a cheerleader, he said with a smiling nod toward Grace. All of the couples stayed married, though the group now has some widowed members. Bob, 82, said some lean years as children led the couple to become adult collectors. They had several ventures in Plattsmouth, including a restaurant. And his wife was an obstetrics nurse. Neither of us had anything when we were kids, and we just worked hard, he said. They were unfamiliar with Department 56 when their son gave them a figurine for Christmas. In true collector fashion, they researched the pieces, joined a collector club and slowly built a village empire. They even traveled to Minneapolis to get one of their most prized pieces, a rare church. None of their three kids wanted the huge collection. In a way, theyre glad its gone, because they dont have to mess with it when were gone, he said. Im sure theyll miss it, too. As will people in Plattsmouth and the surrounding area. Last year more than 350 people saw the display at the Felthousen home. Far more people will be able to see it at the museum, however. Hermann said she expects 2,000 people or more to attend Santa Goes to Space today, and many more to see the display during museum hours until its dismantled for the year after Jan. 5. Thats gratifying for Bob and Grace. We never could have imagined this when we got that gift, Grace said of their first piece. We couldnt have asked for a nicer place, Bob said of the museum. Were glad they got it. The largest veteran recruit class in the history of the Omaha Police Department 28 law enforcement officers with more than 200 years of combined experience will start training Monday. The officers will begin patrolling Omahas streets after a shortened 11-week course. Theyre going to be able to provide instant mentoring and experience with the younger officers, Omaha Deputy Chief Greg Gonzalez said Friday. It benefits them for judgment, decision-making and situational experience. Youre going to have that development that some of the newer officers wouldnt have. Also beginning Monday are 25 new recruits who will complete the full 22 weeks of training. Counting both recruit classes and assuming they all complete the training, the departments sworn strength will reach 865 officers, Gonzalez said. Mayor Jean Stothert has said she wants to have 900 sworn officers in 2019, when the fifth precinct in Elkhorn will open. The veteran class, also called a lateral recruit class, is the first in a decade and roughly triple the size of previous classes. The already certified Nebraska officers come from 17 agencies as far away as Lincoln County and Lexington, and from small police departments such as Ceresco and Schuyler. Five officers left the Lincoln Police Department for Omaha, while four deputies transferred from Sarpy County. Douglas County lost three deputies. Norfolk police and Cass County Sheriffs Office each provided two officers to Omahas veteran class. A former Lincoln police officer has almost one year on the force while another transfer has worked at the Nebraska State Patrol for nearly 26 years. The average years of experience for the group is about seven years, while the median is roughly 3 years. They will be paid commensurate with their years of experience. Omaha Police Chief Todd Schmaderer decided to recruit veteran officers after the June in-custody death of a mentally ill man. The four officers who handled the incident had fewer than five years of experience each, and the chief said that contributed to what happened in June. The veteran officers bring a variety of skills and specializations. Three have been K-9 handlers, a couple were firearms instructors, three were on SWAT teams, three speak fluent Spanish and six previously have served in the military. It takes time to get people trained to that point, said Omaha Lt. Gregg Barrios of the backgrounds investigations unit. And were gonna benefit from it. Theyre going to walk in day one and have all of that in their pocket. Two previously had been named officer of the year in their departments and another two were recognized with lifesaving awards. The reasons for switching to a bigger department varied; some had ties to Omaha and others wanted to eventually work on specialized units that smaller agencies cant offer. Leaders at smaller agencies have said its difficult saying goodbye to well-trained officers, but they understand that some might leave. You cant fault someone who wants to enhance their career, Barrios said. A second veteran recruit class next year is possible, but that hasnt been decided yet, Gonzalez said. It would be smaller than the current veteran class. The department is actively recruiting for a regular recruit class that tentatively is planned to start next summer or fall. Those who are interested in applying can go to joinOPD.com for more information. Applications are due Dec. 28. ------------ Two classes of 53 Omaha police recruits Veteran recruits, their former agency and total years experience (rounded) Lincoln Police Department: Todd Danson, 21 years Gregory Graham, four years Dan Noonan, three years Evan Freyermuth, one year Eric Hagedorn, one year Sarpy County Sheriffs Office: Monica Anderson, 10 years Adam Vail, nine years Cory Buckley, three years Katie Reeve, three years Douglas County Sheriffs Office: William Klug, three years Michael Knobbe, three years Chris Desangles, two years Norfolk Police Department: John Harney, eight years Sean Soderberg, seven years Cass County Sheriffs Office: Jesse Godden, 10 years Nicholas Lozzi, eight years Derick Peters, Lancaster County Sheriffs Office, nine years Johnythn Ellingson, Lincoln County Sheriffs Office, three years Justin Durrett, Washington County Sheriffs Office, two years Sterling Hitch, Ashland Police Department, three years Justin Ruby, Schuyler Police Department, three years David Rathjen, Dodge County Sheriffs Office, 15 years Richard Lutter, Nebraska State Patrol, 26 years Terrance Vernon, Ceresco Police Department, 15 years Domonic Ernesti, Lexington Police Department, six years Jennie Scanlon, Ralston Police Department, 10 years Jason Stinson, Blair Police Department, three years Justin Sanny, Fremont Police Department, three years Basic recruit class: Aaron Lier Chase Trecek Jonathan Contreras Russell Verby Archie Scott David Eckstrom Kevin Wallace Shelby Jordan Ashley Smith David Page Logan Moran Steven Masters Bobbi Keithley James Kreifels Paul Suh Thomas Ewin Brandon Vrbicky Jamison Perry Reifer Johnson Timothy Smock Brock Rengo Jerod Forstrom Rene Ramos Vanessa Ludwick Camron Payne A few dozen Nebraska candidates got a jump start on 2018 by filing for office Friday, the first day to do so. Many of the candidates had already made a formal announcement, and some have been campaigning for weeks or months. But Dec. 1 is the first day candidates can file their official paperwork with the county election commission or the secretary of state. Those who filed Friday are the first, but they certainly wont be the last. Current officeholders have until Feb. 15 to file, and those who dont hold elected office can file as late as March 1. There are several statewide officials up for re-election in 2018, including Sen. Deb Fischer and Gov. Pete Ricketts, both Republicans whove said they plan to seek re-election. Democrat Jane Raybould will challenge Fischer. State Sen. Bob Krist, an independent, plans to challenge Ricketts. Nebraskas 2nd District seat, held by Republican Rep. Don Bacon, is expected to be hotly contested. One potential Bacon opponent, nonprofit executive Kara Eastman, filed Friday. She will face off with former Rep. Brad Ashford for the Democratic nomination. Republican Kirk Penner filed to run for the 3rd District congressional seat. Incumbent Republican Adrian Smith is expected to seek re-election. Democrat Paul Theobald, a professor and rural historian, has said he plans to run for the seat as well. Voters will also make decisions on a host of down ballot and local races in 2018. Statewide, thats attorney general, auditor, treasurer and secretary of state. Two candidates filed Friday for the Public Service Commission: Republican incumbent Tim Schram and Republican Ron Nolte, who is running for the District 1 seat held by Frank Landis, who has not said whether he will seek re-election. The only legislative candidate who had not previously announced is Democrat Austin Hennrich in District 18. The seat is now held by State Sen. Brett Lindstrom, an Omaha Republican who has not announced whether he will seek re-election. The Secretary of States Office will publish a list of candidates who have filed next week on its website. The Douglas County Election Commission also has a list of candidates on its website. World-Herald staff writer Martha Stoddard contributed to this report. Two teenagers were shot separately in north-central Omaha within about a 15-minute period Friday afternoon, police said. Neither victims injury was life-threatening, police said. Both were taken to the Nebraska Medical Center. Daevier Kellogg, 16, was shot about 4:15 p.m. near 60th Avenue and Sprague Street, police said. James Hawkins-Drummer, 19, was in a minivan near 102nd Street and West Maple Road when he was shot about 4:30 p.m., police said. Assailants in a sedan fired on the minivan, whose driver steered to Tudor Heights Apartments, police said. An officer in a police helicopter saw the sedan that matched the description offered by a witness near 72nd Street and Military Avenue. Three people in the sedan were taken into custody near 52nd and Blondo Streets. Police announced Saturday that three teenage males had been arrested in connection with the shootings. A 15-year-old was booked on suspicion of two counts of attempted first-degree assault, second-degree assault, use of a weapon to commit a felony and obstructing. Two 17-year-olds were booked on suspicion of being an accessory to a felony and obstructing. Hawkins-Drummer was also shot in February 2016. He told an officer that he was walking near Belvedere Elementary School when he was shot, police have said. ODN 17 Nov 2022 Voters in the US react to Donald Trump's announcement that he will once again be launching a presidential.. Rumble 26 Aug 2022 Beautifully captured in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, is the largest national wildlife refuge in the United States. It is.. 2008-2022 One News Page Ltd. All rights reserved. One News is a registered trademark of One News Page Ltd. Rumble 15 Aug 2022 This video shows the pitfalls of leaving underwear and other miscellaneous clothes items laying around when your NR is starting to.. The Republican tax bills now before Congress could save Oregonians $1 billion a year overall, a preliminary state analysis indicates. But those benefits may elude many middle-class residents, recent college graduates and taxpayers with high medical bills. The bills would hit Oregonians much harder than taxpayers in most other parts of the country. That's because Congress is moving to end a deduction for state taxes, which enables Oregon residents to deduct every dollar they spend in state taxes. That provision benefits 670,000 residents a year, according to state data. Oregon taxpayers at the top of the income ladder could pay tens of thousands of dollars more per year without the deduction. But even households earning less than $75,000 could face tax increases averaging about $1,200, according to the preliminary analysis from Oregon's nonpartisan Legislative Revenue Office. "I think this is a middle-class tax hike. I think the middle class is going to be severely impacted by this bill," said Brent Lipschultz, a tax and financial planner with PricewaterhouseCoopers in New York. That's true in many places, he said, but especially in Oregon. "Losing deductions effectively increases the (tax) rate," Lipschultz said. The federal tax cuts would also produce a counterintuitive side-effect: They would boost the state taxes that Oregonians pay, according to the state and private tax experts. That's largely because Oregon directs taxpayers to calculate their taxable income using federal tax rules. So if Congress follows through and curtails or eliminates some federal tax deductions, including those for property taxes, medical costs and college loan payments, that would also wipe out the corresponding deductions on Oregon taxes. That, and other factors, could require state income tax payers to owe more and generate more than $150 million a year in new state tax revenue. The potential increase in state revenue isn't unique to Oregon, according to state revenue officials and private tax economists. But it hasn't been widely reported. EFFECTS IN OREGON A great deal of uncertainty remains about the proposed tax changes. But here are some potential implications for Oregonians, based on a preliminary analysis by the Legislative Revenue Office. IMPACTS ON FEDERAL TAXES Federal income taxes paid by Oregonians could drop by $1.2 billion annually due in large part to declines in income tax rates and a larger standard deduction. That works out to $300 in savings, per person. But many of those savings would vanish within several years. The elimination of the federal deduction for state and local taxes would have an especially pronounced effect in Oregon, which has an unusually high income tax. For the 40 percent of residents who deduct their federal taxes, it could add an average of $2,800 to their tax bill. IMPACTS ON STATE TAXES Many Oregon taxes are tied to federal tax policy, so any change Congress makes will have a ripple effect here. As a result, lower federal taxes would likely raise roughly $150 million in new state tax revenue. Thats mostly because eliminating federal deductions also wipes out those deductions in Oregon. Also, Oregon allows taxpayers to deduct their federal taxes from their state taxes. So if federal taxes go down, that means Oregonians have less to deduct. And fewer deductions mean more taxes. While the U.S. Senate approved its version of the tax overhaul early Saturday, Eastern time, a great deal remains uncertain. There are substantial differences between its bill and the one approved Nov. 16 by the House of Representatives, and the two chambers plan to begin reconciling them Monday. Each chamber must vote again once they've completed that process. With so much in flux, it's too soon to pin down the bills' precise effects. Still, it's possible to draw some general conclusions based on similarities in the House and Senate versions. In broad terms, both bills would lower the corporate tax rate, reduce the number of tax brackets for personal income, increase the standard deduction, and offset some of those tax savings by eliminating several other widely used tax deductions. In many ways, those changes would apply to Oregonians the same way they apply elsewhere. Residents here figure to save $300 per person on their federal tax bills, on average, according to the state's preliminary analysis, though benefits will vary considerably by household. Beneficiaries include low- and middle-income taxpayers who don't itemize their deductions and could benefit from standard deductions that nearly double in both the House and Senate bills. The House bill would repeal the alternative minimum tax, which affects 59,000 Oregon taxpayers, according to state data. That would be a major benefit for upper-income Oregonians, as three-quarters of the state taxpayers who pay it have annual incomes above $200,000. Large corporations and their shareholders would benefit from a sharply lower tax rate, which would fall from 35 percent to 20 percent. Intel lobbied heavily for the tax cuts, with chief executive Brian Krzanich visiting President Donald Trump in the Oval Office and House Speaker Paul Ryan visiting an Intel site in Hillsboro to meet with corporate executives on the proposals. The bills' treatment of privately held companies could also benefit small, capital-intensive businesses. Lipschultz said that could include including forestry businesses in Oregon and small manufacturers. But low-income Americans, or those making less than $30,000, would actually pay more under the Senate measure, according to the Congressional Budget Office. Another congressional analysis of the Senate bill found that more than 60 percent of Americans would save at least $100 a year in federal taxes, meaning that close to 40 percent of those tax filers would either get a negligible cut or pay more. And any initial savings would erode over time because the new individual tax brackets expire after 2025. Every Oregon Democrat in Congress opposes the tax proposals under consideration. U.S. Rep. Greg Walden, the state's lone Republican delegate and a powerful figure in the House leadership, voted in favor of it. His office did not respond for requests for comment on the Oregon implications. Oregon's unusual tax structure means the congressional proposals would affect the state differently in some key ways. ELIMINATING SALT "The biggest issue is the fact that you don't get to deduct your state and local taxes" under the congressional proposals, said Heather Jackson, a tax planner with Dougall Conradie in Portland who frequently testifies before the Oregon Legislature on the intersection of federal and state tax policy. "Is that a big deal? Yes, it is," Jackson said. "Will that hurt Oregonians? Yes, it will." Removing the state and local tax deductions, collectively known as SALT, is a much bigger deal in Oregon than in most other states. Here's why. Federal law allows taxpayers to deduct either their local income taxes or sales taxes on their federal returns. Many states have both, so taxpayers can deduct only a portion of their state taxes. Oregon is one of just three states with an income tax but no sales tax. So Oregonians who itemize their deductions can deduct all taxes they pay the state. Oregon compensates for the absence of sales tax revenue with a relatively high income tax rate, which tops out at 9.9 percent. That comparatively high rate makes the state and local tax deduction especially valuable to Oregonians, with deductions totaling $8.5 billion in 2015, according to the Oregon Legislative Revenue Office. Nearly 40 percent of taxpayers living in Oregon claimed the state deduction in 2015, the most recent year for which data is available. Eliminating the deduction could cost those taxpayers an average of $2,800 per household, according to another analysis the revenue office conducted at the request of The Oregonian/OregonLive. The additions to the federal tax bill would be highest for those at the top end of the income ladder those earning more than $500,000 a year could see a $25,000 annual hit. That could be offset by other changes in the Republican tax plan favorable to high-income Americans. Roughly 275,000 Oregonians with incomes below $75,000 claimed the deduction, too they would pay about $1,230 more a year, on average, based on Oregon's tax rates. Overall, 70 percent of the benefits from the state deduction accrue to Oregonians with annual household incomes in excess of $100,000. Many lower-income filers wouldn't claim the state deduction any longer under the proposed tax overhaul. That's because the legislation would nearly double the standard deduction each taxpayer may claim to about $12,000 for single filers and $25,000 for couples, making it more valuable to them than the state income tax deduction. OREGON TAXES RISE Republicans are moving to eliminate the state and local deductions, and other tax deductions, to offset the cost of new tax breaks and lower tax rates for large corporations. To comply with Senate rules governing voting procedures, the cuts must add no more than $1.5 trillion to the deficit over 10 years. Other deductions on the chopping block include one for medical expenses and one for student loans, along with limits on the deduction for local property taxes. Oregon offers tax breaks for all those expenses, tied to the federal deductions. "It's not uncommon for states to tie to federal deductions because it's an ease of administration (issue) for the states," said Chris Allanach, an economist in Oregon's Legislative Revenue Office. So if those federal deductions go away, state deductions do too, and Oregonians would pay more state income taxes, fueling state coffers. Under the House tax bill, Allanach estimates that repealing the medical expense deduction would increase state revenue by $65 million annually. The Oregon Center for Public Policy says 165,000 Oregonians take the deduction. The Senate version leaves the medical deduction intact. Negotiators from both chambers will have to work out a deal on differing provisions in the two bills. To take the deduction, taxpayers must spend at least 10 percent of their income on medical expenses. That's a high bar, and Allanach said taxpayers at the lower end of the income brackets are most likely to benefit because it is difficult for a wealthy person to reach the 10 percent threshold. Eliminating the deduction for student loan interest would generate $19 million in annual revenue for Oregon, most likely paid by young graduates in the early years of paying off their college loans. Conversely, the House's plan to limit the federal property tax deduction to $10,000 would most likely apply to the rich. That's because few low-income people own homes with more than $10,000 in property taxes. Allanach estimates limits on that deduction would raise $16 million in state revenue annually. Taxes here would rise for another reason: Oregon, like other states, allows taxpayers to deduct their federal taxes -- up to a limit -- from their state taxes. So if federal taxes decline, then Oregonians have less to deduct from their state taxes. Federal tax cuts leading to higher state tax bills would likely happen in many other states that tie their tax policies to federal law, according to Nicole Kaeding, an economist with the Tax Foundation, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank. But she said it hasn't been quantified on a state-by-state basis, and it's too soon to know just what it will mean in any state. "Tax reform as it's currently structured in both the House and Senate should increase revenue for the state of Oregon, but until the final package is signed, the exact state impacts are not certain," Kaeding said. No other state, however, has Oregon's unique kicker law, which refunds unexpected revenue to taxpayers. So Allanach said additional state funding resulting from federal tax cuts may not materialize in the near term. "If more revenue comes in, it could trip the kicker," he said. In future years, though, state forecasters would include additional revenue in their planning and so the new revenue would not make a kicker more likely. Oregon state Sen. Mark Hass, D-Beaverton, chairs his chamber's finance and revenue committee. He worries the tax cuts will trigger cuts in federal spending as the deficit grows, he said. But he said his committee already has a placeholder bill filed to respond to any changes Oregon needs to make in response to the new federal laws. "We'll be ready if we need to make any tweaks," Hass said. "I don't think it'll be drastic." Hass said it's important not to let the federal changes distract from flaws in Oregon's own tax structure that create wide disparities in property taxes and extreme volatility from year to year in tax collections. The federal tax overhaul "is not the most important thing to happen to Oregon taxes," he said. "The other things still need to be addressed, and they're far more difficult." Update: This article has been updated with the passage of the Senate bill early Saturday (Eastern time.) -- Mike Rogoway; twitter: @rogoway; 503-294-7699 In his third week on the job, Portland's new superintendent apologized for rolling out a plan to disband a program for gifted children without talking to families and teachers. Then, six weeks later, he announced a plan to disband a special education program, also without talking to families or teachers. The Oregonian/OregonLive asked how this rollout of plans to break apart the Pioneer program for high-needs special education students differed from the one new Superintendent Guadalupe Guerrero publicly called a mistake. In response, Guerrero said in a statement that he toured the school and talked to the principal and the district's special education director before announcing its students and staff would be dispersed to multiple schools around the district. He did not reference talking with students or parents except to say district officials would "continue" to listen to their concerns about their student's next placement. He did not agree to be interviewed. The statement said Guerrero and the special education administrators "all are convinced this arrangement can meet and perhaps exceed the learning environment and educational options the students now receive." The changes and proposed changes to school settings is tied to the district's plan to fix inequities by ending its experiment with K-8 schools and returning to an elementary and middle school model. Oregon's largest school district found K-8s resulted in schools with too few middle grades students and, as a result, had anemic course offerings. The district's solution is to reassign students and open two new middle schools on the eastside. But the district has a limited selection of buildings, and the cavalcade of changes being triggered are highly personal for parents. Many families are deeply invested in where and with whom their children go to school. That is particularly true for parents and students at both Access Academy and Pioneer School, as the students by definition were ill-suited and ill-served at their neighborhood school before they were switched to the specialized setting. Amy Estep, a classroom therapist who has been at Pioneer for 15 years, criticized district brass for paying a single visit to the school and speaking only with the principal. Guerrero, in a statement, was fairly straightforward about why he made the decision to evict the Pioneer program from its home in a former elementary school and an adjoining building on Southeast 71st Avenue and Division Street: Access needs a place to educate 350 students, whereas Pioneer enrolls just 126, a much easier number to accommodate in other district buildings. Access must move because its current building, the former Rose City Park Elementary, will reopen as a neighborhood school this fall to relieve extreme overcrowding at a neighboring school. Guerrero's initial idea to break up Access and spread it across eight schools was pitched as a way to make gifted and talented programming more accessible. But Guerrero admitted in his apology the district erred in its "urgency" to find a solution to its building problem. He hadn't worked hard enough to understand Access and he should have, he told families. "We needed all stakeholders at the table as we imagined that (plan)," Guerrero said. "Even though there were never any final decisions made, we're talking about you and you're not there and that doesn't feel right upon reflection." Some, however, saw hope in spreading Access across eight schools. Guerrero's rhetoric about wanting Access's programming to be more accessible in all parts of the district resonated with some parents. Other parents fought back against that notion. While expanded talented and gifted services should happen, they said, there was no indication the district would properly resource those efforts. In addition, having a schoolwide community where students' special challenges and assets were universally understood helps the students thrive, supporters insisted. Now the same sentiments are playing out about Guerrero's ousting the program for students with extensive special needs. Guerrero marketed the change as more fair to students with special needs. He invoked the concept of inclusion, a moral stance with solid legal footing that students with special needs should not be segregated but instead given enough supports needed so they can learn with their age-level peers. A few years ago, Portland Public Schools launched a goal to eliminate segregation of special education students in an initiative called "Reach 2020." The Portland Tribune, in a two-part series, showed that critics saw it as under-resourced and badly implemented. Since then, it was seemingly abandoned, with references to Reach 2020 scrubbed from the district website. The pushback against the idea that this plan is truly about inclusion has echoed pushback that breaking up Access was truly about more accessible services for gifted students: People doubt the resources and a rigorous plan to make those aims work will come through. But Guerrero is not backing down this time. On Wednesday Spokesman Dave Northfield doubled-down, telling OPB, "Yes, this is happening. There is not a need for a vote finalizing it." On Friday, Northfield issued a statement that the school to which Pioneer's elementary pupils will be moved will be "a better building for their age group," that middle school students will continue to have five trained adults per classroom at the middle schools they're dispersed to and that high school student will have "interaction with peers" in their new location at Marshall High. "The district is continuing to listen to the concerns of parents, teachers, staff and administrators as we determine the best placement for these students," the statement said. Pioneer employees said they felt blindsided when Guerrero paid a visit Tuesday after school to announce the change. A few hours later, Access families were notified by email and Guerrero announced his plans at a school board meeting livestreamed on the district's channel. Meanwhile, several Pioneer families found out through social media. Central office communications staffers didn't check what time Pioneer students are dismissed for the day and, as a result, missed the deadline to send notes home with students Tuesday. Pioneer officials prefer to send hard copy notes home with students. Since Access families get information through email, they had a leg up about the news. "The way the parents of Pioneer are finding out about this decision is a disgrace to the new superintendent," said parent Lisa Jensen. "He made a horrible decision to notify Access parents about their success in keeping their program for their talented and gifted children without notifying the Pioneer parents about losing their school for their children with special needs." Although Access families want a home, and Pioneer's space looks like it will meet those needs, Access parents aren't exactly overjoyed. On social media, some Access families have expressed support for Pioneer families and empathy that they appear to be enduring the experience that rollicked their school in October. A meeting a day after the news broke brought Access and Pioneer families together. Afterward, Access PTA President Jennifer Ellis updated Access families, saying, "We expressed frustration about the communication and roll-out on behalf of the Pioneer community and empathized with the unknowns this is forcing on a high-needs and vulnerable population." She also wrote, "We recognize that the decision to place Access in this space belongs to the district, yet we feel it is important to reach out to this similarly affected community to offer our support." You can read the district's full statement on the plan here. Bethany Barnes Got a tip about Portland Public Schools? Email Bethany: bbarnes@oregonian.com By JOHN C. FLAVIN As chair of Molalla High School's English language arts department, I inquired with the state into which standardized test this year's sophomores will be expected to pass next year in order to graduate in 2019. I recently received an email from the Oregon Department of Education. It turns out that no one in Oregon knows which test will be administered. In response to my email, a policy analyst from the education department's Office of Teaching, Learning and Assessment, wrote, "The earliest that Oregon would transition from Smarter Balanced to a new high school assessment would be for the 2018-19 school year." This response from the state is unacceptable. It is impossible for teachers to provide direct instruction for the assessment until the education department announces its intent - and already, the first third of the current school year is complete. The Oregon Department of Education should not introduce a new assessment until they have given schools adequate time to prepare. Department officials are busy "exploring," "expressing great interest," and "engaging with the Legislature" as they make a decision about which test teachers need to study in order to prepare students for the most significant graduation requirement of their young academic careers. Apparently, the state agency doesn't appreciate the gravity of their ambivalence, or else there would be no consideration for the 2018-19 school year. To the average person, next year may seem like a long time. But it's on par with a financier forcing architects and contractors to build a condominium without informing them what materials to use. If asked to explain, they'd say, "We're exploring, expressing great interest and engaging with the banks." Yes, it's that absurd. When the state abandoned the Oregon Assessment of Knowledge and Skills testing system after 2014, most teachers said, "good riddance." It was biased and tested memory more than it did skills. The education department switched to Smarter Balanced in 2015 and ever since, math and English language arts teachers have scrambled to learn the test so they could prepare their students. And now, after just three years, it's back to square one: Education officials alerted school administrators earlier this year that "based on feedback from stakeholders and policy-makers, including legislators, who expressed great interest in Oregon administering a high school assessment other than Smarter Balanced, we are exploring the possibility of replacing the high school Smarter Balanced assessment." That was in May. Now it's nearly December, and they are still searching for the lowest bid from testing providers. At Molalla High, students in 2017 exceeded the state average on the Smarter Balanced English language arts test, earning the state's third-highest percentage to meet or exceed, behind only the well-funded Lake Oswego and West Linn School Districts. Remarkably, more than half of our passing students exceeded. That's because we planned our curriculum accordingly. We've done everything right to meet both our obligation to the state and to the needs of our children. If I thought we were the only district with this issue, I'd close my mouth and get back to work. Consider this an open request to the Oregon Department of Education: Fine, change the test. Again. But do not mandate the change until the 2019-20 school year. Put our students in the position to succeed, not to fail. John C Flavin has been a Molalla High School teacher for 11 years. He lives in Molalla. Share your opinion Submit your 500-word essay on a highly topical issue or a theme of particular relevance to the Pacific Northwest, Oregon and the Portland area to commentary@oregonlive.com. Please include your email and phone number for verification. U.S. District Judge Anna J. Brown signed an order Friday in Portland allowing the release of Ryan Payne, the Malheur Wildlife Refuge figure who is on trial in Las Vegas after being accused of conspiracy. In signing the order, Brown concurred with U.S. District Judge Gloria M. Navarro, who on Wednesday ordered Nevada cattleman Cliven Bundy, son Ammon Bundy and co-defendant Payne be released to house arrest during their federal conspiracy trial in Las Vegas. The release comes as Payne awaits sentencing in Oregon for his role in the 2016 armed takeover of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in southeastern Oregon. Payne has pleaded guilty in the Oregon conspiracy case. He has been in Nevada to face the federal indictment there but needed Brown's order to be released. The Nevada defendants face federal conspiracy, assault and extortion charges. They are accused of amassing armed supporters to thwart federal rangers and contractors from carrying out court orders to round up Bundy cattle illegally grazing on public land near Bunkerville in 2014. A jury trial began Nov. 14 and is expected to last four months. The three-page order Brown signed Friday governs conditions for Payne's release, such as prohibiting his use of weapons, requiring a mental health evaluation and outlawing the possession of nonmedical controlled substances. -- Allan Brettman The head of the Democratic Party of Oregon filed an elections complaint against Secretary of State Dennis Richardson on Friday, charging that he broke state election laws by using his office to urge voters to turn down a new tax in January. The complaint presented Richardson with a confounding situation: Investigations sparked by such complaints are overseen and ruled on by the state elections director, who reports directly to Richardson. In a statement, Richardson acceded to the request of the Democratic Party and asked Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum to rule on the complaint instead. He also called the complaint "meritless." The complaint submitted by Jeanne Atkins, party chairwoman and herself the previous secretary of state, hinges on whether Richardson pushed for a "no" vote on Measure 101, a pair of health care taxes, in a newsletter his office published Wednesday. State law allows elected officials to engage in political advocacy while on the job. But an elected official's political advocacy "may not be published" in a newsletter produced or distributed by public employees, according to a state election law manual. The law also bars elected officials from using public resources to promote or oppose candidates or ballot measures. Richardson sent out the newsletter in question via his .gov email address and posted it to his government website to publicize an audit conducted by his agency. The long-awaited audit of the beleaguered Oregon Health Authority showed the agency failed to prevent or recover millions of dollars in overpayments and that its officials hampered auditors' attempts to access information. In his newsletter, Richardson linked the audit's findings to the Measure 101 vote. Voters will be asked during that election whether to impose the new health care-related taxes, which the Health Authority will use to help fund Oregon's health insurance program for the poor. In her complaint, Atkins took issue with Richardson writing in his newsletter: "Soon Oregon voters will be considering whether or not to approve tax increases intended to provide additional funding to the OHA. With such abysmal examples of OHA misfeasance and obfuscation, OHA faces tough questions about its credibility and its ability to appropriately spend the money it is provided." Atkins alleged that Richardson was in effect telling voters to reject the tax hike. In a statement, Richardson said Democrats filed the complaint to distract from the Health Authority's failings. "Our Oregon Health Authority audit revealed that in just six months, OHA wasted more than $88 million," Richardson said. "Today, the Democratic Party chair filed a meritless complaint to divert attention from OHA's wasteful spending." By publishing his newsletter, Richardson may have violated the law, said Jim Moore, a Pacific University political science professor who studies Oregon politics. "He clearly was referring to the way he thinks people ought to vote on Measure 101. The fact that there's an election coming just doesn't belong in an audit statement," Moore said. "It's not up to the secretary of state to make that connection. That's what campaigns are for." In her complaint, Atkins also called into question Richardson's relationship with Rep. Julie Parrish, a West Linn Republican who was Richardson's paid campaign manager. Parrish, a political consultant, is a chief petitioner of Measure 101 and the person atop a fundraising committee working to defeat the taxes. Atkins said the Republicans' ties present a conflict of interest. Richardson has rejected calls from left-leaning groups for him to recuse himself from overseeing the Measure 101 election. He's also said there is nothing wrong with his political and financial relationship with Parrish. Atkins said Elections Division head Steve Trout, a subordinate to Richardson would normally oversee election law complaints, should recuse himself because of a conflict of interest. Instead, Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum should investigate, Atkins said. Richardson agreed and sent the complaint to her agency. Rosenblum's spokeswoman said the Justice Department is reviewing it. Moore, the political scientist, said Oregon's secretary of state being accused of election law violations may be unprecedented. It certainly presents a unique and puzzling ethical dilemma, he said. If an investigation reveals that Richardson broke the law, he could face a fine. In that event, he could contest the findings with the Oregon Court of Appeals. Atkins' complaint isn't the first time that she's taken issue with Richardson's approach to his political office. She has criticized her successor in op-eds. And, newly released emails show that in January, Atkins emailed Gina Zejdlik, deputy chief of staff to Gov. Kate Brown, to express disappointment that Richardson fired the secretary of state's human resources director, Jackie Steffens. "Gina -- I just learned that Richardson fired Jackie Steffens today," Atkins wrote. "What a jerk!" -- Gordon R. Friedman 503-221-8209; @GordonRFriedman As Senate Republicans geared up to pass sweeping changing to the tax code early Saturday, senators offered a number of amendments aimed at making the bill better. Oregon's Jeff Merkley is the only Democrat to get one included in the final bill. His amendment cut out a provision of the hastily-written bill that appeared to give a special tax exemption only to Hillsdale College in Hillsdale, Michigan. The private school is funded in part by Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, Merkley's office said. Senators voted 52-48 to strip out the tax break. "Senate just passed my amendment to strike the terrible DeVos Tax Earmark a handout for a wealthy, DeVos-funded private school that refuses to comply with federal non-discrimination laws," Merkley tweeted after the vote. "Like all these special interest giveaways, it never should have been in this #TaxScamBill." "When we shined a spotlight on the terrible DeVos Tax Earmark, a few in the GOP were embarrassed enough to take it out, which is exactly why GOP is rushing a handwritten bill through in the middle of the night. There's plenty in there just as bad or worse that might now become law," he said. Though the full bill eventually passed, it has a few more hurdles to cross before it is law. It must be reconciled with a House bill. Senators are working on a tight deadline, aiming to land a bill on the desk of President Trump before Christmas. -- Gordon R. Friedman 503-221-8209; @GordonRFriedman By PTI: Peshawar, Dec 2 (PTI) Nine persons were arrested today in Pakistan in connection with the Taliban attack on a Peshawar agriculture training institute in which at least 12 people, including students, were killed and 35 others injured. Three burqa-clad Taliban militants stormed the institute and opened indiscriminate fire, killing at least 12 people, half of them students, before being shot dead by security forces yesterday. advertisement The arrests were made after police and security forces carried out raids in Badhber, Telaband and other areas. "Nine suspects were nabbed and were being probed for their role in the attack," a senior police officer said. A huge cache of weapons was also recovered, he said. Earlier, the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) lodged an FIR in connection with the pre-dawn attack against unknown persons. Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), a banned terror outfit, claimed responsibility for the attack. Army said that the attack was planned and handled from Afghanistan where TTP militants are hiding. Meanwhile, bodies of victims were shifted to their native areas where funeral rituals were performed before their burial. The heavily-armed militants, who arrived in an auto rickshaw, attacked the students hostel of the Directorate of Agriculture Extension on the University Road in the city, the capital of the restive Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province. The institute was closed for the Eid-e-Milad holiday, but about 70 students were present in the hostel. The militants stormed the building by firing automatic weapons, creating panic, officials said. Aerial surveillance of the operation was carried out by the army aviation division whereas armoured vehicles of security forces were also called on site. Three terrorists were killed by security forces after a gunfight which lasted for an hour. Bullets holes in building walls, broken glass scattered and blood stains could be seen on TV footage. A police officer and two army troops were among the injured. An eyewitness said he and his colleagues were sleeping when the firing started, media reports said. The students present at the premises are undertaking their diplomas in Agriculture Sciences and Veterinary Sciences. Peshawar, close to the Afghan border, has seen some of the worst violence incidents during the Taliban insurgency in recent years. In 2014, a total of 147 people, including 132 schoolchildren, were massacred in one of the deadliest terrorist attacks in the countrys history when terrorists stormed the Army Public School in Peshawar Cantonment and opened indiscriminate fire. PTI SH CPS --- ENDS --- advertisement Midland Animal Clinic recently was awarded the American Animal Hospital Association's accreditation. This is the clinic's 54th year of accreditation, and means Midland Animal Clinic is one of the top 12-15 percent of animal hospitals in the United States and Canada. AAHA has been recognizing veterinary hospitals for their commitment to maintaining high standards of care for over 80 years. To be eligible for AAHA accreditation, hospitals must be evaluated on approximately 900 standards that assess safety protocols, equipment, veterinary knowledge, and other key areas of pet health care. Midland Animal Clinic stated that its veterinarians and staff are dedicated to delivering excellent care for pets, because pets are their passion and keeping them healthy is their No. 1 priority. "AAHA helps us stay prepared and equipped to provide the level of care that your pet deserves," Midland Animal Clinic stated. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Christmas is just three weeks away and a local church is prepared to help people get into the holiday spirit. On Dec. 7-10, Christian Celebration Center in Midland will host its sixth annual Sing Noel, a Christmas concert starring musicians, performers, a cast of favorite characters and a special second act. "This is the biggest thing we've ever done, and we're really excited about it," Pastor Leon Beaudin said. The program, about one and a half hours long, is divided into two parts. The first act is a whirl of activity, featuring a 100-voice choir, 50-member children's choir, video and light effects and holiday characters such as Olaf from Disney's "Frozen," Santa and Rudolph. "The first half is very entertaining. You'll recognize most of the songs in the first act," Beaudin explained. The second act is dedicated to telling the "biblical story of Christmas," according to Beaudin. Along with the choirs and a drum line of local students for the finale, the performance will showcase a 26-minute piece of music composed by Travis Fader, Christian Celebration Center's assistant music director. Fader has been with Christian Celebration Center since he moved to Midland from the Thumb area in 2009. He has been immersed in church music for all of his life; his father was a pastor and he taught himself how to play the piano. When Sing Noel began in 2012, the event was a perfect fit for him. "The whole Sing Noel came out of a desire to have a community concert for Christmas," Fader said. Shortly after last year's production wrapped up, Fader and Beaudin met to discuss plans for the next Sing Noel. Fader presented Beaudin with a recording of a five-minute music sample of what he had in mind. The pastor eagerly approved the work. "I've been doing this for 31 years, I buy Christmas music all the time and it's some of the best I've heard. It's like a movie score," Beaudin said. Fader explained that the music he arranged came from a need to tell the Christmas story like never before. For inspiration he turned to composers including Bradley Knight, Howard Shore, John Williams and Hans Zimmer and applied their style to Christmas music. "It's been Christmas all year long at my house," Fader joked. But he didn't stop there. In July, Fader traveled to Nashville, Tennessee, where his arrangement was performed by a 40-piece orchestra and recorded at Ocean Way Studio. "I feel blessed that I was able to go down to Nashville and record with the best of the best. It's really humbling." Local preparations began in August with the Sing Noel Choir. Both Beaudin and Fader praised the hard work and dedication the vocalists have shown over the past few months. "We're very excited to present this. The choir has never sounded better. They've worked so hard for this," Beaudin said. In November, an engineer from Nashville visited Midland to record the choir with the score. The complete recording will be available for purchase shortly after this year's Sing Noel, if not at the actual performances. Fader also mentioned plans to make the music available on iTunes and Sing Noel's website, singnoelmidland.com but didn't have a specific release date in mind. For the five performances, however, the choir will sing along to the recording. Sing Noel's popularity has continued through the years. When tickets were made available in mid-November, every performance was sold out within 24 hours. "We were stunned. No one was expecting that," said Fader. "Regardless if you're a person who attends church regularly, or someone who just enjoys Christmas, I think you'll really enjoy Sing Noel," Beaudin said. For more information about Sing Noel or to place your name on the ticket waitlist, visit singnoelmidland.com The goal of raising $50,000 to install amenities in Midland's new downtown streetscape was achieved Thursday, a day ahead of schedule. Funds were raised through a Midland Area Community Foundation campaign, which gave the community about a month to raise $50,000. The sum was raised before Dec. 1, ensuring the money will be matched by the Michigan Economic Development Corp. grant. The community foundation is also contributing another $100,000 to the project. Midland residents can expect to see two fire pits with moveable seating, six permanent checker/chess tables and 12 permanent benches being installed downtown. Zero city dollars made up the total $200,000 that will fund the amenities, said Selina Tisdale, Midland city community affairs director. "Once everything is installed and put into place, the upkeep and maintenance becomes part of the Downtown Development Authority budget," Tisdale said. They will learn how the cost of things like running the fire pits and other changes in downtown facilities will be reflected in the DDA's 2018-19 budget, Tisdale said. But the new streetscape is also driving more businesses downtown, she explained, which will help fund maintenance and new amenities. Donors were able to contribute to the project via Patronicity, a crowd funding website. According to the website, $60,255 was raised as of Dec. 1 from donations from 150 patrons. People who donated $500 or more secured tickets to a private event at a "surprise location," according to the website. Breakdown of costs: Two stone fire pits: $50,000 Twelve flexible seating options: $1,800 Six chess/checker tables: $60,000 Twelve permanent benches: $72,000 Surplus fund for maintenance or additional amenities: $16,200 The fire pits are currently being constructed, Tisdale said. The goal is for them to be in place before the end of 2017. One fire pit will be installed at the intersection of South McDonald and East Main streets in front of Oscars Bar and Grill. The other will be situated at South Ashman and West Main streets by Pizza Sam's. "Our goal right now is to run them as frequently as we can during the winter months when we know people are out and about downtown," Tisdale said. There are currently benches in place downtown, but those are not part of the additional "specialty seating" that will be added. The design has not been finalized, Tisdale said, but they might be rocking or gliding benches. The amenity seating and game boards are expected to be added during the spring. The end of the amenities fundraising campaign comes just after Midland's newly constructed streetscape officially opened Nov. 18, just in time for the Santa parade. While Tisdale said she's heard lots of positive remarks about the new streetscape, she said some are complaining about the lack of Christmas decorations downtown. Light poles being installed later than usually hampered the downtown decorating process, Tisdale said. "We didn't get to dress up the downtown quite like we usually do," Tisdale said. "There's a lot of learning, especially coming out of a fast moving construction period." Tisdale said residents can rest assured that they will be prepared to deck out downtown in future years, but are still looking to add some extra holiday flair this year. Some features of downtown's new design are wider sidewalks, with the idea of creating a more pedestrian-friendly downtown, and for hosting events and outdoor seating. Though they are currently two empty buildings side by side next to the historic Bohm Theatre in downtown Albion, thanks to a grant from the Rollin M. Gerstacker Foundation they won't stay that way much longer. A $500,000 grant from the Midland-based foundation will help turn those sites at 117 and 119 S. Superior St. into a new shared-use studio/theater facility that will serve Albion College students, faculty and staff in addition to the community as a local youth and adult community theater. "This generous gift by the Gerstacker Foundation shows again that the City of Albion and Albion College are working together to make sure each continues to thrive," said Albion College President Mauri Ditzler. "I have always believed, and will continue to believe, that the College succeeds when the City succeeds and vice versa. This new theater will offer an opportunity for our students to grow and learn as well as provide a great venue for the diverse and growing local theatre scene. This is a step forward for everyone who wants to see a vibrant downtown that is on the move." Alan Ott, vice president and treasurer of the Gerstacker Foundation, echoed Ditzler's sentiment, stating that the grant benefits both the College and the City of Albion. "If there's no community, there's no College," Ott said. "The Gerstacker Foundation has an interest in paying attention to the community and being a proponent for providing funds to the school and the community. I'm an ex-banker and I believe in community development. I think Albion is one of the best colleges in the state and we want that reputation to continue." The new facility, targeting a 2019 opening, will provide creative, educational, rehearsal and performance space for Albion College students involved in theatre. It will complement the College's current rehearsal/performance facility at the on-campus Herrick Theatre and add much needed capacity for students to create, develop and stage performances as well as to nurture the artistic community. Zach Fischer, chair of Albion College's Theater Department, sees the facility as a new venue for students to produce and perform their work not only for the campus but for the community. "They're always excited about the opportunity to perform in Albion," he said. "It's a short walk but it's a world away, and performing a play on Superior Street gives you an entirely different audience. They really want to do theater for the community and they're really interested in doing plays that loop in the community and speak to bigger issues in town. What could you do for an arts community that is more palpable than building an arts center?" Though renderings for the new facility are still to come, the idea is to have a stage and lobby on the first floor with dressing rooms, storage and rehearsal space on the second floor. The new center also represents another step in the renaissance of downtown Albion, said Bill Dobbins, a 35-year resident of the city and president of the Albion Reinvestment Corporation, a nonprofit group that works to bring new business to the community. "With the Ludington Center and the Courtyard Marriott hotel (set to open in February) and the Bohm Theatre, this is another step in the journey that we're on," said Dobbins, a 1974 Albion College graduate. "Each project has an impact, but not nearly the impact of all of these combined. It's awesome and it's exciting. It's another old building that's going to be salvaged, and a real project's going to come in there and continue to reinvigorate downtown." It's also a benefit to the local arts community and provides much-needed space for youth programs, according to Sherry Grice and Marquetta Frost, co-coordinators of 4-H Creative and Expressive Arts of Calhoun County. "The creation of the theater will be beneficial to both Albion College and the greater Albion area by offering a facility that will focus on the performing arts and offer enrichment programs for the community to create and engage in as a whole," Frost said. "It will also build on collaborative efforts to increase positive youth development and support for the performing arts within Albion and the surrounding areas." This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate When Renee Deckrow bought Ashman Plaza with her husband Aaron Deckrow five years ago, she never knew it would turn into the hub of empowerment for her community that it is today. She wanted to not only "breathe new life" into the building at 713 Ashman Street, but wanted it to be part of the neighborhood and serve the community. Live Oak Coffeehouse opened in the building at the beginning of this year, and was "the final piece of the puzzle," Deckrow said. Alongside her fellow community members, Deckrow spearheaded a neighborhood association for Midland's Midtown community that meets every month at Live Oak. The atmosphere Live Oak brings to Ashman Plaza "begs for groups like this to get together and talk," said Daniel Terhune, Live Oak's manager. "Our vision is for people just to come and get to know each other," Deckrow said. "I believe good things happen over a conversation and I feel like that's what we need more of - face-to-face." A small group of businesses and community members in Midtown started meeting in August for once-monthly discussions over coffee. City council and town hall meetings are important for people to be aware of, Deckrow said, but there's "something different" about talking informally in a coffeehouse setting. "It's about getting to know the people, there's no agenda," Deckrow said. "It's just let's get to know our neighbors, and let's give them a place to connect." The main goals of the group, dubbed Midtown Midland Neighborhood Association, are to create neighborhood relationships, facilitate a safe platform for community members to share concerns, and represent interests of the neighborhood before Midland City Council or other appropriate agencies. "The meetings started introducing neighbors to each other that have lived down the road from each other for years," Terhune said. "It's a slightly more formalized way to invite neighbors specifically to come out and be a part of the conversation, and own their community." People don't really have a natural way to meet their neighbors in society anymore, Terhune said. Simply meeting people you live next to is an important function of neighborhood associations, he said. "If you know your neighbors and your neighbors know you, you're more likely to watch out for them and vice versa," Terhune said. A slew of developments have reinvigorated Midtown in recent years, including new businesses housed in Ashman Plaza and Bricks Real Estate Experts redeveloping the building across the street. "I had a big vision of just restoring life to this building, but I didn't know what that would look like," Deckrow said. "So it's been really fun to have that come into focus." Deckrow has created an environment at Ashman Plaza that caters to businesses and organizations that all share a goal of empowering people, she explained. Different groups meet in the coffeehouse and gymnasium upstairs for a variety of things including: group fitness classes, worship and swing dancing. Other businesses in the building include a hair dresser, counseling services, photography studio, nonprofits, a wood fire pizza kitchen, oxygen business, art studio, and a business incubator. "People here are all like-minded and community oriented," Deckrow said. "They all have the same goal of empowering people, but they all have a different take on it." Midland's Midtown neighborhood is considered the link between the Center City district and Midland's downtown. The area is a mix of residential homeowners and businesses. The mixed development has the potential to create friction, and makes it even more important to have an open dialogue between neighbors, Terhune explained. "There is such a kind of melting pot in the heart of Midland, caught between a struggling district in Center City and a district that is rebuilding downtown," Terhune said. The community association has "boundaries" to give community members an idea of what Midtown is, but it is meant to be a vague guideline, Deckrow and Terhune said. "It's such a small area to define dividing lines between areas," Terhune said. "We're not going to kick anyone out." The next Midtown Midland Neighborhood Association meeting will take place at 7 p.m. on Dec. 10 at Live Oak Coffeehouse. More information about the group and future meeting dates can be found on the Midtown Midland Neighborhood Association Facebook page. The Zonta Club of Midland recently hosted the Zonta International District 15 Fall Conference at the H Hotel with more than 150 members from clubs throughout Michigan and parts of Ontario in attendance. Midland mayor Maureen Donker kicked off the event with a warm welcome and recognition of Zontians as smart, creative and thoughtful leaders on a local, regional and international level. Zonta International is a leading global organization of professionals empowering women worldwide through service and advocacy and envisions a world in which women's rights are recognized as human rights and every woman is able to achieve her full potential. Members learned about global programs that Zonta supports including Elimination of Obstetric Fistula and Reduction of Maternal and Newborn Mortality in Liberia and Let Us Learn Madagascar: An Integrated Program for Adolescent Girls. Zonta members support global advocacy programs and act locally to improve the lives of women and girls in their communities. For the conference service project the District reached out to area organizations that assist victims of sexual assault to find out how we could help them. Clothing and hygiene products requested were collected and distributed to the Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners Program (Shelterhouse) and Saginaw Area Crisis Center. Guest presenters at the conference included Caitlyn Perry Dial, executive director of the Michigan Women's Historical Center and Hall of Fame who spoke on the suffragette movement in Michigan; Sophia Kruze, Emmy Award winning documentary filmmaker and TEDx speaker; Janine Ouderkirk, executive director of Shelterhouse/The Council on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault of Midland Gladwin Counties; and Elizabeth McCormick, decorated U.S. Army Black Hawk pilot, author of "The P.I.L.O.T. Method; the Five Elemental Truths to Leading Yourself in Life" and an international speaker on leadership. "The Midland club members are very proud of putting on a fun and educational event and to introduce many new people to Midland" said club president Karla Oldenburg. More information can be found at ZontaClubofMidland.org The following list includes recent reports from the Midland County Sheriff's Office and the Midland Police Department. Compiled by reporter Kelly Dame. Thursday, Nov. 30 12:58 a.m. -- A Flint man, 27, was arrested for marijuana possession after a traffic stop in Lee Township. 2:29 a.m. -- A motorist was arrested at South Saginaw and South Waldo roads for drunken driving after a traffic crash. 8:39 a.m. -- Police investigated a case of fraud in the 3300 block of Cones Court. 8:39 a.m. -- Deputies investigated a sex offender violation involving a Geneva Township man, age 32. A report is being sent to the prosecutor. 10:48 a.m. -- A deputy investigated a report of harassment in Edenville Township. 12:14 p.m. -- Deputies responded to Lincoln Township for a report of three men hunting near the roadway. The group was not found. 1:37 p.m. -- A deputy was sent to Lee Township for a report of harassment. 2:02 p.m. -- A deputy responded to a report of a semi truck that had driven off the road in Isabella County. The semi was pulled over in Lincoln Township and the driver said he had spilled a pop and then drove slightly onto the shoulder. A warning was issued. 2:54 p.m. -- A $1,100 cell phone was stolen from a student, age 15, at a Homer Township school. The phone was returned and the owner did not wish to press charges. 4:17 p.m. -- Deputies were sent to a report of fireworks being used in Lee Township. Nothing was found. 5:34 p.m. -- A deputy conducted property checks at a home in the City of Midland during an event after threats of an altercation occurring there during the event. 9:59 p.m. -- Police investigated a hit and run traffic crash that occurred at Eastman Avenue and Airport Road. 11:02 p.m. -- Property in the 3900 block of Todd Street was damaged. Wednesday, Nov. 29 12:40 p.m. -- A vehicle was reported stolen from the 1900 block of Eastlawn Drive 11:46 p.m. -- A motorist was arrested in the 3500 block of Isabella Street for drunken driving. We have used your information to see if you have a subscription with us, but did not find one. Please use the button below to verify an existing account or to purchase a new subscription. By PTI: (Eds: Adding quotes of counter-terror dept) Peshawar, Dec 2 (PTI) Nine persons were arrested today in Pakistan in connection with the Taliban attack on a Peshawar agriculture institute in which at least 12 people, including students, were killed and 35 others injured, counter-terrorism officials said. Three burqa-clad Taliban militants stormed the training institute and opened indiscriminate fire, killing at least 12 people, half of them students, before being shot dead by security forces yesterday. advertisement The Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) has registered an FIR under stringent provisions against unknown terrorists and sent body parts of the terrorists to Lahore Forensic laboratory for their DNA tests. The arrests were made after police and security forces carried out raids in Badhber, Telaband and other areas. "Nine suspects were nabbed and were being probed for their role in the attack," a senior police officer said. A huge cache of weapons was also recovered, he said. Separately, the CTD carried out a raid in Peshawars Nasirbagh area and arrested two alleged terrorists. They also claimed to have recovered 500 grams of explosive materials and a pistol from the terrorists who belong to a banned militant outfit. Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), a banned terror outfit, has claimed responsibility for the attack. Army said that the attack was planned and handled from Afghanistan where TTP militants are hiding. Meanwhile, bodies of the victims were shifted to their native areas where funeral rituals were performed for their burial. The heavily-armed militants, who arrived in an auto rickshaw, attacked the students hostel of the Directorate of Agriculture Extension on the University Road in the city, the capital of the restive Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province. The institute was closed for the Eid-e-Milad holiday, but about 70 students were present in the hostel. The militants stormed the building by firing automatic weapons, creating panic, officials said. Aerial surveillance of the operation was carried out by the army aviation division whereas armoured vehicles of security forces were also called on site. Three terrorists were killed by security forces after a gunfight which lasted for an hour. Bullets holes in building walls, broken glass scattered and blood stains could be seen on TV footage. A police officer and two army troops were among the injured. An eyewitness said he and his colleagues were sleeping when the firing started, media reports said. The students present at the premises are undertaking their diplomas in Agriculture Sciences and Veterinary Sciences. advertisement Peshawar, close to the Afghan border, has seen some of the worst violence incidents during the Taliban insurgency in recent years. In 2014, a total of 147 people, including 132 schoolchildren, were massacred in one of the deadliest terrorist attacks in the countrys history when terrorists stormed the Army Public School in Peshawar Cantonment and opened indiscriminate fire. PTI SH/AYZ CPS --- ENDS --- NORMAL Kongskilde Industries still will operate in McLean County after selling its rural Hudson plant to Brandt Group of Companies this month. Kongskilde, a Denmark-based company that's operated a U.S. division out of McLean County since 2003, will move to 1802 Industrial Park Drive in Normal as of Dec. 15, said Central Region Sales Manager Travis Thornton. That's the same day Brandt will close on the 200,000-square-foot Kongskilde factory and that Hans Rasmussen, now president of Kongskilde Industries North America, will leave to take a position with Brandt. We want to make sure our customers and other businesses in McLean County know Kongskilde is still around, growing and servicing all our clients with this transition," said Thornton, who will become interim president. "Our goal is continue to grow here." While Kongskilde will no longer manufacture agricultural machinery in the United States, it will still provide services for the plastic, paper and packaging industries. The company has 18 local employees in its industrial and grain divisions after selling its grass and soil equipment divisions Feb. 1, said Thornton. The plant had 62 employees a year ago and opened a $10 million expansion there in 2015. Rasmussen told The Pantagraph last fall, The agricultural economy hasnt been the best recently." The remaining employees will sell components made overseas, assemble products and offer training out of 24,000 square feet of warehouse space and 4,000 square feet of office space at the new location, said Thornton. That includes a 50-by-50-foot space specifically for training and testing. HUDSON For the Semple family, bringing their business to Illinois made all the sense in the world. The day Brandt Group of Companies President Shaun Semple announced the Canadian agriculture manufacturer had officially agreed to buy the Kongskilde plant near Hudson and bring 300 to 500 jobs to the area, his father and sons showed off their Land of Lincoln bona fides at a media event there. "With our 25-year relationship with (Moline-based) John Deere ... Illinois has long been a regular destination for us, and it feels good to finally plant our flag alongside yours," said Brandt Chairman Gavin Semple, Shaun's father. For two of his grandsons, the connections are even more personal: Christopher Semple graduated from Northwestern University in Evanston, where he met his wife, Lisa, and Matthew Semple graduated from DePaul University in Chicago. All three now work for Brandt and attended Friday's event, where state and local officials thanked the company for making Illinois its U.S. base despite competing bids from Iowa and Ohio. "We already have a strong foundation in the Midwest, a large network of loyal dealers who serve many hundreds of farmers that depend on manufacturers like Brandt for their livelihood," said Shaun Semple, "so it's only fitting that we give back to the region that has played a key role in our success, bring jobs and spin off revenues to the Midwest." Gov. Bruce Rauner announced the company will be forgiven $1.1 million in future state income taxes as part of Illinois' EDGE credit program. "I was very impressed," said Rauner, who offered the Semples an Illinois flag, of the company. "They are dedicated to quality. They are dedicated to their employees. They are dedicated to a long-term commitment to excellence. They are regarded as one of the best-run companies anywhere in Canada." The company also will be forgiven at least $630,000 in property taxes after receiving abatements from McLean County Unit 5, McLean County, Normal Township and other taxing bodies that approved a tax abatement plan. "Yes, do we give, but also so does Brandt. Ten years down the road, I think that giving will be exponential in the fruit," said Unit 5 Superintendent Mark Daniel. "The work doesn't end today. Everyone you see in this room represents a business, they represent a bank, they represent the community and labor the list goes on and on. We're here to support you," said Ham to Brandt. "You're part of the McLean County family now, and we stand ready to make sure that your success is our success." Brandt plans to close on the plant Dec. 15 and begin manufacturing there early next year. The company is required to hit benchmarks, including 50 local employees next year and 300 in 2024 to receive property tax abatements. To that end, Gavin introduced Hans Rasmussen, the soon-to-be former president of Kongskilde Industries North America, as Brandt's first Illinois employee. Shaun Semple said Rasmussen, who helped design the plant, will be instrumental in Brandt's operations there. He encouraged local workers to visit brandt.ca/careers/job-opportunities and help staff the factory. "I was very impressed by the skills and talents of the people in this region, especially in manufacturing," he said. "If you're looking to be part of a privately-owned family company that is pursuing an aspirational goal of doing $5 billion in annual revenue by 2025, come join us. We're going to need you." NORMAL Graduate students at Illinois State University are close to organizing a union that would be affiliated with the Service Employees International Union. The union would cover close to 500 teaching and research assistants, according to Trevor Rickerd, a doctoral student in biology from Marengo who is one of the organizers. He said they are close to having the 50 percent plus one signatures on cards that would make the SEIU their union without a vote. Among concerns expressed by those involved in organizing the union are the variation between what graduate assistants are paid in different departments and the amount of those stipends. The amount varies by department and whether it is considered a quarter-time, half-time or two-thirds-time appointment. They can range from about $400 a month on the lower end to more than $1,000 a month on the higher end. and they generally include a tuition waiver. Geoff Ower, a graduate student in biology from Zion, said graduate students are not receiving a living wage. It's really important to stand together to improve the working conditions at ISU, said Ower, one of the organizers. But another graduate student, Adam Guenther of Wheaton, who is in student personnel administration, said he is concerned about unionizing all graduate students and standardizing practices in departments that are very different. It's politicizing issues that are already complicated as it is, he said. As for the pay, Guenther said, First and foremost, we're students. I know it's hard to make ends meet, but it's a part-time job. The university is taking a hands-off approach. From an institutional standpoint, thats the prerogative of grad students if they are interested in looking into that, said university spokesman Eric Jome. We try to step back from that and not get in the middle of it. He said ISU has contracts with several unions so the university is used to being in contract negotiations. Tenured and tenure-track faculty are not unionized at ISU, but the non-tenure-track faculty is represented through the Illinois Education Association/National Education Association. ISU would not be the first public university in Illinois with unionized graduate assistants. The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has had a graduate student union since 2003. That union is negotiating a new contract. A strike was authorized by a vote announced in November, but no strike date has been set. State Sen. Daniel Biss of Evanston, a Democratic candidate for governor, was in Normal on Friday to show his support for the organizing efforts at ISU. Speaking at Normal Public Library to a group of about 30 people, Biss described the unionizing effort at a fight for social justice. There is a trend in higher education in America that mirrors a trend across America and that's a concentration of money at the top, said Biss. Referring to his own time as a graduate assistant at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Biss said he questioned the poverty wages paid to graduate assistants but was told, essentially, that's how it's always been. It was just sophisticated nerdy hazing and there's no justice in that, he said. Patna: Dozens of paramedical students at the Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH) took out a protest rally on Thursday to press for their demands including regularization of their session and holding of exams on time. Protestors said that their batch was running over a year late and by the time they take their final exams, they would have lost two years in the process. Demanding immediate action against the pathetic condition at all medical colleges in Bihar, the students complained about classes not being held on regular basis on account of inadequate teaching staff in nearly all departments. PMCH officials said attempts were being made to regularize the session and talks were on with the government to provide stipend to the students besides getting lodging facilities in the colleges. Patna: Jan Adhikar Party (JAP) leader Pappu Yadav, at a press conference in Patna on Friday, warned the people of Bihar against Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad Yadav and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar saying the two were constantly misleading the public to conceal their own failures that has pushed Bihar several decades back in comparison to other states. "People of Bihar should be very careful about what Lalu and Nitish say or do. While Nitish Kumar is only concerned with saving his chair, the RJD chief was all about saving his own skin and the members of his family. Neither care about the people of Bihar who are leaving the state in large number in the lack of education, health care, and job opportunities in the state," Yadav said. Waving a copy of an economic report from an unnamed source, the Madhepura MP said that there had been no development between 2005 and 2016 and Bihar had fallen in all economic indices in comparison to other states. He also chastised the Lalu-Rabri and Nitish administration for failing to contain crime, particularly those committed against poor, Dalits, and minorities. Yadav said that his party would organize a 'railway chakka jam' and national highway jam on December 10 to protest against the current government. He also called for 'Bihar Bandh' on December 16 and another on February 28. By PTI: New Delhi, Dec 1 (PTI) A group of civil rights activists today moved the Supreme Court seeking intervention in the Ayodhya dispute. The plea, filed by 32 people, urged the apex court to consider the issue saying it is not just a dispute over property but has several other aspects which would have far- reaching effects on the "secular fabric of the country". advertisement The top court had on August 11 said it would commence the final hearing in the long-standing title dispute from December 5, a day before the 25th anniversary of the demolition of the medieval-era structure. "The applicants are public spirited citizens from various walks from life and across the length and breadth of India who feel it is critical as a commitment to the foundational value contained in this constitution, to intervene and inject an urgency and a sane voice in this dispute," the plea said. The Allahabad High Court had ruled a three-way division of the disputed 2.77 acre area at Ayodhya among the parties -- the Sunni Waqf Board, the Nirmohi Akhara and Lord Ram Lalla (deity). A three-judge bench of the Allahabad High Court, in a 2:1 majority ruling, had said the land be partitioned equally among the three parties. PTI AG ABA MNL SJK RKS ZMN --- ENDS --- Tehran Prosecutor Sentenced to Prison for Protestor's Death Denies Responsibility 12/02/17 Source: Center for Human Rights in Iran Former Tehran Prosecutor Saeed Mortazavi, the only official who has been held accountable for the death of a protestor who was tortured in the Kahrizak Detention Center in 2009, has publicly objected to his two-year prison sentence. Mortazavi, who has been implicated in rights violation cases throughout his career, also accused the Appeals Court judge who issued the sentence of being an accessory to murder in an unrelated case. "Only 2 Years" Saeed Mortazavi on frontpage of Etemad daily "As God is my witness, I had no knowledge of or anything to do with the guards who committed crimes at Kahrizak," wrote Mortazavi in an open letter addressing the Iranian people on November 27, 2017. Mortazavi was the Tehran prosecutor when Mohsen Rouholamini, Mohammad Kamrani, and Amir Javadifar died after being tortured in the Kahrizak Detention Center following their arrests on July 10, 2009. The three were among about 150 protesters who were rounded up that day for participating in the peaceful protests in Tehran against the result of that year's disputed presidential election. Mortazavi was deeply implicated in the transfer of the protestors to Kahrizak, and then falsified the cause of their deaths in order to cover up evidence of torture and murder at the facility. The protests of 2009, which were violently repressed by the state, came to be known as Iran's Green Movement. On November 26, 2017, Mortazavi was convicted of being an "accomplice to murder" and the "illegal detention" of Rouholamini. "When Saeed Mortazavi accepted some responsibility for what happened in the Kahrizak Detention Center, Branch 22 of the Appeals Court decided he deserved a reduction of his preliminary sentence from five years to two years in prison," said Hassan Kamali, the lawyer representing the Rouholamini family, in an interview with the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) on November 27, 2017. In September 2009, the head of the Armed Forces Judicial Organization, Shokrollah Bahrami, said that 90 out of the more than 100 people who had been detained at Kahrizak and later released had come to his office and filed complaints. Two months later, the organization claimed that 98 detainees had filed complaints but that "after compensation and mollification, eventually 51 of them agreed to withdraw their complaints." The case brought by the Rouholamini family against Mortazavi is the only one to be prosecuted to date. Rouholamini was the son of a former Revolutionary Guards commander. Denial of Responsibility In his open letter, Mortazavi denied that Rouholamini lost his life after being held in the Kahrizak Detention Center. However, in August 2009, the country's top medical examiner determined that Rouholamini's cause of death was "lack of oxygen to the brain and blows to the spine." In his letter, Mortazavi attacked the character of the judge who issued the sentence against him. "Mr. Ahmad Shiri, the current presiding judge in Branch 22 of the Tehran Appeals Court, has been accused of being an accessory to the premeditated murder of 17 children and adolescents in the Pakdasht Varamin area [in Tehran Province] by the hands of Mohammad Bijeh [theh alleged murdered]," wrote Mortazavi. In a letter submitted to the court on September 11, 2016, Mortazavi refused to take responsibility for his role in the deaths. "As I was the Tehran prosecutor at the time, I express shame for this terrible incident, even though it happened without any deliberate intention, as God and my conscience are my witness," wrote Mortazavi. Mortazavi was removed from the office of the Tehran prosecutor in August 2009 but was later appointed as the head of the Social Security Organization in March 2012 by then-President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. In 2016, a lower court ruling barred Mortazavi from government employment for five years and issued a $60 fine for the charges of "accessory to murder" and "false reporting" of the crimes committed at the detention center. Before becoming the Tehran prosecutor, Mortazavi was linked to the death of Canadian-Iranian photographer Zahra Kazemi, who died while being interrogated in Evin Prison in July 2003. As deputy prosecutor general in the 1990s, Mortazavi was also responsible for the forced closure of dozens of news outlet and other publications that supported then-reformist-President Mohammad Khatami. A Small Group In Iran Owes Banks Billion Of Dollars In Bad Debts 12/02/17 Source: Radio Farda Iranian MP Mahmoud Sadeghi, who has threatened to release the names of well-connected people refusing to pay back loans to Iran banks. Iranian MP Mahmoud Sadeghi A few hundred people in Iran have borrowed billions of dollars from the country's financial institutions and refuse to meet their obligations toward the lending institutions. Now, a current and a former member of the Iranian Parliament have taken the issue in their own hands and are trying to force the delinquent debtors to pay their bills. The MP Mahmoud Sadeghi published some details of 20 bad loans on his Twitter account on Thursday, November 30, and threatened to reveal the identity of the debtors if they do not make arrangements with their lenders within 48 hours. This means the deadline is on Saturday December 2. Just 2 days before, Ahmad Tavakoli, a former Iranian MP had made a similar threat to another group of debtors. Interestingly, Tavakoli us a well-known conservative politician and Sadeghi belongs to the reformist camp, which is the loyal opposition. Delinquent loans are one of the major crises Iranian banks are facing in recent years. According to several officials most of these loans have been granted through private or political connections, ignoring due process. Some of loans have been used for purposes other than those agreed with the lending institutions. In 2012, then President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said, "60% of the "country's financial resources are blocked by 300 people." Eshagh Jahangiri, the deputy of the current Iranian President Hassan Rouhani announced in 2014 that delinquent loans to Iranian banks exceed $20 billion. He also said that a list of ca. 600 of bad debtors was prepared by the government and handed over to the judiciary for prosecution. However, the judiciary has so far failed to take any concrete steps, apparently because many borrowers have family ties to the ruling elite or some powerful clergymen. The MP Mahmoud Sadeghi had implied this fact in a previous Tweet published on November 28, when he demanded that Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi, one of the most influential clergyman in Iran should explain about the overdue debts of his son-in-law who is one of the major borrowers in the country. The former MP Ahmad Tavakoli who runs an NGO named "Transparency and Justice", has also said that the delinquent debtors of one of the financial institutions were "mostly the children of religious scholars, veteran judges, and political figures" and he would reveal their names if they do not take actions regarding the settlement of their debts. Iran's central bank had assigned a team to investigate the issue, but according to Tavakoli the members resigned under pressure. The former MP demanded explanations from the central bank in this regard Fidelity Bank has rewarded five (5) more lucky customers in the Fidelity 10x Richer Promo held in Tamale during the 4th draw of the Promo. A total of Twenty-five thousand Ghana cedis (GHC 25,000.00) was given out to five customers as they each had their coupon balance multiplied by 10 according to the dynamics of the promotion. The five (5) lucky winners are Richard Osei Boakye of the KO Methodist Branch, Annabel Arthur of the Nungua Branch and Paul Yeboah of the Adum Branch. The rest are Felix Osei Boahen of the Berekum Branch and Zakaria Mariama of the Tamale Branch. At the draw held in Tamale, the Deputy Managing Director of Fidelity Bank, Mr. Julian Kingsley Opuni, expressed managements appreciation to its customers for their continued business over the years. He explained that Fidelity Bank is optimistic that the purpose of launching the 10x Richer Promotion is being achieved as people are saving in order to win in the promo. Fidelity Bank recognizes the need for all of us to save for a rainy day, hence every year, we undertake a promotion that rewards customers committed to saving. The nature of the rewards for these promotions is such that we do not restrict our customers with fixed prizes but give them the flexibility to undertake any project they deem fit with their cash prizes. And after tonight, five more Fidelity Bank customers will have the financial muscle to undertake certain projects to improve the quality of their lives. Mr. Opuni stated that Fidelity Bank believes every Ghanaian of bankable age should have the opportunity to experience world-class banking right here in Ghana and in their respective towns and homes. As a Ghanaian Bank, we embrace as a social responsibility, the task to make banking accessible in the remotest parts of the country. Thus from the farthermost part in the North to the South, we want to have a Fidelity Bank product in every home, hence our agency banking, which currently provides access to over one thousand agents across the country to meet all your banking needs. He was quick to add that the Northern regions were very dear to the Bank, hence the Banks collaboration with its strategic partners, to embark on a number of programs to improve the lives of the people in communities in Northern Ghana. He added that a couple of weeks ago, Fidelity Bank in partnership with USAID and SNV-Netherlands Development Organization launched the USAID-Smart Agri-Finance Project to provide access to affordable, inclusive banking services in Savannah Accelerated Development Authority zone increased, primarily for women. The project will also improve efficiency and linkages along the targeted value chains as well as promote inclusive banking, mobile finance and agricultural lending in Ghana. There is one more monthly draw and a grand draw to be held. In each monthly draw, five lucky customers will each have their coupon balance multiplied by 10. The grand draw will however offer 3 lucky customers the chance to have their coupon balance multiplied by 10X10, walking away with a total of GHS 150, 000. In all, Fidelity Bank is rewarding customers with cash prizes of almost GHS300, 000. New customers will be required to open a current or savings account with a minimum deposit of GHS 500 or multiples of GHS 500. The money must stay in the account for a minimum of one month or more to qualify for the draw. Existing customers will be required to top up existing account balances with GHS 500 or multiples of it. The new funds must also stay in the account for a minimum of one month or more to qualify. Source: Peacefmonline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video French President Emmanuel Macron has returned home after an official visit to Ghana. While in the country, he held bilateral discussions with President Akufo-Addo. President Macron was seen off at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) by Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia. He is the first French President to visit Ghana since the latter attained independence. President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo said Ghana is ready to renew and deepen the ties of cooperation and friendship with France for the progress and prosperity of their respective countries and peoples. We want our relations with France to be characterised by an increase in trade and investment cooperation, not aid, he stressed. This, according to the president, is the way to develop healthy relations between our two countries, and put Ghana at the high end of the value chain in the global market place, and create jobs for the teeming masses of Ghanaians, particularly the youth. Our vision is to build a free, prosperous, independent country a Ghana Beyond Aid. The president noted that Ghana, under his leadership, has decided to turn her back on the old economy, which is dependent on the production and export of raw materials, stressing, We want to build a value-added, industrialised economy with a modernised agriculture, which is neither victim nor pawn of the world economic order. Recounting the bond of friendship that exists between the two countries, President Akufo-Addo indicated that Ghana and France have strong ties in trade, investments, civil and security co-operation, amongst others, with statistics, indicating that French investments in Ghana totalled 1.5 billion in 2015, making Ghana the seventh biggest destination of French investments in sub-Sahara Africa. President Akufo-Addo assured President Macron that Ghana stands shoulder-to-shoulder with France in the promotion of human rights on the African continent, the rejection of terrorism as a legitimate means of resolving political issues and in attempting to develop our economies to provide opportunities for the citizens to fulfil their aspirations, especially the youth. He also expressed the appreciation of the Ghanaian people to Frances courageous commitment and participation in the fight against terrorism in Mali and the rest of the Sahel, which has brought you (President Macron) to the region three times within this short period of six months of your stay in office. Source: Daily Guide Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Hilda Terkpor, a second year Home economics student of Akatsi Senior High Technical School in the Volta region on Thursday lost her life in class as a result of what is believed to be a relapse of epilepsy. Hilda, according to Ghana News Agency investigations was allegedly battled with epilepsy for some time now. According to the GNA source, the 16- year-old girl who fell sick again on Thursday morning later told her friends she was fine. Later in the day at 1300 hours, when we were in class, Hilda placed her head on the desk for quite a long time, so one of our Mathematics teachers who happened to be present asked us to wake her up, only for us to realise she was not breathing and also had foamed from her mouth, a classmate of Hilda told the GNA pleading anonymity. The source said the teacher with the help of some students and the senior house master rushed her in one of school buses to the Akatsi District Hospital for treatment, where she was pronounced dead by the medical authorities at the facility. Some of the students who spoke to the GNA on condition of anonymity complained that the school was without an infirmary to take care of first Aid cases on Campus. It is high time our authorities treated the infirmary issue with urgency just like they treat issues with regards to schools not having teachers, Hilda could have been alive if she was given the necessary treatment on time, the source added. Although GNA placed some calls to find their side of the story, workers at the hospital were reluctant to speak, claiming they were junior Officers and were therefore not competent to react to the issue immediately. The contacted officer however gave the assurance that the hospital would come out with their side of the story after an autopsy. Hilda Terkpor according to GNA source would be laid to rest on Tuesday 5th December 2017. Source: GNA Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video "NDC is a party which doesnt lie, we dont tell lies. We dont promise on what we cant fulfill and if we can, we will promise on that....... I do remember during the campaign period they promised to give each constituency one million dollars, but we were in power and I made them know such isnt possible, but they said Oh they can do it," these are the words of the former President of Ghana, John Dramani Mahama. The former President was addressing scores of National Democratic Congress (NDC) activists at the Unity Walk at Tarkwa in the Western Region today, November 25. This is the fourth in a series of walks after similar events were held in Accra, Tamale and Cape Coast. Leading thousands of party faithful in a unity walk aimed at re-energizing the grassroots of the party as part of on-going efforts towards rebuilding the party as recommended by the Professor Kwesi Botchwey report, the former President other NDC bigwigs marched through some principal streets in the Tarkwa township; singing, dancing and drumming. The Unity Walk first started the walk from Tamso-Nsuta Junction Station through Tarkwa/Aboso, Market-Circle, Railway Quarters, Cyanide and finally end at the Tarkwa Community Centre where the ex-president and other party leaders addressed the huge crowd According to Mr Mahama, the NDC knew that most of the promises made by the NPP, especially the assurance of giving each constituency one million dollars, prior to the 2016 elections, were not feasible and only aimed at wooing Ghanaians to vote for them. As part of plans to industrialize and transform the Ghanaian economy, then candidate Nana Akufo-Addo, indicated his governments plans to help establish a factory in each of the 216 districts across the country. Nana Akufo-Addo also promised to establish one dam in every village in the northern part of the country to boost agriculture through a well planed irrigation policy. The NPP Flagbearer also promised to create another region from the Western Region, should he emerge winner in the December polls among others. His promises were however met with questions of feasibility and criticism from the governing NDC with the party largely accusing him of pandering for votes. The partys flagship programme, the free SHS policy, was however implemented in September this year. But at the NDC's Unity Walk in Tarkwa on Saturday, former President Mahama revisited the issue saying Ghanaians are "disappointed" in the NPP for its "fake promises". "Ghanaians are getting disappointed with the New Patriotic Party (NPP) because of the fake promises they continue to make...It is clearly evident that after the NPP took power, most people are getting disappointed because the things they promised to do are not what Ghanaians are seeing. Watch video of ex-president Mahama's address below: Source: Peacefmonline.com/Ghana Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video By India Today Web Desk: Abhishek Manu Singhvi from Congress, Sudhanshu Trivedi from BJP and Asaduddin Owaisi, president, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) debated about the controversial 'Ram Mandir in Ayodhya ' issue at Agenda Aaj Tak 2017 during a session titled "Kya Ram Mandir Banega 2019 Ka Mudda?" Responding to the statement Owaisi made, saying BJP and Congress are making a 'Hindu club' in the country, and on being asked if that's what BJP is up to, Sudhanshu Trivedi said, "Hinduism never believes in conversion, and that's why India never invaded any other country," and accused the Congress of indulging in caste-based politics, whether it is in Gujarat or in Bihar. advertisement Moderator senior journalist Anjana Om Kashyap asked Congress' Singhvi about the party's stand on Ram Mandir now that Rahul Gandhi is on a temple-visit spree in Gujarat. Singhvi asked, "What is the relation between Rahul Gandhi visiting temples in Gujarat and Ram Mandir issue?" and said, "Have you given monopoly on Hinduism to the BJP? I am a staunch Hindu, just that my interpretation of Hinduism is different from BJP's."BJP always resorts to divisive politics and we have seen it in these three years since BJP came to power," he said. On BJP's stance that the temple will be built regardless of the Supreme Court verdict, Singhvi said, "If you will go ahead and do whatever you feel like, regardless of what the Supreme Court rules, then why is there a judicial system?" Owaisi, talking about the plight of Indian Muslims, said, "We are stuck between BJP's hard Hindutva and Congress' soft Hindutva. Like Jawaharlal Nehru said, this country's problem will always be majority communalism." Singhvi said, "This nation was divided on the basis of nationalism by these two forces -- Muslim nationalism and Hindu nationalism -- by Muslim League and RSS, respectively. Who made Indian Nationals? It was Jawaharlal Nehru. It was Sardar Vallabhai Patel. It was Maulana Abul Kalam Azad. It was father of the nation - Mahatma Gandhi." "The decision of whether a temple should be built in Ayodhya or not cannot be one that is taken based on beliefs but on the basis of evidence and Constitution," said Owaisi. "The BJP keep issuing certificates as if their party's is the final word on every issue," Singhvi took a jibe on Trivedi. "You have been ruling Kashmir for over three years now," Owaisi told Trivedi, and said, "What have you done? You have destroyed Kashmir." The session was concluded by Owaisi who said that the decision on the Ram Mandir case should be taken on the basis of evidences. --- ENDS --- In the letter, she stated that the man talked about touching himself, asked if she fantasises about the colleague she was traveling with and commented on the bodies of other female passengers. By India Today Web Desk: Radio host and former Facebook executive Randi Zuckerberg took to social media to detail her recent encounter on a flight between Mexico and Mazatlan. Randi, who is also Mark Zuckerberg's sister, posted a letter on Twitter in which she has explained in detail about a man who was sitting next to her and making sexually explicit and lewd comments to her. advertisement In the letter, she stated that the man talked about touching himself, asked if she fantasises about the colleague she was traveling with and commented on the bodies of other female passengers. Zuckerberg further asserted that when she brought this to the notice of the flight attendants, they told her that this guy was a frequent flyer and that she should just ignore him. "When I brought it to the flight attendant's attention, their response was that this guy was a frequent Alaska Airlines traveler on this exact route, and they have had to talk to him about his behavior in the past, but oh well, don't take it personally, this guy just doesn't have a filter," she wrote. Not only that, the flight attendants even came by Zuckerberg's seat several times and "sweetly asked the passenger" if he is behaving himself today. Feeling disgusted & degraded after an @AlaskaAir flight where the passenger next to me made repeated lewd sexual remarks. The flight attendants told me he was a frequent flier, brushed off his behavior & kept giving him drinks. I guess his $ means more than our safety? My letter: pic.twitter.com/xOkDpb0dYU- Randi Zuckerberg (@randizuckerberg) November 30, 2017 Zuckerberg further said that she was furious at the airlines for "knowingly and willingly providing this man with a platform to harass women". Alaska Airlines took action into the case, and have revoked the travel privileges of the passenger pending the outcome of the investigation. UPDATE: I just got off the phone with two executives from @AlaskaAir who informed me that they are conducting an investigation and have temporarily suspended this passenger's travel privileges. Thank you for taking this seriously.- Randi Zuckerberg (@randizuckerberg) November 30, 2017 The airline said in part: "We want our guests to feel safe. As a company, we have zero tolerance for any type of sexual misconduct that creates an unsafe environment for our guests and crew members." With inputs from AP --- ENDS --- FILE - In this Sunday, Oct. 15, 2017 file photo, Somali security forces and others gather and search for bodies near destroyed buildings at the scene of Saturday's blast, in Mogadishu, Somalia. The final death toll from the Oct. 14 massive truck bombing in Somalia's capital is 512 people, according to a report by the committee tasked with looking into the country's worst-ever attack, obtained by The Associated Press Saturday, Dec. 2, 2017. (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh, File) File- In this April 5, 2000 file photo, journalist John Hockenberry joins photographer Annie Leibovitz after Leibovitz received the Alfred Eisenstaedt Award for Magazine Photography in the Portrait category in New York. Hockenberry, who most recently hosted a show on New York public radio, is the latest influential man to be accused of sexual misconduct. A guest on his radio show in 2014 stated in a recent story on New York Magazine's website that he sent her a series of emails that made her uncomfortable. (AP Photo/Stuart Ramson, File) San Judas de Tadeo: Mexico's Defender of Lost Causes By Lydia Carey The second Judas disciple in the Son of God's entourage has his own devoted following among the downtrodden, especially on his dedicated celebration day in Mexico City. The crowd is getting anxious. A man about ten feet away from me is yelling obscenities and cracking Virgin Mary jokes. Someone yells out Move Forward! I hold my breath. What people in the back cant see is the little old woman caught between the railing and crowd, they dont know about the homeless kid who has passed out up front after sniffing too much paint thinner, theyre oblivious to the three-year-old that is being held on to for dear life by her father. Dont push, people scream at whoevers behind them. But its too late for calm and tranquility, everybodys pushing. Ive had similar moments in the Mexico City subway, when riders titter nervously, embarrassed by having to elbow senior citizens and children just to get home on time. But no one in this crowd is laughing. This is serious business. Its San Judas day. Waiting for Miracles The celebration actually started last night. With hours of amateur fireworks and a singing of Las Mananitas, Mexicos Happy Birthday song, to the venerated saint at midnight. Theres plenty of drinking involved and lots and lots of music. Those that can hack it stay till morning. As the sun begins to turn the sky magenta, the masses start. Every hour the priests voice crackles over the crowd from a loudspeaker. People respond with Hallelujahs and Also with yous, and when the hymns began to ripple through the crowd, you can feel a communal hum run through your body. At mid-day I stand, back aching, in the middle of one of those masses. It feels like what I imagine about worshipping Vishnu or Shiva in the streets of India. It feels like the kind of thing you watch on a documentary about religious zealots. It feels like Ive been transported to some exotic land, but this is where I live. This is Mexico City, and these are Catholics, those supposedly dour and orderly Christians. These folks are anything but dour. The guys next to me light up a joint. The couple in front of me tries desperately to calm their tiny baby. The lips of the old woman behind me move frantically to words of the rosary over and over. People clutch their statues like life preservers in an urban ocean. San Judas Tadeo figures of every shape and size are lifted towards heaven like offerings when the priest inside the calls for them to be raised for the blessing. Kids dressed as mini San Judaseswhite robe, green sashare lifted onto shoulders to keep them from the press of the crowd. The priest reads: Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God. When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them Simon (whom he named Peter), his brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Simon who was called the Zealot, Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor. He takes a special pause at the name of Judas son of James, before the other Judas, the traitor. He went down with them and stood on a level place. A large crowd of his disciples was there and a great number of people from all over Judea, from Jerusalem, and from the coastal region around Tyre and Sidon, who had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. Suddenly the bible verses have been breathed into life. But this crowd, the one that fills the streets in front of the Templo de Hipolito in Colonia Guerrero, arent from Jerusalem or Tyre or Sidon. Instead they came from Iztapalapa and Azcapotzalco and Tepito. Oh, and a single outlier from the Chicago suburbs. We are all there for miracles, praying to San Judas for our lost causes, and waiting for a blessing. The Man and His Masses The priest and people lovingly call him San Juditas, the diminutive form of his name that makes him seem familiar, approachable. San Judas has your back, San Judas is your cuate. As the saint of lost causes hes been adopted by the marginalized, the poor, the downtrodden of the countrys capital. Juvenile and not-so-juvenile delinquents look to San Judas as their personal protector. Each 28th of the month pilgrims bring their images and statues of San Judas to be blessed by the priests at the Templo de San Hipolito, a church dedicated to a different saint altogether but that has been adopted by this band of followers. October 28th is the biggest celebration of the year, the date where if you didnt make it the other months, you can make up for it. The Hidalgo metro station overflows with followers and their San Judas figurines. They are tiny enough to fit in your pocket, and large enough that it takes two people to carry them through the crowd. Carved from wood, molded from plastic, created in porcelain, each statue has a story and is deeply connected to its holder. San Judas is depicted with an image of Jesus on his chest, which although generally attributed to the miracle Image of Edessa, looks like a giant golden coin. Many of his followers believe he can help them with their money troubles. Hes also depicted holding an axe or a club, a symbol of his martyred death, but in the eyes of his public it has made him the defender of defenseless, including of those defenseless thieves and criminals of Mexico Citys underbelly. The pilgrims statues are covered in rosaries, images of loved ones, bracelets with San Judas colors yellow, green and white. They have him holding on to stuffed animals, carrying roses and covered in good luck charms. People have come today to say thank you to San Juditas, to pray for their lost causes, and to fulfill promises they have made to him. This years San Judas mass has particular pain to it. A little over a month ago was Mexico Citys massive 7.1 earthquake that toppled dozens of buildings and took hundreds of lives. The priest prays for the souls of the departed and reads off the name of three of the earthquakes youngest victimsthey were 11, 8, and 4. The Temple and Tepache When each mass ends, the crowd starts to push. Theres a 30-second period, when we all lurch forward towards the church stairs, that feels like it might be the stampede moment. But just as we are all about to tip, we suddenly straighten ourselves again and thousands move as a single mass into the covered tunnel that leads to the main atrium of the Templo de Hipolito. Inside are wall-to-wall pilgrims, carrying their San Judas, lighting candles, crossing themselves at each new religious icon they pass. Old ladies take a rest on the benches lining the church, but the ambiance is not exactly peaceful. The room has the heat of hundreds of humans in it and the noise level of a massive bee hive. Pilgrims are praying, crying, sucking on lollipops being handed out to the crowd, but none are silent. Mexico is never silent. On right side of the churchs main altar a priest douses the crowd and their figurines with holy water. On the left are a handful of San Judas statues without headsthe saints actual state at his death. Its not clear to me whether these are brought in broken or purposefully altered, but they are all dripping with holy water. The interior of the church is a blur of incense and bodies; in order to remain for the full mass you have to be ready to plant yourself like a defensive guard. If not, you will be moved along like flotsam, as youre pushed quickly through to make room for the next round of worshippers. As one of the uninitiated, I find myself at the back of the church before I can even get a good look around. Hours of waiting and its over before it began. But theres a relief from being spit out by the crowd and I can finally move freely again. At the exits, sweet bread, bottled holy water, and rosaries are for sale at tables manned by nuns in full habit. A technicolor San Judas is lit up in the back corner; its somewhere between a Christmas tree and a house party. A Judas Party in the Streets Outside, the churchs plaza and surrounding streets are turning into a full-on party. Food vendors have set up, Tepache vendors sell their fermented fruit juice to thirsty parishioners. The crowd feels lighter, fuller after their encounter with San Judas. Images and icons of Jude are everywhere: keychains, rosaries, even t-shirts. From the time we entered the crowd to exiting the church the sun has set and the city has taken on its requisite dusky glow. Guys from the barrio huddle around their motorcycles smoking weed and drinking forties. Entire families, each dressed as St. Jude, eat tacos al pastor and grilled corn on a stick. Police stand at a distance, keeping an eye on the crowd but trying not to get too involved. After this celebration, many of the pilgrims will travel on to Puebla where they will visit some of the religious relics on display in the San Judas church there. But many more will simply go back to their tradeslegal and illegalhoping that their attendance will mean that San Judas protects them for another year, and that he has their back in this monster of a city. Lydia Carey is a freelance writer and translator based out of Mexico City who spends her time mangling the Spanish language, scouring the country for true stories and "researching" every taco stand in her neighborhood. She is the author of "Mexico City Streets: La Roma," a guide to one of Mexico City's most eclectic neighborhoods and she chronicles her life in the city on her blog www.MexicoCityStreets.com. Related Features: Mexico City's Island Life: Enchanting and Endangered - Lydia Carey Unbalanced in the Sinking City - Tim Leffel Recapturing My Religious Satirical Soul in Lutherland, Germany - Becky Garrison The Burning of the Devil in Guatemala - Luke Maguire Armstrong See other Mexico travel stories from the archives Upon being asked about Rahul Gandhi's 'newfound aggressive image', BJP President Amit Shah joked about how BJP "stole Gandhi's very own municipal constituency in Uttar Pradesh (Amethi) from him.". By India Today Web Desk: Speaking at Agenda Aaj Tak 2017, BJP president Amit Shah said that GST should not be looked in view of the forthcoming Assembly elections. "GST is probably the world's biggest sales tax reform. Even for us, GST was not about the elections, but about the betterment of economic state of the country, about freeing small-scale industries from policing and bribing crisis. When such a big change takes course, it is bound to face some difficulties in the beginning," said Shah. advertisement Shah stressed that within three months of GST implementation, the government reached out to people and took note of its loopholes and problems, and according to which necessary changes were made. "Now, there's a GST council meeting being held every month, where the teething-problems are being discussed and fixed," he added. On Congress politicising GST, Shah said that every decision regarding GST was made unanimously "with the agreement of every state leader". "I want to ask Rahul Gandhi, if there was so much problem with GST among Congress, why did six Congress CMs agree with it?" asked Shah. PM'S PROMISE TO BUSINESSMEN Further commenting on GST, he said "Prime Minister himself has promised the businessmen of the country that BJP is looking into this (GST crisis) with sensitivity. Every change that is required to help entrepreneurs of all level - small, medium and large-scale - will be made as required. We are progressing gradually." On being questioned if the increase in pace to fix GST crisis is because of the Gujarat elections, Shah dismissed it saying that it was a 'laughable' question. "We knew since a long time that the Gujarat elections are in December. If we were planning GST in accordance to it, we would've introduced it after the elections," said Shah. "Our intentions are pure," added the BJP president, triggering a round of applause from the audience. "We won't let the problems of businessmen and taxpayers of the country last for much long. We will soon come up with solutions," he said. ON RAHUL GANDHI'S RELIGION BEING QUESTIONED On the whole fiasco regarding Rahul Gandhi's Somnath temple visit and alleged registration as a non-Hindu, Shah said that it was 'not BJP, but the media that started it'. "The BJP never questioned him [Rahul Gandhi]. It was a local channel in Gujarat that first tweeted about it, after which the news went viral," he said. "Aap log bhi danda leke pohoch jate ho toh koi bol deta hai," he added, pinning the whole debacle on the media. ON HARDIK PATIL'S SEX CD Shah's one-liner was that neither 'doing' it was right, nor was releasing the CD. Refusing to comment on it further, Shah stressed that BJP's agenda is to bring development and progress. advertisement Making a U-turn to talk about Congress, he went on, "Rahul Gandhi is going around Gujarat saying some 1,000 schools have been shut down, let him name one state-run school that has been shut down." Saying so, Shah accused Rahul Gandhi of reading out of notes made by his 'managers', "only making people in Gujarat laugh like the audience here." Amit Shah also said that it was Congress that left Gujarat in the throes of "caste-based and religion-based violence," evoking KHAM. ON RAHUL GANDHI's 'AGGRESSIVE' AVATAR Upon being asked about Rahul Gandhi's "newfound aggressive image", Shah joked about how BJP "stole Gandhi's very own municipal constituency in Uttar Pradesh (Amethi) from him.". "Had he paid any attention there instead of making rounds in Gujarat, maybe he could've saved his constituency," said Shah. ON RAFALE FIGHTER AIRCRAFT DEAL Speaking on Opposition questioning the deal, Shah tauntingly said that fighter aircraft "aren't vegetables", and that its prices depend on what went into making the planes, etc. "The Rafale fighter aircraft deal was made between the governments of India and France, with no middlemen," he said, stressing that the Ambanis were "not a part of the deal." advertisement "Main bada saiyam rakhta hu, kahi mere muh se kuch galat baat na nikal jaye," was another taunt that Shah dropped for Rahul Gandhi, adding that the Congress vice president should do a better job at cross-checking information. Amit Shah confidently stated that there is tremendous wave in favour of BJP in Gujarat this election season, adding that BJP will win the state with 150 seats. ON PADMAVATI Shah stressed that moviemakers should not take facts lightly when making films on historical stories. He also argued that the story of Rani Padmini is "definitely not a myth" as there are "many books that account it". "There isn't one child in this country who has not heard of Rani Padmini's sacrifice. Everybody has read about it," he said. When asked about the bounties that were placed on Deepika Padukone by BJP leaders, Shah evoked freedom of expression. ON GDP Responding to P Chidambaram's attack regarding the bounce back of the GDP, Shah remarked, "We had left a GDP of 8.8 per cent when Congress took over. Manmohan Singh and P Chidambaram brought down to 4.4 per cent. We have at least brought it up to 6.3 per cent." --- ENDS --- advertisement In general, men are twice as likely to cheat on a spouse than women are. That frequency increases over the lifespan, peaking among the elderly. Among men 18 to 29 who have ever been married, about 1 in 10 is Evelyn Parker, a case worker who was formerly incarcerated, and Richard Cohen, president and CEO of the Philadelphia Health Management Corp., fist-bump after talking in their office in Philadelphia. Read more When Michael Koffler, the man, met lifers at Graterford, his heart opened. Some had committed murder as teenagers, and now decades later, they were near release fearing and anticipating life on the outside. "Some were as smart as anyone I've met on the outside," Koffler said. But when Michael Koffler, the CEO, thought about hiring them for his biotech business, he had a conflict. Yes, people deserve a second chance, said Koffler, who met the lifers on a field trip organized by an executives' networking group. But, most employees at Genomind Inc. in King of Prussia are scientists or highly educated computer professionals, although, with training, someone coming out of prison with a high school degree could handle data entry. But, and it's a big but, what if something went wrong? "Disclosure of patient information is more damaging than even in a large theft," not just in financial penalties but the potential for fatal damage to reputation and credibility, he said. Koffler was chief financial officer at a former company that ran background checks on anyone who handled money, "If I had taken a chance on someone and something went wrong, my superiors wouldn't have said, `Thank you for giving that person a second chance.' "In hindsight," Koffler said, "it would have looked preventable." Koffler was one of 152 Philly business leaders surveyed this month on hiring people with criminal backgrounds. Fewer than 10 percent responded low for a group with strong opinions. They are busy, but it might not be their schedules. In July, a request for summer reading recommendations yielded more responses from fewer executives. "There's still a stigma attached to these people, unfortunately," said H. Patrick Clancy Jr., who leads Philadelphia Works, the quasi-governmental agency connecting job-seekers and employers. "I'm not sure employers want to jump out and be the champions" for hiring the formerly incarcerated, Clancy said. The key, he said, is to make sure the formerly incarcerated are carefully vetted by a trusted agency. Some employers, such as Jeffrey Brown, chief executive of Brown's Super Stores Inc., regularly hire the formerly incarcerated. At Brown's 13 ShopRite and Fresh Grocer supermarkets, 500 of 3,000 employees fall into that category. "We hear a lot of negative news about people who have made mistakes," Brown said at an emotional graduation Oct. 16 for 24 people who had been in prison but had just completed a six-week training program to become supermarket cashiers. "But that's in the past and we believe that." In the present are turnover statistics: Managers say that six weeks after Brown's hires 20 cashiers off the street, only five will still be working. Six weeks after 21 formerly incarcerated people, earlier training graduates, started cashier jobs, 17 remained on the payroll. "Overall, we've had positive experiences with this population," said Richard Cohen, chief executive of the Philadelphia-based Public Health Management Corp., which manages many social service, behavioral health and job training programs. "We have individuals who have completed our programs and have come to work for us," Cohen said, responding to the survey. "The perspective of these individuals in their work with others who have justice-related concerns can be an asset. They offer perspectives, not only to participants, but also to staff. They suggest ways to do our work to encourage and support justice-involved individuals." Exactly, says Evelyn Parker, a PHMC caseworker who works with people under house arrest. "I've been there," she said she tells her clients. Parker, 63, served three years at Muncy for stealing copper pipe from vacant houses. That was on top of a lot of legal run-ins involving selling and using drugs. In prison, she said, lifers mentored her, telling her to sober up and straighten out. Upon release, she returned to college, earned a degree and landed an internship, then a job at PHMC. "My supervisor took a chance on me," she said. Parker said her clients "have to want to change," and she's gotten good at discerning who those people are. "I've got street smarts and book smarts." Those are the positives; the negatives are real, too. The owner of an IT staffing agency in South Jersey lost business when a client learned the agency had sent a software contractor with a criminal record. The client fired the contractor and the agency. "We cannot prove in court that they fired him for his record," the owner said. Ostensibly, there were performance problems, even though the contractor had been on the job, complaint-free, for half a year. The executive doesn't want his company's name used for fear of losing more business. "Clients should be willing to accept such individuals," he said in the survey. The government "should provide more benefits and support" to employers. "We can't talk about it now," said an executive, apologizing. The company, which regularly employs the formerly incarcerated, is up for a big contract and doesn't want to risk scaring away a potential client. Others surveyed said their companies can't hire people with a criminal past. "Our business is in IT and we support law enforcement, which has a strict policy against hiring people with known backgrounds because of access" to criminal justice information systems, wrote Gary Green, chief executive of Green Technology Services in Salem County. Last month, Holtec International opened a factory in Camden, promising to hire 1,000 by 2020, but no former felons. "Because we operate in the nuclear power industry, our corporate governance manual forbids hiring any felon," chief executive Krishna Singh wrote. In Philadelphia, nurse Donna Torrisi leads the Family Practice and Counseling Network, a group of clinics serving the poor 23,000 patients a year. Over the years, she has fired three people for stealing. None had a criminal record. And over the years, she has hired a few people with criminal pasts. After they had worked a few weeks, their records came up on a background check. "We look at each situation separately and assess all the issues/risks and benefits," Torrisi said. "We are committed to hiring people with criminal backgrounds as we believe everyone deserves an opportunity to succeed. We would not hire a person with a child-abuse or sexual-abuse past if they were working with children or women." One employee stabbed someone who was beating her sister. "Frankly, when I heard the whole story, I thought, `Definitely hire her. She has real strength of character,' " Torrisi said. "The people we've hired and kept have been terrific," she said. "I think there's a sense of gratitude for the job." How to hire: Find a trusted partner in the employment or social services field who can help vet candidates and teach soft-skills. Encourage them, or a family member, to stay in touch. Sometimes a non-serious parole violation will result in a brief lock-up, causing a missed shift. They may be too ashamed to call. Expect to communicate with parole and probation officers: Last-minute shift changes may be harder to arrange. Reach out to Philadelphia Works to learn about government subsidies. There is also a federal bonding program. Expect loyalty, gratitude. Learn from others. Connect and learn (two events): Driving Impact from the Inside Out, Bottom Up: Employers will talk about challenges and opportunities when hiring people from the non-traditional workforce (re-entry, immigrants, welfare recipients, veterans). Breakfast. Free. 8 a.m. to noon, Tues. Oct. 31, Free Library of Philadelphia, 1901 Vine St. Register here. Reentry: Hiring from an Untapped Pool Tight labor market? Curious about hiring people with criminal histories. Have coffee and discuss your concerns with four business executives who regularly employ people with criminal histories. Sponsored by the Philadelphia Media Network, including the Inquirer. 8 a.m. to 10 a.m., Thurs., Nov. 2, Chamber of Commerce, 200 S. Broad St., Suite 700. Free with an RSVP. Look at their faces. Look. Take one moment not much longer than the moment it took for someone to cut these teenagers down to linger on these faces and consider what was lost. Look at their smiles. The playful cock of their heads. The adolescent bravado that they probably thought masked their insecurities, but mostly hinted at the hopes and dreams they had set their sights on. Look at the light in their eyes, extinguished forever for one dumb reason or another if there even was a reason. No motive. No suspects. How many times are those two sentences included in alerts by police, an abrupt punctuation to the premature end of a person's life? Of the 26 teenagers shot and killed so far this year, arrests have been made in just 9. These aren't just the faces of Philadelphia teenagers who lost their lives to gunfire this year. This is potential, lost. Futures, lost. Not just for these young people, but also for the city. A city that continues to be mostly indifferent to the fact that its future is intricately linked to the future of its young men and women. Men and women who too many treat as throwaways because maybe they'd gotten into some sort of trouble, because that's not my neighborhood, those aren't my kids. Because I don't have to care. Not really. We have reached a depressing marker in Philadelphia, and the year isn't even over. As of Tuesday, 26 kids between the ages of 13 and 19 have been shot and killed; 27 teens were killed by gunfire last year. Teenagers whose blood spilled on streets they hardly had a chance to grow up on, whose families are left behind to bury their children, to grieve mostly on their own. Every once in a while, a death will break through the numbing apathy, and we again pound our chests and ask ourselves: What's it going to take? What will it take for our collective attentions to focus on the epidemic of gun violence, even as our attention is elsewhere. I wonder all the time about what it will take. Maybe if I tell the stories differently? Maybe if I concentrate on the financial toll instead of the human one? We spend millions on anti-violence programs and we have little to show. Maybe, maybe, maybeThough if we're being honest with ourselves, we already know what it takes: If they are killed over the city line, if they are killed in a fancy neighborhood if they are killed alongside a white person. Then, attention is paid. The shooting deaths of Salvatore DiNubile and Caleer Miller were heartbreaking two innocent 16-year-olds shot and killed in an instant, supposedly over some dispute between two groups of teens. But what went unsaid and mostly unnoticed is that the week before and the week after, the deaths of black teenagers, who had the misfortune of dying alone, barely got a mention, let alone the covers of the city's largest newspapers. And what of Kierra Johnson, the young black woman and art student whose strangled body was found in the river? Any of them might actually have gotten some attention if they died from a heroin overdose and not from a bullet, but there, too, most weren't the right color. Of course the opioid addiction that is claiming a generation of its own should command national attention, but not while turning a blind eye to the daily epidemic of gun violence claiming the lives of black and brown children. There's something obscene about the hierarchy of hurt not just in this city but across our country, and it's based not only on color but on celebrity. I can't help but wonder what would happen if we took to the streets for the countless black and brown young men the way hundreds recently did for Meek Mill. If instead of the ubiquitous billboards screaming, "Stand With Meek Mill," we all stood for David, Samir, Tyrese, Sybrii, Tyshiem, Bashir, Tymir, Tymier, Irell, Rajae, Hassan, Asla Marie, Hakim, Kenneth, Jai, Rodney, Messiah, Antione, Khalil The racial disparity in our judicial system is real and deserves attention, but imagine the attention these deaths might get if the celebrities and athletes who showed up on our streets to protest a famous rapper's prison sentence showed up for these children? Look. There, in the winter coat, is Khiseer Davis-Papther. He was 13. Markquez Houston was 16. He was a triplet. Jahmir Simmons was 18, but he still got a kick out of trying to beat his mother at a game of spades. Dimere Allen, 19, loved horses. Sean Jones, 16, had been in Philadelphia only for a handful of months from Jamaica before he was shot in his father's convenience store. Look at their faces. And then ask yourself: What if these were my children? "Among the top indicators of the World Bank for ease of doing business are land, construction, contract enforcement and custom clearance, where India ranks very low," Jaitley said. By India Today Web Desk: Slamming the Congress for not taking measures for economic reforms during the UPA rule, Arun Jaitley said under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India has improved its ranking from 142 to 100 in ease of doing business. "Prime Minister Narendra Modi is after people like me to improve India's ease of doing business ranking to top 50," Jaitley said adding that among the top 10 indicators of the World Bank, India's rank on three-four indicators is very poor. advertisement "Among the top indicators of the World Bank for ease of doing business are land, construction, contract enforcement and custom clearance, where India ranks very low," Jaitley said. HOW CAN INDIA IMPROVE? He said that on land, India ranks 183 out of 188 countries. "Improving on land indicator requires steps from the state governments. It involves system at the municipal level. If someone wants to set up an enterprise, the person needs about 50 permissions right from municipalities. The state governments should also help," he added. "If we can improve taxation system by putting it on IT, can't we put municipal permission on IT? This is to happen in states. The urban development ministry is interacting with states in this regard. If we get these permissions online, we can move forward towards the top 50 rank," the finance minister said. With regard to contract enforcement, Jaitley said the finance ministry and law ministry have worked on this and a draft is likely to be introduced in Parliament soon. On the issue of custom clearance, Jaitley said, "This is related to me. I am trying to simplify it. We are working to reduce the time of stay at ports. Less time spent at ports improves ease of doing business." CONGRESS TAXED MORE Responding to Rahul Gandhi's charge that GST is Gabbar Singh Tax, Jaitley said, "this is surprising because the standard tax rate on trade during Congress rule was 31 per cent. The excise tax was about 12.5 per cent, then there was VAT of 14.5 per cent and beyond that there was tax on tax, called cascading tax, and all led to about 31 per cent tax." "I put the 31 per cent tax on trade to 28 per cent bracket under GST. I further brought several articles from 28 per cent bracket to 18 and 12 per cent bracket. Still they call us anti-trader," Jaitley said. Responding to the Opposition's charge of frequent changes in the GST rules, Jaitley said, the problems are bound to come and the government would remove all the problems that the traders face. advertisement Asserting that the revision of GST rates will continue, the finance minister said, "the GST rates will change. It has direct relation with rise in collection of revenue. As the revenue collection improves, we will decrease the rates. I believe that reasonable rates lead to higher collection of revenue." Arun Jaitley said GST has brought a transformational change in the way India did business. He said, "earlier trucks had to wait for 7-8 hours at state borders. We removed it one night and made the transportation barrier-less. Traders had to deal with 17 departments earlier. Now they have to deal with one. All inspectors have been removed from traders' business. They have just to file their returns online," Jaitley stated. --- ENDS --- A shopper walks with a store associate in the toy section at Walmart in Teterboro, N.J The National Retail Federation said the Republican tax bill thats before the U.S. Senate for a vote on Friday would help both large and small retailers. Read more As the U.S. Senate pressed forward to pass the Republican tax reform plan, the National Retail Federation worked behind the scenes to let Washington lawmakers know it strongly backed the measure. The NRF, which represents the retail industry from big box stores to Main Street merchants, said the legislation to rewrite the tax code would spur investment and relieve retailers of a financial burden. It wrote letters and blog posts this week pointing out that the Republican plan would reduce the corporate tax rate to 20 percent from 35 percent. Just before 2 a.m, Saturday, the Senate voted 51 to 49 in favor of the measure, with Sen. Bob Corker (R., Tenn) as the lone Republican holdout, scoring President Trump a key political victory. No Democrats voted for the bill. "The retail industry has borne the full brunt of the corporate tax rate," David French, senior vice present of government relations at the NRF, said Thursday. The lower rate "will allow retailers the ability to grow, hire and expand." The NRF says retailers pay one of the highest average corporate tax rates. "Lowering the rate will help large and small retailers by allowing them to take the money they would have spent on taxes and plow it back into their business," French said. Retail analyst Simeon Siegel of Nomura/Instinet Equity Research in New York agreed that retail is heavily taxed. "Domestic-based retailers, in particular, would benefit from a lower corporate rate, as they do not enjoy the international tax breaks and pay the high rates," Siegel said Friday. "Any reduction in the corporate rate would reduce the retailers' tax load and put more cash in their pockets, which would provide a nice sense of relief amid the secular challenges they have been facing." The House approved its version of the tax legislation on Nov. 16 by a 227-205 vote. While the $1.4 trillion tax bill proposes to slash corporate taxes starting in 2019, it would lower the rates paid by individuals and families only through 2025. It would also repeal a portion of the Affordable Care Act that sets up penalties if Americans don't sign up for health insurance. The Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center, which provides independent analysis of current and longer-term tax issues, earlier this week questioned the promised tax break amount for middle-income families under the Senate bill. "The Senate bill would cut taxes by an average of $1,300 in 2019," wrote Urban-Brookings senior fellow Howard Gleckman in a Nov. 20 blog post. "But by 2027, after nearly all of the individual tax changes in the panel's bill are scheduled to expire, the average tax cut would fall to just $340, and half of households would pay more than if Congress had never changed the law at all." Glickman added: "On average, higher-income households would get larger tax cuts than those with low- and moderate-incomes. But the averages mask those disparate and idiosyncratic effects." Both the House and Senate versions must now be reconciled and sent to President Trump to sign into law. WASHINGTON As Republicans' sweeping tax bill moved toward adding a new tax on colleges with large endowments, including several in Pennsylvania, Sen. Pat Toomey (R., Pa.) added a late amendment Friday night to offer some relief. However, Democrats said his plan would help just one school, far from his home state: conservative Hillsdale College in Michigan. Democrats pounced on the amendment in a sharp debate on the Senate floor, attacking the plan as Republicans pressed for a vote on their sweeping overhaul of tax policies. "There are so many deserving schools in Oregon and Pennsylvania and elsewhere who don't get this special treatment," Sen. Ron Wyden (D., Ore.) said during an 11-minute exchange between Toomey and four Democrats. "I can't find anybody else in America who benefits from this particular provision, and that doesn't strike me as right, to have it air-dropped at the last minute into a bill." Toomey defended his proposal, saying it would provide tax benefits for any college that chooses not to accept federal student aid and therefore saves the government money. "A college that chooses to not put that imposition on federal taxpayers ought to be able to be exempt from this tax," Toomey said. "It would be available to any college that makes that choice." Democrats, however, said only Hillsdale now makes that choice and has an endowment large enough to be threatened by the proposed tax. In a sustained attack they acidly added that Hillsdale is generously supported by the family of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos. Late Friday night, however, after the floor fight, the GOP bill changed, raising the threshold for colleges facing the tax, likely sparing several near Philadelphia, and possibly Hillsdale which would make Toomey's plan moot. Before that, five Pennsylvania schools appeared to be facing a tax on their endowments due to the initial GOP plan, according to two people familiar with the issue: the University of Pennsylvania, and Haverford, Swarthmore, Bryn Mawr, and Lafayette Colleges. In New Jersey, Princeton University and the Princeton Theological Seminary were facing the tax. At issue was a proposed tax on private universities with endowments larger than $250,000 per student. Republicans wanted to add a 1.4 percent tax on those endowments to help pay for the other tax cuts in their bill. But the GOP changed the criteria late Friday night so the tax would affect schools with endowments larger than $500,000 per student. Several of the Pennsylvania schools were likely to avoid the levy because of that change. Hillsdale might also avoid it. Many colleges had raised the alarm about the tax, some saying it could cost them millions. The plan "will take money away from needy students and vital college operations," the presidents of Haverford, Bryn Mawr, and Swarthmore recently wrote to Pennsylvania lawmakers. Penn, with an endowment that tops $12 billion, could see the largest hit in Pennsylvania, if it faces the tax. Hillsdale's student newspaper recently wrote that the tax hike could cost their school $700,000. Democrats have accused Hillsdale of refusing federal aid so it could escape federal antidiscrimination rules, particularly those intended to protect gays and lesbians. "We don't have a fond opinion of discrimination and of giving a tax provision for just one college that happens to be funded by one of the wealthiest families in America because they happen to be a Republican donor," said Sen. Jeff Merkley (D., Ore.). Democrats held up the amendment as a symbol of what they said were giveaways tucked into a massive bill voted on late at night, with little time to review the final measure. Toomey reiterated that any school could take advantage of the provision if they decided to give up federal student aid. He did not answer directly when pressed on whether Hillsdale was the only current beneficiary. "There are very few, probably, who choose now to forgo all of this taxpayer money," he said, "but any college in America that wanted to could do so." His amendment was expected to be added to the GOP tax plan as part of a measure Republicans hoped to pass late Friday. The Philadelphia Federal Reserve Banks Larry Santucci (left) and Dr. Jason Karlawish of the Penn Memory Center hosted the joint conference Nov. 28-29 addressing financial abuse among older Americans, specifically those with cognitive difficulties. Read more At a groundbreaking two-day conference last week, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia and University of Pennsylvania doctors teamed up to address how banks, brokerages, and financial advisers can recognize and prevent financial elder abuse. The Philadelphia Fed, with the university's Healthy Brain Research Center and the Penn Memory Center, hosted "Aging, Cognition, and Financial Health: Building a Robust System for Older Americans." Penn Memory Center's Jason Karlawish opened by presenting research showing a correlation between decline in cognitive abilities in older adults and poor financial judgment, which may make them more vulnerable to exploitation and fraud. "This is not a problem that stands in isolation," said Philly Fed president Patrick Harker, citing this statistic: The number of 60-plus Americans taking on student loans quadrupled between 2005 and 2015, mostly on behalf of children or grandchildren. "More people living longer means more people entering retirement with plans that may have estimated a shorter life expectancy on fixed incomes that could be further compromised by the health issues that become more common as we age," Harker said. The conference brought together banking-industry and elder advocates, plus public-sector representatives, to discuss strategies for protecting elders' financial health, and possibly ideas for putting together a national task force. In February, FINRA, the securities industry's self-regulatory arm, will allow broker-dealers to place temporary holds on funds or securities if they suspect financial exploitation. But there is no federal law preventing or punishing financial elder abuse. "While institutions want to help protect their customers they're worried about the legal consequences of putting holds on suspicious electronic transfers and deposits because they're legally bound to expedite the process," Harker said. Banks and brokerages are reluctant to share information about potentially suspicious account activity with other institutions, for fear of violating federal and state privacy laws. Philadelphia Fed industry specialist Larry Santucci released a paper on data-sharing among financial institutions that could improve the financial health of older Americans, specifically those with cognitive difficulties. Karlawish, a professor at Penn's Perelman School of Medicine, interviewed Renee Packel, widow of a patient, Arthur Packel, about the signs predating his 2000 dementia diagnosis and their resulting troubles. "I didn't know anything was wrong until our homeowners' association called and said my husband hadn't paid our dues in three months," Renee Packel recalled. "He wasn't paying other bills, either, at his business. We had to hire a forensic accountant to find out that most of the money had disappeared. I was never so frightened in my life." She had to find a job after 60 years out of the workforce. Her husband had cashed out his IRA, she discovered, and they had to sell their home. Joseph Donohue, a retired engineer, is enrolled in a Penn Memory Center study. His mother was diagnosed at age 86 with dementia. "I decided to enter a clinical drug study because research makes all the difference," said Donohue, whose brain scan showed elevated levels of amyloids, a precursor to Alzheimer's. Paul Tramantozzi, a certified financial planner, spoke about his father's Lewy body dementia, and how his father asked him to handle the finances after noticing his own mental decline. "Your finances in retirement can be a land mine," Tramantozzi said. "Make sure to get a durable-power-of-attorney document, which allows your agent to manage your affairs even if you are incapacitated. Make sure to tell your CPA, your estate attorney, who that trusted person is, as well." Come February, broker-dealers also will begin asking clients to name a "trusted person" like an emergency contact on medical forms for all financial accounts, said Lisa Bleier of the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association. But banks aren't required to ask for this information, which leaves gaps in regulation. Estimates of the cost of financial fraud against seniors range widely, from $3 billion to $36 billion annually. Red flags include large ATM withdrawals; wires for large sums; nonpayment of bills; certificates of deposit or accounts closing suddenly; inability to reach seniors by phone; overdependence on or fear of caregivers; and new "friends" or strangers in the person's home. And it's not just that seniors are losing assets some are deep in debt. Research from the New York Fed and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau show debt held by people age 50 to 80 increased about 60 percent between 2003 and 2015, Harker said. Banks may introduce products such as prepaid bank cards with limits that prevent seniors' accounts from being drained. Experts recommend getting duplicate statements of elderly relatives' accounts, monitoring their checking accounts using services such as Eversafe, or freezing credit at the major bureaus. If a relative resides in a nursing or personal-care home and you suspect fraud, advocates suggest contacting the long-term-care ombudsman. Call Philadelphia Corporation for Aging 24 hours a day at 215-765-9040 if you suspect abuse of any kind. Joshua Hupperterz, 29, was held for trial on murder and related charges in the death of Jenna Burleigh, 22, a Temple University student. Read more Temple University officials Friday defended the response of campus police to an off-campus North Philadelphia apartment building the night student Jenna Burleigh was killed there early Aug. 31. The university, after harrowing courtroom testimony Wednesday in Burleigh's violent slaying, did not say what officers did when they went to the building, but said they had acted appropriately. A witness testified that university police responded twice to her calls, one of which reported a woman screaming, and twice departed. Burleigh's body was found two days later at the Poconos property belonging to the grandmother of Joshua Hupperterz, a former student who lived in a first-floor rear apartment in the 16th Street building. He allegedly killed Burleigh, 22, in his apartment about 4 a.m. Aug. 31, and is awaiting trial in connection with her killing. The Temple police response appears to differ from a Philadelphia police policy enacted more than a decade ago after similar incidents, including one near the University of Pennsylvania campus. Temple spokesman Brandon Lausch wrote in an email Friday that "the actions of responding officers have been reviewed internally, and it has been determined that they acted in accordance with accepted police practice." On Thursday, responding to inquiries about the previous day's testimony, Lausch had released this statement: "The safety and well-being of Temple students is the university's top priority. In line with that commitment, Temple Police regularly respond to noise complaints in its patrol area and work closely with Philadelphia Police on safety issues. In this case, we remain focused on supporting the criminal process to ensure that justice is served for Jenna Burleigh and her family. Our thoughts and prayers remain with them over this tragic loss." Capt. Sekou Kinebrew, a Philadelphia police spokesman, said Friday that city police implemented a policy around 2005 regarding domestic violence calls, partly in response to two incidents about 15 years ago of a person screaming or in distress who later was found to have been killed. One incident occurred around the University of Pennsylvania campus when a neighbor called police about hearing screaming or fighting in a private residence, he said. In both cases, Kinebrew said, when responding officers arrived, they could not corroborate the complaints and did not make forced entry. Under the policy, if a police officer responds to a call of a woman screaming and cannot initially corroborate the information, "the police officer will remain on the scene and will call for a supervisor" with the rank of lieutenant or higher to respond to the scene, Kinebrew said. The responding supervisor will decide whether the circumstances demand that the officers try to gain forcible entry into a private residence without a warrant, he said. Noelle Sterling, a Temple graduate student who lived in the apartment above Hupperterz's, testified at his preliminary hearing Wednesday that she twice called Temple police to come to the building, 1708 N. 16th St. The first time was about 2:15 a.m. She testified that she heard footsteps in the gravel backyard of her building and banging noises, which made her afraid. Two officers arrived about five minutes later, entered her apartment, "looked out the blinds, spoke to each other a little bit and said they would check the backyard," she testified. Sterling said she did not see them check the backyard, only accessible via Hupperterz's apartment. Then, during an hourlong call with her mother, she testified, she heard banging noises "almost like someone building furniture." Then, about 4 a.m., she heard a woman screaming, which she said lasted for three minutes, then suddenly stopped. There were "no words, just screams," she said. "It sounded terrifying, almost like if you were in a horror movie and a girl screamed, but it was worse." Asked again to describe the screams, Sterling said it was "like a woman being murdered in a horror movie." Sterling immediately called for Temple police a second time when the screaming started, she said. She said she was still on the phone with the dispatcher when the screaming stopped. Police arrived in a couple of minutes and Sterling said she described to them what she heard. She said she was not sure where the screaming came from. She testified that she thought it could have originated from the building next door. "All I knew for certain, it wasn't coming from the backyard," she said. She said she did not see the officers knock on any of the apartment doors in her three-story building. Burleigh was determined to have died from blunt force trauma and strangulation. Her body was later found in a blue plastic storage bin in an aluminium shed at Hupperterz's grandmother's property in Hawley, Pa. Assistant District Attorney Jude Conroy said Friday that authorities believe Burleigh may have been struck in her head by a broken ceramic bowl that was found in Hupperterz's apartment. Tyree Mansell, sentenced on Dec. 1, 2017, in federal court for four home-invasion robberies of Asian business owners in 2015. Read more A federal judge Friday sentenced a 38-year-old Philadelphia man to nearly four decades in prison for a 2015 string of home-invasion robberies that targeted Asian business owners and sowed fear among such merchants across the region. "This defendant is a violent recidivist," U.S. District Judge Petrese Tucker said in sentencing Tyree Mansell to 36 years and eight months in federal prison. "It's important that he be deterred, and others" like him, the judge said. "The defendant has no respect for the law." Just weeks after being released from prison in March 2015 for a similar home-invasion robbery, Mansell committed the four home-invasion robberies for which he was sentenced to Friday. From April to June 2015, he and others went to the Philadelphia or suburban homes of the owners of a beauty-supply store in West Philadelphia; a Chinese restaurant in Upper Darby; a nail salon in Overbrook; and a Lansdowne tavern. The victims were targeted because they were believed to keep cash in their homes and because they would be easy targets and would not report the crimes, Assistant U.S. Attorney Yvonne Osirim said. Inside their homes, the victims were tied up and threatened at gunpoint, she said. Another man, Sterling Wallace, 28, pleaded guilty to participating in the four home-invasion robberies. His brother, Jamain Wallace, 27, participated in one, to which he pleaded guilty. They are to be sentenced Dec. 13. Mansell's 17-year-old nephew acted as a lookout in three robberies. His case was handled in Delaware County. Osirim, who described Mansell as the leader, read several victim-impact statements in court. One elderly man, who had come to the U.S. from South Korea, described living in a quiet Montgomery County neighborhood until he was terrorized April 20, 2015, by Mansell and the elder Wallace, who pushed him, tied him up, then stole the $2,000 he had been saving to visit his homeland. "Their threatening eyes and smiling faces when I first opened the door haunted me," he said in the statement. Two other women, in separate robberies of their Upper Darby and Philadelphia homes in May 2015, described in statements how they have lived in fear since Mansell and Sterling Wallace terrorized and held them at gunpoint while they stole cash and other items from their homes. In a June 2015 home-invasion robbery in Delaware County, a 17-year-old boy was pistol-whipped by Sterling Wallace, according to court documents. The boy's mother, in a statement also read by Osirim, said she initially thought her son was going to die and asked the judge to give Mansell "the longest sentence possible." Victim-impact statements also were submitted by the Asian Pacific American Bar Association of Pennsylvania and the Greater Philadelphia Chinese Restaurant Association, which described a trend of Asian business owners being targeted because criminals believe they don't speak English well and will not testify in court. All the victims in the 2015 home-invasion robberies testified against Mansell in his July trial. He was convicted of conspiracy, committing the four robberies, and possessing a gun in one. Prosecutors, however, argued that according to the victims' testimonies, he had a gun or knew that a codefendant had one in all of the robberies. Defense attorney Kevin Harden Jr. told the judge that "there is not much anyone is going to say positive about Mr. Mansell" and acknowledged that "the facts of these cases are horrendous," but noted that no one was killed. He said Mansell was under the care of the city's Department of Human Services at age 10. Mansell, dressed in a forest-green prison jumpsuit, declined to comment. Mansell had been released from federal prison in March 2015 after doing time for a 2010 home-invasion robbery of a Delaware County businessman. About 2:30 a.m. Aug. 8, 2010, he and two other men, Terrance Downing and Nyfis Toppings, had broken into the Havertown home of the family of an Upper Darby beverage store owner, demanding money from the terrified victims and stealing about $200,000 from the house. Mansell, who was convicted on conspiracy and robbery charges, was later sentenced by another federal judge to five years behind bars. Some of the 79 men New Jersey authorities said were arrested on sex-offense charges in a nine-month-long sweep called Operation Safety Net. Read more New Jersey authorities have arrested 79 alleged sex offenders, among them a youth minister and a police officer, following a nine-month investigation that targeted those using social media to prey on children. The initiative, "Operation Safety Net," saw arrests for various sex offenses, including sexual assault, possession of thousands of files of child pornography, and sending lewd photos to children. Those arrested range in age from 14 to 75. Among them are: A Trenton police officer, 52-year-old Paul Marinelli of South Brunswick, who is charged with possession of child pornography. Three Cumberland County brothers in their 20s Kody, Alexander, and Kyle Knotts who allegedly amassed a total of 5,000 files of child pornography. Michael DeBlock, 22, of Hopatcong, a youth minister, who allegedly exchanged sexual photos and texts with a 14-year-old girl. He was arrested on Oct. 10. Authorities also arrested 10 men outside the state on charges of trying to traffic children from New Jersey for sex. Officials pinned part of the investigation's success on two new tools: a canine that can detect hidden electronics and a mobile forensics van used to more safely search devices. Police in Delaware County also recently employed an electronics-sniffing dog for child-pornography investigations. "We're even better equipped to uncover the evidence that will keep these offenders behind bars, where they cannot threaten or further exploit vulnerable victims," Attorney General Christopher Porrino said in a news release. "These cases highlight the fact that viewing child pornography is part of a continuum of deviant behavior that often leads to or drives other sex crimes." Montgomery Early Learning Centers, a Main Line provider of before- and after-school child-care services, has received complaints from two children of "inappropriate behavior" by a former staffer, according to its chief executive. The ages of the children were not disclosed. In a two-page "important message for K-8 families," CEO Ann O'Brien disclosed that the employee had been terminated after MELC conducted an investigation following an initial report of inappropriate behavior that was believed to be an isolated incident. O'Brien did not reveal what that alleged behavior was, when it reportedly happened, or the name of the ex-staffer. "Over the past week, we learned that a second child had reported inappropriate conduct by the same employee to authorities," O'Brien wrote. "We understand that criminal charges have been lodged and the former employee has been arrested. We are writing to advise you of these allegations because it appears that the initial incident may not have been an isolated event." The former employee has been identified in a number of media reports as Darrien Glover, 24, of Philadelphia. He was first arrested in July in connection with an incident alleged to have happened last school year at Cynwyd Elementary School in Lower Merion Township, according to the Main Line Times. The second allegations were made in October, the newspaper reported. Police charged Glover with unlawful contact with a minor, corruption of minors, and indecent assault of a person less than 13 years of age. He is accused of showing the students his underwear as well as his genitals on multiple occasions, according to the Main Line Times. O'Brien said that MELC officials will be reaching out to anyone who has had contact with the "former employee" at its Cynwyd Elementary program or summer camp. MELC has also been in contact with the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office and Lower Merion police, she said. The Lower Merion School District, which leases the Cynwyd school to MELC, will be sharing information on the misconduct with the families of all its elementary and middle-school students, O'Brien's message also said. The district referred specific questions on the matter to MELC and the Lower Merion police. "In closing, let me say that I am a mom first and a CEO second," O'Brien wrote. "I take MELC's responsibility to ensure the safety of your children personally and seriously. This letter is difficult for me to write and I know that it is difficult for you to read. Please know that I will continue to work tirelessly, as will all MELC staff, to ensure your child's safety and support you through this difficult time." Lower Merion police did not respond to a request for comment Saturday. The BJP won only 17 per cent votes in municipalities and only 22 per cent in municipal corporations, said Brinda Karat. By India Today Web Desk: CPI-M polit buro member Brinda Karat today called for electoral reforms to make the governments in India more accountable and a true reflection of people's will expressed during polls. Speaking at Agenda Aaj Tak in New Delhi today, Brinda Karat said, "Contesting elections has become very costly, It is being influenced by coroporates in big manner. Money has become very important in election. We need an electoral reform." Continuing her argument for electoral reform, Brinda Karat said, "The landslide victory for the BJP that people talked about yesterday (after UP civic body election results) tells a different story if one analyses the data. The BJP won only 17 per cent votes in municipalities and only 22 per cent in municipal corporations. Still their victory becomes landslide." advertisement "First past the post system has not worked well for the country, you can talk of Hindu rashtra with 31 per cent votes. Electoral reform is necessary for parties like us, Proportional representation may be thought of," Brinda Karat added. Brinda Karat admitted that the Left has failed to convert the popular support to its ideology into votes. "In all the movements of people, the Left has played a key role. But, we have failed to win elections. We have not converted supported into election winning machine," Karat said. 'RSS IS NOT VICTIM IN KERALA' The CPI-M leader also rejected the allegations of the BJP and the RSS that their supporters were being targeted by the Left cadres in Kerala. Karat said that the RSS was not a victim in Kerala. She said, "Since 1970, the RSS has been aggressor in Kerala. All the commissions which probed the violence have found that RSS has not been a victim." "The RSS's intention in Kerala is to sow the seeds of communalism because there is substantial minority population. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has held four peace meetings with the concerned parties including the BJP and RSS people," Karat stated. "In the meeting, the BJP leaders say that they agree to maintain peace. But, the next day (Union Finance Minister) Arun Jaitley visits the state and instigates them to become aggressive. (BJP president) Amit Shah goes there and gives inflammatory speeches, Ministers and leaders go there and foment trouble. One sadhvi of the party goes there and announces a bounty for Chief Minister Vijayan's head," Karat said. Karat also rejected the charge that Vijayan government had been going soft against rioters in Kerala saying, violence in Kannur was not in favour of the Left Front government there. BRINDA SLAMS MODI OVER INDIRA, NEHRU REMARKS Days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi lashed out at the Congress by referring to stands taken by former prime ministers Indira Gandhi and Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Brinda Karat today came out in support of the two leaders. advertisement Participating in a discussion on Left versus Right at Agenda Aaj Tak, Brinda Karat said that "politics of vote" should not be the only guiding force in the country. She said, "It is not good that the prime minister ridicules a former female prime minister at Morbi (in Gujarat) to drive one's point during election campaign." Brinda Karat also slammed PM Modi for referring to Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi's great-grandfather Nehru in the context of Somnath temple controversy. "Why should one refer to Nehru's opposition to Somnath temple when someone visits it. Where are you taking the political discourse? This is not good for the democratic system of the country," Brinda Karat said. --- ENDS --- (Left to Right) Ruth and Gary Davis, birdwatchers at Hawk Watch Platform, Cape May Point State Park, Friday, Oct. 27, 2017. Watchers are saying this is a particularly good year. JESSICA GRIFFIN / Staff Photographer Read more CAPE MAY They are flocking here from all over the globe, humans and birds. The birds? Up to 4,000 yellow-rumped warblers, 45 American robins, 36 peregrine falcons, and up to 500 common sparrows were spotted by birding enthusiasts one morning this week. The humans? One hundred and twenty all here for the International Bird Observatory Conference 2017. Add to that number thousands of birders who have arrived to watch the fall migration. "Cape May is truly a mecca. It is a place that you want on your bucket list of places to go birding," said Lillian Armstrong, special events coordinator for New Jersey Audubon's Cape May Bird Observatory, which this weekend is holding the international conference at the Grand Hotel of Cape May. "It really is an amazing moment to have all this happening here at once." The conference, the second to be held after an inaugural gathering three years ago in Sweden, is welcoming experts from five continents who observe, research, and advocate for birds. The work of the group is ultimately to engage and encourage millions of bird enthusiasts worldwide via educational programs, scientific research, and community-based conservation projects, according to Armstrong. Armstrong and others have noted that the migration of birds through Cape May a spot considered a premier flyway in North America because of the sheer number of birds and variety of species that funnel through its peninsula between the Atlantic Ocean and Delaware Bay is particularly spectacular this fall. The spike in the numbers of hawks, sparrows, robins, terns, and other songbirds and shorebirds and a few rare species is being driven by northwest winds and a pattern of cold fronts that have emerged along the East Coast over the past month. The winds have pushed the flocks of birds to the coastline, according to Glen Davis, 40, of Cape May Point, a lifelong birder who is working this fall for the Cape May Bird Observatory conducting a daily morning songbird count. Davis has been using software to track, record, and post an official 2-month-long daily count of his observations. He's conducted such a count on an informal basis since he was 15 and living in North Jersey. His finding this year will help researchers here and across the globe develop databases that can eventually aid them in better understanding the birds. Standout species this year? Those yellow-rumped warblers arriving by the tens of thousands daily, chirping their abrupt, loudly pitched sing-song tweets as they descend on swamps and backyards to feed on insects as they make their way from mid-Atlantic states to the West Indies and Costa Rica for the winter. "They are such delicate little birds, but sometimes they get so loud because there could be as many as 10,000 of them in one spot at once that you can't hear yourself think," Davis said. "To imagine each and every one of them letting out a little chirp all around the same time as they converge on one spot all at once, the wave of sound that is created by that, is extraordinary. It's those spectacular numbers that make this place so special." Rare species find? A lone, rather uncommon-around-here bird called a common greenshank seen by one of Davis' friends hanging out with a flock of more common greater yellowlegs at the nearby Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, Davis said. Pablo Elizondo, executive director of Costa Rica Bird Observatories, who was Friday's featured speaker at the conference, called the gathering in Cape May of both the birds and the humans an important milestone in future conservation. "In the future, bird observatories will be like the bank for the data we will need to answer the important ecological questions across the globe," Elizondo said. "As we collect and then share information, we can collaborate and understand what is happening with various species and figure out better conservation plans and solutions for understanding and preserving these species." The conference, with more than 40 programs and workshops, runs through Sunday. Prime birding season in Cape May generally runs through November. Alabama's closely watched U.S. Senate race is a neck-and-neck contest as voter concerns about personal moral conduct weigh on the candidacy of Republican Roy Moore, according to a new Washington Post-Schar School poll. With less than two weeks to go, support for Democrat Doug Jones stood at 50 percent vs. Moore's 47 percent support among likely voters a margin of a scant three points that sets up a nail-biter for the oddly timed December 12 special election. The survey shows that allegations of improper sexual behavior against Moore, a former Alabama chief justice, hang heavily over a race that would favor a Republican under ordinary circumstances in this deeply conservative state. Fifty-three percent of voters said Jones, a former federal prosecutor, had higher standards or personal moral conduct than Moore. In contrast, about a third of likely voters said Moore, who has cast his campaign as a "spiritual battle" with heavy religious overtones, had higher moral standards. Among the 1 in 4 voters who said the candidates' moral conduct will be the most important factor in their vote, Jones led, 67 percent to 30 percent. And Jones, whose strategy relies in part on peeling way Republican support from Moore, had the backing of 1 in 6 GOP-leaning likely voters. About 1 in 14 Democratic-leaning voters were backing Moore. The race, in which the winner will fill the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Jeff Sessions when he became attorney general, has taken on national importance because of its implications for the Republican majority in the Senate. If Jones wins, the GOP would control the chamber by only 51 seats to 49. Moore led Jones in most public polls before allegations became public last month, but support for Moore fell sharply afterward, with a mid-November Fox News poll showing him falling behind Jones by eight points. More recent automated surveys have found Moore regaining a slight edge. The Post-Schar School poll was conducted Monday to Thursday by the research firm Abt Associates among a sample of 749 likely voters and carried a 4.5-point margin of sampling error. To avoid influencing the answers of respondents with opinions about The Post's coverage of allegations against Moore, interviewers disclosed The Post's sponsorship of the survey only at the end of the interviews. The survey shows that the Alabama electorate is divided on the validity of the allegations against Moore. While 35 percent of likely voters thought Moore did make unwanted advances on teenage girls, 37 percent said they were unsure or had no opinion. The smallest group 28 percent of likely voters said Moore did not make the advances that were alleged. Women were more likely than men to find the allegations credible and to support Jones, with 41 percent of women saying Moore made unwanted advances compared with 28 percent of men saying the same. Moore led by 15 points among men likely to vote, while Jones led by 18 points among likely female voters. There is also a stark partisan and ideological divide in how voters have processed the allegations, with many Republicans and GOP-leaning groups expressing skepticism. Fewer than 1 in 6 Republican-leaning likely voters said they believed that Moore made unwanted advances toward female teenagers. That view was held among similarly small shares of white evangelical Protestants and those who said they approve of President Trump, who in recent days has questioned the allegations and urged Alabamians to prevent Jones from winning the seat. More than three-quarters of each of those groups were supporting Moore over Jones. At the same time, Jones was running well ahead of his own party's dismal track record in a state that last elected a Democratic U.S. senator in 1992, when Sen. Richard C. Shelby won. He defected to the Republican Party two years later. In the Post-Schar School poll, Jones had the backing of 33 percent of white voters in the state. Barack Obama won just 15 percent of white votes in Alabama in his 2012 presidential reelection, according to exit polls. "On the allegations, they have made an impact. There is no doubt," said Mark J. Rozell, the dean of the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University. "Anybody with an R next to their name should be comfortably ahead in this state." A sizable share of Alabama's Republican-leaning voters are clearly torn over the choice before them as they weigh their concerns about Moore against their desire to see Alabama send another Republican to the U.S. Senate. Fewer than half, 44 percent, of likely voters said they would prefer to see a Democrat representing Alabama in the U.S. Senate, while 50 percent of likely voters said they favored electing a Republican. Others said that they were unlikely to vote because they disliked both candidates. "I'm fed up. A lot of people are down here," said Terry Anderson, 54, of Hartford, Ala. Anderson is an independent who participated in the poll and said he was not going to vote. "I think I'll just let it all fall out on its own." Republican-leaning likely voters were particularly unhappy with the role that national Republican leaders calling for Moore to drop out has played in the race. Nearly 3 in 4 said that outsiders should stay out of Alabama politics, while one-fourth said the national Republican leaders were justified in voicing their opinions. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and other senior GOP senators have called on Moore to exit the race, and conservative stalwarts such as Sens. Mike Lee, R-Utah, and Ted Cruz, R-Texas, have withdrawn their endorsements of Moore. The Republican National Committee and the National Republican Senatorial Committee have cut ties with the Moore campaign. In Alabama, the Republican Party has closed ranks around Moore, arguing either that the allegations against him are questionable or that putting a Republican in the U.S. Senate is a more important consideration. Shelby, Alabama's senior senator, is the only statewide elected official to announce that he did not vote for Moore but opted to write in a different person's name. Republicans have a clear advantage in party identification in Alabama, and Trump defeated Hillary Clinton by 28 points in the state last November. But Democrats said they were more enthusiastic about turning out for the special election. By 47 percent to 38 percent, more Democratic-leaning voters than Republican-leaning voters said it was "extremely important" to vote in the election. Democratic-leaners were also 12 points more likely to say they were following the race "very closely," and 10 points more likely to say they were "absolutely certain to vote." Jones's campaign is banking on strong support and turnout among African American voters, who made up one-quarter of likely voters in the Post-Schar School poll. African American likely voters supported the Democrat 93 percent to 6 percent. Countering Democrats' enthusiasm, Moore's supporters have voted more in recent low-turnout elections, including the U.S. Senate primary in which Moore prevailed. Several women have accused Moore, 70, of initiating unwanted sexual encounters with them, mostly when they were teenagers and he was in his 30s. Leigh Corfman told The Post that she was 14 at the time of the alleged encounter. Moore has denied the allegations of sexual misconduct, arguing that he is the victim of a political conspiracy by Republicans, Democrats, the news media, socialists and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people "who want to change our culture." At the same time, Moore has not ruled out that he dated teenagers with their parents' permission when he was in his 30s. "If I did, I'm not going to dispute these things, but I don't remember anything like that," Moore said on Sean Hannity's radio show on Nov. 10 in response to claims that he had dated 17- or 18-year-old girls. Other women interviewed by The Post in recent weeks said that Moore pursued them when they were between the ages of 16 and 18, while he was in his early 30s. The Post has spoken to a dozen people who worked at the Gadsden Mall in Gadsden, Alabama, in the late 1970s and early 1980s and said they recalled Moore as a frequent presence. Several women who worked there said they remember Moore making them feel uncomfortable. The Alabama electorate was nearly unanimous in its view that men in their 30s should not date 16-year-old girls. Among likely voters, 91 percent said such relationships are never appropriate. Fifty-six percent said older men dating teenagers was not more acceptable back in the 1970s, although 32 percent thought it had been more acceptable, including 41 percent of Moore's supporters. Of the social issues that have dominated much of the debate in the race, abortion has been a bigger asset for Moore than his campaign focus of fighting against those who would increase protections for gay, lesbian and transgender people. Just over 3 in 10 Republicans and Republican-leaning independents said they trusted Jones more to handle rights for gay and transgender people, while 51 percent said they had greater trust in Moore. By contrast, 80 percent of the same group expressed greater trust for Moore on abortion, and 78 percent trusted him more on health care. Moore has argued that judges who support same-sex-marriage or legalized sodomy should be impeached, as both positions go against his view of divine law, which he says has supreme authority over the Constitution. Republican-leaning voters with college degrees are among the most likely to trust Jones on gay and transgender rights 44 percent trust him, while 39 percent trust Moore. Among Republicans with some college education or less, Moore leads, 57 percent to 25 percent on trust to handle these issues. The poll was conducted by The Post and the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University via landline and cellphone. NEW YORK Pennsylvania Society this year had all the traditional trappings the same big crowds gathered around open bars listening to politicians pitch themselves while swapping gossip carried from back home and picked up here. But it was all somehow different. And a little off-putting for some. The 119th soiree was uprooted from its ancestral home at the Waldorf Astoria hotel, a place where attendees could revel in the gilded splendor tracing back to the titans of industry like Andrew Carnegie, who started it all. Instead, the party was relocated to a Hilton that opened near Times Square in 1963, a midcentury monolith that former City Controller Jonathan Saidel derided as "Stalinistic." Still, politicians being politicians, they did what they do. Gov. Wolf, seeking a second term next year, showed up after skipping the last two years due to protracted state budget battles in Harrisburg. National news on Friday and Saturday frequently drew attention away from the festivities the plea deal struck by President Trump's former national security adviser, Mike Flynn, and the U.S. Senate nearing completion on a tax-cut package. Vice President Pence, the main draw for a Pennsylvania GOP fund-raiser Friday morning, had to cancel in case he was needed to cast a deciding vote on the tax bill. Instead, donors were treated to a speech from Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel. Sens. Bob Casey and Pat Toomey were also stuck in Washington for the vote, so the candidates for Pennsylvania governor took center stage for much of the weekend. In an interview, Wolf took a not-so-veiled swipe at State Sen. Scott Wagner, the York County Republican vying to set himself apart as the front-runner in his party's four-way primary election to be the nominee to take on Wolf. Wagner has previously portrayed himself as Trump's man in Pennsylvania, the right person to carry forward the populism that helped swing the state for the Republicans in the 2016 presidential election. To Wolf's view, that hasn't aged so well, especially the embrace of Wagner by Steve Bannon, Trump's former White House adviser and strategist of nationalist politics who has now returned to the conservative website he ran before the campaign. "I think it's going to be tough to step away from something you said or an endorsement from Steve Bannon," Wolf said. Wagner, standing at the door to his reception and greeting each visitor with a handshake, conceded that his ties to Trump and Bannon could be more problem than propellant by next year. But he quickly tagged Wolf as well. "Last weekend Gov. Wolf participated in a very secret conference in California with [House Democratic Minority Leader] Nancy Pelosi and [New York billionaire] George Soros," Wagner said. "So, I think that's going to come back to bite him." That was a reference to the Democracy Alliance's conference last month, a gathering of left-leaning donors, where Wolf, Pelosi, and Soros all spoke. Wagner also delivered a bombastic review of his Republican competitors at the usually wonky Pennsylvania Manufacturers Association event, knocking them for not having the experience he has in starting and building a business. "What I said in there is, Pennsylvania is a patient bleeding on the table, it's bleeding to death. We need a surgeon, someone who has the skills," Wagner said after the private gathering. He has a successful waste-hauling company. State House Speaker Mike Turzai, the most recent Republican to enter the gubernatorial race, joins two others from Allegheny County, Paul Mango and Laura Ellsworth. Does that give Wagner, the lone candidate from the center of the state, an advantage? "I don't think it's about geography," Turzai said. "I think it's about the vision." Asked what he told business and political leaders at the manufacturing association event Saturday, Turzai said he was a "reformer with results." Referring to his rivals' wealth, he added: "I'm the only candidate who can't write a personal check. I can relate to everyday people." For his part, Mango, a Pittsburgh businessman, argued he brings "a much deeper sense of obligation and commitment" to the race than his GOP primary rivals. "I think I'm the only one who actually left my prior job to do this," he said in an interview at the Metropolitan Club, near Central Park. Ellsworth blasted what she derided as Harrisburg's short-term budget gimmicks and lamented that instead of growing the economy, "we are ever more dependent on hoping more and more of our citizens drink and smoke and gamble and smoke pot." "What have we become?" she asked. More than a few people who traveled to New York said the new venue, necessary because of renovations at the Waldorf Astoria, left them wanting. A few looked at the windowless walls and patterned rugs of the event rooms and said it felt more like an everyday casino than a swanky affair. Sean Reilly, a Philadelphia lobbyist, recalled the railroad barons who launched the Pennsylvania Society. "Can you imagine those guys in top hat and long tails coming in and saying, 'The Hilton?' " Reilly asked. "It's a different vibe." Saidel, who has been traveling to New York for the event for a quarter-century, said the changes felt like "an out-of-body experience." "It is quite strange," he said. "I walk outside, I still can't find my way back here." Call it muscle memory. Many attendees were so accustomed to wandering the halls of the Waldorf, attending the same events in the same ballrooms every year, that a new hotel's layout could be confounding. But a party is a party and for former Trump advisers David Urban, Jim Schultz, and Anthony Scaramucci, a reunion of sorts at Scaramucci's restaurant, Hunt & Fish Club. Mayor Kenney made his dutiful stop at Friday's Metropolitan Caucus, where leaders from Philadelphia and the surrounding counties talk about playing as one big team. The topic this year was pulling together to lure Amazon to build its new, second headquarters in Southeastern Pennsylvania. But Kenney read the room which featured one of the first open bars of the weekend. His speech clocked in at 59 seconds, flat, after Montgomery County Commission Chairwoman Val Arkoosh struggled in vain to be heard. While there was plenty of grumbling, there didn't seem to be much enthusiasm for relocating the event to Pennsylvania. That prompted more questions than solutions. Would it be in Philadelphia? Pittsburgh? Alternating year by year? But as with all perennial events, a certain optimism was built into the next attempt. "The space is antiseptic, and the bar isn't quite as good," said Lawrence G. McMichael, an attorney with Dilworth Paxson LLP in Philadelphia. "But the Waldorf will be back." Michael Flynn leaves federal court in Washington on Friday after pleading guilty to making false statements to the FBI. Read more Here is a timeline of Michael Flynn's involvement with Donald Trump's presidential campaign, his brief career as Trump's national security adviser, and the probe into Russia's interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign. 2014 Aug. 7: Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, head of the Defense Intelligence Agency, retires from the DIA and the military under pressure from the Obama administration. 2015 June 16: Donald Trump announces his bid for president. Dec. 10: Flynn is paid to attend a dinner for Russian broadcaster RT in Moscow, sitting at the same table as Russian president Vladimir Putin. 2016 February: Flynn joins the Trump campaign as an adviser. July 22: WikiLeaks releases emails hacked from Democratic National Committee computers, reportedly by Russians. Nov. 8: Flynn publishes an essay in "The Hill" titled "Our ally Turkey is in crisis and needs our support" without disclosing that he was a paid consultant to Turkey. Nov. 10: At a White House meeting, Obama reportedly warns Trump against hiring Flynn. Nov. 16: Flynn is named by Trump to be his national security adviser. Dec. 1 or 2: At a meeting at Trump Tower, Flynn and Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law, meet Russia's ambassador to the U.S., Sergey Kislyak. According to the Washington Post, Kislyak later reported to Moscow that Kushner suggested using Russian diplomatic facilities in the United States to set up a secret and secure communications channel between Trump's transition team and the Kremlin. Dec. 22: A person described in the plea agreement as a "very senior member" of Trump's transition team directs Flynn to contact foreign governments, including Russia, to learn how they stood on an Egyptian resolution to the U.N. on Israeli settlements, and to try to influence those governments to delay the vote on the resolution or defeat it. Flynn calls Kislyak and requests that Russia vote against or delay the resolution. Dec. 23: Kislyak tells Flynn that Russia would not vote against the resolution if it came to a vote. Dec. 28: President Obama signs an executive order imposing sanctions on Russia in retaliation for meddling in U.S. elections. Kislyak contacts Flynn that day. Dec. 29: Flynn makes a phone call with what the plea agreement describes as a "senior official" with Trump's transition team at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida to discuss what to tell Kislyak about the sanctions. The official and Flynn discuss that members of the transition team do not want Russia to escalate the situation. Immediately after the call, Flynn calls Kislyak and requests that Russia not escalate and only respond to the sanctions in a reciprocal manner. After this call, Flynn calls back to Mar-a-Lago to tell the senior official about the substance of the Kislyak conversation. Dec. 30: Putin says Russia would not take retaliatory measures in response to the U.S. sanctions. Trump praises Putin in a Twitter post. Dec. 31: Kislyak calls Flynn to tell him Russia chose not to retaliate in response to Flynn's request. Flynn later tells Trump transition team officials about this conversation with Kislyak. 2017 Jan. 13: Reports surface that Flynn was in frequent contact with Kislyak. Jan. 14: Flynn tells Vice President-elect Mike Pence that he did not discuss Russia sanctions on a call with Kislyak, a claim Pence later repeated in a television interview. Jan. 20: Trump is sworn in as president. Jan. 24: The FBI interviews Flynn about his Russian contacts. Jan. 26: Acting Attorney General Sally Yates tells White House officials that Flynn may be vulnerable to blackmail over statements about contacts with Kislyak. Feb. 8: In an interview, Flynn twice denies having meetings with Kislyak. Feb. 9: The Washington Post reports that Flynn privately discussed U.S. sanctions against Russia with Kislyak in December, contrary to public assertions by Trump officials. Flynn's spokesman says "that while he [Flynn] had no recollection of discussing sanctions, he couldn't be certain that the topic never came up." Feb. 13: Flynn resigns amid what White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer would later call an "eroding level of trust." Feb. 14: In a private meeting, Trump asks FBI Director James Comey to drop the investigation of Flynn, according to a memo Comey wrote shortly after the meeting that was shared with the New York Times. Trump tells Comey, "I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting Flynn go. He is a good guy. I hope you can let this go." March 7: Flynn files documents with the Department of Justice disclosing that he earned $530,000 as a consultant for Turkey. March 31: In a statement, Flynn's attorney, Robert Kelner, writes "General Flynn certainly has a story to tell, and he very much wants to tell it, should the circumstances permit." Trump tweets that Flynn should seek immunity, complaining that the Russia probe is a "witch hunt." The White House also releases a revised financial disclosure form for Flynn that shows he received speaking fees from RT TV, the Russian television network, and two other Russian firms. Flynn failed to report that income when he initially filed his disclosure form in February. April 25: Flynn reportedly tells friends that "I just got a message from the president to stay strong." May 9: Trump fires Comey. May 10: Trump tells Russian officials at the White House that Comey was "crazy, a real nut job" and that "I faced great pressure because of Russia. That's been taken off." May 17: Rod Rosenstein, the deputy attorney general, appoints former FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III as special counsel to investigate any possible collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russian government's efforts to influence the 2016 presidential election. Oct. 30: Mueller charges former campaign chairman Paul Manafort and a longtime business partner with conspiracy to launder money, making false statements, and other charges in connection with their work for a Russia-friendly political party in Ukraine. Another campaign aide, former foreign-policy adviser George Papadopoulos, pleads guilty to making a false statement to the FBI about his attempts to contact Russian officials. Dec. 1: Flynn pleads guilty to making false statements to the FBI over his conversations with Kislyak, saying in a statement that he was cooperating with Mueller's investigation "to set things right." Republicans in the Senate just passed a sweeping overhaul of the U.S. tax code, the largest change since Ronald Reagan's presidency. The bill zipped through the process in a mere three weeks. It's still not a done deal, though, as substantial differences between the House and Senate bills need to be ironed out before President Trump can sign the final piece of legislation into law. But there's little doubt this is a major victory for Trump. Here's a rundown of the winners and losers so far: Winners President Trump. He promised a "big, beautiful" tax cut by Christmas. It's the centerpiece of his "MAGA-nomics" agenda, and he looks likely to get it (at least by early 2018) as both the House and Senate have passed the major hurdles of passing bills. In fact, it might even end up being a tax cut AND a repeal of the individual health care mandate, one of the least popular Affordable Care Act provisions. Most economists also expect the bill will juice economic growth, at least for the next year or two. The economy has been growing around 3 percent for the past two quarters. If it jumps to 4 percent (or more) in coming quarters, Trump can claim an even bigger victory heading into the 2018 midterm elections and the 2020 presidential election. Big corporations. America's largest companies are about to get the biggest tax cut ever. Both the House and Senate bills slash the top corporate rate from 35 percent to 20 percent. While few corporations actually pay 35 percent the average is around 25 percent most still get a break. Really profitable companies like Apple and Microsoft also get to bring back the piles of cash they have sitting in offshore accounts to the United States at a very low tax rate (currently just 10 percent in the Senate bill). There are other goodies in the bill for them as well such as the ability to fully deduct the cost of new investments for the next five years. But perhaps the biggest win of all for big business is a change from a worldwide tax system where businesses have to report income earned all over the world to the IRS to a territorial system where they mainly pay taxes only on what was generated in the United States. People with money in the stock market. The Dow surged above 24,000 for the first time ever this week. The stock market is up about 600 points (2.6 percent) just this week as investors cheer the the tax cuts getting closer to reality. If Trump is able to sign the bill, investors are likely to get a very good deal. Many companies plan to bring cash home from abroad and give a lot of that extra money to investors in the form of higher dividends and stock buybacks (which increase stock prices). Overall, tax cuts mean more larger profits for businesses, which means more money in the pockets of investors. Many in the middle class (at least for a while). Republicans have sold the tax plan as a boost to middle class paychecks. According to the nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation, 80 percent of Americans earning $50,000 to $75,000 would get a sizable reduction in their taxes by 2019 (the average cut would be about $850, according to the Tax Policy Center). Overall, about 62 percent of Americans would pay at least $100 less in taxes in 2019. But the tax cuts for families don't last forever. The Senate bill has the lower rates for individuals going away after 2025. Republicans argue a future Congress is likely to extend the cuts, but there is no guarantee that will happen. Sen. Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.). He did it on taxes. The Senate Majority Leader took a huge blow over the summer when the Affordable Care Act repeal failed. Trump appeared to give him the cold shoulder for a while, but McConnell is the man of the hour now. He managed to rally GOP senators to deliver the biggest priority of all: tax cuts. It turned out to be a surprisingly difficult task with many senators demanding last-minute changes, but McConnell got the 50 votes he needed. Sen. Pat Toomey (R., Pa.). The Pennsylvania senator was one of the main authors of the Senate tax bill and he defended it vigorously on the floor of the U.S. Senate. As Democrat after Democrat slammed the bill, Toomey calmly stood up and sold the bill as a way to make American companies more competitive and profitable so they will invest more in the United States and hire more workers, hopefully raising wages as well. Toomey played an especially large role in crafting the tax changes for small and large businesses, a very complex tax. Rich kids. The GOP tax bills make it a lot easier for wealthy parents to pass property and money to their kids. Under current law, up to $5.5 million can be passed down tax-free. After that, there's a 40 percent tax, known as the "estate tax" (or the "death tax" by critics). The House bill eliminates the estate tax entirely. The Senate bill allows rich parents to pass up to $11 million onto their heirs tax free. Maybe Dreamers? Sen. Jeff Flake (R., Ariz.) says he is voting for the tax bill despite his concerns about what it would do to the national debt because GOP leaders promised him they would pass legislation soon to allow "Dreamers" (young people in the country without documentation who have gone to school in the United States and followed the law) to stay. Losers Senate Democrats/Filibustering. Democrats panned the bill as a "tax scam" that gives away a ton to the wealthy and corporations, but they were not able to stop the bill. Republicans were able to pass this massive legislation with just 50 votes in the Senate. Normally it would take 60 votes, but Republicans side-stepped any trouble from Democrats by using a clever tactic known as reconciliation where they are allowed to tack one major bill a year onto the budget and pass it with a simple majority vote (the tie is then broken by Vice President Mike Pence we know how he will vote). Sen. Bob Corker (R., Tenn.). He made a brave last stand Thursday night to try to force Republicans to change the bill so it wouldn't add so much to the deficit. He was upset to learn that even after accounting for economic growth, the bill is still expected to cost $1 trillion. That was too much, Corker said, but in the end, his Republican colleagues passed the bill without him. Corker has already said he's retiring from the Senate after his term expires after the 2018 election. It could be lonely for him in the Senate lunch room for a while. People who care about the debt. For years, many Republicans have railed against America's growing debt that ballooned under President George W. Bush and then President Barack Obama because of wars, tax cuts and the Great Recession. The total debt is now $20 trillion (about $15 trillion is actually held by the public). The tax bill is likely to add at least $1 trillion more, according to the Joint Committee on Taxation, the official scorekeepers in Congress. In other words, all signs indicate the debt will continue to get worse in the coming years. The 13 million Americans who won't have health insurance. The Senate bill isn't just a tax bill; it also includes the repeal of the individual mandate that requires all Americans to buy health insurance or else pay a penalty. This provision is not in the House bill, so it might not make it to the president's desk, but if it does, it's expected to cause a spike in health insurance premiums in the United States and 13 million Americans to drop insurance coverage in the next decade, according to the Congressional Budget Office. The poor. The Senate bill cuts tax rates across all income levels, but 44 percent of Americans don't pay any federal income tax, so it doesn't help them. Some senators notably Marco Rubio (R., Fla.) and Mike Lee (R., Utah) pushed to give more money back to lower-income families in the form of refundable tax credits. Rubio and Lee wanted to make a lot of the Child Tax Credit refundable. But that didn't happen, meaning the poor won't get much benefit from the bill. If anything, they might lose a lot some won't be able to afford health insurance anymore and some are likely to lose other government benefits as Republicans look for ways to trim the federal budget in the coming months. Puerto Rico. The island that was devastated by Hurricane Maria this fall now might lose some of the few big businesses that remain on the island if the GOP tax bill gets enacted. The reason is that Puerto Rico would no longer look so advantageous as a place to do business compared to the rest of the United States. Puerto Rico's governor is trying to push for the island to be deemed a "free trade zone," but that doesn't look likely. Harvard. The House and Senate bills create a new 1.4 percent tax on private college endowments worth over $250,000 per student. Only a handful of universities have such large endowments. Most are Ivy League schools like Harvard. Maybe losers (depends on conference committee) College students. The House bill scraps many popular deductions for college students and college grads with student loans. The House bill eliminates the popular student loan debt write off, and it forces graduate students who receive tuition waivers (sometimes as much as $20,000 or more) to count that money as income for tax purposes, even though they don't actually receive money in their pockets. It would be a big hit and many universities are saying it could heavily dissuade graduate study. The Senate bill does not make these changes. Elderly with high medical expenses. The House bill gets rid of the deduction for huge medical expenses, which 8.8 million Americans (mostly elderly) currently use. The Senate keeps this deduction in place, setting up a major conflict to be worked out. With 203 members, Pennsylvania has the largest full-time legislature, and the most expensive. Read more In the next few weeks, the Pennsylvania legislature has a once-in-a-generation opportunity to improve our politics as well as our state finances. Due to a map-drawing error at the Constitutional Convention of 1968 yes, you read the date right that hasn't been resolved in 50 years, our state has the largest full-time legislature in the nation. That gives us an unwieldy state House of 203 individual members, each of whom makes over $87,000 a year more than double Philadelphia's median household income of $41,000 without counting generous per diem benefits at the taxpayers' expense. Even worse, our lawmakers have the highest base pay of those in any state except for California. Pennsylvania's is the largest full-time legislature, and the most expensive. Wonder why our politics are so sclerotic, and building consensus in Harrisburg is so difficult? The size of our state legislature is one of our foundational problems. State Rep. Jerry Knowles (R., Schuylkill), the primary sponsor of a bill to shrink our state House by about a quarter, thinks a state House of 151 members will be more capable of addressing the problems we face: underperforming schools, environmental and regulatory issues from natural gas extraction, and underfunded state pensions that could bankrupt a generation of retirees. The proposed size of 151 will still give Pennsylvania a larger state House than much bigger states like New York, Texas and California. Districts will still be small enough that representatives will have a personal relationship with many of their constituents. Knowles' bill passed overwhelmingly through both legislative chambers in 2015, but state law mandates that an identical bill be passed by both chambers before a looming mid-January deadline. Only after passing in two consecutive legislative sessions can it be offered to voters as an amendment to our state's constitution, and it must pass by mid-January to reach voters by our May 15 primary. And only if it reaches voters by May 15 can it come into effect with the 2020 census. But as the clock ticks down, the bill languishes in our House State Government Committee. If the vote isn't scheduled by mid-January, Pennsylvanians can anticipate another 10 years of political stagnation, since districts are redrawn only once a decade according to the census. It also means the estimated $15 million annual savings money better devoted to our yawning pension shortfall won't be realized either. If the measure reache a vote, it will likely pass the House and sail through our state Senate, which won't be downsized. Then voters will have the final say at the ballot booth. The main obstacle is getting the measure to the House floor for a vote. Whichever House member manages to do so whether through a committee or a "discharge resolution" to release the bill to the floor will be a hero to Pennsylvanians of all political persuasions. But politicians have a funny habit of burying reform efforts through procedural stalling. A similar measure gained momentum but ultimately failed in 2013. Are Pennsylvanians going to have to live with our indefensibly large state legislature for another decade or more? Across the country, we witness an unprecedented crisis of confidence in our political system and our elected officials. If our politicians seek to earn and keep trust, the solution isn't so complicated: they must promise what they'll do, and do what they've promised. Even in this era of rapid political change, there's one promise almost every voter recognizes about Republicans, and that's that we wish to reduce the size and scope of government in our lives. If our elected officials want to make campaign rhetoric into reality, they should seize this rare opportunity for real action. At the end of the day what motivates most politicians is reelection; Republicans in the state legislature should not need reminding that our party faces significant headwinds coming into the 2018 cycle. If we're to avoid the fate of Virginia, where a historic Republican majority was nearly wiped off the board in last month's off-year elections, Pennsylvania Republicans should be running, not walking, to ingratiate themselves with moderate and swing voters. Passing Rep. Knowles' measure, running on a good governance platform, and shoring up our state's finances are the best way to preserve majorities in both legislative chambers. Pennsylvania voters, meanwhile, should be watching H.B. 153 closely, and ensuring that the rare chance to bring our state legislature back to Earth doesn't vanish into the depths of a House committee. Albert Eisenberg is the former communications director for the Philadelphia Republican Party. He runs his own digital marketing firm. Find him on Twitter @Albydelphia. By PTI: New Delhi, Dec 2 (PTI) The Centre has withdrawn rules brought in May this year which sought to regulate fish and aquarium markets, according to a government notification. Under these rules, the aquarium owners and their establishments were required to register themselves. The government has withdrawn the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Aquarium and Fish Tank Animal Shop) Rules, 2017, the notification issued on Novermber 30 said. advertisement "In exercise of the powers conferred by Section 38 of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960 (59 of 1960), except as respects things done or omitted to be done before such withdrawal, the central government, hereby withdraws the notification number G.S.R. 493(E), dated the May 23, 2017," it said. The Union Environment Ministry, however, clarified that the consideration process to make certain changes to a notification which bans the sale and purchase of cattle at animal markets for slaughter "was still on and the file (related to the ban on cattle for slaughter) was still with the Law Ministry". When asked about media reports doing rounds that the Centre has withdrawn the notification to ban the sale and purchase of cattle at animal markets for slaughter, a top Environment Ministry official told PTI, "The file is still with the Law Ministry. This (November 30 notification) pertains to the aquarium and fish tank animal shop rules." To a question on the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Aquarium and Fish Tank Animal Shop) Rules, 2017, the official said that the ministry will have a "relook" at the rules. The ministry had recently said that it is "considering" making certain changes to the notification which bans the sale and purchase of cattle at animal markets for slaughter, to make it more "acceptable". The Environment Ministry had in May notified that the stringent Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Regulation of Livestock Markets) Rules, 2017, under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act. Under the rules, there was a ban on the sale and purchase of cattle at animal markets for slaughter, a move that was expected to hit the trade and export of meat and leather. The rules had also prohibited practices cruel to animals, including painting of horns and putting ornaments or decorative materials on them. PTI TDS VIT KJ SC KJ --- ENDS --- According to Chennai Police, a man might be involved in the murder of his own mother. The man is already booked under a case of sexual assault and murder of minor girl. By Pramod Madhav: In yet another incident of gruesome crime in Chennai, a woman was found bludgeoned to death at her residence on Saturday. The deceased was the mother of the man accused of sexual assault and murder of a minor girl in February earlier this year. The incident came to light after locals informed the police at around 3.30 pm about the death of Sarala (45). The police who rushed to the spot found Sarala beaten to death and lying in a pool of blood. advertisement Police said that the jewelry of the woman was missing when she was found. Sarala's son Dhashvanth (23) was arrested in February in connection with the sexual assault and brutal murder of a seven-year-old girl. Partially burnt body of the girl identified as Hasini was found by police after her kin reported that she went missing. Police confirmed that Dhashvanth was recently released on bail and that he had gone missing. He reportedly got bail after his father objected to his arrest by the Chennai Police under Goondas Act. Police have raised suspicion over the involvement of Dhashvanth in the murder of his mother. Dhashvanth had also threatened the family of the minor girl and asked them to not appear before the court. --- ENDS --- The cyclone has so far claimed lives of at least 13 people in Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Thiruvananthapuram: A fisherman being taken to a hospital in Thiruvananthapuram on Friday, after being rescued by defence personnel from rough seas. (Photo: PTI) By India Today Web Desk, Siddharatha Tiwari: Cyclone Ockhi that battered Tamil Nadu and Kerala in the last two days has finally moved beyond the coast of Lakshwadweep. Ockhi will now recurve towards the coast of Gujarat. Following the latest development the Gujarat government has issued warning to fishing community from December 4. However, the cyclone is expected to weaken into deep depression when it reaches the Gulf of Khambhat around December 6. The change is likely to be followed by heavy rainfall in the state. advertisement The severe cyclonic storm over Lakshwadeep area and adjoining southeast Arabian Sea has further moved northwestwards at a speed of 18 kmph. The storm is likely to weaken from Sunday morning. Fishermen are advised not to venture into the sea along and off south Gujarat and north Maharashtra coasts from Sunday night for the subsequent 48 hours. The cyclone has so far claimed lives of at least 13 people in Tamil Nadu and Kerala. HERE ARE THE TOP DEVELOPMENTS: The Kerala government today decided to urge the Centre to declare Cyclone Ockhi, which left a trail of destruction in the state, as a national calamity. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan entrusted chief secretary K M Abraham with the task of preparing a memorandum in this regard, chief minister office (CMO) sources said. Earlier today, fishermen, tourists and coastal population in Karnataka were advised not to venture into the sea for the next 48 hours as the sea conditions are likely to be non-conducive due to the effect of cyclone Ockhi. A Coast Guard (CG) advisory in Mangaluru said the status of weather and sea conditions should be checked on television, radio, newspapers and smart phone applications before venturing out into the sea. The Tamil Nadu government today requested the Centre to deploy helicopters of the Indian Navy and Coast Guard for the search and rescue of missing fishermen, mostly from Kanyakumari, in the wake of cyclone Ockhi. Chief Minister K Palaniswami made the request as he discussed the situation with Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh. Palaniswami told Singh that Kanyakumari and Tirunelveli had suffered the worst damage, and detailed the relief work being carried out in "full swing" there, it said. Singh assured the AIADMK leader that the Centre would provide the assistance required to rescue the fishermen, it said. Meanwhile, DMK working president M K Stalin wrote to Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on the issue of rescuing the stranded fishermen. As many as 531 fishermen, stranded in the choppy waters off the Kerala and the Lakshadweep coasts due to Cyclone Ockhi, have been rescued, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said today. So far 393 people from Kerala have been rescued, Vijayan said, as the state government announced a compensation of Rs 10 lakh to the family of those who died in the storm. In Lakshadweep, 31 relief camps have been opened in the 10 inhabited islands. So far, 1,047 people have been evacuated to the relief camps, official sources said. No casualties have been reported, with the worst-affected islands being Minicoy and Kalpeni. Seven people have lost their lives in Kerala in rain- related incidents over the past two days, official sources said. With inputs from PTI --- ENDS --- Must-Read Travel Guides EAST ASIA SOUTHEAST ASIA Featured Articles Contact Copyright Disclosure If you wish to contact me for questions, collaboration inquiries, comments, suggestions, reviews or just about anything, please send an email to. I will try my best to reply quickly! Unless, of course, I'm on a trip! :D All rights reserved. All photos and content in this blog are owned by(unless otherwise stated). Parts of the articles may be excerpted (a link to this site should be provided), but not reproduced as a whole. Photos may not be used without permission. Thank you very much!Unless otherwise stated, I personally write my blog posts and it expresses my own thoughts and opinions. I pay for all the expenses of my trips (unless otherwise stated). I welcome collaborations and reviews as long as they are beneficial to my readers. All reviews on collaborations contain my own views and opinion and were not influenced by anyone. For inquiries, you may contact me here . Thank you very much! Perseverance Valley, which cuts into the west rim of Endeavour Crater, a 22-kilometer (13.7-mile) diameter hole in the ground, was for years one of, if not the most anticipated geological features, not just of Opportunitys expedition around Meridiani Planum, but of the entire mission. It was formed billions of years ago sometime after the crater was created, during the Noachian Period, an epoch when planetary scientists generally believe the planet was more like Earth, with lakes, rivers, underground water, hot springs, and volcanoes, and perhaps even an ocean. Guided by her team of human colleagues on Earth, the robot pressed on through the depths of the missions eighth Martian winter in November still on the quest to Follow the Water, as NASA directed so many years ago. The robot field geologist is starring as a Crater Scene Investigator in a kind of CSI Mars at Perseverance, sleuthing to uncover ancient clues to find out what exactly carved this unique valley feature into Endeavours rim billions of years ago, what formed its braided grooves or channels, and what scoured its outcrops. Opportunity found signs of near neutral water in remnants of clay minerals in 2012-2013 at Cape Yorks Matijevic Hill. Hopes are high that the rovers forensic findings in Perseverance will uncover critical clues the scientists need to determine how much water was once here and whether it could have fed potentially habitable environments. Were doing the same thing wed do if we were there as astronauts walking around and looking for evidence, said MER Deputy Principal Investigator Ray Arvidson, of Washington University St. Louis. What were after is any indication of process. The MER scientists officially are considering multiple hypotheses from flowing water to a muddy debris flow, ice, ice melting into water, water coming out of fractures, or wind or a combination of these forces to explain how the valley and its distinctive features came to be. Perched over one of the bright, flat rocks on the northern outcrop of a site the team named La Bajada, the rover scored a small one for wind this past month. La Bajada features two different bedrock units in direct proximity separated by rubbley terrain, perhaps broken up rock thats been filled in by sand, said MER Project Scientist Matt Golombek, of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), the birthplace of all of NASAs Mars rovers. While the southern outcrop is darker in tone and lumpy with rocks, the northern outcrop is flatter and lighter toned. Opportunity shot pictures of the site with her stereo Pancam eyes back in August as she drove by it on her way to the next, planned stop. The scientists were struck by what they saw: scouring on some of the northern outcrop rocks, specifically what appeared to be erosional tails, geological signs of an erosive force that seemed to be pointing up hill. It looks pretty convincing in the Pancam images that these little tails actually are pointing uphill, though I wouldnt say it was bulletproof, said Squyres. Since the favored theory is still that Perseverance itself was carved by water in some form, and since water doesnt flow up hill, at least not a hill as steep as the grade of this valley, which descends from Endeavours rim to the crater floor, these little tails were just too intriguing to ignore. So in the final sols of September, the team decided to have Opportunity back up to La Bajada in October, as reported in last months MER Update. These erosional tails were the primary reason we decided to drive back up hill, said Arvidson. We wanted to really pin these down. But even for the rover that loves to rove, backing upslope in Perseverance wasnt easy. Opportunity popped two wheelies in October and struggled to get into a safe position over the chosen scoured rock and a target the team named Mesilla. The biggest trouble with this terrain is that its very steep, said Rover Planner Ashley Stroupe, of JPL. Even so, if the scientists were going to effectively solve this scientific puzzle, they needed their robot to take close-up pictures of these erosional tails with her Microscopic Imager (MI) camera. Cpl. Seth Kelly, a Pennsylvania state trooper wounded during a gun battle Nov. 7 in Plainfield Township, has been moved out of the intensive care unit at the hospital where he has been undergoing treatment, according to state police. Cpl. Seth Kelly (Photo: Pennsylvania State Police) Kelly remains at St. Lukes Hospital-Fountain Hill, where he continues to recover from gunshot wounds to his neck, shoulder, and thigh, reports the Morning Call. The 13-year veteran of the state police and husband of a Forks Township detective still has a lengthy recovery before him, authorities say. Kelly likely saved his own life by applying a tourniquet to his leg after he was shot during a traffic stop. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Email Print The Trump White House is now claiming that Obama authorized Mike Flynns conversations with Russians, but their claim was immediately dismissed as absurd by former Obama Director Of National Intelligence, James Clapper on CNN. The White House came up with a new blame Obama excuse by telling CNN, None of the conversations were improper and were authorized by the Obama administration. Clapper destroyed the idea that they would authorize any conversations with Russians: Okay, James Clapper seems pretty clear that the Obama White House did not okay Flynn's shenanigans. pic.twitter.com/lEmGHJhquN Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) December 1, 2017 Clapper said, Thats absurd. Thats absolutely absurd. There was great concern at the time, not just with this particular contact, but with the violation of the principle that historically been followed of one president, one administration at a time, and that gave rise to because of all these contacts that Mike was having and others in the transition with the Russians and other foreign entities is what is this, what is this all about? So to say that we blessed it, or acquiesced it is a stretch. The Trump White House plan is to blame Obama, and if that fails, they are going to blame Obama some more. I am sure that excuse plays well with the 30% of the country that hated Obama and will stand by Trump no matter what, but for the rest of us living in reality, the blame Obama card is not going work. The White House cant explain away the fact that their national security adviser was committing crimes against America, so they have done the only thing that they know how to do. Donald Trump is blaming Obama. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Email Print Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) was voicing his concern that Senators will be voting on a massive tax bill that will alter the US economy for decades without seeing it, when Senate Majority Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell told him that he would have time to read the bill after it passes the Senate and is in conference with the House. This is how far Republicans have gone to undermine democracy: McConnell tells Wyden there'll by "plenty of time" for him to look at the Senate tax cut bill when it goes to House-Senate conference committee to work out difference with House version. pic.twitter.com/rytyMj12mc Mark Knoller (@markknoller) December 1, 2017 What McConnell is doing is blowing up the legislative process undermining the Consitution. The elected representatives of the people cant represent the interests of their constituents if they arent allowed to read legislation before voting on it. Mitch McConnell is committing a crime against democracy. Citizens cant read the bill for themselves because it hasnt been publicly released. Senators dont have adequate time to review the legislation because it has not been provided to them. Senate Republicans are ramming this bill through because they know that they are living on borrowed time. The voters are coming for them, and they are trying to get all that they can for their wealthy campaign contributors before the American electorate is transformed into an angry mob at the ballot box who are intent on voting them out of office. It is not surprising that same man who blocked a Supreme Court nominee is passing a secret tax cut for the wealthy because that is exactly who Mitch McConnell is. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Email Print Rachel Maddow explains why Mike Flynns cooperation with the Special Counsel is another step toward the Russia hammer coming down on Vice President Mike Pence. Video: Maddow said, Vice President Pence insisted publicly more than once that Mike Flynn never talked about sanctions with the Russian. That was always a false statement. Well, now we know that multiple members of the Trump transition team knew it was a false statement when Mike Pence said it. So, whyd they let him say it? Honestly, what we learned today also raises the question of whether or not Mike Pence knew that was a false statement when he said it. Well, we can report exclusively tonight that Vice President Mike Pence has not spoken to Robert Mueller or his team of investigators nor has been asked to. We can also report tonight that the Vice President has not been asked to hand over any documents to the Mueller investigation, but given what just emerged today in federal court, one has to expect that he knows that is coming. Rachel Maddow was spot on. Vice President Pence isnt going to be the Republican savior if Trump goes down for Russia scandal related crimes. Pence is going down with him. Vice President Pence was the head of the transition team. He has a direction connection to Mike Flynn and most of the major questions surrounding the Russia scandal. Mike Pence is into this scandal up to his eyeballs, and no one should be surprised if he is indicted before Trump. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Email Print Not only have Democrats not seen the legislation, but Republicans havent provided them with a list of amendments that will be included in the bill. According to Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO): This is so bad. We have just gotten list of amendments to be included in bill NOT from our R colleagues, but from lobbyists downtown. None of us have seen this list, but lobbyists have it. Need I say more? Disgusting. And we probably will not even be given time to read them. pic.twitter.com/Mn0i56JeZg Claire McCaskill (@clairecmc) December 1, 2017 Republicans are carrying out an act of theft in broad daylight on the Senate floor. Instead of a bipartisan process that respects how a legislature is supposed to function, Mitch McConnell and company have been secretly railroading the American people by not providing information and details on what will be voted on. Senate Republicans have given lobbyists more information than they have Democrats and the American people. Good legislation that helps people and the country that they live in doesnt need to be hidden. Mitch McConnells actions are fundamentally undemocratic and show that the culture of disrespect for democracy runs all through the Republican Party. A MeT department bulletin said cyclone Ockhi is likely to move west-northwestwards across Lakshadweep before turning north-east in the following 48 hours. A woman weeps as locals in Thiruvananthapuram's Poonthura protest, alleging rescue operations have been inadequate in the wake of cyclone Ockhi (Photo: ANI/Twitter) By Agencies: Cyclonic storm Ockhi, which stranded hundreds of fishermen and caused destruction in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Lakshadweep, is likely to intensify in the next 24 hours. A MeT department bulletin said it's likely to move west-northwestwards across Lakshadweep before turning north-east in the following 48 hours. Official sources said giant waves were expected along the coast of Kerala. Gale winds with speeds of 120-130 kmph gusting to 145 kmph are very likely over Lakshadweep in the next 24 hours, the MeT bulletin said. advertisement Several agencies, including the Coast Guard, the Navy and the Air Force , worked together to rescue over 200 stranded fishermen on Friday. Meanwhile, Rahul Gandhi tweeted in Malayalam requesting the government to assist in the rescue efforts. "I extend my condolences to the families of all the fishermen who lost their lives because of cyclone Ockhi. I request the government to put in all the effort to rescue the fishermen who've gone missing in the sea," tweeted Rahul Gandhi. Here's everything you need to know about Cyclone Ockhi, in 10 points. WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW Rescue operations launched jointly by the Navy, the Air Force and the Coast Guard after Cyclone Ockhi hit the southern districts of Kerala and Tamil Nadu, resumed today - with 102 Kerala fishermen yet to return home, a top state official said. Thiruvananthapuram district Collector S. Vasuki said the 102 fishermen cannot be considered "missing." Angry fishermen at Poonthura, a coastal hamlet near Thiruvananthapuram blocked traffic as about a dozen fishermen from their village were yet to be traced. A special Mass was held at the Poonthura St Thomas Church for the suffering. Protest in Poonthura (Photo: ANI/Twitter) The families of the missing have now started to show pictures of their loved ones to the media to send a message to other parts of the state in case they are sighted. The Kerala government has announced free rations to be supplied to fishing villages affected by Cyclone Ockhi. Houses were damaged, coconut trees uprooted and communication lines disrupted as rains - accompanied by strong winds - lashed the Lakshadweep islands. Minicoy island received 14 cm of rains in the last 24 hours (ending at 8:30 this morning), Met department sources said. Coconut trees have been uprooted in various places and houses damaged in eastern Kalpeni and Minicoy, official sources said. They added that the extent of the damage was being assessed. The breakwater jetty, the embarkation and disembarkation point to Kalpeni island, have suffered severe damage. Last night, Prime Minister Narendra Modi assured Tamil Nadu full assistance from the Centre for the damage caused by Ockhi in the southern parts of the state. The cyclone claimed at least 17 lives in Tamil Nadu and Kerala and disrupted daily life. Tamil Nadu will send a report to the Centre seeking funds after carrying out a detailed assessment of the damage caused by the cyclone, which has crippled life in Kanyakumari district, CM Edappadi Palaniswami told Modi. The Tamil Nadu government said over 1,200 people affected by the cyclone in Kanyakumari and Tirunelveli districts were lodged in relief camps. After concentrated efforts taken with the help of Union Govt & massive search ops carried out by INS ships we have brought back 6 boats & 73 fishermen. Search ops are underway as 33 boats & 95 fishermen are still missing: Tamil Nadu Fisheries Minister D. Jayakumar #CycloneOckhi pic.twitter.com/P3rKymrSSA- ANI (@ANI) December 2, 2017 WATCH | Rescue operation off Kerala coast (Video courtesy: @indiannavy/Twitter) #HADR #CycloneOckhi #SAR continues off Kerala Coast. IN ac P8i, DO, ALH, Seaking 42B&C in area since dawn. Ships from SNC and ICG in area. Western Fleet ships INS Chennai, Kolkata & Trikand have augmented SAR as well. INS Shardul heading 2 Minicoy for assistance 1/n @nsitharaman pic.twitter.com/PQGMShIn20- SpokespersonNavy (@indiannavy) December 2, 2017 --- ENDS --- Facebook Twitter Pinterest Email Print Showing that the upcoming Dec. 12 special election race in Alabama is still up in the air, a poll released Saturday shows Democratic senate nominee Doug Jones hitting 50 percent and holding a three-point lead over GOP senate nominee and accused child molester Roy Moore. According to the Washington Post-Schar School survey, very few Alabamans remain undecided on the race, and likely voters choose Jones by a 50 to 47 margin. Whats more striking is that on issues that Moore should be trouncing Jones religious values, morals and abortion the Democrat is either leading or splitting voters in the deeply conservative state. More from the Washington Post: Fifty-three percent of voters say Jones, a former federal prosecutor, has higher standards of personal moral conduct than Moore. In contrast, about a third of likely voters say Moore, who has cast his campaign as a spiritual battle with heavy religious overtones, has higher moral standards. Among the 1 in 4 voters who say the candidates moral conduct will be the most important factor in their vote, Jones leads, 67 percent to 30 percent. On abortion rights, an issue that should be owned by any right-wing candidate in Alabama, Moore and Jones are essentially tied, 47-46, respectively. Other polls released in recent days give Moore the edge over Jones, and a Republican in Alabama, sexual assault and misconduct allegations aside, is always the favorite but the closeness of the race indicates that voter enthusiasm and turnout will play a major role in deciding the outcome. On that score, the poll notes, Democrats have a pretty sizable edge. By 47 percent to 38 percent, more Democratic-leaning voters than Republican-leaning voters say it is extremely important to vote in the election, the Washington Post reports. Democratic-leaners are also 12 points more likely to say they are following the race very closely, and 10 points more likely to say they are absolutely certain to vote.' If the race is truly this close and Doug Jones voters are more committed to turn out, Alabama could send its first Democrat to the U.S. Senate since 1992. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Email Print Jaws dropped on Saturday after Roy Moore supporter Amy Kremer said she would still support the accused child molester if concrete proof came out that he is guilty of what a growing list of women. In an interview with Joy Reid, Kremer was asked by the MSNBC whether she would continue to support Moore if concrete proof emerges that the GOP Senate nominee did, in fact, molest teenage girls and her answer was stunning. Video: Roy Moore supporter Amy Kremer tells Joy Reid that she would stand by Moore even with concrete proof of child molestation #AMJoy pic.twitter.com/CuZaOg2Wt4 Sean Colarossi (@SeanColarossi) December 2, 2017 Kremers response was stunning: Joy, we have stood beside him and if he is elected, that is what the voters will choose. If he is elected, there should not be any ethics investigations. The reason is because these people are going to the polls knowing all the information thats been put in front of them. They have the wherewithal to make the decision. Should there become an ethics investigation and Mitch McConnell and his cronies tried to expel him from the United States Senate, thats a very dangerous line. Not only did Kremer suggest that she would continue to stand by Roy Moore if the credible allegations made against him were proven, but she went as far as to say that there shouldnt even be an ethics investigation at all. Its just the latest evidence that supporters of Donald Trump, Roy Moore and other high-profile Republicans will allow their candidates to get away with anything. Contrast that with Democrats, who immediately responded to recent allegations made against Sen. Al Franken and Rep. John Conyers by condemning them, proposing ethics investigations, and in the case of Conyers, demanding he step down. The Republican Party and its supporters have long claimed to be the party of religious and family values. That has long been a myth as they repeatedly ignore those values in their own lives and use them to discriminate against folks who dont share their beliefs. As they continue to stand by two sexual predators Donald Trump and Roy Moore no matter what allegations surface, its time for these Republicans to drop the charade that they give a damn about family values. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Email Print Donald Trump was greeted by a large crowd of protesters on Saturday as his motorcade took to the streets of New York City ahead of three fundraisers the president is scheduled to attend today. Video footage posted on social media shows the gathering of people shouting lock him up and New York hates you! Trump Motorcade arriving to chants of Lock Him Up in NYC https://t.co/fIFcUCLuIO Justin Hendrix (@justinhendrix) December 2, 2017 Hundreds of demonstrators chanting New York hates you, lock him up, outside midtown restaurant where President Trump is having a fundraiser today. pic.twitter.com/5Tx6fXeO4D Nicole Fuller (@nicolefuller) December 2, 2017 One of the most clever signs at the demonstration hilariously claimed that a package of lunch meat would make a better president than Trump. A couple hundred protesters outside Donald Trumps first NYC fundraiser, including man holding sign that said, A package of bologna would make a better president. Andrew Restuccia (@AndrewRestuccia) December 2, 2017 The protests come on the heels of two important political developments of the past 24 hours: 1. The news that Michael Flynn lied to the FBI and will testify that Trump ordered him to talk to the Russians during the campaign; and 2. The overnight passage of the GOP tax scam, which represents a massive giveaway to the wealthiest Americans at the expense of the lower and middle-class. The American public has clearly already had enough of this president, from his disastrous policy proposals to his deteriorating mental state to the boiling scandal into his troubling ties to Russia. If Robert Muellers special counsel investigation continues to unfold the way it currently is, the lock him up chants could become a reality. NEW YORK The Federal Communications Commission formally released a draft of its plan to kill net-neutrality rules , which equalized access to the internet and prevented broadband providers from favoring their own apps and services. Now the question is: What comes next? "RADICAL DEPARTURE" The FCC's move will allow companies such as Comcast, AT&T and Verizon to charge internet companies for speedier access to consumers and to block outside services they don't like. The change also axes a host of consumer protections, including privacy requirements and rules barring unfair practices that gave consumers an avenue to pursue complaints about price gouging. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai says his plan eliminates unnecessary regulation. But many worry his proposal will stifle small tech firms and leave ordinary citizens more at the mercy of cable and wireless companies. ADVERTISEMENT "It would be a radical departure from what previous (FCC) chairs, of both parties, have done," said Gigi Sohn, a former adviser to Tom Wheeler, the Obama-era FCC chairman who enacted the net neutrality rules now being overturned. "It would leave consumers and competition completely unprotected." During the last Republican administration, that of George W. Bush, FCC policy held that people should be able to see what they want on the internet and to use the services they preferred. But attempts to enshrine that net-neutrality principle in regulation never held up in court at least until Wheeler pushed through the rules now slated for termination. Pai's proposals stand a good chance of enactment at the next FCC meeting in December. But there will be lawsuits to challenge them. MORE DETAILS The formal proposal reveals more details of the plan than were in the FCC's Tuesday news release. For instance, if companies such as Comcast, AT&T and Verizon decide to block a particular app, throttle data speeds for a rival service or offer faster speeds to companies that pay for it, they merely need to disclose their policies for doing so. The FCC also says it will pre-empt state rules on privacy and net neutrality that contradict its approach. Verizon has noted New York has several privacy bills pending, and the California Legislature has suggested coming up with its own version of net neutrality rules should the federal versions perish. The plan would leave complaints about deceptive behavior and monitor privacy to the Federal Trade Commission, which already regulates privacy for internet companies such as Google and Facebook. BEST BEHAVIOR ADVERTISEMENT Broadband providers are promising to be on their best behavior. Comcast said it doesn't and won't block, throttle or discriminate against lawful content. AT&T said "all major ISPs have publicly committed to preserving an open internet," and any ISP "foolish" enough to manipulate what's available online for customers will be "quickly and decisively called out." Verizon said "users should be able to access the internet when, where and how they choose." Some critics don't put much weight on those promises, noting many providers previously have used their networks to disadvantage rivals. For example, the Associated Press in 2007 found Comcast was blocking some file-sharing. AT&T blocked Skype and other internet calling services on its network on the iPhone until 2009. But others suggest fear of a public uproar will help restrain egregious practices such as blocking and throttling. "I'm not sure there's any benefit to them doing that," said Sohn. "It's just going to get people angry at them for no good reason. They don't monetize that." FAST LANES, SLOW LANES Sohn, however, suggests there's reason to worry about more subtle forms of discrimination, such as "paid prioritization." That's a term for internet "fast lanes," where companies that can afford it would pay AT&T, Verizon and Comcast for faster or better access to consumers. That would leave startups and institutions that aren't flush with cash, such as libraries or schools, relegated to slower service, said Corynne McSherry, legal director at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a digital-rights group. In turn, startups would find it harder to attract investors, Sohn said. Michael Cheah, general counsel of the video startup Vimeo, said broadband companies will try to lay groundwork for a two-tiered internet one where cash-strapped companies and services are relegated to the slow lane. To stay competitive, small companies would need to pony up for fast lanes if they could but those costs ultimately would find their way to consumers. The view is different at the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, a Washington, D.C., think tank funded by Google and other established tech companies. Doug Brake, a telecom policy analyst at the foundation, said there's little chance broadband companies will engage in "shenanigans," given how unpopular they already are with the public. ADVERTISEMENT Brake likewise played down the threat of internet fast lanes, arguing they'll only be useful in limited situations such as high-quality teleconferencing. Similar to the FCC, he argued antitrust law can serve to deter "potentially anticompetitive" behavior by internet providers. For the second time in less than two years, an Owatonna man has been arrested by Rochester police during an undercover operation targeting patrons of prostitution. Marcus Patrick Kubat, 46, made his first appearance Monday in Olmsted County District Court, where he's been charged with one count of prostitution-agree to hire 13- to 15-year-old, a felony. He remains in custody in lieu of $5,000 conditional bail and is due back in court Dec. 6. The case began Nov. 20, when Rochester police officers placed an ad on a website that contains a section for adult services. Members of the local street crimes unit often monitor the site and place false ads to target people involved in prostitution or respond to ads placed by others. That same day, the undercover officer received a text message from a phone registered to Kubat, the complaint says. He and the officer texted for two days. ADVERTISEMENT On Nov. 22, Kubat sent a photo of himself to the officer, who recognized Kubat. Officers with the unit had arrested him on Jan. 13, 2016, in a similar undercover operation. During the text conversation, the officer told Kubat "she" was 15 years old; Kubat agreed to pay $150 for sexual contact and asked about birth control, court documents say. The two agreed to meet at a restaurant in Owatonna. Instead, an Owatonna police officer went to the business, where he saw Kubat in a car, "watching the area," the report says. Kubat was arrested at the scene. He pleaded guilty in June 2016 to the January 2016 misdemeanor count of prostitution-agree to hire 18-year-old or older and was sentenced to a stayed 90-day jail term. In addition, Judge Pamela King ordered Kubat to complete an intervention program for men who use prostituted women, court records show, and fined him $1,085. The main goal of the discipline system revisions are to keep children in the classroom so they're learning. But for teachers, this means handling more problems in the classroom, according to updates in a 40-page handbook distributed to teachers and students at the beginning of the school year. The other goal of those updates is to create more consistency in how discipline is handled across the district. Previously, there was no uniform set of guidelines throughout the district for handling discipline; it was handled school-to-school, creating inconsistencies. But, some teachers feel the changes have had "unintended consequences." Teachers "feel in certain situations their authority is being held back and that's becoming a major issue," said one teacher, who spoke to the Post Bulletin on the condition of anonymity. ADVERTISEMENT They feel the changes effectively have restricted them from responding to serious student behavior problems, unless the behavior falls into one of three "serious" categories possession or distribution of drugs or alcohol; possession of a weapon or "incendiary" device; or a lower-level offense that results in bodily or emotional harm. "There's kind of a disconnect between how things are dealt with in school and in real life," said the teacher. 'Deeper expectations' The discipline system, called Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports, utilizes teaching and reteaching what behavior is expected and how one's actions affect others, rather than sending a student to the office or suspending her when she acts out. Behavior issues are divided into "level I" and "level II" offenses. Everything that falls within level I is dealt with in the classroom, unless it becomes a recurring problem. It's not a new system, Rochester Education Association President Dan Kuhlman said, "it's just deeper expectations" with some of the recent revisions. Adjusting to those changes takes time, said both superintendent Michael Munoz and Kuhlman. The system and revisions are intended to offer a solution to the district's discipline disparities by proactively teaching students what behavior is appropriate in certain settings. ADVERTISEMENT To do that, teachers must look for patterns in the classroom, which requires them to be more observant, Kuhlman said. The idea is to get to the root of the problem so you can address it and it doesn't continue. That could be a student acting out midmorning because she's hungry and hasn't had breakfast a connection made that could result in fewer classroom disruptions. The system is based on research that says punishment doesn't change student behavior, Munoz said. Rather, teaching what's expected and reteaching that, if necessary, changes student behavior, he said. Some teachers have expressed concern that the system feels like a minimization of consequences for students. Kuhlman said the key is ensuring "discipline" is handled in a "meaningful" way. "There's a difference between discipline and consequence, and the time it takes to do it," he said. "The more time that's spent disciplining, the less time you can spend educating." Scaling back police liaisons Part of the revisions after the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights report, which noted discipline disparities for black and Hispanic students, include scaling back involvement of police liaisons to ensure they're not involved in student discipline. The program has been switched to the patrol division of the police department. Three liaisons split their time between the three high schools, and a fourth splits time between Phoenix Academy and the Alternative Learning Center they all take calls at other schools, as needed. Their role: mentorship, said Sgt. Chris Lowrie, who now oversees the program. "The last thing we want to do is criminal charges." ADVERTISEMENT With more serious cases, the officers have to write search warrants to get video or information related to the cases one of the major changes with the OCR report, Lowrie said. But despite those changes, he said officers are spending about the same amount of time in schools as they were before. "I think you just find there's so much need for them in every school that they're just constantly busy," he said. They aren't informed of every incident in the schools between students and teachers, or between students, but, he said, "talking with my officers, reviewing the reports, it appears there is staff being assaulted on a regular basis," he said. "I'm seeing it." He noted that's taking into account students across the mental health spectrum. "I have seen blatant physical assault happen; those kids are back in class that same hour," said another teacher, speaking on the condition of anonymity. "What are you telling every other kid in that class? I'm not saying they should be locked up and throw the key away, but for God's sake." Centralized decision-making The other major shift for teachers and administrators is how more serious behavior problems are handled. The effort has become more centralized. Now, when a student is seriously misbehaving and an administrator is considering suspension, he or she is required to check in with cabinet-level administrators at the Edison building before the final call is made. This is a shift from how things were handled in previous years, Munoz said, but it's a way to create more consistency across the district. Kuhlman called the change a "double-sided coin," recognizing the value of the consistency, but he noted it's left some feeling as if their schools have given up their autonomy. "The perception is that all their power has been taken away from them," said one teacher. "Downtown is micromanaging." Munoz said "not every school is in the same place" with PBIS, meaning some are more comfortable than others using the behavior system. He added a lot of that is classroom management, something teachers are responsible for. The district is working to train teachers to help them manage their classrooms in new ways. This year, the district is working to train all K-8 teachers and paraprofessionals in what's called "ENVoY" a type of nonverbal classroom management technique that teachers can use to influence students in the classroom. The other, which is being taught to all K-12 teachers, is called "culturally responsive teaching," which involves understanding the cultures of students and distinguishing misbehavior from those cultural differences. After that distinction is made, teachers are expected to "bridge" any differences and teach the student the expected behavior in the classroom. But learning those things and becoming skillful with them takes time. "Just because you have more knowledge, doesn't mean you have more skill to deal with it," Kuhlman said. "That's why social workers are so vital, still being in the schools." Both Munoz and Kuhlman noted the uptick in students who need additional academic, social-emotional or behavioral support in recent years. "We have to do things differently to educate kids and make them successful," Kuhlman said. "Unfortunately, we're teachers, not therapists. Because we want to be everything to everybody but can't." Kuhlman called PBIS a "great system" but added it'll only address 80-85 percent of the population. As for the rest of the students, "that's the piece we're still struggling with," he said. School discipline changes come with 'frustration' Principal sees 'huge' growth in mutual respect 1 / 2: Fifth-graders Aydden Chatman and Naomi Nevenheim demonstrate the tango during Riverside Central Elementary School's Ballroom Dance Culminating Event on Thursday, Nov. 30, 2017, at Riverside Central Elementary School in Rochester. Fifth-graders at Riverside Central participated in the Heart of Dance program, which is a social and emotional learning program using ballroom dance to teach children respect, elegance and teamwork. 2 / 2: Fifth-graders show off their moves during Riverside Central Elementary School's Ballroom Dance Culminating Event Thursday, Nov. 30, 2017, at Riverside Central Elementary School in Rochester. Fifth-graders at Riverside Central participated in the Heart of Dance program, which is a social and emotional learning program using ballroom dance to teach children respect, elegance and teamwork. Three tax hearings are set in Rochester next week. The city of Rochester will kick things off with a hearing during its regular 7 p.m. meeting Monday in council chambers of the city-county Government Center, 151 4th St. SE. The city set its preliminary levy at $68.5 million in September, but a proposed 2018 budget would lower the levy to $67.9 million, approximately a 8.6 percent increase over this year. The preliminary levy set a cap for property taxes collected in 2018, but the Rochester City Council will discuss the upcoming business during 2 p.m. meetings Monday, Tuesday and possibly Wednesday in room 104 of City Hall to help determine the final levy. The council is slated to approve its final budget on Dec. 18. ADVERTISEMENT The 7 p.m. meeting Monday offers residents a chance to weigh in on proposed Rochester property taxes. Potential taxes based on the preliminary levies were mailed to property owners last month. The percentages reported with preliminary levies aren't equal to individual tax changes, since the levy increases account for the total tax collected. An individual property owner's tax can be affected by individual property value changes, as well as overall property values in the city. In the last year, the estimated market value of property in the city has grown by 7.7 percent, with 2.5 percent due to new growth, which city staff says could reduce the impact of a levy increase for property owners. Similar changes affect school district and county property taxes. The Rochester School Board will hold its hearing on proposed taxes at 6 p.m. Tuesday in room 137 of the Edison Building, 615 Seventh St. SW. The school board approved a $52.7 million preliminary levy in September for next year, which would be a 2.2 percent decrease from last year's $53.9 million levy. Olmsted County commissioners will follow up with a hearing slated for 7 p.m. Thursday in board chambers of the Government Center. The county set its preliminary levy at $98.4 million for 2018 taxes, which would be a $6.4 million, or 7 percent, increase over this year's taxes. ADVERTISEMENT Other meetings Meetings during the week of Dec. 4 include: Rochester Economic Development Authority, Monday following 7 p.m. Rochester City Council meeting in the council chambers of the City-county Government Center, 151 4th St. SE. Park Board, 3:30 p.m. Tuesday at 125 Live, 125 Elton Hills Drive NW. Zoning Board of Appeals, 7 p.m. Wednesday, room 104 of City Halll, 201 Fourth St. SE.. Olmsted County Youth Commission, 4:45 p.m. Wednesday in the government center cafeteria. ADVERTISEMENT Administrative Committee, 2 p.m. Thursday in the Administration Conference Room of the government center. Human Services Committee, 2 p.m. Thursday in conference room 1 of the government center. Public Works and Environmental Resources Committee, 2 p.m. Thursday in conference room 2 of the government center. Board of County Commissioners, 3 p.m. Thursday in the board chambers of the government center. Public Health Services Advisory Board, 5:30 p.m. Thursday in the Whitewater/Cascade Conference Room of 2100 Campus Drive SE. RED WING Construction season might be winding down in Minnesota, but don't tell that to the crews working on the new U.S. Highway 63 bridge in Red Wing. Terry Ward, project manager for the Minnesota Department of Transportation, said the cold weather won't stop progress on the bridge, which will replace the historic Eisenhower Bridge that crosses the Mississippi River from Red Wing to Wisconsin. "We'll mainly be focusing on working in the river on pier 1 and 2, and the (earth) fill over on this end," Ward said. There are two "schedule critical" issues that need to be worked on through the winter, Ward said. One is the dirt fill to create a bed under the roadway leading to the new approach spans on the Wisconsin side of the bridge. The other critical item is to get pier 2 constructed and above the water level of the spring runoff so it can be worked on this spring even when the river levels are higher, he said. Pier two the support structure rising essentially from the middle of the Mississippi River will start with the construction of a series of drilled holes in the middle of the river going from water level about 70 feet down to bedrock and filled with concrete reinforced with steel. The pier will then be built atop these anchors. ADVERTISEMENT "You drill in the wet, and as they're drilling, they put in a slurry," Ward said. "That keeps the hole from caving in, and then they insert a permanent (steel) casing." As concrete is pumped to the bottom of the hole, water comes up, he said. So far, construction has begun on five of the six piers needed for the bridge. Only pier 2 is left to begin. However, starting next week, the contractor will start a test drill to prove their process works as planned, Ward said. Other winter work could include construction on the approach spans on the Wisconsin side, he said, though that work is not as critical at this point. The concrete prestressed beams that are premade in Janesville, Wis., can be installed at any time this winter, he said. While the work to get to this point has happened quickly, Ward said the project still is just on track to have the new bridge ready for traffic in September 2019, and for total completion meaning the old bridge has been demolished by August 2020. The total cost of the project is expected to be $63.4 million. Despite all the hard and heavy work, Ward said the project has been very cognizant of the sensitive environment around the river and adjacent Barn Bluff. MnDOT has worked with nearby Archer Daniels Midland to install vibration monitors on the company's retaining wall near the riverside railroad track, and on large tanks on the property. This, he said, has been one of the few snafus in the project. "Their own operations set them off," Ward said, adding that when monitors are triggered, an email alert is sent to himself and people with the contractor. ADVERTISEMENT Still, MnDOT has monitors in the nearby campground on Trenton Island, where the majority of the work is being done at this time. There are also monitors in Red Wing and atop Barn Bluff. "We're not anticipating vibrations impacting the construction," Ward said. The contractor has also been protecting endangered mussels in the river, placing a protective fabric over the river bottom. Signs on the shore show workers where the protection underwater stops. "The workers know if they're going to do anything in the river they can't go beyond that." he said. "That's the stretch that's been cleared." Hardhat Facts Old For New: The new U.S. Highway 63 bridge in Red Wing will replace the 1960 Eisenhower Bridge. Length: The old bridge is 1,631 feet long. The new bridge will span a distance of 1,639 feet. Construction: Work on the new bridge began in May 2017 and should be finished and open for traffic in September 2019. Demolition of the 1960 Eisenhower Bridge and cleanup of the site will take place the next spring, being completed in August 2020. ADVERTISEMENT Cost: $63.4 million. Tamil Nadu will soon send a report to the Centre seeking funds after carrying out a detailed assessment of the damage caused by the cyclone, said Palaniswami. PM Narendra Modi dialled Tamil Nadu CM E Palaniswami and enquired about the damage caused by the cyclone. By PTI, India Today Web Desk: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday night assured Tamil Nadu full assistance from the Centre for the damage caused by Ockhi in the southern parts of the state. Chief Minister Edapaddi Palaniswami apprised him of the various relief works going on in "full swing" in seven districts of the state. "The prime minister assured to immediately give the required assistance," a release issued Friday night said. advertisement Cyclone Ockhi, which lashed across the southern peninsula, claimed at least 17 lives in Tamil Nadu and Kerala and disrupted daily life. A view of the rough sea and the heavy storm in Lakshadweep today. #CycloneOckhi#AIRVideo: Mayusha pic.twitter.com/x0qtK5gHbw&; All India Radio News (@airnewsalerts) December 2, 2017 Modi enquired about the situation even as the Tamil Nadu government plans to seek central funds for the damage caused by the cyclone in the state, with Kanyakumari and Tirunelveli districts being the worst hit. Palaniswami listed out various steps being taken, besides deputing senior ministers and IAS officials to oversee the relief work, the release added. Destruction caused by strong winds and high tides in Lakshadweep. (Photo: ANI) Destruction caused by strong winds and high tides in Lakshadweep. (Photo: ANI) Efforts were being undertaken on a "war footing" while power supply was being restored. The Coast Guard's help was being used to rescue 30 fishermen stranded in the sea even as 76 of them had been already rescued, Palaniswami said. The state will send a report to the Centre seeking funds after carrying out a detailed assessment of the damage caused by the cyclone, which has crippled life in Kanyakumari district, the CM told Modi. Kochi battles waterlogging after cyclone Ockhi battered parts of Kerala. (Photo: ANI) Cyclone Ockhi, which in Bengali means 'eye', on Friday intensified into a severe cyclonic storm and moved to the Arabian Sea.The state government on Friday said that over 1,200 people affected by the cyclone in Kanyakumari and Tirunelveli districts have been lodged in relief camps. --- ENDS --- MINNEAPOLIS Antibiotics used in medicine are accumulating in the bottom of Minnesota lakes. That's the finding of a new study in which a group of scientists examined decades of sediment pulled from the bottom of lakes. Why does it matter? Persistent low doses of antibiotics can lead to bacteria that are resistant to antibiotic treatment. The World Health Organization says currently antibiotic resistance is one of the greatest threats to human health and food security. Previous studies found antibiotics are common in the water of lakes and streams. But University of Minnesota professor Bill Arnold said scientists wanted to know how long those drugs remain in lakes. They looked for 19 antibiotics in the sediment of Lake Pepin, Lake Winona and the Duluth harbor all of which get water from sewage treatment plants. ADVERTISEMENT Ten of the antibiotics were consistently found at low levels, Arnold said. "It's clear the drugs we're taking or worse off, disposing of down the toilet, which you shouldn't do certainly wind up in lakes," he said. "And it's not just that they're in the river or the lake for a short time they're actually making it in to the sediment and persisting." The most persistent drugs found in the sampled lakes are synthetic antibiotics. The antibiotics made through natural processes were found less often. Arnold said that likely means natural drugs break down more readily than synthetic versions. By dating the lake bottom sediments, the scientists found antibiotics all the way back to the 1950s. "We see things correspond pretty closely to when those drugs were introduced to the market," Arnold said. "So that tells us that when we introduce new compounds to the market, we can expect to see them start to accumulate in sediments." Antibiotics are used more widely in agriculture than for human treatments, but the lake samples showed little evidence of the drugs used to treat farm animals. "We can't say for example that agriculture antibiotics are not getting into the environment. They most certainly are," Arnold said. "We probably just didn't look in the right place for them." Farm animal waste is usually applied to land, Arnold said, so it's likely most of the antibiotics bind to soil and aren't washed into lakes and streams. ADVERTISEMENT Scientists are now doing DNA analysis to see if there is a connection between antibiotics in the lake sediments and the development of resistant bacteria. Arnold said they also hope to develop a predictive model that could help determine where antibiotic resistant hot spots are most likely to develop in the environment. Yesterday, ABC News reported that a confidant of Michael Flynn said Flynn is prepared to testify that Donald Trump instructed him to contact Russian officials during the campaign. Later, ABC News was forced to correct the story. It stated that its source later clarified that during the campaign, Trump assigned Flynn and a small circle of other senior advisers to find ways to repair relations with Russia and other hot spots not to contact Russian officials. It was shortly after the election, that President-elect Trump directed Flynn to contact Russian officials on topics that included working jointly against ISIS. (Emphasis added) In other words, candidate-Trump acted as one would expect a candidate holding his substantive views about Russia to do. And president-elect-Trump acted as one would expect a president-elect holding his substantive views about Russia and ISIS to do. ABC News issued the correction in an online story. Its television viewership was left to believe the erroneous original report. Good faith error or wishful thinking? You decide. Meanwhile, the Washington Post provided a breathless (literally, I would say) video by Amber Phillips about the Flynn plea (see below). Her thesis is that Robert Mueller allowed Flynn to plead way down to a relatively minor offense compared to what hes been investigated for, and that Mueller almost certainly did so because Flynn offered him substantial testimony against others. These are reasonable suppositions. However, because there is no suggestion by Mueller that Flynn committed a crime by talking to the Russians after the election, its highly unlikely that anyone else in Trumps circle (or Trump himself) will be charged with such a crime. So what did Flynn offer Mueller in exchange for his cooperation? Perhaps testimony that contradicts statements others have made to investigators. Which others? I dont know. But for what its worth, Im guessing that the person with the most to worry about is Jared Kushner, of whom Flynn is said not to be fond. UPDATE: Some observers may be overstating the amount of leverage Mueller had over Flynn. President Trumps power to pardon the retired General or to commute his sentence may have reduced Muellers leverage. The main source of Muellers leverage was probably financial. Flynn is said to be running out of funds with which to defend himself and his son from the wrath of Robert Mueller. JOHN adds: I think the reason Mueller charged Flynn only with relatively petty offenses is that his investigation hasnt turned up anything more substantial. My guess is, its as simple as that. I agree that any cooperation Flynn renders will relate to statements made by others to the FBI, since there was never any crime to investigate in the first place. It is remarkable that the Democrats have, so far, gotten away with this. Senate Republicans have locked down the votes they need to pass their tax bill. The necessary votes were secured when Sens. Jeff Flake, Ron Johnson, and Susan Collins announced their support. Reportedly, only Sen. Bob Corker is a no. This means there are 51 votes for the measure. Mike Pence wont have to break a tie. Its important to remember that this tax bill is tax reform, not a tax cut per se for individuals and families. The corporate tax rate is cut significantly (from its outrageous current level of 35 percent to 20 percent), which should mean higher wages. In addition, tax rates for families and individuals are cut until 2025. However, because the bill affects some important tax deductions, there will be losers and winners among ordinary taxpayers. Of course, if the tax bill stimulates enough growth, most losers should turn into winners. It is the reformist nature of the legislation that helped persuade Susan Collins to support it. She said: I dont think there is a single American who thinks that our current tax code is fair, simple, or promotes economic growth. We need a tax system that will boost the economy, help the middle class, and encourage small businesses to grow and create jobs. If we stimulate the economy through tax reform, we can significantly increase federal revenues while boosting Americans take-home pay. However, Collins demanded and received concessions in exchange for her support. The Senate tax bill will include her SALT amendment which allows taxpayers to deduct up to $10,000 for state and local property taxes, as well as a similar amendment on deducting property taxes. The Senate bill also will include Collins amendment to reduce the threshold for deducting medical expenses, which helps people with high medical costs, particularly seniors and people with chronic conditions. Collins says that 8.8 million Americans use this deduction, half with incomes of $50,000 or less. And Collins received assurances that no reduction in Medicare will be triggered by tax bill. Finally, Collins secured a commitment from Majority Leader McConnell to support the Alexander-Murray bill. It would prop up Obamacare to some degree by funding a key health insurance subsidy program and providing states flexibility to skirt some requirements of the health care law. Some of the concessions to Collins seem like good policy, others seem dubious. In any case, I would say Collins got a lot in exchange for a vote that, as things turned out, the GOP apparently doesnt need. The Senate bill differs materially from the version of tax reform passed by the House. Ironing out the differences in conference and formulating a compromise that can pass in both chambers may prove difficult. For example, some of Sen. Collins provisions may not sit well with certain House conservatives. Fortunately, as noted, Collins is the 51st Senate vote. Its no scoop that Republican lawmakers feel intense pressure to pass tax reform and that the Trump administration likewise feels intense pressure to see it pass. Thats why both chambers have passed a version, and why the difficulties of reconciling the two versions likely will be overcome. By Harish V Nair: If three kids- Arjun Gopal, Aarav Bhandari and Zoya Rao - have their way yet again, then the ban on bursting crackers during weddings in Delhi-NCR may be strictly enforced. A bench of Supreme Court headed by Justice A K Sikri has sought the view of the Delhi government on a plea, among other things, which has sought a strict implementation of the ban on bursting of crackers during wedding. advertisement Though the Delhi government issued a notification last year on ban on bursting crackers at all celebrations, including marriages except religious occasions, it was not strictly enforced. It was on the plea filed by the three kids that the court put a ban on sale of crackers during Diwali which resulted in lesser pollution than last year. "The wedding season commences from November 1, there is going to be a substantial demand for fireworks at the worst time for the city's air. This will continue till January and February through Christmas and New Year, where the effects of the fireworks will remain for several days due to winter weather", a fresh petition filed by the three kids through their lawyer Gopal Sankaranarayanan said. Their plea explained how children were the worst-affected by pollution, saying "their lungs are not fully developed, making their systems more vulnerable and prone to lung disease, asthma, coughing, bronchitis, and retarded development of nervous system and cognitive impairment". Despite the ban earlier imposed by the Delhi government large scale bursting of fire crackers is still witnessed in wedding venues in Delhi and NCR. --- ENDS --- ( Read 9085 Times) Source : ~Inaugrated by Shri Arjun Ram Meghwal, Union Minister of State For Water Resources River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation and Parliamentary Affairs Government Of India~Udaipur. The new chapter of ICSI House was inaugurated by Shri Arjun Ram Meghwal, Union Minister of State for Water Resources River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation and Parliamentary Affairs Government of India in Udaipur, Rajasthan today. Amongst the august gathering present at the inauguration was Smt. Kiran Maheshwari, Honble minister for Higher & Technical Education, Govt of Rajasthan.Shri Arjun Ram Meghwal, Union Minister of State for Water Resources River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation and Parliamentary Affairs Government of India in his inaugural address, congratulated ICSI for their new chapter building at Udaipur. He also appreciated the efforts the institute is taking to contribute towards efforts of nation building of the Government of India. As the nation progresses towards New India, professional Institutes like ICSI need to take on a new role in the development of skills, technology and manage its adoption to deal effectively with a rapidly evolving business environment.Smt. Kiran Maheshwari, Honble minister for Higher & Technical Education, Govt of Rajasthan said,Rajasthan is rapidly evolving in terms of higher education and we appreciate the efforts ICSI is taking to ensure that students in every nook and corner of the country can pursue this fast evolving course.CS (Dr.) Shyam Agrawal, President ICSI, in his address during the inauguration said that We are very happy to launch our new chapter building in Udaipur. Since inception, ICSI has grown tremendously as the only recognized professional body in India to develop and regulate the profession of Company Secretaries.He further added "We aim to foster the potential of millions of young and budding Company Secretaries in India. Our effort is to realise the goal of achieving zero tolerance for corruption by adding more and more CS professionals who can achieve the goal of corporate governance.About The Institute of Company Secretaries of India, (ICSI): The Institute of Company Secretaries of India, (ICSI) is premier professional body set up under an Act of Parliament, i.e., Company Secretaries Act, 1980, for the regulation and development of the profession of Company Secretaries in India. The Institute functions under the jurisdiction of Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Government of India. The Institute, being a pro-active body, focuses on top-quality education to students of Company Secretaries Course and best quality set standards for CS members. There are currently 52,000 members and around 4 Lakh students. Question: We own a large, brass horn my husband discovered in the cellar of an old house we purchased during the 1960s. It is 17 inches long and measures 6 inches in diameter at its open end. The man who sold us the house said he bought it at a flea market, where he was told it was one of many used by firefighters in the 1800s. I hope you can provide some additional information about this horn and its purpose. R.C., Mantua Township Answer: You have described a firemans speaking trumpet, used by early fire chiefs to direct vocal commands to firefighters. Such commands could be heard above the furor of roaring fires and the loud noises made by firefighting equipment. Mention of firemens painted tin speaking horns in Europe was made by 16th-century German historians and noted in New York City during the mid- to late 1700s. Considered a very practical instrument that assisted coordination of emergency firefighting efforts, speaking horns made of brass were eventually used to amplify the orders of commanding officers. As information about the popular horns spread across America, high demand for them resulted in the production of nickel-plated brass and copper ones as well as steel models. Folks who collect antique firefighting equipment or associated memorabilia usually specialize in one of three kinds of speaking trumpets. Some are plain working models such as yours, others are parade trumpets used in processions and at ceremonies, and a number are presentation trumpets, often made of precious metals and elaborately engraved, that were given as gifts or awards to honored fire chiefs and retirees. This year, several working trumpets in very good condition brought $150 to $225. Question: I am writing to inquire about a very nice piece of costume jewelry marked Coro Sterling. It belonged to my late mother-in-law and was itemized in her will as Carnegie Hall violin pin. The pin is a three-dimensional miniature gold violin, 3 inches long and 1 inch wide, decorated with red, green, blue and clear rhinestones and very detailed. I hope you can tell me something about the pin, its maker and value, if any. H.P., Spring Lake Answer: Your somewhat rare figural vermeil pin was made by Coro Inc., one of the oldest and largest American costume jewelry manufacturers. Founded by Emanuel Cohn and Carl Rosenberger as Cohn and Rosenberger in 1921, the companys name was changed to Coro in 1943. During the 1940s and 1950s, the firm was famous for its jelly belly jewelry decorated with multicolored glass and Lucite cabochons. It was also well-known for its Coro Duette brooches composed of a pair of matching pins that could be worn linked together or separately, and Tremblers, each pin decorated with a small attached part on a spring that trembled when the pin was worn. By the 1970s, changing fashion and accessory styles as well as competition from foreign markets caused Coro to lose its dominance, and the company closed in 1979. Your Carnegie Hall violin pin is particularly collectible because it debuted in 1947 at the same time United Artists popular Carnegie Hall movie was released. The films story about the famous New York City concert venue, built in 1891 by philanthropist Andrew Carnegie, featured appearances by actors portraying prominent deceased Carnegie Hall artists as well as the personal participation of contemporary Carnegie Hall celebrities. A Coro Carnegie Hall violin pin in excellent condition sold recently for $237. Egg Harbor Township and Pleasantville police charged an Atlantic City man with an array of offenses over two arrests late last month, including shoplifting, terroristic threats, witness tampering, criminal mischief, harassment and resisting arrest, according to township police Chief Raymond Davis. At 10:41 p.m. Nov. 24, police responded to the English Creek ShopRite to investigate a report of shoplifting. Timothy Bowens, 55, was observed fleeing the supermarket in a black Nissan Xterra, police said. Three Atlantic City teens charged after teacher's car is stolen ATLANTIC CITY Three teens were charged this past week in the theft of a school teachers c Patrolman John DAugustine attempted to stop Bowens Nissan on the Black Horse Pike near Farr Avenue. Bowens refused to stop and continued east on the pike, police said. Bowens, the Nissan and the merchandise stolen from ShopRite were later located in Pleasantville, police said. Bowens was taken into custody and transported to the Egg Harbor Township Police Department. He was charged with shoplifting, eluding and failure to submit fingerprints and was released on a summons pending court, police said. On Nov. 29, police responded to a residence in the McKee City section of the township to investigate a report of terroristic threats. Patrolman Shane Gilson identified Bowens as the accused, police said. Police said Bowens had showed up at the victims residence to threaten him. He also reportedly smashed out two windows of the victims vehicle while at the location, police said. He left the scene just prior to officers arrival. Warrants were issued for Bowens arrest on charges of making terroristic threats, witness tampering, criminal mischief and harassment, police said. Pleasantville police officer charged with health insurance fraud, theft MAYS LANDING An investigation into a stolen iPhone led to multiple charges of theft and in On Nov. 30, Bowens was located and apprehended after a brief foot pursuit in Pleasantville on the bike path between Sheffield and Decatur avenues. The arrest was a cooperative effort between Egg Harbor Township and Pleasantville police. Bowens was processed on the aforementioned warrants and additionally charged with resisting arrest in Pleasantville, police said. He was lodged at the Atlantic County jail pending court. Timothy Frazier, of Galloway Township, pleaded guilty Friday in federal court in Camden to defrauding New Jersey state health benefits programs and other insurers of $800,000, according to acting U.S. Attorney William E. Fitzpatrick and N.J. Attorney General Christopher S. Porrino. Frazier, 42, submitted fraudulent claims for medically unnecessary prescriptions, Fitzpatrick said. Frazier, a commercial construction estimator, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Robert B. Kugler to an information charging him with conspiracy to commit health care fraud, Fitzpatrick said. Eleven other conspirators have pleaded guilty from August through last month and await sentencing. According to documents filed in the case and statements made in court: From January 2015 through April 2016, Frazier served as a recruiter in the conspiracy and persuaded individuals in the state to obtain expensive and medically unnecessary compounded medications from an out-of-state pharmacy, identified in the information only as the Compounding Pharmacy. The conspirators learned certain compound medication prescriptions including pain, scar, anti-fungal and libido creams, as well as vitamin combinations were reimbursed for thousands of dollars for a one-month supply. The conspirators also learned some New Jersey state and local government and education employees, including firefighters, municipal police officers, state troopers and teachers, had insurance coverage for the compound medications. An entity referred to in the information as the Pharmacy Benefits Administrator provided pharmacy benefit management services to the State Health Benefits Program, which covers qualified state and local government employees, retirees and eligible dependents, and the School Employees Health Benefits Program, which covers qualified local education employees, retirees and eligible dependents. The pharmacy benefits administrator would pay prescription drug claims and then bill the state for the amount paid. Frazier secured insurance information from the individuals and passed it along to a conspirator, who had a doctor sign prescriptions without examining the individuals. The prescriptions were faxed to the compounding pharmacy, which filled the prescriptions and billed the pharmacy benefits administrator. The pharmacy then paid one of Fraziers conspirators a percentage of each prescription filled and paid by the pharmacy benefits administrator, which was then distributed to Frazier and other members of the conspiracy. Frazier paid recruiters under him and individuals with insurance coverage to reward them for obtaining prescriptions, Fitzpatrick said. According to the information, the pharmacy benefits administrator paid the compounding pharmacy more than $50 million for compounded medications mailed to individuals in the state. Frazier received $145,425 for his role in the scheme, Fitzpatrick said. As part of the plea agreement, Frazier must forfeit $145,425 in criminal proceeds and pay restitution of at least $801,119, Fitzpatrick said. Frazier faces a maximum 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense. Sentencing is scheduled for March 29, Fitzpatrick said. ATLANTIC CITY The group organizing the Atlantic City Christmas Parade has dismissed Amazing Ventnor President Michael Einwechter from the committee. According to Nick Pittman, who is heading the parade committee, the organization decided to part ways with Einwechter as soon as they heard hed been charged with theft of funds from a Puerto Rico hurricane relief fundraiser Amazing Ventnor held in October. We didnt want any impressions of impropriety brought on us, Pittman said Thursday. Einwechter, 38, was charged this past week with theft of money and checks that were the proceeds of a Puerto Rico benefit concert held Oct. 15 at Ski Beach, Ventnor Police Chief Douglas Biagi said. Amazing Ventnor President Michael Einwechter charged with stealing hurricane relief funds VENTNOR Michael Einwechter, president of Amazing Ventnor, a nonprofit organization that promotes community events, was arrested Wednesday, Nov. 29, and charged with stealing funds meant for residents of Puerto Rico devastated by Hurricane Maria. Police seized his four-wheel-drive truck, which is painted to look like a yellow Tonka truck. Einwechter reported the event garnered proceeds totaling $17,015, but Biagi said United for Puerto Rico only received about $1,550. The exact amount is still being filtered through, Biagi said Friday afternoon. The event included a silent auction, which generated cash donations. Its always difficult when its a cash event, he said. The case was referred to the Atlantic County Prosecutors Office for review. The county has 30 days to review the case before deciding whether it will issue a direct indictment or be heard by a grand jury, Biagi said. Thats when there will be a court date, he said. Pittman said the parade committee includes representatives of major sponsors, Bass Pro Shops and Tanger Outlets The Walk, which each contributed $4,000 toward the parade. The parade was previously done on a smaller scale at the outlet mall, but this year he approached the sponsors to do a bigger parade on the Boardwalk. Einwechter served as a volunteer on the committee and secured about 15 of the 42 units marching in the parade, Pittman said. We knew he had a big following, Pittman said. We made the decision as a committee and we welcomed him as a stand-up person, but as soon as the news broke, we decided to part ways. Pittman said Einwechter asked to be in charge of the sponsorship funds, but the committee thought it would be best if the television news station Pittman works for was in charge of all the funds. Pittman is known as NorEaster Nick, a weather forecaster at SNJ Today. Ventnor community rallies for Puerto Rico VENTNOR This event is about community a community that is part of the United States, C Sponsorships will cover marketing the parade, marching bands, a DJ, event insurance and Facebook live broadcasting on SNJ Today, Pittman said. Since releasing Einwechter, only one volunteer group he obtained to march in the parade has dropped out, Pittman said. We need to find more volunteers to replace them, Pittman said. Pittman said he met with officials from the city and the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority in August and applied for a permit, but the permits are not issued until the day of the event. The parade is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. Dec. 10. It will start at Rhode Island Avenue and travel south to Albany Avenue. Santa will bring up the rear on the Bass Pro Shops float, Pittman said. HAMILTON TOWNSHIP When Juliana Jules Moss, 12, was traveling last Christmas Eve, a lady at the Seattle USO gave her a handmade Christmas stocking full of toys, snacks, playing cards and more. She said everyone deserves a little something, even though they are away from home for the holidays, said Jules, a military kid and seventh-grader at William Davies Middle School in Hamilton Township. That warm memory sparked her decision to ask for an unusual Christmas present this year. She asked her mom to help her make and stuff 100 similar stockings to give to kids in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico. Jules was on a layover on a trip to Hawaii last year with her mom and her dad, U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer 1st Class Billy Moss, when she got her stocking. Margate Ross School art show raises money for Puerto Rico Moved by songwriter Lin Manuel Miranda's song for Puerto Rico, "It's Almost Like Praying," students and staff at the William H. Ross School decided they wanted to try and make a difference in the lives of Puerto Rican people devastated by Hurricane Maria. She is aware that children in Puerto Rico are in a much more difficult position, many living without clean water or electricity after Hurricane Maria in September. She has gotten so much help from family and friends, including her Coast Guard family all over the country, that she is sending more than 200 stockings full of plush toys, toiletries and art supplies to the island. My two friends Christian (Kniep) and Dave (Warner) are going to pass them out to kids in orphanages in Aguadilla, Jules said. They are both in the Coast Guard, which has a facility there, said her mom, Erika Moss. The family is shipping them Monday with the help of a Christmas angel donor who is paying the shipping charge. Any leftover stockings will be given to the Federal Emergency Management Agency to give to kids who live in mountain communities who depend on helicopter deliveries of food and water to survive. Some will also go to Warners six children, said Erika. Coast Guard spouses and children have been evacuated from the island, mainly to New Orleans and Florida. Warners house in Puerto Rico survived the hurricane but was lost in a fire later, while he was visiting his family off island, she said. The family lost everything. South Jersey determined not to forget Puerto Rico Some South Jersey residents have not forgotten about the suffering people in Puerto Rico and Jules said she raised $1,200 online to buy the stockings and gifts, and many people also contributed items to put in them. She made 64 of the stockings with a sewing machine. Stuffing the stockings was one of the most fun parts of her effort, she said. Erika said it was also great to open the door each day and see another box from family and friends filled with donations. You can see more about her effort at youcaring.com. Search for Julianas Mission. Dera Sacha Sauda now plans to celebrate the birth and death anniversaries of Gurmeet Ram Rahim's guru Shah Satnam to bring back followers. By Manjeet Sehgal: The controversial religious sect Dera Sacha Sauda, which has been deserted by its followers after the conviction of its chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim in two rape cases, now plans to celebrate the birth and death anniversaries of Shah Satnam to bring back followers. Ram Rahim's arrest has resulted in a huge financial loss to the Dera units including factories, restaurants, movie theatres besides the agricultural produce. Dera's bank accounts have been frozen and there is no money to run these institutions. The factories owned by Gurmeet Ram Rahim have been shut down following the payment of pending power bills worth Rs 70 crore. advertisement There are no buyers for a piece of tomato for Rs 1000, one brinjal worth Rs 3000 and a single papaya worth Rs 5000. Ram Rahim also used to sell its biscuits in the name of a prasada to his followers. Now, there are no buyers as the followers had left the Sirsa headquarters between August 25 and 28. The resource crunch recently forced Ram Rahim's family and Vipassana Insan to seek the advice of jailed chief who is believed to have told them to find out ways and means to bring back the Dera followers. Sources close to the Dera Sacha Sauda said Gurmeet Ram Rahim has advised Vipassana and his family members to organise the death and birth anniversaries of his religious spiritual leader Shah Satnam as the followers no more trust him as a spiritual leader. And now, they are planning to celebrate Shah Satnam's death anniversary on December 13 and birth anniversary on January 25 in Sirsa. However, former Dera Sacha Sauda followers Gurdas Singh Toor and Khatta Singh have accused Ram Rahim and his gang to make money in the name of these anniversaries from the gullible followers. Even, the family members of Shah Satnam have raised objection to the dirty plans to exploit and betray the followers. Shah Satnam's family has also moved Punjab and Haryana High Court to disassociate 17 Deras established by him. --- ENDS --- New Jersey joined the Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact on Friday, giving the state more ways to protect wildlife from poachers and others who break hunting, fishing and trapping laws. As a member, the state will receive notices of violations from other states, and the New Jersey Division of Fish & Wildlife will review the convictions and decide whether they meet the requirements for license suspension in New Jersey. New Jersey also will provide information on in-state violations to other states. This ... will greatly enhance our Division of Fish and Wildlifes ability to protect and manage our wildlife resources, said Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Bob Martin. Any person who has their license privileges suspended in one member state may now also have them suspended in all other member states. In addition, the compact prevents convicted poachers who are under revocation in one state from hunting, fishing or trapping in other states. Gov. Chris Christie signed legislation in January to bring New Jersey into the compact. New Jersey and Nebraska had been the only two states that werent part of the compact, said one of the sponsors of the legislation to join, Assemblyman Vincent Mazzeo, D-Atlantic, after the bill became law. The compact covers violations concerning the pursuit, possession or taking of mammals, birds, fish, reptiles, amphibians, mollusks, shellfish and crustaceans. The bill was sponsored in the Assembly by Bob Andrzejczak, D-Cape May, Cumberland, Atlantic; Bruce Land, D-Cape May, Cumberland, Atlantic; and Adam Taliaferro, D-Salem, Gloucester, Cumberland. Snowy Owl gets transmitter at Island Beach State Park A group of volunteers banded a snowy owl at Island Beach State Park on Wednesday, as part of Sponsors in the Senate were Jeff Van Drew, D-Cape May, Cumberland, Atlantic, and Christopher Connors, R-Ocean, Burlington, Atlantic. New Jersey issued about 35,000 hunting licenses to state residents and an additional 3,775 to out-of-state hunters in 2015. Someone is always trying to beat the law, Mazzeo said in January when the bill was signed. If you are not part of it and these type of people know that, it gives them an opportunity. Anyone who has a license privilege suspension in New Jersey and is planning to hunt, fish or trap in another state must contact the other state to verify whether they may legally hunt, fish or trap there, the DEP said. Deer hunting tradition carries on for South Jersey families In South Jersey, when September ends, deer hunting begins. For many, its more than just a s New Jersey residents who dont comply with a citation or summons in another member state may face a $50 fine and the suspension of all privileges to take or possess wildlife in New Jersey until the citation has been satisfied, according to DEP. Joining the compact protects New Jerseys wildlife resources and that of member states by deterring violators from continuing their illegal activities and sends a clear message to all that such behavior will not be tolerated, said Division of Fish and Wildlife Director Larry Herrighty. More information on the compact, including which states are members and which violations with prescribed suspensions will be recognized in New Jersey and shared with member states, is available on the Fish and Wildlife website at njfishandwildlife.com/violators_compact.htm. After the Obama administration gave up opening parts of the Atlantic Ocean to oil and gas drilling last year, the issue is back under President Donald Trump. And this time, the president is much less likely to listen to the concerns of New Jersey residents, politicians and business people who have long opposed drilling in the Atlantic, said Cindy Zipf, executive director of the nonprofit Clean Ocean Action. There is not the sympathetic ear at all to concerns raised about the endangered right whale, and every other living creature in the ocean, said Zipf, adding seismic testing to locate oil and gas is a big threat to marine creatures, as is an oil spill. Nor is there a lot of sympathy to clean-ocean economies and other ocean users in this new administration. Trump has already used an executive order to start creating a new five-year leasing program for the Outer Continental Shelf, rejecting one developed by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management for 2017 to 2022 that excluded the Mid- and South Atlantic, as well as the Arctic. And he is pushing legislation called the SECURE American Energy Act that was introduced in early November and would ease rules for how drilling is regulated in federal waters and on federal lands. If passed, it would take away much of the current public process that must happen before new areas can be opened to drilling under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, Zipf said. Sponsored by Majority Whip Steve Scalise, a Republican from the energy-producing state of Louisiana, the SECURE Act is supported by oil and gas industry groups as promoting economic development and job growth. But it would transfer management for permitting of federal oil and gas resources to states, encourage offshore oil drilling while limiting safeguards, and weaken protections for marine mammals, according to a letter written by a coalition of 57 mostly national environmental groups that oppose it. It would also eliminate presidential authority to withdraw areas of the shelf from drilling and to establish marine national monuments. The public in New Jersey has clearly said they want the ocean off our shores to be clean, full of wildlife, available for fishing and supportive of all economies we depend on, like tourism, fishing and even navigation into New York harbors, said Tim Dillingham of the American Littoral Society. Opposition to drilling has been a bipartisan issue in New Jersey, with Republican Gov. Chris Christie and U.S. Rep. Frank LoBiondo taking a strong stand against it, along with Democrats like U.S. Sen. Cory Booker. All say the states tourism and fishing industries are too important to risk. The tourism industry accounts for almost 10 percent of total employment and generated $38.2 billion of New Jerseys gross domestic product in 2016, according to the state Division of Travel and Tourism. Thats 6.5 percent of the state economy. Dillingham said hundreds of mayors have taken a position against Atlantic Ocean drilling, as have chambers of commerce and others who realize we need a clean ocean for the sake of our communities. (Trump) is asking us to trade a clean ocean and way of life for what is really just more opportunities and profits for big oil companies. Last years BOEM plan for oil and gas drilling on the Outer Continental Shelf from 2017-22 set 10 potential lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico and one in Cook Inlet, Alaska. But it excluded the Arctic and Mid- and South Atlantic. Fishermen, beach builders fight for ancient underwater sand hills Just a few miles off New Jerseys coast is a series of underwater hills on the ocean floor, In order to consider leasing in areas other than those in the approved program a new (program) must be developed, BOEM says on its website. Trump issued an executive order April 28 requiring BOEM to develop a new plan covering the years 2019 to 2024, according to the agency. Zipf said she expects the Trump administration to announce before the end of the year what ocean areas will be added for oil and gas exploration under the new five-year plan. She and Dillingham also expect a big push for the SECURE Act. I think its a priority for them mainly because its linked to industries that brought them into office and their agendas, said Dillingham. It has an economic development face that can be put on it. I worry they will steamroll over local communities. VENTNOR This event is about community a community that is part of the United States, City Commissioner Lance B. Landgraf Jr. said Sunday at a hurricane-relief fundraiser for Puerto Rico. As he said it, Yalismar Casanova, of Mays Landing, and Marieanne Rivera, of Pleasantville, burst into applause and approving yells. We were born and raised in Puerto Rico, Rivera said. She said most people dont realize Puerto Ricans are American citizens, and that lack of knowledge has contributed to a lack of response following Hurricane Maria, which battered the island Sept. 20 and killed at least 48 people. We have to do this everywhere, Casanova said of the fundraiser. She and Rivera brought donations from their workplace, Caesars Atlantic City. The fundraiser was put together by Mike Einwechter, president of the nonprofit Amazing Ventnor who is an event planner and promoter. He decided to organize the fundraiser after talking to a friend whose family is stuck in Puerto Rico in terrible conditions, with little food, water or other services. He hopes to raise $30,000, and all the cash will be used to ship supplies to Puerto Rico, he said. I have been told there are one or two warehouses stocked full but cant be shipped yet, he said, until funds are raised. With $30,000 we can send nine to 10 containers. Rivera and Casanova brought more than $150 in donations from co-workers in the environmental services and housekeeping departments at Caesars, as well as canned goods, clothing, bottled water and blankets, they said. Casanova said she just brought her niece, Keysha Ortiz, 17, to New Jersey to get her out of the unhealthy and dangerous environment in Puerto Rico. There is no power, and medical facilities are not able to keep up with the demand for their services, she said. She said her mother and grandmother are still there. My moms husband is diabetic and because there is no refrigeration, his insulin went bad, Casanova said. Now he has to have fingers amputated, she said. All three of the women in her family were supposed to come to New Jersey, but the airline only let Ortiz board, she said, after canceling flights. The airlines wonf fly at night. But they sell tickets, then cancel the flights, Casanova said. Ortiz said her familys home survived in the town of Bayamon, but many others did not. The fundraiser included a car show, live music and dancing, face painting and a buffet. By PTI: Ahmedabad, Dec 2 (PTI) Former Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit today criticised the BJP government in Gujarat over delay in completion of the metro rail between Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar, saying promises made to the people here have not been fulfilled. Dikshit said under the BJP, development in Gujarat has been "skewed", but the saffron outfit has been "shying away" from answering questions posed by the opposition party over the issue. advertisement "When I visited Gujarat 10-12 years back, the metro rail project appeared near completion. But the project has not been completed yet. We started the metro rail project in Delhi and launched it in one year. Today, 299-km long metro rail is running across Delhi," the veteran Congress leader told reporters. Work on the first phase of the Rs 10,700-crore Metrolink Express for Gandhinagar and Ahmedabad (MEGA) is expected to be completed by 2019. "It is the duty of the government to fulfil promises made before the elections, and we get to see that the BJP does not fulfil the pomises made to people," she said. Dikshit was Delhis chief minister when the metro rail project started in the national capital in December 2002. The 79-year-old veteran politician also attacked the BJP over its "silence" on questions posed by Congress vice- president Rahul Gandhi during his Gujarat campaign tours. The three-time Delhi chief minister said the BJP did not have answers to the questions on "skewed" development in the state. "Rahul Gandhi has made several visits (to Gujarat) and raised a number of issues and asked questions. However, neither the BJP government nor the party has responded to these questions, raising doubts if they at all have answers to these questions," she said. She said the Congress did a lot of things in Gujarat during its rule like facilitating Amul cooperative model by bringing in father of the white revolution Verghese Kurien and setting up of institutions like the IIM, ISRO (which has Space Applications Centre in Ahmedabad) and NID, among others. The government recently gave a go-ahead to the second phase of the metro rail project. Officials of the Metrolink Express for Gandhinagar and Ahmedabad (MEGA) reportedly said the first phase, connecting Thaltej to Motera, will be completed by the end of 2019. PTI KA PD RSY KJ --- ENDS --- If you were looking for the Charlestown Democratic Town Committee website and ended up here, try this Got news tips, gossip, suggestions, complaints?E-mail us: progressivecharlestown@gmail.com We strive to avoid errors in our articles. Our correction policy can be found here Dhaka, Nov 28 : Two militants were killed on Tuesday in a security raid in Bangladesh's Chapainawabganj district, a police official said. "The militants were most likely killed in suicide explosions causing a fire in a house where they were hiding," the official told Xinhua. He said security forces surrounded the house suspecting it to be a militant hideout. The suspected militants inside exploded four to five bombs as the law enforcers asked them to surrender, he added. At least three people, including owner of the house, were detained. By PTI: Hyderabad, Dec 2 (PTI) The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) today said that it had seized foreign-made cigarettes worth Rs 6.33 crore allegedly being smuggled into the country. A DRI release said that, based on a specific tip-off, a Hyderabad-verified container was checked last night at an Inland Container Depot (ICD) in neighbouring Ranga Reddy district leading to the seizure of the cigarettes. advertisement "On verification of the container and its documents, it was found that the container was stated to contain self-adhesive tapes. The goods were imported from United Arab Emirates. De-stuffing of the container revealed 176 packages containing cigarettes of foreign make," the release added. The DRI release put the value of the cigarettes at Rs6.33 crore and the 242 packages of self-adhesive tapes recovered at Rs 2.75 lakh. "As the said foreign made cigarettes are attempted to be smuggled into India in contravention of provisions of the Customs Act 1962 and Foreign Trade Policy, 2015-20, they were seized under the Customs Act 1962," the release stated. The release said that further investigations were on for more details. PTI SJR BNM --- ENDS --- New Delhi, Nov 30 : The release and screening of films should not be curbed in a democratic country, says veteran actor Rishi Kapoor. An actor who minces no words when it comes to expressing himself on socio-political issues on social media or otherwise, Rishi spoke to IANS on it when asked about the silence of some sections of the film fraternity on the political intervention in cinema. He said: "I don't want to comment on this, it's sad whatever has happened." Rishi didn't take any names, but amid the ongoing uproar over the release of Sanjay Leela Bhansali's "Padmavati", it was clear what he was pointing towards. "I feel that (the release of) films in this democracy should not be curbed. My only relevant point which I totally agree with the filmmakers is that, please see his film and then pass a comment. Without seeing the film, how can you agitate," he said. Rishi said that it's "absolutely wrong" to protest against a film without watching it. "First watch the film. If you find something wrong in it, then you protest against it or do whatever you want to. Without watching the film you started disrupting, agitating and started violence. That's absolutely wrong," Rishi said. But doesn't he think industry people refrain from commenting on others' issues as their own film is not facing the music? "I have no answer to that. Each one to its own," said the actor, who is shooting for his new film "Rajma Chawal" in old Delhi. "Padmavati" was scheduled for release on December 1, but it has been deferred since it has not got clearance from the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) and has been banned for release in various Indian states like Madya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Bihar and Punjab. Meanwhile, "S Durga", a Malayalam movie, was initially dropped from a jury-suggested shortlist of the Indian Panorama section of the 48th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) along with another film "Nude". Washington, Dec 1 : US President Donald Trump was considering recognising Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, a gesture that majority of the international community rejects. This recognition would serve to compensate for the delay of one of Trump's main promises during the election campaign, the transfer of the US embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, reports Efe news. On June 1, Trump extended the moving of the embassy by six months in compliance with the Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995, a decision that is expected to be repeated Friday once that time limit has expired. That law stipulates the transfer of the US embassy to Jerusalem, but also includes an amendment by which the president can extend the transfer for six months based on US "national interests", something that former presidents including Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama periodically resorted to. In Trump's view, the decision to recognise Jerusalem, a city subject to territorial disputes between Israel and the Palestinians, as the capital of the Jewish state would politically compensate for the extensions of moving the embassy. Trump could announce the decision next week, US officials told CBS News. The sources, who explained that the idea emerged on Monday during a meeting of National Security advisers, said that the White House also considers that it could be Vice President Mike Pence who will announce the decision directly on Israeli soil, where he will travel this December. Pence said earlier this week that Trump is studying "when and how" to move the embassy. Although Israel considers Jerusalem its capital, the sovereignty of the country over the eastern part of the city (East Jerusalem) is not recognised by a large part of the international community, which maintains its diplomatic headquarters in Tel Aviv and its suburbs. Dhaka, Dec 1 : Pope Francis held a mass attended by tens of thousands of worshippers here during which he ordained 16 new priests for the small church of the country which has less than 400 priests. The pontiff arrived in Dhaka on Thursday from Myanmar and said in his address to Bangladeshi authorities that his priority for the visit was to show closeness with the country's small Catholic community of less than 500,000 people, Efe news reported. While riding in his Popemobile later, the Catholic leader was greeted with cries of "Long live the Pope!" from thousands of followers who came from all parts of the country, some having travelled overnight. Authorities stated that 100,000 people had gathered for the mass. Among the attendees was a Spanish priest Benjamin Gomez who works as a missionary in a tribal area of northern Bangladesh. He arrived with three buses, one of which was filled with 40 orphans. The Pope dedicated a few words thanking them for their generosity in these sacrifices. "I know some of you have come after travelling for two days. Thank you for your generosity, this indicates the love you have for the church, the love you have in Jesus Christ." He then asked the faithful to pray for the priests of Bangladesh, especially those who will receive the sacrament on Friday. The local Catholic Church considered the gesture of the Pope, who during the ceremony ordained 16 priests -- 10 were diocesan, one from the Oblates of Mary and five from the Congregation of the Holy Cross -- as a gift. All of the priests were students from the Holy Spirit Major Seminary, the only one in the country, which currently has about 400 seminarians. One of the new priests is young Jashim Murmu, a native of the Dinajpur diocese who will be the first priest from his village, all the inhabitants being from the Santhal tribe, reported the Vatican agency Asianews. In Bangladesh, where 90 per cent people are Muslims, the Catholic Church has an archdiocese, seven dioceses with 34 religious congregations, of which there are 380 priests and 1,500 nuns, according to Asianews data. New Delhi, Dec 1 : In a clear case of medical negligence, doctors at a private hospital here declared a baby dead, along with his stillborn twin, and handed the bodies over to family members in a polythene bag. But the baby was found alive before being buried. The shocking incident prompted Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain to order a probe. The Shalimar Bagh-located Max Super Specialty Hospital has admitted to negligence and sent the doctors concerned on leave. According to the aggrieved family, the twins were born premature on Thursday. While one baby was stillborn, the other was declared dead hours later after his condition was stated to be "critical" and "unable to survive". "At the hospital we were told that one twin was stillborn while the other died later as his condition was critical. Thereafter, they gave us both babies wrapped in a plastic bag," said Ashish Kumar, father of the baby. "However, while on way for their burial, we observed a slight movement in the packet. After opening the plastic bag, we found the baby was breathing," said Kumar, who rushed to a nearby nursing home in Pitampura along with other family members. "There the doctors found the baby was alive and put him under critical care," Kumar said. The police were immediately informed. Deputy Commissioner of Police Aslam Khan told IANS: "We received a complaint from the baby's father and filed an FIR. The investigation is in initial stages and we will take legal action against the doctors responsible for such inhumane negligence." The Max Hospital said in a statement: "It has been brought to our notice that a 22-week premature newborn, who is said to be on life support at a nursing home, was unfortunately handed over (as dead) ... by Max Hospital, Shalimar Bagh. "This baby was one of the twins delivered on the morning of November 30. The other baby was stillborn. "We are shaken and concerned at this rare incident. We have initiated a detailed inquiry, pending which the doctors concerned have been asked to proceed on leave immediately." The hospital said it was in constant touch with the parents and ready to extend all support. Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda said: "I have directed the Delhi government to look into the matter and take necessary action." A preliminary report is to be submitted within 72 hours and a final report within a week. A similar incident was reported from Safdarjung Hospital in June when a newborn was found alive after doctors had declared the baby dead. The Hague, Dec 2 : Bosnian Croat war criminal Slobodan Praljak died after taking potassium cyanide in The Hague's courtroom, Dutch prosecutors say, citing the results of a preliminary post mortem examination. "This has resulted in a failure of the heart, which is indicated as the suspected cause of death," they said, BBC reported on Friday. Praljak drank from a vial after his 20-year term for war crimes in Bosnia in the 1990s had been upheld on Wednesday. Dutch authorities are investigating how he smuggled poison into the court. The confirmation rulings against Praljak and five other defendants brought an end to more than 20 years of work by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY). Seconds after hearing his appeal had been lost, the former general declared: "Slobodan Praljak is not a war criminal. I am rejecting the court ruling." The 72-year-old then drank from a small brown-glass bottle and announced: "I have taken poison." The presiding judge cut short the hearing and Praljak was taken to hospital. Officials said Praljak died shortly afterwards in a local hospital. Peter Robinson, a lawyer for convicted Bosnian Serb war criminal Radovan Karadzic, told the BBC he could not understand how anyone could have passed poison to a prisoner. "We go through two security checks when we visit detainees," he said. "Two metal detectors. You can't bring drinks, not even a bottle of water or Coke. Everything is searched before you go in. "I've only ever seen him (Praljak) with his family, in the room next door to us. But when his family came it was private. "There are no guards inside the room at the time, they stay outside the door. You can see your own doctors with special permission." Though allies against the Bosnian Serbs during the 1992-95 civil war, Bosnian Croats and Muslims also fought each other for a period of 11 months, with the city of Mostar seeing some of the fiercest fighting. Praljak was convicted in 2013 of crimes against humanity, committed while commanding Bosnian Croat forces. United Nations, Dec 2 : The United Nations has appealed for a record $ 22.5 billion in humanitarian aid for 2018. The global aid appeal aims to raise funds to help 91 million of the world's most vulnerable people, out of 136 million in need, a UN statement said on Friday, BBC reported. More than $10 billion is needed to address the humanitarian crises in Syria and Yemen alone, it added. The UN also said needs are rising substantially in a number of African countries. Driven by conflicts in Africa and the Middle East, the number of people in need of humanitarian aid has increased by more than 5 per cent, according to UN co-ordinator Mark Lowcock. The targeted fund is a 1 per cent increase on the amount requested last year. By the end of November, the agency had raised nearly $13 billion -- which the UN says is record levels of funding. More than a third of the fund requested is to address the needs created by the devastating civil war in Syria: $3.5 billion to provide humanitarian aid inside the war-ravaged country and $4.2 billion to help the 5.4 million registered Syrian refugees in neighbouring countries. In Yemen, which is facing the world's worst humanitarian crisis, the UN says $2.5 billion is needed to assist those most desperately in need. The UN has acknowledged they aim to cover the needs of only half of the 20 million people in Yemen who are in need of urgent humanitarian assistance. Eleven million of those are children and 400,000 are affected by severe acute malnutrition. Each of Congo, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan and Sudan are in need of more than a billion dollars of aid to assist the most vulnerable. The UN statement also said that in some other countries, including Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Iraq, Mali, and Ukraine, humanitarian needs have declined. London, Dec 2 : The British government has issued a fresh warning about the security risks of using Russian anti-virus software. The National Cyber Security Centre is to write to all government departments warning against using the products for systems related to national security, BBC reported on Friday. The UK cyber-security agency will say the software could be exploited by the Russian government. Security firm Kaspersky Labs, accused in the US of being used by the Russian state for espionage, denied wrongdoing. Kaspersky Labs is widely used by consumers and businesses across the globe, as well as by some parts of the UK government. Around the world, 400 million people use Kaspersky products. For it to work, anti-virus software like that sold by Kaspersky Labs requires extensive access to files on computers and networks to scan for malicious code. It also requires the ability to communicate back to the company in order to receive updates and share data on what it finds. However, the concern is that this could be used by the Russian state for espionage. Officials say the National Cyber Security Centre's (NSCS) decision is based on a risk-analysis rather than evidence that such espionage has already taken place. In the new government guidance, Ian Levy, NCSC's technical director, said: "Given we assess the Russians do cyber-attacks against the UK for reasons of state, we believe some UK government and critical national systems are at increased risk." The NCSC is understood to have been in dialogue with Kaspersky Labs and says it will explore ways of mitigating the risks to see if a system can be developed to independently verify the security of its products. It comes amid heightened concern about Russian activity against the UK. Last month, Prime Minister Theresa May warned the Russian state was acting against the UK's national interest in cyberspace. Following her warning, Ciaran Martin, chief executive of the NCSC, said Russia had targeted British infrastructure, including power and telecoms. Officials stress they are not recommending members of the public or companies stop using Kaspersky software. "Beyond this relatively small number of systems we see no compelling case at present to extend that advice to the wider public sector, more general enterprises, or individuals," Levy added. "Whatever you do, don't panic. For example, we really don't want people doing things like ripping out Kaspersky software at large as it makes little sense." Washington, Dec 2 : US President Donald Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, is being named as the "very senior member" of the President's transition team who directed former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn to contact Russian officials, media reports said. Quoting sources CNN said Kushner directed Flynn to get in touch with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak and other envoys. Flynn on Friday pleaded guilty to making false statements to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) about meetings with Kislyak weeks before Trump's inauguration. The filings from Flynn's plea hearing on Friday say a "very senior member" of Trump's transition team asked Flynn to contact officials to learn where each country stood on the UN Security Council vote on Israeli settlements and to influence it. An attorney for Kushner did not respond to a request for comment, the CNN said. The court documents provide the clearest picture so far of coordination between Flynn and other Trump advisers in contacting Russian officials to influence international policy. It also raised questions about who higher up the chain of command in Trump's orbit -- possibly even including the President himself -- is in Special Counsel Robert Mueller's sights after he agreed to a plea deal with retired General Flynn, CNN said. The revelations also undermine Trump's often repeated contention that the Russia investigation is little more than a witch hunt being perpetrated by his political enemies, the CNN said. A person familiar with the transition's effort on the UN vote told CNN it was well-known and a collaborative effort by various transition officials, including Trump's former chief of staff Reince Priebus, former adviser Steve Bannon, Flynn and Kushner. In court, prosecutors detailed calls Flynn had made in late December 2016 to the senior Trump transition team at Mar-a-Lago to discuss conversations with Kislyak. The document also says Flynn falsely said he did not ask Kislyak to delay the vote on the UN Security Council resolution. Flynn faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison, according to federal sentencing guidelines, though the judge on Friday stressed he could impose a harsher or lighter sentence. Flynn's plea agreement stipulates that he will cooperate with federal, state or local investigators in any way that Special Counsel Robert Mueller's office might need, according to a document filed in court Friday. He could also be required to participate in covert law enforcement operations, such as wearing a wire, if asked or to share details of his past dealings with the Trump transition team and administration, CNN said. Kushner met with Mueller's team earlier in November as part of the investigation into Russia's meddling in the 2016 US election, according to two people familiar with the meeting. "Kushner has voluntarily cooperated with all relevant inquiries and will continue to do so," Abbe Lowell, Kushner's lawyer has told CNN. The conversation lasted less than 90 minutes, one person familiar with the meeting said, adding that Mueller's team asked Kushner to clear up some questions he was asked by lawmakers and details that emerged through media reports. A source told CNN that the nature of the conversation was principally to make sure Kushner does not have information that exonerates Flynn. New Delhi, Dec 2 : At age 81 -- he says he may be older by a couple of years -- Sher Singh Kukkal shows no sign that he is tired of painting and teaching his younger colleagues how to master the craft. Kukkal does not allow memories of the many valuable art works lost to nature's fury over the decades to pin him down. "There is no way I can stop painting, ever," Kukkal said with a tinge of pride at his modest middle class home in Noida overflowing with paintings, some yet to be completed, as well as an array of cameras dating back to the early 1950s. On Friday evening, union Culture Minister Mahesh Sharma inaugurated an exhibition of Kukkal's select collection at the India Habitat Centre in the heart of Delhi that will end on December 6. "It is all due to god's grace," Kukkal told IANS. "Art can come only due to divine blessings." Kukkal has created a monumental body of artwork that critics say defies standardisation and categorisation. These range from sculptures to wash paintings, impressionist scenes to abstraction, stylised relief works to large frescos and from music to creative photography. In over six decades of life as an artist, his large body of work cover paintings including watercolours and oils, sculptures including on wood, bronze and metal as well as enamel work over tiles. Born in 1934 in a village in Azara district now in Pakisan, Kukkal's family - he says - had narrow escape from death as they fled to India during the partition horror. After settling down in Gorakhpur, he joined the School of Art in Lucknow and then worked in Afghanistan. But he had to flee when civil war broke out there, forcing him to leave behind many paintings. On two occasions, he says, flooding consumed many more of his paintings. And many remain locked up at the Jawaharlal Nehru National Youth Centre in Noida due to a property dispute. But Kukkal says he will paint till his last breath. "Art is life. If I give up painting, then what is left of me?" Kolkata, Dec 2 : A group of contemporary artists, historians, writers and musicians from the UK and India would undertake a 11-day long journey down the river Hooghly from Murshidabad district to Kolkata from December 6, as part of the ambitious Silk River project which explores the unique relationship between London and Kolkata, according to the organisers. The journey - on boat and by foot - will begin from Azimganj in Murshidabad, and culminate at Batanagar, close to Kolkata on December 16, with the participants slated to engage with contemporary artists, historians, writers and musicians. There would also be curated events comprising talks, workshops and film screenings during the entire trip, brought together by Kinetika, UK and its various Indian partners including ThinkArts, Murshidabad Heritage Development Society, Crafts Council of India West Bengal and West Bengal Tourism. It is supported by Arts Council England and British Council. Silk River India Walk is the second stage of the project. In phase one, the Silk River UK Walks were organised along the Thames from September 15-24. Working in 20 locations alongside the Hooghly and the Thames to reinterpret a shared heritage, Silk River aims to raise cultural awareness about the Indo-British relationship through engaging diaspora communities. The stories of the 20 locations will be revealed to local, national and international audiences through the showing of 20 giant hand-painted Bengali silk scrolls and accompanying performances. The Silk River India Walk will begin on Monday at Azimganj. The next two days will see an international community gathering together to discover and explore the rich heritage of the region through walks, seminars and cultural programmes, Kinetika's artistic director Ali Pretty told the media on Friday. There will be an opportunity for artistic exchange from December 8-10, with invited Indian artists collaborating with their 15 counterparts from the UK, as they travel from Krishnanagar to Chandannagar. The tour will end on December 16, with a closing event in association with the Victoria Memorial Hall, Kolkata, where the scrolls will be exhibited and a fair held. There will be an exhibition of the 20 scrolls in the Central Hall of Victoria Memorial Hall here from December 19. "By sharing and celebrating the similar histories and narratives between the River Thames and India's Hooghly River, the project encourages the celebration of rich local history, and engages communities to take part in re-imagining the river," Pretty said. Silk River India Walk Director Korak Ghosh called the entire project a "tale of two cities". "London, among other festivities has a month-long celebration with Totally Thames. My involvement with this unique event gives me an opportunity to remember our Hooghly. We are sure that this will go a long way in making people conscious of the river, its importance and its heritage," he said. Debanjan Chakrabarti, Director, British Council East and Northeast India said: "The project connects, inspires and celebrates the two countries in a unique way and I am certain the India Walks will be remembered as a milestone in the city's cultural calendar." By PTI: Hyderabad, Dec 2 (PTI) The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) today said that it had seized foreign-made cigarettes worth Rs 6.33 crore allegedly being smuggled into the country. A DRI release said that, based on a specific tip-off, a Hyderabad-verified container was checked last night at an Inland Container Depot (ICD) in neighbouring Ranga Reddy district leading to the seizure of the cigarettes. advertisement "On verification of the container and its documents, it was found that the container was stated to contain self-adhesive tapes. The goods were imported from United Arab Emirates. De-stuffing of the container revealed 176 packages containing cigarettes of foreign make," the release added. The DRI release put the value of the cigarettes at Rs6.33 crore and the 242 packages of self-adhesive tapes recovered at Rs 2.75 lakh. "As the said foreign made cigarettes are attempted to be smuggled into India in contravention of provisions of the Customs Act 1962 and Foreign Trade Policy, 2015-20, they were seized under the Customs Act 1962," the release stated. The release said that further investigations were on for more details. PTI SJR BNM RDS --- ENDS --- New Delhi, Dec 2 : On a bright, sunny afternoon here in the old world milieu of Chandni Chowk, veteran actor Rishi Kapoor took a moment from shooting for his new movie "Rajma Chawal", to talk about how "blessed" he feels to be getting a chance to essay meaty and lovely roles that suit his age. "I am blessed that I am still getting lovely work. I am really enjoying my work," Rishi told IANS amidst the hustle bustle on the set here. "Being an actor, I should take any challenge, any role or any kind of work. Sometimes, the films work... Sometimes, they don't work. That doesn't worry me. But I am happy to do any kind of role which comes to me. Even at this age, getting good roles is a great news for me. Any role which challenges me as an actor, I like to do it," added the 65-year-old. Son of late legendary actor-filmmaker Raj Kapoor, Rishi had his big breakthrough in Bollywood with 1973 film "Bobby". Since then, he went on to play a mixed bag of positive and negative characters in movies like "Amar Akbar Anthony", "Karz", "Prem Rog", "Chandni", "Bol Radha Bol", "Do Dooni Chaar", "Agneepath" and "Kapoor & Sons". Tracing his journey, Rishi said: "I am not typecast (as an actor). I am ready for everything. I have done negative, positive and even funny roles. That's what every actor needs to do to bring variety. Then only he will be called a good actor -- he should be able to tackle any kind of role." His new film "Rajma Chawal", being shot in the interiors of Chandni Chowk -- even with few locals as the extras -- is on a father-son relationship and shines the spotlight on generation gap-related conflicts. Directed by "Parched" fame Leena Yadav, the film will feature Rishi as the father and debutant Anirudh Tanwar as his son. It will also have actress Amyra Dastur. As he went gaga over the warmth and hospitality of the local residents here, Rishi spoke about what tempted him to take up "Rajma Chawal". "I wanted to work with Leena. I liked the ambience and where the story was being told -- the whole beauty of Chandni Chowk. I did it once with 'Delhi-6'... The triumph of this project is that we are shooting the whole film in Chandni Chowk." Going down the memory lane, he said: "As a kid, I remember going to Jama Masjid and eating lots of food here. If you ask me, I would dare (any actor) to come in here with these kind of people -- if any actor will come here, he will be mobbed. "But here, the arrangements are terrific and the people of Chandni Chowk have been really cooperative. They have been very nice and lovely. They are also helping us in shooting and are even working as extras. We have shot a lot outside too on streets," he added. Being the foodie that he is, he has also been relishing the yummy delights that old Delhi is famous for. "I have been having food from every restaurant. By the way, today I have ordered Rajma Chawal from a shop. Everyday there is something new - chaat, samosa, jalebi, and I don't remember what all. I have been having all kinds of food from different places," he said. Apart from this film, Rishi will next be seen in "102 Not Out" with megastar Amitabh Bachchan. (Sandeep Sharma can be contacted at sandeep.s@ians.in) New Delhi : The rise in the growth rate to the moderately satisfactory 6.3 per cent from the depressingly low 5.7 per cent is good news for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at a time when the Prime Minister reminded the audience at a function organised by a media house about former President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam's observation about the negativism which generally marked newspapers and magazines. Narendra Modi's case for a more positive outlook in the media and the country will seem more credible in the context of the latest growth figures if only because they highlight the mistake of those like former Finance Minister Yashwant Singh of the BJP, who have been lamenting (perhaps with a touch of schadenfreude) about the economy's free fall. As Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has said, the country's emergence from the recent slump means that it has got over the twin blows of demonetisation and the Goods and Services Tax (GST), which were expected by Modi's critics to spell his doom. The turn for the better in the economy has come at the right time for the BJP when its frenetic campaigning in Gujarat with Modi addressing 30 meetings in a fortnight and with as many as 40 cabinet ministers camping in the state, pointed to a measure of uneasiness in the party about its prospects in what is widely regarded as its bailiwick. However, considering that the BJP's success in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh is almost a foregone conclusion, one can say that the rise in the growth rate will not make much of a difference to the outcome. All that it can do is to dampen some of the ardour of the ruling party's opponents. Even then, the point remains that the BJP will face its real challenge not in Gujarat or Himachal Pradesh this month, but in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh next year. It is in those elections, where the BJP will encounter the anti-incumbency factor, that it will become clear whether the rise in the growth rate has helped the party or is of little consequence. The reason for the doubts is that it is not clear to what extent the unemployment problem will be mitigated by the climbing growth rate in these days of automation and artificial intelligence. Equally uncertain is the quantum of the impact on the BJP's hopes as a result of the prevailing tension and uncertainty caused by the crime rate -- and especially the safety of women and even children. The effect of the rampaging Hindutva hardliners declaring bounties on the heads of actors and directors is another unknown factor whose effect will be known only after the votes are counted. Up till now the BJP has been sitting pretty because its "vikas" (development) plank still has many takers even if it hasn't made a perceptible dent on the unemployment scene. In addition, Modi's personal popularity remains high because of his oratorical skills and the impression he conveys about the seriousness of his intent to take the country forward. In contrast, his opponents lack an agenda which can have an inspiring effect and are bereft of leaders capable of drawing enthusiastic crowds although Rahul Gandhi is showing signs of the old Nehruvian appeal. The opposition depends therefore on, first, the economy continuing to be sluggish and, secondly, on the Hindutva hotheads creating a ruckus. But such an approach is obviously a negative one, as is also banking on the anti-incumbency factor to undermine the BJP-run state governments. There is little hope, therefore, for the opposition if it cannot adopt a positive attitude with a clear projection of the kind of India which it envisages. For the BJP, on the other hand, it is a tug-of-war between vikas and the hotheads. As long as the economy shows signs of buoyancy, it can expect to be home and dry. It is of the utmost importance for it, therefore, to ensure that the recovery doesn't flag and that the country regains its status as the fastest-growing economy in the world. At the same time, the party cannot allow the loonies in its ranks, who include ministers, to run amok. It does not reflect well on a government when the apex court has to direct the states to check cow vigilantes or tell senior politicians in the ruling dispensation to keep their mouths shut on yet-to-be released films lest they influence the censor board. As it is, the impression persists that the government is not too comfortable with the autonomy of established institutions as could be seen from the official directive to the University Grants Commission (UGC) to ensure that students and teachers did not miss Modi's "life changing" speech on the occasion of Deen Dayal Upadhyay's centenary celebrations and Swami Vivekananda's 125th birth anniversary last September. If the government does not want the UGC, the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) and other autonomous bodies to become "caged parrots", as the Supreme Court once called the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), then it has to desist from enforcing regimentation and stopping the saffron extremists from targeting artistes and all those who are not with the BJP. Otherwise, growth rate alone will not prevent the erosion of its popularity. (Amulya Ganguli is a political analyst. The views expressed are personal. He can be reached at amulyaganguli@gmail.com ) Dhaka, Dec 2 : Pope Francis on Saturday said that gossiping and speak ill of others within religious communities is like terrorism. He made the remark at a meeting with priests, nuns and novices at the Holy Rosary Church in Dhaka, on the last day of his visit to Bangladesh, reports Efe news. The Pope once again stressed the danger of divisions in the Catholic community and the harm caused by gossip, something that has often featured in his addresses to audiences who have chosen religious paths. The pontiff, during his impromptu speech, said they were like the shoots of the seeds planted by God, and asked them to take care of them as they grow and separate them from the bad seeds and weeds. He then said that the church in Bangladesh has been very active in inter-religious dialogue and urged for the same within Catholic communities, asking them to be an example of harmony. The Pope went on to say that he is filled with tenderness when meeting old priests and nuns who have a sparkle in their eyes due to having lived fulfilling lives. He urged those at the meeting to seek out that look in the old nuns, who are always serving, and who have gleaming eyes as they have the knowledge of the Holy Spirit. The speech was interrupted by applause and laughter from those present, and Pope Francis concluded by saying that when one is like wine and keeps maturing till the end, the eyes gleam with joy and fulfilment of the Holy Spirit. The Pope reached Bangladesh on Thursday after spending three days in Myanmar. On Friday, he met a group of Muslim Rohingya refugees here and referred to Myanmar's persecuted minority by name for the first time on his Asia tour. He refrained from using the term while in Myanmar. New Delhi : George Bernard Shaw once said that "England and America are two countries separated by the same language". When the UN conference on the Montreal Protocol on the substances that deplete the ozone layer ended in Montreal on November 24, albeit in the wee hours of November 25, I thought this could also be said for Paris and Montreal, not only because of the French language but also the agreements signed there on global action on the climate. The UN meeting in Montreal celebrated the 30th Anniversary of the success of the phase-out of Ozone Depleting Substances (ODS). The meeting in Bonn a week before, after its 25 years of global efforts, was still wondering how to even finalise the rulebook to stabilise the climate and keep the temperature rise to not more than to 2 degrees Celsius before 2100, while making efforts to limit that rise to 1.5 degrees -- the objective of the Paris Climate Agreement. While US President Donald Trump is walking out of the keenly-negotiated Paris pact, he has surprisingly decided to support the Montreal Protocol, including its 2.0 version that now includes full-blast action against climate change. He has even agreed to take a nearly 25 per cent share of funding of over $500 million pledged by the developed countries to provide to the developing countries. The deal to provide $500 million over the next three years for the purpose was sealed in Montreal last week. It was warm news in the freezing temperatures at Montreal in contrast to the cold winds blowing from the Bonn climate conference. The extraordinary success story of the Montreal Protocol never seems to have a full stop. Though Trump never tweeted about it, this multilateral environmental accord, brokered by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in 1987, was signed by the Republican President Ronald Reagan and fully supported by the Democrats. Under the treaty, developed countries pledged all the incremental financial support to the developing countries during their transition away from ODS. More importantly, that pledge was honoured year after year without interruption, even during the global financial crisis. It has now reached a cumulative amount of $3.5 billion. Developing countries responded by implementing the transition to ozone-friendly technologies. The protocol has already achieved its goal of phasing out nearly 100 percent of millions of tonnes of more than 90 man-made ODSs like Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and Hydro chlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs), used mainly in refrigeration, air conditioning, foams and solvents. The factories producing these chemicals have literally shut down. If the slogan "Yes We Can" has a real-life example, it is this one. In one single generation, these ozone depleting chemicals were invented, their catastrophic impact on the stratospheric ozone layer that shields life on the Earth was scientifically identified, global action to phase them out was agreed through an international agreement, developing countries were provided by the developed countries all the incremental costs and technologies -- and the phase-out of these chemicals was achieved exactly on the targeted year and day. Never before has such an astonishing chain of actions been triggered and taken to its completion. Former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan called it "...the single-most successful international environmental agreement to date". Erik Solheim, Executive Director, UN Environment, during the opening ceremony on November 24, called the Montreal Protocol "a testimony of the spirit of togetherness of nations and humans". That "togetherness" has carried the Montreal Protocol's success beyond the phase-out of ODS. Major ODS like CFCs are also Green House Gases (GHGs). Thus, their phase-out under the Protocol has, as a side benefit, also resulted in the permanent cumulative emission reduction of GHGs to the extent of 130 giga tonnes equivalent of carbon dioxide by 2010, compared to just about one giga tonne of GHGs reduction aimed by 2012 under the Kyoto Protocol. In reality, GHGs increased during this period. While the Montreal Protocol did successful market transformation to an ozone-friendly world, the Kyoto Protocol remained fatally flawed. The 2015 Paris pact, a follow-up to the unfinished Kyoto Protocol, is still faltering and fudgy. The "togetherness" highlighted by Solheim is conspicuous by its absence from climate agreements. However, it was ever evident under the Montreal Protocol. The latest achievement came when, in 2016, all 197 countries agreed to deploy the institutions nurtured under the Montreal Protocol for the last 30 years to now phase-down the deadly GHG -- hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) -- some of which are more than 10,000 times more powerful than carbon dioxide. The developed countries, led by the US, pledged financial and technology support. That was an unprecedented decision, because the seminal objective of the Montreal Protocol was to get rid of ODS and not GHGs. "It was like using Non-Proliferation Treaty for nuclear weapons to control the trade in drugs and crime," said an African environmental law expert, commenting on the decision in Kigali. The Montreal Protocol, in other words, was used as a "surrogate mother" to carry the seeds of the Paris pact to deliver a climate-friendly baby. There are two-fold reasons for that unusual action: First, HFCs were introduced as substitute for CFCs and other ODS due to their zero-ozone depleting potential. The countries therefore considered that getting away from HFCs would correct their unintended error and contribute to mitigation of climate change. Second, the developed countries agreed to the incremental funding for the developing countries for their -- yet another -- transformation from HFCs to non-HFCs. Thus, the Montreal Protocol has now entered its version 2.0 and became the treaty to reduce the emissions of the most potent global warming gas -- HFC -- which, incidentally, is also one of the six groups of the GHGs under the Paris pact. Developed countries will start reducing HFCs as early as 2019, while developing countries will start later. Phasing down HFCs under the Protocol is expected to avoid up to 0.5 degrees of global warming by the end of the century, while continuing to protect the ozone layer. If the energy efficiency improvements due to use of non-HFCs in refrigeration and air conditioning appliances are taken into account, then the avoided warming would be even more. That will be equivalent of achieving at least 25 per cent of the objective of the Paris pact. The world should now concede some cool points to President Trump and his administration amidst the warming and hot chaos. (Rajendra Shende is Chairman, TERRE Policy Centre, a former UNEP Director and an IIT Alumnus. The views expressed are personal. He can be contacted at shende.rajendra@gmail.com) Hyderabad, Dec 2 : Strongly opposing the proposed legislation on triple talaq, MIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Saturday called for unity among Indian Muslims to protect the 'shariat'. Stating that the Supreme Court verdict on the issue is confusing and nobody can say if uttering talaq thrice in one sitting annuls marriage or it is considered only one talaq, he wondered how the government can bring a bill in the Parliament. The Member of Parliament asked the Narendra Modi government if it would provide financial aid to women if their husbands were sent to jail for three years. Addressing a public meeting at MIM headquarters Darussalam on the occasion of Milad-un-Nabbi, he warned that the legislation could lead to a new problem of husbands abandoning their wives. He criticised Modi for speaking about the rights of Muslim women but ignoring the "Hindu sisters". Claiming that "20 lakh Hindu women are abandoned by their husbands", Owaisi asked Modi if he would come to their rescue as well. He said the Sangh Pariwar shows sympathy for Muslim women but was not allowing a film to be released. "When you can't allow a film ('Padmavati') to be released, how can you interfere in my shariat," Owaisi asked. The MIM President said Muslims should learn a lesson from Rajputs who despite being less in numbers came together to stop the release of the film. "If Muslims can unite to strengthen the country and to save shariat, we can definitely do something," he added. The MP said the community should also learn lessons from Patels, Gujjars, Jats and Marathas who came together to fight for their rights and for reservation. On Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's statement that the Taj Mahal is not part of Indian culture, and BJP describing the monument as symbol of slavery, Owaisi asked why Modi hosted a dinner in Falaknuma Palace here for US President Donald Trump's daughter Ivanka Trump and others. "You have to see the symbols of our forefathers," he remarked while also referring to the other dinner hosted at Golconda Fort for delegates of Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES) this week. Referring to the Gujarat elections, the MIM chief said the leaders of both BJP and Congress were vying with each other in visiting temples and every leader claiming himself to be a "bigger Hindu than the other". He alleged that both the parties were competing with each other in offering reservation for various communities but were united in opposing quota for Muslims. He described both the parties as "hypocrites". On former US President Barack Obama stressing the need to nurture and cherish Indian Muslims, Owaisi said it was news for media only because a former US President has stated it. "Our party has been saying the same for over 60 years. We have been saying that we love this country, we have faith in its Constitution and the country can strengthen if Muslims get their constitutional rights," he said. Targetting the Congress party, he said it blamed the MIM for dividing votes in various states to hide its failure to defeat Modi. He recalled that his party had contested only 28 seats out of 400 in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections. "In the civic polls in UP, we won 32 seats but Congress got only 19 seats and could not win a single seat in Amethi," he added. Mumbai, Dec 2 : Filmmaker Karan Johar says he will announce a new film with actress Sonakshi Sinha within the next two weeks. Their last collaboration was "Ittefaq", directed by Abhay Chopra and produced by Dharma Productions. "I am very happy that I worked with Sonakshi and it wasn't any kind of 'ittefaq' (coincidence) and that film did well that also wasn't and 'ittefaq'. So now, we are doing another film together and the name and details about the film will be announced within two weeks," Karan said in a statement. The filmmaker spoke to the media on the sidelines of the Filmfare Glamour and Style Awards 2017 here on Friday. Sonakshi was in attendance too with Rekha, Sridevi, Hrithik Roshan, Shahid Kapoor, Kareena Kapoor, Sonam Kapoor, Varun Dhawan, Daisy Shah and Jacqueline Fernandez. Karan is also producing Ayan Mukherji's "Brahmastra", which will be trilogy. "'Brahmastra' is in prep mode. Ranbir (Kapoor), Alia (Bhatt) and Mr (Amitabh) Bachchan are working in the film. The films' shoot will begin in February or March next year. Hopefully, it will release next year as well. And hopefully, after every two years, we will come up with new part of 'Brahmastra'," he said. Gandhinagar, Dec 2 : Former Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit on Saturday asked if the claim of the ruling BJP in Gujarat of having undertaken a lot of development is correct then why was Prime Minister Narendra Modi rushing off to the state practically every other day to campaign. Addressing the media here, the former three-time Delhi Chief Minister said that the saffron party has realised that people are in a mood to change the government and that's why Modi is paying frequent visits to the state. She said after 22 years of BJP rule the people of Gujarat have now realized that they haven't experienced real development. Dikshit said that the Congress is pretty confident of forming the government in Gujarat. "Why does a so-busy Prime Minister Narendra Modi have to visit Gujarat every other day when they have carried out so many development works in the state as they are claiming?," she said The senior Congress leader continued, "Look at the prices of commodities that have risen so sharply during the three-and-a half years of NDA rule. There has been sudden and steep hike in onion, tomato prices. When I was in Delhi, the Congress procured these commodities and availed it to the people at affordable prices." Lambasting the BJP government for dilly-dallying on the Metro train project in the state, she said, "When I visited Gujarat 12 years ago, I had heard about the Metro project which was announced some years ago with much fanfare. What has happened to that? Is it running now? It is still more on paper than reality. We completed the Delhi Metro project as we had promised in due time. The Congress accomplished all of their promised tasks and that too in time during my 16 years of reign in Delhi." Asked about the BJP alleging that the Congress was playing the caste card for the elections, she said, "Congress has never fought the elections on the basis of caste, it has been always development issues that the party has fought on -- real development, not false and so-called development, taking along every section of the society." Asked about the loss in the local body elections in Uttar Pradesh, Dikshit said, "We have not had a major loss as is being projected by some. Wait and watch, the full and entire results have not yet come out and until then we will just wait. It is also wrong that Congress has lost major elections after 2014." To questions about apprehensions over the Electronic Voting Machines (EVM), the former Chief Minister said, "Lots of people have raised their doubts about the EVMs. Now it is the onus of the Election Commission of India (ECI) to win the trust of the people, which has recently faltered." She said that people of Gujarat have realised that the standard and quality of education in the state has "gone down the drain" since 22 years and they want it back. Asked if the BJP has carried out development in the state as they claim, Dikshit told IANS, "I don't think so. I think that there is so much potential in the state which could have been carried out if real development had happened. But our government if formed will do that, I am fully confident of that." Lucknow, Dec 2 : A day after the civic polls results were announced and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) claimed yet another 'saffron tsunami' in its favor, questions being asked now are whether this muscle flexing, chest thumping and drum beating was justified? The party should, at least, hold the ladoos for a while. While there is no doubt that the BJP had fared very well in the 16 municipal corporations and has succeeded in getting 14 of its mayoral candidates elected, a closer look at the Nagar Palika Parishad and Nagar Panchayat polls paints the picture which is not too comfortable for the rulings dispensation. While in most places the BJP may have won, the margins, as compared to the February-March 2017 state assembly polls, have dwindled. Also, the BJP is not the number one seat winner -- the independents are. But what is noticeable is the fact that both the Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) seem to have done impressively at the hustings. This is in stark contrast to the drubbing they got at the hands of the BJP in the state assembly polls just eight months back. Of the total corporators -- 1300, for which elections were held in the three-phased urban body polls in November, BJP managed to win 596 while the SP, which is not an urban voter based party has managed to get 202 seats and the BSP got 147 seats in its first outing in the civic polls. The Congress, which the BJP leaders seldom choose to spare, has also got 110 seats. Of the 198 Chairmen of the Nagar Palika Parishad seats, BJP has won 69 (or 34%) while 45 have been won by the SP, 29 by the BSP and 9 by the Congress. In the polls for the 5,261 seats in the members of the Nagar Palika Parishad, BJP has won 917 seats (or only 17.5%) followed by the SP (476), BSP (260) and Congress (154). Of the 438 seats of Nagar Panchayat heads BJP has won 100 (or 22.8%) while the SP has got 83, BSP 45 and 17 have been won by the Congress. This is a victory of sorts, but not something to tom-tom about. The independents have fared very well, but this had largely been ignored by the regional and national media in the first flush. Fortythree Nagar Palika chairmen, 182 Nagar Panchayat heads, and 222 corporators are independents and so are 7,229 ward members. Even the first time entrant into civic polls, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has made inroads into the polity. AAP won 19 Nagar Panchayat member seats, two Nagar Panchayat chairmen seats and 15 Nagar Palika Parishad memberships. According to the state election commission, the AAP has also managed to win three corporator seats in the urban body polls as well. The Nagar Panchayat head of AAP have been elected in Tendwari (Banda) and Sahaspur (Bijnore). In the nagar Palika Parishad polls, AAP has won two seats in Jhansi and one in Moradabad. AAP's Vibhu Tripathi has won as a corporator in ward 6 in Lalganj. Haseen Jehan has become corporate from ward 51 in Moradabad.A Vaibhav Maheshwari, state spokesman of the party told IANS that the "humble beginning with so little resources and cadre is more than heartening". He added that the BJP should definitely be worried about its prospects in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections as the urban body polls have not been "exactly in their favor" as they are tom-tomming. What could worry the BJP is also the fact that these results have come after a 50-rally campaign by chief minister Yogi Adityanath, while on the other side no one equal to his stature like Mayawati or Akhilesh Yadav campaigned. The victory has also been rendered bitter by serious allegations of bungling in voter lists and manipulation of EVM's. At many places -- like Meerut, Kanpur, Lucknow -- there have been reports where a candidate who voted for himself, ended up with zero votes, raising questions about the fairness of the poll process. Mayawati on Saturday made similar accusations and demanded that the 2019 general elections take place on the basis of old, traditional ballot papers. She went on to say that if this happened, the BJP will never return to power ever. Political observers also feel that at many places BJP scraped through by default, as there was no opposition candidate worth the salt. Another point that the BJP needs to take note of is the fact that it had lost in ward number 68 in Gorakhpur, the ward where the Gorakshnath Peeth, is located. Adityanath is the priest of the Gorakhshnath temple and is said to have considerable clout there. Nadira Khatoon, an independent candidate here defeated BJP's Maya Tripathi by 483 votes. Overall, in Gorakhpur, BJP won 27 wards, SP 18, BSP 2 and Congress 2. Independents won in 18 seats. BJP's embarrassment does not end here. The party candidate Prashant Kesari also lost in the home town panchayat of Sirathu. This is the home town panchayat of deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya. It's not a clean sweep for the BJP, as the party spokespersons my like others to think. What came as a relief for it was that the opposition was in disarray. If the diverse oppposition parties could get their act together, the BJP leaders would be forced to spend sleepless nights ahead of the next polls. (Mohit Dubey can be contacted at mohit.d@ians.in) Beijing, Dec 2 : China will not export its political system and neither will the ruling Communist Party import foreign models of development, President Xi Jinping has said at a meeting with foreign political groups. Xi in his comments at the opening of "CPC in dialogue with world political parties high-level meeting" on Friday said the ruling party placed great importance on learning from civilization achievements created by people of other countries and integrating them with Chinese realities. However, he said that the CPC will not import foreign models of development and instead called on other countries to "copy" the Chinese practice as the ruling party seeks to boost its international image and take on a more assertive role, the Global Times reported. "We will provide more opportunities for the world through our development," he said. The President, who is also the General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee, proposed to develop a new model of party-to-party relations in which political parties would seek common ground while shelving differences. Representatives from hundreds of political parties in over 120 countries registered for the four-day meeting, Xinhua news agency reported. Chinese experts said that good party-to-party relations could help make joint efforts in handling common problems amid the anti-globalisation trend and the CPC is sharing experience on governance in an effort to assist global development. "Political parties of different countries should work together for an international network of cooperation and exchange in various forms and at multiple levels... With an open vision and broad mind, the CPC is willing to carry out dialogues, exchanges and cooperation with peoples and political parties of other countries," Xi said. He also said that the initiative of building a community with a shared future for mankind is being transformed from a concept into action. "I'm delighted to see that the friendly cooperation between China and other countries is increasingly expanding and the concept of a community with a shared future for mankind is gaining support from an increasing number of people," Xi said, noting that the Belt and Road initiative is the practice of the concept. Proposed by Xi in 2013, the Belt and Road initiative aims to build trade and infrastructure networks connecting Asia with Europe and Africa via land and maritime routes. New Delhi, Dec 2 : International Improv artistes Greg Proops and Jeff Davis will enthrall the Indian audience with their shows in Bengaluru and Hyderabad. Improv is the unscripted comedy that they perform with the inputs from audience and people and they are excited to perform as part of Black Dog Easy Evening. "I'm absolutely thrilled to be performing in India for the first time. I'm looking forward to meeting the Indian comedians as well and hoping to have an exchange of ideas with them," David told IANS in an email interaction. Added Proops: "I'll be studying up on India before we go. Black Dog Sparkling Water will host Easy Evenings which will include an improv performance, a stand-up act, music and a party on December 16 and 17 in Bengaluru and Hyderabad. Papa CJ will host the event. Proops has proved it through his inimitable presence in both the British and American version of the epic comedy show "Whose Line Is It Anyway?". On the other hand, Davis worked on various television series like "The Drew Carey Show" and "The Jamie Kennedy Experiment" Yes, you can transfer your domain to any registrar or hosting company once you have purchased it. Since domain transfers are a manual process, it can take up to 5 days to transfer the domain. Domains purchased with payment plans are not eligible to transfer until all payments have been made. Please remember that our 30-day money back guarantee is void once a domain has been transferred. For transfer instructions to GoDaddy, please click here. By PTI: tomorrow New Delhi, Dec 2 (PTI) The first phase of Chabahar port will be inaugurated tomorrow which will open up a new strategic transit route among Iran, India and Afghanistan, bypassing Pakistan. The port, located in Iran?s southeastern Sistan- Baluchestan Province, is scheduled to be inaugurated by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani in presence of representatives from India, Afghanistan and several other countries of the region. advertisement The first phase of the Chabahar port project is known as the Shahid Beheshti port. Ahead of the inauguration, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and her Iranian counterpart Javed Zarif held a meeting today in Tehran and discussed about the Chabahar port project among other issues. Iranian Foreign Ministry said Zarif referred to the Shahid Beheshti Port and said it reinforces Iran-India mutual and regional cooperation. "It also shows the importance of the port in the development of the region and the routes that connect Central Asian states to other countries in the world through the Sea of Oman and the Indian Ocean," he said, according to the Iranian Foreign Ministry. Swaraj made a stopover at Tehran on her return from Russian city of Sochi where she had attended the annual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). The port is likely to ramp up trade among India, Afghanistan and Iran in the wake of Pakistan denying transit access to New Delhi for trade with the two countries. Over a month ago, India had sent its first consignment of wheat to Afghanistan by sea through the Chabahar port, marking opening of the new strategic transit route. A minister from India is attending tomorrows event. The Iranian presidents office said the Shahid Beheshti harbour will be opened tomorrow. PTI MPB ZMN --- ENDS --- Washington/New Delhi, Dec 2 : A woman born without a uterus has given birth via a donated uterus in the US -- a first for the country. The women suffered from absolute uterine factor infertility (AUI) -- a condition where the uterus is non-functioning or non-existent. The world's first successful uterus transplant was carried out in Sweden on a woman in her mid-thirties born without uterus, after a 61-year old unrelated woman donated her uterus, according to The Lancet. Later, the woman gave birth to a male child. Till date, nearly two dozen such uterus transplants have been carried out across the world, including in India. "We've been preparing for this moment for a very long time. I think everyone had tears in their eyes when the baby came out. I did for sure," Liza Johannesson, an obstetrician and gynaecologists as well as uterus transplant surgeon at Baylor University Medical Centre at Dallas, was quoted as saying in Time magazine late Friday. The birth, through Caesarean section, took place as part of the hospital's ongoing uterus transplant clinical trial on women. "I've delivered a lot of babies, but this one was special. When I started my career we didn't even have sonograms. Now we are putting in uteruses from someone else and getting a baby," said Robert T. Gunby Jr., obstetrician and gynaecologists from the Baylor hospital. The donor in the US was Taylor Siler, 36, a nurse in the Dallas area, who donated her uterus to the mother (who wish to remain anonymous due to privacy concerns). "When you donate a kidney, you do it to help someone live longer and get off dialysis. For these women, they are donating an experience," Giuliano Testa, the leader of the uterus transplant clinical trial at Baylor, was quoted as saying. It typically takes about five hours for the wombs to be removed from the living donors, and another five to transplant, the doctors said. After the transplant, women wait about four weeks to achieve menstruation. After this, those whose ovaries are not attached to their wombs, attempt in vitro fertilisation (IVF) to conceive. In May, doctors in Pune successfully carried out India's first uterus (womb) transplant on a 21-year-old woman who was born without a uterus, and was donated the organ by her 45-year-old mother. Imphal : Imphal Dec 2 (IANS) Militants ambushed Assam Rifles troopers in Kamjong district of Manipur early on Saturday morning, but no casualties were reported, an official said. An Assam Rifles spokesperson told IANS: "No casualties were reported among the troopers. More reinforcements have been called in and combing operations are going on." He said one column of the troopers under the command of Major Jaganathan was proceeding for holding a medical camp for the tribal villagers. "As the column neared Ishi village in the district, three bombs were detonated in quick succession. There were some minor damages to the vehicles," he said. A heavy exchange of fire followed. Police said that on getting information, police, paramilitary and Assam Rifles personnel rushed to the site. However, the militants had managed to escape before the arrival of additional forces. Militants have been attacking the forces in some hill districts. The 356-km Manipur-Myanmar border is manned by Assam Rifles troopers since they are trained in counter-insurgency operations. A 10-km boundary fencing was also started near Moreh, the border town. But, the construction work had to be suspended following complaints that it encroached upon the land of Myanmar. Chennai, Dec 2 : Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K. Palaniswami on Saturday requested Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh to involve the Indian Navy and Coast Guard helicopters for search and rescue of fishermen caught in mid sea in the wake of cyclone Ockhi. According to a statement issued by the state government, Singh had called Palaniswami and enquired about the damages suffered due to the Ockhi cyclone. Palaniswami had requested deployment of helicopters in the search and rescue operations of fishermen who have not returned after they ventured into the sea a couple of days back. Family members of fishermen in Kanyakumari said around 100 boats with several fishers had ventured into sea three days back and have not returned and several boats seem to have capsized due to heavy winds and rains. Meanwhile, DMK Working President M.K. Stalin in a letter to Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, said the families of fishermen in Kanyakumari apprehend that about 1,000 fishermen who went for fishing in 100 boats are yet to be located and are stranded in mid-sea. Surat, Dec 2 : Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Saturday took a dig at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his visits to temples in poll-bound Gujarat. Referring to BJP's pro-Hindutva leanings, he asked why would people prefer a "clone" when the original is available. "The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has always been seen as a pro-Hindutva party, so if an original is available why would one prefer a clone," Jaitley asked at a press conference in Surat. Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi has visited several temples in Gujarat during his campaign in the state for the assembly polls on December 9 and 14. The BJP has accused him of visiting the temples only for electoral gains. Jaitley also said that the Congress was slowly getting extinct as it had lost several elections since its debacle in 2014 Lok Sabha polls. "While the BJP has maintained its credibility, the Congress is slowly becoming extinct," he said. Answering a query on allegations about possible EVM tempering, he said: "The results haven't been out yet and they have already started making excuses for their defeat." The BJP leader said that foreign investments in the country had ebbed during the UPA government. "Today, we have come up 42 positions in the world ranking of Ease of Doing Business. In 1990s, the reforms were taken under compulsion, but the government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi is undertaking the reforms by conviction." He said the UPA government was "the most corrupt government we ever saw". "It was a leaderless government. It was said that the-then PM was a PM in office but not in power," Jaitley said. He said Gujarat was a very important region for the BJP because the party had been winning and serving the state for more than two decades. "During the eighties, politics of social polarisation was rampant here. The region got rid of that under the BJP government and we have been constantly trying to take it on the path of development," Jaitley added. New Delhi, Dec 2 : Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday urged Lt. Governor Anil Baijal to approve the government's decision to cancel the DSSSB examination for recruiting teachers held on October 29 following a paper leak. "Papers leaked in a DSSSB exam... Myself and Dy CM ordered cancellation of exam. "File sent to LG. I urged Hon'ble LG yesterday (Friday) to approve our decison. Almost 70,000 youth affected. We also need to put in place a system to stop such incidents in future," Kejriwal said in a tweet. The papers of the of Delhi Subordinate Services Selection Board (DSSSB) examination were held on October 29 to recruit primary teachers for municipal schools. But even before the examination ended, the paper was allegedly leaked and put up on social media. Around 1.07 lakh candidates had appeared in the DSSSB exam at over 220 examination centres for the posts of 4,366 primary schoolteachers. Delhi's Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia has demanded a Central Bureau of Investigation probe into the paper leak case. Kabul, Dec 2 : Three people were killed and six others wounded in three successive blasts in Afghanistan's Jalalabad city, the capital of Nangarhar province on Saturday, an official said. "A bomb blast occurred at around midday near the building of local media Inhykas TV in Jalalabad. As soon as people gathered near the site and responding units of security forces arrived, two more blasts went off leaving the casualties," provincial government spokesman Attahullah Ghogyani told Xinhua news agency. The victims included two civilians and one member of intelligence National Directorate of Security (NDS). One NDS offical was among those injured. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack so far but Taliban insurgents and Islamic State (IS) militants have presence in the province, 120 km east of Kabul. Phnom Penh, Dec 2 : Cambodia on Saturday welcomed home a set of 10 Angkorian-era gold jewellery pieces which were stolen from the country decades ago, according to a statement from the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts. The ancient artefacts, which were returned from Britain, included a head cover, a pair of pectoral ear pendants, a pair of earrings, a necklace, a pair of armbands, one belt and one chest band. The artefacts, which adorned a statue during the Angkorian period between the early 9th century and the early 15th century, were looted from Cambodia during the civil war in the 1970s, Xinhua news agency reported. The London-based gallery Jonathan Tucker Antonia Tozer Asian Art voluntarily returned the jewellery items after Cambodia had concrete evidence to prove that they were stolen from the country, the statement said. Cambodia identified the artefacts when the gallery placed them for sale in November 2016. "This success clearly reflects the Cambodian government's high attention in protecting, preserving and developing cultural heritage properties and in reclaiming antiquities which had been stolen (from Cambodia) during the war," it said. According to the statement, the gold jewellery items were put on display at the National Museum in Phnom Penh. In recent years, Cambodia has successfully reclaimed a number of antiques that had been looted from the country during the war time. In 2013 and 2014, five ancient statues had been repatriated to the country from the US. Bengaluru, Dec 2 : Global software major Infosys on Saturday announced the appointment of Salil S Parekh from Capgemini as its new CEO and Managing Director with effect from January 2. "Parekh, 53, joins Infosys from Capgemini where he was a member of the Group Executive Board," said the IT major in a statement here. Capgemini is a global consulting, technology and IT outsourcing firm headquartered in Paris. Parekh, a veteran in the global IT industry, will be the second non-promoter executive of the $10.3 billion firm after Vishal Sikka, who resigned on August 18 following boardroom battles over corporate governance issues with its co-founders, especially N.R. Narayana Murthy. "I am happy that Infosys has appointed Parekh as the CEO. My best wishes to him," said Murthy in a separate statement. Co-founder and Board Chairman Nandan Nilekani said: "We are delighted to have Salil joining as the CEO & MD. He has nearly three decades of global experience in the IT services industry." Nilekani, who returned to the company as non-executive Chairman on August 18, also said as Parekh had a strong track record of executing business turnarounds and managing very successful acquisitions, the Board believed that he was the right person to lead the company at a transformative time in the industry. "The Board is also grateful to (interim CEO and MD U.B.) Pravin Rao for his leadership during this period of transition," he added. As Parekh takes over, Pravin Rao will revert to his post as Chief Operating Officer from January 2 but continue as Director on the Board. Infosys Independent Director and Nomination and Remuneration Committee Chairperson Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw said Parekh was the top choice from a pool of highly qualified candidates for the post and "with his (strong track record and extensive experience, we believe, we have the right person to lead Infosys". Shaw is chairperson of India's biotech major Biocon Ltd in this tech hub. The full-time CEO post has been vacant since Sikka had quit, stating that he could not continue to work amid "malicious personal attacks". The company's previous Board blamed Murthy for Sikka's dramatic resignation three years after he joined the outsourcing firm in August 2014 from global software major SAP AG of Germany. In a related development, Capgemini announced in Paris that Parekh would leave the group on January 1, 2018. "Capgemini has agreed on Parekh's departure. He has relinquished his responsibilities within the group and his managerial transition is already in place," said the French company. Parekh, who has Masters degrees in computer science and mechanical engineering from Cornell University in the US and a B. Tech degree in aeronautical engineering from IIT-Bombay, joined Capgemini in 2000 when it acquired the consulting division of Ernst & Young (E&Y), the London-based global accounting firm, and occupied leadership positions in the group during his 17-year-long stint. "I would like to thank Parekh for his involvement in the Capgemini journey and contribution to the development of the group in India and the US," said Capgemini Chairman and Chief Executive Paul Hermelin in the statement. The Euro 12.5-billion ($14.9 billion) Capgemini is a 50-year-old firm with about 200,000 employees in 40 countries the world over. Former Infosys Director and Manipal Global Education Chairman T.V Mohandas Pai hoped that Parekh's appointment would work out better, as there was a similar business background in both the companies. Indian IT industry's apex body Nasscom President R. Chandrasekhar said Parekh's appointment was a positive from multiple perspectives. "He (Parekh) is well known in the industry and well rooted here. He also has multinational experience and global exposure, which will put Infosys in good stead," the former Telecom Secretary told a business news channel. Tech Mahindra's Chief Executive C.P. Gurnani said as Parekh handled global services for Capgemini and knows how to manage people, he would be able to adopt to Infosys culture. British-based Aston Business School research scholar Sanjoy Sen said Parekh's appointment would be viewed positively in Infosys' journey to rebuild its business positioning. "It will also be seen by stakeholders as Nilekani's ability to align rhetoric with reality by delivering to his promise, amid speculation that Infosys may not find the right candidate for months," Sen said in an e-mail to IANS. As India remains the heart of IT and Business Process Management service delivery, Sen said Parekh's grooming in India would be an advantage to establish the right "face to the Infosys brand" in addition to his experience of working across global cultures". New Delhi, Dec 2 : External Affairs Sushma Swaraj on Saturday paid an unscheduled visit to Iran and had luncheon meeting with her Iranian counterpart Javad Zarif in Tehran. The visit comes a day before inauguration of the first phase of the Chabahar port development project. External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said in a tweet that the two ministers discussed issues of mutual interest. "Reinforcing our traditionally close and civilizational linkages, EAM @SushmaSwaraj had a luncheon meeting with the Foreign Minister of Iran Dr. Javad Zarif in #Tehran. Both sides discussed issues of mutual interest," he said. Iran's President Hassan Rouhani will inaugurate the first phase of the Chabahar port development project on Sunday and Sushma Swaraj would attend the event. The first consignment of wheat from India to Afghanistan, that was flagged off by Sushma Swaraj and her Afghan counterpart Salahuddin Rabbani, had reached the Afghan city of Zaranj near the Iran-Afghanistan border last month via the Iranian port of Chabahar, thereby bypassing Pakistan. It was the first shipment to go to Afghanistan through Chabahar after the trilateral agreement to develop the port as a transport and transit corridor between India, Iran and Afghanistan was signed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Iranian and Afghan Presidents Rouhani and Ashraf Ghani, respectively, in May last year. Lucknow, Dec 2 : The Samajwadi Party (SP) on Saturday accused the ruling BJP of intimidating polling officials and opposition party candidates, bungling in voter lists and manipulation of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) in the civic polls. Talking to media a day after the results, Naresh Uttam, the state unit chief of the SP, said that the BJP indulged in all undemocratic acts to ensure that it sailed through the crucial poll. "The ruling party should realise that we have got good seats despite the fact that our chief Akhilesh yadav did not canvas for support," he said. Uttam added that had the former Chief Minister campaigned extensively, the results would have been much different and that the BJP would have been wiped out in the urban body polls. The BJP had nothing to project about its government and hence they not only engaged in electoral malpractices they also pressed into service the entire government machinery, including the cabinet, the SP leader said. State spokesman of the party, Rajendra Chowdhary said the BJP had trumpetted the results as its victory though this "was neither the truth nor the exact reality". "BJP has done extensive bungling and now is telling the incomplete results," he added. Earlier in the day, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) had also alleged the same and demanded that the 2019 general elections be held through ballot papers. President Donald Trump says he had to fire his former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, because of his lies to Vice President Mike Pence and the FBI. By AP: President Donald Trump says he had to fire his former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, because of his lies to Vice President Mike Pence and the FBI. On Twitter, the president contends that Flynn's actions during the transition following the 2016 election "were lawful." Trump adds, "There was nothing to hide!" Trump's tweet was delivered while he was in a motorcade in midtown Manhattan heading to a fundraiser. It's his most substantial reaction to the guilty plea by Flynn on Friday as part of the investigation led by special counsel Robert Mueller. I had to fire General Flynn because he lied to the Vice President and the FBI. He has pled guilty to those lies. It is a shame because his actions during the transition were lawful. There was nothing to hide!- Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 2, 2017 advertisement Before leaving the White House for New York City, Trump told reporters there was "no collusion" between his campaign and the Russians. The president's remarks on Saturday morning are his first public reaction to the plea deal, in which Flynn is cooperating with special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation. And the president is stressing that there is "no collusion" between his campaign and the Russians. Three times, Trump told reporters it's been shown that there's "no collusion." Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his contacts with Russia. Trump spoke as he departed the White House to head to New York for fundraisers expected to raise millions of dollars. --- ENDS --- Ramallah, Dec 2 : The US was warned by Palestinian officials on Saturday against moving its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Member of Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) Executive Committee Hanan Ashrawi said that "such a step would destabilise the whole region, destroy the peace process, disqualify the US from its role in the region and generate a new wave of extremism". "I hope that nobody would take such a step. This would be an extremely irresponsible and dangerous," said Ashrawi, who is also the head of Information and Culture Department. She called the move "very dangerous and would transform into a religious issue", Xinhua news agency reported. On Friday, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' spokesperson Nabil Abu Rudeinah said that the US recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel or moving its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem is "equal dangerous to the future of the peace process and would take the region into the square of instability". Rudeinha stressed that any just solution of the Palestinian Israeli conflict should guarantee that East Jerusalem is the capital of the independent state of Palestine, cautioning that "failing to reach a solution to the Palestinian cause will prolong tensions, chaos and violence". Media reports said that US President Donald Trump was considering recognizing Jerusalem as a capital of Israel and may announce that next Wednesday. Trump issued the decision to keep the US embassy in Tel Aviv last June, which is expected to expire this month, but it is not clear yet if he will renew his decision or not. The issue of moving the US embassy to Jerusalem is considered by Palestinians as a provocation and deconstruction of the peace talks. The peace talks between Palestine and Israel have been stalled since April 2014. The US-sponsored talks that lasted for nine months achieved no tangible results. Ghaziabad, Dec 2 : Police on Saturday said they have solved a dacoity committed at a doctor's residence here on November 28 and arrested all the accused, along with the looted valuables. "On the basis of CCTV footage, the police cracked the case and arrested the five robbers involved in the case," Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) H.N. Singh told media persons. The police also recovered the looted articles, including gold jewellery and cash, along with the weapons used in the crime. The SSP said on getting clues from the CCTV footage, the police picked up suspects who confessed their crime during interrogation and led the police to recover the items looted from the victim's house. The robbers have been identified as Gaurav Thakur of Bareilly, Yogendra Pal of Meerut, and Sonu, Deepak and Billu -- all residents of Bulandshahr. The police recovered Rs 2.60 lakh cash, eight silver coins, a gold coin, an Apple iPhone, four silver glasses, two pistols, a knife and two motorcycles, among other articles. Screening of their crime record revealed that they were involved in 22 criminal cases in Ghaziabad and surrounding areas. They were also involved in several cases of dacoity in various cities, including Jaipur, Meerut, Muzaffarnagar and Bulandshahr, between 2006 and 2017. On November 28 morning, these robbers had looted cash, jewellery and other valuables worth lakhs from a doctor's house in Vasundhara residential locality under Indirapuram Police Station of Ghaziabad. The robbers posing as patients barged into the residence-cum-clinic of neurologist Dr Neeraj Agrawal. Using staircase, they reached the first floor of the house where the doctor, his wife and mother live. They overpowered the doctor and looted the cash and valuables on gunpoint. Chennai, Dec 2 : One more Tamil movie hero Vishal Krishna -- popularly known as Vishal -- has made a political plunge and will contest the December 21 by-election to the R.K. Nagar assembly constituency, the actor announced on Saturday. Vishal is expected to file his nomination as an Independent candidate on Monday. However, Vishal, could not be reached for his comment. The Tamil Nadu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), on the other hand, will be fielding its spokesperson K. Nagarajan as its candidate for the by-election. Vishal is also President of the Tamil Film Producers' Council and General Secretary of the South Indian Film Artistes Association, better known as Nadigar Sangam/ Actor's Association. The state in the recent times has seen a clutch of actors expressing their willingness to jump into the political arena. Actor Kamal Haasan has expressed his decision to jump into politics, while Rajinikanth has also said that he would consider a political foray. The ruling AIADMK and the DMK have already announced E. Madhusudhanan and N. Marudhu Ganesh, respectively, as their candidates for the R.K. Nagar seat. Sidelined AIADMK leader T.T.V. Dinakaran will also be contesting as an Independent candidate. Agartala, Dec 2 : Six surrendered militants were arrested on Saturday in connection with the kidnapping of four Tripura Gramin Bank (TGB) officials, who returned home on Friday -- a week after their abduction, police said. "Acting on specific information, we have arrested six surrendered militants today (Saturday) in connection with the kidnapping of four bank officials. Two of them arrested from here, two from Mungiakami in western Tripura's Khowai district and two from Amarpur in southern Tripura's Gomati district," a police official said. He said that a vehicle, some mobile phone sets and Rs 1.35 lakh were recovered from the two arrested from Agartala. "All of them will be produced in a local court on Sunday in Gomati district headquarters Udaipur and a TI (test identification) parade before the bank officials will be conducted," the official said. All the six former terrorists had surrendered a few years back. Earlier, the police said TGB's Taidu Branch Manager Tanumoy Bhattacharjee, 30, Sujit Chandra Dey, 28, Raktim Bhowmik, 31, and Subrata Debbarma, 32, were abducted on November 24 night by miscreants while returning by their vehicles to Agartala through Teliamura. The miscreants released the hostages on Thursday night and they returned home the next day. Raktim Bhowmik told the media that his, Bhattacharjee's and Dey's families together paid Rs 51,000 to the miscreants as ransom for their release. Surat, Dec 2 : Congress leader Manmohan Singh on Saturday said he does not want people to take pity on his humble background as he is not in competition with his successor Prime Minister Narendra Modi over this. "I don't want the country to take pity on the basis of my humble background. I do not think I would like to enter in any competition with Prime Minister Modiji on this particular matter," he said here. Singh was replying to a question on why he never talked about his background like Modi often does by saying he used to sell tea at a railway station in Gujarat to support his family during his childhood. Manmohann Singh, who led UPA government from 2004-14, was born in Gah village in the undivided Punjab in 1932. The former Prime Minister was born into a family of modest means. For the first 12 years of his life he lived in Gah, a village which had no electricity, no school, no hospital, no piped drinking water. He walked for miles every day to school and studied at night in the dim light of a kerosene lamp. When asked once why he had poor eyesight he confessed that it was because he had spent hours reading books in that dim light, according to Sanjaya Baru, who served as media advisor to Singh from 2004 to 2008. His family migrated to Amritsar in India during partition in 1947. He lost his mother at an early age and was brought up by his grandmother. He attended Panjab University where he got his MA in Economics in 1954, standing first throughout his academic career. He completed his Economics Tripos in the University of Cambridge where he was a member of St.John's College in 1957. After obtaining his doctorate in economics from Oxford, Manmohan Singh worked for the United Nations during 1966-69. From 1969 to 1971, he taught International Trade at the Delhi School of Economics. Over the 1970s and 80s, he held several key posts in the government like such Chief Economic Advisor (1972-76), Governor Reserve Bank of India (1982-85) and Planning Commission head (1985-87). In June 1991, Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao entrusted him with the job of Finance Minister when he carried out several structural reforms that liberalised India's economy. Kolkata, Dec 2 : Prominent global steel company ArcelorMittal's Chairman and CEO Lakshmi Niwas Mittal met West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at her residence here on Saturday. During her meeting with Mittal, she is believed to have invited the billionaire industrialist to attend the Bengal Global Business Summit to be held in January. Incidentally, Banerjee had met the steel tycoon recently in London during her visit to Britain along with top businessmen from the state for unveiling a commemorative blue plaque at Sister Nivedita's family home. Mittal, who hails from Kolkata, where his father M.L. Mittal had set up a steel business, completed his graduation from St Xavier's College (now University) topping his stream in Commerce in 1969. He left for Indonesia in 1976 to set up his first venture. In July, Mittal had come to his home city to inaugurate The Lakshmi & Usha Mittal Foundation Building, a new academic block at St Xavier's. New Delhi, Dec 2 : Around a dozen robbers early on Saturday morning looted 23 kg silver and 350gm gold ornaments valued at over Rs 40 lakh after breaking the shutter of a jewellery shop in the national capital, police said. The police said the incident took place at around 3.15 a.m in Style Jewellers in west Delhi's Rohini area. Shop owner Praveen Aggrawal said he came to know of the heist from someone staying close to the shop. "Aggrawal was informed by a neighbour that 10-12 robbers had broken the shutter of his jewellery shop, while two of them had overpowered the guard on duty in the street. They took away 23 kg silver and 350 gm gold ornaments," Deputy Commissioner of Police Rajneesh Gupta said. A police constable, Subhash, who was patrolling in the area, gave a chase to the robbers on a bike but they managed to escape, the officer said. CCTV camera footage of the nearby shops are being scanned to establish the identity of the accused. Gandhinagar, Dec 2 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi is once again visiting his home state Gujarat on Sunday, three days after he addressed four campaign meetings for the BJP in the poll-bound state. For his two-day sojourn, the BJP has organized seven public gatherings named as 'Vikas Rallies', to stress on the ruling BJP's development plank. On Sunday Modi will be addressing three public meetings, at Bharuch in the morning, and later at Surendranagar. Modi will be visiting the capital of Saurashtra, Rajkot, before his visit to Ahmedabad where he will inaugurate a hospital at the Swaminarayan Gurukul Vishwavidya Pratisthanam (SGVP). The BJP wants to make this meeting a grand event and is planning a huge rally comprising more than one lakh people. The administration and police have geared up for the event. On Monday, the Prime Minister will be holding public meetings at Dharampur in Valsad district and later at Bhavnagar. From there he will visit other Saurashtra places, Junagadh and Jamnagar. He will also be visiting the state in three phases after December 6 where he will be addressing more than 24 meetings and rallies. Modi was in Gujarat on Wednesday, to campaign in Saurashtra region and south Gujarat. The BJP has been in power in the state since more than 22 years with the major share of that under the tenure of Modi as Chief Minister. But after having ruled for more than two decades, the saffron party is feeling a strong wave of opposition in the form of various agitations from different sections of the society. A majority of these forces have joined hands with the opposition Congress party and the more than two-decades reign seems to be on the downslide. That's the reason why Narendra Modi, despite his very busy schedule, has made Gujarat virtually his home since the last couple of months and has been visiting the state every other day. Lately the saffron party has felt that the young Patidar leader Hardik Patel has been gathering more people in his rallies and that even their star campaigner Modi is not garnering the crowds he used to do in the state. According to sources, the BJP is taking the Rajkot rally as a prestige issue and wants to make it a huge success. It can also be because the Saurashtra region has been opposing the BJP more than any other region of Gujarat and from where the Patidar agitations have had immense support and success. New Delhi, Dec 2 : A 21-year-old criminal has been arrested for attacking a Delhi Police personnel with knife when the later tried to nab him while robbing a biker along with his three accomplices in the national capital, police said on Saturday. Police said accused Sarvan is a resident of a slum area near SDM Court in Laxmi Nagar. He was arrested on a tip-off from a shanty along Lawrence Road on Friday night. He, after attacking Head Constable Mukesh Kumar, had fled to Mumbai for a month to evade arrest. "The incident occurred on September 29 when Head Constable Mukesh Kumar, who was posted in Geeta Colony Police Station and was doing picket duty with his colleagues, was informed by a local regarding four men robbing a biker. "Kumar reached the spot and tried to free the biker from the accused. In the meantime, Sarvan attacked Kumar with knife. Kumar sustained injuries in his neck and left arm," Deputy Commissioner of Police Aslam Khan said. Later with the help of locals, one accused Ram Avtar was caught from the spot, while the remaining three managed to flee, he added. Baku (Azerbaijan), Dec 2 : In what can be seen as a strong endorsement to India's fight against terrorism in South Asia, a conference here on rebuilding war-struck Afghanistan on Saturday said that the fight against this scourge is a priority for the Heart of Asia region. "We recognise terrorism, violent extremism conducive to terrorism, extremism, radicalization, separatism and sectarianism, and linkages among them, as the gravest challenges to the peace, security and economic development of Afghanistan, the Heart of Asia region and the international state system in general," a joint declaration issued following the Heart of Asia - Istanbul Process (HoA-IP) conference on security and economic development of Afghanistan here said. "We reaffirm that terrorism cannot and should not be associated with any religion, nationality, civilisation or ethnic group," it said "The fight against terrorism is a major priority for all Heart of Asia countries and we reiterate our resolve to work together to prevent and suppress terrorist acts through increased regional solidarity and cooperation, in accordance with the UN Charter and obligations under international law, including international human rights law, international refugee law as applicable and international humanitarian law, as well as through the full implementation of the relevant international conventions, the UN Security Council Resolutions and the UN Global Counter Terrorism Strategy." India was represented in the conference by Minister of State for External Affairs M.J. Akbar. "We express our readiness to work with the newly-established United Nations Office on Counter Terrorism to prevent, suppress and eradicate terrorism in the Heart of Asia region, in accordance with the UNGA (United Nations General Assembly) Resolution 21/79," the statement said. In a veiled reference to Pakistan, it called for "concerted regional and international cooperation to ensure elimination of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, including dismantling of terrorist sanctuaries and safe havens, preventing and interdicting the movement of terrorists and terrorist groups, including foreign terrorist fighters, across the countries of the Heart of Asia region, as well as disrupting all financial, tactical, logistical or any other support for terrorism without any distinction". Started by Turkey in 2011, the HoA-IP serves as a platform to discuss regional issues, particularly encouraging security, political, and economic cooperation among Afghanistan and its neighbours. Saturday's statement comes after Indian External Affair Minister Sushma Swaraj, who was in Russia's Sochi for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation meeting, Friday said that India strongly condemns terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and Afghan Chief Executive Officer Abdullah Abdullah said at a media conclave in New Delhi on Thursday said that "those who nurture terrorism are doing so for "short-sighted and misplaced intentions" in what is an apparent reference to Pakistan. The Baku Declaration also called on all states to "take action against these terrorist entities in accordance with their respective national counter-terrorism policies, their international obligations and the UN Global Counter Terrorism Strategy". It said the Heart of Asia participants recognised the necessity of taking serious measures to address radicalisation and recruitment of youth by terrorist networks and their supporters. "While Afghanistan continues to fight at the forefront of the war against these terrorist groups, the HoA-IP participating countries support the efforts of the government of Afghanistan towards peace and reconciliation with the Afghan Taliban and its fight against terrorist groups," it added. By PTI: London, Dec 2 (PTI) Scientists, including one of Indian origin, have developed tiny electronic "tweezers" using graphene that can efficiently grab biomolecules floating in water, an advance that may lead to a handheld disease detecting system. Graphene, a material made of a single layer of carbon atoms, was discovered more than a decade ago and has enthralled researchers with its range of amazing properties that have found uses in many new applications from microelectronics to solar cells. advertisement The graphene tweezers developed at the University of Minnesota in the US are vastly more effective at trapping particles compared to other techniques used in the past due to the fact that graphene is a single atom thick, less than one billionth of a metre. The physical principle of tweezing or trapping nanometre-scale objects, known as dielectrophoresis, has been known for a long time and is typically practiced by using a pair of metal electrodes. From the viewpoint of grabbing molecules, however, metal electrodes are very blunt. They simply lack the "sharpness" to pick up and control nanometre-scale objects. "Graphene is the thinnest material ever discovered, and it is this property that allows us to make these tweezers so efficient. No other material can come close," said Sang-Hyun Oh, professor at the University of Minnesota. "To build efficient electronic tweezers to grab biomolecules, basically we need to create miniaturised lightning rods and concentrate huge amount of electrical flux on the sharp tip. The edges of graphene are the sharpest lightning rods," said Oh. The team also showed that the graphene tweezers could be used for a wide range of physical and biological applications by trapping semiconductor nanocrystals, nanodiamond particles, and even DNA molecules. Normally this type of trapping would require high voltages, restricting it to a laboratory environment, but graphene tweezers can trap small DNA molecules at around one Volt, meaning that this could work on portable devices such as mobile phones. Researchers made the graphene tweezers by creating a sandwich structure where a thin insulating material call hafnium dioxide is sandwiched between a metal electrode on one side and graphene on the other. Hafnium dioxide is a material that is commonly used in todays advanced microchips. "One of the great things about graphene is it is compatible with standard processing tools in the semiconductor industry, which will make it much easier to commercialise these devices in the future," said Koester, who led the effort to fabricate the graphene devices. advertisement "Since we are the first to demonstrate such low-power trapping of biomolecules using graphene tweezers, more work still needs to be done to determine the theoretical limits for a fully optimised device," said Avijit Barik, graduate student at University of Minnesota. "For this initial demonstration, we have used sophisticated laboratory tools such as a fluorescence microscope and electronic instruments," said Barik, lead author of the study published in Nature Communications. "Our ultimate goal is to miniaturise the entire apparatus into a single microchip that is operated by a mobile phone," he said. PTI MHN MHN --- ENDS --- New Delhi, Dec 2 : On the eve of the inauguration of the first phase of the strategic Chabahar port in Iran, a critical part of a trade route to connect to landlocked Afghanistan and beyond to Central Asia bypassing Pakistan, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Saturday paid a visit to Tehran and met her Iranian counterpart Javad Zarif in Tehran. According to a statement issued by the External Affairs Ministry, Sushma Swaraj landed in Tehran on her way back from Russia's Sochi. Both she and Zarif discussed various aspects of bilateral relations and ways to strengthen it. The port is to be inaugurated by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Sunday. "Both sides positively reviewed the initiatives undertaken since the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Iran in May 2016, including cooperation in Chabahar Port which will be inaugurated by the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran Hassan Rouhani tomorrow in the presence of Ministers from India, Afghanistan and the region," the statement said. It said that Sushma Swaraj and Zarif also exchanged views on regional and global developments of mutual interest. According to Iranian media, during his meeting with the Indian Minister, Zarif said inauguration of the first phase, called Shahid Beheshti port, "indicates significant role of the port in boosting contacts and cooperation between countries in Central Asia with other countries in the world via the Sea of Oman and Indian Ocean". Zarif also hailed Tehran-New Delhi relations as good and growing. It is learnt that the Tehran meeting was held in the course of a "technical stopover" on Sushma Swaraj's way back to New Delhi from Russia. Sushma Swaraj was in Sochi to attend the 16th Meeting of the Council of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Heads of Government. Saturday's Tehran meeting assumes significance in the wake of media reports that Iran might hand over the management control of the first phase of the Chabahar port to India on Sunday, a year-and-a-half ahead of schedule. Indian Road Transport and Highways, Shipping and Water Resources Minister Nitin Gadkari is scheduled to attend Sunday's inauguration ceremony. The inauguration comes more than a month after the first consignment of wheat from India to Afghanistan was sent via Chabahar. It was the first shipment to go to Afghanistan through Chabahar after the trilateral agreement to develop the port as a transport and transit corridor between India, Iran and Afghanistan was signed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Iranian and Afghan Presidents Rouhani and Ashraf Ghani, respectively, in May last year to enhance connectivity between Central Asia and South Asia. In her address at the SCO meeting in Sochi on Friday, Sushma Swaraj, while stating that connectivity with Afghanistan was an important priority sector for India, said that this has improved with the operationalisation of an air freight corridor between Kabul, Kandahar and New Delhi in June this year. Shillong, Dec 2 : The BJP on Saturday defended its move to poach legislators from the ruling "corrupt" Congress-led Meghalaya United Alliance government ahead of the assembly elections. The BJP also dismissed charges of inducting leaders indulging in corruption, saying they were only facing the charges and had not been convicted yet. "For us, election is a serious exercise, because it involves people's aspiration. In Meghalaya the message is very clear.. development, development, development as by (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi at the Centre, the BJP government elsewhere, mayors and panchayat level. "Everyone who looks to see the Congress out, and believes in the agenda of 'Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas', and wants to bring that agenda in Meghalaya, the only option before them is BJP," party national spokesperson Nalin Kohli told journalists here. The BJP, which is making all efforts to come to power in Meghalaya, has been accusing the Congress government headed by Chief Minister Mukul Sangma as the "most corrupt". Election to the 60-member state assembly are scheduled to be held in February-March 2018. Asked why did the BJP induct former Congress leader in Assam Himanta Biswa Sarma despite corruption cases against him, Kohli said: "As an advocate, I say this with an understanding that the fundamental question in law is, you are innocent until proven guilty. You are proven guilty only on the basis of evidence and trials.. Therefore I will not hold guilt against anyone, unless there is a court order based on evidence." New Delhi, Dec 2 : Sushil Thekriwal, the counsel of murdered Gurguram schoolboy Pradhuman Thakur, was on Saturday evening attacked by a Delhi Police official here, his wife said. Police however denied it. Thekriwal's wife Mamta Thekriwal told IANS: "We were attacked by a Delhi Police officer outside Ashoka Hotel here." She also said that the couple and their son had gone to Ashoka hotel for dinner and the incident happened around 8.30 p.m. when the family came out. She also alleged that the Delhi Police officer who assaulted her husband also threatened him to leave the Pradhuman Thakur case. "The Delhi Police officer also mishabehaved with me when I tried to make the video of the incident," she alleged. Thekriwal identified the Delhi Police cop as Sanjeev Singh Yadav, through his name plate on his uniform. Pradhuman Thakur, 7, a student of class 2 at Ryan International School was found murdered in the school premises on September 8. However, a senior Delhi Police official denied the incident, saying the lawyer was only restrained as he had strayed into the "VIP route". New Delhi, Dec 2 : The National Investigation Agency (NIA) arrested a Bihar student leader for his alleged links with banned terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba, officials said. An NIA team arrested the youth leader named Dhannu Raja, 23, from Patna, and an official close to the development said Raja was suspected of being in constant touch with a few LeT terrorists. "He was arrested for his involvement in harbouring, providing logistics and other assistance to Shaikh Abdul Naeem, an LeT operative," said the NIA official. Naeem, 37, was arrested from Lucknow on Tuesday and is being called 'Headley-II' for his reconnaissance skills. He is also skilled in planning terror attacks. Pakistani-American David Coleman Headley, who conspired with the LeT in plotting the 2008 Mumbai attack, is currently in jail in the US. "Raja is a local student leader from Gopalganj, Bihar. He was arrested in Patna on December 1 and was produced before the NIA Special Court in Patna. It granted his transit remand till December 5," the official said. Raja has been brought to New Delhi and will be produced before NIA Special Court here on or before December 5, the official added. The official also said that Raja was earlier associated with the Congress student wing, National Students Union of India. Rajkot, Dec 2 : Congress' Gujarat legislator Indraneel Rajyaguru, who is contesting against Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani from Rajkot West, was on Saturday arrested following a ruckus between party workers and police after his brother was attacked by some goons while campaigning. Deepu Rajyaguru was attacked late Saturday late evening at the Brahm Samaj Chowk. A ruckus followed after as Indraneel Rajyaguru, who is the sitting member from Rajkot East, and other Congress workers rushed to the scene. As Indraneel Rajyaguru and Congress supporters went to the police station to complain, an altercation ensued between and police and the Congress legislator and others sat down opposite the police station on a sit-down to demand action. Police subsequently arrested the legislator and others. According to sources, police also arrested Mitul Donga, the Congress candidate for the Rajkot East constituency. A standoff between the Congress and police was on till 11 p.m. and police also baton charged Rajyaguru's supporters. Reacting to the incident, Congress' Gujarat chief Bharatsinh Solanki said: "It is now for the people to understand how the BJP government is functioning. If it is the situation for us politicians, people need to understand what would happen to common people. This is playing politics at its dirtiest low." Meanwhile, Deepu Rajyaguru has been rushed to hospital. The incident came on the eve of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the Gujarat city on Sunday. Yingkiong (Arunachal Pradesh), Dec 2 : Arunchal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu on Saturday took stock of the condition of water in the Siang River, which has turned muddy post monsoon season. The Siang is the principal constituent of the mighty Brahmaputra and flows as Yarlung Tsangpo in southern Tibet before becoming the Brahmaputra in Assam. "The matter was of high concern and I have asked the local authority to submit a detailed report on the situation," Khandu said after assessing the ground situation, adding a report on ground realities will be submitted to the Central government soon. Local authorities informed the Chief Minister that the quality of the water in the river hasn't improved, saying normally the water is clear during this season and turns muddy only during the monsoon season. They also said that the water level has decreased. Former Union Minister Ninong Ering had last week written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, hinting that China could behind Sinag's waters turning excessively muddy. The state's Public Health Engineering Department conducted a test on the water and found a turbidity count of 425 against the permissible range of 0-5. Cairo, Dec 3 : Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi met on Saturday with US Secretary of Defense James Mattis in the Egyptian capital Cairo to discuss strategic cooperation and joint counter-terrorism efforts. "Sisi stressed the strength of the Egyptian-US relations and their distinguished strategic aspects, urging to enhance all aspects of cooperation between the two sides particularly in the military field," Xinhua quoted Egypt's presidential spokesman Bassam Rady as saying. He added that Mattis expressed US keenness to promote cooperation with Egypt as a key player to maintain stability and security in the Middle East region, underscoring US support for Egypt's war against terrorism. The meeting was attended by Egyptian Defense Minister Sedqi Sobhi, who met with Mattis earlier in the day, as well as a number of senior military officials from both sides. Talks between Egyptian and US defense ministers discussed a number of topics related to military cooperation, joint military drills and the exchange of expertise in different fields, Egypt's military spokesman Tamer al-Refaay was quoted as saying. Egypt's ties with the US deteriorated after the Egyptian military ousted former President Mohamed Morsi in July 2013 in response to mass protests. The move has led to the suspension of US military aid to Egypt and the cancellation of the largest joint military exercise between the two countries, known as Bright Star, by former US President Barack Obama. The bilateral ties improved under the new US administration of Donald Trump, who pledged to resume the annual military aid to the key regional ally. Clutch, an independent technology research firm, recently announced a list of the most highly reviewed companies around the world. Clutch reviewed over 700 firms to identify global leaders within IT Services. Maven Wave is proud to be included on the list of top IT Service and Consulting Firms, as well being named Top Cloud Computing Consultants. Maven Waves multidisciplinary teams help clients gain the digital competitive advantage they need to stay ahead and meet the needs of todays customers. A strategic partnership with Google allows Maven Wave to successfully deliver cloud-based digital transformation services to enterprise clients. Clutch uses a proprietary algorithm to rank companies based on their market presence, clients, experiences, and customer reviews. Analysts take the time to interview references and create in depth case studies and reviews. Maven Wave is proud to have a perfect 5.0 rating from their customers on Clutch! In a recent customer review provided by G6 Hospitality on Maven Wave, stated "everyone Ive talked to is very knowledgeableits almost like talking to Google directly. I have confidence that I can get things done through them. I can get the answers I need without a confusing discussion about what Google is and how it functions. Their responsiveness is commendable. Ive never had to escalate anything. I receive answers quickly, and if we have a troubleshooting issue, they resolve it immediately." To read more customer reviews, visit Maven Waves profile on Clutch. Centric Software: Policies for Sustainability From its development center in Silicon Valley, Centric Software, the leading Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) solution for fashion, retail, luxury, footwear, outdoor and consumer goods companies, will host a Webinar: 10 policies for Sustainability; Creating a more environmentally sustainable apparel business. Wednesday December 6, from 2 to 3 p.m. EST, top sustainability experts from the University of Delaware, Dr. Huantian Cao, Professor and Marsha Dickson and Irma Ayers, Professor will discuss 10 best practice policies to help apparel brands develop a competitive edge while supporting sustainability initiatives. Register here. The University of Delaware is a founding member of the Sustainable Apparel Coalition. Important topics to be addressed include: How can apparel companies increase sustainability throughout their supply chain? How can innovative technology solutions, such as Product Lifecycle Management (PLM), help companies keep a competitive edge in the apparel market without sacrificing their environmental core values? And how can sustainability be a competitive asset in the apparel market? Learn how Centric PLM helps environmentally-conscious companies such as PVH, tentree, Under Armour, Asics, Fast Retailing, Kering and Norrna benefit from sustainable practices. Centric Softwares PLM solutions give apparel companies a single version of the truth from all departments, encompassing line planning, calendar management, materials management, quality management, collection management, technical design, retail execution, factory changes, contractor input, global sourcing and so forth - all live on one program. The information a design team is looking at with PLM is the same information seen by product, sourcing and executive teams and even vendors. Centric is scalable to various size companies to fit the growth needs of each customer. All active brands today need a Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) solution. This webinar is one more way to access the benefits of PLM, integrate more sustainable practices, and save time and energy along the way. Centric Software, Inc. From its headquarters in Silicon Valley and offices in trend capitals around the world, Centric Software provides a Digital Transformation Platform for the most prestigious names in fashion, retail, footwear, luxury, outdoor and consumer goods. Centric Visual Innovation Platform (VIP) is a visual, fully digital collection of boards for touch-based devices like iPad, iPhone and large-scale, touch-screen televisions. Centric VIP transforms decision making and automates execution to truly collapse time to market and distance to trend. Centrics flagship product lifecycle management (PLM) platform, Centric 8, delivers enterprise-class merchandise planning, product development, sourcing, business planning, quality, and collection management functionality tailored for fast-moving consumer industries. Centric SMB packages extended PLM including innovative technology and key industry learnings tailored for small businesses. Centric Software has received multiple industry awards, including the Frost & Sullivan Global Product Differentiation Excellence Award in Retail, Fashion, and Apparel PLM in 2016 and Frost & Sullivans Global Retail, Fashion, and Apparel PLM Product Differentiation Excellence Award in 2012. Red Herring named Centric to its Top 100 Global list in 2013, 2015, and 2016. Centric is a registered trademark of Centric Software. All other brands and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners. Centric Software Media Contacts: Americas: Jennifer Forsythe, Centric Software, jforsythe(at)centricsoftware(dot)com, Communications: Beth Cochran, Cochran(at)whatsuppr(dot)com 406-579-7909 Welcome Guest! You Are Here: Launching a counter-attack on Rahul Gandhi at Agenda Aaj Tak, Vijay Rupani said that the Congress leader leveled allegations that were not back by documentary evidence. By India Today Web Desk: Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani today hit back at Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi accusing him of misleading the people of the state with "false data". Launching a counter-attack on Rahul Gandhi at Agenda Aaj Tak, Vijay Rupani said that the Congress leader leveled allegations that were not back by documentary evidence. "Rahul Gandhi is throwing figures that are incorrect. He is giving false data. And, he is not giving any proof to back his allegations." advertisement "Rahul Gandhi has nothing to say... He can only ask questions... But first, he should answer the questions regarding scams during UPA rule... Why should we answer to his questions," Rupani said. In the last few days, Rahul Gandhi has posted questions on Twitter quoting figures to allege that the BJP government in Gujarat has failed on several development parameters including jobs and education. RUPANI COUNTERS RAHUL GANDHI Responding to his allegations, Rupani said, "According to central government figures for 2016, Gujarat generated 17 per cent of all India employment opportunities... More people have signed at the unemployment exchange in West Bengal than Gujarat. Even in a smaller state like Kerala, over 35 lakh people registered themselves at unemployment exchange while only 6 lakh signed in the unemployment exchange in Gujarat. "More than 12,000 people from Amethi (Rahul Gandhi's parliamentary constituency) have come to Gujarat for jobs because here are job. They know that Gujarat has more employment opportunities," Vijay Rupani said. Rupani also refuted Rahul Gandhi's allegation that more than 13,000 schools had been shut down in Gujarat. Rupani claimed that during the BJP rule the number of government schools in Gujarat had gone up from 12,000 to 58,000. Responding to Congress's charge that the entire central government is busy in Gujarat election campaign, Rupani said, "We are taking the election seriously because we want to give a message to the Opposition that they should stop worrying about 2019... They should think about 2024." He further said, "In 2012, when there was UPA government at the Centre, the then PM Manmohan Singh, Congress president Sonia Gandhi, senior minister P Chidambaram and others were there campaigning in Gujarat election." RAHUL GANDHI'S RELIGION AS POLL AGENDA Vijay Rupani blamed the Congress party for raking up the issue of religion of leaders including Rahul Gandhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah. Rupani claimed that "Rahul Gandhi's personal secretary" made the entry in the Somnath temple register for non-Hindu visitors. advertisement Responding to a query why religion of the Congress vice-president has become a poll issue in Gujarat, Rupani said, "We have nothing to Rahul Gandhi's religion. We have nothing to do with the entry made in the Somnath temple register... Rahul Gandhi's personal secretary wrote this. The BJP has nothing to do with it." "Political advisor to Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Ahmed Patel wrote this. He had to write this for himself... We did not say anything. We did not raise the issue. The Congress did a press conference in the evening in Delhi and said Rahul Gandhi was a janeu-dhari (beholder of sacred thread). We are not interested in his religion," Rupani said. Rupani said that the BJP responded to a controversy created by the Congress. Rejecting the charge of the Congress that the controversy was created by the "dirty tricks department of the BJP", Rupani said, "Only after Congress called Rahul Gandhi a janeu-dhari that Sambit Patra responded to it. He only said we did not have any problem with Rahul Gandhi's religion." "We have never seen such a confused leader. Rahul Gandhi is confused about his religion. He is confused about NREGA and MNREGA. He was even confused about using toilets," Rupani said. The Gujarat chief minister also clarified that BJP president Amit Shah is a Hindu and not a Jain as claimed by Congress leader Raj Babbar. advertisement HARDIK, ALPESH AND JIGNESH Vijay Rupani alleged that the three young leaders, claiming to represent their respective castes, were "agents of the Congress" in the Gujarat Assembly election. He also said that the Congress has completely surrendered to "the three who are nowhere seen on the ground." "I have never seen Congress so weak in Gujarat ever. Entire Congress has surrendered to the three, who are nowhere on the ground... They are agents of Congress. Two are fighting for the Congress while the third is not contesting because he is not 25," Rupani said. Rupani claimed that "the Patidar community elders" are asking the people not to attend the rallies of Hardik Patel of the Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS). "Hardik is campaigning for Congress. He earlier said that he would support the Congress only if it committed to anamat (quota). Has the Congress committed to give anamat," asked Rupani. The Gujarat chief minister said, "Hardik is cheating with the samaj. Congress is cheating with Gujarat. If they have committed why don't they make it public?" advertisement Rupani said that he had given an open challenge to Rahul Gandhi to debate the development of any of the Congress ruled states with that of Gujarat. --- ENDS --- Welcome Guest! You Are Here: Home Regional News East These monuments are priceless pieces which are symbols of African identity but are now scattered across the world all thanks to colonialism. Britain and France have been identified as the biggest beneficiaries of this plundering of African cultural treasures. And the number of these artefacts in countries' big museums are unlimited. Many calls for the return of these objects seem to achieve little or insignificant results. This is due to the aesthetic and monetary value of these objects to the Western countries. But to Africa, these pieces carry history, cultures and identity of the people. Here are some of Africas treasures that were shipped off African shores by the colonial masters Africa's Stolen Treasures 1. Benin Bronzes, Nigeria The British invaded the Benin Empire in 1897 and took away the Ahianwen-Oro artworks which were numbered in the thousands. In 2014, two of the famous Benin Bronzes, the Ahianwen-Oro artwork, were returned to their homeland in 2014 by a British citizen, Dr Mark Walker. Mr Walker inherited these artworks from his great-grandfather, who participated in the battle. 2. Nefertiti Bust and Rosetta Stone, Egypt The Nefertiti Bust is a 3,400-year-old Bust currently at the Neues Museum in Berlin, Germany. It was taken out of the country in 1913, and also Adolf Hitler decided against its return in 1935. Also, the Rosetta Stone which is now in a British Museum was take away from Egypt in 1799. The Artefact is a 2,200-year-old slab of black basalt with a hieroglyphic, demotic and Greek inscription. The Germans and British governments are profiting from Nefertiti through millions of visitors coming to their museums to view the art-works. 3. Ethiopian Treasures During the 1868 battle, the British captured Magdala and looted many treasures from the Ethiopian churches. Some of these items include many historic treasures from the era of Solomon and Sheba. In 2015, Italian government returned the ancient granite obelisk. 4. The Zimbabwe Bird The iconic Zimbabwe Bird is an emblem of the country, appearing on the national flag and coat of arms. In 1907, the artefact was taken by a German missionary and sold to the Ethnological Museum in Berlin in 1907. However, the piece was returned back to the African country in 2003. 5. Bangwa Queen, Cameroon The Bangwa Queen is noted as the worlds most expensive piece of African art. The artefact was taken from its royal shrine in Cameroon by a German colonial explorer, Gustav Conrau, in the 1890s. Democrats on Friday slammed a provision in the latest version of the GOP tax bill that they said appeared to only benefit a single, conservative college. Later, four Republicans joined them in preventing the measure from being included in the bill that passed the Senate overnight on Saturday. The addition would have exempted any college or university that declines federal funding under Title IV from a new excise tax on university endowments. In the original version of the Republican bill, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), any university with a large endowment would have been subject to a new 1.4% excise tax. Given that assumption, Democrats said only one college, Hillsdale College in Michigan, had an endowment large enough to qualify for the excise tax and also refuses Title IV funding. Sen. Pat Toomey, who sponsored the language, acknowledged it could benefit the college. But another last-minute change in the TCJA would have prevented Hillsdale from getting the benefit for now. In the original Senate bill, the excise tax applied to schools with endowments larger than $250,000 per student. A last-minute change increased that threshold to $500,000 per student. Hillsdale only has an endowment of just over $360,000 per student, based on most recent enrollment and endowment reports. But the backlash to the provision spurred the passage of a Democratic amendment that eliminated the language potentially benefitting Hillsdale. The amendment to strike the language passed 52-48, with four Republicans voting for the amendment Sens. Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, Deb Fischer, and John Kennedy. The surprise acquittal of Jose Ines Garcia Zarate in the shooting death of San Francisco woman Kate Steinle set off a firestorm of outrage Thursday night, as top conservatives and critics of so-called "sanctuary cities" pinned blame for Steinle's death on illegal immigration and insufficiently aggressive deportation policies. Garcia Zarate, a 45-year-old Mexican national who was homeless and living in the US illegally when he fired the shot that killed Steinle, was acquitted by a jury on murder and manslaughter charges. The jury convicted him of the lesser charge of being a felon in possession of a gun, which carries a maximum sentence of three years in state prison. Steinle, 32, was fatally shot while she walked along Pier 14 of the San Francisco Bay with her father in July 2015. The bullet that pierced her back had ricocheted off the concrete ground after it was fired by Garcia Zarate from a handgun belonging to a federal ranger that had been stolen four days earlier. Garcia Zarate's defense attorneys argued that the shooting was an accident they said he found the gun wrapped in a T-shirt or cloth under a pier bench and unintentionally discharged it. Lead attorney Matt Gonzalez has argued that the weapon was a SIG Sauer with a "hair trigger in single-action mode" a model well-known for accidental discharges even among experienced shooters. Gonzalez told the jury, according to the San Francisco Chronicle, that Garcia Zarate had never handled a firearm before, was frightened by the noise of the gunshot, then flung the weapon into the bay where it was later found by a diver. Prosecutors, however, alleged that Garcia Zarate brought the weapon to the pier deliberately to do harm, and intentionally aimed and shot Steinle after firmly pulling the trigger. They said Garcia Zarate then threw the weapon into the bay and fled the scene. San Franciscos sanctuary policies were closely scrutinized after Steinles death Beyond the shooting itself, perhaps the most controversial aspect of Garcia Zarate's case involves his previous criminal activity and history of deportations, and how San Francisco and federal authorities handled his custody before he ever picked up the gun and shot Steinle. At the time of Steinle's death, Garcia Zarate had been convicted of nonviolent drug crimes and deported five times since the early 1990s. He faced a sixth deportation in 2015, and was in Justice Department (DOJ) custody that March after serving 46 months in prison for a felony re-entry into the US, but instead of transferring him into the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for deportation, the department transferred him to the San Francisco County Jail for prosecution of a 1995 marijuana charge. San Francisco prosecutors, who had long ago deprioritized marijuana charges, dismissed the decades-old charge and released Garcia Zarate on April 15, 2015. Due to San Francisco's policy of limiting cooperation with federal immigration authorities which some refer to as a "sanctuary" policy the city did not inform ICE when they released Garcia Zarate. As a result of the case, both the DOJ and the city of San Francisco have changed several policies. The DOJ announced in 2016 it would no longer release potentially deportable detainees to local jails without first allowing ICE to take custody. San Francisco, meanwhile, has adjusted its policy to notify ICE if they are releasing suspected undocumented immigrants who face charges of serious or violent felonies. "This tragedy could have been prevented if San Francisco had simply turned the alien over to ICE as we requested, instead of releasing him back onto the streets," ICE Director Thomas Homan said in a statement on Thursday. "It is unconscionable that politicians across this country continue to endanger the lives of Americans with sanctuary policies while ignoring the harm inflicted on their constituents." But ICE has faced criticism of its own over not seeking a judicial warrant to legally obtain custody of Garcia Zarate when it discovered he had been transferred into San Francisco's custody. The agency has argued that obtaining judicial warrants are unnecessary and would place too much burden on ICE officials and federal courts. Though the agency did issue a request to the city to detain Garcia Zarate until ICE officials could pick him up, their detainer requests are not signed by a judge and are therefore not legally binding. San Francisco's policy is to ignore such requests if they are not accompanied by judge-signed warrants, and the city has cited federal court cases concluding that such detentions violate inmates' Fourth Amendment rights. The right has used Steinles death as evidence of the perils of illegal immigration Garcia Zarate's deportation and criminal history made him an effective target for immigration hardliners, who argued that Steinle would still be alive were it not for an insecure border and lenient treatment toward suspected undocumented immigrants in local jails. President Donald Trump immediately seized on the verdict on Thursday as evidence of the perils of "Illegal Immigration." Trump frequently villainized Garcia Zarate and cited Steinle's death during his presidential campaign, using the case to bolster his argument for a border wall and aid his crusade against "sanctuary cities." Early on Friday, Trump also falsely claimed on Twitter that Garcia Zarate had previously committed violent crimes and had illegally entered the US six times due to lax border security under the Obama administration. "The Kate Steinle killer came back and back over the weakly protected Obama border, always committing crimes and being violent, and yet this info was not used in court. His exoneration is a complete travesty of justice. BUILD THE WALL!" Trump tweeted. In fact, Garcia Zarate had never been convicted of a violent crime before Steinle's shooting his previous convictions were for nonviolent drug crimes and illegal entry. Lax border security, too, does not appear to be a factor since Garcia Zarate was caught by border patrol agents each time he entered the country under the Obama administration. READ MORE: 2 Kumasi Academy students die in mysterious circumstances The invitation comes after the school's matron is alleged to have 'stolen' food supplies meant to feed students. The Police say it appears the school authorities want to hush up the matter, noting that since the alleged incident, the school is yet to lodge a formal complain to the police. The Public Relations Officer of the Ghana Police Service, Assistant Superintendent of Police, Mr Ebenezer Tetteh, told the Daily Graphic:"It appears the school authorities want to hush up the matter. "But we have also heard it on the radio, and the media curiosity over the issue is high. He was speaking at the16th edition of the Ghana Club 100 Awards on Thursday, November 30, in Accra. Ghanas first industrial surge was recorded in the 1960s, directly after our independence, Dr Kwame Nkrumah initiated the establishment of more than 300 state-owned enterprises to operate in all sectors of economic activity, President Akufo-Addo noted. He added, Virtually, from the skies Ghana Airways through investments in power, petroleum, fisheries, textiles, insurance, financial services, to the ground agriculture. The Government of Ghana initiated, staffed, funded, managed and rendered accounts, by itself to itself. President Akufo-Addo notes that his government will provide the enabling environment for businesses to thrive instead of directly establishing industries. "Government is also working hard to improve the infrastructure in our cities roads, railways, ports, aviation, communication, as well as the rural areas where we must add value to our time and make it easier to do business in Ghana, he said. Murtala Mohammed, who made the wild allegation on TV3s New Day programme on Saturday said there are there three gay men at the seat of government but did not mention names. There are gays at the Flagstaff Housethey are uncomfortable with this topicthere are three (gays) at the Flagstaff House. There are three of them at the Flagstaff House, he said. President Nana Akufo-Addo sparked outrage last week when he suggested that homosexuality is bound to happen in Ghana if there is wrong demand for it. He told Aljazeera: I dont believe that in Ghana, so far, a sufficiently strong coalition has emerged which is having that impact on public opinion that will say: Change it [the law], lets then have a new paradigm in Ghana." The 40 million dollars loan facility forms part of a financing agreement between the government of Ghana and the World Bank. It will be used to upgrade the facilities of 75 schools to improve academic performance. 75 senior high schools will have their facilities upgraded to improve academic performance. Also, there will be quality improvement support to 107 additional schools, the Chairman of Parliaments Finance Committee, Dr. Mark Assibey Yeboah, said while recommending the approval of the loan. He added: the committee finds the project immensely important towards enhancing secondary education in Ghana, to help provide more secondary level graduates with the relevant skills to enter tertiary institutions and the labour market. The warning, delivered by the Defence Minister Dominic Nitiwul, says such relations harms the image of the country, saying the UN frowned on sexual exploitation and abuse. READ MORE: Ghanaian soldiers in Lebanon accused of sexual misconduct Mr. Nitiwul made the call at a durbar with officers and personnel of the Ghana Army at the Third Garrison in Sunyani, as part of his one-day working visit to the Garrison to know the prevailing challenges and also the security situation in the region. You cannot have sexual relationship with the people who you are going to help maintain peace, neither can you have sexual relationship between opposite sex, he stated. In September this year, the Day Break newspaper reported of Ghanaians soldiers on peacekeeping in Lebanon sleeping with Lebanese girls thereby infuriating the Chief of Defence Staff(CDS), Lieutenant General OB Akwa. The CDS is said to have threatened to deal ruthlessly, in the future, with soldiers involved in the practice. "We send you out on missions to carry the flag of Ghana High," Lit. General Akwa was quoted as saying, "and not to engage in acts that lower the esprit de corps of the contingent. READ MORE: Soldier crashes to death in motorbike accident Rahul Gandhi asked, "Why Gujarat stands at 26th position in terms of governemnt expenditure on education? What is the fault of the youths?" Rahul Gandhi also alleged the the Gujarat government under the BJP had preferred By India Today Web Desk: Continuing with his series of questions posed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the run up to the Gujarat Assembly election, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi put his fourth question today. Posted on Twitter from the handle of Office of RG - which the Congress leader uses to post on the microblogging site, Rahul Gandhi said, "Why Gujarat stands at 26th position in terms of government expenditure on education? What is the fault of the youths?" advertisement Rahul Gandhi also alleged the the Gujarat government under the BJP had preferred "business of education" at the cost of government schools and colleges. Students have suffered due to rising cost of education in Gujarat, Rahul Gandhi said adding, "How will the dream of New India be realised?" The Congress vice-president has been posing a question a day to the prime minister as part of his electioneering for Gujarat Assembly polls slated for December 9 and 14. Rahul Gandhi uses hashtag #Gujarat_Maange_Jawab (Gujarat demands answers) for 22-year-rule of the BJP. Narendra Modi served as the chief minister of Gujarat for about 12 years during over two-decade BJP rule in the state. 22 ????? ?? ?????#??????_?????_???? ??????????????- ???? ???? ?????? ?????-????? ?? ???? ?? ???? ?????? ?? ???????????? ???? ?? ???? ?? ????? ?? ???New India ?? ???? ???? ???? ?????? ?????? ?????? ?? ???? ??? ?????? ??? ??? 26??? ????? ?? ?????? ?????? ?? ???? ???? ?? ???&; Office of RG (@OfficeOfRG) December 2, 2017 Earlier, Rahul Gandhi had asked why the Gujarat government that Narendra Modi led until 2014 bought power from four private companies at a highly-inflated price. His third question to the prime minister was: "Why fill the pockets of four private companies between 2002-2016 by buying electricity worth Rs 62,549 crore from them? Why was electricity worth Rs 3 a unit bought at Rs 24 by reducing the capacity of state-owned power plants by 62 per cent?" However, Rahul Gandhi did not name the four companies when he asked, "Why was public money splurged like this?" ALSO WATCH | Dynasts rewarded, merit ignored in Congress: Shehzad Poonawallah on Rahul's elevation --- ENDS --- President Akufo-Addo sparked outrage last week when he suggested that homosexuality is bound to happen in Ghana if there is wrong demand for it. Mr Fuseini, a former Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, said the President will be willing to support forces who will bring about changes to Ghanas current laws on homosexuality. Senior lawyers in Ghana have argued that Ghanas laws does not allow homosexuality and the country is ranked among the top 10 anti-gay countries in the world. Speaking on Joy FMs Newsfile Saturday, he said: He [President Akufo-Addo] is amenable to that [homosexuality]. According to him, the President, who made the comments in an interview with Aljazeera, miscommunicated. He spoke rightly as a lawyer but wrongly as a politician, he stressed. Because he imported words to mean well it can happen. People are now holding him to words like it can happen, he added. President Nana Akufo-Addo told Aljazeera that legalisation of homosexuality is bound to happen in Ghana if public opinion for its legalisation grows stronger. I dont believe that in Ghana, so far, a sufficiently strong coalition has emerged which is having that impact on public opinion that will say: Change it [the law], lets then have a new paradigm in Ghana." The AfD captured nearly 13 percent of the vote and almost 100 seats in parliament -- a watershed moment in postwar German politics that left Chancellor Angela Merkel the winner but required her to seek out a still-elusive coalition. But a festering row between radical nationalists and more moderate forces has roiled the AfD's top ranks, with co-leader Frauke Petry abruptly quitting just days after the election to form her own breakaway party. About 600 delegates at the two-day congress in the northern city of Hanover were to vote on a replacement for her as well as a new board, determining the ideological direction of the party. Outside, hundreds of demonstrators staged sit-ins to block roadways to the venue, delaying the start of the congress by nearly an hour. After reporting minor scuffles with protesters, police deployed water cannon in frigid weather to remove some of the blockades. Several officers were injured in scuffles, one on the hand by a flying bottle, and a demonstrator who had chained himself to a barricade suffered a broken leg and was taken to hospital, police said. Later Saturday more than 5,000 pro-refugee demonstrators marched through the city centre supporting Merkel's liberal border policy, which has allowed in more than one million asylum seekers since 2015. Another anti-AfD rally by trade unionists was expected to draw around 3,000 people. AfD leader Joerg Meuthen, who has allied himself with its hard-right nativist wing, has said he will stand for another two-year term. He told cheering delegates that the AfD was Germany's "only party for patriotic policies" and accused Merkel of "fundamental political failure" during her 12 years in office. Merkel's woes Launched as a populist anti-euro party in 2013, the AfD has veered sharply to the right since then and campaigned for the September election with slogans such as "Bikinis Not Burqas", "Stop Islamisation" and the ubiquitous "Merkel must go". It is now represented in 14 of Germany's 16 state parliaments but has been shunned by mainstream parties as a potential partner at the national level. A video shown at the start of the event celebrated the regional election victories and ended with the rallying cry "We want our homeland back." Meuthen predicted the AfD would hold seats in all 16 states by the end of 2018. The fractured political landscape has made it more difficult than ever for Merkel to cobble together a governing majority. Talks to form a coalition spanning the political spectrum for her fourth and probably last term broke down in acrimony last month. She is now trying to woo the centre-left Social Democrats back into a right-left "grand coalition" government. If she is successful and averts a snap election, the AfD would become Germany's largest opposition power, strongly boosting its profile. 'Little sandbox games' Meuthen said the "pathetic little sandbox games" of the other parties leading to the political deadlock in Berlin were helping the AfD. "It is good for us," he said to applause. "It brings us more supporters." Delegates will debate a motion to have Meuthen as the AfD's sole president. Meanwhile more centrist forces in the party are backing the party's Berlin chief, Georg Pazderski, a former army colonel, as co-leader. But speculation was rife that the party's powerful parliamentary group chief, Alexander Gauland, could mount a leadership challenge. The list of motions to be debated in Hanover offered a snapshot of the party's priorities. They included a call for Germany to ban circumcision of male babies, targeting a common practice among Muslim and Jewish families, and a condemnation of a new definition of anti-Semitism adopted by parliament which it considers a "curb on free speech". The move by the Southern African Development Community (SADC), a regional bloc, was approved in September after Khoantle Motsomotso was shot dead at a barracks by officers from a perceived rival faction. The shootout came just two months after elections and shattered hopes of ushering in a new era of stability in the volatile country. Lesotho has been subject to several coups and periods of political unrest since gaining independence from Britain in 1966. The seven-nation SADC force, which includes 207 military personnel, 15 intelligence officers and 24 police officers, will be deployed for six months and aims to bolster security. "It is our firm conviction that the presence of this mission is necessary to establish a secure, stable and peaceful environment conducive for the implementation of ... constitutional, parliamentary, judicial, public and security reforms," Deputy Prime Minister Monyane Moleleki said at the official launch of the mission. The SADC director responsible for politics, defence and security affairs, Jorge Cardoso, said the mission was in Lesotho to strengthen peace and security. "(The SADC mission) is not here to take over or replace the Lesotho Defence Force or other security institutions," said Cardoso, but to "support and complement" the government to attain lasting peace and security. On 1 June 2017, shareholders were advised that Barclays had reduced its total interest in Barclays Africa to 23.4% from 50.1%, in addition to which 1.5% would be contributed by Barclays to a broad-based black economic empowerment (BBBEE) scheme in due course; and 7.0% would be taken up by the Public Investment Corporation SOC Limited (PIC) on a deferred completion, subject to receipt of all necessary regulatory approvals by the PIC, following which Barclays total interest in Barclays Africa would be approximately 15%. On 4 September 2017, a transaction was effected in which the 1.5% stake in Barclays Africa was transferred from Barclays to an interim B-BBEE structure which was established by Barclays Africa, and accordingly Barclays total interest in Barclays Africa was reduced to 21.9%. The intention is that these shares will be held in the interim B-BBEE structure for a period before ultimately being applied towards a new Barclays Africa B-BBEE scheme. The transfer of the 7.0% stake in Barclays Africa to the PIC is subject to regulatory approval. Pending receipt of such approvals, pursuant to an agreement between Barclays, the PIC and the local subsidiaries of two international financial institutions (the Financial Institutions), Barclays transferred (subject to settlement) the 7.0% stake in Barclays Africa to the Financial Institutions on 30 November 2017. But the GOP's tax reform proposal also gives a few boosts to the wealthiest in the country, including the proposed repeals of the estate tax and the alternative minimum tax (AMT). , in November. And early Saturday, the Senate passed their own version of tax reform legislation Business Insider outlined seven different perks for the wealthy from the House Republicans' bill below. Higher-income taxpayers will get the largest tax cuts. The House GOP's legislation would reduce taxes on average for all income groups in 2018 as well as ten years from now, but higher-income households would get the largest cuts both in terms of dollar amounts and as a percentage of after-tax income, according to the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center. Taxpayers in the top 1% defined as those making over $730,000 would receive 20% of the total tax cut, the think tank found. They'd get an average cut of $37,000, which translates to about 2.4% of their after-tax income. The estate tax, which benefits about 5,500 taxpayers a year, will be eliminated. Trump has touted the repeal as a perk for farmers and small businesses owners. An analysis by The Washington Post, however, found that only 5,500 estates out of about 3 million will pay any estate tax in 2017. And within that 5,500, only about 80 are farms or small businesses. The AMT, which increased Trump's leaked 2005 tax bill from $5.3 million to $36.5 million, will be repealed. Private school tuition could be paid through a 529 plan. Families would be able to withdraw up to $10,000 per year from their 529 plans, tax-advantaged college savings accounts, and use it for tuition and other expenses at K-12 schools. That effectively creates a benefit for people who would be sending their kids to an expensive private school, anyway. Rich people will still be able to reduce their taxes by donating to charity. The House GOP's bill eliminates most personal itemized deductions and many credits, but the only deduction preserved explicitly in the plan is for charitable gifts and edited home-mortgage interest. Charitable deductions are a popular strategy for super wealthy people to lower their tax bills. "Hedge fund guys," as Trump called them, and other fund managers will still have access to a loophole that allows them to pay a lower tax rate on investment profits. With the carried interest provision, investment fund managers can pay a lower capital gains tax rate on their share of their fund's profit. Usually it's around 20%, below the 39.6% rate. The loophole (so far) remains unchanged in the House and Senate bills. Notably, during his campaign, Trump said he would close the loophole. The stock market could go up thanks to a one-time repatriation tax included in the bill. The one-time repatriation tax is designed to incentivize US-based companies that do business overseas to bring those profits back stateside. BONUS: The Senate bill would keep the home-mortgage-interest deduction. Our post walks through the House GOP's bill. However, the Senate's version includes another detail that would also benefit the wealthy: it keeps the home-mortgage-interest deduction, under which Though modern slave trade has been reshaped to be more of brain-drain and political control of leaders to do the wills of the superpowers. In these African countries there is a slave trade market. Hence there is a practice of use of human for domestic services, debt bondage, slaves for sacrifice and military slaves among others. Here are the three African countries where slave trade is still a regular business. 1. Sudan The Civil war between 1983 and 2005 has led to the resurgence of the slave trade in the country. In Sudan, there is a slave-taking militia from the Baggara ethnic group that captures and enslaves black people from the tribes of Dinka, Nuer and Nuba. Some of the captured persons are sent across to Libya, which is one of the travailing slave markets in Africa. The slave traders or masters are Arabs, and human rights campaigners have accused the government of supporting this activity. For black skinned person visiting the country, you should be careful not to land in their slave trade stall. 2. Libya Even before the current crisis in Libya, the country has been a major market for human trafficking in the region. Its position which is close to the Mediterranean sea and Italy makes a lot of people attempting to get smuggled across the sea to be sold as a slave. Many black Africans from neighbouring countries seeking to cross over to Europe through the Libyan coast are usually captured by Libyan rebels and sold off as slaves to local masters. Also, women and children are often the majority of the captives of these Libyan rebels while the women are held as sex slaves. 3. Mauritania In this North African country of Mauritania, slavery is still held as a culture in some parts of the country. Though the practice was abolished in 1981 by the government. The light-skinned Berbers -beydan (Whites), and the mixed Berber-Arabs are all slave owners known as al-beydan. While black Mauritanians from the minority ethnic group, known as Moors or the Haratin, are the slaves and are considered commodity of their masters. Just like what is obtainable in Sudan, slaves and their descendants are considered the full property of their masters. Since Prince Harry got down on one knee over a chicken dinner and asked Meghan Markle to be his wife, Great Britain has learned a whole lot about her. But it turns out that before she can take her place in the royal family, she has to learn a lot about Britain too in the form of an official written test on Britishness. When announcing the details of the wedding on Tuesday night, Kensington Palace revealed that Markle, an American, will become a British citizen before the ceremony. One step towards doing that even if you're marrying a prince is sitting the Life in the UK exam, required by the UK Home Office to become part of the nation. Applicants have to take the test in official test centres around the UK, and it costs 50 ($67). There's one in Hammersmith, west London, a few tube stops away from Markle's future home in the grounds of Kensington Palace. There's another in Slough, a few miles from her wedding venue in Windsor. The test has 24 multiple-choice questions. The pass mark is 75%. It's sat on a computer, and lasts 45 minutes. If Markle is feeling nervous beforehand she can do a mini practice paper of four questions before starting the real thing. Luckily, if Markle doesn't hit the pass mark first time, she can do as many re-takes as she likes. Business Insider tracked down a copy of the official practice questions guide to get a sense of what Markle might face. Here's a selection (the answers are at the end): 1) What happened to Margaret Thatcher in 1979 to make her famous in UK history? A) She took part in the Olympics. B) She became a High Court judge. C) She became the first woman Prime Minister. D) She was made a general in the British Army. Some are about fiddly points of geography: 2) Is the statement below TRUE or FALSE? St Helena is a Crown dependency. Old-school literature: 3) What are "Beowulf," "The Tyger," and "She Walks in Beauty?" A) Plays B) Films C) Poems D) Novels Or sport: 4) Which of the following statements is correct? A) There is a yearly sailing race on the River Thames between Oxford and Cambridge Universities. B) There is a yearly rowing race on the River Thames between Oxford and Cambridge Universities. Or the legal system: 5) Which court would you use to get money back that was owed to you? A) County Court B) Magistrates Court C) Youth Court D) Coroners Court Some, she really ought to get right, or itll be awkward at the dinner table: 6) Which jubilee did Queen Elizabeth II celebrate in 2012? A) Platinum Jubilee B) Diamond Jubilee C) Silver Jubilee D) Golden Jubilee Answers 1) C Thatcher was the first British woman Prime Minister. The first female High Court judge, Elizabeth Lane, sat in 1965. Women have been Olympians since 1900. Susan Ridge became the British Army's first female general in 2015. 2) False St Helena, a remote island in the South Atlantic Ocean, is a "British Oversea Territory," and has a slightly different relationship with the UK to "Crown dependencies" like the Isle of Man. 3) A Although you'd be hard-pressed to find many Brits who have read all three of these. 4) B But since most people refer to this as "the boat race" it could be easy to get confused. 5) A County Courts deal with civil matters like money. Magistrates and youth courts deal with crimes, and coroners, investigate deaths. Plenty of Brits would get confused by these. Almost 2 decades after the first reported cases were identified in Nigeria and the nation still has some of the highest statistics in HIV/AIDS around the world. What is HIV/AIDS? HIV is a virus that attacks the immune system. If untreated, a persons immune system will eventually be completely destroyed. AIDS refers to a set of symptoms and illnesses that occur at the very final stage of HIV infection. Nigerias HIV/AIDS epidemic is characterized by one of the most rapidly increasing rates of new HIV/AIDS cases in West Africa. When was HIV/AIDS first reported in Nigeria? The first two cases of HIV/AIDS in Nigeria were identified in 1985 and were reported at an international AIDS conference in 1986. In 1987 the Nigerian health sector established the National AIDS Advisory Committee, which was shortly followed by the establishment of the National Expert Advisory Committee on AIDS (NEACA). The Nigerian Governments response to HIV/AIDS The Nigerian government was slow to respond to the increasing rates of HIV transmission. It was in 1991 that the Federal Ministry of Health made their first attempt to assess Nigeria's AIDS situation. The results showed that around 1.8 percent of the population of Nigeria at the time were infected with HIV. Reports also revealed that during the 1990s HIV infected victims rose from 3.8% in 1993 to 4.5% in 1998. When Olusegun Obasanjo became the president of Nigeria in 1999, HIV prevention, treatment and care became one of the governments primary concerns. The Presidents Committee on AIDS and the National Action Committee on AIDS (NACA) were created, and in 2001, the government set up a three-year HIV/AIDS Emergency Action Plan (HEAP). Despite increased efforts to control the epidemic, by 2006 it was estimated that just 10 percent of HIV-infected women and men were receiving antiretroviral therapy and only 7 percent of pregnant women were receiving treatment to reduce the risk of mother-to-child transmission of HIV. In 2010 NACA launched its comprehensive National Strategic Framework to cover 2010 to 2015, which requires an estimated N756 billion to implement. Challenges facing the fight against HIV/AIDS Despite being the largest oil producer in Africa and the 12th largest in the world,13 Nigeria is ranked 158 out of 177 on the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Human Poverty Index. This poor economic position has meant that Nigeria is faced with huge challenges in fighting its HIV and AIDS epidemic. The final vote on the massive Senate Republican tax bill is fast approaching on Friday as GOP leaders scrambled to make last-minute changes to their bill, a complete version of which emerged in the late evening. Republicans appear to have the votes to pass the TCJA, but the situation is still fluid. Sen. John Cornyn, the second-ranking Senate Republican, said Friday morning that Republicans had enough votes to pass it. Sen. Bob Corker, a Republican holdout on the TCJA, said the bill would likely get through with or without his vote. " Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has attempted to appease deficit hawks, moderates, and members concerned about small business, all while keeping the TCJA within Senate rules. The last-minute changes continued into Friday evening, as Republicans have yet to file the final version of their bill. The vote on Friday would come just three weeks after the bill, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), was introduced. As the night rolls on, we'll be following along live, so check back for updates. 10:07: Here we go, time for amendment votes. (Updating...) McConnell proceeded to votes on amendments. We'll updated as votes are taken: 12:08: Pence breaks a tie on an amendment from Ted Cruz to expand 529 school savings accounts. The amendment, which was agreed to after Vice President Pence broke a 50-50 tie, would allow people to use 529 savings accounts for K-12 tuition and not just college. Democrats said the change is a backdoor way to drive people toward private school instead of public schools. This is also the first time Pence has been needed for a vote. 11:50: The Congressional Budget Office released its analysis of the newest TCJA's budget impact. The CBO determined that the final version of the Senate bill would add $1.4478 trillion to the deficit over 10 years, just squeezing under the $1.5 trillion limit allowed under Senate rules. 9:30: Chuck Schumer makes a motion to suspend debate. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer made a motion to recess the Senate until Monday and delay the vote until the Democrats can read the new changes to the bill. " The motion failed 48 to 52. The vote was along party lines. 9:20 pm: Democrats slam change to bill that appears to only help a single, conservative college. Democrats slammed a new provision in the updated TCJA that exempts any college or university that declines federal funding under Title IV from a new 1.4% excise tax on large university endowments. According to Democrats, this provision would only benefit Hillsdale College, a conservative Michigan school. 8:37 pm: Marco Rubio makes a final pitch for his change to the child tax credit. Sen. Marco Rubio took to the Senate floor to make the case for his amendment that would make the child tax credit refundable up to the amount of payroll taxes, making the credit more generous. To pay for the change, Rubio wants to cut the corporate rate to 20.94% instead of the 20% proposed in the Republican bill. The TCJA already proposes to increase the credit to $2,000 from $1,000 under current law. There was a possibility that Democrats could support the amendment, also backed by GOP Sen. Mike Lee. But Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown later said on the floor that bipartisan talks broke down because the Rubio amendment would only be temporary. 6:45: Senate Democrats finally got the bill from the GOP, but its covered in handwritten notes. In a sample provided to Business Insider, the final version of the bill has numerous handwritten notes in the margin of pages. A few pages were even crossed out with a pen. Democratic lawmakers are complaining about what they say is unreadable handwriting on Twitter. "Trying to review the #GOPTaxScam but they are making hand-written changes to brand new text as we speak can anyone else read this?" Sen. Dick Durbin tweeted. 6:00: An amendment to the tax bill could give big breaks to large partnership firms. An amendment introduced by Sen. John Cornyn would allow publicly traded partnerships (PTPs) to take the pass-through business deduction. While its unclear the treatment for financial firms, energy master limited partnerships could be able to take the deduction. Many MLPs are based in Cornyn's home state of Texas. 5 p.m.: Bob Corker will vote against the bill Corker, who has long held concerns about the deficit impact of the bill, said he would vote against it. He is so far the only Republican senator to come out against the bill. " 4 p.m.: Susan Collins officially announces she will vote for the bill Collins said she secured key changes to the bill including adjustments to the medical expense deduction and the state and local tax deduction. " 3 p.m.: Sen. Claire McCaskill tweets a list of possible GOP amendments that she got from a lobbyist. McCaskill, a Democrat from Missouri, tweeted a picture that she said was sent to her by a lobbyist. The list shows a series of amendment from Republicans that are set to be considered and possibly added to the tax bill. "This is so bad. We have just gotten list of amendments to be included in bill NOT from our R colleagues, but from lobbyists downtown," McCaskill said in the tweet. "None of us have seen this list, but lobbyists have it. Need I say more? Disgusting. And we probably will not even be given time to read them." 2 p.m.: Susan Collins tweets on the bill's treatment of medical expenses, state and local tax, and retirement contributions that got her to "yes." Sen. Susan Collins laid out the details of the changes that got her to support the TCJA. They are: for church, charity, school, & public employees." 1:40: The Senate bill will reportedly keep the alternative minimum tax. The alternative minimum tax (AMT), a separate tax structure designed to ensure that wealthier Americans don't take massive deductions that help them avoid all taxes, is expected to remain in the Senate bill after last-minute wrangling. The bill would reportedly increase the threshold at which people must use the AMT. This could be helpful as a pay-for for changes like Collins' partial state and local tax deduction preservation. 12:30: Susan Collins says her compromise on the state and local tax deduction will be in the final bill. Collins' change would allow people to deduct up to $10,000 of state and local property taxes from their federal bill. Current law allows people to deduct all of their state and local property, income, and sales taxes and the original Senate TCJA would have repealed that completely. This could make it easier for the Senate and House to reconcile their bills, since Collins' change is exactly the same as the House plan. The deduction is generally a bigger political lift in the House, since there are Republican members from areas like New York and California where state and local taxes are higher. 12:05: Jeff Flake, one of the last Republicans holdouts, is a "yes" on the bill. Flake, who had raised concerns about the bill's impact on the deficit, said in a statement that he would vote for the TCJA. Flake said he was trying to get two things out of the tax bill: to "eliminate the $85 billion expensing budget gimmick" and a promise from GOP leaders to work with him on a bill to protect the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. "Having secured both of those objectives, I am pleased to announce I will vote in support the tax reform bill," Flake said. 12:00 pm: McConnell tells reporters "we have the votes" Republicans seem pretty confident that they have the 50 votes necessary to pass the TCJA. Sen. Ted Cruz told reporters it is " 11:30 am: The Tax Policy Center says the economic boost from the bill is much less than Republicans promised. A new analysis from the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center shows that the TCJA would only boost US GDP by 0.7% in 2018. This falls far short of the amount needed for the bill to "pay for itself" as Republican leaders and Trump officials promised. In fact, the TPC said that even with the additional revenue created from the economic boost the bill would rack up $1.23 trillion in new debt. 10:55 am: GOP leaders think the bill will pass, but Susan Collins pumps the breaks. Senate GOP Whip John Cornyn told reporters that the leadership is feeling pretty good about the tax bill's prospects. " For Cornyn's predictions to be the case, Republican leaders need to have Sen. Susan Collins on board but she cautioned against making assumptions. " Debate begins and a quick recap Debate on the tax bill is expected to lead off with statements from the party leaders. The first amendment votes are scheduled for 11 a.m. ET. The Senate will resume the drama that was suspended on Thursday, when GOP leaders called it a night to try and figure out the last-minute changes to their bill. A final vote was possible Thursday night, but Republican leaders hit a snag when the Joint Committee on Taxation the official congressional scorekeeper released an analysis that showed the bill would only increase GDP 0.8% over 10 years. The analysis also showed the bill would grow the federal deficit by $1 trillion over that timeframe even when accounting for that growth. The analysis renewed concerns from Sens. Bob Corker and Jeff Flake about the legislation's potential effect on the deficit. The pair's idea of a trigger that would increase federal revenue was ruled impermissible by the Senate parliamentarian, a kind of umpire for Senate rules, sending Republican leaders back to the drawing board. McConnell and leadership got a boost when Sens. Ron Johnson and Steve Daines, who had been on the fence, said on Friday that they would support the bill. Johnson told Wisconsin radio station WISN that his support gave Republicans enough votes to pass the bill even without Corker and Flake. Politics: Here's who Mitch McConnell needs to win over While it appears that McConnell may have already secured the necessary 50 votes (with Vice President Mike Pence breaking the tie) with the addition of Johnson and Daines, here are some GOP senators on the fence. Bob Corker and Jeff Flake: proposed a "trigger" to increase taxes Susan Collins: Marco Rubio and Mike Lee: introduced an amendment Ron Johnson and Steve Daines: then they needed 23% Process: Here's what's on tap The bill is required to go through 20 hours of debate, split evenly between Republicans and Democrats. As debate starts on Friday, there is roughly seven hours of debate left. After debate concludes, the Senate will have what is known as a vote-a-rama in which members will consider a slew of amendments in succession. If senators use the full allotted time for debate, that would push the vote-a-rama to around 5 or 6 p.m ET. Republican can also choose to forgo their time, which would move the vote-a-rama up to about 2 p.m. ET if Democrats decide to use all of their debate time. After the vote-a-rama, McConnell would submit the text of the finished bill as a substitute amendment, replacing the original bill text, and the final vote would take place. 9:50: Senate rules trip out some provisions of the tax bill. According to Richard Rubin at the Wall Street Journal, three pieces of the bill were pulled out due to a violation of the Byrd rule. The rule mandates that all legislation going through budget reconciliation, such as the TCJA, must impact the budget. Hafiz Saeed, who continues to remain a free man in Pakistan, told media persons that he would contest the election under Milli Muslim League (MML) party. By India Today Web Desk: Jamaat-ud Dawah(JuD) chief Hafiz Saeed, who was recently released from house arrest, on Saturday announced that he would take part in the Pakistan general elections 2018 on the National Assembly seat. Saeed, who continues to remain a free man in Pakistan, told media persons that he would contest the election under Milli Muslim League (MML) party. However, he did not disclose any details about the constituency. advertisement In August, the JuD entered politics by forming a new party, MML and announced Saifullah Khalid, a religious scholar, as its party president. Khalid had said that the MML will work to make Pakistan a real Islamic and welfare state. He also added that his party will make efforts to cooperate with other like-minded political outfits. On January 31, the JuD chief was detained under Section 11-EEE(1) of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1977 and the court refused to extend his house arrest on November 23. He was subsequently released from detention. The United States has declared him a global artist for being the mastermind of the 2008 Mumbai attacks that left 166 people dead. Upon his release from detention, India had expressed outrage by calling it an attempt by Pakistan to mainstream terrorists. India termed the release as a reflection of Pakistan's continuing support to non-state actors. --- ENDS --- Cornell Law professor Jens David Ohlin, who specializes in criminal law, said that "the fact that Flynn was charged with, and is pleading guilty to, such a minor crime, suggests a bombshell of a deal with prosecutors." "Flynn was facing serious criminal liability for a variety of alleged missteps, including his failure to register as an agent of a foreign power," Ohlin said, referring to Flynn's lobbying work for Turkish government interests throughout the latter half of 2016. "If this is the entirety of the plea deal, the best explanation for why Mueller would agree to it is that Flynn has something very valuable to offer in exchange: damaging testimony on someone else," Ohlin added. "What was it about Michael Flynn that everyone in the Trump orbit wanted desperately to have him in the administration?" CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin wondered aloud earlier this year. "Why did they keep him?" On January 27, one day after Yates' expressed her concerns about Flynn to White House counsel Don McGahn, Trump invited Comey, then the FBI director, to dinner and asked for his loyalty twice. Yates was fired on January 30 when she refused to defend the administration's travel ban. Trump asked for Flynn's resignation on February 13, shortly after The Washington Post reported that Flynn had spoken to Kislyak about sanctions. One day later, White House officialsquickly deniedthat the reported conversation among Kushner, Ivanka Trump, and Flynn about the national security adviser position ever took place, calling it "complete and total nonsense." But Kushner and Flynn were in touch throughout December on issues related to Russia and the incoming administration's foreign policy objectives more broadly. Kushner and Flynn met with Kislyak on December 1 at Trump Tower. Following a bombshell Washington Post report, Kushner acknowledged that he had asked the Russian ambassador whether a direct line of communication could be set up between the transition team and Moscow. But he disputed its characterization as a "backchannel" and said it was meant to discuss fighting ISIS with Russia in Syria. About three weeks later, Kushner asked Flynn to call Kislyak again, this time to persuade Russia to veto a UN resolution that would condemn Israel's settlements in disputed Palestinian territory. Kislyak rebuffed Flynn's request, and Russia did not intervene. KT McFarland: A curious hill to die on One week later, however, Trump transition official KT McFarland reportedly advised Flynn to ask the Russians not to retaliate against the sanctions imposed by Obama on December 28. It is unclear whether McFarland consulted with Trump, then president-elect, before asking Flynn to discuss the sanctions with Kislyak. The White House protected McFarland, who served as Flynn's deputy on the National Security Council, even when doing so didn't make much sense. Thanks for signing up for our daily insight on the African economy. We bring you daily editor picks from the best Business Insider news content so you can stay updated on the latest topics and conversations on the African market, leaders, careers and lifestyle. Also join us across all of our other channels - we love to be connected! The Senate passed the Republican tax reform bill early Saturday in a massive win for the party and President Donald Trump, who has seen many of his agenda items stall in the legislature during his first year in office. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act passed on a vote of 51 to 49. Sen. Bob Corker was the only Republican to vote against the bill, which, among other things, proposes to cut the corporate rate to 20% while changing individual tax brackets and significantly undercutting portions of the Affordable Care Act. Its passage brings Republicans a step closer to their first major legislative achievement in the Trump presidency. Trump applauded the passage of the Senate Republican tax bill on Saturday. Trumpadded thatthe bill's passage brought the US "one step closer to delivering MASSIVE tax cuts for working families across America." He also thanked Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Sen. Orrin Hatch, the second highest-ranking Republican in the chamber, for "shepherding our bill through the Senate. Look forward to signing a final bill before Christmas!" The vote came just three weeks after Republicans introduced the original version. It came just hours after the text of the final version of the bill was released. GOP leaders moved the bill through the chamber at breakneck speed as they attempt to send legislation to Trump's desk by Christmas. "You complain about process when you're losing," McConnell said of Democratic objections. "And that's what you heard on the floor tonight." McConnell and Republican leaders won over a slew of skeptical Republican members in recent days to pass the bill. On Monday, as many as 10 GOP lawmakers were on the fence or against it, but significant last-minute changes were enough to ensure their support. The changes forced the debate to stretch for hours, as Republicans released a final version of their bill with adjustments scribbled in the margins of the text. The last-minute adjustments and final passage overcame a steady trickle of rough analyses of the bill. While Republican leaders and Trump administration officials promised as recently as three weeks ago that the bill would pay for itself with economic growth, the analyses have been universal: They have shown that the bill would add roughly $1 trillion or more to the federal deficit over 10 years, even when accounting for the growth. The reports from various organizations, as well as the official government scorekeeper, the Joint Committee on Taxation, showed the Senate TCJA would produce only a modest boost to the US economy that would fade over time. They also found that while most would see a tax cut in the initial years of the legislation, many would see little change or an increase over time. What comes next Since the Senate TCJA is different from the House version of the bill, the legislation must either go to a conference committee where members from both chambers unify the differing aspects or the House could pass the Senate bill as it is. House Speaker Paul Ryan, applauding the Senate's passage of the bill, said the two chambers would move "quickly" to a conference committee. Additionally, Rep. Kevin Brady the chair of the House Ways and Means committee and author of the House TCJA said in a statement that he plans to go to a conference committee. "Now its time to take the best of both the House and Senate bills, make them even stronger in a conference committee, and finalize one piece of legislation that will dramatically improve the lives of Americans for generations to come," Brady said. Following the passage of the bill, members on both sides of the aisle reacted swiftly. Republicans celebrated the step forward, saying that the bill will help to reinvigorate the US economy. "This is a big moment for American families and small businesses ready to turn the page on an Obama-era recovery that has been far too sluggish," GOP Sen. John Cornyn, the second-highest ranking Republican, said in a statement. "Simplifying our nations tax code is the jump start our economy needs to bring jobs back and leave more money in the pockets of hardworking Texans." On the other hand, Democrats decried changes to the Affordable Care Act and cuts for corporations. Nigeria has been identified as the main country from which the majority of the sex trafficking victims come from according to the International Organisation for Migration (IOM). IOM estimates that 80 percent of girls arriving from Nigeria whose numbers have soared from 1,454 in 2014 to 11,009 in 2016 are potential victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation, the report claims. Sexual exploitation of African migrants in Europe is terrifying as majority of victims are young girls, that is according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM) Trafficking is a transnational crime that devastates the lives of thousands of people and is the cause of untold suffering, says Federico Soda, director of the IOM Coordinating Office for the Mediterranean. This is a theme we have been working on for years, committing to protect, prevent, and collaborate with the authorities dealing with organised crime. The IOM came to this conclusion after it collected information at the various landing sites and reception centres for migrants in different parts of southern Italy. The IOM functions with the aim of identifying potential victims and assisting those who escape their exploiters and are willing to accept its support. IOM Project Manager Carlotta Santarossa says the principal purpose of the report, whose English version will be released soon, was to highlight the painful reality of the hateful form of slavery being meted out on defenceless migrants. Santarossa also called on all relevant agencies to carry out an urgent data analysis and an examination of the market that these girls supply as well as the growing demand for paid sexual services. Libya has become the main transit point for hundreds of thousands of African refugees and migrants attempting to reach Europe through the Mediterranean Sea. Following the rejection of the directives by the Nigerian Army that all soldiers must learn to speak the three major languages in Nigeria by the House of Representatives, the Centre for Social Justice, Equity and Transparency [CESJET] have expressed dismay over the lack of depth in parliamentary processes. CESJET also decried the inability of the current set of National Assembly members to appreciate national issues instead of always attacking them, particularly its recent resolution on the directive of the Army for its officials to learn Nigeria's major languages before the end of 2018. According to CESJET, it is ridiculous that a decision by the Nigerian Army to foster unity, harmony and friendly relations between the military and the civilian population, particularly those of host communities is being misinterpreted by a section of the parliament without any understanding of the constitution which they swore to protect. The House had, in their resolution, said should the policy be allowed, it would give a head start to indigenous speakers of those languages, saying it is discriminatory and inimical to the cohesion in the Army. However, CESJET said Nigerians should, as a matter of urgency, organize for the training and reorientation of the legislators at the National Assembly and especially the House of Representatives to avoid the faux pax of ridiculous resolutions coming from the chambers most of the times. In a statement signed by the Executive Secretary of the Center, Comrade Ikpa Isaac, CESJET is making the call in view of the misinterpretation given to the recent advice by the Nigeria Army to its personnel in a bid to foster unity among serving officers which has been taken out of context. The Center further observed that the recent recommendations and resolutions from the National Assembly and particularly those from the House of Reps are beginning to suggest a lack of grasp of national issues, deficiency in the English language and a grotesque exhibition of laziness in exercising the rigour for successful legislation. CESJET said it is worried that the recent resolution of the House as reported by some media outlets in regards to the recent directive by the Army for personnel to enhance national unity and cohesion by learning and communicating in the three major Nigerian languages, has been twisted and remounted out of context to give it a slant that stands logic on its head. The center said the resolution by the parliament is as good as passing a vote of 'no confidence' on the spirit and letter of the 1999 constitution which states Inter alia: 'Section 55. The business of the National Assembly shall be conducted in English, and in Hausa, Ibo, and Yoruba when adequate arrangements have been made therefor. 56. (1) Except as otherwise provided by this Constitution, any question proposed for decision in the Senate or the House of Representatives shall be determined by the required majority or the members present and voting; and the person presiding shall cast a vote whenever necessary to avoid an equality of votes but shall not vote in any other case." "CESJET is therefore alarmed as to the rationale behind the House decision on a well thought out issue that is meant to cement the good spirit of patriotism, unity and internal cohesion amongst personnel of the Nigerian Army at one end and the larger society which they intend to serve," Comrade Isaac wondered. The Center cautioned the members to learn to conduct their businesses without any form of sentiment so as to serve the interest of the country and called for a constitutional amendment to raise the educational qualification of those eligible to be elected into the House. 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! As an entrepreneur, it is important to realize that most businesses have succeeded in getting more customers as a result of their presence on social media; thus resulting in their progress and expansion. This is no joke as it is happening everyday. But we're aware that not everyone has the required knowledge to take advantage of this opportunity. That is why we've decided to show you how you can go about it. However, we won't be talking about all the social media platforms, because our focus for today's discussion is on Snapchat. So the question is, why Snapchat? Unknown to most people, Snapchat currently has hundred million active daily users who watch seven billion videos per day and share nearly nine thousand photos every secondc. Thus making it a perfect platform to reach an unimaginable number of new audience. Read to see how you can use Snapchat to promote your business. 1. Develop content The importance of developing content on Snapchat cannot be overemphasized. And you can do this by creating valuable tutorials on any subject in your field of expertise. Let's assume you're specialized in catering, for example, you can show users how to make/prepare something by giving them a show of "How to." Additionally, you can give them the opportunity to see how you make your own products as well. You can also upload videos of major events where your food was the most interesting thing about the event. And if you are an event planner, a video or pictures of one or two successful functions organized by you will do just fine. 2. Build a relationship with your followers Yes, the idea is to promote your business but you must understand that people tend to think more about themselves than any other thing. So always say something that will interest your followers. Don't be all about you, you and you. This is how you can build a relationship with them, and only when you've succeeded in doing this will they start showing interest in your business 3. Engage your followers with contest When you've succeeded in building that needed relationship with your followers, engage them in organizing a contest. This competition should be carried out in such a way that you invite your followers to send you snaps of themselves using your product, visiting your store, recommending your products or even briefly explaining why they love your brand so much. And in other to get them involve, prizes should be offered. You can offer something small like a coupon to get 20% off their next purchase. 4. Go behind the scene There's something fascinating about behind the scene, it births curiosity and compels attention at the same time. Arouse in your fans that curiosity by inviting them to take a quick look into your warehouse or shipping room. A look behind the scenes of your office party is also good. However, you should bear in mind that where you choose doesn't really matter as the purpose of this content is to give your followers a sense of belonging by connecting them with you and your product. 5. Your follower count, counts Increasing your follower count is very important; because as the number of your followers increases, the more chances you have to expand the outreach of your business. And in other to do this, you must find a way to constantly create compelling content. Source for great stories to tell. Break news if need be. In fact, there's nothing wrong if you become a sort of blogger just for the purpose attracting more followers. As part of its mission to provide unrivalled imaging and printing office solutions to its teeming market in Nigeria, Tenaui Africa recently partnered with CMYK Studios-an indigenous print and market communications company in Lagos. The partnership was unveiled at the three day Canon exhibition, where Tenaui Africa Limited showcased the newest Canon large format printers, production printer, and digital imaging document solution in Lagos, Nigeria. Speaking of the partnership, the Chief Executive Officer of CMYK Studios, Dotun Adekunle said the synergy was borne out of the need to offer consumers the best printing solutions. While decrying the waste of paper, Adekunle believes that with an international brand like Canon, that Nigeria can achieve a green environment. ALSO READ: Roli Bode George joins printing gurus for Canon 3-day expo in Nigeria "Canon is a global and international brand that comes up with exciting printing solutions not just around printing but around imaging. "Imaging is important because we want to reduce the waste that is generated by print, so if you go into imaging where you can scan existing documents and keeping them and accessing them when it's needed, you don't have to keep or duplicate so much paper. "I think that if industries and large companies can adopt that, there will be a reduction of stack of files in offices everywhere. I'm sure if we push this we can be a green nation," said Adekunle. For the Managing Director of Tenaui Africa Limited, Yasser El-Farra the partnership with CMYK Studios was another success story of the company. Having being in the country for over five years, the company is excited about building more relationships with indigenous companies as well as helping international brands penetrate emerging markets in Nigeria and Africa. "The aim of this partnership is to increase the network. They can have their own customers but we give them support. What is the success story of Tenaui Africa today? What makes us different from other companies is that we did not come here to sell boxes, we came to educate, to teach people how to do business. This is our success story. Atiku was said to have stated this in an interview with Dele Momodu, ThisDay columnist and publisher of The Boss newspaper. The vice president made the revelation when Momodu asked him why he (Atiku) has been unable to enter the US - he said he has not been granted entry visa. "It is the sole prerogative of America to determine who they want in their country or not. Im not running away from America. I applied, but wasnt issued a visa," Atiku was quoted as saying. According to him, the US did not "categorically" deny him visa rather, "theyve only said my application is going through administrative process. "This is not peculiar to me. For about 15 years, Buhari could not enter America on account of religious considerations." He also cited the case of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi who he said was also unable to enter the US "for years". Atiku said: "Today, he (Modi) is being treated to red carpet treatment in America. I fly to different parts of the world, including Europe, if America wanted me, it would be so easy for them to reach out to their allies." ALSO READ: Atiku could ask for Obasanjo's help for 2019 presidential election The pamphlet alleged that the wife of the Brigadier makes ladies from the families of jawans dance in front of her and they are also not provided any health facility by the senior officer. By Ajit Kumar Dubey: A pamphlet was distributed at Dharamshala cantonment on Friday alleging that a Brigadier and his wife were ill-treating the troops and their families, in an alleged bid to tarnish the officer's reputation and lower the Army's morale. A small number of the flyers were distributed to the officers and men at the camp in Himachal Pradesh along with daily newspapers by an unknown person who paid around Rs 200 to the hawker, sources said. After the pamphlet was given to the Army troops, a picture of the handout was also spread extensively on WhatsApp and Facebook in the Army circles, they said. advertisement The pamphlet alleged that the wife of the Brigadier makes ladies from the families of jawans dance in front of her and they are also not provided any health facility by the senior officer. The letter also carried the allegation that the troops are not provided any vehicles for visiting the hospital at the nearby Yol cantonment and they are ill-treated when they go to the houses of the officer. The pamphlet also alleged that the Brigadier and his wife ridiculed the jawans of different units in front of them as Gurkha troops were mocked in front of the Sikh troops while the Sikhs were ridiculed in the presence of Gurkha troops. Sources say that to make it appear like the letter was written by jawans from the Dharamshala cantonment, the miscreants tried to show that there were issues between officers and jawans, complaining that while the troops don't have proper accommodation, the brigade commander had spent Rs 60 lakh on his own official house. As the pamphlet went viral in Army circles and people started criticising the officer for his behaviour with the jawans, the Army headquarters took notice of the matter and launched a preliminary probe. "During the initial inquiries done by the authorities concerned in the matter, it appeared to be the handiwork of two officers posted at the Dharamshala military station who had been pulled up by the brigade commander for not doing their work properly," Army sources told Mail Today. The sources said already a formal probe has been ordered to identify the culprits behind the pamphlet which may also be the handiwork of elements working for the Pakistani spy agency ISI. Army sources described the details mentioned in the pamphlet as "blatant lies with not even an iota of truth". "The matter has been investigated by general officer commanding (major general-rank officer) of the brigade and it seems that it is a malicious attempt by someone or the ISI trying to defame a genuinely good officer who has an impeccable history and background," the official sources said. On the allegation that the wife of the Brigadier makes the families of jawans dance in front of her, the sources said in the five-month tenure of the officer, "no party or dance as described has ever been conducted." The sources also clarified the charges that no medical facilities were provided to the families of the troops. advertisement The Dharamshala military station has two doctors with a small hospital with ambulance facility, they said. The only thing correct in the pamphlet was the name of the brigadier and his picture while everything else was false and fabricated by vested interests, added the sources. Recently, there was another fake letter that was shown to have been written by the directorate general of military intelligence on the motivation levels of the troops and was presenting a bleak picture on the issue. Later, it was discovered that the letter was made viral by the ISI. The Army quickly responded to the misinformation campaign on social media and trashed it in the cyber domain. --- ENDS --- According to latest revelations from the Maina hearing, President Buharis chief law officer flew all the way to Dubai to plead with Maina to return; and then facilitated Mainas reinstatement into the federal civil service. Before television cameras and a battery of newsmen, Malami couldnt deny outright that he committed the act of reinstating Maina who was dismissed from the governments payroll in 2013 for allegedly defrauding pensioners of billions of naira through the pension reforms task force. There are several pieces of the jigsaw sufficient enough to arrive at the conclusion that Malami it was who penned the letters to the civil service commission and the interior ministry; demanding that Maina be reinstated. The man hasnt denied the allegations. Instead, hes deployed evasive tactics and confusing legal speak to explain why he ferried someone who is running away from the law back into the civil service. President Buharihimself has been accused by Maina's family of knowing that the fugitive was going to be reinstated into the civil service. In which case we should also ask the president to tell us all he knows about the Maina reinstatement. Everything. Malami has emerged from this whole Maina saga reeking of excrement. The countrys chief law officer cant be flip-flopping on a matter this grave and be allowed to get away with it. It is often said of Buhari that he takes his time to make up his mind. Malami is probably on the next hit list of public officials to be fired by the president. There are speculations that hed be shown the exit door at the next cabinet reshuffle. ALSO READ: Wed urge Malami to resign before hes fired. When your integrity has been called to question on the job in a manner this deprecating, its always advisable to fall on your own sword or bite the bullet by throwing in the towel. They described the Nigerians involved in the slave business as more wicked than the Libyans and other participants. A recent CNN reports revealed the auctions of Africans, including Nigerians, in Libya. The shocking report has since generated global outcry and condemnation. President Muhammadu Buhari had ordered the evacuation of Nigerians stranded in Libya following the scandal. Recounting their ordeal, some of the returnees said they also sold by Nigerians. "Nigerians and Libyans are doing the business like they are one big happy family,"Harrison Okotie, 32, who lived in Libya for three years until his repatriation, told Punch. Another returnee, Sunday Anyaegbunam, who hails from Edo state, said they were sold twice by Nigerians during their nine-day journey through the desert. According to Anyaegbunam, he left Nigeria along with his wife in April 2017. He said their Nigerian "burger" (trafficker) sold them to a set of Libyan traffickers at Agadez, Niger, where they were subsequently sold to another Nigerian who took them to Sabha, Libya. They were separated into different cells when they got to Sabha. He recalled, "We were made to contact our families on the phone and I had to ensure the payment of N400,000 for my release and N300,000 for my wife. "The Nigerians selling people in Libya are more wicked than many of the Arabs. I have never seen people so heartless as the Nigerians who bought and sold me. "There are many of them in Agadez and Sabha, who are making so much money from selling their own people. But there are other West Africans doing the business too. "When you approach them and say, 'please, my brother, help me', they would tell you, 'no brother in the jungle. Esosa Osas, another Nigerian who was in Libya for six months, said she also confirmed that Nigerians were selling other Nigerians in Libya. "You dare not talk to them, else they would beat you and lock you up. "I noticed that the connection houses were also controlled by Nigerian women," she said. Kelvin Sunday, 21, who was in Libya for seven months, also recounted how they survived in the desert by drinking their own urine. ALSO READ: European and African leaders order repatriation of distressed migrants from Libya Sunday said he gathered N965,000 to get to Libya with the help of family and friends. "We were in the desert for three days without food or water...we were drinking our urine to survive. It got to a point that when there was no more urine to drink, we started to drink fuel," he said. "I call on our brothers in neighbouring countries ... to stop their aggression and lift the blockade ... and we will turn the page," the former president said in a televised speech. "We vow to our brothers and neighbours that, after a ceasefire is in place and the blockade is lifted ... we will hold dialogue directly through the legitimate authority represented by our parliament." The Saudi-led coalition, which has fought Saleh and the Iran-backed Huthi rebels since 2015, last month imposed a total blockade on the impoverished country after a rebel missile was shot down near Riyadh. Salame said he hoped the necessary conditions to hold a national vote would be in place "a few months from now" and urged Libyans "to seize the opportunity of attention being directed elsewhere" to work without foreign interference. "I feel that there is a lot of interference in the Libyan case... with weapons, money, you name it," he told a conference in Rome discussing today's challenges in the Mediterranean. But he said there was now "a window during which there is not the same level of interference". "Support for various actors has gone down," he added. "There is declining international interference (and) Libyans must come together and build permanent institutions". Salame unveiled a plan in September for a legislative and presidential vote by next year in a bid to end years of political turmoil after the 2011 overthrow of long-time dictator Moamer Kadhafi. He has insisted on a new constitution, which would be put before a referendum before elections and he wants a national conference to reintegrate all the country's squabbling actors. "Elections should never be a sort of quick fix solution," he said, adding that the country needed to meet such technical conditions as voter registration and the adoption of an electoral law. "Everyone who wants to vote needs to be able to do so safely and freely. We also need the political players to agree to accept the results," adding that "all conditions" had to be met for elections to be held. After a 2015 UN-backed agreement, a unity Government of National Accord (GNA) with Fayez al-Sarraj as prime minister took office in Tripoli last year. Property details: INVESTMENT PROPERTYDEMING, LUNA COUNTY, NEW MEXICOI own a nice 1 acre lot near Deming, New Mexico with close access to Interstate 10. This land is in an excellent location down the road from Las Cruces, New Mexico and El Paso, Texas. Tucson, Arizona is a 3-hour drive west on I-10. Local pick up for this sale is not necessary despite it saying so in the shipping instructions.TERMSI am selling the lot for $2,000 (monthly payments accepted). There is no minimum which must be met on the bid. The bid... Price: $ 50 Seller State of Residence: Illinois Zip/Postal Code: 88031 Type: Homesite, Lot Zoning: Residential State/Province: New Mexico Location: 798**, Sierra Blanca, Texas You will be redirected to eBay Nearby New Mexico , We're sorry, this article is not currently available Post 26/11 attack on Mumbai, coastal security has become the utmost concern for the nation. By Mayuresh Ganapatye: Coastal security is still a concern despite lot of measures being taken post 26/11. The Indian Navy feels small boats are one of the main concerns for coastal security as they are difficult to track. After 26/11 mastermind Hafiz Saeed has been released and the threat of a terrorist attack looms India, Indian Navy is keeping a close watch on all the inputs they are receiving from multiple agencies. advertisement Navy is not taking any input, related to coastal security, lightly. "We are monitoring all inputs. As a well coordinated effort we are getting inputs on the regular basis from other agencies. We are also keeping a close watch on areas which are vulnerable," said Vice Admiral Girish Luthra, Chief of Western Naval Command. Post 26/11 attack on Mumbai, coastal security has become the utmost concern for the nation. Since that day, a well coordinated multi-agency coordination is existing, the government claims. Multi-agency coordination includes Navy, coast Guard, marine police and Maritime security board. Post 26/11 attack all these agencies are sharing the intelligence inputs with each other. The question arises why does the Navy feel there are some loopholes in the system? "Small boats are a major loophole in coastal security. Many small boats have not installed tracking system, making it difficult for us to track them", said Luthra. 9 years since 26/11, the government, every year, claims that the security systems have been upgraded with latest technology but the concerns raised by the Western Naval Command Chief narrate another story. Luthra also cleared the air about retired submarine Sindhurakshak being used for practice target. He said that after they "got permission from government we sank it, and were not using Sindhurakshak as practice target". Speaking about future of retired ship Virat, Luthra said that few states showed their interest to turn this iconic warship into a museum. They have been asked to submit the final proposal after which a decision will be made. --- ENDS --- By PTI: New Delhi, Dec 2 (PTI) An IndiGo flight from Amritsar was forced to return to the bay today after the pilot applied brakes, while the plane was taxiing at full speed, due to a technical issue. The plane finally departed for the national capital after a one-hour delay. The airline said flight 6E-525 from Amritsar to Delhi rejected take-off due to a windshear warning. advertisement "Post returning, the warning was observed to be false. Flight departed after a delay of one hour post necessary maintenance checks," an IndiGo statement said. Wind shear applies to sudden change in wind direction and velocity which can cause loss in flight control. A passenger, who was on board the A320 aircraft, said the aircraft aborted take off at the last minute around 0700 hours today. "The aircraft was taxiing at the highest speed when the pilot abruptly applied brakes. It was very scary," the passenger told PTI. The flight was almost full, he claimed. IndiGo, the Gurgaon-based budget carrier flies its A320s with 180 seats in a single-class (all economy) configuration. The plane was then taken back to the bay, where engineers took about an hour to inspect the aircraft and declare it airworthy, he said. PTI IAS RAM AAR --- ENDS --- Kapiva's plans to introduce allopathy-like doses of ayurvedic remedies for the millennial consumer finds traction. Ayurvedic medicines still continue to be viewed as only a niche alternative to mainstream allopathic drugs. Baidyanath scion Ameve Sharma and entrepreneur Shrey Badhani set out to change this perception in 2015 via Kapiva Ayurveda, with a range of wellness products with both FDA (the US drug regulator) and GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice) certification. The products stemmed from a need to introduce allopathy-like doses of ayurvedic remedies for the millennial consumer. "While both of us grew up on a steady dose of ayurveda, we felt friends and colleagues in our age group did not trust the products, as they were not uniformly certified, said Sharma. Over the past three months, Kapiva Ayurveda has got in strategic investors, diluting almost 10 per cent of the business into equity. Madhu Kela (ex-investment head at Reliance Capital), Maninder Gulati (head of strategy at Oyo) and the Gilani family (which runs GITS Food) were brought on board. And, not only to fund but to guide the founders in different areas of decision-making. Lead investor Madhu will be helping us with long term strategic vision. "GITS has almost half their turnover from international markets and we wanted to leverage their acumen and distribution network for Kapiva. "Maninder Gulati has been helping us with corporate governance and hiring, with his extensive experience, said Sharma. Kapiva would be raising a larger Series-A fund to the tune of $8-10 million in the middle next year. In the US alone, we have 740 doctors on board who have tried samples and are prescribing ayurvedic alternatives of allopathic drugs, which generate almost 40 per cent revenue. "The rest of the revenue is generated through distribution via Indian supermarkets and online channels, says Sharma. The company is currently in talks with large supermarkets to expand their base, both through retailing and by setting up clinics in international locations. Within India, Kapiva has been seeing demand from Bengaluru and Hyderabad and is expanding in those cities next. It already has a range of clinics across Mumbai, Kolkata and Delhi. Right now, we are marketing in specific cities. Most of the marketing is localised through outdoor channels, digital media and sampling sessions. "We would like to be present in at least six to seven cities before the next round of fundraising, he said. The long-term goal for Kapiva is to be a market leader in herbal healthcare, including personal care products. It competes with Patanjali, Himalaya and Organic India in this category. We have a strong five-year plan for (annual) turnover of Rs 500 crore. Currently, we are targeting people who know about ayurveda to some extent. By next year, we will start larger campaigns, including television-specific advertisements, said Sharma. Photograph: Kind courtesy, Kapiva Ayurveda. Will the Financial Resolution and Deposit Insurance Bill endanger our bank deposits? Anup Roy finds out. Illustration: Uttam Ghosh/Rediff.com The proposed Financial Resolution and Deposit Insurance Bill would not worsen depositors' plight from what is currently with the present protections in place, say bankers and experts. Some commentators have suggested that the Bill, currently being examined by a Joint Parliamentary Committee for tabling in the winter session of Parliament, would take depositors' money to bail out banks and therefore, deposits are not safe. Under the Bill, there is a concept of 'bail-in', which would mean the bank's own money and that of depositors can be used to bail the lender out, instead of waiting for the government to pump money into it. This has spooked many. But bankers say under the present dispensation, deposits up to Rs 1 lakh is always insured by banks, and the Bill is not going to change that. "Since the amount is insured, if a bank fails, that would have to be serviced anyway. It has nothing got to do with the Bill," said a senior banker with a public sector bank. Under the present system, a resolution corporation would be set up that would decide on how the claimants, including depositors, would be paid at the time of liquidation of a bank or financial institution. The draft Bill is also clear about the payment aspect to depositors. The Insurance Fund shall be utilised by the corporation for 'payment of the specified amount or amount due, whichever is less, to a depositor of an insured service provider in respect of his deposit, in case of its liquidation'. Beyond that, the corporation will set out modalities by which payments have to go through. For example, in case of liquidation, the corporation may offer depositors some preferential shares. This, then, is an additional improvement over the extant system. In reality, no scheduled commercial bank has caused depositors to lose their money so far. In the past, there were cases of banks being in stress, in which the Reserve Bank of India forced those banks to merge with stronger banks. Such examples include Global Trust Bank, United Western Bank and Bharat Overseas Bank. "Bail-in only means that when an institution fails, somebody will have to take a hit. Every time the government cannot do so. But even today, if a bank fails, depositors will not get their full money," said a senior public sector banker. According to Abizer Diwanji, head of financial services at EY, the Bill only shows how a financial institution has to be wound up in a particular manner and there is nothing to be alarmed about depositors' money. The Bill is necessitated because financial firms cannot be liquidated under the same rules as the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code meant for corporations. TVS should be prepared for a rough ride as Bajaj Dominar, Mahindra Mojo, Royal Enfield Classic 350 and many others are stepping on the gas for a slice of this category. Having edged past Hero in the mass-market scooter segment, TVS Motor Company is turning its attention to premium bikes. As it gets ready to launch the Akula in partnership with BMW, the company says it is keen to ride up the category ladder while retaining its hold on the budget segment. At present TVS has the Apache range of bikes. It plans to launch Akula before the end of the year to add muscle to its premium portfolio. TVS should be prepared for a rough ride as Bajaj Dominar, Mahindra Mojo, Royal Enfield Classic 350 and many others are stepping on the gas for a slice of this category. The bike company says it has focused quite intensely on its marketing over the past two years with a single-minded goal to push up market shares. The result is visible in the volumes, especially in the premium segment (less than 200cc segment, up 600 bps YoY) and the scooter segment (up 270 bps YoY) for H1FY18. The companys overall market share stood at 14.5 per cent at the end of the previous financial year and in the medium term it is targeting 18 per cent. The company has lined up Rs 600 crore for expansion, product development and marketing. TVS Motor CEO, K N Radhakrishnan and Advisor S G Murali have both said that all TVS models have outperformed industry growth. The premium motorcycle industry has grown by 41 per cent this fiscal. According to Crisil, around 23 per cent of the motorcycles sold in the country today are in the premium category that is estimated at Rs 2,500 crores. TVS saw market shares in the premium segment surge to 23 per cent in April-September 2017, up from 17 per cent for the same period the previous year. We have gained five per cent in the premium market, that is kind of target we are looking at, said Radhakrishnan. IMAGE: TVS Motor unveiled the Akula 310 which is based on the BMW G 310 R. This concept also won the best concept for two-wheelers at the Auto Expo 2016, New Delhi. Photograph: Rajesh Karkera/Rediff.com. We are constantly seeking to offer technologically superior and stylish experience to our customers, says Aniruddha Haldar, vice-president, marketing, of the commuter motorcycles, scooters and corporate brand, TVS Motor. But how would the company differentiate its brand from the rest when all profess to offer the same? The company says that it will continue to talk up quality and talk to its customers more often. It will also try and understand the customer better. TVS says that in premium motorcycles, Apache RTR 160 is on top and Apache RTR 180 is in the top 3. In economy motorcycles (all motorcycles less than 125cc), TVS StaR City+ is on top and TVS Sport and TVS Victor 110 are in the top 5. The push to premium is being largely driven by a need to derive more value from the brand portfolio. For TVS, the mass entry-level market has helped build volumes and market share. Now with the BMW partnership and its new bikes in the 200cc plus segment, the company wants to go where margins are better than the cut-throat entry-level segment. IMAGE: Another view of TVS Motor's Akula 310 at the Auto Expo 2016, New Delhi. Photograph: Rajesh Karkera/Rediff.com. The new launch has been a while coming. The Akula is running more than a year late -- it was first committed for launch in 2015-2016. Besides the bike will have more than half a dozen competitors in the 300-400cc engine range, all priced between Rs 1.44-Rs3.5 lakhs. It will compete against the Bajaj Dominar, Mahindra Mojo, KTM Duke 390, Yamaha R3 (yet to be launched), Benelli TNT 300, Benelli 302R, Kawasaki Ninja 300 and Royal Enfield Classic 350. TVS has gained a stronger foothold on the commuter segment in the past couple of years giving it the confidence to line up a flurry of brand launches and expand the dealer network say analysts. It currently has 1,100 dealers and 3,100 sub-dealers. The company says it will introduce new vehicles apart from upgraded models across all categories in the second-half of FY18, to push margins up further. Gaurant Dadwal, research analyst at Nirmal Bang, says that TVS has aggressive new vehicle launch plans from the TVS-BMW platform. Significant market share gains could be restricted as the competition is becoming intense in scooter as well as motorcycle segments. We dont expect significant market share gains in domestic two-wheeler market for TVS in FY18, says Dadwal. IMAGE: The TVS Apache. Photograph: Courtesy TVS Motor Company/Facebook The company has strengthened its portfolio of brands over the past year, say some, and that bodes well for its future launches and margin expectations. Saksham Kaushal of Prabhudas Lilladher says that TVS was able to pass on the commodity cost increases unlike earlier. And that indicates greater faith in the brand within the company and among commuters. The company says its focus on the premium segment will not be at the cost of its mass market initiatives. It has been able to move up to second spot in this segment thanks to growing demand for its flagship Jupiter, TVS has a market share of 15.8 per cent compared to Hero MotoCorps 12.4 per cent (April-September 2017). A year ago (April-September 2016), Hero had 14.7 percent of the market and TVS was third with 13.1 percent. In the span of a year, TVS saw a 41 per cent jump in the scooter market shares. While this will continue to be the focus for the company, it now wants to extend its reach in the premium market too. Parekh, who is joining the company from Capgemini, will take over on January 2, 2018 India's second largest IT firm Infosys said on Saturday that it has appointed Salil S Parekh as its chief executive officer and managing director. Parekh, who is joining the company from Capgemini, will take over on January 2, 2018, Infosys said in a statement. 'He (Parekh) has nearly three decades of global experience in the IT services industry. He has a strong track record of executing business turnarounds and managing very successful acquisitions,' said Nandan Nilekani, chairman of Infosys Board. The board believes that Parekh is the right person to lead Infosys at this transformative time in the industry, he added. Previously, Parekh was associated with Capgemini where he was a member of the Group Executive Board. He has Master of Engineering degrees in Computer Science and Mechanical Engineering from Cornell University, and a Bachelor of Technology degree in Aeronautical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay. U B Pravin Rao will step down as the interim CEO and Managing Director effective January 2, 2018 and will continue as Chief Operating Officer and a whole-time Director of the company, Infosys said. Happy with Parekh's appointment, says Murthy Infosys founder NR Narayana Murthy expressed satisfaction at the appointment of Parekh and wished him well for the new role. Murthy had a protracted stand off with the previous Infosys management over issues of corporate governance and compensation to former executives, leading to the abrupt resignation of the then CEO, Vishal Sikka. 'I am happy that Infosys has appointed Salil Parekh as the CEO. My best wishes to him,' Murthy said in a brief statement. He, however, did not answer detailed queries on the development. This is the second time Infosys is bringing in an outsider for the top job. Sikka, who was brought in from SAP in 2014, was the first non-founder CEO at the over USD 10 billion company. In August this year, he resigned from the company following months of acrimony with high-profile founders, led Murthy, citing 'malicious' and 'personal attacks' on him. Nandan Nilekani, one of the co-founders of Infosys, was brought in as non-executive chairman to restore order at the embattled company. Photograph: Kind courtesy, Capgemini/Instagram 'Open defecation kills more Indians than any terrorist organisation could, but turning that around will take communicating that all Indians are created equal and that continuing this practice is anti-national,' points out Rahul Jacob. The 'Health of the Nation's States' report released by the Indian Council of Medical Research has many compelling statistics that reflect the uneven progress India's states have made improving public health, but the most striking is a comparison with China. Having reported on China's bustling southern provinces for three years immediately followed by about as long working in New Delhi, I believe comparing the two countries a waste of time. China is largely a developed world country while India is a wannabe, that is, a nation with a highly developed sense of wanting to be a superpower with little idea of how to become one. Nothing demonstrates this more vividly than the report's observation that the likelihood of the average Indian falling sick due to unsafe water and poor sanitation is 40 times higher than in China. If you want to understand why, a startling and surprisingly readable new book, Where India Goes: Abandoned Toilets, Stunted Development and the Costs of Caste provides the answers. It has many comparisons with the rest of the world, but the cohort the authors compare us to -- much more sensibly -- is mainly countries such as Laos and Bangladesh, which have made much faster progress than we have in drastically reducing the incidence of open defecation. The contamination of water supplies in rural India from more than half the population of the country defecating in fields and by the roadside contributes to repeated bouts of diarrhoea and widespread maternal and child malnutrition. The resulting 'stunting' and 'wasting' might sound like ugly jargon, but only begin to capture the tragedy of millions of Indian children growing up physically smaller and with reduced learning abilities before they have even entered school. Put another way as Bill Gates did recently, 'Data from 2005-2006 show that 48 per cent of young (Indian) children were malnourished. Since these children were born between 12 and 17 years ago, approximately half of new entrants to the workforce today, about 4.5 million each year, are less likely to fulfil their potential.' Dean Spears and Diane Coffey argue in Where India Goes, that it is not poverty, illiteracy or a lack of water that impedes the use of toilets. According to the 2011 Census, about half of rural households with water have no toilets; about the same proportion where one member has completed school continue to defecate outside. More than 80 per cent of countries with worse literacy rates than India's have lower percentages of people leaving their faeces out in the open to, in effect, unwittingly poison their neighbours and their toddlers. The culprit is caste. Medieval notions of purity and cleanliness make many in rural India unwilling to have a toilet at home. Equally problematic, for a country seeking to eradicate open defecation by prime ministerial edict by October 2019 -- the rate of decline would have to be accelerated by a multiple of 12 to meet that hyped-up goal -- is that most villagers are unwilling to close and then empty inexpensive open-pit latrines for reuse, long after the contents have decomposed into compost. Such latrines have helped countries such as Bangladesh quickly bring down their rates of open defecation. When his uncles soak-pit latrine needed to be emptied out, a young Brahmin recounts, however, the family in Sitapur had to get someone in Lucknow, some 90 km away, to empty it for Rs 5,500 for a two-hour job. (The normal daily wage is Rs 200.) A woman named Priya, from a lower caste, explains why her family cannot empty a latrine pit; the work can only be done by 'bhangis; they have been created (by God) for this work'. On the next page, a pasi (a traditionally pig-rearing Dalit caste) voices much the same view: 'People won't eat with us and they won't drink water from our cups.' To his credit, Parameswaran Iyer, the drinking water and sanitation secretary, helped empty a pit to change villagers' opinions; he has a bottle of the proceeds on his desk in Delhi. "It is manual scavenging when it is fresh excreta," he said n March. "This is plain odourless compost." Government and non-governmental organisations in Bangladesh relied on community efforts to galvanise villagers. Bangladesh has almost eradicated open defecation -- down from 42 per cent in 2003. At the end of their fascinating investigation into the hurdles India faces as it tries to combat open defecation with the same largely unsuccessful strategy of the past few decades of building toilets instead of changing attitudes about caste and, erm 'cleanliness', Spears and Coffey remain realists. 'Promoting social equality is indeed a more difficult path to eliminating open defecation than that other countries have faced,' concludes one of the most admirable and important books I've ever read. 'Lest this fact seem discouraging, it will also have much greater benefits.' A proudly Hindu nationalist government is better placed in theory to rid us of our adherence to open defecation. It kills more Indians than any terrorist organisation could, but turning that around will take communicating both that all Indians are created equal and that continuing this practice is anti-national. Can our politicians measure up to this challenge? There is no more urgent task. IMAGE: Prime Minister Narendra D Modi at an event to mark Swachh Bharat Diwas: The 3rd anniversary of the launch of the Swachh Bharat Mission, New Delhi, October 2, 2017. Photograph: Press Information Bureau. This is what he said on that occasion. The key element of the bill is to recognise instant triple talaq as a cognizable criminal offence, punishable with up to 3 years in jail along-with a fine. The bill also proposes a subsistence allowance for the victims of instant triple talaq. By Rahul Shrivastava: Husbands who indulge in instant triple talaq in any form- oral, written or through any electronic message may soon face imprisonment of up to three years along with a financial penalty. According to sources, a draft bill terming instant triple talaq or talaq-e-biddat, a criminal offence is ready and will be now sent to states for a review. advertisement If a general consensus is achieved, the draft will be taken up in the forthcoming Winter Session of Parliament, starting December 15. THE PROVISIONS IN THE PROPOSED ANTI- INSTANT TRIPLE TALAQ BILL The key element of the bill is to recognise instant triple talaq as a cognizable criminal offence, punishable with up to 3 years in jail along-with a fine. If the bill is passed in this Winter Session of Parliament, the new law will adjudicate all cases of instant triple talaq from second week of January 2018. Some reports say that the new law will not be binding in Jammu and Kashmir. The bill proposes a sustenance allowance for the victims of instant triple talaq- it will also include provisions for custodial rights. HOW WILL THE LAW WORK The new law once enacted would empower the victim of instant triple talaq to approach a magistrate. She can seek "subsistence allowance" for herself and her minor children- especially in cases where she has been asked to leave the house. On all relevant issues like right to allowance and custody of minor children the magistrate will take the final call. DIFFICULT TO GET STATES ON BOARD The government decided to act against complaints of instant triple talaq and the weakness of the provisions in the Domestic Violence Act to directly and suitably deal with the problem. However, a senior NDA minister said that it will be difficult to get consensus from states as political parties may not want to take on the clergy- eyeing their command over the votes. MODI APPOINTED A TEAM TO STUDY ISSUE According to reports, the government has been working on the bill since August after the Supreme Court passed a landmark judgement, declaring instant triple talaq unconstitutional. But, despite the apex court's ruling, the lack of law to deal with the victims' pleas rendered the judgement useless. As many as 68 cases of instant triple talaq were recorded after the Supreme Court ban on the divorce practise. advertisement Soon after the verdict, PM Modi had set up a committee comprising- Finance minister Arun Jaitley, Home minister Rajnath Singh, External Affairs minister Sushma Swaraj and Union law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad to study the issue and suggest a way out. The committee held several meetings, after which this draft was prepared. --- ENDS --- 'It is clear that Britain is a country with a limited future,' says Rajeev Srinivasan. Illustration: Uttam Ghosh/Rediff.com I made a quick trip to Britain, on a sad errand: A death in the family of an uncle, and I thought it was important for me to be there to show my personal support, as they have stood by me in my own troubled times, for decades. Even though we were engrossed in the family's grief, the patriarch and I spoke about politics, as we often do, and it was probably a good thing for him to take his mind off the immediate matters at hand. It is clear that Britain is a country with a limited future. On a macro level, its decline is gathering steam. The British currency, which not long ago was at Rs 100+, is now at about Rs 85+, mostly the result of Brexit woes. There was also a startling news story that about $490 billion of reserves had simply vanished, which I took to mean that instead of having a healthy ability to pay for its imports, Britain suddenly has negative reserves. But I didn't hear much more about that story, certainly not when I was in the country. However, the general impression that I have had is that irreversible decline has set in, and that it's only a matter of time before the country, in effect, vanishes from consideration because it is no longer relevant. While I was in the UK, in passing, I read that India's GDP had overtaken two more of the OECD's stalwarts, Italy and one other country that I cannot remember right now. It cannot be long before India overtakes Britain as well. That is remarkable in many ways. Consider the economic impact of Britain on India. When the British first showed up in India around 1700CE, India was by far a bigger economy, accounting for something like 23% of global GDP, as compared to Britain which had a share something like 3%. (These numbers are from memory). But they proceeded to systematically dismantle India's economy, looting by my count $10 trillion: I am sure Shashi Tharoor has similar numbers in his book on empire. When they left in 1947, the situation was reversed, some 18% of global GDP (UK) to 4% (India). In other words, 1757 (Plassey) to 1947 -- 190 years -- they had beggared us. These facts are widely known, based on Angus Maddison's magisterial work for the OECD. But the interesting thing is that in a mere 70 years, we have climbed right back up, and we are on the point of overtaking the UK. Consider the significance of that fact. India has been poor, extremely badly run, corrupt, suffers from all sorts of disasters, has such brutal red tape (thank you, Britain) that almost nothing can get done, and we have had to bear the albatross of the 'Nehruvian Penalty' and yet, and yet, we have caught up with the imperial overlords, and if you look at the forecasts, India will overtake Japan and become the third biggest economy by 2030. In other words, inefficient India has erased the entire baleful effect of 200 years of colonial loot in just 80 years. This is what my uncle and I discussed: The fact that, even with its handicaps, India has decisively come back and looks unstoppable, gives us a glimpse of how much the British ravaged us. And how much potential there is in India. He and I differ on Nehru (he left India many decades ago, and still thinks Nehru did something useful), but we agree that Britain has a curious situation: It still lives on old glory; for instance, it doesn't need and cannot afford the 'independent nuclear deterrent'. Without America's explicit support, Britain cannot go to war. It is useful to contrast Britain with Japan. Given Shinzo Abe's dramatic victory in the polls, it is likely that Japan will come out of the post-colonial diffidence it exhibits. To be precise, it is probable that the forcible pacifism that the American-imposed constitution has saddled Japan with will go. Article 9 will likely be dropped, and Japan will then be able to have a real army like all real countries do, instead of having a fiction that it has a 'self-defence force'. So Japan will have to build up its army, navy and air force and a nuclear deterrent. It has good reason to: It has imperial China right next door, a continent-sized Nazi Germany intent on lebensraum. Therefore, the American 'nuclear and defence umbrella' is no longer enough. Japan, which has the money, needs to built up its own nuclear deterrent to keep rampaging China at bay, especially as America is withdrawing post-haste from Asia, citing its own financial problems. But consider Britain. Who is going to attack it? And why would anyone attack Britain? Russia? Hardly, as it has better things to do, and is itself in serious decline. So, to be blunt, Britain should give up its imperial pretensions and its nuclear deterrent, and spend more on its domestic problems, which are many: It has to admit that it is somebody's junior partner. It doesn't like being dominated by Germany and France (hence Brexit); then it might as well be America's 51st state de jure as well as de facto. The contrast goes even further. The ghost of colonial loot is coming back to haunt Britain. It got used to having a helpless empire (read India) from which it forcibly extracted raw materials, manufactured inferior products, and forcibly made the empire (read India again) buy their stuff. Therefore (this is for you free marketeers) it never had the incentive nor felt the competitive pressure to make world-class products efficiently (unlike Japan). And it has no idea how to do that. Karma is a bitch, eh? The empire is striking back. I was wondering what to buy in the UK. I tried to crowd-source ideas on twitter. All that tweeple could think of was alcohol (single-malt whiskey, Irish gin). Since I am not indulging much in alcohol any more, I ended up going to the Cadbury factory in Bournville and buying some chocolate. I suppose I could have bought a Burberry trench-coat (I used to eye them enviously when I was living in California) but it's not much use in India, and I have a serviceable Burlington coat that I can use when I go to cold places. This is symptomatic of a malaise. Britain has almost no competitive advantage in anything. Yet, it is living lavishly, well beyond its means so far as I can tell: The roads are full of shiny new cars, and I saw a whole lot of BMWs, Audis and Mercedeses, all of which are presumably imported from Germany. How's that going to work with their missing $490 billion? The Germans will demand one day to be paid in real money. And then there are all these stories we hear about: Rotherham, the British soldier hacked to death by jihadists, and so on. So I was expecting to see obvious signs of decline. To my surprise, my travels in London and points south as well as in Birmingham and surroundings, did not give me the impression that things were that bad. I stayed in a rather pleasant B&B, ate the 'full English breakfast', and found the highways and roads and buses and supermarkets all fairly prosperous. I didn't even see the kind of boarded up malls and declining strip malls I saw in California. I also spoke with the inevitable Uber drivers: You cannot write a story without quoting their folk wisdom (sort of like barbers in the old days). One was an Afghan refugee who had migrated to Peshawar, Pakistan, and then to the UK. He has been living in the UK for 17 years, and he told me how the country has given his children an education and healthcare for all of them. He also said that people take advantage of the country, and he felt that people should pay taxes and not mooch off the system. He said he liked Uber, which, unlike some other call-taxi services, did not cheat the system. The other was an Indian from Delhi who has been in the UK for nine years. He has a Mercedes car as his Uber vehicle. He was also positive about what he had been able to accomplish in the country, although he felt that socially India was better especially in terms of the support system. With all this, I am surprised. I was looking at the prices of real estate, and houses cost an absolute fortune, and I don't know that British people make a lot of money in salaries. So how on earth are they seemingly so prosperous? I used to wonder about this when I came from America too: everything costs a lot more in Britain than in America (in effect, whatever costs $1 in the US costs 1 British pound, about 30% more today), and yet people make less money, and they are all well-dressed and eating out all the time and going on holidays. How on earth? Is there some kind of elaborate Ponzi scheme going on? I wouldn't put it past the Brits to have figured out some really clever scheme where they are still milking us all. Or is it that they have mortgaged themselves to the Saudis and the Chinese and are selling the family silver just to keep up appearances? I really would like to know. I went to Britain with every intention of indulging in schadenfreude (I had wagered that they would opt for Brexit, which I think, objectively speaking, is absolutely stupid and disastrous for them); their leaders are hapless (PM Theresa May gave a speech that appalled me, and the leader of the Opposition is a wild-eyed socialist who gives me the willies); they are being over-run by Muslims (but to be honest I saw fewer burqa-clad women in the UK than I do in Bangalore); nobody is bothered about Britain any more (other than their journalists in the Economist and the Financial Times). So why doesn't it feel like doom and gloom? Is there a serious optical illusion in place? I really would like to know. We need some of that in India with the purveyors of doom in the Lutyens media rampant. IMAGE: People receive essential commodities at a relief camp following the impact of cyclone Ockhi in the Kanyakumari district on Saturday. All photographs: PTI Photo It is not the first time Kerala fishermen have faced a turbulent sea, but the sheer ferocity of Cyclone Ockhi has shaken them badly. Trapped in violent waters, with no food or water, desperate eyes searching for help in the middle of a turbulent sea -- sum up the helplessness of the fishermen. Though many fishermen were brought ashore safely and admitted to hospitals, many are yet to recover from the shock of wrestling the lashing waves and seeing death face-to-face. Stephan, a fisherman hailing from nearby Poonthura, said he was terrified on seeing a rescue boat move away without seeing them and hearing their cries. IMAGE: Stranded fisherman being brought to Kerala coast by Indain Navy personnel, in Kochi on Saturday. It was the first time we were experiencing such huge waves and a rough sea. Luckily, the rescue boat came back and saved us, Stephan, who is recuperating at the Government Medical College Hospital in Thiruvanthapuram, said. Most of the rescued fishermen had bruises all over their bodies and were seen shivering and begging for hot water and food when brought ashore. Titus, another fisherman hailing from Neendakara in Kollam district, said he had never seen such a violent sea even in movies. He said strong winds virtually threw them in the sea and that they somehow managed to hold on to the boat, till the rescue team arrived. IMAGE: People gathered at a relief camp following the impact of Ockhi, in Kochi on Saturday. His fellow fisherman Kennedy said their boat drifted aimlessly for around 100 km in the gusty winds. Meanwhile, anxious families of fishermen, who are yet to return, expressed their anguish and protested by holding roadblocks in various places in Thiruvanthapuram. The weeping women said they were waiting with prayers and tears for their beloved ones to return. WATCH: Rescue ops by Coast Guard Ship ICGS Sarathi and ICGS Shoor off Kerala coast As many as 531 fishermen, stranded in the choppy waters off the Kerala and the Lakshadweep coasts due to the cyclone, have been rescued, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said on Saturday. So far 393 people from Kerala have been rescued, Vijayan said, as the state government announced a compensation of Rs 10 lakh to the family of those who died in the storm. Of the rescued, 132 fishermen were from the state capital Thiruvananthapuram, 66 from Kozhikode, 55 from Kollam, 40 from Thrissur, and 100 from Kanyakumari, Vijayan told reporters. Besides, 138 fishermen have been rescued from the Lakshadweep islands, he said. Vijayan said the Rs 10-lakh compensation would be in addition to the financial assistance of Rs four lakh being given by the fisheries department. Assistance will also be provided to those who had lost their boat and equipment, he added. In Lakshadweep, 31 relief camps have been opened in the 10 inhabited islands. So far, 1,047 people have been evacuated to the relief camps, official sources said. IMAGE: Banana plantation damaged due to heavy rainfall caused by the cyclone. No casualties have been reported, with the worst-affected islands being Minicoy and Kalpeni. Seven people have lost their lives in Kerala in rain-related incidents over the past two days, official sources said. The state government has opened 29 relief camps in various places. Several houses suffered damage, coconut trees got uprooted and communication lines were disrupted as rains accompanied by strong winds lashed the Lakshadweep islands under the influence of Cyclone Ockhi. Five fishing boats were damaged early on Saturday at Kalpeni Island as water level rose due to heavy rains, sources said. The 'very severe' cyclonic storm Ockhi -- which in Bengali means 'eye' -- over Lakshadweep is likely to intensify further in the next 24 hours. It is likely to continue to move west-northwestwards across Lakshadweep islands during the next 24 hours and then recurve north eastwards during the subsequent 48 hours, according to the latest Met department bulletin. IMAGE: A man watches a road that has been cut off due to floods following the heavy rainfall caused by the cyclone which left heavy damage in the Kanyakumari district. Minicoy Island in Lakshadweep received 14cm of rains in the last 24 hours ending at 8.30 on Saturday morning, Met department sources said. Coconut trees have been uprooted in various places and houses damaged in eastern Kalpeni and Minicoy, official sources said, adding the extent of the damage was being assessed. The breakwater jetty, the embarkation and disembarkation point to Kalpeni island, has suffered severe damage. Gale winds with speed reaching 120-130kmph gusting to 145kmph is very likely over Lakshadweep in the next 24 hours and gradually decrease thereafter, the met bulletin said. Giant waves were expected along the Kerala coast, official sources said. The Tamil Nadu government on Saturday requested the Centre to deploy helicopters of the Indian Navy and Coast Guard for the search and rescue of missing fishermen, mostly from Kanyakumari. Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami made the request as he discussed the situation with Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh. Singh had called up the chief minister and sought details on the damage caused by the the cyclone, an official release said. IMAGE: Stranded fisherman being brought to Kerala coast by Indain Navy personnel. Palaniswami told Singh that Kanyakumari and Tirunelveli had suffered the worst damage, and detailed the relief work being carried out in full swing there, it said. Further, most of the fishermen who had ventured out to sea were rescued by the state fisheries department and the Coast Guard, he said. "The chief minister requested (Singh) that the Coast Guard and Navy should continue assisting the state government in swiftly rescuing the fishermen who have not returned so far, and that helicopters of Coast Guard and Navy should be deployed for this purpose," the release said. The Indian Navy and the Coast Guard continued search for missing fishermen using ships, dornier aircraft and helicopters in the rough sea off Kerala and Lakshadweep. While INS Nireekshak, INS Jamuna and INS Sagardhwani are continuing search and rescue operations in their designated areas along the coast off Vizhinjam in Thiruvananthapuram and Kollam, two ships INS Shardul and INS Sharda are heading towards Lakshadweep, a defence spokesman said. Fishermen, tourists and coastal population have been advised not to venture into the sea for the next 48 hours as the sea conditions are likely to be non-conducive due to the effect of Ockhi. A Coast Guard advisory in Mangaluru said the status of weather and sea conditions should be checked on television, radio, newspapers and smart phone applications before venturing out into the sea. The merchant ships should also be alert and avoid the path of Cyclone Ockhi, it said. On being asked why he doesn't talk about his humble background like Modi, Singh said, 'I don't want the country to take a pity on the basis of my humble background.' In a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, his predecessor Manmohan Singh on Saturday said Modi failed to understand the pains of his note ban and goods and services tax decisions were going to unleash on the people of his own home state. Calling demonetisation an uninformed, half-baked crusade and GST a badly designed and hastily implemented measure, Singh also lamented the low-level rhetoric used by the ruling party. "I wish the prime minister would find more dignified ways of impressing upon the crowds and seeking their votes..., he said. "Just as you were recovering from one blow (of demonetisation), came the GST. Nobody consulted you or tried to understand how your dhandha (business) works," he told a gathering of members of the local business community in Surat. "The prime minister is from Gujarat, and he claims to understand Gujarat and the poor more than anyone else. How is it that he never understood the pains his decisions will unleash on you?" Singh asked. "Your business works on trust and relationships. Without trust in each other, Surat will collapse. You extended this trust to the prime minister and his promise of 'acchhe din' (good days). The hope symbolised in those dreams now lies shattered," he said. In Surat alone, 89,000 powerlooms were sold as scrap and it led to a loss of 31,000 jobs, Singh said. "There are countless such examples from industrial clusters and big mandis (markets) from across the country." China benefited from this situation, he claimed. "In FY 2016-17, India's imports from China stood at Rs 1.96 lakh crore. During the same period in FY 2017-18, the imports from China increased to Rs 2.41 lakh crore. This unprecedented increase in imports by more than Rs 45,000 crore, a 23 per cent increase in a year, can be attributed largely to demonetisation and GST. "These twin blows damaged India's MSME sector and our businesses had to turn to Chinese imports at the cost of India jobs," the senior Congress leader said. On demonetisation, Singh said, "This is an uninformed, half-baked crusade on black money where he (Modi) painted everyone as a thief, while real culprits have gotten away." The goods and services tax was badly designed and hastily implemented, the economist-turned-politician said. Maintaining that demonetisation was not the solution to the problem of black money and tax evasion, Singh said the costs of demonetisation substantially exceeded its benefits, and the decision proved to be mere bluster to reap political dividends while the real offenders have escaped. Demonetisation and GST have also sown a deep-rooted fear of tax terrorism among the business community, he said. "At a time when the economy has slowed down considerably, despite favourable global macro-economic conditions, the fear of tax terrorism has eroded the confidence of the businesses to invest," he said. "This attitude of suspecting everyone to be a thief or anti-national, the low-level rhetoric is damaging the democratic discourse and has real consequences for how we relate to one another as citizens. Political leaders must stick to the high road," he said. On being asked why he doesn't talk about his humble background like Modi, Singh said, "I don't want the country to take a pity on the basis of my humble background." "I do not think I would like to enter in any competition with Prime Minister Modi ji on this particular matter," Singh said. Singh said on every social indicator, from infant and maternal mortality rates to female literacy, Gujarat has fallen behind the best performing states, including Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. He said the recent agitations by the youth cutting across different sections of the society were an indication of the deep dissatisfaction with the performance of successive Bharatiya Janata Party governments. The former prime minister said a Congress government in the state will hear the voice of every Gujarati regardless of caste, creed, gender or class. Later, talking to reporters, Singh strongly denied Modi's allegation that the Congress and Congress-led governments hated Gujaratis. "Nothing can be farther from the truth. I realise that many things are said in election times. But when they are gross distortions, they need to be rebutted," he said, adding that Jawaharlal Nehru, the country's first prime minister, and the most famous Gujarati Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel worked hand-in-hand, and nothing is gained, as is often attempted by Modi, by pitting the two great leaders apart. Modi was denigrating the country when claiming that Congress party did nothing in 70 years, the former PM said. "I wish the prime minister would find more dignified ways of impressing upon the crowds and seeking their votes without resorting to statements which denigrate our country," he said. "...While denigrating the past, the prime minister also tends to exaggerate what he will do in future. He was recently quoted in the press as saying that India will become a developed country by 2022," Singh said, adding that to achieve that, India needed to grow at the rate of 35 per cent per year. The government should get out of the culture of constant self-praise, Singh said. In the ten years of UPA (United Progressive Alliance)-I and II, when I was the prime minister, we produced 7.8 per cent GDP growth on average. This includes the slow-down in the last two years of our government. When the present government took over, they said they would take growth to 8 to 10 per cent. Modi so far has produced an average of only 7.3 per cent in the first three years," he said. With ANI inputs. IMAGE: Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Photograph: Amit Dave/Reuters How Raipur's District Collector Om Prakash Choudhary ensures that poor children study at good schools. R Krishna Das reports. Illustration: Dominic Xavier/Rediff.com The daughter of a cook sharing a bench with a 'raj kumar' (prince) in a classroom sounds like the premise of a film. In Chhattisgarh's capital, Raipur, Janvi Yadav and several others like her are enacting this script in real life. Janvi has got admission in Class I at the Rajkumar College, which, since its establishment in 1882, has traditionally admitted children from royal families. Janvi's father, a cook, earns Rs 8,000 a month -- an amount several of her classmates spend on fuel. More than 5,000 children from economically weaker sections and disadvantaged groups in Raipur district have got admission into elite private schools. Their admission is thanks in large part to the initiative of Om Prakash Choudhary, the young district collector of Raipur. "Soon after I took charge (in April 2016), the admission process started in schools," Choudhary says. "I noticed several institutions indulging in malpractices to avoid admitting poor children." Several schools claimed they did not receive applications under the Right to Education Act, which mandates that private unaided schools reserve 25 per cent of their seats for children from financially disadvantaged backgrounds. The records of RTE admissions were fudged and did not reveal how many poor children actually got admission. The manipulation compromised the future of several poor children, who would otherwise have got the chance to a better education, he says. A 2005-batch IAS officer, Choudhary was brought up by his mother after his father died when he was in Class II. His mother had not completed Class V. The school he attended in Bayang village in Raigarh district had no teacher in Class XII and there were only four classes on mathematics during the entire academic year. "When you think of any concept, your background and life experiences play an important role," says Choudhary. He believes that every child -- whether the one living in remote Dantewada or the one in New Delhi's posh RK Puram area -- has equal opportunity to education. "Like equality in society, there should also be equality in education," he says. The collector and his team decided to use technology to build a transparent system for admission under RTE. They introduced the Right to Education Pardarshi (transparency) project after updating the management information system. As part of the project, applications were invited online. "Initially, I was sceptical of the success of the system, given that poor people would have limited or no access to the Internet," he says. Choudhary was surprised when more than 90 per cent of the applications were received online. In all, 5,589 children from EWS and DG got admission into top-tier schools. Last year, 2,800 children were admitted under RTE, although Choudhary doubts the figure because of charges of falsification. What was his biggest challenge? "Changing the mindset of prestigious institutions to admit poor children," he says. The collector took the lead and talked to the managements of the schools. Janvi and other students enrolled under the RTE Act will get education free of cost. Typically, private schools in Raipur charge anywhere between Rs 30,000 and Rs 150,000 a year. Choudhary acknowledges that his responsibilities don't end here. "We have set up a separate wing for monitoring the progress of the students admitted under RTE," he says. The monitoring system will track students' attendance and progress in class and identify where they are facing difficulties. This week, China and the Maldives signed a Free Trade Agreement that took India by surprise. 'Agreements signed between the Maldives and China have seriously worried India,' reports Aditi Phadnis. IMAGE: A scene from Male, the Maldivian capital. The man in the posters is Abdulla Yameen, the Maldives' president. Photograph: Reuters Mohamed Nasheed, ousted president of the Maldives, living in exile, and the man who tried to propel Maldives towards a multiparty democracy, was in India recently. The Maldives is in a political shambles. And all Indians ought to be concerned. The Maldives was a single-party State until 2008. The executive was in charge of the civil service, the security forces and the judiciary. It also had control over parliament through a 'constitutionally appointed' group of members of parliament. The country was ruled for 30 years by Maumoon Abdul Gayoom. This was challenged by Nasheed who became president of the Maldives after forming his Maldivian Democratic Party in exile, contesting the 2008 presidential elections and winning 54 per cent of the vote. A new constitution was formulated, but in 2012, Nasheed was overthrown with the help of the security forces and put under home detention. In 2013, fresh presidential elections were held and former president Gayoom's half-brother, Abdulla Yameen, became president through what Nasheed supporters say was a rigged election. For several hours afterwards, Nasheed sought 'refuge' in the Indian high commission, making India a factor in the internal politics of the Maldives. Nasheed was in prison for nine months; he was tried and found guilty of terrorism and given a 13-year jail sentence. He then sought to go to the UK for surgery where he sought and got the status of a refugee. If he returns to his country he will be arrested to serve the rest of his sentence. Not surprisingly, this caused a vacuum in the MDP's top leadership. Meanwhile, Yameen became very active on the foreign policy front, hoping foreign powers would help secure his own position if it was threatened. Chinese President Xi Jinping's September 2014 visit to the Maldives was his first visit to South Asia, signalling the balance of power dimension to India. Xi was accompanied by a 100-member business delegation and mooted the idea of a Maritime Silk Road connectivity between China and the Maldives. As this required land, the Maldives constitution (which previously prohibited foreign ownership of any part of Maldivian territory, but allowed leasing of land for up to 99 years) was amended to allow foreigners, who invest more than $1 billion, to buy land within the project site, the only condition being that at least 70 per cent of the area of the completed project must be reclaimed land. Chinese tourists are flocking to the Maldives. This is part of the plan. Other agreements signed between the Maldives and China have seriously worried India like the Maldivian offer to China to develop its main airport as part of its iHaven project. India's GMR had earlier got the contract to build the same airport, later cancelled and taken to international arbitration that GMR won. GMR got the contract during the Nasheed administration and lost it when Nasheed was overthrown. Yameen's last visit to India in 2016 saw New Delhi endorsing him, rectifying its pro-Nasheed tilt. Prime Minister Narendra D Modi and Yameen signed a defence agreement. This was nothing short of a dramatic turnaround. Barely a year earlier, India had almost openly sided with the Nasheed administration, going so far as to lobby with the Commonwealth Ministerial Group to sanction the Maldives for overthrowing Nasheed in a 'coup' (Yameen responded by quitting the Commonwealth altogether). India and China are not the only countries in the mix. The Maldives is an Islamic republic and is 100 per cent Sunni. The first Maldivian embassy in Riyadh was opened only in 2014, but it was the first embassy in any Middle Eastern country. And after the constitutional amendment in 2015 allowing foreigners to own land, Saudi Arabia has drawn up plans for a massive integrated development project in the Maldives, fuelling speculation of the sale of Faafu Atoll to that country. Following his visit to the kingdom in 2016, Yameen had declared that the Maldives and Saudi Arabia are 'currently at the peak of diplomatic relations'. The risk of this increased visible presence of Saudi Arabia is that it could have an even more radicalising effect on the Maldives' young population: Already, hundreds of young Maldivians are in Syria to join Is. A Maldivian national, Ibrahim Fauzee, imprisoned in Guantanamo Bay for his connections with Al Qaeda, has since been released and runs an Islamic Foundation in Male. Politician-entrepreneurs have not really allowed the Islamic clergy to play a role in politics. Maldives will see presidential elections in 2018. India will be watching the outcome closely. Speaking to India Today, Union HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar said problem lies with the deployment of available teachers because most teachers do not want to work in rural areas. Excerpts from an interview with Union HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar Q. Shiksha Mitras held huge protests in UP recently... A. A large number of teachers were appointed under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan and RTE. It's impossible to confirm all of them at one go. Since education is a state subject, every state has its own rules. However, the Centre had mandated TET as a qualification. The appointment of those who did not clear TET has now been reversed in UP. The government has organized a second TET exam. After RTE, teachers were given the option of getting a diploma in education. Some 4-5 lakh teachers did, but another 15 lakh did not. Now they have been given another chance, till 2019. advertisement Q. Last December, you told Parliament there were close to nine lakh primary school teacher vacancies. A. That is not true. The student teacher ratio should be 30, so there are enough teachers. The problem is in their deployment. No one wants to go to rural areas, so the shortage seems starker there. That is why we have instructed all states to ensure proper deployment. Q. Are there more vacancies in UP and Bihar? A. No, you are not counting the Shiksha Mitras. Q. What concrete steps is the Centre taking on primary education? Is the RTE being reviewed? A. We are not reviewing RTE, we are in fact strengthening it. We have defined learning outcomes. On the basis of these, a National Assessment Survey was done on November 13, which will henceforth be an annual exercise. Q. The states complain that they do not have enough funds for primary education. A. That is not so. In 2014, states used to get Rs 3 lakh crore, which has gone up to Rs 6 lakh crore now. The 14th Finance Commission had recommended that allocation for education be increased 10 per cent every year. States that aren't doing so are the ones now complaining. --- ENDS --- Jared Kushner is said to be the member of US President Donald Trump's transition team who directed former NSA Michael Flynn to contact Russia on a UN Security Council resolution regarding Israeli settlements. More information under 'FLYNN-KISLYAK CONVERSATIONS' below. By AP: Michael Flynn, the retired general who vigorously campaigned at Donald Trump's side and then served as his first national security adviser, pleaded guilty Friday to lying to the FBI about reaching out to the Russians on Trump's behalf and said members of the president's inner circle were intimately involved with - and at times directing - his contacts. advertisement His plea to a single felony count of false statements made him the first official of the Trump White House to be charged so far in the criminal investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller. And his action could be an ominous sign for a White House shadowed for the past year by investigations, turning Flynn into a potentially key government cooperator as prosecutors examine whether the Trump campaign and Russia worked together to influence the 2016 presidential election in Trump's favor. Friday's developments don't resolve the paramount question of possible Trump-Russia coordination in the campaign, but they do show that Flynn lied to the FBI about multiple conversations last December with the Russian ambassador to the United States. Court papers make clear that senior Trump transition officials were fully aware of Flynn's outreach to Russian officials in the weeks before the inauguration. The officials were not named in court papers, but people familiar with the case identified two of them to The Associated Press as Jared Kushner, the president's son-in-law, and former Deputy National Security Adviser KT McFarland, now up for an ambassadorship. That revelation moves the Russia investigation deeper into the White House. And, given the direct involvement of the transition team in Flynn's calls with Ambassador Sergey Kislyak, the plea also raises questions about the accuracy of repeated assertions by the administration that Flynn had misled Mike Pence and other officials when he denied having discussed sanctions with the diplomat. 'DECISION IN BEST INTERESTS OF COUNTRY' Flynn, the longtime soldier, stood quietly during his plea hearing except to answer brief questions from the judge. Flynn accepted responsibility for his actions in a written statement, though he said he had also been subjected to false accusations. He said, "My guilty plea and agreement to cooperate with the Special Counsel's Office reflect a decision I made in the best interests of my family and of our country." A former Defense Intelligence Agency chief, Flynn was a considerably more vocal Trump surrogate during the campaign, known for leading rally crowds in "Lock her up" chants regarding Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server. advertisement Though prosecutors also had investigated Flynn lobbying work on behalf of the Turkish government, the fact that he was permitted to plead guilty to just one count, and faces a guideline range of zero to 6 months in prison, suggest that prosecutors see him as a valuable tool in their investigation and are granting a degree of leniency in exchange for cooperation. White House lawyer Ty Cobb sought to distance the plea from Trump himself, saying: "Nothing about the guilty plea or the charge implicates anyone other than Mr. Flynn." Nonetheless, the Russia investigation has persistently followed Trump the first year of his presidency, angering the president and repeatedly distracting from his agenda. Flynn's plea came as Republican senators labored to pass a far-reaching tax bill, which would be a significant victory for Trump. On Friday, the president ignored reporters' shouted questions as he welcomed the Libyan prime minister to the White House, and aides canceled media access to a later meeting between the two. He did appear briefly at an afternoon White House holiday reception for the media, where he offered season's greetings and departed without addressing the Mueller investigation. advertisement Early on in his administration, Trump had taken a particular interest in the status of the Flynn investigation. Former FBI Director James Comey, whose firing in May precipitated the appointment of Mueller as special counsel, has said Trump asked him in a private Oval Office meeting to consider ending the investigation into Flynn. Comey has said he found the encounter so shocking that he prepared an internal memo about it. Flynn, who was interviewed by the FBI days after Trump's inauguration, was forced to resign on Feb. 13 following news reports indicating that the Trump White House had been warned by Obama administration officials that he had discussed sanctions with Kislyak and was therefore compromised and potentially vulnerable to blackmail. White House officials including Pence, who had declared publicly that Flynn never discussed sanctions, said they had been misled. THE FLYNN-KISLYAK CONVERSATIONS The court case Friday concerns a series of conversations that Flynn had with Kislyak during the transition period between the November election and the Jan. 20 inauguration. advertisement Prosecutors say Flynn on Dec. 29 spoke with an unnamed senior transition team official about what, if anything, to say about sanctions that had been imposed on Russia one day earlier by the Obama administration in retaliation for election interference. Flynn then requested the Russian ambassador "not escalate the situation" and respond "in a reciprocal manner," a conversation that prosecutors say he then reported to transition team members. Two former transition officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to discuss the matter, identified McFarlane as the unnamed official. The court papers do not allege that there was anything illegal about Flynn's conversations with the Russians - but his lies about the talks amounted to a felony. Still, if the Trump transition made secret back-door assurances to Russian diplomats, that could potentially run afoul of the Logan Act, a 1799 law that bars private American citizens from attempting to intervene in "disputes or controversies" between the United States and foreign powers without government approval. Another conversation with Kislyak occurred one week earlier after a "very senior member" of the presidential transition team directed Flynn to contact foreign government officials, including from Russia, about a UN Security Council resolution regarding Israeli settlements. That "very senior member" was identified to AP as Kushner by a former transition official. In a striking rupture with past practice, the Obama administration refrained from vetoing the condemnation of the settlement expansion, opting instead to abstain. The rest of the 15-nation council, including Russia, voted unanimously against Israel. At the time, Israel was lobbying furiously against the resolution and the Trump team spoke up on behalf of the Jewish state. Former US officials and foreign diplomats said Kushner led the effort to defeat that UN vote. During his conversation with Kislyak, prosecutors say, Flynn requested that Russia vote against or delay the resolution, though he admitted in his plea deal that he later lied to the FBI by saying he had not made that request. Mueller's team announced charges in October against three other Trump campaign officials, former chairman Paul Manafort and his business associate Rick Gates, and a former campaign foreign policy adviser, George Papadopoulos. Papadopoulos pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his own foreign contacts. WATCH | Donald Trump and the Russia connections: Influence of Vladimir Putin --- ENDS --- Amazon is a system, and this system has plenty of cool features built-in to save you some money. You just have to know where to look. This article first appeared on The Oregonian/OregonLive If youre trying to drink wine on a budget and youre not drinking boxed wine, youre missing out. Boxed wine has long been one of the most maligned wines in the industry, even though its always been the more affordable and environmentally friendly option. In the past few years, boxed wine has grown into a compelling genre of its own, reaching beyond the familiar Franzia and Carlo Rossi to include European brands and even local Oregon and Washington wineries. On a recent fateful evening with the upcoming winter holidays in mind, we sat down and blind-sampled 45 boxed wines -- 19 white and 26 red wines -- to bring you this ranked guide to the best and the worst wines available at major grocery stores across the city. For both reds and whites, we tried to buy the same variety. Most of the whites are pinot grigio, with a handful of sauvignon blanc and chardonnay (not our favorite) mixed in, depending on what producers offered. Reds are mostly cabernet sauvignon with an occasional merlot, pinot noir or Italian/Spanish variety. Wines were purchased from Fred Meyer, QFC, New Seasons, Trader Joes and Whole Foods. We found the most wines at Fred Meyer and QFC, which both had a sale running when we bought the wines. The price/bottle calculations are based on what we paid, but may vary when you make your purchase. Now Playing: Go ahead and buy the box! There are benefits to drinking wine in a box over the bottled variety. Video: Brandpoint Here's our guide to every boxed wine we could find at major grocery stores, ranked from best to worst. This article first appeared on The Oregonian/OregonLive This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Christmas cheer can be a dangerous and backbreaking endeavor, especially in Philomath, Oregon. Philomath is home to Holiday Tree Farms, the largest grower of holiday trees in the U.S. Photos from the tree farm reveal a carefully choreographed harvesting process that results in more than 1 million trees shipped around the country, according to Justin Sullivan in captions appended to a series of photos he took from the farm. GET IN THE HOLIDAY SPIRIT: Nostalgic photos show the evolution of Texas' Santa's Wonderland In 2016, more than 27 million real Christmas trees were purchased in the U.S. totaling more than $2 billion, the National Christmas Tree association reported. The average real tree costs $74. Now Playing: Photos from an Oregon tree farm reveal a carefully choreographed harvesting process that results in more than one million Christmas trees shipped around the country. Video: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images Swipe through the gallery above to see the men and women of Holiday Tree Farms at work. Fernando Alfonso III is a digital reporter at Chron.com. You can read more of his stories here and follow him on twitter at @fernalfonso. If you also like surreal GIFs and Polaroids, go here and here. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Hundreds of local charities and nonprofits have reaped the benefits of two generous family foundations. Stamfords historic Avon Theatre was saved by one of them. Connecticut Public Broadcasting and countless food banks, hospitals, museums and land trusts have enjoyed their support. But the foundations, based in Greenwich and Stamford, also support the controversial right-wing watchdog group Project Veritas. The organization tried to trick the Washington Post into writing a story about a woman who claimed she was raped and impregnated by Roy Moore, the scandal-ridden U.S. Senate candidate from Alabama. Moore has been accused of sexual misconduct by multiple women when they were minors. The Royce Family Fund and Old Stones Foundation rendered thousands of dollars in financial support to Project Veritas and its founder James OKeefe, filings with the Internal Revenue Service show. More Information Contributors to Project Veritas Name: The Old Stones Foundation Location: Stamford President: Robert Morris Jr., of Riverside Amount: $17,000 from 2012 to 2016 Name: Royce Family Fund Location: Greenwich Head: Charles "Chuck" Royce, of Greenwich Amount: $2,500 in 2014 See More Collapse Project Veritas is based in Mamaroneck, N.Y., just over the border from Connecticut, and Jamie T. Phillips, the operative who tried to cast herself as one of Moores victims, lives in North Stamford with at least one roommate and two dogs. One of the groups missions is to expose liberal bias in the mainstream media, but its status as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization is being challenged by some critics, including New Yorks attorney general. If your foundation is good with supporting people who fake such crimes, that tells me a lot about your foundation, said Richard Hanley, an associate journalism professor at Quinnipiac University in Hamden. Is this something you want to do, engage in trying to trap reporters and manipulate video for a predetermined outcome? I wonder if they actually knew what Veritas was. Its not a think tank. Venerable foundations The Old Stones Foundation, which has a Summer Street address in Stamford, contributed $17,000 to Project Veritas from 2012 to 2016, according to the IRS. Its filing for the fiscal year that ended July 30, 2017, is not available yet. The foundations president, Robert Morris Jr., resides in Greenwich. He did not respond to a request for comment, but told the news website BuzzFeed, I dont think that was one of Jimmys brighter ideas, in a reference to OKeefea attempted sting of the Washington Post. Morris told the website he plans to keep supporting Project Veritas and estimated that he has donated $22,000 overall to the organization. He is married to Susan Morris, a library media specialist at Greenwich High School. The Royce Family Fund, which is run by mutual fund maverick Charles Chuck Royce, gave $2,500 to Project Veritas in 2014. It did not give in 2015 and its 2016 report is not yet available. Royce, a Greenwich resident, did not respond to multiple requests for comment, including one left with a spokesman for his mutual funds, which specialize in investing in small companies. In 2014, Royce contributed $13.2 million to his familys charitable fund, which donated $5.4 million to more than 250 organizations. Among them was Planned Parenthood of Southern New England, Lincoln Center, the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation and Stamfords Avon Theatre Film Center, which Royce and his actress wife, Deborah, bought in 2001 and reopened as a nonprofit in 2004. The couple has been recognized locally on several occasions for its charity work. Chuck Royce was named the citizen of the year in 2016 by the Ocean Community Chamber of Commerce for his leadership of a $140 million demolition and reconstruction of the landmark Ocean House in Watch Hill, R.I. Those ventures are a far cry from Project Veritas and its firebrand attacks. Fake news OKeefe, who IRS filings showed was compensated $241,220 by Project Veritas in 2015, defended the groups activities in a statement. We use all sorts of techniques to gain access to people, but we never deceive our audience, OKeefe said. The Washington Posts issue with us isnt one of our techniques or methods, their issue is with WHO we aim our hidden-cameras at. When we expose their enemies, we are their friends. But when we expose their friends-or them-we become their enemy. In the recent case, Phillips approached two reporters at the Washington Post with a false tale about how Moore, former chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court, initiated a sexual relationship with her when she was 15 that led to her having an abortion, the newspaper reported. She further tried befriending their newspaper colleagues at farewell parties and social events for journalists in Washington, D.C. But reporters began to question Phillips credibility and followed her from her rental home in Stamford to the Project Veritas office in Mamaroneck. They also found a GoFundMe page for Phillips, saying she needed money to move to New York to join the conservative media movement. I will neither confirm nor deny the identify of any of our undercover operatives any more than someone at your paper would disclose the name of a confidential source, Stephen Gordon, a Project Veritas spokesman, told Hearst. Connecticut Republican Party Chairman J.R. Romano, a frequent media critic who created pie charts of the political coverage for party leaders, said there is a place for journalism watchdogs, but stopped well short of sanctioning Project Veritas. When it comes to someone watching the media, I do think thats necessary, Romano said. Thats an entirely separate entity from the Republicans. Hanley, the Quinnipiac journalism professor, said Project Veritas has a dubious reputation. Theyre looked at as an organization of political operatives, not very good ones at that, and are possibly engaged in almost performance art rather than anything else because of the sort of clownish approach to contaminate news, he said. Theres nothing wrong with fact-checking and asking reporters why stories are covered in such a way as they are. Its an extreme form of gotcha fact-checking. http://twitter.com/gettinviggy; nvigdor@hearstmediact.com; 203-625-4436 By PTI: Jammu, Dec 1 (PTI) The Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party (JKNPP) today staged a protest against the PDP-BJP governments decision to withdraw cases of stone pelting against 4,327 youths. JKNPP workers led by its chairman Harsh Dev Singh staged the protest at the Exhibition Ground here. They accused the BJP of "placating the secessionist forces" to save its alliance with the PDP. advertisement Singh told reporters that the move was a shot in the arm for "subversives and anti-national elements". "Instead of taking punitive action against the anti- national elements, the governments at the Centre and in the state preferred to take forward the suggestion...to release nearly 4,500 first-time stone pelters," he said. Earlier this week, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti ordered the withdrawal of cases of stone pelting against 4,327 youths.A This followed the recommendation of a high-powered committee headed by Director General of Police S P Vaid which submitted its report to her. PTI AB SMN --- ENDS --- Chea Mony, former president of the Free Trade Union of the Workers of the Kingdom of Cambodia, speaks to reporters in Cambodia's capital Phnom Penh, Jan. 22, 2016. Cambodian garment unions expressed concern on Friday that access to vital European Union and U.S. trade preferences could be under threat following the dissolution of the main opposition party under Prime Minister Hun Sens government last month. The breakup of the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) and other moves by the administration to silence the opposition in the run-up to national elections next year has sparked international condemnation of the Southeast Asian country 25 years after a U.N.-led effort to help Cambodia get back on its feet after civil war and brutal Khmer Rouge rule. International donors, including the EU and U.S., have said that they are ending aid to Cambodia or ramping up threats to do so in light of Hun Sens crackdown on the CNRP, independent media outlets, and NGOs. Critics say the prime minister has damaged the countrys fragile democracy and thrown the legitimacy of an upcoming ballot into question. Hun Sen has made things even harder for Cambodia with his frequent taunting of Western donors over their criticism of the crackdown, much of which appears to violate the 1991 Paris Peace Agreements, which ended the war between Vietnam and Cambodia and led to the U.N.s administration of Cambodias government while the country transitioned to a system of democratic elections. Garment worker unions and the Garment Manufacturers Association of Cambodia (GMAC), which represents the countrys roughly 600 garment and footwear factories, are concerned about the impact on the nearly U.S. $7 billion textile industry should the EU and U.S. discontinue trade agreements with the country. Some union leaders believe that garment industry jobs will be at stake if the international community decides to impose sanctions on Cambodia. If the international community puts sanctions on Cambodia, garment factory workers will be the ones who are affected the most because they rely solely on their small salaries to make ends meet, said Ath Thon, president of the Coalition of Cambodian Apparel Workers' Democratic Union, one of the countrys largest independent unions which was involved in October wage negotiations with the government. Many of them owe money to banks, he said. If they lose their jobs because the factories are closed, they will face assets forfeiture by the banks to pay their debts. Cambodias 700,000 garment workers earn a monthly minimum wage of U.S. $153, an amount that is set to increase to U.S. $170 in 2018. Ath Thon, president of the Coalition of Cambodian Apparel Workers' Democratic Union, talks to reporters outside the Royal Palace in Cambodia's capital Phnom Penh, Feb. 7, 2014. Credit: RFA Possible social unrest Chea Mony, former president of the Free Trade Union of the Workers of the Kingdom of Cambodia, said retaliatory measures against the country could cause social unrest with mass protests by garment workers who lose their jobs. When people are frustrated and desperate, they gather and protest to find ways out, he said. They will not be afraid to die no matter how harshly the authorities impose restrictions on them. It will be impossible to stop them from protesting. Both Ath Thon and Chea Mony urged Hun Sen, who has been courting garment workers in the run-up to the election, to reconsider his actions and engage in talks with the CNRP to resolve the current political crisis. If the ruling party and the opposition start a dialogue to bring the current political tension back to normality and restore the democratic process and political stability, it would be great, Ath Thon said. Lets not forget that the preferential agreements are based on how Cambodia respects human rights and democracy, he said. Cambodia continues to enjoy trading preferences from both the EU and U.S. even though it has been elevated from a least developed country status to a lower middle-income country. The EU's Everything But Arms (EBA) trade deal with Cambodia allows the bloc to imports garments both duty free and quota free. In 2016, garment and footwear products made up some 80 percent of Cambodias total merchandise exports, with 43 percent shipped to the EU, and 29 percent exported to the U.S., according to the U.N.s International Labour Organization. US threats U.S. senators have raised threats of sanctions on Cambodia over the jailing of CNRP leader Kem Sokha on charges of treason and have drafted a resolution in support of a bill urging the State Department and Treasury Department to block the assets of senior Cambodian officials and prevent U.S. nationals from doing business with them. The U.S also has stopped providing election support for Cambodia. If Hun Sen composes himself and reconsiders the ways he does things so that the EU and U.S. trust him, then there will be no sanctions to be imposed on his government, Chea Mony said. If he does not change, then he will be the one to be blamed for making things worse. The moves by the U.S. have prompted the Cambodian Council of National Unions (CCNU) to request a meeting with American Ambassador to Cambodia William Heidt so it can make a case as to why the U.S. should not stop buying clothes from Cambodia. We have monitored very closely the recent developments in relation to the dissolution of the opposition party, CCNU president Tol Phanmoeung wrote in a letter dated Nov. 29. We have also noted the EUs strong reactions to the governments actions and their threats to stop buying goods from Cambodia. However, we dont want to see workers falling victims to or becoming hostages of political groups, the letter said. We therefore would like to ask the U.S. to continue buying goods from Cambodia under the preferential agreement. Reported by RFAs Khmer Service. Translated by Nareth Muong. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin. By PTI: again: Jitendra Singh Jammu, Dec 1 (PTI) A day after Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti ordered withdrawal of cases of stone- pelting against 4,327 youths, Union minister Jitendra Singh today said law does not prevent authorities from arresting the stone-pelters again if they repeat the act. "I think law does not prevent them (stone-pelters) from being arrested again, if they try to go astray again or try to indulge in such acts," Singh told reporters here today. advertisement He was replying to a question whether the Centre succumbed to separatists pressures for withdrawal of cases against stone-pelters in Kashmir. "I would avoid being judgmental on this issue," he said, adding, "Now that the Government of India has appointed a special representative in the form of Dineshwar Sharma, I think, we would best leave it to him to draw his inferences and conclusions and accordingly give inputs to the home ministry and the Centre." "But having said that, even if at certain level we decided that those who indulged in one-time fault, not as a habit, would be given chance, I think law does not prevent them from being arrested again," Singh said. To a question on development and governance in the state, the Union minister said, "The chief minister has started an outreach program and she has herself reached each of the districts which is something that should be appreciated." "She has been trying to have a direct contact with the people and also making surprise visits, like the one to the hospitals in Jammu yesterday," he said. "There is a lot of concentration on improving the governance in the state and I think the result would be positive in the days to come," Singh said. PTI AB NSD --- ENDS --- Protesters who oppose the Mountain Valley and Atlantic Coast pipelines walked around Capitol Square in Richmond on Saturday. The State Water Control Board is set to begin hearings on the pipelines this week. A rally opposing the construction of two major natural gas pipelines in Virginia drew hundreds of people from across the state to Capitol Square on Saturday ahead of key regulatory hearings set to begin this week. Among them were one state delegate and two delegates-elect, one of whom said he will pursue legislation during the coming General Assembly session to push for a more rigorous state review. I think we need to put a pause on the certification until more data, research and analysis can be done, said Del.-elect Chris Hurst, D-Pearisburg. He said hes still working with allies to draft the legislation, but that he wants to ensure theres more transparency, theres more analysis done, theres more data collected and theres more fairness to land owners during these certification processes as we are talking about natural gas infrastructure pipelines. Del.-elect Jennifer Carroll Foy, D-Stafford, and Del. Sam Rasoul, D-Roanoke, also attended and addressed the crowd, which gathered around the Bell Tower on Capitol Square before marching around the Capitol and up the hill to The National theater, where a free concert was held. Organizers estimated more than 500 people attended. The State Water Control Board is set to hold hearings on the Mountain Valley Pipeline on Wednesday and Thursday. The board will hold hearings on the Atlantic Coast Pipeline next week, on Dec. 11 and 12. The Atlantic Coast Pipeline would cut through the heart of the state, while the Mountain Valley Pipeline would go through the states southwest corner. Together, theyd carve through hundreds of waterways. Environmental groups and residents in the path of the proposed pipelines have criticized the states review as woefully inadequate. State officials have defended their decision to cede authority to review the hundreds of places where the pipelines will cross waterways, arguing that work would duplicate reviews already conducted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Many state residents who attended the rally Saturday said theyre concerned about contamination of their drinking water. Ruby Laury and her husband tend to a small herd of cattle on a farm in Buckingham County. Gov.-elect Ralph Northam turned his attention last week to economic growth in Virginia and not a moment too soon. In the past decade or so, the commonwealths economic strength has declined. In 2006, Virginia ranked 12th among the states in employment growth. By last year, it had slipped to 36th. Over the same period, Virginias rank in GDP growth fell from 19th to 42nd. In income growth, it dropped from 4th to 46th. These are clearly disturbing trends, especially in a state that often led the nation in measures of economic vitality in the 1980s and 90s. Not all of the problems are amenable to repair by the governor or by state government in general. Part of Virginias troubles result from a slowdown in federal spending increases earlier this decade, which fell particularly hard on the Department of Defense. But thats not likely to change, so Northam is wise to begin addressing the challenge even before he takes office. Hes fortunate that much of the legwork has already been accomplished by the Virginia Chamber of Commerce in its Blueprint Virginia 2025. Northam had a chance to review the comprehensive plan on Friday, when it was unveiled at the chambers annual economic summit in Williamsburg. The governor-elect was the keynote speaker. The chamber deserves kudos for digging deep to gain a better understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the commonwealths business climate. Its leaders spent a year traveling across the state, talking with more than 6,000 Virginians. It has taken what it learned and developed a fact-based, wide-ranging blueprint for reviving Virginias animal spirits and expectations for economic leadership. (You can check the details at vachamber.com/advocacy/blueprint-virginia/.) The blueprint explores broad themes, with an emphasis on cultivating a well-trained and -educated workforce that is attuned to rising opportunities in the job markets. The plan also stresses the need to invigorate growth in all of Virginias regions. These may seem like obvious objectives, but the chamber describes the needs with admirable clarity and offers plausible paths to progress. It is especially helpful in identifying low-hanging fruit the straightforward policy reforms, such as cuts in local machinery and tool taxes, that can pay quick dividends. By Nadine Marsh-Carter and Greta Harris Every year, the Commonwealth of Virginia has more than 5,000 children in its protective custody because they have been abused or neglected by their parents. When we make the difficult, but necessary, decision to place these children in foster care, we have an obligation to prepare them to lead happy, productive lives. Research proves that the best option for these children is to be adopted into a loving family. Sadly, each year hundreds of children in Virginia and the largest percentage in the country age-out of the foster care system when they turn 18 without being adopted. Our duty to support these young adults must not stop there. The nearly 500 young people who transition out of foster care in Virginia every year are sent into the world without permanent housing. Their educational outcomes are uncertain, their job prospects inadequate. Like most 18-year-olds, theyre not prepared to be fully on their own. Their challenges are compounded by histories of abuse, abandonment, and instability. *** To better understand the challenge, the Better Housing Coalition and Childrens Home Society of Virginia, with support from the Robins and Brookfield foundations and other area funders, commissioned a nationwide survey detailing what states are doing to serve this vulnerable population and taking a closer look at what we are doing in Virginia. While there are some bright spots, such as the Virginia Community College Systems Great Expectations program that helps former foster children attend college, the overall outlook is bleak. Nationwide, nearly half of these young people will be homeless or in jail within a year of leaving our care. Even in states where programs are available to youth over the age of 18, many are severely under-used because they represent a check-the-box approach to deal with youth who need more individualized care. Unsurprisingly, housing emerged as a critical, foundational need. In many cases, the lack of reliable and affordable housing means these young people lack the stability that will allow them to become self-sufficient adults. We need to think differently about the way we serve those taken into our care. Parents know that a one-size-fits-all approach to raising kids doesnt work every child has their own hopes and dreams, obstacles and challenges. Foster youth are no different. We need an approach that is centered on the individual, and we need to recognize the effects of chronic trauma on these young adults. We need to provide them with reliable housing while they gain the skills to chart their own pathways to success. We need to make sure our policies and practices make this approach possible. This is not just the right thing to do; its economically smart. If young adults who age-out of foster care graduated from high school at the same rate as the general population of young people, those 7,000 additional graduates would, nationally, earn $1.8 billion more over their working lifetimes, and contribute $430 million in additional taxes. In 2016 and 2017, funding was included in Virginias budget to help support this population as a part of the Federal Fostering Futures Act. We must use this money wisely and we must use it in ways that work. Investing up-front in these youth creates huge savings in safety, health, and human services over the long run. In 2015, the Better Housing Coalition and Childrens Home Society of Virginia launched The Possibilities Project to give youth the stability and support they need to become successful and productive members of their communities. The Possibilities Project includes both the national and Virginia research outlined above and an evidence-based program serving youth who have aged out of foster care. The cornerstones of the initiative are stable housing and trauma-informed wraparound services, guided by research and developed to be replicable in communities across the commonwealth and the country. *** The early results are promising: 100 percent of participants have secure, stable housing; 75 percent are enrolled in postsecondary education or completed vocational training, and 88 percent are employed; 100 percent have long-term connections and mentors, as well as access to comprehensive health-care services. In 2016, The Possibilities Project received the commonwealths award for best housing program or service. We have convened a panel of experts who will analyze the findings of The Possibilities Projects research and lessons learned to make policy and programmatic recommendations for departments that serve aged-out youth. The task force will include mental health professionals, housing experts, youth advocates, and aged-out youth themselves to develop strategies and priorities, which will truly change the paradigm and ensure that we are using Virginians tax dollars in the most effective way possible. When we brought kids into the foster care system, we made a promise that we would take care of them. We have an obligation to do all we can to live up to that promise. We cant turn our backs on them just because they have a birthday. We can and must do better. By PTI: Delhi New Delhi, Dec 2 (PTI) A 32-year-old woman was allegedly molested by a man who also masturbated in front of her and fled after snatching her phone in Lutyens Delhi, police said today. The woman, who works at a language school in Connaught Place, had gone to the terrace for a break on November 30. advertisement She was talking on the phone when a man came there. He stared at her and when she tried to walk away, he blocked her way, police said. He then groped the woman and masturbated in front of her. She managed to free himself and ran towards the door that had been bolted by the accused, they said. The woman started screaming while trying to unbolt the door. The man escaped to another terrace after snatching her phone, police said. The womans colleagues showed her the CCTV footage in which the face of the accused was not clearly visible, they added. The woman told police that she would be able to recognise the man if she sees him again. Police are scanning CCTV footage from the adjacent buildings to identify the accused. PTI SLB VIT GVS --- ENDS --- By PTI: Panaji, dec 01 (PTI) The services of the Manipal Hospital was suspended in an health insurance scheme run by the Goa government due to alleged anomalies. The United India Insurance Company Limited, which has been providing health insurance under Goa government?s Deen Dayal Swasth Seva Yojana )DDSSY), has suspended the services covering Manipal hospital for policy violation by charging money from patients. advertisement Manipal hospital has a facility located at Dona Paula near Panaji. The notice issued by the insurance company has said that during the audit there were anomalies in functioning of the hospital under DDSSY. The hospital management has been asked to justify their conduct within 15 days to the company. It has also been asked not to take any further patients under DDSSY till further notice. When contacted, a senior official with Manipal hospital, Dr Shekhar Salkar said that they have already discontinued the services under DDSSY after receiving the notice today. "We will keep the services suspended till further notice. We are examining the notice," he said. Dr Salkar added that the state government is yet to pay Re 2. 5 crore due to the hospital under this scheme. The DDSSY was launched by the Goa government to provide free medical services to Goans in state run hospitals and also at a few private medical institutions listed by it. PTI RPS A A BNM --- ENDS --- The driver who barreled into a World War I memorial exhibit in Salem was sentenced Friday to serve 20 days in jail. Skylan Miller Chambers, 26, pleaded no contest in Salem General District Court to driving under the influence. Chambers was arrested in September after crashing his car into the World War I artillery piece that stands at the corner of College Avenue and Roanoke Boulevard. The cannon, a captured German 77 mm field gun, has been displayed in Salem as a war memorial since 1926. Septembers collision marked the second time in three years that it had been struck by an errant vehicle. Parts of the cannon were bent or torn in the latest crash. As part of his sentence, Chambers must pay restitution to the city for the needed repairs. Per the terms of an agreement Friday, he was sentenced to 90 days in jail, with all but 20 days suspended. His license will be restricted and an ignition interlock will be installed in his car, according to online court records. Hell also pay a total of $626 in fines and court costs on the dual convictions of driving under the influence and failing to stop at the scene of an accident. Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan said Manmohan Singh was saying "wrong things" in a show of allegiance to the Nehru-Gandhi family. Dr. Manmohan Singh, the Cambridge-trained economist who was Narendra Modi's predecessor at the Centre, has been critical of demonetisation (File photo: PTI) By India Today Web Desk: Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh invoked the memory of "more than 100 people" who died in queues "as a result of demonetisation, ANI reported Saturday. In Gujarat's Surat, the Cambridge-trained economist said it was with "immense pain" and a sense of "deep responsibility" that he called November 8 a "black day" for India's economy and democracy. advertisement Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan later told ANI that Singh was saying "wrong things" in a show of allegiance to the Nehru-Gandhi family, whose members (Sonia and Rahul Gandhi) occupy the two most powerful positions in the Congress party. Pradhan cited GDP data released Thursday, and said all of Singh's questions had been answered. I invoke memories of more than 100 people who lost their lives while standing in queues as a result of demonetisation. I say with immense pain & a sense of deep responsibility that the 8th of November was a black day for our economy & democracy: Manmohan Singh in Surat #Gujarat pic.twitter.com/AGDuZgsf5r- ANI (@ANI) December 2, 2017 This is Manmohan Singh's helplessness, just to show allegiance to the family he has to say wrong things. GDP figures have just come out & all his questions have been answered: Dharmendra Pradhan on Singh's remark about #demonitisation pic.twitter.com/zP8J1T8ord- ANI (@ANI) December 2, 2017 READ | AGENDA AAJ TAK | PM Modi has guts to get both surgical strike and demonetisation done, says Ravi Shankar Prasad Manmohan Singh's comments come days ahead of the first phase of the Gujarat Assembly election, where the Congress has been on the campaign trail in recent weeks, all guns blazing. But it also comes a day after an embarrassing civic poll loss in Amethi, Rahul's own Lok Sabha constituency. Amit Shah - president of the BJP, the winner of as many as 14 mayoral seats in Uttar Pradesh - warned of even more humiliation in Gujarat, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state. "The Congress loss is such that the BJP won all the municipal corporation seats even in (Congress vice president) Rahul babas (Gandhis) Amethi constituency," he said at a rally in Somnath Friday. "Whatever has happened in Uttar Pradesh today is nothing compared to what is going to happen in Gujarat on December 18. After the (vote) counting on December 18, the BJP will emerge victorious and form the government with 150 seats." DEMONETISATION: 'ORGANISED LOOT' OR RADICAL REFORM? This isn't the first time Manmohan Singh has criticised his successor for voiding the old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes. advertisement He recently told BloombergQuint the time had come for Modi to "graciously" acknowledge his blunder. During the Winter Session of Parliament that immediately followed the announcement of demonetisation, Singh called the decision "organised loot and legalised plunder." And yet, despite all the talk of the ill-effects of demonetisation and the Goods and Services tax (GST), the Modi governement has received four important fillips in recent weeks. The World Bank ranked India 30 places higher than it did last year in its report on ease of doing business (but it did not take into account the business environment after the implementation of GST). Moody's upgraded India's credit rating to Baa2 from Baa3 after 13 years, saying the note ban, GST and other initiatives would strengthen India's credit powers and increase growth prospects. Standard and Poor's kept India's sovereign rating unchanged, but said it expected the economy to grow "robustly over 2018-2020." And finally, GDP growth data for Q2 warranted a temporary sigh of relief for Narendra Modi and the BJP: it stood at 6.3 per cent. After five agonising months, it had finally stopped sliding. advertisement WATCH | Organised loot and plunder: When Manmohan Singh said demonetisation would cause a fall in GDP growth --- ENDS --- Something important happened last month that was overshadowed by Virginias dramatic election results and the headlong rush for our annual tryptophan holiday. That something was the annual State of the County address by Joe McNamara, chairman of the Roanoke County Board of Supervisors. Even presidential State of the Union addresses are pretty predictable affairs; the local tradition of State of the City and State of the County addresses even more so. Theyre done before the Roanoke Regional Chamber of Commerce, and are typically a recitation of happy talking points. McNamaras was, too, (mostly) but what set it apart is how he delivered one of the best over-arching summaries of the challenges facing local governments that weve ever heard. McNamara focused on the explosive and expansive impact that technology has had on our lives. Twenty years ago, when I was first elected to the Roanoke County Board, if I needed something for my family, I would go to the store and buy it. I might even go to Sears. Today I can sit at a computer, bring up the Amazon website, select from an enormous number of options, and have it delivered directly to my house, usually within two days. In some markets, that two-day period might be four hours. Thats great for consumers, and great for certain workers and their businesses freight delivery, for instance. Its not necessarily so great for others, as McNamara went on to explain. Twenty years ago Sears was a profitable international department store, second only to Walmart in domestic sales. Today, Sears is on life support, having closed 80 percent of their physical locations and relying on the personal wealth of their chairman in order to survive. Twenty years ago Google and Amazon were start-ups with little market value, Alibaba didnt exist, and Apple had a market cap of less than $2 billion. Look where they are today. Apple is now the most valued stock in the world, and every mayor in America is doing somersaults in an attempt to attract Jeff Bezos and the second Amazon headquarters to their community. What McNamara didnt say because he didnt have to; his audience already understood it was what effect that has on local government. Sears and all those other stores hired local workers and paid local taxes. Google, Amazon, Alibaba and Apple dont. McNamaras counterparts in Roanoke are on the front lines of what this new economy means. Even though the economy is improving, sales taxes continue to come in under projections because people who once shopped at Valley View Mall are now shopping at something-dot-com. That leaves local governments in a quandary a growing economy is supposed to grow tax revenues. What happens if thats no longer true? How do local governments, who have limited taxing power, pay for services their residents expect? One possible answer that some localities have come to: Find new things to tax. Newport News and Hampton, joined by the Virginia Municipal League and the Virginia Association of Counties, want permission to tax digital streaming services such as Netflix, Hulu and Spotify. McNamara, a Republican, didnt go there. Stranger Things fans in Roanoke County can rest easy. He did, however, talk about how local governments have dramatically changed the way they do business: Gone are the days when our local governments argued and took advantage over each other. We now live in a time of cooperation between local governments, a shared sense of community, and an understanding that our futures are tied together. Today we plan together, share our resources, and support each others efforts. We have to. Our citizens expect it and our constantly changing world demands it. Those are happy words that happen to be true. Twenty years ago, each locality had its own water system, for instance. Now theres a regional water authority regional lots of things. We understand now that our competition isnt on the other side of Peters Creek Road; its on the other side of the world. Accordingly, heres something no one could have said 20 years ago: Show me another place in Virginia where the cooperation among jurisdictions and the focus on common objectives is as great as it is right here in the Roanoke Valley. I suggest to you that no others compare. McNamara also sketched out how the issues confronting local governments have changed. Twenty years ago we were trying in Roanoke County to manage an overcrowded school system while devising plans for renovating and expanding schools to accommodate a growing student population. Today, we are preparing for the renovation of Cave Spring High School, the last of the major projects identified in a Blue Ribbon Commissions Study completed 20 years ago and we wonder how shifting age demographics and declining enrollment in the County will impact our future schools. Roanoke County isnt the only locality dealing with an aging population and the resulting decline in enrollment. So is Botetourt County. So is Bedford County. So is Pulaski County. So are lots of counties. Roanoke is attracting young adults; those localities need to, as well. Health care is another new issue for. We think of that as a federal or state problem but McNamara explained the local implications: In the past few months the Roanoke and New River Valleys were dangerously close to having no health care provider in place to meet the needs of some 70,000 people who have health insurance outside of group plans. It was only at the last minute that Anthem decided to remain in the exchange market and provide service, although at a significantly higher cost. Had they not done so, Southwest Virginia would have become the only place in the country to have no service provider. It does not matter what opinions we might have of the Affordable Care Act or how health care should be provided to our citizens. What matters is that our region has sufficient and appropriate health care available. We risk losing our entrepreneurs, small businesses, and citizens to other parts of the country where health care is more affordable. Translation: All politics really are local. And the world is a very different place than it was just 20 years ago. Thats hardly an original observation but McNamaras State of the County sums it up in a way that fits not just Roanoke County but all localities. By PTI: Raipur, Dec 2 (PTI) Security forces recovered a cache of explosives, including mortar bombs and detonators, from a Maoist dump in the forests of Chhattisgarhs Kanker district today, police said. The recovery was made this afternoon at a Maoist dump located between Manhakal and Hethle villages under Durgkondal police station limits by a joint team of the BSF and District Force, Kanker Superintendent of Police K L Dhruv told PTI. advertisement The seized materials included two mortar bombs (51 mm), three grenades, one country-made pistol, 30 electric detonators, live cartridges of AK 47, SLRAand 315 bore rifles and Maoist-related materials, he said. The joint squad of BSFs 175th battalion and local police was on a search operation in the forests of Durgkondal, around 250km from Raipur, when they received information about the ammunition dump of Naxals, he said. Subsequently, the patrolling team raided the spot and made the seizures, the SP added. PTI TKP RSY BAS --- ENDS --- By Amitabh Srivastava: Marriages may be made in heaven, and wedding celebrations are momentous events for friends and family members, but ironically in Bihar, in fact across the Hindi heartland, attending a marriage can be dangerous owing to a senseless tradition of celebratory gunfire. The tenacious tradition of firing at weddings often leaves a tragic victim in shroud, bringing the happy event to an abrupt end. advertisement A marriage celebration in Bihar's Purnia district became deathbed for two on Tuesday night, when videographer Ashish Kumar, 17, and his assistant Saheb Kumar, 15, employed to immortalise the special day, were shot dead by members of the grooms' family during a celebration ahead of the marriage when the reveling men pulled out their firearms and started firing. The two young boys received gunshots in the skull and died immediately. The marriage was being solemnsied at Matikani village of Purnia, in eastern Bihar, located 368 km east of Patna. Police, however, are yet to ascertain as to who fired the fatal gunshots, as preliminary evidence suggests that there were many revelers with firearms, most without any licence. The cops are also probing to find out if the persons who fired were in inebriated state, and whether liquor was served to the wedding revelers. Bihar is under complete prohibition and serving or consuming liquor is a punishable offence in the State. Unfortunately, this was not the only case of celebratory firing on Tuesday night. In yet another incident, a female dancer received gunshot while performing to a Bhojpuri number at a marriage celebration in Siwan district, 132-km northwest of Patna. The 17-year-old girl, shot in the stomach, is critical and currently in hospital. Eyewitness accounts suggest that more than two dozen people had reached the wedding venue at Bharauli village in Siwan with their firearms and almost all of them were firing indiscriminately. Weddings are generally opulent affairs. In a patriarchal society like the one in Bihar, celebratory gunfire is considered a show of machismo and status. Most revelers can be seen firing in the air in the mistaken belief that it will avoid injuring anyone. However, they completely ignore the risk that falling bullets can hurt unsuspecting onlookers. Though, the falling bullets travel at a much lesser velocity than those fired directly at a person, but that does not make them less harmful, as fired cartridge coming from the top are more likely to hit victims on the head. A spent bullet falls back on earth at between 90 and 180 metres per second, a speed dangerous enough and fast enough to cause a skull injury. advertisement There are many instances of celebratory firing in Bihar. In January, one of the guests pulled out his gun and started firing just when the wedding party started in Sonbarsa in Bihar's Saharsa district. As the wedding celebration was in full swing, he fired a few shots in the air and a few at the ground. Groom Ranjit Mandal received a bullet injury on his leg, and though he agreed to marry his bride, he had to stay at hospital for nearly one month. In March, a village youth Pintu Kumar succumbed to a gunshot injury after he was hit by a bullet in his stomach while watching a wedding procession in Bihar's Ara district. The wedding revelers are already infamous for haphazard parking, unwarranted honking and causing extreme pollution, from morning till late night, all this leave commuters hassled while cops look the other way. But, incidents of killing someone with reckless firing are good enough reasons for cops to intervene. "Bullets are not greetings cards -- celebrate without firearms," said a senior police officer in Patna. It will be worthwhile if the revelers take a note of it. --- ENDS --- Global software major Infosys on Saturday announced the appointment of Salil S Parekh from Capgemini as its new Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director with effect from January 2. "Parekh, 52, joins Infosys from Capgemini where he was a member of the Group Executive Board," said the IT major in a statement here. Like Infosys, Capgemini is a global consulting, technology and IT outsourcing firm headquartered in Paris. Parekh, a veteran in the global IT industry, will be the second non-promoter executive of the $10.3 billion firm after the first non-founder executive Vishal Sikka resigned on August 18, following boardroom battles over corporate governance issues with its co-founders, especially N.R. Narayana Murthy. As Parekh takes over, interim CEO and MD U.B. Pravin Rao will revert to his post as Chief Operating Officer from January 2 and continue as Director on the Board. Parekh has Masters degrees in computer science and mechanical engineering from Cornell University in the US and is a B. Tech in aeronautical engineering from IIT-Bombay. "We are delighted to have Salil joining as the CEO & MD. He has nearly three decades of global experience in the IT services industry," said co-founder and Board Chairman Nandan Nilekani in the statement. Nilekani also said as Parekh had a strong track record of executing business turnarounds and managing very successful acquisitions, the Board believed that he was the right person to lead the company at a transformative time in the industry. "The Board is also grateful to Pravin Rao for his leadership during this period of transition," added Nilekani in the statement. Nilekani returned to the company as non-executive Chairman on August 18. Infosys' Independent Director and Nomination and Remuneration Committee Chairperson Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw said Parekh was the top choice from a pool of highly qualified candidates for the top executive post. "With his (Parekh) strong track record and extensive experience, we believe, we have the right person to lead Infosys," Shaw said. The full-time CEO post has been vacant since Sikka had quit, stating that he could not continue to work amid "malicious personal attacks". The company's previous Board blamed Murthy for Sikka's dramatic resignation. In a related development, Capgemini announced in Paris that Parekh would leave the group on January 1, 2018. "Capgemini has agreed on Parekh's departure. He has relinquished his responsibilities within the group and his managerial transition is already in place," said the French company. Parekh joined Capgemini in 2000 when it acquired the consulting division of Ernst & Young, the London-based global accounting firm, and occupied leadership positions in the group during his 17-year-long stint. "I would like to thank Parekh for his involvement in the Capgemini journey and contribution to the development of the group in India and the US," said Capgemini Chairman and Chief Executive Paul Hermelin in the statement. The Euro 12.5-billion ($14.9 billion) Capgemini is a 50-year-old firm with about 200,000 employees in 40 countries the world over. The notice mentions how the inspection showed "conditions of the EWS OPD and waiting area was pathetic and services in the OPD was discriminatory". By Pooja Shali: India Today has obtained documents that show that the Delhi government had issued a show cause notice to Max Hospital, Shalimar Bagh in November. This is the same hospital in Shalimar Bagh which had declared a living infant dead. The hospital has been accused by Health Services for flouting norms of free treatment to patients from economically weaker sections (EWS). advertisement The show cause notice was sent to the hospital seeking a response on why it failed to adequately serve poor patients as prescribed. The issue of not earmarking beds for poor and failure to provide free treatment in OPD was specifically raised. The three page notice by Directorate General, Health Services, Delhi government was sent to Medical Superintendent, Max Super Speciality Hospital, Shalimar Bagh, Delhi. The notice states, "Max Healthcare Ltd. was informed their bid was accepted in the auction on 17.12.2007 subject to the condition that the hospital shall conform to the requirement of free treatment as may be prescribed by GNTCD/Govt. Of India from time to time and violation of these rules shall lead to cancellation of the lease". The notice further quotes the High Court order stating that such hospitals have to provide free treatment to poor people i.e. 25 per cent OPD and 10 per cent IPD completely free of all charges in any respect. Shockingly, the notice mentions how the inspection showed "conditions of the EWS OPD and waiting area was pathetic and services in the OPD was discriminatory". It was located in the corner of hospital premises, next to a noisy Genset and building construction material lying all around. The makeshift area also had broken chains. The hospital is under obligation to provide 25 per cent OPD to poor persons but data received by health services mentioned free OPD achievement of only 7.1 per cent and 8.1 per cent on different dates. The beds were not marked for the concerned category of patients. The hospital is required to put up boards to inform patients, whose annual income wages are low or irregular like unskilled labourers. However, as per details in show cause notice the inspection found no such boards were put up. As beds were not earmarked, this offence hints that the mentioned hospital attempted to earn unwarranted profits at the cost of poor. The Delhi government is awaiting a response from the hospital. Speaking to India Today, Delhi Health Minister Satyendra Jain accepted that a notice was indeed sent last month and that strict action will soon follow since a fresh incident came to light. advertisement --- ENDS --- The bodies of four Kerala fishermen were recovered on Saturday, taking the toll to six so far in the aftermath of Cyclone Ockhi, while there is no word about 102 fishermen from the state who ventured to the deep sea. The bodies were found as part of rescue operations launched by the Indian Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard after Cyclone Ockhi hit the southern districts of Kerala and Tamil Nadu. While the identity of one of the dead has been found, the other three bodies brought to the shores on Saturday were in a decomposed stage and identification became difficult. According to official figures, 37 fishermen from Kerala were rescued in the joint operations, while some others returned on their own. By Saturday evening, the total number of fishermen who had returned stood at 450, while there is no word about 102 from the state who continue to be missing. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan told the media that Rs 10 lakh each would be given to the families of the dead fishermen and Rs 20,000 each to those injured, while those who have lost their fishing gear and other equipment would be compensated. Asked about the missing fishermen, Vijayan was unable to give a figure, but said that information has been received that some Kerala fishermen have been located in Lakshadweep. Thiruvananthapuram district Collector S. Vasuki told the media that the 102 fishermen from Kerala cannot be termed as "missing". "These fishermen had gone to the sea. They are yet to reach home or they have not been able to contact their relatives here." "The search operations now are aimed towards the Alappuzha area, as the boats would have run out of fuel. They would be drifting according to the wind direction. Hence the search operations are focusing on Alappuzha," said Vasuki. She added that strict instructions have been given that "none should venture into the sea for fishing". "We have directed teams of fishermen who have started their own rescue operations that only fishing boats more than 20 metres long are allowed and should not go beyond two nautical miles into the sea. "They have been asked to inform the Coastal Police of the registration number of their boats going out," said Vasuki. Angry fishermen at two places in the capital city and at one place in Alappuzha blocked the highway protesting the "poor" rescue operations being carried out, with the Kerala government coming under heavy fire for not informing the fishermen of the impending cyclone. "When the Tamil Nadu government issued a warning to the fishermen, what happened to our government, where were they?" asked an angry group of anxious relatives waiting to hear about their near ones at Vizhinjam near here. A special Mass was held at the Poonthura St Thomas Church for the suffering. "There has been no word from my husband Gerald for the past three days. We have got no information from any one at all," said his grieving wife. The families of the missing have now started to exhibit pictures of their loved ones to the media so as to send message to other parts of the state in case they are sighted. On Saturday morning, the intensity of the rains and winds in the deep sea was reported to have come down. However, the meteorological office has predicted more rains. Among those rescued on Friday night, 52 are under medical observation at the Medical College hospital and another 39 at the General Hospital here. The state government has directed the medical authorities to see that all are kept under observation for a minimum 72 hours, even if they have no health issues. "I was hanging on in the deep sea unable to move for two nights and three days, and only today help came from a passing boat and I was saved. It was a nightmare," said a rescued fisherman currently at a hospital in Kollam. State Congress president M.M. Hassan told the media that the Vijayan government has made a mess of everything. "The warning of the cyclone had come to the Chief Secretary here on November 29, which was handed over to Vijayan's office, but no action was taken. But State Tourism Minister K. Surendran says that the tragedy took place as fishermen ignored the warning. We wish to know who gave what warning. There was no warning given at all as Vijayan said they came to know of the cyclone only on November 30 afternoon. This is a massive lapse on the part of the Kerala government," said Hassan. The Kerala government has already announced free ration to be supplied to the affected fishing villages. Bluesky continues to support Samoa Cancer Society with driving awareness of early detection to save lives. And with Pinktober over, a review of support from the community has resulted in a massive contribution to Samoa Cancer Society. And with Blueskys final Pinktober participation of $3,500, this contribution has gone up to $50,000. This cheque has taken the total amount for Pinktober to over $50, 000, said Shelly Burich, C.E.O. of Samoa Cancer Society. Were pleased with the results of Pinktober and even more pleased with the support we saw from the community and businesses in the private sector, said Alex Abraham Country Manager of Bluesky. The challenge still remains for Samoa Cancer Society with limited resources and support available for cancer patients locally. With no hospice and palliative care available to cancer patients in stages 3 and 4, the contribution made will help supply resources and sustain plans to improve this. However Samoa Cancers Early Detection message is still crucial to save lives in Samoa. Plans are now underway to train hospitals in Palliative care and much more. Wed like to say thanks to Samoa Cancer Society for letting us be a part of bringing this campaign to life. And a very special thank you to all our dear customers for contributing and participating in our Pinktober promotions, said Mr. Abraham. Bluesky will continue to support Samoa Cancer Society for the remainder of the year and right through 2018. Were here to help Samoa Cancer Society progress with achieving results to give more support to cancer fighters. Students at the L.D.S Church College yesterday celebrated sweet success for 2017. Guided by the theme the future belonged to those who believed in the beauty of their dreams, former Manu Samoa player, Eliota Fuimaono Sapolu was the guest speaker. He made it clear to the 2017 graduates that having dreams are not the same as being the flesh of the dreams of our descendants. Eliota took the graduates back to when the Samoan people were fighting for their freedom and he shared with the students the dream of their dynasties. They dreamed that one; the Samoan children are going to be free to choose a future, he said. You will be free to be a Samoan that is what kept the Mau Movement going and here today the generations of Samoa who are free to choose their future and free to be Samoans. Tears started forming in the eyes of the graduates when he unveiled the history of the Samoan people and twisted their theme from a challenge into a message of empowerment. Do you understand that you are the dream of the Mau Movement? You are the dream of the Mau that came true. You are the dream of your family. You are the dream of your brothers and sisters who are looking at you like stars. He added that despite the challenges the Mau Movement went through, one thing that kept them going was that dream. If ever you feel down or whenever you feel depressed remember, if they did not dream of you, Samoa would not be free. The L.D.S Pesega College held their prize giving earlier this week where Alamita Pereira was declared dux. Samoan voyaging tradition and Samoas role in its development and expansion across the region will be showcased at next years New Zealand Festival, thanks to support from the New Zealand High Commission in Samoa. The Festival will open on 23 February 2018 as a fleet of waka from across New Zealand and the Pacific descend on Wellington Harbour to re-tell the story of Polynesias great navigators. Among the waka taking part in A Waka Odyssey a spectacular performance incorporating on-water choreography, a mass choir, a thousand-strong haka, and a musical score composed by Warren Maxwell, of Trinity Roots and Little Bushman will be Samoas only traditionally-inspired, ocean voyaging vaa, the Gaualofa. We are delighted to support the Samoa Voyaging Society to participate in the A Waka Odyssey programming at next years Festival, said David Nicholson, New Zealand High Commissioner. It will be an opportunity to not only reconnect with culture and tradition, but to create understanding about the place of Samoa and New Zealand in our world, today as contemporary navigators, as explorers and global citizens, and as leaders focused on the future of the Pacific. Also, the work the Samoa Voyaging Society undertakes, particularly around engaging young Samoan people with waka culture, should be commended and this provides a platform to highlight that, across the region. Last week, the New Zealand High Commission committed $10,000 to the Samoa Voyaging Society, caretakers of Gaualofa, to assist in her involvement in the Festival and A Waka Odyssey. This funding, along with that received from our other partners, will help the Samoa Voyaging Society prepare Gaualofa for her journey to, and engagements in, New Zealand, said Schannel van Dijken, President of the Samoa Voyaging Society. Gaualofa will be in New Zealand from late December 2017 to early March 2018, and during this time, as well as playing a key role in the A Waka Odyssey performance, will take part in other events, such as the Auckland Anniversary and Waitangi Day celebrations, and school and community outreach programmes. We are humbled and proud to be invited to participate in what is set to be a remarkable celebration of waka culture and Pacific connectivity, in New Zealands capital, Wellington. The New Zealand Festival is an international celebration of arts and culture, held across February and March every two years in Wellington. *A story earlier this week about Chinas donation to the Gaualofa and the Samoan Voyaging Society said the donation was $4,000. This was incorrect. The donation in fact was $40,000. The error is regretted. Its always a dream for friends to travel together. And when the destination is a beautiful Pacific island paradise, it will no doubt go down as one of the best memories ever. Which is exactly the case for Georgie, 18, who says that being with her friends in Samoa has been a blast. The trip is all about relaxing and having fun. She is from Victoria, Australia and is in the country to celebrate her graduation with her friends. Dear Tourist met Georgie when she was brushing through the Vaitele flea market yesterday. She arrived into the country on Sunday night and will be here for 10 days. Just into her fourth day, Georgie says she already loves the Samoan culture and tradition. I love the singing and dancing, I see that the Samoans value their culture a lot and I respect that, she said. And it is very different with the Australian culture. Back at home it is more modern whereas over here, it is more relaxing. Georgie and her friends live at the Insel Fehmarn Hotel and theyre also visiting local schools. So when we went to the schools they always performed for us. We went to a youth group and they also performed for us. I loved it. Something that they naturally do really well because we dont get much of that over in Australia, she added. Georgie also looks forward to touring Samoa and just appreciating the scenery that our island nation has to offer. We went snorkelling at Palolo Deep and we visited all the markets, we visited the school of hope (Samoa Victim Support) then we went to Faatuatua, she said. I also look forward to hanging at the beach. We are going to beach fales at Lalomanu so that should be fun. Georgie added she would love to experience more about our culture until she leaves our shores. Julie Pascall from Victoria, Australia loves Samoa because of its greenery. Dear Tourist met Julie and her girlfriends while they were checking out what Samoa has to offer as a tourism destination. The trip is a pre-Christmas treat, to celebrate their graduation. Samoa is definitely our celebration destination, she tells Dear Tourist. I chose Samoa because it is way more relaxed and you have more nature around you. Coming to Samoa makes me more focussed on relaxing and enjoying life instead of working to get money each day. This trip to Samoa has special significance for Julie. It is her first time out of her country and so far it has been great. People in Samoa live off the land unlike us, she said. Ive been fascinated by the simplicity of life, the way people live and embrace visitors. It has been so wonderful. Julie and her friends were part of a bigger group that visited local schools. They were later divided into smaller groups to live with different local families. And so far, her experience with the local Samoan family is interesting. The food here is very nice and I tried out yam which was really good, Julie added. Being the eldest of two siblings and coming to a country where close family units include extended families was something rare and beautiful for Julie. Families here are very big, they dont just have two siblings but like around four or five and you also have families who are living nearby. It is amazing; I just love how one neighbour just borrows from the other neighbour. Comparing life with the young people in Samoa who stay with their parents until they reach 21 and her country where the legal age is 18, she said: It depends on the person really if you want to leave the house at the age of 18, but definitely not for me I am too comfortable. Julie arrived in the country on Sunday last week and she is here for 10 days. Priscilla Van Brummelen believes Samoa is the best place to learn about culture and people. Being in Samoa has definitely brought Priscilla out of her comfort zone. She said she has witnessed happiness in the midst of struggles for survival, which is what she finds interesting about the lives of Samoans. Every time I come I am always challenged since I am so used to how Australia is and just live our normal life, but when we come here it is so different and people are so happy with having a lot less, she said. Unlike Australia you have to have everything but you dont need it. The gift of family is one of the main things that the 26-year-old is very amazed about, which is all part of the Samoan culture. I love how the Samoans value their families; it is such a big and important thing here and the culture as well. I appreciate that very much. Priscilla and students from various schools in Victoria, Australia, travel to Samoa on an annual basis to experience the Samoan way of life. And it is not only Priscilla that has changed through the trips they take to Samoa at the end of every year; it is the students as well. The students have a really great experience and it really challenges them to step outside their comfort zone as well. You see them grow over the 10 days that we usually come here for. Priscilla says Samoa is a very friendly and beautiful place which is very easy for her as a leader to take the students to. The Samoan people are very welcoming and they also open up their homes. We are just going to keep on coming back because we know it and are very familiar with it, she added. She is certain that it is an opportunity for the students to have their first cultural experience which is why they come every year. It is for the students to understand what it is like to travel and engage with other people. This is also for them to learn different cultural traditions and how to go about travelling on their own. With the two years that she has been in Samoa, she has noticed the growing number of cars. She also noted the difference in markets in Samoa and her homeland. It is part of the Samoan culture where I just see them every time selling fruits on the streets and it is a good time to engage. Totally different from Australia, we have some markets but they are more contained. Whereas here you can just walk along the road and there are markets everywhere which is really nice and a really good opportunity for the people to sell what they produce. Priscilla says coming to Samoa teaches the students things that are not found in Australia and that is to be challenged and have fun. Chinese businesses establishing themselves in Samoa contribute a lot to our development. So says 67-year-old father, Ligaliga Toma, from Fasitoo-Tai. Mr. Toma was on his way to his plantation yesterday morning when he met the Village Voice team. He said everything in Samoa was good except the cost of living. I think the life we have here in Samoa is not bad at all because despite the high cost of living, we still have things to rely on. We have been blessed with the land and the sea and I think thats where the focus should be when life is really hard. Mr. Toma supports Chinese businesses in Samoa. The Chinese businesses around our country are the ones who are making things cheaper for the public. Most of the locally-owned businesses are selling things quite expensive but thanks to the Chinese men for making it easier for us. Mr. Toma added these Chinese businesses also provided employment opportunities for the locals. Thats another good contribution of the Chinese businesses because they hire locals to work for them so in return these locals are able to support their families. Mr. Toma added that to create better competition, local businesses need to make things cheaper for the public. He said things were easier now because of the competition between locally-owned businesses and Chinese businesses. I believe more competition can make things cheaper. Mr. Toma said his wife and kids were all in New Zealand but he preferred to be in Samoa to look after their land and properties. He said his brothers children always visited him at his home so he never felt alone. ABC/Image Group LAChances are that sometime this year, you heard a high-pitched voice declaring, "Ooh, ooh, I'm rebel just for kicks now," and wondered who it was. That's probably how Portugal. the Man's breakout hit "Feel It Still" became one of the most Shazamed songs of 2017. The song recognition app has unveiled its list of the 15 most Shazamed tracks of the past year, and the Grammy-nominated "Feel It Still" arrives at number 13 on the list. "Believer" by Imagine Dragons comes in at number 14, and Kaleo's "Way Down We Go" rounds out the ranking at number 15. Coldplay also sneaked onto the list thanks to their collaboration with The Chainsmokers, "Something Just Like This," which ranks at number eight. As for the most Shazamed song of 2017, that would be Ed Sheeran's omnipresent hit "Shape of You." Here's the list of the 15 most Shazamed tracks of 2017: Ed Sheeran -- "Shape of You" Luis Fonsi feat. Daddy Yankee -- "Despacito" Clean Bandit feat. Sean Paul & Anne-Marie -- "Rockabye" Charlie Puth -- "Attention" The Weeknd feat. Daft Punk -- "I Feel It Coming" J Balvin & Willy William -- "Mi Gente" Kygo & Selena Gomez -- "It Ain't Me" The Chainsmokers & Coldplay -- "Something Just Like This" Harry Styles -- "Sign of the Times" Burak Yeter feat. Danelle Sandoval -- "Tuesday" Ofenbach -- "Be Mine" Calvin Harris feat. Pharrell Williams & Katy Perry & Big Sean -- "Feels" Portugal. the Man -- "Feel It Still" Imagine Dragons -- "Believer" Kaleo -- "Way Down We Go" Copyright 2017, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. Mayawati's comment come a day after her party, the Bahujan Samaj Party, showed signs of a revival by winning two mayoral seats in the Uttar Pradesh civic polls. Chief Minister Yogi Adiyanath has rejected allegations that EVMs were tampered with in the election. By India Today Web Desk: Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati guaranteed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's BJP won't come to power after the 2019 Lok Sabha elections if voters use ballot papers instead of Electronic Voting Machines (EVM), the news agency ANI reported. If the BJP is honest, they should discard EVMs and let voters use ballot papers, Mayawati was quoted as saying. If the saffron party believes the people are with it, it must implement this measure, she said. advertisement Earlier this year, Mayawati alleged that EVMs had been "managed" so they would favour the BJP, right after Modi's party routed her BSP and the ruling Samajwadi Party (SP) in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly election. "It appears that voting machines have not registered votes cast in favour of other parties, or all the votes have been polled for the BJP. Even Muslim votes have gone to the BJP," she said at the time. If BJP is honest & believes in democracy then discard EVMs & conduct voting on Ballot papers. General Elections are due in 2019. If BJP believes people are with them, they must implement it. I can guarantee if Ballot papers are used, BJP won't come to power.: Mayawati, BSP Pres pic.twitter.com/NYveJeuSDb- ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) December 2, 2017 But yesterday, there was something for Mayawati to cheer about: The BSP won two mayoral seats in a three-phase civic body election in Uttar Pradesh, a state Mayawati has governed as chief minister four times. The BJP won all fourteen of the remaining mayoral seats, leaving nothing for the SP or the Congress. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath rejected accusations that EVMs had been tampered with. ""Only those people are complaining of EVM tampering who might have benefited from such a thing. I read the statement of (SP leader) Naresh Agrawal who blamed EVMs for our victory." he said. "I want to ask Naresh Agrawal that does he believe that his son (Nitin) won the election due to faulty EVMs? If so, he should ask him to resign and go for a fresh election." WATCH | Ram Rajya by 2022, says Yogi Adityanath after BJP's impressive perforance in UP civic polls --- ENDS --- Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi has a lot on his mind. And judging from what hes been saying lately in public, chief among his concerns is tracking down O le Palemia and all those anonymous bloggers. We can understand. After all, these people who he/they are - have been badmouthing the political establishment Tuilaepa has proudly lorded over for some 20 years and now he has had enough. The worry from where we stand is that it seems our poor Prime Minister cannot sleep thinking about how to catch them. How do we know? Its simple, it doesnt matter what issue you put to the Prime Minister Tuilaepa these days, his mind just cannot move away from those faceless bloggers. Take for example the front-page story of the Weekend Observer yesterday with the headline P.M. deflects critics over alleged passport sale. The issue in question is quite clear; it is where the government is at with its investigation into the alleged sale of Samoan passports online. Now from the Police, we know that a former Immigration officer has been arrested and charged. But the Prime Minister doesnt appear too concerned about that. What he is more focused on is the criticisms his government has copped over the issue and of course the attacks from O le Palemia. A democratic government allows people the freedom to express their opinions even if its stupid, Tuilaepa said. A warrior will write their opinion and put their name there for people to see. But people who know they are stupid and write about stupid things will write things and hide behind fake names. So the only thing for us to do is to make sure the skin on our forehead is thick. We also have to forgive them, bearing in mind the scripture that says every time we forgive them, we are piling coals of curses on him. We definitely agree with the P.M. about the need for people to be responsible about their opinions. In an ideal world, every opinion should have a real name to it. It is the right thing to do and the only way for a writer to show they are responsible, transparent and accountable for their work. But the idea of releasing forgiveness to pile curses on someone is a bit strange. Coming from the man who drove the changing of the Constitution so that Samoa today is an official Christian state, we find it strange. Come to think of it, if Tuilaepa has forgiven O.L.P. whoever he/she is and other faceless bloggers what seems to be bothering him then? Why is he wasting so much time talking about such faceless characters? Are they not stupid and gutless according to him? Why does he continue to justify and give credit to their existence? In any case, what Tuilaepa says next perhaps gives us an explanation. He goes on to say that the H.R.P.Ps ability to absorb criticisms over the years is what has made them solid. We are transparent. Our role is to explain everything and help people understand and its up to them to make up their minds, he said. People will always criticize, its expected and that is why we have to have thick skin. Any incident involving a girl or a boy within the government, this affords the public the opportunity to criticize the government. One persons mistake will open the door for people to criticize the government, starting from its leader. I am used to it and that is why I have to have thick skin on my forehead. That is how you deal with these types of issues; otherwise if you dont have think skin, youll die sooner rather than later. Now this coming from the Prime Minister makes more sense. It sounds a lot more like him. The fact is the governments recent Criminal Libel stunt will not catch these faceless bloggers. You cannot prosecute an unknown person. Even a fool and an idiot would know that. This is yet another move designed to cripple the legitimate media who exist to be the watchdog and challenge the establishment. Perhaps what Prime Minister Tuilaepa and members of his administration should do is get off Facebook and do some real work. Start by telling us what is happening to those Audited Accounts from the Controller and Chief Auditor for the past several years that must be gathering quite a lot of dust on the shelves of Parliament while they waste time trying to figure out the most wanted man/woman in Samoa weve come to refer to as O.L.P. What do you think? Have a peaceful Sunday Samoa, God bless! Dear Editor, The ocean view from the deck of Litia Sini Beach Resort, Lalomanu, is one of my favourite in Samoa. The first time I visited it back in May 2012, I survived by miracle the vicious rip current of the reef channel that is just in front of the mentioned deck. I later learned that at least five people had drowned in that same channel in the previous years. That spot is a real trap for unaware snorkelling tourists. Despite the above, there was not even one sign warning the visitors in 2012, nobody from the resort bothered to warn me before I took to the sea, and no rescue whatsoever was available. At the time, I recounted in details my near-death experience on the Samoa Observer and on the web site of the US National Oceanographic Atmospheric Agency (Google NOAA+rip currents+survivor stories+international /Samoa) with the aim to raise the awareness of the management of the resort and of the authorities about this danger. In the hope that no one would experience anything similar following my ordeal. The few times I talked to the management of the resort and its staff I realized that they were not keen neither to recognize the problem nor to talk about it. They even tried to deny that there had been people drowned in front of their resort or pretended to not know. Last year three warning signs were finally placed on the beach and in the water but they are either too small and far to be seen from the beach or located in useless locations of the beach. Meanwhile, sadly, another two tourists have lost their lives at the same channel: an Australian last year and a Japanese three months ago. On visiting the resort on 13 August 2017, I found out that - probably following the recent death of the Japanese tourist Litia Sini resort finally placed somebody acting as a kind of life guard - very young and not so well equipped, my first impression. No trace of any kayak or boat on the shore ready to be used for any emergency. In September 2017, I had a chance to talk with somebody from the management of the resort Taufua, adjacent to Litia Sini resort: this lady promptly shared with me her observation that a person drowns almost every month in the death channel located in front of the deck of Litia Sini resort. She added that last year there had been a training in life guarding in Lalomanu organized by an Australian institution but nobody from Litia Sini resort participated in it. How many more people have to die before the Litia Sini resort realizes that they are located just in front of the most treacherous and dangerous reef channel of all Samoa and that their business is strictly dependent on the safety of their visitors? Gianluca Serra EDS NOTE: The Samoa Observer had contacted Litia Sini Resort about this issue earlier this year. On the phone, we were assured by the Resort they are doing everything possible to warn people about the dangers of the reef channel there. But when the Samoa Observer visited the area, the Resort owner declined to be interviewed about the issue. A former Methodist Church Minister, Aukuso Tupai, has moved to withdraw his guilty plea in connection to the alleged rape of his wifes niece who was living with them. The defendant was initially charged with five counts of sexual violation, with each count carrying a maximum jail term of life imprisonment, according to the Police Summary of facts. Apart from being a Church Minister, the Police report indicated the 49-year-old defendant from Sagone Savaii, was married and employed as a teacher at Wesley College. The defendant is married to the victims aunty, being the sister of the victim, says the Police report. According to the Police report, the defendant had allegedly raped the victim three times between August 2014 and November 2014. At the time of the first offending, the victim was 18 and was attending Wesley College and was in Year 13. The victim was living with the defendant and his family at Faleula. The first incident allegedly occurred when the victims aunty was not at home and the victim was cleaning around. After a while, the victim walked into the house to get the teapot, the defendant followed the victim and locked all the doors. As the victim made her way out of the house to finish off her chores, the defendant called out to the victim to remain in the house. The victim complied and when he reached where she was, he pulled her into the adjoining bedroom. The defendant locked the bedroom, and told the victim to take off her clothes. The defendant tried to take off the victims T-shirt but the victim grabbed a hold of her shirt and raped her. The second incident allegedly occurred when the victims aunty was also not at the house and the defendant followed the victim into her bedroom and locked it. The victim told the defendant that once her aunty returned, she was going back to her family. The defendant threatened the victim that even if she returns to her family, he will follow her there and kill her. The victim stood up to leave the bedroom but the defendant threatened the victim to comply with his sexual demands, says the Police report. Its alleged the defendant then raped the victim again. According to the Police report, the alleged third rape incident also occurred between August, 2014 and November, 2014. In January 2015 the victim discovered that she was pregnant with the defendants child and she gave birth in July, 2015. In January 2015, the defendant has his family moved to look after the parish at Neiafu Savaii as part of his ministerial calling, says the Police report. Its alleged this was where the fourth incident occurred. The Police report says that between 31 December, 2015 and February, 2016 at Neiafu, the aunty was taken to the hospital leaving the defendant, his children and the victim and her baby. The victim was breastfeeding her baby when the defendant approached her several times. The Police report indicated the defendant allegedly raped the victim for the fourth time. Furthermore, the Police report indicated that another alleged rape incident occurred around the same period of time and by June, 2016; the victim discovered she was pregnant with the defendants second child. At the time the defendants wife was suspicious of the victim and the defendant. The victim never told anyone who the father of the children was until her family grew suspicious and she told her grandmother that the defendant was the father, says the Police report. Around November, 2016, the victims mother reported the matter to the police and the defendant was then taken in for questioning. During his criminal mention in June, 2017, the defendant denied the charges. However last month Tupai pleaded guilty to the rape charges. He was subject to be sentenced before Supreme Court Justice Vui Clarence Nelson last week. But Tupai appeared with his new lawyer, Shane Wulf, replacing Arthur Lesa. The defendant, through his lawyer, sought the Courts approval to vacate his guilty plea. Justice Vui rescheduled the matter for 18 December 2017 to hear the motion by defense on the grounds of vacating the guilty plea. Miss Samoa, Papalii Alexandra Iakopo, has touched down in Fiji for the Miss Pacific Pageant. It has been a while since a Samoan contestant has worn the crown. She will be hoping to break the drought. Papalii is accompanied by a strong contingent from Samoa including Nanai Laveitiga Tuiletufuga who provides the following story from Fiji: Miss Samoa, Papalii Alexandra Iakopo is mindful of the responsibilities she is shouldering as one of the nine regional contestants vying for the Miss Pacific crown taking place in Nadi, Fiji this week. She has been forewarned by her Prime Minister before heading for Nadi that she will shoulder the high expectations of her country, in particular the pride and reputation of a Tamaitai Samoa. She knows full well that Samoan women are famous when it comes to their identity as achievers, decision makers and as the pillar or foundation of families, societies and our country. And she needs to meet these high expectations. For the 23-year old Qualification Officer with the Samoa Qualification Authority (S.Q.A.) she is in Nadi for a reason. Her personal journey is a telling one, having cheated death twice after surviving two life-threatening heart operations. And in recent weeks the passing of her father, the late Deacon Isaako Iakopo. But she is in Nadi and she remains firm in her resolve that after everything, there is a reason why her father in heaven wanted her to be where she is today. In memory of her later father, she dedicates her participation in the Miss Pacific Pageant to him. When I was crowned Miss Samoa, my dad encouraged me to do my best and said God will take care of the rest, she says. I know he is with me in spirit and I will fulfill his wishes to be the best that I can be. A vocal and outspoken advocate for universal education, Miss Samoa disagrees with the notion the annual pageant, now celebrating her 31st anniversary this week, is just another beauty pageant. I disagree entirely with that thought, she said. The Miss Pacific Pageant is a testament to the pivotal role played by Pacific women in their respective countries. The Pageant is about womans perspective and to recognize and respect their contribution as family makers as well as decision makers in all sectors from none government to government and civil. And in many cases, they are also the breadwinners for their families, churches and societies. So to label the Miss Pacific Pageant as a fashion show with beautiful faces and glamour, is an understatement. Papalii also acknowledges the pageant as a platform for Pacific fashion designers and artists to showcase their talents and natural flairs as original creators. Its about encouraging young ladies that they can be anything they want to be if they believe in themselves, she added. Educated in Samoa and a graduate from the Colorado Monarch High School in California U.S.A., Miss Samoa is ready for the unexpected. I have faced challenges that have strengthened my faith, eager to grow as an individual, serve and share my culture with the world, and contribute to the sustainable development of Samoa, she says. Now armed with a Bachelor of Arts from the National University of Samoa, Alexandra started as a hotel receptionist before taking up N.U.S. studies where she did an internship with the N.U.S. Governance Policy Planning Unit and as a Support Officer with the House Disability Division with the Australian High Commission. She is the second youngest in a family of three brothers and one sister. Papalii is contestant five. The Pageant finale is next Friday. Q: Last year, I volunteered to sit on the architectural committee for our homeowners association and it really opened my eyes to how an HOA operates. Applications for solar power installations are approved without hesitation. We do not require the owner to submit a copy of a building permit before work begins. It seems to me we are leaving ourselves unprotected in the event there is a mishap with the solar equipment that results in personal injury or loss of property. I broached the issue with the board; they indicated that our only concern is the esthetics of the installation. I would like to ensure we protect the interests of the HOA. Your thoughts, please. D.R., Riverside A:As you may know, Civil Code 714 and 714.1 establish strong protections for solar energy installations in common interest developments. Associations may not ban solar systems, and may not impose requirements that decrease system efficiency by 10 percent. This January, Civil 714 becomes even stronger, as associations may not ban installation of solar systems on common area roofs or garages. In planned developments, associations have less to say about solar systems, because they are usually installed on owner lots and not common area. However, installation of solar systems in condominium projects presents much greater concerns because roofs, garages, and carports are typically common area, and therefore usually association responsibility. Systems installed on common area may cause leaks, or interfere with future roof replacement, repair and maintenance. Installers could harm the roof, injure themselves or injure others. Associations are not required to give carte blanch to solar system installations, and may impose reasonable limitations. Civil Code 714.1 specifically authorizes certain important requirements. Associations may require an approved solar energy system for installations on common area; that the owner of the system to provide for the maintenance, repair and replacement of roofs or other affected building components; and that the system installers indemnify the association from any damage caused by the installation, maintenance or use of the system. Advertisement Starting in 2018, a new Civil Code 4746 will provide that, regarding solar systems upon a shared roof, associations may also require that all the owners in the building be notified, that successive owners of the unit also will be responsible for the system, and that the member has insurance in place naming the association as an additional named insured. The association also may require the applicant to commission a solar site survey to determine what is the fair share of a multi-unit buildings roof that can be used by the owners solar system. Associations also should be careful about leased solar systems, in which the HOA member does not own the system. The HOA does not control the leasing company, so associations may require members own the system to be installed. Solar systems will continue to improve in efficiency, and an increasing number of HOA members are likely to seek to install them. Therefore, associations should plan ahead and have requirements that do not discourage solar systems, but protect the HOA and its common area. Building permits (if required), and liability and workers compensation insurance covering the installers is also essential. Kelly G. Richardson, Esq. is a Fellow of the College of Community Association Lawyers and Senior Partner of Richardson Ober PC, a California law firm known for community association expertise. Submit questions to Kelly@RichardsonOber.com. Past columns at www.HOAHomefront.com. Would you know if your teen was swiping sedatives from a family medicine cabinet, and then taking them at school? Could you spot a vaping pen used for smoking pot in your students pencil bag? Parents asked themselves these questions during a presentation on drug and alcohol abuse at Escondido High School Thursday night. School officials organized the event after a spate of recent incidents at three campuses in which students became ill after taking the drug Xanax. The discussion covered the types of substances trending now, their potential side effects, and the avenues through which students are exposed to both street and prescription drugs. Advertisement I have been out of the loop on all of this because I work full time, said Melissa Navarrete, whose 15-year-old son attends the school. This whole thing is new compared to when I was in high school. As there are more mental health issues among adults, (prescription drugs) are more available to kids. In September, five students at San Pasqual High School in Escondido became ill after taking pills that authorities believe to be Xanax, a sedative used to treat anxiety. A month later, two other groups of Escondido students from Rincon Middle School and Del Lago Academy were also sickened after apparently taking the prescription drug. Authorities said the pills they popped could be the actual medication Xanax or a counterfeit and potentially more dangerous -- version being sold on the street. Known as handlebars, planks, brick, Xannies and other nicknames, the drugs are dispensed in individual tablets or in multi-dose bars that can be split into individual pieces, said Yesenia Martinez, community organizer for the Escondido Drug-Free Community Coalition. Teens experimenting with the drug sometimes take the entire two-milligram bar equivalent to four standard doses. Symptoms of Xanax use include slurred speech, shallow breathing, sluggishness, fatigue, disorientation and lack of coordination, she said. Counterfeit versions are also up for sale. Those could be essentially inert, she said, or more potent and deadly than pharmaceutical pills. Some pills contain little alprazolam (the active ingredient in Xanax) or more than two milligrams, Martinez said. Some can be laced with Fentanyl, a synthetic opioid thats fatal at small doses. Some students, including high achievers, also abuse stimulants such as Ritalin or Adderall, using them to stay awake or boost study sessions, she said. Once they become addicted, users sometimes crush the tablets and snort or inject them. Marijuana, now legal, is available in myriad forms, including edible varieties attractive to kids, such as chocolate, soda and even gummy candy. It can also be consumed in vaping devices, some of which are designed to look like pens or flash drives. Some of the kids have stuff in plain sight, she said. They hide vaping pens with their markers, so at first glance you dont see it. Students surveyed about marijuana say pot is easier to get than alcohol and many believe it has no harmful side effects, she said. Thats in contrast to studies that show risks ranging from mental health issues to lung cancer, she said. Those dangers are familiar to Lourdes Osornio, an Escondido High School parent who said her brother began using drugs at age 11. With three children of her own, ages 18, 15 and 11, Osornio said she came to the presentation to stay a step ahead on substance abuse. I grew up in a neighborhood in Mexico where little kids used drugs, she said. When I grew up, I said I dont want it in my house. deborah.brennan@sduniontribune.com Twitter@deborahsbrennan The Vista Unified School District has selected Linda Kimble to be its new superintendent. Kimble currently serves as superintendent for the Anaheim Elementary School District in Orange County. The Board of Trustees will vote to confirm the appointment at its next meeting. Kimble replaces former Superintendent Devin Vodicka, who resigned in May to work for an educational technology company. Matt Doyle, assistant superintendent for the district, has served as interim superintendent during the national search. Advertisement Kimble joined Anaheim Elementary in 2012 after working as superintendent for Monrovia Unified School District. She also served as superintendent for Keppel Union School District and Acton-Agua Dulce Unified in Los Angeles County. She started her career in education as a bilingual and migrant education teacher in the Palmdale School District. Kimble earned her bachelors and masters degrees in educational administration and her doctorate in educational management from the University of LaVerne.She has written two books, The Principals Guide and The Savvy Superintendent. We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Kimble to our district and community, Board President Rich Alderson said in a statement. Her award-winning leadership across Southern California will be a tremendous asset to Vista. deborah.brennan@sduniontribune.com Twitter@deborahsbrennan Chula Vista has the land. Southwestern College has the money. Can a decades-old dream for a four-year university in the South Bay finally come to reality? City and community-college district leaders agree its worth a try, seeing an opportunity to combine economic development, higher education and binational cooperation at one site to serve a still-rapidly expanding population. This community is ripe for some kind of four-year education, said Kindred Murillo, superintendent/president of Southwestern College. Its very clear that theres need. Advertisement Murillos view was part of a consensus that emerged at the first meeting of a joint task force Nov. 28 to explore a notion the group is calling a university center. Its envisioned as a multi-institutional partnership involving the city government, the Southwestern Community College District, an as-yet unidentified four-year college or university in California and a similar institution across the international border, all co-locating on the Chula Vista campus. Students would take community-college courses toward an associates degree (with the Chula Vista location functioning as a fourth satellite to Southwestern College), and then continue at the same site with upper-division courses to obtain a four-year degree. Students from each nation would do internships in the other, Chula Vista economic development director Eric Crockett said, in essence creating a border that is porous. Research would be a major emphasis, he added. Talk of a university in the South Bay region, including one proposal for a UC Chula Vista, has surfaced and resurfaced repeatedly over the last three decades, never gaining much traction. The current discussion began in January 2016 after consultants for the city of Chula Vista delivered a report on a proposed bi-national campus. Advocates see the university as catering to students who dont want to leave home for a college education or cant get into a UC or California State University school. If you live in the South Bay theres nowhere to go to get a four-year degree, said Chula Vista council member Patricia Aguilar, who serves with Mayor Mary Casillas Salas on the task force. Under the proposal considered by the task force, Chula Vista would offer Southwestern College as much as 375 acres in the southeast corner of the city, a university park and innovation district located near state Route 125 and the Millennia development. The Southwestern Community College District, meanwhile, has money from either of two voter-approved general-obligation bond measures, Proposition R of November 2008 and Proposition Z of November 2016, which could be used to develop the land. Approval from the City Council and community college governing board would be required; task force members expect to present the issue to their respective colleagues early in 2018. We have the best opportunity that weve had in the last 30 years, said Southwestern College board president Tim Nader. We have the leadership components in place. We do need to seize the moment as expeditiously as possible. What they dont have is a four-year partner. Casillas Salas said previous overtures to UC San Diego and San Diego State University found little interest in a partnership. The task force agreed both universities should be approached anew. Kindred noted, however, that theres no reason the partners couldnt reach out to more distant UCs or CSU institutions, or private universities, if thats what it takes to make the idea happen. A tour of a similar university center in the Santa Clarita Valley is planned for early next year. The government of Honduras declared a nationwide curfew late Friday in an effort to quell an outbreak of violent street clashes, road blockades and looting that have followed last Sundays disputed presidential election. The imposition of a curfew for 10 days between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. suspending citizens rights to travel freely within the country was read on national television and radio by Jorge Ramon Hernandez, the governments Cabinet coordinator. Anyone outdoors during those hours is subject to arrest. Advertisement The curfew began at 11 p.m. Friday local time, officials said. The announcement of a curfew was the latest dramatic development in a political crisis that has gripped this Central American nation. Authorities said the government decree was meant to restore order after days of street protests led by opposition activists who allege that the count of Sundays voting is being rigged to favor incumbent President Juan Orlando Hernandez. The president has a narrow lead, according to results released so far, but the count has yet to be completed. The large-scale protests across the country have devolved into episodes of road blockades, looting and violent confrontations with police and soldiers. Both the opposition and the government have condemned the violence and called for a peaceful response to the election results. As the curfew was announced, a plan to complete the counting of the final ballots appeared to have fallen apart, another sign of the deepening political crisis. On Friday, electoral officials in the presence of representatives from the major political parties were scheduled to begin a tally of thousands of ballots that were to be treated with special scrutiny because of reports of irregularities. But David Matamoros, president of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, which oversees the process, said Friday that the count was put off until Saturday. The decision was made after the major opposition alliance declined to participate in the special count once electoral authorities rejected their demands for a broader review of the vote results. We will do whatever we can to make the process more transparent, Matamoros said in a statement, while warning that the process needed to be completed soon. But time is running out. Five days after Hondurans went to the polls to elect a president, the outcome has remained unclear and a source of intense controversy. Protesters supporting the main opposition challenger, Salvador Nasralla, have alleged widespread fraud and vowed to push for a national strike if President Hernandez is officially declared the winner. With 94% of ballots counted, Hernandez had 42.9% of the vote, compared with 41.4% for Nasralla, the Supreme Electoral Tribunal reported Friday afternoon. This nation of almost 9 million has been semi-paralyzed by protests and widespread street vandalism since the election. Debris, rocks and broken glass blocked main arteries in the capital, Tegucigalpa, where many businesses, shops and schools were closed Friday because of the unrest. A half-block stretch of several colonial-era buildings, including the Museum of Man which traced the history of the country from its first human settlement lay in smoldering ruins from fires that broke out Wednesday in the capitals historic center. Police and soldiers in riot gear have used tear gas to disperse crowds of protesters, including hooded young men throwing stones and brandishing metal pipes. Opposition activists blamed pro-government provocateurs for the vandalism and violence. There have been no official counts of casualties in the violence, but news accounts indicated that dozens had been injured and at least two killed. Authorities rounded up more than 50 people accused of vandalism in the northern city of San Pedro Sula. I am calling on all Hondurans to calmly and peacefully await the Supreme Electoral Tribunals official results, the president said in a statement on Friday. Now that the worlds eyes are on us, we have the opportunity to set an example of civility, maturity and respect for one another. Vote counts earlier in the week showed Nasralla with a substantial lead, but the tallies tilted in favor of the president after pauses in the release of results and reports of computer failures in the counting system. The delays have left many suspecting that the voting process was manipulated in favor of Hernandez, a center-right figure whose leadership has been viewed favorably in Washington. The vote tribunal chief, Matamoros, said earlier Friday that authorities would begin counting the results from 1,301 balloting tally sheets, representing almost 6% of the total vote. Opposition leaders suspect irregularities in those and other votes. But that special count never began amid the opposition demands for a broader review. We have very little faith in the official results, said Rodolfo Pastor, an official of the main opposition coalition, the Alliance Against the Dictatorship. We can see an effort to manipulate with fraud the results. Steven Levitsky, a Harvard professor who studies politics in Latin America, said the sudden halt in public releases of the vote tally looks really fishy. This pattern of the incumbent beginning to lose or [falling] surprisingly behind, and then a computer crash ... it just happens too often in fraudulent elections to not be suspicious, he said. The events here somewhat recalled the notorious Mexican presidential election of 1988, when the long-dominant Institutional Revolutionary Party cited a computer glitch as the count stalled. The opposition alleged that the elections were rigged in favor of the ruling party, which managed to keep the presidency. At the same time, Levitsky said, if rural areas in Honduras were tallied after urban ones, the count reversal could be legitimate. The ruling party is stronger in areas outside cities, he said. In his statement, the voting tribunal chief who is close to the ruling party called for calm as the votes are counted. We call on the common sense of the two political candidates to maintain the peace and tranquility of the Honduran people, Matamoros said in a Twitter message. Police in riot gear surrounded the national job-training institute where ballots from around the country were being stored and counted. In previous days, thousands of protesters had descended on the outskirts of the complex. International organizations and foreign governments were urging Hondurans to remain peaceful. On Friday, Heide Fulton, charge daffaires at the U.S. Embassy in Tegucigalpa, said on Twitter that Honduras was entering a new unprecedented phase in the electoral process. She called on all parties to remain calm while the process unfolds. A measure of political instability has troubled Honduras since a military-backed coup ousted leftist President Manuel Zelaya in 2009. That military action still reverberated in this weeks election. The opposition challenger, Nasralla a centrist television personality with limited political experience has Zelayas support. Hernandezs party backed the military coup that removed Zelaya from office. Hernandez has repeatedly denied charges of corruption and ties to the countrys massive drug trafficking industry. Honduras is a major corridor for Colombian cocaine on its way to the United States. The country has also been plagued by internal violence and has one of the worlds highest homicide rates. Nina Agrawal in New York and Cecilia Sanchez in The Times Mexico City bureau contributed to this report. patrick.mcdonnell@latimes.com Twitter: @PmcdonnellLAT UPDATES: 10:10 p.m.: This article was updated with the government announcement of a curfew and other details. This was first published at 11:25 a.m. On Friday morning at Tijuanas Jose M. Larroque Elementary School, Tom Torlakson was the eagerest of students. Californias State Superintendent of Public Instruction had come to Baja California to learn about the hurdles facing those who make the switch between U.S. and Mexican schools. And seated before him in the schools small library was a group of seasoned experts. The challenge every day is to speak Spanish, said Marco Antonio Arellano Hernandez, 12, who recently moved from Las Vegas to Tijuana, and is now enrolled in sixth grade at the public elementary school on a hillside near downtown. The teachers helped us a lot. Advertisement Torlakson and Baja Californias Secretary of Education, Miguel Angel Mendoza, said their two systems are exploring ways to better address the needs of the students they share. This can range from making it easier to transfer academic records to expanding binational teacher training programs to increasing the number of exchanges between Mexico and California to promote bilingual education. Were searching for how we can help each other help those students, Torlakson said. How do we place them in the right academic setting so they dont feel frustrated and lost or behind? The visit was organized by the California Association for Bilingual Education, a nonprofit that advocates for bilingual programs and students learning English. Out of some 682,000 Baja California students enrolled in preschool through ninth grade, some 53,000 of them were born in the United States. Many have come from California and moved to Tijuana for a range of reasons in some cases because their parents were deported. Wearing white shirts, sweaters with the school logotype, and navy blue slacks or skirts, the students in the school library looked like typical Tijuana public school students. Yet most spoke English like any U.S. schoolchild. Clara Mateos Tachiquin, 9, said she left behind her classmates at Los Medanos Elementary School in Pittsburgh to move to Mexico with her mother. Her father was sent to prison, she said, for attempting to enter the United States without a passport. Julian Mares Barbosa, 9, said he was born on the other side in Long Beach but has been living in Mexico since kindergarten. My dad cant cross, thats why Im here, he said. California currently has an estimated 300,000 students who are unauthorized, according to the California Department of Education, and another 1 million students live with one parent or guardian who are in the country illegally. I expect deportation to ramp up, Torlakson said. President Donald Trumps approach unfortunately has been increasing tension with Mexico, he said at a news conference held at the Tijuana offices of the Baja California Public Education Secretariat. I think thats wrong, counterproductive. Secretary Mendoza said his systems relationship with California schools dates back two decades. Today it includes teacher training programs and collaboration with California higher education institutions such as University of California Los Angeles and San Diego State University. We needed to meet, to witness what is currently in place, Mendoza said of the California superintendents visit. We want to double, triple, quadruple these efforts. sandra.dibble@sduniontribune.com @sandradibble Donald Trump's daughter Ivanka headed the US delegation to the Global Entrepreneurship Summit in Hyderabad. Ivanka Trump, US President Donald Trump's daughter and adviser, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Global Entrepreneurship Summit (Photo: @USAmbIndia/Twitter) By Indo-Asian News Service: US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi "expressed satisfaction" with the Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES) during a phone call, the White House said. The US and India co-hosted the event in Hyderabad late last month. Its theme was "Women, First Priority for All." Trump's daughter and senior adviser, Ivanka Trump, headed the US delegation to the three-day summit. Representatives from 38 states were in that delegation. Ivanka's participation in the summit was announced during Modi's visit to the White House in June. .@IvankaTrump to #GES2017 delegates: "You are saving lives, creating jobs, and bringing hope to our communities." pic.twitter.com/oKctXaeIVI- Department of State (@StateDept) November 28, 2017 advertisement Modi attended the inauguration of the summit with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on November 28. About 1,500 delegates from 150 nations - including entrepreneurs, investors and eco-system supporters - participated in the event. More than half of them were women. Miss World Manushi Chhillar was one of them. On Thursday, State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert told reporters the summit was "a tremendous success when we bring in 1500 entrepreneurs from around the world". WATCH | GES 2017 represents the US' and India's shared commitment to encouraging entrepreneurship, says PM Narendra Modi (Video courtesy: @GES2017/Twitter) PM @narendramodi:#GES2017 represents the United States' and India's shared commitment to encouraging entrepreneurship & innovation. pic.twitter.com/XYs4kFmReT- GES2017 (@GES2017) November 28, 2017 --- ENDS --- Oil refineries must install air quality monitors at their fence lines and pay for pollution monitoring systems in surrounding communities by 2020 under rules adopted by Southern California regulators. The measures approved Friday by the South Coast Air Quality Management District board will provide the public with real-time information on refinery emissions, but do not include requirements that facilities reduce pollution when high levels are found. The rules come as a series of fires, explosions, flaring episodes and other incidents has sent smoke, dust and other pollutants into the air in recent years, stirring community anxiety about the dangers of living near California refineries. Advertisement The regions eight major oil refineries in Carson, El Segundo, Paramount, Torrance and Wilmington will be required to make the pollution readings they collect available on a website. The monitors likely to include optical remote sensing devices and other new technologies will measure 15 refinery pollutants, including smog-forming gases and toxic compounds like benzene, toluene and hydrogen cyanide. Regulators said the devices will provide data on routine emissions and accidental releases and also could help find and address leaks that might be going undetected. Air district officials said the rules were drafted concurrently with legislation Gov. Jerry Brown signed in October that requires air monitors to be deployed at refinery fence lines and in nearby communities by 2020. The measures earned praise from community groups, environmentalists and local officials who have long sought more information on what people near the sprawling facilities were breathing. Refinery emissions affect our communities at all times, especially our children, said Maria Ramos, a member of Communities for a Better Environment who lives near a refinery in Wilmington. But we are not aware of the levels of emissions that are being spewed into the air or what chemicals were being exposed to. Mayor Albert Robles of Carson, home to two refineries, welcomed the monitoring but criticized the rule because it does not provide a mechanism to address the health risks once the monitoring data is gathered and known and makes no requirements for the refineries to take action to control these emissions. The Western States Petroleum Assn. supports the monitoring rules, Southern California region director Patty Senecal said. The community monitoring network, paid for by fees charged to refineries, could include traditional fixed stations as well as remote sensors distributed throughout neighborhoods, officials said. The air district will consider suggestions from the public as it decides where to deploy those monitors. The rules will phase in over the next two years, along with an array of other refinery monitoring standards being rolled out by state and federal officials. Those include U.S. Environmental Protection Agency rules requiring fence-line monitoring for benzene and other mandates under recent legislation that extended the states cap-and-trade program for greenhouse gases. Bay Area pollution regulators adopted similar requirements for fence-line monitoring at oil refineries last year. tony.barboza@latimes.com @tonybarboza About two dozen women settled into a new temporary home Friday, grateful to be off the street but hopeful their stay would not be long. I never planned on being homeless, but Im grateful to have a roof over my head, said Sher Sandvik before entering the large tent the Alpha Project was opening on the corner of 16th Street and Newton Avenue near Petco Park. I trust the Alpha team, Sandvik said as her small dog, Snickers, nervously whimpered at her feet. Theyve been taking good care of us. Its a good day. Advertisement Sandvik was one of 21 women who arrived at the tent in what Alpha Project President and Chief Executive Bob McElroy called a soft opening. McElroy expected the tent to be at capacity with 350 people by the middle of next week. The large tent was the first of three the city of San Diego plans to open this month, which together will house 700 people. The opening of the tents marks a return to a similar effort the city abandoned two years ago, when it took down two large tents used for several years as winter shelters and moved the people into rooms at Father Joes Village. Visiting the site of the new tent, which was on the same location as one of the winter shelter tents, San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer said there were significant differences between the old and new programs. It was the right thing to do, to go into a permanent year-round facility, and this is the right thing to do to get people off the street, he said about closing the old tents and opening the new ones. Although the tent closures two years ago supposedly were replaced with an equal number of beds at Father Joes Village, the number of people on the street continued to increase, reaching almost 1,300 downtown this year. A sense of urgency about the problem heightened with the recent hepatitis A outbreak that has left 20 people dead, including 11 homeless people, and sent hundreds to the hospital. The new tents will provide a safer environment, but they also are intended to serve as a bridge to permanent housing and a place where homeless people can get help with addiction, mental health issues, employment and housing opportunities. To have that here in one place, youre going to see a marked difference, Faulconer said about how he expected the services to help people make the transition into housing. The women who arrived Friday had been among 200 people staying at an encampment the Alpha Project had run near Balboa Park since October. A 31-year-old woman who gave her name only as Victoria was among the arrivals, and she admitted to being a little nervous about the move. I wish I could have stayed in the campground, she said, recalling how she had her own tent and there were large areas where she could mingle with friends or be alone. Im an outdoorsy girl, said Victoria, who grew up in San Diego. Im from California, but Im really more of a hillbilly at heart. Three hundred fifty people will sleep in bunk beds under the same roof, and they will be warm and comfortable, said McElroy, who saw the insulated, enclosed new tent as a significant improvement over the old one. At 50 feet by 275 feet, the new tent is larger than the old 60- by 100-foot tent, and the heating and air-conditioning are significantly better, McElroy said recalling how the old one often was warm on one side and cold on the other. The city had bought a storage tent with no ventilation in it, so it literally would rain condensation on people, he said. We had to put plastic across peoples blankets because it was raining inside the tent. A laundry and television were not set up yet Friday, but three mobile showers and many portable toilets were on the grounds. Each of the people inside will be given an identification card that will be scanned as they come and go, McElroy said. Terrie Woolever, who had been living in the encampment near Balboa Park, was so excited about moving into the new grounds that she said she paid $20 for a taxi to take her there so she could be the first in. Its a new future, she said. Its going to be a new life. gary.warth@sduniontribune.com Warth writes for the San Diego Union-Tribune. An encounter with Syrian refugees during a family trip to Turkey in 2014 inspired a UC Irvine senior to create the University of Californias first student-funded scholarship program for refugees and asylum seekers. Iman Siddiqi, 20, raised a little over $93,000 for the program last month during a banquet at the university. The best way for us to invest in the post-conflict development of war-torn countries and prevent a lost generation is by providing higher-education opportunities for displaced people, said Siddiqi, a political science and global Middle East studies major. Advertisement Its the first scholarship of its kind in the country, according to Karina Hamilton, who mentored Siddiqi through the fundraising project. Hamilton is the director of the UCI Dalai Lama Scholarship, which Siddiqi was awarded in May. The scholarship is granted to students who propose a project related to peace, passion or ethics. Winners receive $10,000 for themselves and $6,000 for their project. Siddiqis project was the banquet for the refugee scholarship program. Her goal was to raise $100,000. This is the first time a student has proposed such an ambitious fundraising project, Hamilton said. When she first talked about it, we were wondering if she would be able to achieve the goal, which was extraordinary. My initiative has shown me the impact of grassroots fundraising. It was all family, friends, no crazy corporations or anything. Iman Siddiqi, UCI senior Siddiqi said the next step is to create a committee to determine eligibility requirements and oversee the distribution of money to eligible students. Scholarships will be available by the 2019-20 academic year, she said. Siddiqi said that upon returning from Turkey, she knew she wanted to help displaced students. To start, she enrolled in Arabic-language courses and practiced through online language learning apps, where she connected with Syrian students. With support from Books Not Bombs, a nonprofit that encourages students to campaign for their universities to offer scholarships to Syrian students, Siddiqi wrote a resolution in 2016 calling on UCI to create scholarship opportunities for students displaced by armed conflict. The student government approved the resolution. But when Siddiqi asked the UC Board of Regents this year to join a network for such scholarships for Syrian students, board members were hesitant because of financial and political concerns, she said. She then turned to the Dalai Lama Scholarship as a way to make the refugee scholarship happen. My initiative has shown me the impact of grassroots fundraising, she said. It was all family, friends, no crazy corporations or anything. Yama Ahmadi, an Afghan refugee attending Fullerton College, heard about the scholarship program through the Anaheim-based nonprofit Access California Services and is now a prospective applicant. Ahmadi, 26, left his home country in 2014 after working with the U.S. Army for four years as a cultural advisor and interpreter. Because he worked with U.S. forces, it wasnt safe for him to remain in his village, he said. As a refugee, it is not easy to find a scholarship program and get financial help, Ahmadi said. Most of the refugee students dont have family support and they work for minimum wage, so with all the expenses of renting, clothing, food, it is impossible to pay for school. Iman made it so easy for us. Vega writes for Times Community News. priscella.vega@latimes.com Twitter: @vegapriscella Most political candidates dont run their election campaigns from a hospital room while tethered to equipment and wearing a medical gown. But that is what Chula Vista City Council candidate Steve Castaneda has been doing of late. It all began two to three months ago when he started feeling extremely tired and run down. He noticed a lump on his neck but didnt pay it much attention. Then he experienced flu-like symptoms so he ramped up liquid intake, rest and Advil. Advertisement It wasnt until he woke up one morning with his head feeling twice its normal size, his face swollen and his breathing labored that he finally went to the doctor. Tests and X-rays revealed blood clots in his lungs. Castaneda was sent home to await the results thinking he had pneumonia, only to be ordered a few hours later to report to the emergency room right away. Just walking eight feet from the parking lot to the ER was like climbing Mount Everest, recalls Castaneda, who runs a family consulting business and sits on the Sweetwater Authority water board. More tests, scans and biopsies revealed enlarged lymph nodes, spleen and kidneys. Then came the diagnosis: cancer a very aggressive form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. I have no family history of cancer. Ive never been sick. Ive never even been in the hospital, says Castaneda, 58, who has three children. The good news, his doctor told him, is that this cancer is treatable and even curable: Were going to hit you with everything weve got. Castanedas first round of chemotherapy was in October, and his second round was in late November. He has lost his hair and dropped 25 to 30 pounds. His thoughts werent on the election during his first and strongest round of chemo, but things are looking up. On Nov. 24, Castaneda posted an apology to friends on Facebook for the absence of recent updates. This battle against lymphoma isnt going to be easy but I fully expect to win it. And as for my City Council campaign, I remain 100% committed to our city, and this race. Over the next few days, he was propped up in a chair next to his bed with his laptop on his knees and his cellphone in hand making campaign calls. Today he was released until his next chemo treatment. Chula Vista is very dynamic right now, says Castaneda, who served eight years on the council before being termed out in 2012. He and his wife Tanya, a former San Diego Union-Tribune reporter, bought a home not long ago in northwestern Chula Vista. Its in an older community and Castaneda is interested in the course of neighborhood revitalization and preservation. Its a time of transition in which he wants to be involved. If there is any silver lining to his illness its that people you dont even know well come out of the woodwork to wish you well, says Castaeda. Thats something Ill never forget. Im feeling really blessed. San Diego Police Chief Shelley Zimmerman (K.C. Alfred / San Diego Union-Tribune ) Crime on the run: San Diego Police Chief Shelley Zimmerman walks the talk or, in this case, drives the jive. While in her SDPD car driving to a luncheon to be guest speaker Thursday, she spotted suspicious activity at the corner of West Hawthorne Street and Pacific Highway. Her view of a suspected tagger was partially blocked by a vehicle next to her, so she alerted dispatch. A police unit was nearby and quickly responded, arresting a suspect for graffiti. For the chief, on time for her speech, it was all part of a days work. Zimmerman, meanwhile, is seeking community support of police salary hikes. A labor pact that would increase police pay by 25.6 percent to 30.6 percent is due to be voted on by council members on Tuesday. Salaries here havent kept pace with those of other major cities, argues the chief, who sees a serious impact on recruitment and retention of experienced officers. Name game: Barbara Beltaire is throwing a party Monday in which guests wont have any problem remembering attendees names. Thats because they will all be named Barbara. In what has become a 17-year tradition, Beltaire is inviting anyone named Barbara to join the 3-5 p.m. gathering at her La Jolla Shores restaurant, Barbarella. The occasion? St. Barbara Day. As always, she has sent invitations to Barbra Streisand and Barbara Walters, although they havent yet shown up. She has also invited San Diego Councilwoman Barbara Bry, a regular attendee. The price of entry? A gift for a Promises2Kids toy drive. Surely there will be no shortage of Barbie dolls. diane.bell@sduniontribune.com (619) 293-1518 Twitter: @dianebellSD Facebook: dianebell.news A Navy commander accused of helping the namesake target of the Fat Leonard bribery scandal cover his tracks was sentenced Friday to 18 months in federal prison. The sentencing of Bobby Pitts in San Diego federal court comes a little over three months after he pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy to defraud the United States. U.S. District Judge Janis Sammartino told Pitts during the hearing that he had betrayed the Navy and betrayed the country, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office. Advertisement Besides the prison term, the judge ordered Pitts pay a $20,000 fine and $7,500 in restitution to the Navy. From 2009 to 2011, when the investigation into contractor Leonard Glenn Francis had intensified, Pitts was in the perfect position to gain privileged reports from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service information he leaked to the target of the investigation. Pitts led the U.S. Navys Fleet Industrial Supply Command in Singapore, overseeing the contracts given to companies like Francis that provide services such as water, trash removal and security to visiting Navy ships throughout Southeast Asia ports. At the time, Francis company, Glenn Defense Marine Asia, was suspected of overbilling the Navy for its services allegations that turned out to be true. Francis, whose nickname refers to his large frame, has since admitted to defrauding the Navy out of $35 million and is awaiting sentencing in San Diego. Pitts was among several Navy sailors and officers accused of accepting bribes of lavish meals, hotel stays and prostitutes to help Francis stay ahead of investigators and continue his scheme. In one instance, Pitts admitted giving a GDMA representative an internal Navy email about efforts to question Thai officials about GDMAs billing practices in 2010. Pitts, who lives in Chesapeake, Va., was arrested in his home state in May 2016 and has been free on bond. He has been ordered to report to prison in February to begin serving his sentence. He is one of 28 Navy members and GDMA personnel charged in the longtime scheme so far. Most have pleaded guilty. kristina.davis@sduniontribune.com Twitter: @kristinadavis The former head of information technology at the nonprofit North County Health Services, which provides services to low-income people, pleaded not guilty Friday to siphoning nearly $800,000 from the organization. Hector Ramos, 55, was charged with 49 counts related to the loss of the money, which authorities said happened over the course of eight months in 2015. The Murrieta man faces 36 years in state prison if convicted of all charges, said Deputy District Attorney Anna Winn. Advertisement During Ramos arraignment in a Vista courtroom, his attorney, Thomas Warwick, said Ramos was a very credible individual, and had lived a blameless life for 30 years. Warwick declined comment after the hearing. According to Winn, North County Health Services hired Ramos at an annual salary of $200,000 to run its IT department in January 2015. Winn said that Ramos created two fraudulent corporations, then submitted false invoices from those corporations to North County Health Services. Winn said that Ramos would create a sense of urgency by telling staffers in the purchasing department that the entire computer system might shut down if the invoices were not quickly paid. Ramos assistant grew suspicious, investigated the two corporations and found that Ramos was on the board. The assistant reported it to organization officials, according to Winn. Winn said bank statements revealed that while the payments were made to Ramos companies, the records do not show purchases of computer equipment or software to match what North County Health Services had been billed. Rather, she said, the bank statements show lavish spending, including international vacations and thousands of dollars in purchases from a wine website. Other spending was on cigars, clothing, and a $44,000 check written to a Porsche dealer, the prosecutor said. Several employees attended Ramos arraignment, but declined to comment after the hearing. Winn said that the loss of the money was very demoralizing to the organizations employees, and that they had suffered a sense of betrayal. Superior Court Judge David Danielsen set Ramos bail at $1 million, and granted Winns request that, should Ramos make bail, he must prove that the source of the money was not illegally obtained. Aside from the criminal case, the clinics insurance company filed a civil suit against Ramos in July to recover nearly $800,000. That case is pending. teri.figueroa@sduniontribune.com (760) 529-4945 Twitter: @TeriFigueroaUT About two dozen women settled into a new temporary home Friday afternoon, grateful to be off the street but hopeful their stay would not be long. I never planned on being homeless, but Im grateful to have a roof over my head, said Sher Sandvik before entering the large tent the Alpha Project was opening that day on the corner of 16th Street and Newton Avenue near Petco Park. I trust the Alpha team, Sandvik said as her small dog, Snickers, nervously whimpered at her feet. Theyve been taking good care of us. Its a good day. Advertisement Sandvik was one of 21 women who arrived at the tent in what Alpha Project President and CEO Bob McElroy called a soft opening. McElroy expected the tent to be a capacity with 350 people by the middle of next week. The large tent was the first of three the city plans to open this month, which together will house 700 people. The opening of the tents marks a return to a similar effort the city had abandoned two years ago when it took down two large tents used for several years as winter shelters and moved the people into rooms at Father Joes Village. Visiting the site of the new tent, which was on the same location as one of the winter shelter tents, San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer said there were significant differences between the old and new programs. It was the right thing to do, to go into a permanent year-round facility, and this is the right thing to do to get people off the street, he said about closing the old tents and opening the new ones. Although the tent closures two years ago were supposedly replaced with an equal number of beds at Father Joes Village, the number of people on the street continued to increase, reaching almost 1,300 downtown this year. A sense of urgency about the problem heightened this year when a hepatitis A outbreak left 20 people dead, including 11 homeless people, and sent hundreds to the hospital. The new tents will provide a safer environment, but they also are intended to serve as a bridge to permanent housing and a place where homeless people can get help with addiction, mental health issues, employment and housing opportunities. To have that here in one place, youre going to see a marked difference, Faulconer said about how he expected the services to help transition people into housing. The women who arrived Friday had been among 200 people staying at an encampment the Alpha Project had run near Pershing Road by Balboa Park since October. A 31-year-old woman who gave her name only as Victoria was among the Friday arrivals, and she admitted to being a little nervous about the move. I wish I could have stayed in the campground, she said, recalling how she had her own tent and there were large areas to either mingle with her friends or be alone. Im an outdoorsy girl, said Victoria, who grew up in San Diego. Im from California, but Im really more of a hillbilly at heart. Whlie 350 people will sleep in bunk beds under the same roof, people will be warm and comfortable, said McElroy, who saw the insulated, enclosed new tent as a significant improvement over the old one. At 50 feet by 275 feet, the new tent is larger than the old 60- by 100-foot tent, and the heating and air-conditioning is significantly better, said McElroy, recalling how the old one often was warm on one side and cold on the other. The city had bought a storage tent with no ventilation in it, so it literally would rain condensation on people, he said about the old tent. We had to put plastic across peoples blankets because it was raining inside the tent. A laundry and television were not set up yet Friday, but three mobile showers and many portable toilets were on the grounds. Each of the people inside will be given an identification card that will be scanned as they come an go, McElroy said. Terrie Woolever, who had been living in the encampment near Balboa Park, was so excited about moving into the new grounds that she said she paid $20 for a taxi to take her there so she could be the first in. Its a new future, she said. Its gong to be a new life. Homeless Playlist On Now San Diego hepatitis outbreak continues to grow: 481 cases On Now Homeless entrenched in booming tent city along Santa Ana River On Now San Diego mayor agreed to homeless hub, then delayed, advocates say On Now Homeless outreach in San Diego On Now Video: Street Art: Portraits of San Diego's Homeless #8 On Now In poverty himself, 'Water Man Dave,' is the fearless saint of San Diego's homeless 5:41 On Now Video: Homeless living in cars find safe havens 2:21 On Now Street Art: Portraits of San Diego's Homeless #7 On Now Pitching a tent plan for San Diego's homeless On Now Homeless efforts get $80M boost for various services gary.warth@sduniontribune.com Twitter: @GaryWarthUT 760-529-4939 Thursday marks the 76th anniversary of the Japanese aerial attack on Pearl Harbor. Radios broke news of the battle shortly before noon. Within hours The San Diego Union newspaper boys raced down the streets with a special edition that carried a reports of the attack and local reactions. From the Unions War Extra, December 7, 1941: 11th NAVAL DISTRICT READY AS ALL MEN CALLED TO POSTS Reports of the bombing of American possessions and ships in the Pacific electrified San Diegos defenses into action soon after noon today. Naval headquarters was fully manned by 1 p.m. All naval men on leave were called immediately to their ships and posts. Advertisement STATEMENT ISSUED The 11th Naval district issued a brief statement which said: Capt. Byron T. McCandless, acting commandant, has called all personnel to duty at 11th Naval district headquarters and to all ships afloat. Within a matter of minutes the city streets were alive with navy men heading for their stations. From distant areas buses and street cars joined private vehicles in aiding the men to reach their posts in the quickest time possible. Ft. Rosecrans at 1 p.m. had received no special orders. Harold Nathan special agent for the Federal Bureau of investigation, said his office had received no instructions on what course to follow regarding non-citizen Japanese residing here. With the last two hours we have received no instructions on this matter, Nathan said. We know how many Japanese there are in the district and will be prepared to take any action necessary. However, we are not interested in all Japanese living with the district. CITY PERSONNEL ON ALERT Lt. Max I. Black, executive director of the civilian defense council, said all departments of the city have been put on the alert. We have notified the police, fire and water departments and warned them against sabotage. Lt. Black said. I am trying to get in touch with the head of the personnel handing the filter system. This is the system designed to spot enemy bombers which may appear over the city. From the Union, December 8, 1941: S.D. FOLK TENSE AS THEY LISTEN FOR WAR NEWS San Diego was listening yesterday. In hotel lobbies, in the bars, in the restaurants, along the streets... San Diego listened intently. Each new bulletin had special significance for the 300,000 who listened. A friend of my wifes sister is stationed in Hawaii. My son is in business in Manila. My boy may have to go in the next draft. LISTENING INTENSE San Diego listened intently. San Diegans who spoke, spoke briefly of the things near to their hearts-and then listened again. In the hotel lobbies radios that customarily whisper blared forth. On the streets, passersby strained to catch each shouted word of the horse-throated newspaper boys. Extra editions that followed one after the other throughout the day were snapped up as they hit the street. And yet, it wasnt enough. You still could feel the city tense-listening-greedily for more news, exact news, news that was revolting, yet news that you had to listen to. MANY IN CHURCH The first electrifying flash came a few minutes before church services let out. In houses of worship throughout the city, many hundreds were offering up prayers for peace at a time when-though they didnt know it-war already had shattered the lives of thousands of Americans-war brought to American soil after more than two years of faith that right would prevail over might. And the city listened... As worshipers came down the steps of the churches they heard the first reports of the bombing of Hawaii. They gathered in little groups. Their voices were subdued. HUSH IS NOTICEABLE Along the streets throughout the afternoon that same hush was noticeable. Girls and young men stopped their laughter in mid-flight. A marine with a duffel bag in one hand clasped his weeping girl-friend in the circle of his other arm. Even here sobs were repressed. San Diego listened because San Diego-perhaps of all the cities in the country-knows best the horrors of war. San Diego will have the highest percentage of its sons and stepsons in the holocaust ahead. But as it listened, San Diego seemed to be ready. The job is to be done. Historical photos and articles from The San Diego Union-Tribune archive compiled by merrie.monteagudo@sduniontribune.com. For daily updates follow @SDUTarchives. For content from 1871 forward visit the Union-Tribune archives at NewsLibrary.com. By PTI: Washington, Dec 2 (PTI) NASA has fired up the thrusters aboard the Voyager 1 spacecraft - the only human-made object in interstellar space - for the first time in 37 years. The spacecraft which has been flying for 40 years, relies on small devices called thrusters to orient itself so it can communicate with Earth. These thrusters fire in tiny pulses, or "puffs," lasting mere milliseconds, to subtly rotate the spacecraft so that its antenna points at our planet. advertisement Scientists were able to use a set of four backup thrusters, dormant since 1980. "With these thrusters that are still functional after 37 years without use, we will be able to extend the life of the Voyager 1 spacecraft by two to three years," said Suzanne Dodd, project manager for Voyager at NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in the US. Since 2014, engineers have noticed that the thrusters Voyager 1 has been using to orient the spacecraft, called "attitude control thrusters," have been degrading. Over time, the thrusters require more puffs to give off the same amount of energy. At 13 billion miles from Earth, theres no mechanic shop nearby to get a tune-up. Scientists analysed options and predicted how the spacecraft would respond in different scenarios. They agreed on an unusual solution: Try giving the job of orientation to a set of thrusters that had been asleep for 37 years. "The Voyager flight team dug up decades-old data and examined the software that was coded in an outdated assembler language, to make sure we could safely test the thrusters," said Jones, chief engineer at JPL. In the early days of the mission, Voyager 1 flew by Jupiter, Saturn, and important moons of each. To accurately fly by and point the spacecrafts instruments at a smorgasbord of targets, engineers used trajectory correction manoeuvre (TCM) thrusters that are identical in size and functionality to the attitude control thrusters, and are located on the back side of the spacecraft. However, since Voyager 1s last planetary encounter was Saturn, the Voyager team had not needed to use the TCM thrusters since November 8, 1980. Back then, the TCM thrusters were used in a more continuous firing mode; they had never been used in the brief bursts necessary to orient the spacecraft. On November 28, Voyager engineers fired up the four TCM thrusters for the first time in 37 years and tested their ability to orient the spacecraft using 10-millisecond pulses. The team waited eagerly as the test results travelled through space, taking 19 hours and 35 minutes to reach an antenna in the US that is part of NASAs Deep Space Network. advertisement On November 29, they learned the TCM thrusters worked perfectly and just as well as the attitude control thrusters. The plan going forward is to switch to the TCM thrusters in January. To make the change, Voyager has to turn on one heater per thruster, which requires power - a limited resource for the ageing mission. When there is no longer enough power to operate the heaters, the team will switch back to the attitude control thrusters. PTI MHN MHN --- ENDS --- An environmental activist from Northern California has announced his candidacy for governor and his top campaign platform is to break up the troubled state utilities commission. Michael Shellenberger, founder of the pro-nuclear group Environmental Progress, said Gov. Jerry Brown and the California Public Utilities Commission are responsible for creating some of the highest energy rates in the United States. He also blames Brown and the utility regulators he appointed for the corrupt deal that assigned customers $3.3 billion in costs related to the premature shutdown of the San Onofre nuclear plant and said he wants to secure a cleaner energy future by promoting nuclear power. Advertisement Shellenberger listed eight key pledges he said would lower energy costs, reduce poverty, improve education and promote cleaner sources of power. His first pledge is: Break up the corrupt California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), release secret emails and prosecute the criminals. The commission was the subject of a criminal investigation by former Attorney General Kamala Harris, although its unclear where the probe stands under her successor, Xavier Becerra. The investigation centered on emails showing potentially improper communications between regulators and the utility companies they are supposed to oversee. San Diego consumer attorney Mike Aguirre has a number of lawsuits against the commission, including one demanding release of more emails. A resident of Berkeley, Shellenberger is the founder and president of Environmental Progress, a nonprofit group that advocates for nuclear power across the country and world. The group is committed to preserving the Diablo Canyon nuclear plant on Californias central coast that has been scheduled for closure. Watchdog Videos On Now Sexual misconduct accusers worry deputy is being protected 6:16 On Now City funded $2-million waterfront bathroom 1:26 On Now Public water district charges customer for legal work, response to records request On Now Video: Tiny homes won't be reused amid housing, homeless crisis On Now Attorney General seeks documentation for Miss Middle East On Now Rep. Hunter probe covers possible fraud On Now Video: SDG&E delaying solar credit for some low-income housing tenants On Now Video: Former San Diego Junior Theatre teacher sentenced for sex with teen girl 0:24 On Now Video: Shelter volunteers believe they were fired for finding a dog a home 0:49 On Now McKamey Manor is leaving San Diego 3:35 jeff.mcdonald@sduniontribune.com (619) 293-1708 @sdutMcDonald San Diego police are asking the public to trade guns no questions asked for gift cards in Otay Mesa Saturday. The gun buyback event, which is meant to take firearms off the streets and reduce gun violence, is set to take place from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the park-and-ride lot off Caliente Avenue just north of state Route 905. A $150 gift card will be exchanged for handguns, rifles and shotguns, and a $250 gift card will be handed out for assault rifles, police said. Ammunitions and explosives will not be accepted. Advertisement Police said the firearms must be operational, unloaded and taken to the parking lot in the trunk of a vehicle. The event is put on by the San Diego Police Department, San Diego District Attorneys Office and Casa Familiar, a community-based organization that serves residents in South County. Breaking News Email: david.hernandez@sduniontribune.com Phone: (619) 293-1876 Twitter: @D4VIDHernandez Human remains found Friday in a shallow grave in empty desert in Riverside County are believed to be those of a San Diego woman whose ex-husband is accused of killing her, authorities said. Julia Jacobsen, a 37-year-old retired Army captain, and her Wheaten terrier, Boogie, vanished over Labor Day weekend. Along with the corpse of a woman, authorities also located the remains of a dog in the grave, said Cpl. Fred Alvarez of the Ontario Police Department, which has been investigating Jacobsens disappearance. Advertisement He said the Riverside County Coroners Office will determine the womans identity. The grim discovery came two days after 140 or so law enforcement personnel began searching for Jacobsens body in the expanse of the desert in Cactus City, about 10 miles east of Indio. The search group included police officers from Ontario and San Diego, sheriffs deputies from Riverside and San Bernardino counties, and a U.S. Marshals task force. Alvarez said information provided by Jacobsens ex-husband, Dale Ware, who has been charged with murder in her presumed death, led police to the remote area. In an email to the Union-Tribune, Wares lawyer, Steve Cline, said his client on Friday voluntarily showed police the place he had buried (Jacobsen) without a plea bargain or promise of leniency. The grave was discovered, with help from a cadaver dog, south of Interstate 10 near Box Canyon Road about 10:30 a.m., Alvarez said. For everybody here, including volunteers, our biggest thing is that thats somebodys daughter, somebodys sister, Alvarez said by telephone Friday evening. Its very important for us to get them closure. Jacobsen, whose friends said she served two tours in Iraq, was last seen in Ontario on Sept. 2. According to a felony complaint against Ware, authorities believe Jacobson was killed on Sept. 3 in San Bernardino County. Her SUV was found abandoned with the keys inside on Sept. 7 in North Park, not far from her home, according to Facebook posts about her disappearance. Ontario police said evidence found in the white Chevrolet Equinox led detectives to suspect she had been slain. Ware was arrested at his home in Phoenix, Arizona, on Oct. 12 and later charged with murder. According to court records, Ware and Jacobsen married on Feb. 28, 2014 and separated on March 1, 2016. She filed for divorce, and the marriage dissolution was granted on Dec. 13. The divorce filings against Ware said Jacobson would keep the couples home in Chula Vista and a property in Dallas. She was to pay Ware $20,000 in cash to even out the value of what each of them were keeping. Ware was excused from paying her back on two loans: $30,000 in 2010 and $6,000 in 2011. Authorities have not disclosed a motive for the presumed killing. Breaking News Email: david.hernandez@sduniontribune.com Phone: (619) 293-1876 Twitter: @D4VIDHernandez Police are searching for a man who sexually assaulted a 14-year-old girl who was walking to Mira Mesa High School Wednesday an attack that may be related to a similar case. The unidentified man in the recent attack approached the girl and started talking to her in a Spanish accent on Flanders Drive near Westonhill Drive about 6:30 a.m. Police said the teen was alone. After the sexual assault, the man ran away north through an apartment complex, police said. Advertisement He was described as a Latino man in his mid 30s and about 5 feet 6 inches tall, with a normal build, dark complexion and short, dark-colored hair. Investigators said the same man may have sexually battered a 15-year-old girl who was walking to Mira Mesa High about 6:30 a.m. on Oct. 12. The teen was on Hillery Drive near Westonhill Drive when the assailant walked up to her and started to talk to her in a Spanish accent, police said. After that attack, the man ran south through an apartment complex. He was described as a Latino man, 42 years old and 5 feet 2 inches tall, with short dark-colored hair. He was wearing a light-blue, short-sleeved shirt and baggy blue jeans, police said. Breaking News Email: david.hernandez@sduniontribune.com Phone: (619) 293-1876 Twitter: @D4VIDHernandez Senate Republicans, after a flurry of last-minute deals, salvaged their tax plan early Saturday and put Congress on track to deliver President Trumps most significant first-year accomplishment. The ambitious package, opposed by Democrats as a giveaway to the wealthy that will pile on the national debt, challenges GOP orthodoxy against deficit spending. Even after accounting for future economic growth, the plan is estimated to add $1 trillion to the deficit over 10 years, despite Republican promises that the tax cuts will pay for themselves. Still, all but one Republican voted to approve the bill. Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee, one of the GOPs few remaining deficit hawks, joined all Democrats in opposing the plan in a 51-49 vote. The bill must now be reconciled with a House-passed version, a process that leaders hope to complete as early as next week. Advertisement Corker, who is retiring at the end of his term, voted no after he was unable to convince colleagues to install a mechanism to claw back some tax breaks in the future if they worsened the deficit. I am disappointed, Corker said. I wanted to get to yes. But at the end of the day, I am not able to cast aside my fiscal concerns and vote for legislation that I believe, based on the information I currently have, could deepen the debt burden on future generations. As recently as Friday morning, passage was uncertain after a tumultuous week that exposed deep fissures among Republicans. Complicating matters for Corker and others was a congressional report that doubted GOP assumptions that tax cuts would generate enough economic growth to cover their costs. A planned procedural vote was abruptly canceled Friday morning as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell huddled with Republicans to address their concerns. Republicans could lose just two votes from their 52-seat Senate majority to pass the bill, amid Democratic opposition. That gave almost every GOP senator an opening to push for a deal. Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), who at times negotiated directly with Trump, secured changes to tilt benefits back toward middle-income households, particularly the reinstatement of a deduction for property taxes important to California and other areas with high-cost real estate. That deduction had been eliminated as part of a broader repeal of state and local tax deductions for individuals in the original Senate plan. The property tax deduction will be capped at $10,000, as proposed in the House bill, making reconciliation between the chambers potentially easier, especially because the provision was important to House Republicans from New York, California and other high-tax states. Youll see more middle-class relief from that, said Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio), who helped broker the deal with Collins. The final Senate bill also includes a repeal of the Affordable Care Act requirement that Americans have health insurance, which the Congressional Budget Office estimated would result in higher premiums and leave an additional 13 million Americans without coverage. Collins, who worried about that outcome, said she also won assurances from GOP leaders that they would help pass bipartisan bills designed to stabilize Obamacare markets and assist low-income consumers, and to protect the Medicare program from possible budget cuts that might arise from the tax plan. In another last-minute change, Republicans dropped plans to repeal the so-called alternative minimum tax for individuals, which would help raise hundreds of billions of dollar to pay retaining the property tax deduction and tax cuts elsewhere. Eliminating the AMT had been a key component of the GOPs framework, agreed to by congressional Republican leaders and the White House, part of their goal to simplify the tax code. Now Republicans will have to merge the Senate approach with the House bill, which proposed killing the AMT, reducing federal revenue by nearly $700 billion over a decade. As the debate dragged Friday, behind the scenes other senators were negotiating agreements, and one by one announced their support. Another key GOP holdout, Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), agreed to support the plan after winning a commitment from the White House and GOP leadership that there would be a forthcoming immigration deal to allow young immigrants, known as Dreamers, to permanently remain in the U.S. without threat of deportation if Trump ends the so-called DACA program as planned next year. Flake spoke personally to Vice President Mike Pence on Friday morning to ensure a seat at the table for an immigration deal. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), who had been working to secure bigger tax breaks for businesses and wealthy professionals that organize as pass-through entities, said he received assurances from leaders that some of what he wanted would be included in the final bill. One change Johnson secured would increase a proposed 17.4% deduction of income for those entities to 23%, which will be paid for with an increase in the repatriation tax rate for foreign earnings from the original 10% to 14%, also putting the Senate bill in line with the House version. An earlier deal with Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska opened part of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas drilling. It is likely that the Senate and House versions will be swiftly reconciled in a conference committee, though it is also possible that the House may opt to simply approve what the Senate passed. Unlike the collapse of GOP efforts to repeal Obamacare, Republicans in Congress appear determined to stick together and not let their differences interfere with their goal of passing tax cuts by year-end. Republicans are hungry for a legislative accomplishment with control of Congress and the White House, especially before they face 2018 midterm voters and deep-pocketed donors, who have grown impatient with other stumbles, particularly on healthcare. Groups backed by the wealthy Koch brothers, in particular, have been a constant presence at the Capitol, pushing the tax bill forward. The rushed process, conducted largely behind closed doors, drew criticism from Democrats and others for foregoing the usual hearings and debate expected for such a major legislative undertaking. This is not the way to do business in the U.S. Senate, said Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) during the floor debate. This is the way to do business in the swamp. After receiving the revised text hours before the vote, Democrats started tweeting pictures and videos of the inches-thick bill, complaining about the scribbled changes in the margins. Democrats criticized one revision from Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) that would have specifically exempted Hillsdale College in Michigan from a new 1.4% excise tax on university endowment investment income. Among the schools graduates is Blackwater founder Erik Prince, the brother of Trumps Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, and other alumni now in the Trump administration. The change was quickly revised to exclude Hillsdale from special treatment. But the provision was struck from the final bill by an amendment sponsored by Democrats. By midnight, Pence arrived at the Capitol to cast the tie-breaking vote on an amendment from Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and championed by social conservatives to expand tax-deferred 529 college savings accounts to K-12 private school tuition and home-school expenses. The House bill goes a step further expanding the accounts for unborn children. Overall, the House and Senate bills would be the most massive rewrite of the tax code in a generation, centered on the reduction of the 35% corporate rate to 20%, its lowest level since the Great Depression. The bills lower individual rates the Senate drops the top 39.6% rate to 38.5%, the House lowers it to 35%, other differences that will need to be resolved. But both bills also do away with many popular deductions used by Americans to reduce their tax bills, including the personal exemption. Instead, the bills offer an enhanced standard deduction, at $24,000 for couples, and a more generous $2,000 child tax credit in the Senate version. While taxpayers across income levels are expected to see cuts on average at first, the benefits are uneven and some households, nearly 1 in 10, would see a tax hike, according to the Tax Policy Center. Nonpartisan analyses show tax benefits flow mainly to the wealthy with reductions of $34,000 a year for the top 1% while lower-income households see $50 tax breaks. And while the corporate cuts are permanent, the individual rates under the Senate version expire in 2025, meaning most middle-income taxpayers would face tax hikes in eight years. The late decision to maintain the AMT will particularly hit middle- and upper-income households that have become increasingly exposed to the tax, which was initially designed to tax the wealthiest filers. One of those taxpayers was Trump. According to a leaked portion of this 2005 federal tax return, Trump paid $31.2 million in alternative minimum tax. That accounted for the bulk of the $36.6 million he paid in federal income taxes that year. For years, Republicans railed against rising deficits under then-President Obama. But the report Thursday from the nonpartisan congressional Joint Committee on Taxation said only about $408 billion would be raised through growth created by the tax cuts, leaving a $1-trillion shortfall. Corker, the powerful chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, had pushed for a trigger mechanism to reverse some tax cuts if deficits rise, but it was not allowed under Senate rules. Once leaders secured votes from other holdouts Friday, they appeared ready to push forward with the vote, with or without him. lisa.mascaro@latimes.com @LisaMascaro jim.puzzanghera@latimes.com ALSO Bannons ouster could boost the powerful Koch network, which has surprising sway in Trumps White House McCains surprise vote doomed GOP healthcare bill, but did it open the door for Senate bipartisanship? Is this small-town congressman from New Mexico tough enough to win Democrats the House majority? More coverage of Congress More coverage of politics and the White House UPDATES: 10:50 p.m.: This article was updated after the final Senate vote. 3:55 p.m.: This article was updated with details about the latest version of the tax plan and Corkers decision to vote no. 9:05 a.m.: This article was updated after the vote was delayed and McConnell announced that he had the votes needed for passage. This article was originally published at 7:25 a.m. Carmen Brito wonders whether theres room for her in the Bay Area. Three years ago, she returned to Oakland after teaching English abroad and lived out of a car when other housing fell through. Later on, she moved into the attic of a Berkeley house where the kitchen floor had rotted away. And in late 2015, Brito discovered the Ghost Ship warehouse, which had the artistic energy and community she was longing for and a $600 monthly rent she could afford even though it wasnt built for people to live there. Last Dec. 2, during a concert upstairs from her room , Brito woke up choking on smoke. She fled the building and called 911. Minutes later, the deadliest fire in Oaklands history destroyed the Ghost Ship, killing 36 people. Advertisement Though the Ghost Ship fire didnt reveal the Bay Areas housing problems, it underscored just how dire they had become. Decades of slow home building left the region unprepared as a tech-fueled economic boom has added more than half a million jobs in the last six years. Prices soared. By the time of the fire, San Franciscos median home value had topped $1 million, according to real estate website Zillow, and a city study found Oaklands rents had increased nearly 70% in the eight years prior. Over the last year, costs have gone up even more. The fire thrust Brito, a substitute teacher who makes pottery, back into the housing market, where she experienced what she had before. Brito moved into a house in Oakland, but was forced out soon after. She left the Bay Area, came back and bounced around friends places. Now she hopes shes found somewhere she can stay longer than a few months. At some point I realized anywhere I live in Oakland is going to be temporary, said Brito, who turns 30 later this month. Nothing is permanent. In the wake of the fire, Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf promised to make buildings safer and said she would work to prevent artists and other low-income residents from being forced out of the city. In January, Schaaf issued an executive order telling code enforcement not to shut down a building occupied by residents unless there was an immediate threat to life and safety. The city, the mayor said in a recent interview, must balance public safety with sensitivity to artists who provide the creative energy that this city has always been known for. We cannot afford to lose it, Schaaf said. I recognize that this housing crisis is putting that whole community at risk. But city officials quickly realized how difficult it was to strike that balance. Some buildings, Schaaf said, would be safe for residents only if events with many guests werent held there. Other buildings had emergency exits in one area, but not in others. March brought another deadly fire in the city when a blaze ripped through a West Oakland halfway house, killing four people just months after firefighters warned of dangerous conditions there. Oakland officials are making changes. Several new fire and code enforcement inspectors are expected to start work by the end of the month. Revamped fire inspection software goes live within weeks. Nearly 2,800 new homes were built last year, and city officials estimated increased tenant protections saved an additional 4,500 low-income households from eviction, exceeding the citys goals. I recognize that this housing crisis is putting that whole community at risk. Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf Still, housing costs continue to rise. Oaklands median home value has reached an all-time high of $694,900, up 6% over the last year. The median rental price is almost $3,000 a month, up nearly $100. Activists say they appreciate Schaafs emphasis on keeping artists and others in non-traditional homes, but too often visits from code inspectors have left tenants and landlords with few options. And although city records show landlords evicted tenants from five unpermitted residences in the past year, activists believe the actual number is much higher. Tenants are afraid to call the city even when living conditions are dangerous, said David Keenan, an organizer working to promote safe live-work spaces in Oakland. If a code enforcement person is the same person who can evict you and is responsible for keeping you safe, its an inherent conflict, Keenan said. Efforts to make it easier to legally convert warehouses into residences have stalled, and the current process has left artists struggling to comply with the rules. Days after the Ghost Ship fire, Misha Naiman learned her landlord was evicting her 12-member artist collective from a West Oakland warehouse they called Castle Von Trapp. Naiman, a 26-year-old medical researcher who makes large metal sculptures, started looking for somewhere else to live and make art. Her group found a landlord willing to rent them a different warehouse to convert to studio apartments and performance space. They formed a nonprofit, raised money and hired two engineers, an architect and an energy consultant. Naiman considers herself lucky that the West Oakland warehouse they are now renting was already retrofitted for earthquakes and zoned for residential use. If it wasnt, she said, the project would have cost too much. Even so, Naiman was paying less than $400 a month in rent at Castle Von Trapp and expects to spend more in the new place. The effort still requires a minor zoning change, and the citys building department has to sign off on the plans. A decision remains months away. The former Castle Von Trapp residents have scattered, awaiting their projects fate. Were up against quite a bit of work to put it lightly, Naiman said. Well see how it works out. Misha Naiman, center, speaks with Tanya Rutherford at a warehouse space in West Oakland where they are trying to receive permitting from the city that would allow them to build separate rooms and other facilities. (David Butow / For The Times ) For Brito, the Ghost Ship fire brought more housing insecurity. Last January, she found a room with three other people in what she called a normal-person house in Oakland for $500 a month. One night, she woke to find water flowing into her room. The ceiling was leaking because no one had cleaned the gutters on the roof. When it rained, lights flickered. She and her roommates considered calling the landlord about the wiring, but were worried they might get evicted. There were a ton of things wrong with the property, Brito said. But my friend was like, Its cheap rent. Its real cheap rent. Their fears came true. Over the summer, the landlord told Britos roommate she wanted to sell the house. Later on, the landlords attorney provided a list of problems that could lead to eviction. The biggest issue was that no one was supposed to live in the room Brito was in. She decided to leave so her roommates might be able to stay. Brito moved 2 hours away to Grass Valley, the rural Sierra foothills community where she grew up. Then she went to Thailand to teach English for a few months. The current scene, including a memorial, at the Ghost Ship warehouse, where a fire last year killed 36 people. (David Butow / For The Times ) Oakland continued to pull at her. She expects to testify in the pending criminal trial against the Ghost Ships property manager and another resident who promoted the concert. Even though only about a half-dozen of the Ghost Ships surviving residents stayed in the region some went to Los Angeles, Portland, Paris Brito still has a strong support network in the Bay Area and doesnt want to start over. She earns about $2,000 a month teaching, and a city should be able to house its teachers and service workers, she said. She returned to Oakland in mid-November and began scanning real estate listings. Craigslist was filled with advertisements for space in living rooms and garages. Shes also seen ads from older men offering to rent out their couches to young women if they first send pictures and pay a security deposit. On a recent afternoon, Brito scrolled through a Facebook group of apartment listings. An Oakland studio for $1,750. Another for $1,200. A room in Marin for $1,350. It just goes on and on and on, she said. Through friends, she found a room in another four-person home in Oakland for $500 a month. Its old and drafty, but shes excited her room has a closet and bookshelves built into the wall. She moved in Wednesday. liam.dillon@latimes.com @dillonliam ALSO Ghost Ship tragedy puts focus on plight of Oakland artists dealing with soaring Bay Area housing costs After suffering a tragedy, music became a life raft for Chasms Report details death, panic in Ghost Ship warehouse fire Updates on California politics Two years ago, California utility regulators identified 128 emails related to the disputed San Onofre settlement that they said could not be released because they were privileged communications to and from the Governors Office and the Public Utilities Commission president. Now, after an appeals court ordered the commission to produce the emails so judges can decide whether they are subject to the California Public Records Act, regulators say they have fewer protected exchanges than they had previously. The emails concern the 2012 shutdown of the San Onofre nuclear plant north of Oceanside, and the decision to charge utility customers $3.3 billion to cover the cost of its failure a decision that San Diego consumer attorney Mike Aguirre says was tainted by improper alliances between utility executives and regulators. He is suing for the emails. Advertisement In a Nov. 17 letter to the 1st District Court of Appeal, utilities commission lawyers said they were turning over 58 emails to and from the Governors Office and 40 communications to and from President Michael Picker not the 65 and 63 emails, respectively, that they reported in August 2015. Respondent wishes to clarify the total number of withheld and redacted records in this matter, the commission told the court. The appellate judges in October ordered the commission to hand over all of the emails and attachments, along with a list of everyone who received or sent the San Onofre-related communications that were withheld from a public-records request in 2015. Aguirre said the discrepancy is important because the commission has been under criminal investigation for potentially improper backchannel communications between regulators and utility executives. The public interest in disclosure is paramount, Aguirre said. The public-corruption probe already produced emails and other records showing that regulators and executives routinely met to discuss business pending before the commission in private. In at least one case, regulators worked to assign a more utility-friendly judge to a specific proceeding. The emails at issue in the 1st District appellate court case relate to the commissions 2014 approval of the San Onofre settlement deal, which assigned utility customers 70 percent of the estimated $4.7 billion in San Onofre closure expenses. The settlement is now being reviewed because Edison acknowledged that it was first sketched out at an undisclosed meeting between former commission president Michael Peevey and an Edison executive at a luxury hotel in Warsaw, Poland. The admission by Edison came two years later than commission rules require and days after The San Diego Union-Tribune reported on notes from the meeting. The commissions November letter does not explain why regulators submitted fewer San Onofre-related emails to the appellate court than were previously withheld. Aguirre is now asking the court to order the commission to file a declaration under oath that explains why the number of withheld documents changed. He also wants the court to release the so-called privilege log, a register of each documents sender and recipient. Petitioner seeks to enforce his right to promptly inspect public records of state regulators who participated in the San Onofre nuclear power plant scandal in San Diego, wrote lawyer Maria Severson, who is Aguirres law partner and represents him in the litigation. Commission spokeswoman Terrie Prosper did not answer U-T Watchdogs inquiry about why the number of emails to and from the Governors Office dropped from the 65 identified in 2015 to 58 today or why those to and from the commission president declined from 63 two years ago to 40 at this time. The CPUC does not intend to file a declaration explaining the discrepancy, Prosper wrote. In an email to Aguirre sent Nov. 21, commission General Counsel Arocles Aguilar said the difference in the number of withheld emails was a simple mistake. Staff has verified that the discrepancy stems solely from an inadvertent miscounting of the records withheld and redacted in response to your Public Records Act requests, she wrote. Please be assured that all records at issue in Case No. A151282 have been lodged under seal with the First District Court of Appeals, Division Two, in accord (with) its October 27, 2017 order which is attached for your convenience. It is not clear when the appellate judges will review the emails or issue a ruling on whether they must be released under the state open-records laws. Watchdog Videos On Now Sexual misconduct accusers worry deputy is being protected 6:16 On Now City funded $2-million waterfront bathroom 1:26 On Now Public water district charges customer for legal work, response to records request On Now Video: Tiny homes won't be reused amid housing, homeless crisis On Now Attorney General seeks documentation for Miss Middle East On Now Rep. Hunter probe covers possible fraud On Now Video: SDG&E delaying solar credit for some low-income housing tenants On Now Video: Former San Diego Junior Theatre teacher sentenced for sex with teen girl 0:24 On Now Video: Shelter volunteers believe they were fired for finding a dog a home 0:49 On Now McKamey Manor is leaving San Diego 3:35 jeff.mcdonald@sduniontribune.com (619) 293-1708 @sdutMcDonald In the nearly two months since The New York Times and The New Yorker first published stories alleging film producer Harvey Weinstein had sexually harassed and assaulted numerous women for decades, there has been an avalanche of stories about awful behavior by powerful men and a new national consensus about sexual harassment seems to have emerged: that such behavior must be taken much more seriously, that accusers should be believed and that harassers must be held accountable. This has led politicians in both Sacramento and Washington, D.C., to look inwardly at how they deal with harassment allegations. Its clear and a relief that the old way the California Legislature handled sexual harassment complaints through confidential in-house investigations by each of its chambers Rules Committees is done. The state Senate has already adopted rules under which outside lawyers will handle all sexual harassment investigations, and the California Assembly is being urged to take a similar approach. In Washington, Congress faces harsh criticism of a disciplinary process under which a staffer harassed on the job cant even file a complaint until she has endured some three months of mandated counseling and mediation, all with strict confidentiality and taxpayers paying for settlements if complaints are borne out, as Shawn Hubler recently wrote in the Sacramento Bee. But a big problem is that many of the state and federal politicians now advocating the need for change were complicit in the old era mostly accepting, without objection, policies that were far more interested in protecting the reputations of the accused than in bringing justice to the victims. Advertisement Whether or not explosive allegations made by Christine Pelosi, chair of the California Democratic Partys womens caucus, are ever borne out that rapists in the state Capitol are being protected by lawmakers, what is known is awful enough. Consider the case of Raul Bocanegra, the Pacoima Democrat Assembly member who recently resigned after six women accused him of improper behavior on top of his being disciplined by the Assembly Rules Committee in 2009 for groping Elise Flynn Gyore, a legislative aide. At the time of his assault, Bocanegra was chief of staff for then-Assemblyman Felipe Fuentes. Three years later, Bocanegra was elected to the Assembly with the support of lawmakers whom the Sacramento Bee persuasively argues had to know or were very likely to know about his horrible behavior toward Gyore. Further back, the response of federal lawmakers a quarter-century ago to sex-abuse scandals involving Sen. Brock Adams, D-Washington, and Sen. Bob Packwood, R-Oregon, is also revealing. In the wake of the controversies, the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 became law, subjecting Congress for the first time to 13 federal labor and anti-discrimination laws and leading some lawmakers to pat themselves on the back. But it was that law that set up the ridiculous bureaucratic ordeal for anyone with complaints that Hubler cited. In other words, Congress reacted to gross sexual misconduct by even further insulating its members from facing consequences for gross sexual misconduct. This history makes it seem likely that Congress will try to ride out the current firestorm without enacting the one reform that would show it takes sexual harassment seriously: following in the steps of the California Senate and requiring all allegations be investigated by outside lawyers. The current reckoning should extend beyond finally making harassers face consequences for their actions. It should force a generation of lawmakers to grasp that in their own workplaces, they enabled a culture of sexual harassment that is so apparent to so many Americans now and to realize they have a moral obligation to make up for this history. Twitter: @sdutIdeas Facebook: San Diego Union-Tribune Ideas & Opinion Re Concerns with proposal for short-term rentals (Nov. 28). Short-term vacation rentals rob the city of vital civic participants, that is, San Diego residents. Residents subscribe to our theaters, symphony and opera. Residents volunteer to clean our beaches and riverbanks, to paint over graffiti. Residents join the YMCA and Rotary Club, work as Friends of the Library, deliver Meals on Wheels. They support the political aspirants of their choice, work in campaigns and give money to local office holders. They donate money to local charities and cultural institutions. Vacationers dont do these things. To the extent that the City Council supports the use of dwelling units as visitor accommodations, it fails to protect this vital characteristic of civic commitment. Lets preserve our social fabric based on community. Lets permit people to share the homes they live in but confine whole-dwelling rentals to long-term residency. Advertisement Rosalie Schwartz Pacific Beach Re Short-term rentals proposal is flawed (Nov. 29): The main problem with whole-house vacation rentals in residential zoned neighborhoods is the loss of housing for San Diegans. Airbnb data shows about 6,000 whole-house vacation rentals in San Diego. That is 6,000 houses that should be available to ease our severe housing shortage. Council members David Alvarez, Mark Kersey, Scott Sherman and Chris Ward and others who support legalizing year-round whole-house rentals have no business bemoaning lack of housing for San Diegans while they sanction removing ever more houses from the market. They need to remember who elects them. They must put the needs of San Diegans ahead of tourists. Needs of both are accommodated when resident home owners share their homes with visitors. Ann Cottrell College Area Do I not have the right to the quiet enjoyment of my home in any way I see fit, provided I do not interfere with my neighbors quiet enjoyment of their home? There is no denying the huge advantages of using Airbnb to help offset sky-high taxes, fund retirement or just add some extra spending money. Nor can one deny the numerous problems associated with abusive tenants and excessive traffic on the neighborhood. But this is free-market, capitalistic, individual rights-loving America, so lets work this out with a tuning fork instead of a cudgel. Reasonable occupancy, noise abatement and parking guidelines should be established to protect the interests of all parties, as well as reasonable taxes sufficient to enable those guidelines and appropriate penalties to enforce them. Good fences (and good laws), make for good neighbors. In the final analysis, arent we all just neighbors whod like to get along with each other? Jim Moran Mt. Helix If you need money, its OK to just take it from your neighbors because that is what you are doing when you open your vacation rental. Vacation rentals are economic enterprises that enrich the owner. But they suck value out of the neighborhood. Any neighbor who would now like to sell their house has to now sell at a lower price because they live next door to a party house. That lost value has been funneled to the vacation rental owner. This is in addition to enduring a lower quality of life. And this is why we have hotels. Eric Klein Ocean Beach Letters and commentary policy The U-T welcomes and encourages community dialogue on important public matters. Please visit this page for more details on our letters and commentaries policy. You can email letters@sduniontribune.com or leave a comment below. Follow @UTLetters on Twitter and UTOpinion on Facebook. By PTI: Kochi, Dec 2 (PTI) Indian Navys search and rescue operations continued for the third day today over Southeast Arabian Sea and Lakshadweep and Minicoy islands in the aftermath of the very severe cyclonic storm OCKHI, a defence release said tonight. The ships deployed by the Southern Naval Command include IN Ships Sagardhwani, Jamuna, Nireekshak, Kabra and Kalpeni off the Kerala coast and Sharda, Shardul towards Lakshadweep islands. advertisement Besides this, three aircraft-- Dornier (Do) fixed wing aircraft, Seaking Helicopter (SK) and Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH)-- were also deployed throughout the day. "A total of 84 personnel have been rescued over the last two days which includes 62 by aircraft and 22 by ships," it said. Additionally, transfer of two bodies was also effected through ALH to Thiruvananthapuram after being picked up by INS Sagardhwani. Of the 62 people rescued by naval aircraft, eight persons were transferred to Kochi in batches of four after being picked up 20 Nautical miles southwest and 80 nautical miles west of Kochi respectively, the release said. Those evacuated to Kochi were given preliminary first aid at the naval clinic at INS Garuda before being handed over to the civil administration. The rest of the rescued persons have been transferred to Thiruvananthapuram, it added. PTI TGB BN --- ENDS --- Get out your phones, cameras and telescopes. Sundays appearance of the moon will literally be super, and its been a year since weve seen anything like it. Appearing opposite the sun at 7:47 a.m. PST on Sunday, according to NASA, the moon will officially reach perigee the point in its orbit closest to the Earth less than 24 hours later on Monday at 12:45 a.m. PST. The visually stunning combination is something to see and to at least try to photograph. There are two supermoons in January, but Decembers will be the only supermoon of 2017 and the last full moon of the year. As Newsweek broke it down this week, the moon orbits in an elliptical pattern not a perfect circle so its distance from Earth early next week will be about 26,000 miles closer than its furthest point in orbit, making it look huge. Heres what NASA has to say about whats being called the Supermoon Trilogy. Heres what else you need to know about it. What is a supermoon? Supermoons happen when a full moon occurs at the same time as the moons closest approach to Earth during its orbit. When the moon is farthest away from Earth, its called apogee. When its closest to the earth, its called perigee. NASA explains everything in this short video below. Some perigees are closer than others, like the one occurring on Sunday. So you should take the opportunity to get a closer look at the moon. While not a historic version of the supermoon by any means, this one will shine 16 percent brighter and appear seven percent larger than usual. When and how should you watch it? The best time to watch will be 12:45 a.m. PST on Monday, says University of Arizona professor Gurtina Besla. Sunset on Sunday and and sunrise on Monday are also good times to view the moon when its visible on the horizon. The moon is predicted to rise on Sunday at 5:15 p.m. in San Diego. Experts recommend using cameras with telephoto lenses, binoculars or telesocopes to see the supermoon best. National Geographic has a great guide on how to photograph a supermoon here and NASA has one here. If you dont want to go outside, The Virtual Telescope Project will be live streaming it here. What will it look like? Here are some excellent photos (taken by professionals) we found from supermoons past. A supermoon set behind Ocean Beach Pier Monday morning, while dozens of photographers got up early to watch. (Peggy Peattie / San Diego Union-Tribune) A passenger aircraft descends towards Heathrow Airport with a full moon seen behind, in west London, September 8, 2014. The September full moon, also known as the Harvest Moon, is the last of this summers three supermoons, and the final one of the year (REUTERS/Toby Melville) In this handout photo provided by Disney Parks, the supermoon is seen with the Epcot center geodesic sphere in the foreground on June 23, 2013 at Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. (Photo by David Roark/Disney Parks via Getty Images) This file photo taken on August 10, 2014 shows the full moon nicknamed the supermoon, rising over the Dolomiti mountains in Levico Terme near Trento, north of Italy. (GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP/Getty Images) Heads up, the full moon on Jan. 2 and Jan. 31 will also be supermoons. If you capture a good image on Thursday night, email it to abby.hamblin@sduniontribune.com or tweet it at @sdutideas and we may add more images to this page or share them on social media. Email: abby.hamblin@sduniontribune.com Twitter: @abbyhamblin An alliance of nominally 'communist' parties, the Unified Marxist Leninists (UML) and the former Maoist rebels, is expected to emerge with enough seats to form the next government in Nepal. After a hiatus during the Maoist insurgency, voting is becoming routine in Nepal again. Earlier this year, amid much public enthusiasm, local elections were held for the first time in two decades. The country is currently in the midst of a two-phase poll to elect members of the lower house of Parliament, and seven new state assemblies. This election is therefore historic, because it finally implements the federal, republican constitution that took seven painful years, and two elected constituent assemblies, to draft. There are signs that the public is suffering from fatigue. The first round, conducted in mountain regions on November 26, saw a drop in turnout by almost 10 per cent, compared to the local polls. If that trend is maintained when the rest of the country votes on December 7, it may make the result a little more unpredictable. Nevertheless, an alliance of nominally 'communist' parties, the Unified Marxist Leninists (UML) and the former Maoist rebels, is expected to emerge with enough seats to form the next government. Likely as that seems, surprises can't be ruled out. advertisement This 'Left Alliance', which was announced two months ago, took observers by surprise as these parties have been bitter antagonists in recent years. Nevertheless, the electoral logic is plain, and apparently they intend to merge completely. Their main opponent, the ruling Nepali Congress, was compelled to hastily assemble a handful of smaller parties into a less formal alliance of its own. Ideological issues are mostly absent from both campaigns. India is not pleased with the emergence of the Left alliance. The UML leader and probable next prime minister, K.P. Oli, was previously a close ally of Delhi, but their agendas diverged when he was prime minister in 2015-16. He took a strong, widely popular, nationalist tone against his former backers, and pivoted towards Beijing. China is reckoned to have offered moral, and perhaps material, support to the Left Alliance. India is presumed to be doing the same for the Nepali Congress and its associates. Nevertheless, whoever wins will want to quickly establish trust with Delhi. Future Nepali governments, of any party, will also certainly seek improved economic and transport ties to the north. Most Nepalis will be glad if this election brings some relief from the relentless political churning. The campaign has been more peaceful, so far, than the national polls in 2008 or 2013. Like the flagging turnout, that may suggest people are weary, and a phase of intense contestation is over. The demands of identity politics, which were raised in recent years, were not fully addressed by the constitution. Yet the heat also seems to have gone out of this issue, for the time being at least. The massive campaign spending in all of this year's polls points towards a different, strengthening trend: the great power of business cartels and politically linked contractors in politics. The decline of wrangling over issues could be the flowering of a syndicate-thekedar raj. --- ENDS --- By PTI: By Shirish B Pradhan Kathmandu, Dec 2 (PTI) Nepal will hold an international conference to draw attention on climate change and its adverse effects on people in the Hindu Kush mountain range. President Bidya Devi Bhandari will inaugurate the four- day long conference aimed at developing solutions for a sustainable future for Asia that could withstand the impacts of climate change. advertisement Over 200 delegates including scientists, environmental experts, government officials, non-governmental organisations and policy makers are expected to participate in the event to be organised at the initiative of International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD). The main objective of the event, held with the support of Nepals Ministry for Environment, is to develop solutions for resilience building, promoting regional cooperation and reducing the data gaps for sustainable mountain development, ICIMOD Director General Dr David Molden said. For an effective response to the complex challenges facing the Hindu Kush Himalayas (HKH), multiple actors need to come together and develop a collective vision for the regions sustainable development, ICIMOD said in a statement. "It will approach resilience building for transformative change in the HKH from a holistic perspective, viewed in the context of multiple change process in mountain areas. It also aims to deepen the commitment among concerned stakeholders and decision makers to find and implement resilience building solutions in the HKH and downstream," Molden said. In 2015, global leaders from 194 UN member-states agreed on the sustainable development goals (SDGs) ? a set of milestones and a roadmap - for eradicating poverty and hunger and tackling climate change by 2030. Achieving the SDG target is particularly relevant in the HKH, which is home to some least developed countries, and provides water to more than 1.3 billion people. One of the important aims of the conference is to foster partnership for action by linking to global processes and strengthening regional cooperation. Experts will deliberate on climate change and disaster risk reduction, water, food, energy security and sustainable ecosystems, eradicating poverty and promoting social and gender equality and investing in mountain livelihoods. Experts from HKH countries like Afghanistan, Bangladesh Bhutan, India, Myanmar and Nepal will participate in the conference. PTI SBP CPS --- ENDS --- Once considered the greatest train in the world, The 20th Century Limited made its last run from New York to Chicago fifty years ago, on December 2, 1967. Weekly Newsletter The best of The Saturday Evening Post in your inbox! Join Once considered the greatest train in the world, The 20th Century Limited made its last run from New York to Chicago fifty years ago, on December 2, 1967. When it departed from New Yorks Grand Central Terminal at 6:00 PM that Saturday night, it was obvious why the train was ending 65-year run. The once prestigious train, which for decades had been the first choice for the rich and famous on their way to New York, was only half full. Passengers who boarded the train would have noticed that memento hunters had been at work. The iconic red-and-gray curtain that hung over the Limiteds gate had already been stolen. Menus in the dining car were quickly disappearing. The police were guarding the trains famous 100-yard red carpet, with its distinctive art nouveau logo, to ensure it didnt disappear as well. It helped distinguish the Limited from every other train pulling out of Grand Central and it originated the term red carpet treatment. By 1911, the New York Central Railroad could afford a full page ad in the Post, boasting that it could take passengers between New York and Chicago in 18 hours. Passengers enjoyed luxurious decor and gourmet dining that featured lobster and filet mignon. Cocktails were served in three club cars, though employees claimed that half the drinks were consumed in private rooms or suites. Like everyone else, the railroads saw revenues fall during the Depression. Where the Limited had once presented itself as the fastest and most luxurious route, in 1936 it advertised itself as the most practical. Its commercial passengers, they argued, were so well rested after 16 hours of travel, they were better prepared for business. The Limited could also be the ultimate mens club, a place for male business or bonding. In 1938, the New York Central rolled out its ultra-modern streamliner. The streamliner featured a new observation lounge and passenger compartments with individual air-conditioning and bathrooms. The railroad assured passengers that, despite losing employees to the war, there was no drop in the quality of service on the Limited. In 1948, the Limited got another new look from the same designer who created the streamliner. The new Limited switched to diesel power and its modernized furnishings now included phone service on board. The Limited liked to emphasize its Water Level Route that followed the shore of Lake Erie and the Hudson River. It was a more restful ride, the railroad argued, than the route taken by its competitor, The Pennsylvania Railroad, which had to cross mountains. Train travel declined after World War II, and air travel started becoming more affordable. When the New York Central decided to end the legendary rail service, many of its long-time passengers took one last ride. The last run of the Limited marked the end of an era. [JAKARTA] Despite the provision of free cervical and breast cancer screening services provided by the Indonesian government, the incidence of cancer among women continues to be high as very few avail of the services, says a new study. In the developed world, cancer cases are mostly discovered in the early stage, says Sumadi Lukman Anwar, an oncologist from Indonesias Gadjah Mada University and lead author of the study. In those places, screening for cervical cancer through pap smear as well as vaccination have cut the rate of cervical cancer incidence by 80 per cent. Mostly they are afraid of the procedure and shy of showing their body to health practitioners. Perhaps it is because they have no knowledge about cancer. Yanti Susilawati, Pratama Clinic, Indonesia According to Anwar, if cancer is detected in pre-cancer or early stage (I and II), surgery, chemotherapy and radiation may eliminate the cancer cells. But these therapies do not work well in advanced cases. Indonesias health ministry has been promoting cancer screening for women since 2008 but participation was a low 1.75 per cent even by 2014. The following year, the ministry made screening free for Indonesian women aged 30 years old and above, but participation has remained insignificant at less than 5 per cent. Anwar, together with collaborators in University College, London (UCL), Kings College London, and the University of Manchester, analysed questionnaires filled in by 5,397 women from all over Indonesia to find that only one in five women (20 per cent) was aware of the early cervical cancer screening programme. Even worse, only 5 per cent knew about mammography for early detection of breast cancer. Jonathan Ledermann, professor of medical oncology, UCL Cancer Institute, says the level of awareness and participation were very low compared to Western Europes 70 per cent uptake of services. A study published by The Lancet in November says that every year, 800,000 women around the world die because of cervical and breast cancer, with mortality determined by location. Two-thirds of breast cancer deaths and nine out of 10 cervical cancer deaths happen in the low- and middle-income countries. Theres a lot of work to be done, and a lot of investment required in education and facilities for screening if Indonesia is going to climb up the ladder of screening for these two cancers, says Ledermann. Anwar suggests that the government should be more active in engaging women to avail of early cancer screening. He also recommends better distribution of healthcare professionals in Indonesia. It would be better if the government gives an official letter of invitation to every woman in the 30 40 age group so that screening does not rely only on personal awareness, he says. Yanti Susilawati, health analyst at the Pratama Clinic, Deliserdang, North Sumatra, says current efforts by the government are not enough to ensure Indonesian women take cancer screening test. I always have difficulty persuading women to take the tests. Mostly they are afraid of the procedure and shy of showing their body to health practitioners. Perhaps it is because they have no knowledge about cancer. Susilawati thinks that higher education levels make for better participation. About 40 50 women took the pap smear test in my clinic last month and most of them were working mothers with higher education and comparatively good incomes. This piece was produced by SciDev.Nets Asia & Pacific desk. [SAO PAULO] The siren-like call of a species of toad introduced into Brazil from the Antilles islands may result in a sharp drop in house prices in a Sao Paulo neighbourhood, according to a study on invasive species. The tiny toad about 3 centimetres long and known to scientists as Eleutherodactylus johnstonei reached Brazil through the international trade in plants, according to the study, published in PLoS One. It can reproduce in shallow water, which gives it a great invasive potential, and produces a deafening sound similar to that of a siren. Property value is expected to depreciate in areas surrounded by calling sites, write the authors. The study documents six invasive species of toads and frogs spotted across different ecosystems in Brazil, and the concerned local researchers have called attention to the environmental impact of these species. The number of invading amphibians is exponentially increasing in Brazil, which highlights the need to monitor and control these populations and mitigate their impacts on wildlife, says Luis Felipe Toledo, from the State University of Campinass Institute of Biology (IB-Unicamp) and one of the studys authors, in an interview with SciDev.Net. The experts point out that some of these species are reservoirs of harmful fungi, others are becoming predators of native fauna, and one is even interfering in local amphibians reproductive habits. Invasive species can negatively impact native populations, competing for food or disseminating diseases, says biologist Cynthia Prado, from the Department of Morphology and Animal Physiology at the Faculty of Agricultural and Veterinary Sciences, Sao Paulo State University (FCAV-Unesp). It is necessary to invest in the control of these animals in these regions, adds Prado, who did not participate in the study. Control measures vary from capturing them manually or using traps to poisoning by spraying chemicals. Among these invasive species are some which are native in other areas of Brazil, while others come from abroad. One example is the bullfrog (Lithobates catesbeianus), which is originally from North America and was introduced into Brazil for commercial breeding. This frog, which can grow to a length of 20 centimetres and weight of 1 kilogram, can adapt to almost any environment and has affected various parts of the Atlantic forest south and southeast of the country. This species is known for its voracity it can eat other frogs and even small lizards and for being a reservoir of the fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, which causes an infectious disease called chytridiomycosis. This fungus attacks the skin of amphibians, interfering with gas exchange through the epithelial tissue, biologist Lucas Forti, from the IB-Unicamp and main author of the study, tells SciDev.Net. It is considered a threat to the population of these vertebrates. Another invasive species has been registered in Fernando de Noronha, an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean 360 kilometres from the city of Natal. In spite of government regulations that have prevented the archipelago from becoming a tourist resort, researchers found the Cururu toad (Rhinella marina) in these islands. This is a species native to northeastern Brazil that is believed to have been introduced into the archipelago in the 19th century as a method of biological control of local insects. According to Toledo, Cururu toads feed on threatened insect species. The Noronha archipelago is also affected by a species called the X frog (Scinax x-signatus), which is native to Venezuela and Colombia. Another species, Leptodactylus labyrinthicus is colonising parts of the Amazon forest, and the impacts of this are still unknown. Meanwhile, in the municipality of Guaruja, on Sao Paulos coast, the problem is the Phyllodytes luteolus, a species that usually lives among the leaves of the bromelia plant and is believed to have been introduced to the region with the trade of ornamental plants. According to Forti, the invasion of this species can compromise the sexual reproduction of native amphibian species, such as those of the genus Ischnocnema. These amphibians are nocturnal and use acoustic communication in their reproductive interactions to search for the best mates. The sound of the vocalization of P. luteolus is emitted in the same frequency [as that] of the males of Ischnocnema, he says, and this means it can affect communication with females. The study also highlights a piece of good news: based on projections by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) on the impacts of climate change, by 2100, four of these six species should have their distribution area reduced due to changes in climate, in particular drops in temperature and rainfall. The study published in PLoS One is the result of projects funded by FAPESP, one of the donors of SciDev.Net. A version of this article was originally published by SciDev.Nets Latin America and Caribbean edition. By Mail Today Bureau: The Valmiki community has opposed land acquisition process of a plot in Najafgarh, southwest Delhi, earmarked for the building of an STP (Sewage Treatment Plant) citing it as a cremation ground for their exclusive use. The National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Friday rapped the Delhi government and other concerned authorities saying their lack of action in the matter is delaying the court's 'Maily Se Nirmal Yamuna' plan. The bench, headed by NGT chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar also directed the inspection of the piece of land in a village, so that only clean, treated water might flow into the Yamuna soon. Kumar constituted a team of officers from Delhi Jal Board (DJB) and the city government who will jointly conduct inspection of the site at Dichaon Kalan village and submit a status report. advertisement "We direct joint inspection team consisting of senior officer of DJB, Land and Building and Land Revenue department of Delhi government and representative of Valmiki Society accompanied by chief engineer of DJB to visit the site and report to the tribunal," the bench said. The order came after representatives of Valmiki community from the Dichaon Kalan village told the bench that the land on which DJB was planning to set up STP was a cremation ground. The NGT, on October 23, rapped the AAP government and the DJB for not filing their replies to the show cause notices on why contempt proceedings should not be initiated against them for delaying compliance of orders on the Yamuna cleaning project. DJB CEO had then told the NGT that out of the total fund of Rs 1,755 crore allocated to the board, Rs 939 crore was for water and Rs 816 crore for sewage. Of this, Rs 351 crore had been spent on the sewage head on maintenance and the projects allowed by the committee constituted by the tribunal. The tribunal was informed that a total of 14 STP projects are to be constructed to clean wastewater. Of these, seven are to be built by DJB with its own funds. The green panel had noted that nearly 67 per cent of the pollutants reaching Yamuna would be treated by the two STPs at Delhi Gate and Najafgarh under the first phase of the 'Maili se Nirmal Yamuna Revitalisation Project'. --- ENDS --- WASHINGTON At least three people must have celebrated the news that former national security adviser Michael Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his conversation with a Russian ambassador. First to pop a champagne cork was surely Matt Lauer, whose Icarus imitation put to shame all others recently accused of sexual misconduct in the workplace. Accused of dropping his drawers and locking unsuspecting women in his office with a remote-control button under his desk, America's boy-next-door suddenly vanished from the airwaves, suffering what must have been an excruciating few days of humiliating ruin. For two decades, Lauer had managed to present himself as a non-threatening, essentially neutered male presence on NBC's "Today," nabbing consequential interviews and taking home around $28 million a year in exchange for never being controversial. All that bottled up bad-to-the-bone-ness must have driven him to over-compensate by using his status to seduce and control at least some of the women around him. It appears that if the viewing audience would be denied access to his inner toro , then his female minions would at least cow to his sexual fantasies. Acting out doesn't come much plainer. Thus, it was a source of some vicarious relief when Flynn hijacked the news cycle Friday, giving Lauer and, presumably, all concerned a respite from the nightmare that wasn't just a bad dream, after all. For different reasons, another person who might have had reason to skip along Fifth Avenue, pausing now and then for a Stoli shot and a surprisingly well-executed pirouette, is Hillary Clinton. What irony, what glee, what perfect justice for the man who led delegates at the 2016 Republican National Convention in chanting, "Lock her up, lock her up, lock her up!" No stranger to schadenfreude herself, Clinton must be enjoying an extra helping of sweet revenge with her just deserts. Indeed, as Flynn left the federal courthouse where he entered his plea, protesters could be heard calling, "Lock him up, lock him up." Flynn's plea means he traded felony jail time for his cooperation in helping special investigator Robert Mueller's team as it continues its investigation into possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia. Which brings us to a third individual who must have at least allowed himself a smirk if not a smile: James Comey, whom Trump fired as FBI director, specifically because of his Russia investigation, by the president's own words. Especially memorable from those first few weeks of Trump's occupation of the White House was his Feb. 14 meeting with Comey, during which he asked the director to consider "letting Flynn go." Comey subsequently testified during a congressional hearing that he interpreted those words to mean that the president was pressuring him to, well, let Flynn go. It seemed obvious then and is explicitly clear now that the president was pressuring the head of the FBI to end his investigation of the national security adviser or else. The "else" came soon thereafter. A relatively alert 4-year-old would have been able to deduce Trump's meaning, even as congressional Republicans try to see other reasons for his private conversation with the FBI director. Do they really think that Trump was merely concerned that Flynn a former general known for disruptive behavior couldn't handle the heat? Of course Trump was worried about what Flynn might divulge under pressure from investigators. About whom? About what? Apparently, we and Trump are about to find out. The questions raised by Flynn's guilty plea are titillating as well as disturbing: What else was Trump worried about? What was the content of Flynn's conversation with the ambassador that made him feel it was necessary to lie? If Trump was worried 10 months ago and we haven't even mentioned his own alleged sexual misconduct by now he must be wishing he had lost the election, as he had expected. With a 60 percent disapproval rating, a majority of Americans apparently agree with him. At Agenda Aaj Tak, Nitish Kumar said that he was convinced that the Mahagathbandhan "will not last long on the very first day of its formation." By India Today Web Desk: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar today said that it was not possible for him to continue with the RJD and Congress in the Mahagathbandhan as he was being humiliated on a daily basis. Nitish Kumar said that he was left with "no other alternative" than to bury his differences with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and join hands with the BJP. advertisement Speaking at Agenda Aaj Tak from Patna today, Nitish Kumar said, "I had no other alternative than forming coalition with the BJP...The situation had become very difficult and started affecting governance at the lower levels." Referring to RJD president Lalu Prasad's insistence that his son and former deputy chief minister of Bihar Tejashwi Yadav would continue to be in government despite serious charges of corruption, Nitish Kumar said, "I could not compromise with certain principles...I had said that the allegations of corruptions should be responded with facts. But they were not ready for it. So, it was not possible for me to continue." READ IN HINDI | No option but to break gathbandhan with Lalu, says Nitish at Agenda Aaj Tak FULL COVERAGE | Agenda Aaj Tak 2017: Talks by Ravi Shnakar Prasad, Ram Madhav, Manushi Chhillar; more Nitish further said that he was hurt with the statements by senior leaders of the RJD including Lalu Prasad. "People (read Lalu Prasad) were saying things like, hamne banaya...ye bane rahenge (we made him the CM...he will continue to be in government). What they wanted to convey? The way they tried to humiliate...It was not acceptable," Nitish Kumar said, explaining the reasons which led to his parting ways with the RJD and the Congress earlier this year. "They accuse me of breaking away. But, who created the environment for that? Who came out of jail and what he said? And, what kind of reaction came on his statement from the senior party leaders? Attempts were being made to humiliate (me)," Nitish Kumar said at Agenda Aaj Tak. This was a reference to remarks by RJD leader Mohammad Shahabuddin, who - after coming out of jail - had said that Nitish Kumar was the chief minister of circumstances. Shahabuddin had said that Lalu Prasad was his leader and refused to acknowledge Nitish Kumar as the leader of the Mahagathbandhan that was in power at the time. Senior RJD leaders including Raghuvansh Prasad Singh seemed in support of Shahabuddin's statement. Reports suggested that Shahabuddin had the tacit backing of Lalu Prasad in his attack on Nitish Kumar. advertisement 'INTERFERING WITH GOVERNANCE' With taking the name of Lalu Prasad, Nitish Kumar further said that attempts were made to "interfere with the governance at the lower level". He said, "Attempts were made to humiliate me. And, attempts were made to create pressure in lower administration...I did not compromise on the question of law and order and corruption." "They (Lalu Prasad and Tejashwi) should have responded to the allegations of dhanarjan (increase in wealth). But, they were not ready," Nitish said. Nitish further said that he met Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi asking him to intervene. "If someone who tore away an ordinance (protecting corrupt politicians) refused to take a stand on corruption (in the case of Tejashwi), there was not too much that could have been done." In an interesting remark, Nitish Kumar said that he was convinced that the Mahagathbandhan "will not last long on the very first day of its formation." Nitish also said that the decision to enter into alliance with the BJP was a decision taken in the interest of Bihar. He also said that the Narendra Modi government had been more cooperative in addressing the concerns of Bihar. advertisement WATCH | SO SORRY | Kissa kursi ka: Nitish Kumar 'bewafa' hai! --- ENDS --- There is talk in Pakistan that the emergence of the TLP and the MML is actually an effort of the army to mainstream militant and jihadi groups. The series of events in Pakistan over the past two months that culminated in the siege of its capital Islamabad by adherents of the Tehreek-i-Labaik Ya Rasool Allah (TLYRA) - and the following abject surrender of the state - are an ominous warning of the rise of the religious right in the country. The TLYRA is a Barelvi group formed following the execution of Mumtaz Qadri, the police guard who killed Punjab Governor Salman Taseer in 2011 and was hanged for the crime in February 2016. In September-October 2017, the political wing of the TLYRA called the Tehrik-i-Labaik Pakistan (TLP) and the JUD/ LeT-linked Milli Muslim League (MML) burst on Pakistan's political scene by doing surprisingly well in the Lahore and Peshawar by-elections. In Lahore, the TLP polled more votes than the PPP and the Jamaat-i-Islami. Hot on the heels of its electoral foray, the TLYRA also managed to corner the government over its attempts to tinker with clauses affecting the Khatm-i-Nabuwat (finality of prophethood) declaration, a highly sensitive issue in Pakistan, in the Election Act 2017. advertisement The government finally capitulated to TLYRA's demand that its law minister Zahid Hamid be sacked for the 'transgression'. Following up on the success of a sit-in that forced the government to cave in, TLYRA chief Allama Khadim Hussain Rizvi has announced that they will contest the next election and win a thumping victory. As the NA120 by-election in Lahore showed, the TLP would eat into the rightwing vote bank of the PML(N). The three-week-long sit-in has profound implications for Pakistan. It has brought to the fore the political awakening-and activism-of the Barelvis, so far thought of as a peaceful group. It could lead to the consolidation of a large, if dispersed, Barelvi vote bank. Pakistan is already contending with militant Deobandi, Ahle-Hadis and various sectarian groups. With militant Barelvis coming to the party, Pakistan could be headed down an even more disastrous path. The speed with which such a large number of people were mobilised and came onto the streets in different parts of Pakistan shows how widespread and deep-rooted this radicalisation is. Add to this attempts to revive the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) and the release of Hafiz Saeed and the cocktail of religious parties and groups calls to mind nightmare scenarios. The precedent has been set: elected ministers can be forced to resign by religious groups on an issue of their choosing. Today the government had been wrong-footed due to its own stupidity. Tomorrow, who knows what the cause could be. For India, these developments have grave implications. For one, there is talk in Pakistan that the emergence of the TLP and the MML is actually an effort of the army to mainstream militant and jihadi groups. This will give them a political role and wean them away from violence. And if these efforts are successful, there could in the near future be 'mainstreamed' jihadis in Parliament. Given their common Kashmir and anti-India profile, they will become a pressure group that will ensure that no political government tries to makes any friendly moves towards India. Moreover, given the abject surrender of the government to the TLP on a religious issue, what if any of these groups were to foment an issue or incident with India on religious lines? Will any Pak government be able to resist the pressure to act aggressively? Hence, these developments are ominous for India and need to be watched closely. For China, too, the developments are cause for concern. It is on track to invest close to $60 billion in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). Its record in dealing with the Muslim Uighurs in Xinjiang is repressive, to say the least. Many cases have been reported of ill treatment of Muslims on religious grounds, which has elicited adverse comments from several religious groups in Pakistan. Additionally, the growing success of the religious groups in Pakistan will only be a source of encouragement for Uighur Islamists. The emboldening of these groups in Pakistan will, thus, not be good news for the Chinese. advertisement With the US, interestingly, Pakistan may find some traction. As in the time of Gen. Musharraf, Pakistan will use the rise of the religious right to frighten the US: wave the threat that they may grab Pakistan's nuclear weapons unless additional funds are sanctioned to further strengthen the army. While Presidents Bush and Obama had fallen for it, it remains to be seen if a tougher President Trump will do likewise. Tilak Devasher is the author of Pakistan: Courting the Abyss and a former Special Secretary, Cabinet Secretariat, GoI --- ENDS --- This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate In a sweeping speech marking World AIDS Day in Golden Gate Park, former President Bill Clinton on Friday told members of an attentive audience that in these turbulent political times they should remember that ordinary people have long spurred change and bent the will of humanity, as they did in the worst years of the AIDS epidemic. Clintons half-hour talk, at the AIDS Memorial Grove that he designated a national monument in 1996, touched only briefly on current affairs in Washington he made no mention of the sitting president but the overarching theme was of hope in times of grief and despair. Its almost impossible to imagine how painful it was, how helpless you felt in the 1980s, when the epidemic began, Clinton said. In the early days people were afraid, they were hurting, they were helpless. Im grateful for all the people who did things when no one was listening, when no one else was around, he said. The fight to bend the arc toward justice began here in San Francisco. So many were suffering, so many were dying, and ordinary people were coming together here. That work must go on, he said, not only in the fight to end HIV and AIDS but also in healing a wounded national psyche and promoting global unity. Clinton spoke at a ceremony that was both somber and celebratory. Men and women who endured the early, deadly decades of the epidemic embraced warmly and wiped away tears as they spoke of friends lost long ago. Among those recognized at the event was Ruth Coker Burks, a woman known as the cemetery angel in Arkansas who cared for, and buried, countless young men who had been abandoned by their families when they were diagnosed with AIDS. Observers at the event stressed the importance of bridging the past and present of honoring the legacy of people who died of AIDS, many of whom are memorialized at the grove, their names etched in stone. We absolutely owe it to those we lost to keep fighting, said San Francisco Supervisor Jeff Sheehy, a long-term survivor of HIV. John Cunningham, executive director of the National AIDS Memorial Grove and also an HIV survivor, said that though great progress had been made to end HIV and AIDS in San Francisco, public health advocates hope to halt new infections in the next decade its more important than ever to protect advances. We know where our country is today. We need to stand up and defend what weve created, he said. Speaking at the AIDS grove on Friday, Cunningham asked everyone in the crowd who was HIV-positive to stand, and a hundred or more did. The crowd cheered and applauded. Cunningham raised his voice and reminded his audience to press on with activism. We must forge action out of memory, he said. Clinton wrapped up his speech with a plea for strength and hope. When he was governor of Arkansas, he said, he kept a passage of Scripture in his desk: Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. We have people today who have lost heart, Clinton said. But the trend line is good. Only those of us who remain can do the bending of justice now. Erin Allday is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: eallday@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @erinallday The top Baloch leader who wrote to Donald Trump's secretary of state cited remarks made by Musharraf about the Lashkar-e-Taiba and the Jamaat-ud-Dawa. She said the dictator "callously butchered" the people of Balochistan using US weapons. By Geeta Mohan: The US should designate former Pakistan dictator Pervez Musharraf a global terrorist, a top Baloch leader has told Donald Trump's secretary of state. Naela Quadri Baloch, the head of the World Baloch Women Forum, cited comments Musharraf made in a television interview in her letter to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. Musharraf told a Pakistani news agency that he was the biggest supporter of Lashkar-e-Taiba. He said he LeT and the Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) - an organisation run by 26/11 attacks mastermind Hafiz Saeed - "liked" him. Saeed is a UN-designated terrorist. When his house arrest ended last week, the US warned of "repercussions for bilateral relations and for Pakistan's global reputation." advertisement In her letter, Naela Quadri Baloch said Musharraf's statement on LeT and JuD "redirects our attention to the centrality of the Pakistani state to global terrorism." "The former dictator, who callously butchered Baloch (a reference to the people of the Pakistani province of Balochistan) using weapons supplied by the US, should also be brought to book for crimes against humanity. He believes that "Those who stay in Pakistan, burn Pakistan's flag and raise anti-national slogans deserve to be butchered." Thousands were tortured and killed under his watch," she wrote. Baloch asked the US to forbid the use of its weapons in Balochistan, and freeze Musharraf's "assets and interests" in America "and elsewhere." Here's the full text of Naela Quadri Baloch's letter. In an interview to Pakistani TV channel ARY News, Pervez Musharraf said, "I am the biggest supporter of the LeT [Lashkar-e-Tayyiba] and I know they like me and the JuD [Jamaat-ud-Dawa] also likes me." These two groups were founded by Hafiz Saeed, who was designated as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist by the United States Department of the Treasury in May 2008. Saeed was also individually designated by the United Nations following the November 2008 Mumbai attack in which 166 people, including six American citizens, were killed. The LeT and several of its front organizations, leaders, and operatives remain under both State Department and Treasury Department sanctions. The LeT was proscribed by the U.S. State Department as a "Foreign Terrorist Organization" in December 2001 and added to the UN Committee's Consolidated List in May 2005. The latest statement of the former dictator of Pakistan, Retired General Pervez Musharraf, redirects our attention to the centrality of the Pakistani state to global terrorism. After this public admission, it is time the relevant agencies of the U.S. investigate his association with the LeT and other terrorist organizations during and after his tenure as Chief of Army Staff, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, and President of Pakistan. The investigations should include his role in assisting the LeT and other terrorist organisations spawned by the Pakistani state, in providing material and financial assistance, in recruiting terrorist operatives, gathering intelligence, and in conducting covert terrorist operations. The former dictator, who callously butchered Baloch using weapons supplied by the US, should also be brought to book for crimes against humanity. He believes that "Those who stay in Pakistan, burn Pakistan's flag and raise anti-national slogans deserve to be butchered." Thousands were tortured and killed under his watch. An example of the misplaced priorities and perverted logic of the Pakistani state during his tenure (that persists until this day) is in order. The same dictator who continues to show fondness for proscribed terrorist groups, which have killed hundreds of people from different countries, had no compunction in ordering the murder of the 79-year old Akbar Bugti along with several of his family members and followers on 26 August 2006. Akbar Bugti served as Governor and later as Chief Minister of the Pakistani province of Balochistan. Bugti stood for peaceful and principled resolution of the longstanding conflict in Balochistan. Baloch activists will relentlessly expose Musharraf and others on all international platforms and educate people around the world about their role in the continued massacre of the Baloch people. advertisement It is high time, the U.S. reconsidered its policy towards Pakistan and, more specifically, imposed the condition of "no use of US weapons in Balochistan" and halt further sales of weapons to prevent the ongoing genocide of the Baloch People. The U.S Department of State should designate the former dictator of Pakistan Pervez Musharraf as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGTs) under Executive Order (E.O.) 13224, for associating with US designated terrorist outfit Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LeT). It should take appropriate steps to freeze all his assets and interests in the United States and elsewhere. He should also be tried for his involvement in genocide (Rome Statue, Art 7) and crimes against humanity (Rome Statue, Art 8) targeting the Baloch people. advertisement We further urge all members of the United Nations, particularly the members of the Security Council, to actively expose, isolate, proscribe, and punish such individuals associated with the Pakistani military and intelligence agencies to preserve global peace and security. WATCH | NEWSROOM | Exclusive interview with Pervez Musharraf --- ENDS --- A federal judge ruled in favor of a group of venture capitalists, entrepreneurs and companies that sued the federal government in September on the grounds that the Trump administration unlawfully delayed a rule meant to permit startup founders to stay in the country and build companies. The International Entrepreneur Rule had been set to take effect July 17. But a week before that date, the Trump administration delayed the implementation of the rule with the intent to rescind it altogether. That prompted the National Venture Capital Association to file a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The group argued that the administrations decision to delay the rule was unlawful under the Administrative Procedure Act, which, the association contended, would have required a lengthy notice and comment period from the public before the administration could make any changes. Judge James Boasberg granted the associations request for summary judgment, which means the International Entrepreneur Rule must now take effect. Under this rule, foreign entrepreneurs who meet certain benchmarks may apply for parole which, in this case, means that individuals are not formally admitted into the U.S. as they would be with a visa, but can temporarily stay in the country. The Department of Homeland Security has discretion on whom it accepts under parole, and the rule was designed to make use of that discretion. The court ruling comes a week after the administration officially began work to rescind the rule. A draft order to rescind the rule is currently being reviewed by the administration and likely will be published in the Federal Register in the coming weeks. Though the administration can still go forward with those plans, it must accept applications for the rule in the meantime, said Paul Hughes, a lead attorney on the case. But, he added, there is currently no official application for foreigners to use. The point of the rule was to give foreign entrepreneurs who do not qualify for existing visa programs a chance to stay in the U.S. and grow their businesses. (The H-1B visa, for example, is meant for use by established companies, and the L-1 visa is for intracompany transfers; neither is suitable for startups.) But critics took issue with the rules use of parole authority. In his decision, Boasberg wrote that the reasoning behind the administrations delay of the rule without a formal notice and comment period remains vague. As DHS waits to issue a new rule, its arguments in favor of delay leak water, he wrote. At least for now, the (rule) seems to have a solid hull. Trisha Thadani is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: tthadani@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @TrishaThadani The sleep business is suddenly going to the mattresses. The phrase, made popular by the mobster characters in the Godfather films and The Sopranos on television, roughly means going to war. And it aptly describes the newfound intensity of an industry that makes its money by provoking somnolence. During the past few years, upstart e-commerce firms led by Casper, Leesa Sleep and Tuft & Needle have injected new vitality into mattress sales. These companies now pose a serious challenge to established speciality stores like Mattress Firm and Sleep Number, not to mention major retail chains like Sears, Macys and Costco. The once-sleepy category is enjoying both a business and cultural renaissance. From 2011 to 2016, mattress sales from physical stores grew an average of 6.1 percent per year to $14 billion, according to IBISWorld. The research group predicts that sales will grow 3.2 percent a year until 2021. Mattresses are now a cool thing to talk about, said Jason Bennett, CEO of True Star Consulting in San Francisco and a former senior director of marketing for Gap Inc.s Banana Republic brand. You would never have thought that in years past. And the Bay Area has played a key part in the resurgence: Zinus, whose U.S. headquarters are in San Leandro, used to make mattresses for retailers like Walmart and Amazon but is now selling its own designs and brands online. San Francisco hosts Caspers research and development center; Tuft & Needles co-founders previously worked in Silicon Valley. It sounds nerdy, but its exciting, said Casper design director Jesse Menayan, who works out of the San Francisco R&D center. I continue to be amazed about how much room there is to improve (on mattresses). The category is so dynamic, so diverse, and there are so many ways to solve problems. These firms have demonstrated that with some marketing savvy and technological innovation, even the most boring category can be brought to life. More importantly, theyve shown that the easier retailers make it to buy something over the Internet, the more likely people are to do just that. Mattresses dont seem like an easy online sale. Theyve been hard to buy largely due to bad service and high prices in the offline world and theyre big, bulky and hard to transport. Most people typically wait a decade or more before replacing a mattress. There hasnt been a lot of innovation for a long time, said Colin Lawrie, president of Zinus. Just as automakers persuaded drivers to replace their cars more often, the mattress upstarts are trying to sell people on more frequent bed changes. Lawrie is recommending that customers change mattresses every five to seven years. (For what its worth, Prevention magazine recommends replacing your mattress in that time frame if you dont sleep well.) Part of the reason: Mattress sales slumped even after the Great Recession, which lasted from 2007 to 2009, while spending was still depressed. Since then, the economy has improved, which means consumers now have more money to make big purchases they had previously avoided. When the economy is performing poorly, consumer confidence can become so low that many consumers refrain from purchasing new bedding altogether, the IBISWorld report said. Nevertheless, consumer confidence has grown steadily over the past five years as the employment rate, household incomes and the housing market recovered. And thanks to advances in polymer chemistry, shipping is getting easier. Firms like Casper can produce mattresses from cheaper materials and allow the product to be folded into a box for shipment, and then unfolded at a customers home. Dont like it? Stick it back in the box. As a result, online mattresses are priced as low as $300 and sellers can offer no-cost returns. Cheaper, more portable mattresses especially appeal to cost-conscious Millennials who are constantly on the move, Bennett of True Star said. Consumers 34 or younger accounted for 30 percent of all retail matttress sales last year, making them the largest customer group, according to IBISWorld. Given the explosion in wellness products and services, people are paying more attention to how sleep or lack of it affects their overall health, Bennett said. From memory foam and high-thread-count sheets to sensors and mobile apps designed to measure sleep cycles, consumers seem more willing to invest in a good nights rest. Yet the industry is still highly fragmented: Sleep Number and Mattress Firm together control about 36 percent of retail sales, IBISWorld said, while Tempur Sealy and Serta Simmons dominate conventional manufacturing with 60 percent of the market. That leaves a lot of mattresses up for grabs. Casper, based in New York, opened its R&D center in San Francisco only a year ago. The 5,000-square-foot facility on Treat Avenue employs 40 researchers, scientists and engineers. Menayan, Caspers design director, said the company wanted to take advantage of the areas deep talent pool, especially as it applies to sensors, data and software. Air Quality Tracker Check levels down to the neighborhood Ratings for the Bay Area and California, updated every 10 minutes Theres a lot happening in the Bay Area, he said. Caspers focus is now to develop mattresses that better conform to variations of the human body, including size, weight and shape. Theres a super deep body of knowledge in sleep ergonomics, Menayan said. We raised the bar big time. That tech innovation is laudable. But Casper has also been pursuing another form of innovation. It sued three online mattress reviewers in April 2016. One of them, Sleepopolis, recommended a Casper competitor, Leesa. In July, a new company, JAKK Media, bought Sleepopolis with the help of a loan from Casper, and the mattress company dropped its suit. Sleepopolis now recommends Casper mattresses. Now thats a move that would make Tony Soprano proud. Thomas Lee is a San Francisco Chronicle columnist. Email: tlee@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @ByTomLee This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate A jurys near-full acquittal in the Pier 14 killing of Kate Steinle shocked many people who expected a conviction for murder or at least manslaughter. After all, there was no dispute that the accused man held the gun that fired the fatal bullet and that he hurled the weapon into San Francisco Bay as Steinle lay dying. But the prosecution was, in some ways, fighting uphill from the start, legal experts said Friday, one day after Jose Ines Garcia Zarate was convicted only of a single count of being a felon in possession of a firearm. You have to prosecute a case with the evidence you have, and thats what the prosecution did, said Hadar Aviram, a criminal law professor at UC Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco. I think in this case, there just wasnt the evidence. City authorities never overcame a critical obstacle and established a motive that would explain why the 45-year-old homeless undocumented immigrant whose release from San Francisco jail before the shooting under the citys sanctuary policies became a national controversy would want to kill a stranger. And though prosecutors believed Garcia Zarate brought the semiautomatic pistol to the waterfront on July 1, 2015, they had little evidence to counter the defense assertion that he found the gun in a T-shirt or cloth and picked it up, causing it to fire accidentally. The gun had been stolen four days earlier from the nearby parked car of a federal ranger, but the burglary remains unsolved. The defense had little evidence supporting its account, either, but the burden was on the prosecution to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. President Trump called the verdict a complete travesty of Justice on Friday and echoing of a number of conservative pundits suggested that the jury should have been told that Garcia Zarate came back and back over the weakly protected Obama border, always committing crimes and being violent. But while Garcia Zarate has been deported five times and has drug convictions in the U.S., he has no violent convictions. And evidence of prior criminal history and by extension, poor character is generally not admissible in U.S. courts, unless it is directly relevant to the current case. Garcia Zarate was charged with murder from the beginning, and prosecutors gave jurors three options. They could convict on first-degree or premeditated murder. They could opt for second-degree murder, requiring a finding that Garcia Zarate either intended to kill Steinle or intentionally committed a dangerous act with conscious disregard for human life. Or they could choose involuntary manslaughter, which would require a finding that Garcia Zarate caused Steinles death with an unlawful, negligent act. To prove murder, Assistant District Attorney Diana Garcia needed to convince jurors that the round that killed Steinle had been fired intentionally. But this was a difficult task as the bullet first struck the piers concrete 12 to 15 feet from Garcia Zarate, then bounced and traveled 78 more feet to strike Steinle in the back as she strolled with her father. The evidence that Kate Steinle was killed with a ricochet shot, rather than a direct shot, makes it even tougher to prove to the jury beyond a reasonable doubt that it was an intentional killing, said attorney Jim Hammer, a former city prosecutor. Throughout the trial, attorney Matt Gonzalez of the public defenders office sought to characterize the ricochet as proof that Steinles death had been a tragic accident that befell a hapless man. Santiago Mejia/The Chronicle With no direct accounts from eyewitnesses or surveillance video showing Garcia Zarates actions during the shooting and in the moments just before, what remained were dueling conclusions drawn from circumstantial evidence. And in California, the law on circumstantial evidence swings in the defenses favor. Jurors are instructed that if they can draw two or more reasonable conclusions from the circumstantial evidence, and one of those reasonable conclusions points to innocence and another to guilt, you must accept the one that points to innocence. Thats a tough hurdle for a prosecutor to overcome, Hammer said. I think for those who are outraged by this verdict, they have to remember that the defense didnt have to prove that it was an accident. All they had to do was raise reasonable doubt and that there was some other reasonable scenario. Jurors declined requests to explain their thinking as they left the city courthouse Thursday. Garcia offered evidence that the pistol that killed Steinle would fire only with a firm pull of the trigger. She pointed at the defendants actions after the shooting tossing the firearm and walking away as an implication of guilt. The prosecutor called to the stand a crime scene inspector, who testified that he believed Garcia Zarate had to have aimed the gun toward Steinle for the bullet to have followed the path that it did. And she played clips of Garcia Zarates four-hour police interrogation for the jury. But his alleged confession included a variety of stories about what happened, some conflicting with each other and physical evidence. Garcia Zarates attorneys attacked the interrogation, and they countered as well by calling an expert who testified it was unlikely that such a ricochet shot was intentional. They contended that Garcia Zarate tossed the gun in the bay because he was frightened. 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. We have to deduce how a stranger was thinking at the time of the crime from various external evidence, Aviram said. Its not a question of who the jurors believe more. They have to be very close to 100 percent certain that he had intent in order to convict. And they were not. Its unclear whether the prosecutions trial strategy backfired. Garcia spent most of the trial laying the groundwork for a second-degree murder charge, but in her closing remarks, she introduced a possible motive in a bid for first-degree murder, saying Garcia Zarate had been playing his own secret version of Russian roulette when he brought a loaded firearm to a target-rich environment. However, throughout the six-week trial the prosecutor presented little evidence to support that theory, only calling to the witness stand a tourist who was at the pier the day of the shooting and who testified that Garcia Zarate gave her an uneasy feeling. In his closing arguments, Gonzalez said the case should not have been charged at all, hinting that the political uproar caused by Garcia Zarates immigration status had pushed prosecutors who deny the claim to seek a harsher punishment. Prosecutors dont always pursue cases in which theyre certain of the outcome, Aviram said. Alex Bastian, a spokesman for the district attorneys office, said the case made its way to a trial courtroom for a reason. ... At every stage, there was sufficient evidence. Hammer noted that the jury spent six days in deliberations, suggesting their decision was not rushed and that they carefully weighed the evidence. You may not like the outcome, but if you put 12 strangers into a room and they all agree on something, you need to respect that, Hammer said. I dont think it was an easy decision. I think they knew they were going to walk out and get criticized. But they were the 12 who had that responsibility, and that was what they did. Garcia Zarate is scheduled to return to court Dec. 14, and when he is sentenced faces up to three years in state prison a term he has likely already satisfied since his arrest. Federal authorities on Friday unsealed a warrant for his arrest related to his immigration status, and plan to deport him for a sixth time. Vivian Ho is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: vho@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @VivianHo This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate The latest proof that San Francisco exists in a Left Coast bubble was evident in the contrasting opinions over the not-guilty verdicts in the Kate Steinle murder trial. Inside the city, its hard to find anyone of influence who condemned the verdicts. Outside, the tweet storms and cable-show rants hit hurricane level. It was San Francisco sanctuary city policy that killed Kate Steinle, Fox News personality Sean Hannity thundered on his show after the jury acquitted an oft-deported undocumented immigrant from Mexico, Jose Ines Garcia Zarate, of murder and manslaughter charges. The Twitter hashtag #BoycottSanFrancisco took off, and a staffer for the public defenders office which represented Garcia Zarate posted on Facebook that the office has received hundreds of hate messages since the verdict. A representative of the Hotel Council of San Francisco said a handful of people have canceled room reservations, citing the jurys decision. Local leaders who weighed in on the verdict expressed sympathy for Steinles family, said the jury process worked the way it was supposed to and denounced President Trump and other conservatives who cited the case as proof that the U.S. has to build the wall and take other steps to rein in illegal immigration. People have every right to be critical of the verdict and speak out about that, said state Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco. But the president is using this to fan the flames of hatred against immigrants, to demonize immigrants. Former state Sen. Mark Leno, who is running to succeed Ed Lee as mayor, lamented the tragic story of Steinles death but excoriated Trump and Attorney General Jeff Sessions for layering it with politics. They have no shame. And theyre not done, he said. The president fired off three tweets about the verdict Thursday night and Friday morning, calling the jurys decision disgraceful and a complete travesty of justice. Sessions issued a statement blaming San Franciscos policy of limiting cooperation with federal immigration officials for Steinles death. Lee declined to comment. His spokeswoman, Ellen Canale, said simply, San Francisco is and always will be a sanctuary city. Fifty candles flickered in the wind Friday in San Francisco near the spot on Pier 14 where Steinle died. Dozens of red and white roses and other flowers were piled on a bench. Some had notes attached to them, and some of those notes were angry. Several items appeared to have been left by people inspired by a self-proclaimed alt-right group. Some passers-by called Garcia Zarate a killer. Others said he was a scapegoat. Lisa Lea, 42, of San Francisco, said Garcia Zarate shouldnt be here. I definitely feel the system failed her, Lea said of Steinle. This is a guy whos been deported. Her partner, Tom Chu, 44, said he understood the jurys verdict. Its easy to be a Monday morning quarterback, without being in the jury room, he said. Everyones jumping on the bandwagon, not knowing whats going on. Its such a tragic story, and then the president had to tweet. Marilyn Kennick of San Francisco said Garcia Zarate should have been convicted of the killing and said the acquittal was a rough deal that put San Francisco in a bad light. Jonathan Simon, director of the UC Berkeley Center for the Study of Law and Society, said that but for a few key factors that pushed it to the zenith, the Steinle killing would have never made it past local headlines. If it wasnt for the Trump factor in particular, this would have never taken off, Simon said. These tragedies happen all the time, but they dont give the same sense that society has gone amok like this one has been made up to. Kevin Fagan, Jenna Lyons and Steve Rubenstein are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: kfagan@sfchronicle.com, jlyons@sfchronicle.com, srubenstein@sfchronicle.com. Twitter: @KevinChron, @JennaJourno, @SteveRubeSF This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate San Franciscos long-troubled 911 call center finally reached a mundane yet remarkable milestone this past month: answering 90 percent of the emergency calls it receives within 10 seconds. A quick response to an emergency call should be among the most basic, reliable services a city provides. But incredibly, as this column has reported , San Franciscos dispatch center hadnt hit the 90 percent target the national standard that all functional 911 call centers should meet as their baseline since March 2012. Thats nearly six years during which San Franciscans couldnt rely on their 911 calls being picked up and responded to promptly. The lowest point came just eight months ago, when the dispatch center was answering a mere 66 percent of calls within 10 seconds. That meant that back in April, if your house caught on fire, your baby was choking or an armed robber entered your home, you had just a two-thirds chance of getting a speedy answer to your 911 call. Now, after officially ending November with a quick-answer rate of 89.4 percent, the odds are more like 9 in 10. Asked whether he thought he would ever see his dispatch center meet the sought-after standard, Robert Smuts, the citys deputy director for emergency communications, laughed wryly. Sometimes it didnt seem like it, but yes, he said. Were very happy to finally be getting there. The achievement comes after intense examination of his department by the mayor, the Board of Supervisors and The Chronicle, but Smuts said he wont stop pushing for improvements at the call center just because its reached the goal. Were not going to rest at hitting our standard were going to work to really be the best center possible. I think the scrutiny that you and everyone else gave us is very helpful for getting there, he told me. About that scrutiny lets review: Back in the spring, the 90 percent milestone seemed far off, perhaps unobtainable. In April, I told you about William Ellis, a 66-year-old homeless man who suffered cardiac arrest and collapsed at the back of St. Boniface Church in the Tenderloin. Three people rushed to him and dialed 911 on their cell phones. None of them could get through. It was ringing and ringing and ringing like Id called somebodys house phone, said Porsha Dixson, a church worker. After somebody finally got an answer, Ellis was whisked to San Francisco General Hospital in an ambulance. He died six days later. On April 21, when a massive power outage left about 90,000 Pacific Gas and Electric Co. customers in the dark, there were initially only nine dispatchers working to take calls. During the outage, 500 calls to 911 were abandoned, meaning the caller hung up before getting an answer. The centers problems, known at City Hall for years but pretty much ignored, stemmed from a swelling population making more 911 calls, necessitating mandatory overtime shifts for dispatchers. Forced to work 12- and 14-hour days, as well as weekends and holidays, dispatchers burned out. As many quit, the job grew even more burdensome for those who stayed. Mayor Ed Lee on May 2 issued an executive order demanding that the Department of Emergency Management deal with its staffing shortage and meet the 90 percent target. He formed a task force to make recommendations and ordered the dispatch center to publish weekly reports on its progress. He told reporters shortly after issuing the order that he was determined to get the response time up. I want that 10-second turnaround standard to be there right now, Lee said in May. It has to be within the next month a month or two months. It would take nearly 6 months more, but it has finally happened. Lee told me that directing 911 dispatchers to transfer calls about car break-ins that werent in progress and some calls about homelessness to 311 helped lessen the dispatchers load. In addition, a new public awareness campaign directing the public on when and, more importantly, when not to call 911 may be starting to help. In addition, the Civic Bridge program, which is run by the Mayors Office of Civic Innovation and recruits private-sector experts to donate their time, has brought in outside consultants to help the dispatch center. Teams are working on improving the public awareness campaign and tracking its results, and on improving and shortening the year-long training program for new dispatchers. I want to say thank you to everybody who worked on it, Lee told me Wednesday, referring to the call center reaching the 90 percent mark. Well keep doing whatever we need to do to keep that high level of performance up for people who depend on that 911 system. Supervisor Aaron Peskin, who held a hearing on the centers poor performance and pushed for funding for the public awareness campaign, said its good the center is finally answering calls as it should, but still shocking there were nearly six years when it wasnt. We shouldnt be patting ourselves on the back for doing what were supposed to be doing, Peskin said. The dispatch center hit its 90 percent target in the first week of November, reached 91 percent in the second week and sunk a bit to 88 percent in the third week before rising again. On average for the month, the dispatch center answered just under 90 percent of calls within 10 seconds. Just as the center met its goal, however, the goalpost moved. A new industry effort is now pushing for centers to answer 95 percent of calls within 15 seconds. Smuts is tracking that figure, too. He said the center is just a couple of percentage points shy of that new target and will hit it soon. One reason for a strong November, he allowed, is that the month always sees a drop-off in calls from October, a warm, busy month in the city. In November, when daylight-saving time is over and the weather is colder, people arent outside as much, which lessens the chance for emergencies. The first week of November had an average daily emergency call volume of 1,997, a 3 percent decrease from the previous week. Smuts said hes confident, however, that the centers success will continue, regardless of call volume. Thats because more city-funded training classes are bringing on more dispatchers to help. Ideally, the center would have 165 dispatchers. Back in April, it had 105. Now, its up to 123. Smuts said nine others will be released from training to join the regular staff at the end of December. Another nine will complete training in March, 14 more next June, and still more in October 2018. Burt Wilson, president of the dispatchers union, said the results are proof the city should have listened to dispatchers warnings long ago. His workers have been raising the red flag for years, asking for more staff to join them and more attention from the city to get a smoothly running center. It doesnt take a rocket scientist, Wilson said. Thats what weve been asking for. Wilson said the center is running a lot better. Youre taking less calls; the bells are ringing less; its less stressful here, he said. Still, he warned that nothing has really changed for longtime dispatchers, some of whom are still quitting to work at call centers that are closer to home or that pay better. Theyre still required to work overtime shifts regularly. Wilson, for example, worked a grueling 4 a.m. to 6 p.m. shift on Thanksgiving. Negotiations with the citys human resources department broke down when the union rejected an offer of a bonus rather than a permanent salary increase. The unions longtime request for dispatchers to be granted more generous public safety pensions is also dead. The city still needs to figure out how to hold onto dispatchers because, as Wilson pointed out, the staff is becoming far less experienced as more senior call-takers quit. Smuts said regular mandatory overtime shifts should be ended in about a month. Dispatchers will be required to work overtime only on especially busy days, such as Gay Pride Parade day and the Fourth of July, he said. Smuts is also working on easing the scheduling of time off; currently, dispatchers say, they have to plead to attend family weddings and other important events. Wilson said hell believe the long-promised changes when he sees them. Still, he and everybody else I talked to said they believe the call center is equipped to handle the next major emergency earthquake, mass shooting, plane crash or whatever else that may strike San Francisco. In that kind of a situation, everybody forgets all these little problems were having and does their job, Wilson said. Thats whats been saving the city all these years. Lets hope, for the sake of the dispatchers, city residents and anybody who spends time in San Francisco, that the improvements continue and more progress is made. San Francisco Chronicle columnist Heather Knight appears Sundays and Tuesdays. Email: hknight@sfchronicle.com, Twitter: @hknightsf For those of us who were around to see the first video works presented in art museum and gallery exhibitions, our memories are in grainy black and white. Today, no contemporary art venue can ignore video, and the technical quality of such offerings has vastly improved as the distinction between video and film has dissolved. It has been nearly five decades since Gene Youngblood described an expanded cinema in his seminal book of the same name, positing that such a conflation of media would, paradoxically, lead to radically new forms of cinema. Yet most of the moving images we consume today look merely like crisper versions of the TV and movies Youngblood was ready to leave behind in the 1960s. Not so with Isaac Juliens most invigorating works. The British artist has evolved since art school in the 1980s from filmmaker to installation artist, making multiple-screen digital works through which one wanders afoot, and that dont rely entirely on story or fixed sequence. They have no fixed point of view, in either the physical or the cinematic sense. Courtesy Isaac Julien A deep-dive introduction to Juliens art, drawn from the highly significant but under-the-radar Kramlich Collection of media works, opened Friday, Dec. 1, and runs through Feb. 11. Playtime is the latest in a series of large-scale exhibitions at the reinvigorated Fort Mason Center for Arts and Culture. Built around the U.S. premiere of the seven-screen installation also called Playtime (2014) in Fort Masons Gallery 308, the show also includes two works in other galleries. Housed next door is Kapital (2013), a half-hour dual-screen Marxist survey of economic issues underlying events in Playtime (more visual and more interesting than it sounds). Across campus at the recently opened San Francisco Art Institute graduate center, Better Life (Ten Thousand Waves) (2010) inaugurates a new media gallery with a pictorially stunning, narratively poetic look at aspects of Chinese life, history and culture. As fresh as they are visually and conceptually, both Kapital and Better Life (Ten Thousand Waves) are conventional, in that each provides seating, and each has a beginning and an end. (To plan the best experience, call ahead or begin first at Fort Masons new Visitor Center, in the same space where Kapital is showing, and ask for starting times.) Playtime, in contrast, is presented in a room covered by a sea of blue carpet. We are meant to enter at random, walk through as we wish, sit on the floor if and where we like. To see the entire work will take just over an hour, but the looping story, though broken into three acts with multiple scenes in each, can be entered at any point. Ultra-high-definition video images surround us, weaving together sublime landscapes and brawny city views. They are sumptuous and transfixing; each could be viewed as though it were a distinct work of photographic art. Copyright Isaac Julien Julien is not the only artist to use the multiscreen HD technique, but it suits his atomized storytelling particularly well. According to a wall label, Playtime is based on French filmmaker Jacques Tatis 1967 masterwork of comic genius, the original Playtime. Both deal, ultimately, with the dislocations and incoherence of modern life, but otherwise the relationship is primarily visual and formal, with nearly plotless interactions among characters. The Julien piece is not meant to be funny all the way through, though there is a witty and surreal engagement between characters played by Colin Salmon and James Franco, and a bit with the pompously entertaining auctioneer Simon de Pury that had me giggling. But Juliens Playtime relies on moments of pathos to move things along, like the disjointed stories of an Icelandic mans loss of his dream home after the financial crash in that country, and a Dubai maids anguished sense of separation from her Philippine homeland. Like all good stories, Playtime has many layers, not all of them visible on the surface. But Julien engineers a minutely intricate structure that, while solid in itself, is disorientingly full of blind turns and unbridged gaps. The exhibition organizers provide more background than any casual visitor will assimilate: an excellent free brochure; a small set of tarot-like cards with discussion prompts, also free; Kapital, the 31-minute companion work; and a reading table of books on economics, the workings of the art world, the career of the artist. 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. My advice is to rely first on the work. It is a profoundly visual and intuitive experience that might be enriched by all that support material, but cannot be explained by it. Charles Desmarais is The San Francisco Chronicles art critic. Email: cdesmarais@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @Artguy1 Isaac Julien: Playtime: Noon-8 p.m. Wednesdays-Saturdays, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sundays. Through Feb. 11. Free. Fort Mason Center for Arts and Culture, 2 Marina Blvd., S.F. (415) 345-7575. www.fortmason.org. On 2 December Artsakh Republic President Bako Sahakyan together with President Serzh Sargsyan of the Republic of Armenia visited a number of military units located in the republics southern wing and got acquainted with the service of the servicemen, Central Information Department of the Office of the Artsakh Republic President informed Artsakhpress. December 2, 2017, 20:59 Bako Sahakyan together with Serzh Sargsyan visit a number of military units in Artsakh (photo) STEPANAKERT, DECEMBER 2, ARTSAKHPRESS:The Presidents watched military maneuvers, attended solemn events of opening a military barrack, a range of other objects, as well as partook at a housewarming ceremony of a newly-built apartment building for servicemen. Ignoring rebel leader Shehzad Poonawalla's claims that Rahul Gandhi's elevation to party president is rigged, state Congress committees prepare to propose the Gandhi scion's name for the coveted post. Heads of Pradesh Congress Committees from across India today will propose Rahul's name for the top job as part of the nomination process that began on Friday. By Mail Today Bureau: Even as rebel Congress functionary Shehzad Poonawalla continued to level allegations of the party's presidential polls being rigged, state units across the country prepared to present proposals for vice-president Rahul Gandhi's nomination today. Heads of Pradesh Congress Committees from across India today will propose Rahul's name for the top job as part of the nomination process that began on Friday. Thereafter on Monday, which is the last date for filing nominations, Rahul is expected to file his nomination. advertisement In the absence of any other contender to the post, Rahul will stake claim to the party's presidency . Meanwhile, as the party disowned Shehzad and maintained that he is not a primary member of Congress, the rebel leader countered their claims with photographs and documentary proof of his membership and participation in party events. "They fear if I contest a rigged selection also Rahul ji may lose.. if not Rahul Gandhi should say - bring it on- I will fight against him on talent & merit for the post of President of Congress but sychophants want to preserve dynasty system like it is their religion," Shehzad tweeted. "I questioned the dynasty system- I was disowned by dynasty slaves who celebrate Yashwant Sinha!" Watch: Dynasts rewarded, merit ignored in Congress: Shehzad Poonawallah on Rahul's elevation --- ENDS --- It was a crazy week, so you might have missed the news that the New York Times decided to operate like a super PAC. Heres what happened. The Times editorial board changed the bio on the opinion sections Twitter account to inform the public that it was temporarily taking over the feed to lobby against the Senate GOP tax bill. The board then proceeded to tweet out the phone numbers of various Republican senators and implored the public to deluge their offices with phone calls, to urge the Senate to reject a tax bill that hurts the middle class & the nations fiscal health. There was a lot of dudgeon and consternation about this among the ever-shrinking group of Americans who care about subtle distinctions in journalism. No one could remember another time when a major news outlet, particularly one as self-regarding as the New York Times, chose to nakedly politick in a way typical of MoveOn.org or the NRA. Just to be clear: I think the Times stunt was foolhardy. But I dont think it was immoral, illegal, unconstitutional or even unethical. Lots of things can be dumb without violating anything other than good judgment. Its no secret that the Times editorial board is liberal. The text of its editorials and endorsements makes that plain pretty much every day. What bothers me is that the Times editorial board is among the most vocal opponents of the Citizens United vs. FEC decision. In 2010, the Supreme Court struck down an election law that barred corporate and union electioneering communications within 30 days of a primary election and 60 days of a general election if those communications advocated for a specific candidate. The court held that political speech does not lose First Amendment protection simply because its source is a corporation. When Government seeks to use its full power, Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote in the 5-4 decision, including the criminal law, to command where a person may get his or her information or what distrusted source he or she may not hear, it uses censorship to control thought. When the Obama administration was arguing the case, some of the justices asked the deputy solicitor general, Malcolm Stewart, if there would be any constitutional reason why books couldnt be included in the ban. Stewart said sure, if the book contained the functional equivalent of express advocacy for a candidate and was supported, even slightly, with corporate money. Such advocacy, Stewart conceded, could amount to negatively mentioning a politician just once in a 500-page book put out by a mainstream publisher. While both the Times and the Obama administration believed in sweeping government censorship during elections or at least when most voters pay attention (i.e., right before election day) they thought one group should be exempt from these prohibitions: newspapers and other media outlets. Never mind that pretty much every significant newspaper, television network and magazine, including the Times itself, is owned by a corporation. They simply wanted other corporations to be forced to shut up. A super PAC that wants to put out a pamphlet or video or even a paid ad in the Times should be barred from doing so if it might influence voters. But the New York Times Co. can write whatever it damn well pleases. This always struck me as a back door to the licensing of journalists. After all, when you think about how this barmy notion would be enforced, bureaucrats at the Federal Election Commission would have to determine that a newsletter put out by, say, Planned Parenthood or the NRA wasnt journalism, but an editorial by the New York Times was. The host of The Daily Show on Comedy Central owned by Viacom could mock a politician, but the owner of the Acme Nail Co. would have to shut up. The problems with this are too lengthy to list in full. But two are worth mentioning. First, leaving it up to the FEC to decide what counts as journalism and what doesnt is an insane amount of power to give political appointees during the run-up to an election. Second, everyone has the same First Amendment rights. The Constitution holds that a free press is vital, but it doesnt define the press as some kind of incumbent guild. By acting like a run-of-the-mill super PAC, the Times is highlighting how capricious and dangerous such line-drawing really is. The Times had every right to do what it did but so does everyone else, whether the Times likes it or not. 2017 Tribune Content Agency, LLC Jonah Goldberg is a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and a senior editor of National Review. Email: goldbergcolumn@gmail.com Twitter: @JonahNRO To comment, submit your letter to the editor at SFChronicle.com/letters. Three audacious efforts to undermine journalism and perpetuate propaganda in the past week were notable even by the distressing standards of 2017. It starts, once again, with the 45th president of the United States. President Trump began a series of tweets last weekend that took aim at CNN International, describing it as a major source of (Fake) news, and they represent our Nation to the WORLD very poorly. The outside world does not see the truth from them! No American president in modern times has so brazenly attempted to undermine U.S. journalists working overseas. This is not only unseemly, especially with Trump accompanying his blast at CNN with praise for Fox News and its stable of sycophants. Its corrosive to our democracy, and dangerous for the men and women who are going into unsafe areas in pursuit of stories the people in power would just as soon suppress. Public condemnation of this nations most prominent and reliable television source of international news puts the White House in an odd alliance with repressive regimes. Trumps tweets came just hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law to force certain American news organizations to register as foreign agents. It did not take long for Libyan officials to seize on Trumps words. CNN recently broadcast an extensive investigation into modern slave auctions being conducted in that country. The report included footage of more than 10 men being sold at an auction near Tripoli. Invoking Trumps tweets, the broadcaster Libya 218 suggested a hidden political agenda was behind the CNN story. Clarissa Ward, a CNN senior international correspondent, said for a president to volubly and publicly disparage U.S. journalists puts them at risk in areas where hostility toward the news media is no joking matter. Its open season on journalists, Ward said on CNN. Consider: Is the American interest really served by constraints on our ability to pursue independent reporting around the world? Michael Hayden, a retired four-star Air Force general who has served as director of both the CIA and National Security Agency under three presidents, had a strong opinion on the subject. If this is who we are or who we are becoming, I have wasted 40 years of my life, tweeted Hayden, now a CNN contributor. Until now it was not possible for me to conceive of an American President capable of such an outrageous assault on truth, a free press or the first amendment. Speaking of assaults on truth, Trump reaffirmed his role as the commander in chief of fabricated fear when he retweeted three videos from a British ultranationalist group supposedly showing Muslims committing acts of violence. The videos were titled Muslim migrant beats up Dutch boy on crutches! and Muslim Destroys a Statuee of Virgin Mary! and Islamist mob pushes teenage boy off roof and beats him to death! There was so much wrong with a president sharing such inflammatory material, starting with the fact that British leaders regard the original tweeter, Britain First, as a hate group. As responsible U.S. politicians have noted, Republicans and Democrats alike, this sort of broad-brushed recklessness only alienates Muslims around the world who are critical allies in the war on terror. It also set off a needless spat between Trump and Prime Minister Theresa May. Perhaps the most important point of all: the dubious veracity of the videos from a vile, racist group. The assailant of the Dutch boy was not a Muslim migrant; the other two videos were 4 years old and absent any context. White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders defended the Trump tweet as a way to advance a conversation about immigration and border security. Whether its a real video, the threat is real, she said. Think about that for a moment: It doesnt matter whether the fear-inducing footage is authentic. Its the effect on the populace that matters. It sounds like a fairly precise definition of propaganda. Finally, score one for truth over a scheme to sabotage truth tellers. The Washington Post, which broke the big story about sexual misconduct allegations against Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore, was approached by a woman claiming to have conceived a child with him when she was 15. The Post reporters did their research and spotted inconsistencies in her account. The woman abruptly cut off a follow-up interview when challenged about her story and motives, and the newspaper traced her back to the inaptly named Project Veritas, a conservative group that poses subjects in undercover operations to entrap its adversaries a tactic that is verboten in real journalism. So the attempt to dupe the Washington Post backfired spectacularly. It ended up validating the diligence and commitment to accuracy of the organization Project Veritas had hoped to discredit. John Diaz is The Chronicles editorial page editor. Email: jdiaz@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @JohnDiazChron This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate President Trumps White House was furiously distancing itself from former national security adviser Michael Flynn on Friday after he admitted lying to federal agents about his conversations with Russias ambassador. That is not surprising given the administrations perpetual readiness to contradict plain facts, but it is nevertheless absurd. With Flynns guilty plea and agreement to cooperate with authorities, the fourth formal case against a Trump associate, Special Counsel Robert Mueller effectively entered the West Wing and knocked on the Oval Office doors. A federal crime committed by a top Trump official within the first week of the presidency has been proven within its first year. Flynns National Security Council perch capped his service as a Trump confidant despite a series of increasingly grave warnings. A retired Army general and onetime defense intelligence chief forced out of President Barack Obamas administration, Flynn had emerged as a strident Obama critic, Islamophobe and Russophile when he became a key Trump campaign adviser in early 2016. He was later floated as a potential vice president and given a headlining speech at the Republican convention, during which he infamously (and, it turns out, ironically) encouraged audience members chanting of Hillary Clinton, Lock her up! Flynn went on to become a vice chair of the Trump transition and, despite advice to the contrary from Obama himself, national security adviser. Trump continued to stand by his man even after then-acting Attorney General Sally Yates warned that Flynns deceptive accounts of his contacts with Vladimir Putins regime, with which he had a long-standing and lucrative relationship, could expose him to blackmail. Trump reluctantly fired Flynn only when Vice President Mike Pence was caught up in his dissembling, giving the president little choice. Even then, Trump tried to talk FBI Director James Comey into letting Flynn go, according to Comey, and publicly defended him as a wonderful man. While Flynns crime is punishable by up to five years in prison, his plea deal suggests authorities wont lock him up in large part because he has agreed to tell them everything he knows. Given that he says his Russian contacts were directed by a top transition official, reportedly first son-in-law and presidential consigliere Jared Kushner, that should sound ominous to the president and his allies, not least the lawmakers hastening to work with him to rewrite federal policy on taxes, health care and more. An administration that was already hampered by lack of fitness, qualifications and popular support has now been deeply compromised by corruption. This commentary is from The Chronicles editorial board. We invite you to express your views in a letter to the editor. Please submit your letter via our online form: SFChronicle.com/letters. Olivier Douliery/TNS Some people are none too pleased with the Sacramento Bee after the paper published a column with a headline suggesting Peter Thiel is taking the place of Charles Manson in the canon of great California villains. "Manson's gone, but California may have just the villain to replace him," the column's headline originally read (it was later changed to the less provocative "California needs a new villain"). This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate San Francisco is a "liberal cesspool" that must be boycotted, according to some on social media who called for a boycott of the West Coast city after a stunning acquittal of an undocumented immigrant in the killing of Kate Steinle on a San Francisco pier. Thousands tweeted #BoycottSanFrancisco in the 24 hours following the acquittal of Jose Ines Garcia Zarate, a 45-year-old Mexican citizen who was released from San Francisco County Jail before the killing despite a federal request that he be held for his sixth deportation. The Steinle trial been a component of the national debate over sanctuary laws for much of the past two years. FULL STORY: Garcia Zarate acquitted in San Francisco pier killing On Friday those disturbed by the controversial verdict took to Twitter to express their disbelief. "Hell will freeze over before I ever visit SF #BoycottSanFrancisco," wrote an incensed Twitter user. One man called the city a "used needle-strewn hipster dystopia." Another seized her platform to pen a rhyming poem of sorts: "The morning fog may chill the air. We don't care. There's nothing there in San Francisco except the Liberals and the poisoned air." Many went so far as to pledge to never use another San Francisco-made product again. It's impossible to know if they were on iPhones when they used the San Francisco-based social media network to make the declaration. Story continues below. Now Playing: The Steinle family reflects on the circumstances surrounding the death of their daughter Kathryn, who was shot and killed on Pier 14 in 2015. Video: Manjula Varghese, Guy Wathen, Lea Suzuki Others seized the opportunity to air their extended list of grievances with the city and its excess sympathy for "liberal causes," like Colin Kaepernick's anthem protests and feminism; many hoped CalExit would come to fruition. Although he had yet to sound off on the boycott, President Trump condemned the verdict in a series of tweets Friday and renewed calls to build a border wall. SEE ALSO: Trump jumps on Democrats in latest Kate Steinle case tweets The calls for boycott were met with plenty of pushback from the opposite side of the political spectrum. "RT if you're jealous Trumpsters promise to #BoycottSanFrancisco," wrote @Millennial_Dems. Other users pointed out the hypocrisy of boycotting San Francisco after they remained silent following the killing of Heather Heyer during a white nationalist rally and counterprotest in Charlottesville, N.C. Outside cyberspace, many Bay Area were shocked by the surprising verdict. Speaking with The San Francisco Chronicle on Pier 14, where Steinle took her last steps, many expressed a mixture of anger and sadness for the young life taken too soon. Vivian Ho, a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer, contributed to this report. Michelle Robertson is an SFGATE staff writer. Email her at mrobertson@sfchronicle.com or find her on Twitter at @mrobertsonsf. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate The more than 250 herons that flock to Oakland every year to breed are in store for a feather-ruffling surprise when they return to their favorite downtown nesting spot in February. The giant canopies where the long-legged fowl have gathered for nearly a decade are no longer there, and the humans who removed their nests are hoping to lure them to a new breeding ground about a half-mile away at Lake Merritt with decoys equipped with loudspeakers to broadcast recordings of heron mating calls. The humans insist this is not a bird-brained idea. This is ultimately going to be a better thing for the birds, said Cindy Margulis, executive director of the Golden Gate Audubon Society. Its a bird that belongs in Oakland; it just doesnt belong in downtown streets. The herons preferred perches have been in the trees shading a cluster of downtown streets, including 12th, 13th, 14th, Alice, Harrison and Jackson. Developers bulldozed many of the trees and trimmed others in early November to make room for two big mixed-use buildings, including one 17 stories high. Downtown Oakland wasnt an ideal spot for the herons, but we cant control all their choices. All we can do is try and present as many alternatives as possible, said Lesley Estes, the city of Oaklands watershed manager. Mostly known for leaving poop on cars and mail trucks parked under the large trees near a post office at 201 13th St., the birds were first spotted breeding in the neighborhood in 2010 and have returned every year since despite hazards the urban area poses for the chicks they hatch. In the past year, the Golden Gate Audubon Society rescued more than 65 baby herons that plummeted from the trees onto the concrete jungle below making the chicks susceptible to being squashed by both foot and vehicle traffic. The fact that theyre nesting in these big trees in the middle of Oakland is anomalous, said Jeff Smith, an associate wildlife ecologist with H.T. Harvey and Associates, an ecology consulting firm that developed the strategy to move the herons. The city of Oakland required the apartment-building developers to come up with a strategy to move the birds. Working with ecologists like Smith and the Golden Gate Audubon Society, the developers hope their relocation plans flies. When artist Rick Oginz noticed the crews removing the trees just outside his art studio at Jackson and 14th streets, he angrily called the mayors office demanding answers. The trees have been a great pleasure to me, as well as the birds, Oginz said. I loved watching them coming and going and building nests. I was really upset when I saw the trees going down. When Oginz confronted the foreman of the crew cutting the trees, he said, the man explained to him the plan to relocate the birds. That made me feel better, Oginz said. The bird droppings are kind of a problem for the parked cars. A team of ecologists removed the herons nests from the trees beforehand and put them into a storage unit in Oakland, displacing an estimated 264 herons, and also 38 egrets. The nests will be strategically placed in their new living quarters on the shores of Lake Merritt in January, Smith said. In addition to the nests, Smith will install plastic decoy herons that will begin broadcasting recorded sounds of the birds breeding calls in January, ahead of when their nesting season begins in February. Now the question is, will this work? said Estes, the city watershed manager. The hope is to bring them to a better place to live, to attract them there and to keep them there. A similar strategy was used in Long Beach in 1998, when ecologists worked to relocate a large colony of herons from the former Long Beach Naval Station to Gull Park. There was one notable difference: Workers in Long Beach uprooted 50 trees and moved them to the new nesting location. The plan worked for several years until the birds decided to find their own quarters elsewhere along the Southern California coastline. In Oakland, Smith tracked down prime real estate in and around Lake Merritt. Now comes the hard part. The goal is to convince the birds that the lake area and its bird islands are the best spot for them. The first bird island was built in 1925, and four others were added in 1956 to attract nesting water birds, including herons, according to the city Parks and Recreation Department. Though the islands lost some of their plush habitat over time, Smith said the rehabilitation of the islands in recent years make them an ideal dwelling for the displaced herons and egrets. Other locations include a stretch of oak and redwood trees near the northwest edge of the lake. The move to Lake Merritt wont be easy, and there are new dangers to consider for the birds. There would be mortality in any circumstance. Theyre not going to get run over by cars, but theyre going to get eaten by predators, Smith said, referring to raccoons, feral cats and other creatures that lodge at the lake. But Smith said he and his team are prepared. Theyve placed barricades around the trees to keep the monsters at bay, and the bird islands also offer some protection and isolation from wildlife looking to feast. We may or may not succeed with this effort insofar as there are other alternative locations for these birds to move to throughout Oakland and the greater Bay Area, Smith said. Yet they remain hopeful. Once the decoys are placed and the nesting season starts, the work is not over, Smith said. His team plans to monitor the birds progress over the course of the next several years. And it wouldnt be the end of the world if the herons follow in the Long Beach flocks footsteps and find another place to live. Lets just keep our fingers crossed and see what the birds do. Its an experiment, Estes said. Im glad that we get to do it. I think we will learn a lot. Sarah Ravani is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: sravani@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @SarRavani A new CEO on the menu Shares of Blue Apron jumped nearly 8 percent Friday, a day after the meal-kit company announced that co-founder Matt Salzberg had stepped down as CEO. The company, which went public in June at a price of $10 a share and has struggled ever since, closed at $3.23. Salzberg, who was replaced by Chief Financial Officer Brad Dickerson, will be Blue Aprons executive chairman. Cheesy glasses for you Cheese maker Finlandia is celebrating the 100th anniversary of its native Finland by creating Commemorative Cheeseware, a pair of wine and beer glasses made of cheese. The company says that people who want to order need to send a direct message on Wednesday through its Facebook page. One tough thing to swallow: The price is $5,000. Shkreli may lose his Wu The government wants to seize Martin Shkrelis one-of-a-kind Wu-Tang Clan album. The recording that the Pharma Bro boasted about buying for $2 million is on a list of assets that prosecutors argue the jailed former pharmaceutical CEO should forfeit after his conviction this year in a securities fraud scheme involving two failed hedge funds. Along with the Once Upon a Time in Shaolin album, prosecutors say Shkreli should give up $5 million in cash in a brokerage account, his interest in a pharmaceutical company and other valuables including a Picasso painting and another unreleased recording that he claims he owns, Tha Carter V by Lil Wayne. From staff and news services. See more items and links at www.sfgate.com. Twitter: @techchronicle When President Trump sent an angry tweet in February blasting Nordstrom for dropping his daughter Ivankas clothing line from its stores, his supporters took to social media to intensify their previous calls to boycott the retailer. Nordstrom had reason to worry: Previous tweets from Trump about other brands, such as Lockheed Martin, had hurt share prices. Instead, Nordstrom shares rose, and its business outperformed many of its rivals in the troubled retail industry in the months that followed. It was an example of the dichotomy between what people say in the heat of a moment online and how they act offline, said Jay York, a senior digital marketing strategist at EMSI Public Relations. And it showcases the need for companies to monitor both online and offline conversations to get a true picture of how people feel about a brand and any controversies in which it may find itself embroiled. On average, 19 percent of a brands sales or between $7 trillion and $10 trillion in annual consumer spending in the United States are driven by social conversations, both online and offline, according to a new study conducted by Engagement Labs, a Canadian company that analyzes conversations around brands. The study, which looked at 170 brands, found that companies often wrongly saw social media as an accurate guide for tracking consumer sentiment. Often, though, that social conversation might be much different from what people are saying to friends and family, the study said. The danger is you can make some pretty big mistakes if you assume the conversations happening online are also happening offline, said Brad Fay, chief research officer at Engagement Labs and a co-author of the study. Very often, theyre heading in different directions. The most negative and most outrageous comments often get the most traction on social media. And, sometimes, people post comments about a topic just to get a reaction or to reflect an image or appear cool to their social media followers, when their actual views may be the opposite. Social media is a valuable tool for detecting early signs of trouble. Its a wake-up call, a warning that something is afoot and there is a negative force there, said Elissa Moses, CEO of neuroscience and behavioral science for Ipsos, a market research company. But a brand then needs to dig deeper to see whether offline chatter matches it and if not, why not. Moses recalled being angry when Ann Curry was forced off NBCs Today five years ago. I took to social media to voice my outrage, and I vowed to not watch the show anymore, she said. But after years of watching the Today show and my liking of their format and familiarity, I found myself gradually coming back to be a regular watcher. With Nordstrom, the social media crusaders were loud, but couldnt shake the loyalty that shoppers felt. The Nordstrom customer is rock solid, with a very loyal customer base, and thats more important than any idiot social comment, said Howard Davidowitz, chairman of Davidowitz & Associates, a retail consulting and investment banking firm. So how do companies track offline conversations? Focus groups, online questionnaires, in-store survey cards, home visits and even a chat between a manager and a customer in the store can all track consumer sentiment. Retailers like Bloomingdales and Saks Fifth Avenue often invite loyal customers to meetings to quiz them on everything from the latest promotional campaign to the stores mannequins. A facial expression, a tone of voice or even a pause can reveal concerns that a social media post or tweet will not, Moses said. Robin Hafitz, founder and CEO of Open Mind Strategy, sometimes hooks up focus group participants to diodes and heat sensors to detect emotional reactions. While theyre saying they dont like this sexy or negative commercial, their galvanic responses may actually indicate theyre excited by it or have a positive response, she said. When Craig Schmeizer co-founded the mattress company Nectar, he underestimated demand and quickly ran out of inventory when sales began in January. That meant long waits and a mountain of negative complaints on social media. He feared his new business might be finished before it ever really started. But when he reached out to customers through online and phone surveys, he discovered they had no interest in canceling their orders. The more candid he was about the inventory debacle and shipping delays, the more customers seemed to respond. Every time we told them the wait would get longer, our sales would go up, said Schmeizer, whose company has more than $40 million in sales since January. When Wendys started its fresh, never frozen beef campaign, it generated positive buzz but failed to stimulate sales. When offline surveys were done, the company found most people just didnt care because they freeze their own beef, Hafitz said And when Chick-fil-A CEO Dan Cathy made comments opposing same-sex marriage in 2012, a social media campaign urged a boycott of the chain. Instead, sales rose 12 percent to $4.6 billion that year. The running joke is theyll still eat a Chick-fil-A, even though they feel bad about it, York said. Will they post a picture of themselves eating a Chick-fil-A? Probably not. All of this shows why its critical that brands track all conversations, online and off. Its not an either/or question; its important to look at both, Fay said. Janet Morrissey is a New York Times writer. Google, which prides itself on developing simple, intuitive software that seems to know what you want almost before you do, is finding itself in quite a different world when it comes to its own phones and other gadgets. Its new Pixel 2 phones, released in October, got high marks for their camera and design at least until some users complained about burned in afterimages on their screens, a bluish tint, periodic clicking sounds and occasionally unresponsive touch commands. Then the companys new Home Mini smart speaker was caught always listening. Finally, its wireless Pixel Buds headset received savage reviews for a cheap look and feel, mediocre sound, and being difficult to set up and confusing to use. In short, Google is relearning an old adage in the technology business: Hardware is hard. Google quickly extended the warranty on the Pixel 2 and tweaked software on the devices and its Home Mini in an attempt to fix the troublesome issues. (It hasnt had much to say about the Pixel Buds.) Still, the problems served as a high-profile reminder of the companys inexperience in making consumer electronics a field where Apple has a 40-year head start. But the company insists that its problems are being blown out of proportion. I believe, quite frankly, that Google has a spotlight on it, Rick Osterloh, the executive in charge of the companys hardware division, said in an interview. Things that would normally be pretty minor issues are a bit amplified in todays environment. Of course, Google has actively courted this spotlight. In 2016, Osterloh took the stage at a product event to tout the Pixel phone as the best of hardware and software, designed and built by Google. The company is also currently running a major ad campaign to draw attention to its gizmos for the holiday shopping season. Being a software company is an entirely different animal from being a hardware company, said technology analyst Jan Dawson of Jackdaw Research. The cultures are very different and there are more moving parts in hardware, so you have to learn along the way. Google has to realize a fail fast philosophy that worked well for free software products doesnt work as well for smartphones that cost hundreds of dollars, said analyst Ross Rubin of Reticle Research. Software can be more forgiving of that development philosophy, he said. You cant do that with atoms. You risk some backlash. Googles push into devices, which includes its own Wi-Fi routers and an older line of Web notebook computers, has become a key strategy for the Internet giant. It sees these gadgets as a way to ensure services such as search, maps, Gmail and its voice-activated assistant remain prominent as personal computing expands on mobile devices and new smart gizmos in homes. All those Google services are baked into Android, which powers more than 2 billion devices worldwide but device makers such as Samsung that use the free software also can make adjustments to highlight their own products instead. And Apple uses Googles search engine only as a built-in service on iPhones, and thats only because Google pays billions of dollars annually for the access. The Pixel phones and Home speakers also serve as a showcase and data-collection tool for the Google Assistant, its voice-activated digital concierge. The virtual assistant is key to Googles artificial-intelligence efforts, aimed at making computers that constantly learn new things and eventually seem more human than machine. The Pixels, however, got off to a slow start. Google sold only 2.8 million of the first-generation model, accounting for about 0.1 percent of the market, according to research firm International Data Corp. Such low sales make it more difficult to acquire the highest-quality components for hardware, particularly when suppliers make it a priority to meet the demands of market leaders Apple and Samsung. Apple is expected to sell between 230 million and 250 million iPhones during the fiscal year ending in September. Like the Pixel 2s, the new iPhone X features an OLED screen to display more vibrant colors. And like the Pixel 2 XL, the iPhone Xs screen may also display a bluish tint and suffer image retention that makes it look like something has burned into the screen, by Apples own admission. As part of its effort to catch up to Apple and Samsung, Google recently acquired more expertise in a $1.1 billion deal with device maker HTC that included bringing in 2,000 more smartphone engineers and certain hardware technologies. But Edison Investment Research analyst Richard Windsor said he believes many consumers will balk at paying a premium price for the Pixel 2 (prices start at $650), given its troubles. It appears that the best way to get the most value from Google services is still to use them on another device, Windsor said. Ryan Nakashima and Michael Liedtke are Associated Press writers. Minister of State for HRD and former Mumbai Police Commissioner Satyapal Singh on Saturday said that Rahul Gandhi is going to temples for Gujarat elections. By Saurabh Vaktania: Minister of State for HRD and former Mumbai Police Commissioner Satyapal Singh on Saturday said that Rahul Gandhi is going to temples for Gujarat elections. Singh, who was visiting IIT-Bombay, said that government is working on several parameters to make education world class. He further said, "We should not consider teachers as employee, they are guru. Respect should be given to them." advertisement On temple politics He said, "PM Modi's aim is that before temple people should have sufficient toilets. BJP never does temple politics and we don't differentiate between religions. Rahul Gandhi recently remembered temples for Gujarat elections." While reacting to former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's statement that after demonetisation over 100 people died standing in lines, he said, "Everyone knows that people stood in line, but it was for better future of our country." Singh also reminded how demonetisation hit terrorist activities and brought down stone-pelting incidents. He said, "Only ten percent stone pelting is left in Kashmir valley now, because they are not getting money from foreign. Therefore, it has almost stopped. Also, before demonetisation the Naxalite people had Rs 1600 crore. After demonetisation, they did not get chance to change them and now their activity has almost stopped." Singh also commented on Owaisi's statement on triple talaq, Padmavati and Ivanka's visit to India. Singh said, "We don't play politics. On triple talaq it is the question of 50 per cent women population in our country. Due to triple talaq, women are suffering for several years. Even worldwide and in Muslim countries, triple talq is banned. It time to give them freedom." On Taj Mahal and Ivanka's visit to India, he said, "Taj is important monument for our country and it should be seen in that way only." On demonetisation, he said Indira Gandhi refused to implement demonetisation as she did not have the courage, adding that, "During 1974, YB Chavan was our finance minister and Indira Gandhi was PM, Chavan had said Indira to implement demonetisation to which she said elections are coming and we have to contest them, therefore, it may not be right time. All know, even Congress wanted demonetisation, P Chidambaram did not have the courage to implement it, and our PM Modi ji had courage to implement it for the better future of our country." --- ENDS --- This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Stanford University mailed alerts Friday to nearly 10,000 employees and former employees whose Social Security numbers, birth dates and salaries were visible on campus servers for six months. The incident, pertaining to employee information from 2008, was the third data breach acknowledged by the campus in the last two weeks. Technology officials in the Graduate School of Business have known since February about the massive exposure which was not a hack, but an employee slip-up and although the tech team patched it, they never told the schools dean, according to a statement posted on the Stanford website on Friday. The team failed to understand the scope of the exposure and did not report it to the (business schools) dean or relevant university offices for further investigation, the statement from campus spokeswoman Lisa Lapin said. The problem might never have come to light had it not been for a business school student and his discovery of a different data breach of confidential financial aid data for graduate students in the business school. The Chronicle reported Friday about that glitch, which allowed public access to thousands of confidential student financial aid records. In the third case, the university notified more than 200 employees and alumni last month that confidential files including information from personal counseling sessions they may have had had been accessible to users from more than 50 other college campuses, according to an article in the Stanford Daily. Stanford officials learned of that problem from the student reporters, who withheld publication until the breach could be patched. Stanford officials said Friday they have no evidence that personally identifiable information had been accessed. They are mailing notification letters to impacted students and employees as a precaution, and making credit monitoring and fraud protection services available to them. We extend the deepest apology to the employees and former Stanford students who expected that their personal information would be treated with the greatest care by campus offices, Randy Livingston, campus vice president for business affairs, said in the campus statement. This is absolutely unacceptable. Our community expects that we will keep their personal information confidential and secure, and we have failed to do so. The exposure of salary and Social Security data began in September 2016, when a human relations employee examining the information from August 2008 changed the sites privacy settings and inadvertently made the confidential content from that period available for review within the business school, said the statement from Lapin, the spokeswoman. Lapin said business school officials discovered the problem six months later after learning that a (business school) student had accessed confidential information on financial aid. They secured the data by March 3. The student, Adam Allcock, found the financial aid data on the campus server in February and downloaded it so he could analyze how the business school awarded scholarship money. Business school technology officials learned about it when Allcock asked questions about the data, Lapin said. The exposure of the financial aid data and, subsequently, the vulnerability of thousands of employees salary and Social Security numbers might never have come to light if Allcock had not presented his 378-page statistical analysis to Jonathan Levin, the business schools dean, in October. The Chronicle reported that Allcocks analysis revealed that Stanford had misled applicants for years about how it awarded scholarships to the business school, claiming it gave them only to needy students rather than to its preferred candidates. Levin acknowledged the accuracy of Allcocks account on Nov. 17 and promised to be significantly more transparent about how awards are granted. Nanette Asimov is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: nasimov@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @NanetteAsimov During the holidays family and friends gather around food as delicious flavors unfailingly bring people together and put everyone at ease. Often we're looking to share these meal at places where we can make a connection with a piece of our heritage, whether its a Mexican restaurant serving tamales like the ones grandma used to make or a Chinese restaurant serving hot pot in the style we remember from our childhood. The first birth as a result of a womb transplant in the United States has occurred in Texas, a milestone for the U.S. but one achieved several years ago in Sweden. A woman who had been born without a uterus gave birth to the baby at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas. Hospital spokesman Craig Civale confirmed Friday that the birth had taken place, but said no other details are available. The hospital did not identify the woman, citing her privacy. Baylor has had a study under way for several years to enroll up to 10 women for uterus transplants. In October 2016, the hospital said four women had received transplants but that three of the wombs had to be removed because of poor blood flow. The hospital gave no further information on how many transplants have been performed since then. But Time magazine, which first reported the U.S. babys birth, says eight have been done in all, and that another woman is currently pregnant as a result. A news conference is scheduled Monday to discuss the Dallas babys birth. A doctor in Sweden, Mats Brannstrom, is the first in the world to deliver a baby as a result of a uterus transplant. As of last year, he had delivered five babies from women with donated wombs. There have been at least 16 uterus transplants worldwide, including one in Cleveland from a deceased donor that had to be removed because of complications. Last month, Penn Medicine in Philadelphia announced that it also would start offering womb transplants. Doctors hope that womb transplants will enable as many as several thousand women born without a uterus to bear children. To be eligible for the Baylor study, women must be 20 to 35 years old and have healthy, normal ovaries. They will first have in vitro fertilization to retrieve and fertilize their eggs and produce embryos that can be frozen until they are ready to attempt pregnancy. After the uterus transplant, the embryos can be thawed and implanted, at least a year after the transplant to make sure the womb is working well. Marilynn Marchione is an Associated Press writer. WASHINGTON President Trumps former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, pleaded guilty Friday to lying to the FBI about conversations with the Russian ambassador last December, becoming the first senior White House official to pledge cooperation in the special counsels wide-ranging inquiry of election meddling. Flynns pre-inauguration discussions with Sergey Kislyak, the Russian ambassador, were part of a coordinated effort by aides running Trumps transition into the White House to create foreign policy before they were in power, documents released as part of Flynns plea agreement show. Their efforts undermined the existing policy of President Barack Obama and flouted a warning from a senior Obama administration official to stop meddling in foreign affairs until after the inauguration. Court documents do not disclose what Trump knew about Flynns discussions. But in at least one instance, federal prosecutors say, Flynn was directed by a very senior member of the presidential transition team. Trumps lawyers believe that unnamed aide was Trumps son-in-law and close adviser, Jared Kushner, according to a lawyer briefed on the matter. The transition team was led by Vice President Mike Pence, and its top members included Kushner; Reince Priebus, Trumps first chief of staff; and K.T. McFarland, who was Flynns deputy and was nominated to be the ambassador to Singapore. Flynn spoke to her about discussing sanctions against Russia with Kislyak, according to the lawyer. Flynns decision to plead guilty marked a significant new phase in the investigation of the special counsel, Robert Mueller, and a politically treacherous development for the president and his closest aides, whose activities in the West Wing are being scrutinized by FBI agents and federal prosecutors. Flynns admissions in his plea deal could deeply undercut the arguments made in January by Trump and his aides that they were not fully aware of Flynns discussion with Russians about sanctions imposed on Russia by the Obama administration over the election meddling. In fact, the documents say multiple members of the team coordinated the specifics of Flynns outreach to Russia and knew that the conversations were about sanctions. Court documents say that on Dec. 29, Flynn called a senior transition official who was with other members of the team at Trumps Mar-a-Lago club in Florida to discuss what, if anything, to communicate to the Russian ambassador about the U.S. sanctions. In a statement issued after he entered his plea in a federal courthouse in Washington, Flynn, 58, denied false accusations of treason, but said that he had agreed to cooperate with federal prosecutors, who are examining whether Trumps campaign colluded with Russians during the election and whether the president or his aides sought to cover up those efforts. I recognize that the actions I acknowledged in court today were wrong, and, through my faith in God, I am working to set things right, Flynn said. During the court hearing, prosecutors focused on Flynns activities during the transition, when he discussed with Kislyak the sanctions, and later talked with Russia and other countries about their votes on an upcoming U.N. resolution. Prosecutors did not disclose at the hearing any new details about Russias interference in the 2016 presidential election or whether any of Trumps associates were involved. Ty Cobb, the presidents lawyer dealing with the Russia inquiry, played down the potential impact of Flynns deal with federal authorities, saying that Flynn served only briefly in the administration and had pleaded guilty to a single count of lying to the FBI. Nothing about the guilty plea or the charge implicates anyone other than Mr. Flynn, Cobb said in a statement, repeating the White House hopes that Mueller will conclude the investigation quickly. While Trump can point to the court documents and say they show no evidence of collusion with Russia, the special counsels filings so far paint a damning portrait of Trumps associates. His former campaign chairman, two other campaign aides, and his former national security adviser have now all been charged with felonies. Prosecutors said they would delay Flynns sentencing, a sign that their investigation was not over and that they had not exhausted Flynns cooperation. Lying to the FBI carries a penalty of up to five years in prison, but court documents indicate that Flynn faces a likely sentence of zero to six months in prison. Eileen Sullivan, Adam Goldman and Michael D. Shear are New York Times writers. SAN DIEGO The Marine Corps crackdown on an epidemic of hazing at Camp Pendleton now includes at least one court-martial decision. Cpl. K.D. Lee of Camp Pendletons 7th Engineer Support Battalion of the 1st Marine Logistic Group pleaded guilty recently at summary court-martial to belittling and berating a subordinate, according to Marine spokesman 1st Lt. Adam B. Miller. Hazing is contradictory to our core values of honor, courage and commitment and is prejudicial to good order and discipline, Miller said by email. Hazing violates our institutional character and disrespects our most precious asset our Marines and sailors. Hazing is absolutely not tolerated in the Marine Corps. Lee had been accused of inflicting cruel, abusive, humiliating, oppressive, demeaning or harmful treatment on a junior enlisted Marine on April 6, according to a charge sheet obtained under the federal Freedom of Information Act. She was charged on Aug. 4 with three counts of violating a lawful order designed to prevent hazing and pleaded innocent at an initial hearing on Oct. 13, according to the military court docket. There are three levels of court-martial proceedings: general, special and summary. General and special court-martial cases threaten harsher punishments and the stigma of federal felony or misdemeanor convictions. Lee at first faced a special court-martial trial, but her plea agreement shifted her into a summary hearing, which acts as a kind of legal bridge between the harsh penalties of court-martial convictions and the more lax non-judicial punishment. Her military-appointed attorneys did not return calls seeking comment. Miller said that six other non-commissioned officers were administratively disciplined for their actions through non-judicial punishment. The corps redacted both Lees first name and the identity of her victim, except to note that he was a male Marine who held the rank of private first class during the April incident. Lee, a three-year veteran of the corps who has yet to deploy overseas, threatened to toss the subordinate off a rooftop, questioned his gender, derided him with salty language and told other Marines that she was not (expletive) done with him and well get him, dont worry, or similar phrases, her charge sheet indicated. Promulgated throughout the Marine Corps on May 20, 2013, and signed by former Marine commandant Gen. James Amos, the anti-hazing order Lee violated was designed to track and eradicate abuse inside the service. Two years earlier, a lance corporal committed suicide after fellow Marines beat him for falling asleep on watch, an incident authorities concluded was a form of hazing. On Nov. 11, Gunnery Sgt. Joseph Felix, a Parris Island drill instructor, was convicted of abusing recruits, especially Muslim volunteers. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison and will exit the service as a private with a dishonorable discharge. While the Marines in recent years have rushed to investigate allegations of hazing and prosecute offenders, an early 2016 report by the Government Accountability Office found that Marine efforts do not necessarily cover all aspects of hazing policy implementation, among other problems. For example, the Marine data tracking system used to monitor hazing in the ranks counted too many cases because of duplicated entries, the federal watchdog agency concluded. Analyzing command climate surveys filled out by 8,750 Marines in 2014, GAO determined that 11 percent of the troops believed that they were pressured to engage in potentially harmful activities that were not part of the mission and newcomers were humiliated or forced to do potentially dangerous activities before being accepted into a unit. Analyzing an additional 11,835 surveys found that 15 percent of Marines also reported serving in toxic units that excessively teased troops to the point where they were unable to defend themselves, frequently belittled others for slight errors and excluded fellow Marines from social work group activities. The Marines led all the other services in rates of perceived hazing, with the results skewed toward the junior ranks most likely to be violated. Carl Prine is a San Diego Union-Tribune writer. Where is the Opposition? Doesn't feel like there are opposition parties at all. It's no fun, quipped Ram Madhav. By India Today Web Desk: Ram Madhav, BJP National General Secretary, spoke to Aaj Tak Executive Editor Punya Prasoon Vajpayee during a session titled "Left vs Right" at the Agenda Aaj Tak 2017, in Delhi. "I am certainly an RSS activist," said Ram Madhav when asked how he should be introduced. Talking about his take on Pakistan occupied Kashmir, Madhav said, "That PoK is important, integral to India and that it is, indeed, ours, is not just a passionate thought of an RSS worker, it was a unanimous resolution that was passed in the Parliament in 2004." advertisement "Under what circumstances did the BJP decide to join hands with the PDP, a party that was never in the former's good books?" asked Vajpayee. Madahv responded saying, "Under a strange circumstance, two opposite poles came together to form a government and it worked. The J&K government will complete there years in power soon." Sharing his thoughts on Kerala becoming a stronghold for the BJP and if the party would join hands with the Left the way did with PDP, Madhav said that whenever the Left comes to power in Kerala, there are violent attacks on political adversaries and often, it is RSS-BJP workers who become the easy target. We hold the CPM government directly responsible for this." "Differences between the BJP-RSS and Left is not just issue-based but at an ideological level. I don't see a possibility for an alliance," Ram Madhav said. On being asked how the 'right-wing' became the nationalists and the Left became anti-nationals, Madhav joked that if Vajpayee wanted to call Leftists anti-nationals, he wouldn't object. "You don't have to see the concept of being a 'nationalist' a bad thing. All RSS members, including me, are proud nationalists," he said. "We have never tagged people from a particular ideology anti-nationals. Some may have used the term for some people who they thought were standing againt the interest of the nation but it is always in some context," Madhav said. Ram Madhav said that the Constitution of India is not against nationalism; rather the Constitution is a guide on how to become responsible citizens of the nation. Speaking on the law and order situation in the country, with the number of mob lynching cases rising and journalists being murdered, Ram Madhav said, "Rule of Law will prevail till the time our government is in power. Rule of Law doesn't distinguish between BJP worker or CPM worker or Babas. Those who do something illegal will be behind bars." Gloating over the Uttar Pradesh civic poll win, Ram Madhav said, "In case you feel the government is doing something wrong, the Opposition should raise the matter," and quipped, "But where is the Opposition? Doesn't feel like there are opposition parties at all. It's no fun." advertisement "Coalition is not political opportunism", Madhav said, talking about leaders from other parties, including Bihar CM Nitish Kumar, joining hands with the BJP. "We work with a belief that those who join hands with us will eventually understand our ideology and continue to work with us." Ram Madhav agreed to Vajpayee's statement that there should be a political line and an ideological line people should be aware of. Madhav said, "Of course, these are two different things. The political line will always limit itself to what's necessary for the greater good, and we will try to make the ideological line its base." Talking about the tensed India-Pakistan relationship, Madhav said, "We have had historic issues with Pakistan. Pakistan has to change. Pakistan is not just a problem for India, it's become an international headache." Commenting on the statement former US President Barack Obama made saying during one of his private conversations with PM Modi he suggested that India should not be divided on religious grounds, Ram Madhav said, "Barack Obama should think if what he did (talking about a private conversation he had with PM Modi) was right. India doesn't need Obama's advise, his country needs it more right now." --- ENDS --- advertisement By India Today Web Desk: All is not well between Salman Khan and Akshay Kumar, if a report in Deccan Chronicle is to be believed. At the recently concluded International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa, Salman made sure to avoid Akshay, so much so that his dislike was quite visible to the guests at the event. The tension between the two actors reportedly started when Akshay hired Salman's estranged manager Reshma Shetty. Reshma is doing everything in her capacity to land Akshay the most plum projects in Bollywood. Apparently, she even tried to snatch Bigg Boss from Salman and bring Akshay in as the host. advertisement Incidentally, Salman was supposed to co-produce a film with Karan Johar, which would star Akshay Kumar. However, the Sultan actor backed out of the ambitious project, which has now been titled Kesari, for reasons best known to him. Earlier, it was being said that he did not want to antagonise Ajay Devgn, who was also making a film on the same subject - the Battle of Saragarhi. However, reports emerged that his soured relationship with Reshma Shetty may have had a role to play. ALSO WATCH: A look at Salman Khan's controversial life --- ENDS --- By PTI: away Colombo, Dec 2 (PTI) Powerful storms with heavy rains have killed at least 13 people in Sri Lanka, as a strong cyclone, which has wreaked havoc in southern India and posed threat to it, moved away from the island nation today. The severe weather conditions started on Wednesday night as gusty winds and rains battered parts of the country, and have so far affected more than 77,000 people, officials said. advertisement Power supply, essential services and air traffic was disrupted in the stormy weather that left several buildings damaged and trees uprooted in its wake. Five people have been reported "missing" and at least 13 people killed since Wednesday night due to rains and storm, the police said. The Ambalangoda region in southern Sri Lanka has recorded the maximum number of these deaths at four, they said. According to the police, around 4,000 people were being housed in temporary relief camps in Ambalangoda. The high winds and persistent rains which hit the island nation on Wednesday later developed into cyclone Ockhi, which has affected parts in southern Indian states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala and caused loss to life and property. Sri Lankas department of meteorology today announced that Ockhi is now located some 850-km to the west of the island and is moving further away. "Hence its effect for the country is expected to be lessen gradually," it said in a statement. The department said "fairly heavy rains" or thundershowers were expected later today in Western, Sabaragamuwa and Central provinces, while "strong gusty winds" in Ratnapura, Kaluthara and Galle districts. Addressing Parliament on Thursday, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe had said that he had directed officials to pay each family affected by bad weather rupees 10,000 as emergency assistance. The military was also deployed to assist in the rescue and recovery operations in the wake of the severe weather conditions. PTI CORR KIS KIS --- ENDS --- By PTI: Bhopal, Dec 2 (PTI) A large number of Bhopal Gas Tragedy survivors today marched, holding burning torches in hand, to a memorial of the worlds worst industrial disaster on its 33rd anniversary this evening here. They paid homage to those who died in the tragedy at the memorial statue in front of the now-defunct Union Carbide factory. advertisement Residents of Old City area, which is next to the factory, where the groundwater is said to be contaminated by hazardous chemical waste lying on the factory premises, were also part of the march. Leaders of five survivors organisations, Rashida Bi, Nawab Khan, Balkrishna Namdeo, Satinath Sarange, Rachna Dhingra and Sarit Malviya, addressed the gathering, and demanded adequate compensation, clean-up of hazardous waste lying in the factory premises, rehabilitation of survivors and exemplary punishment for Union Carbide and Dow Chemical (which later took over Union Carbide). The two-km march from Sindhi Colony to the factory was organised by five NGOs -- Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Stationery Karmachari Sangh, Bhopal Gas Peedit Nirashrit Pensionbhogee Sangharsh Morcha, Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Purush Sangharsh Morcha, Bhopal Group for Information and Action and Children Against Dow /Carbide. Toxic gas which leaked from Union Carbides pesticide factory in Bhopal on the intervening night of December 2-3, 1984 killed over 3,000 people and maimed thousands of others. PTI LAL MAS KRK --- ENDS --- Armando Hart, who as Fidel Castros confidant and first education minister redeemed the Cuban revolutions vow of universal literacy, died on Sunday in Havana. He was 87. The cause was respiratory failure, the Cuban Communist Party said. Hart, a lawyer whose grandfather was born in the United States and immigrated to Cuba, later was also his countrys first culture minister. An early member of Castros inner circle, Hart had played an integral role in the government for more than five decades since 1959, when revolutionaries toppled the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista, which the United States supported. Hart was also responsible for recruitment and promotions in Cubas Communist Party. Named education minister by the provisional president, Manuel Urrutia Lleo, immediately after the revolution, Hart served until 1965. He was credited with recruiting as many as 100,000 student volunteers to help slash Cubas illiteracy rate in a single year to less than 5 percent from about 25 percent. His ministry also purged dissident teachers, refused the request of Roman Catholic Church officials to allow religious instruction in public schools and required university students to learn a trade or skill. By the end of the decade, primary school education was available almost universally. Hart served on the Council of State until 2008 and was a member of the parliament when he died. He wrote several books; directed the governments Jose Marti cultural program, dedicated to the 19th century Cuban poet and revolutionary hero; and was the president of the Jose Marti Cultural Society. In 2010 he was awarded the Order of Jose Marti, the Council of States highest honor. Hart was less doctrinaire than some of his Communist colleagues. He counseled an arms-length relationship with the Soviet Union, but, early on, also voiced support for armed insurrections against Latin American dictatorships supported by the United States. After Castro jailed a dissident poet, Hart sought to reconcile with Cubas intellectuals by creating a culture ministry. Heading the ministry from its inception in 1976 until 1997, he allowed for creativity but also viewed culture through a political prism. Early in his tenure, making an overture of sorts to American television executives who were visiting a jazz festival in Havana, Hart told them: If you send us bombs, we will send you bombs. If you send us music, we will send you music. While he reminded the Writers Union of Jose Martis dictum Justice first, art later, he proclaimed shortly after his cultural ministry was established, Justice has triumphed, forward with art. Armando Hart Davalos was born in Havana on June 13, 1930. His U.S.-born grandfather went to Cuba from Georgia as a child. His father, also named Armando, was a Cuban court of appeals judge. Hart earned a doctorate in law from the University of Havana in 1952. That same year his activism was sparked when Batista, while running for president, staged a coup. Hart was a founder of Castros 26th of July Movement, named for the failed attack on an army barracks in Santiago de Cuba in 1953. He served as its national coordinator until he was jailed for suspected terrorism. Rescued from prison, he was recaptured in 1958 and remained in custody for months until the revolution. His younger brother died in 1958 when, according to authorities, a bomb he was making exploded prematurely. By then, the Hart family was prominent enough that after the younger Armando was arrested, a U.S. agent checked on his well-being with officials of the Batista government, according to Thomas G. Patersons book Contesting Castro: The United States and the Triumph of the Cuban Revolution (1994). Through this concern, Paterson wrote, the CIA agent probably saved Harts life at least Castro thought so. Haydee Santamaria, Harts wife and a heroine of the revolution, was quoted at the time as saying that she hoped someday to present the U.S. agent with a bouquet. There was no immediate information on Harts survivors. His wife died in 1980, and their children, Celia and Abel, were killed in a car crash in Havana in 2008. Sam Roberts is a New York Times writer. BEIRUT Israel fired surface-to-surface missiles at a military post near the Syrian capital of Damascus early on Saturday, causing damage but no casualties, Syrias state-run news agency reported. The strike came as violence resumed in the Damascus suburbs after days of calm while the government and opposition delegations attended peace talks in Geneva. The Israeli military did not comment on the missile attack, which occurred shortly after midnight Friday, targeting a military area near the southern Damascus suburb of Kiswah. SANA, the state news agency, said the missile attack caused structural damage but gave no details. The report also said Syrian air defenses shot down two of the Israeli missiles. Israel has carried out a number of air strikes against suspected arms shipments believed to be bound for Lebanons Hezbollah militant group, which is fighting alongside Syrian government forces in the civil war. Israel has also struck several Syrian military facilities since the conflict began, mostly near the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. In September, Israeli warplanes hit a military position near the Mediterranean coast in western Syria, killing two soldiers and causing damage. Rami Abdurrahman who heads the oppositions Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the missile attack targeted an arms depot near Kiswah where the Syrian armys 1st Division is based. He added that Iranian soldiers and Hezbollah fighters are present in the area but added that it was not clear if they were targeted. Also in the suburbs of Damascus, government forces resumed their air strikes and bombing of rebel-held areas on Saturday, killing and wounding several people, according to the Observatory and a Syrian Civil Defense search-and-rescue group, also known as the White Helmets. The Observatory said six people were killed in Saturdays government air strike on Arbeen while the White Helmets said air strikes on the suburb of Harasta killed one person and wounded others, including women and children. Syrian state TV also said the rebels shelled several Damascus neighborhoods, wounding at least three people. The government and opposition resumed peace talks in Geneva on Tuesday. The U.N.-hosted negotiations paused for the weekend but are scheduled to resume on Tuesday. Bassem Mroue is an Associated Press writer. 1 U.N. appeal: The United Nations launched a record appeal on Friday for $22.5 billion to help some 136 million people across the world in need of humanitarian aid as a result of conflicts, natural disasters, epidemics and displacement. In Geneva, U.N. humanitarian chief Mark Lowcock said the number of needy is about 5 percent higher than the projection at this time last year. Lowcock said the largest crisis in the world is in conflict-wracked Yemen, where 20 million of the countrys 25 million people need humanitarian aid and between 7 and 8 million are on the brink of famine. 2 New Cabinet: Zimbabwes new President Emmerson Mnangagwa has appointed a new Cabinet filled with ruling party loyalists and figures linked to the military, whose takeover helped oust former leader Robert Mugabe. No opposition politicians are included. The Cabinet picks had been seen as the first test of whether Mnangwgwa, a longtime Mugabe ally, would move out of his shadow. Mugabe,93, quit Nov. 21 amid impeachment proceedings. CAIRO U.S. Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis met Saturday with Egyptian officials to discuss cooperation between the two countries, the first stop on a trip that will also take him to Jordan, Pakistan and Kuwait. Mattis visit came just over a week after the worst Islamic militant attack in Egypts modern history took place in the troubled northern Sinai where over two dozen extremists descended on a mosque and killed more than 300 worshipers. The attackers first opened fire and tossed hand grenades into the mosque during Friday prayers, then gunned down anyone who tried to escape. Though no group claimed responsibility, survivors have said the militants carried the black banner of the Islamic State, pointing to the Sinai-based Egyptian affiliate of the Sunni extremist group. On Wednesday, the state-run Al-Ahram newspaper said the death toll from the attack had risen to 311. President Trump called Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi shortly after the attack and said in a tweet that the world cannot tolerate terrorism; we must defeat them militarily and discredit the extremist ideology. According to a Department of Defense statement, Mattis visit was part of a five-day trip to re-affirm the enduring U.S. commitment to partnership in the Middle East, West Africa and South Asia. Mattis was meeting with el-Sissi and Defense Minister Sedki Sobhi. Mattis later departed for Jordan, where he was attending meeting on countering violent extremism in West Africa, hosted by Jordans King Abdallah II. On Monday, Mattis will be visiting Pakistan where plans to meet with Prime Minister Abassi before concluding his trip with a visit to Kuwait the following day. Egypt is among the top recipients of U.S. military assistance, receiving nearly $1.3 billion annually in addition to $250 million in economic aid. That assistance is linked to Egypts 1979 peace treaty with Israel, and underpins a U.S.-Egyptian security relationship that is now mostly aimed at fighting terrorism. Following the Sinai attack, el-Sissi instructed his security forces to use all brute force and gave them three months to restore stability in the volatile northern part of the Sinai Peninsula. Northern Sinai has been the epicenter of an Islamic insurgency for years. Menna Zaki is an Associated Press writer. By PTI: New Delhi, Dec 2 (PTI) External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj today made a stopover at Tehran on her way back from Russia, and held a luncheon meeting with her Iranian counterpart Javed Zarif during which issues of mutual interests were discussed. Swaraj was returning from the Russian city of Sochi where she attended the annual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). advertisement "Reinforcing our traditionally close and civilizational linkages, EAM @SushmaSwaraj had a luncheon meeting with the Foreign Minister of Iran Dr. Javad Zarif in #Tehran. Both sides discussed issues of mutual interest," External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted. The two ministers are understood to have reviewed the implementation of the Chabahar port project in which India is a key partner. Over a month ago, India had sent its first consignment of wheat to Afghanistan by sea through the Chabahar port in Iran, which was seen as a "landmark" move to operationalise a new strategic transit route among the three countries bypassing Pakistan. The port is likely to ramp up trade between India, Afghanistan and Iran in the wake of Pakistan denying transit access to New Delhi for trade with the two countries. Besides bilateral issues, Swaraj and Zarif are understood to have deliberated on regional situation and political developments in the Gulf region. India is looking to increase engagement with Iran by raising oil imports and possible shipments of natural gas and the issue is believed to have figured in the meeting. Swaraj had paid a bilateral visit to Iran in April last year during which both sides had decided to significantly expand engagement in their overall ties, particularly in boosting Indian investment in joint ventures in oil and gas sectors. On her stopover, MEA officials said it was a technical stopover and not an unscheduled one. PTI MPB ZMN --- ENDS --- By PTI: (Eds: With additional details) New Delhi, Dec 2 (PTI) External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj today made a previously unannounced stopover at Tehran on her way back from Russia and held a luncheon meeting with her Iranian counterpart Javed Zarif, a day before inauguration of the strategically-important Chabahar port. Swaraj was returning from the Russian city of Sochi where she attended the annual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). advertisement The external affairs ministry said Swaraj and Zarif discussed various aspects of India-Iran relations and ways to strengthen these during the meeting, besides exchanging views on regional and global developments of mutual interest. The meeting came a day before the inauguration of the Chabahar port in Iran by the countrys President Hassan Rouhani. The port will operationalise a new strategic transit route among India, Afghanistan and Iran, bypassing Pakistan. "Both sides positively reviewed the initiatives undertaken since the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Iran in May 2016 including cooperation in Chabahar Port which will be inaugurated by the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran Hassan Rouhani tomorrow at presence of ministers from India, Afghanistan and the region," said the ministry. The two ministers are understood to have reviewed the implementation of the Chabahar port project in which India is a key partner. Over a month ago, India had sent its first consignment of wheat to Afghanistan by sea through the Chabahar port in Iran. The port is likely to ramp up trade among India, Afghanistan and Iran in the wake of Pakistan denying transit access to New Delhi for trade with the two countries. Besides bilateral issues, Swaraj and Zarif are understood to have deliberated on political developments in the Gulf region. "Both ministers also exchanged views on regional and global developments of mutual interest," the external affairs ministry said. India is looking to increase engagement with Iran by raising oil imports and possible shipments of natural gas and the issue is believed to have figured in the meeting. Swaraj had paid a bilateral visit to Iran in April last year during which both sides had decided to significantly expand engagement in their overall ties, particularly in boosting Indian investment in joint ventures in oil and gas sectors. MEA officials said it was a technical stopover and not an unscheduled one. PTI MPB ZMN --- ENDS --- By PTI: Hyderabad, Dec 2 (PTI) The Telangana government today entered into an agreement with a private company to set up an information technology facility which would work for creating employment opportunities for persons with disabilities. A state government release said that the Telangana government had entered into an agreement with the Vindhya E-Infomedia Private Limited to set up an Information Technology (IT) campus focussed on creating employment opportunity for persons with disabilities. advertisement The release added that the proposed IT campus would be spread over 10 acres and would come up at the IT Park near the Hyderabad international airport. The proposed campus would have amenities for training and as well as residential facilities and delivery centres, it said. State IT Principal Secretary Jayesh Ranjan urged persons with disabilities to make the most of the opportunity, the release added. PTI SJR BNM --- ENDS --- Princess Syndrome Coined in Southeast Asia, a 'princess sickness' afflicts girls who grew up affluent in the tiger economies and whose worldview is infected by entitlement. In India, we should recast 'princess sickness' to refer to those of us who cannot stop fawning and doffing our caps in the presence of 'princesses', preferably blonde ones. Ivanka Trump's arrival in Hyderabad for an entrepreneurship summit prompted the Indian media to prostate itself at her pedicured feet. Our prime minister, a connoisseur of the photo-op, couldn't fly to Hyderabad fast enough to open the conference by her side. Meanwhile, newspapers in the US wondered about the irony of Ivanka waxing lyrical about women entrepreneurs while her company routinely underpays and overworks the women they employ in countries such as India. advertisement Internet of Principles After a year of consultations, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has come to the conclusion that internet service providers should not be allowed to differentiate between content, to tailor their offerings for customers by blocking certain sites, changing speeds or prices. Basically, all internet content should be treated equally. Meanwhile, in the US, just as Indian authorities appear in agreement about the essential importance of protecting net neutrality, regulators are taking the opposite view. Ajit Pai, chairman of the US Federal Communications Commission, is set to allow telecom companies to choose what websites get what access on the basis of their ability to pony up. The response from some activists has been to subject Pai and his family to sustained, often racist, abuse. Net neutrality is a principle worth protecting. Strange though that protesters defending one principle feel free in their righteous fury to jettison other principles. Chamcha #1 Like Donald Trump, Narendra Modi is a man who feeds off exaggerated demonstrations of respect. But even Modi must tire of the incessant flattery of supporters like actor Paresh Rawal. Most recently, Rawal compared Modi to Gautam Buddha and called for the PM to be worshipped. And his Twitter feed-replete with questionably sourced praise for Modi from foreign celebrities-is a masterclass in toadyism. --- ENDS --- STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The landscape of Staten Island is shifting -- quite literally -- from the development of St. George to new businesses and housing on the South Shore. Local community boards give residents an opportunity to offer input in the decision-making process for many of these long-term projects. Community Board meetings are open to the public and afford a great way to learn more about what's going on in your neighborhood and to get involved. If you have something you would like to speak out about, all you need to do is sign up -- before the meeting is called to order -- to speak in the public session. The following meetings are scheduled for the week of Dec. 4 to Dec. 8. COMMUNITY BOARD 1 Arlington - Castleton Corners - Clifton - Concord - Elm Park - Fort Wadsworth - Graniteville - Grymes Hill - Livingston - Mariners Harbor - New Brighton - Port Richmond - Randall Manor - Rosebank - St. George - Shore Acres - Silver Lake - Stapleton - Sunnyside - Tompkinsville - West Brighton - Westerleigh There will be a Youth Committee Meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 5, at 7 p.m. at the Brighton Heights Reformed Church, 320 St. Marks Place. On the agenda: The New Brighton Community Coalition has asked for the Youth Committee's help for primarily teens in and about the Jersey Street area. We are looking for volunteers to help with creating an action plan for developing more youth activities. Department of Youth and Community Development regarding the Local Neighborhood Advisory Board representing the North Shore area. Department of Education's new Community Affairs Representative. The board office is located at 1 Edgewater Plaza, Suite 217, Stapleton. The office phone number is 718-981-6900. The board chairman is Nicholas Siclari; the district manager is Joseph Carroll. COMMUNITY BOARD 2 Arrochar - Bloomfield - Bulls Heads - Chelsea - Dongan Hills - Egbertville - Emerson Hill - Grant City - Grasmere - High Rock - Lighthouse Hill - Midland Beach - New Dorp - New Springville - Oakwood - Ocean Breeze - Old Town - Richmond - South Beach - Todt Hill - Travis There will be a joint Traffic and Transportation & Public Service Committee Meeting on Monday, Dec. 3, at 7:30 p.m. On the agenda: 3575-A Victory Blvd. (formerly Touch Gentlemen's Club): Review liquor license application submitted by attorney Neil M. Visoky on behalf of William Alexandre, president of a new establishment named Dream Nightlife Group, LLC. Discuss National Grid's proposed double-digit increase in energy delivery rates. There will be a Land Use Committee Meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 5, at 7:30 p.m. On the agenda: The committee will discuss a CPC application for 2015 Richmond Rd. that was previously approved by the City Planning Commission. All committee and full board meetings are in the board office, which is located in the Lou Caravone Community Service Building on the campus of Sea View Hospital Rehabilitation Center and Home, 460 Brielle Ave., Sea View. The office phone number is 718-317-3235. The chairman of the CB 2 board is Dana T. Magee; the district manager is Debra A. Derrico. COMMUNITY BOARD 3 Annadale - Arden Heights - Bay Terrace - Charleston - Eltingville - Great Kills - Greenridge - Huguenot - New Dorp - Oakwood - Pleasant Plains - Prince's Bay - Richmond Valley - Richmond - Rossville - Tottenville - Woodrow There are no Community Board 3 meetings scheduled. All committee meetings take place at the Community Board 3 office located on the second floor of 1243 Woodrow Rd. All general board meetings take place at the Woodrow Methodist Church Hall located at 1075 Woodrow Rd., 10309. The office phone number is 718-356-7900. The CB 3 board chairman is Frank Morano; the district manager is Charlene Wagner. WASHINGTON -- Michael Flynn, the retired general who vigorously campaigned at Donald Trump's side and then served as his first national security adviser, pleaded guilty Friday to lying to the FBI about reaching out to the Russians on Trump's behalf and said members of the president's inner circle were intimately involved with -- and at times directing -- his contacts. His plea to a single felony count of false statements made him the first official of the Trump White House to be charged so far in the criminal investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller. And his action could be an ominous sign for a White House shadowed for the past year by investigations, turning Flynn into a potentially key government cooperator as prosecutors examine whether the Trump campaign and Russia worked together to influence the 2016 presidential election in Trump's favor. Friday's developments don't resolve the paramount question of possible Trump-Russia coordination in the campaign, but they do show that Flynn lied to the FBI about multiple conversations last December with the Russian ambassador to the United States. Court papers make clear that senior Trump transition officials were fully aware of Flynn's outreach to Russian officials in the weeks before the inauguration. The officials were not named in court papers, but people familiar with the case identified two of them to The Associated Press as Jared Kushner, the president's son-in-law, and former Deputy National Security Adviser KT McFarland, now up for an ambassadorship. That revelation moves the Russia investigation deeper into the White House. And, given the direct involvement of the transition team in Flynn's calls with Ambassador Sergey Kislyak, the plea also raises questions about the accuracy of repeated assertions by the administration that Flynn had misled Mike Pence and other officials when he denied having discussed sanctions with the diplomat. Flynn, the longtime soldier, stood quietly during his plea hearing except to answer brief questions from the judge. He accepted responsibility for his actions in a written statement, though he said he had also been subjected to false accusations. He said, "My guilty plea and agreement to cooperate with the Special Counsel's Office reflect a decision I made in the best interests of my family and of our country." A former Defense Intelligence Agency chief, Flynn was a considerably more vocal Trump surrogate during the campaign, known for leading rally crowds in "Lock her up" chants regarding Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server. Though prosecutors also had investigated Flynn lobbying work on behalf of the Turkish government, the fact that he was permitted to plead guilty to just one count, and faces a guideline range of zero to 6 months in prison, suggest that prosecutors see him as a valuable tool in their investigation and are granting a degree of leniency in exchange for cooperation. White House lawyer Ty Cobb sought to distance the plea from Trump himself, saying: "Nothing about the guilty plea or the charge implicates anyone other than Mr. Flynn." Nonetheless, the Russia investigation has persistently followed Trump the first year of his presidency, angering the president and repeatedly distracting from his agenda. Flynn's plea came as Republican senators labored to pass a far-reaching tax bill, which would be a significant victory for Trump. On Friday, the president ignored reporters' shouted questions as he welcomed the Libyan prime minister to the White House, and aides canceled media access to a later meeting between the two. He did appear briefly at an afternoon White House holiday reception for the media, where he offered season's greetings and departed without addressing the Mueller investigation. Early on in his administration, Trump had taken a particular interest in the status of the Flynn investigation. Former FBI Director James Comey, whose firing in May precipitated the appointment of Mueller as special counsel, has said Trump asked him in a private Oval Office meeting to consider ending the investigation into Flynn. Comey has said he found the encounter so shocking that he prepared an internal memo about it. Flynn, who was interviewed by the FBI days after Trump's inauguration, was forced to resign on Feb. 13 following news reports indicating that the Trump White House had been warned by Obama administration officials that he had discussed sanctions with Kislyak and was therefore compromised and potentially vulnerable to blackmail. White House officials including Pence, who had declared publicly that Flynn never discussed sanctions, said they had been misled. The court case Friday concerns a series of conversations that Flynn had with Kislyak during the transition period between the November election and the Jan. 20 inauguration. Prosecutors say Flynn on Dec. 29 spoke with an unnamed senior transition team official about what, if anything, to say about sanctions that had been imposed on Russia one day earlier by the Obama administration in retaliation for election interference. Flynn then requested the Russian ambassador "not escalate the situation" and respond "in a reciprocal manner," a conversation that prosecutors say he then reported to transition team members. Two former transition officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to discuss the matter, identified McFarlane as the unnamed official. The court papers do not allege that there was anything illegal about Flynn's conversations with the Russians -- but his lies about the talks amounted to a felony. Still, if the Trump transition made secret back-door assurances to Russian diplomats, that could potentially run afoul of the Logan Act, a 1799 law that bars private American citizens from attempting to intervene in "disputes or controversies" between the United States and foreign powers without government approval. Another conversation with Kislyak occurred one week earlier after a "very senior member" of the presidential transition team directed Flynn to contact foreign government officials, including from Russia, about a U.N. Security Council resolution regarding Israeli settlements. That "very senior member" was identified to AP as Kushner by a former transition official. In a striking rupture with past practice, the Obama administration refrained from vetoing the condemnation of the settlement expansion, opting instead to abstain. The rest of the 15-nation council, including Russia, voted unanimously against Israel. At the time, Israel was lobbying furiously against the resolution and the Trump team spoke up on behalf of the Jewish state. Former U.S. officials and foreign diplomats said Kushner led the effort to defeat that U.N. vote. During his conversation with Kislyak, prosecutors say, Flynn requested that Russia vote against or delay the resolution, though he admitted in his plea deal that he later lied to the FBI by saying he had not made that request. Mueller's team announced charges in October against three other Trump campaign officials, former chairman Paul Manafort and his business associate Rick Gates, and a former campaign foreign policy adviser, George Papadopoulos. Papadopoulos pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his own foreign contacts. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.-- Police are continuing to investigate an armed robbery in St. George Friday night. At around 8:30 p.m., a 33-year-old woman was sitting in her vehicle in front of 17 Saint Mark's Place when she was approached by three males and told, "Give me all your money," police said. One of the men pointed a gun at her as they stole her property, including an iPhone 7, Louis Vuitton handbag, wallet and clutch and credit cards, according to an NYPD spokesperson. The men then fled westbound on Saint Mark's Place toward Westervelt Avenue, police said. The suspects ares described as two black males and one Hispanic male, police said. There were no injuries. There have been no arrests. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.-- Police are investigating an armed home invasion in Elm Park Friday night. Two individuals with a gun broke into the residence on Walker Drive at around 11:45 p.m., according to an NYPD spokesman. There were no injuries and no information about what was taken, police said. The suspects are described as a black male and a black female who fled the scene in a black SUV after the alleged incident, police said. There have been no arrests. More information will be posted when it's available. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Following funding cuts, students at CSI High School for International Studies are taking a four-hour Japanese classes every Saturday for credit. Junior student Adam Goudjil has been taking Japanese the past two years at the New Springville high school. But when the school received less funding for the 2016-2017 school year, the Japanese teacher was let go. Students were worried they wouldn't be able to take the Language Other Than English (LOTE) regent, which is required for an Advanced Regents Diploma. The junior said that the school hired its former Japanese teacher to teach a four-hour course each Saturday to rectify the issue -- but language requirements for students have changed. The Department of Education (DOE) confirmed the hiring of the Japanese teacher. "CSI was known for a very rigorous language program," Goudjil said. "At CSI, you had to take all four years and stick with the same language. The four-year language requirement is now three years. There's only two languages now, Mandarin and Spanish." Parent Teacher Association President Karen Goss said CSI was the only school on Staten Island to offer Japanese. "We are no longer a four-year world language school because we don't have a teacher now," Goss said. "None of the seniors are getting any of their language classes." Not only did the school lose the Japanese teacher, but two more instructors couldn't return for this school year, including a a ninth-grade algebra teacher and a ninth- and tenth-grade special education English teacher. Students say the loss of teachers hit the school hard. Class sizes have since increased and teachers are over-working to fill vacant spots. "Having lost three teachers and having to take other teachers in the school to fill the spots, we lost classes that help our students better prepare for college and give them the edge they need to succeed," Goss said. SATURDAY CLASS According to the DOE spokesman, students in the Saturday class receive full course credit. "The school received additional DOE funding for a part-time Japanese teacher to ensure that students currently in their third year of Japanese will be able to continue Japanese instruction through Saturday School Japanese classes and take the LOTE exam for an Advanced Regents diploma," a spokesman from the Department of Education said. SCHOOL BUDGET Goss raised the question about the loss of the three teachers at Chancellor Carmen Farina's Staten Island Town Hall this fall. At the town hall, Farina explained that funding is given to schools based on enrollment -- and the high school saw a drop in enrollment. She then said the school was granted additional funding, but it is up to the school principal to allocate the money. A DOE spokesman said the school is budgeted like other schools -- based on projected enrollment. While enrollment is not final for this current school year, DOE said it is expected to be similar to the 2016-2017 enrollment. The high school was awarded appeal funds the previous two years based on assessment of its needs and existing funds. It was not awarded the same level of funds for the current school year based on the same assessment, the spokesman said. "Appeal funding is given as a final measure once the school works with its budget team to optimize all existing funds, and is based on a school's needs and existing funds on a case-by-case basis," said a DOE spokesman. Page Content The Ministry of VROMI would like to officially announce that all September invoices submitted by contractors who have worked along with the Ministry after the hurricanes Irma and Maria in the emergency clean-up have been paid. Currently, the Ministry is working on finalizing payments for the month of October invoices that have been submitted. The Ministry from VROMI has been receiving complaints from workers concerning their payment. Employees who have not been paid as yet by their contractor, please contact them for further inquiries. A mental health examination has been ordered for a Syracuse man accused of threatening to kill U.S. Rep. John Katko and his family. U.S. Magistrate Judge Therese Wiley Dancks referred Patrick J. Angelo, 28, for a mental health review Friday. The decision came during a scheduled detention hearing for Angelo, who is being held after being charged with interstate communication of a threat and threatening a federal official. After referring Angelo for a mental health exam, the judge adjourned the detention hearing. It has been rescheduled for 1:30 p.m. Wednesday. Angelo allegedly called Katko's Washington office and left a threatening message in October. In the message, the caller threatens to kill Katko, R-Camillus, and his family if he does not support net neutrality, a policy implemented by the Federal Communications Commission that supporters believe allows for a free and open internet. During a meeting with FBI agents in November, Angelo denied calling Katko's office. But later in the interview, he admitted to leaving a voice mail that contained "strong language, probably something that could be construed as a threat." Angelo was arrested and first appeared in federal court Wednesday. The case is being prosecuted by the U.S. attorney's office for the Western District of New York, which typically covers the Buffalo area. The Northern District of New York, which has jurisdiction in the Syracuse, would normally handle such a case. But Katko has past ties to the Northern District. He was an assistant U.S. attorney before being elected to Congress. By PTI: New Delhi, Dec 1 (PTI) Former US president Barack Obama today took a veiled dig at his successor Donald Trump, saying there is a "pause in American leadership" on climate change. He also applauded the role played by India in "forging" the Paris climate accord and said the treaty was "not an easy thing to do politically but the right thing to do". advertisement "It is an agreement, even though we have a little bit of a pause in American leadership... that is giving our children a fighting chance," he said. The good news, he added, is that US companies and universities are continuing to make sure that America lives up to the obligation that it made in Paris accord. President Donald Trump has, in the past, has threatened to withdraw from the Paris climate accord and has been very vocal in renegotiating the deal. PTI PR ZMN --- ENDS --- By clicking Agree, you consent to Slates Terms of Service and Privacy Policy and the use of technologies such as cookies by Slate and our partners to deliver relevant advertising on our iOS app to personalize content and perform site analytics. Please see our Privacy Policy for more information about our use of data, your rights, and how to withdraw consent. Agree It is clear that BSP's organisational skills need an overhaul in this region, where the BJP has been growing at a rapid pace. By Siraj Qureshi: Having routed the Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party in the Braj region, the Bhartiya Janta Party is enjoying its second windfall in the past 9 months, filling its workers with the confidence of effortlessly winning the 2019 union polls. There was a time when the SP ruled the roost in Etah-Mainpuri-Firozabad region, while Agra and Kasganj used to be the traditional strongholds of Mayawati's BSP. advertisement Now, both the parties are struggling to stay in fight, having lost their grip on their home turfs. Firozabad has seen two SP MPs. First, Akhilesh's wife Dimple Yadav, followed by his uncle Ramgopal Yadav's son, Akshay. However, this time Firozabad elected a BJP candidate as its mayor. Even the runner-up too belonged to AIMIM. This makes it clear that the Muslims have chosen their separate way and are no longer following the SP or BSP. In Agra, BJP's mayoral candidate received an unprecedented number of votes, defeating the BSP candidate with a huge margin, despite lagging in the fight early on. It is clear that BSP's organisational skills need an overhaul in this region, where the BJP has been growing at a rapid pace. If we look at the Congress, it is clear that the glamour of its state president Raj Babbar has faded. Babbar could not even save the deposits of his party candidates despite his personal tours in these cities. This is the second time where Babbar has failed to deliver results in this region. The first was the UP Assembly elections where the Congress suffered a disastrous defeat and was reduced to the margins. It may be safe to assess that the Yadav-Muslim equation of SP has become messed up under Akhilesh's tenure. Incidentally, it was the same equation that yielded victory under Mulayam Singh Yadav. Similarly, Agra and Mathura have a large number of Jat voters and RLD leader Jayant Chowdhary has been an MP from Mathura while the party has had MLAs in both districts. But, the party could not even win a corporator's seat in both these districts. Although, the BSP surprisingly did manage to capture the Aligarh mayor seat. However, the reason for this victory is seen as the BSP's decision to float a Muslim candidate in a minority dominated town. It remains to be seen as to what strategy the SP and BSP plan for the 2019 parliamentary elections in view of the current political scenario which is leaning towards the saffron party. --- ENDS --- Best Canadian Blog 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 About Kate Why this blog? Until this moment I have been forced to listen while media and politicians alike have told me "what Canadians think". In all that time they never once asked. This is just the voice of an ordinary Canadian yelling back at the radio - "You don't speak for me." (goes to a private mailserver in Europe) I can't answer or use every tip, but all are appreciated! Katewerk Art Support SDA I am not a registered charity. I cannot issue tax receipts. Want lies? Hire a regular consultant. Want truth? Hire an asshole. 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By PTI: By Lalit K Jha Washington, Dec 2 (PTI) The US today strongly condemned the terrorist attack on an agriculture training institute in Pakistans northwestern city of Peshawar in which at least 12 people, including six students, were killed. Three burqa-clad heavily-armed Taliban militants, who arrived on an auto rickshaw, yesterday attacked the students hostel of the Directorate of Agriculture Extension on the University Road in the city, the capital of the restive Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province. advertisement The institute was closed for the Eid-e-Milad holiday, but about 70 students were present in the hostel. "We offer our deepest condolences to the families of the victims, and wish a speedy recovery to those injured in the attack," State Department Spokesperson Heather Nauert said. "We stand with the people and Government of Pakistan, and we will continue to work with our partners in Pakistan and across the region to combat the threat of terrorism," she said in a statement. According to Police chief of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province Salahuddin Mehsud, the attack claimed by the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan left six students, a security guard and five civilians dead, and 32 others injured. He said the terrorists were killed by security forces after a gunfight which lasted for an hour. PTI LKJ CK --- ENDS --- System error error: Can't call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25. context: ... 21: %method> 22: 23: % foreach my $c (@categories) { 24: <%perl> 25: my $category_id = $c->get_id(); 26: my @stories = Bric::Biz::Asset::Business::Story->list ( { element_type_id=>1148, category_id=>$category_id , Order=> 'cover_date', publish_status => 't' , OrderDirection=> 'DESC' , Limit=>10 } ); 27: %perl> 28: